bee74

yes, I am up for all activities in Italian (my first lang.)! I just need to be at home during my son's nap times as it is the only time I have to do work and that's normally 12.30-2.30/3. Keep me posted.

Wonderful! I have a 20 month old who speaks very little but more Italian than English. A bit young for the group, but would love to join. Except he wakes from his nap at 3 at the moment so won't get there till about 3.30... any chance of doing it a bit later (selfish!)?

so I can't send you a text.... about the toy shopping trolley. Thanks

so it seems it could be Mondays or Fridays, although not everyone can make it on both days... so unless we do a Monday and a Friday, someone is going to miss out...

Hi there I have 20 month old boy and I am flexible with times, as I work freelance. But I tend not to go out when he is asleep as I need the time to do my work... (that's 12-3). Hope to meet you soon. B

To all new and newish moms. A new Mom and Baby /Postnatal Yoga Class starts next week at Surya Yoga in Clapham (please ignore if it says it starts on 14th). Ideal for babies from newborn till sitting and beyond - check with me first. It is on Tuesday at 10-11. Wear comfy clothes and bring a snack to share at the end of the class. For more information about the teacher and mom and baby yoga, visit www.barbaramella.com For more information about the studio, visit www.suryayoga.co.uk Hope to see you there. For any question, don't hesitate to contact me. Barbara

I have a bugaboo which i bought second hand on ebay. Love it. I took it when I went travelling as I was on my own with my son (now 19 months) to Italy, India, etc. I love the fact I can face my child and talk to him. It handles well. Has good storage space. And everything else other people say. Then I was persuaded that I should swap for a Maclaren because it's so practical and light in comparison. Bought one on ebay very cheap because had a prob with suncanopie (?10). Tried it once. Hated it. It fell backwards when my toddler got out of it smashing the shopping on the floor, I can't see my son as it is so low (carbon dioxide level) and facing out, and lots more wrong with it. I guess it is a matter of preference but my preference def goes to the bugagboos. And not for the look.

Hi there I am reluctant to have my son (19 months) sit in front of the telly, but sometimes I just need twenty minutes to get some things done... He loves plum-vision.co.uk, but if i need to be on the computer he can't be on at the same time, so can anyone suggest any entertaining or educational DVDs? If they are in Italian, even better, but that might be asking too much. Thank you

Weleda Skin Food. Enough said.

I think the idea of a list with bios and beliefs is great. Although I hope/suspect that volunteers would be able to put aside their own personal preferences about how to mother to accomodate those of the person they are mentoring in order to support them in the right way. I also agree with two points: 1. it's important to have other moms with babies born around the same time (it was a life-saver for me) but also 2. to have someone else who is not related to you and who has experience of 'not killing babies'! who can normalise your anxieties, experiences, etc and reassure/ comfort you. There is also a lot of pressure to look like you're coping within groups like NCT. Going back to my original question, I am surprised that no one has mentioned pain. I was in shock about the pain of post labour. I had a horrid tear in an unusual painful place and could not sit, wee without cool water poured on it, etc. Plus the surprise and again shock that breatfeeding was hell, so painful with cracked, bleeding, pussing nipples... Anyway, I thought I'd throw this fun info in there! ;-) B

Well, it seems that the idea of the support group could develop in two separate directions. 1. there could be volunteer 'seasoned' moms who spend time (in person/ via email/ over the phone or skipe) with new mothers one to one to help with practical things like suggested - going to baby group, breast feeding, boredom, adult conversation, anxiety, fear of killing etc... There could be a list of names and we could advertise it here and in obvious places like hospitals, midwifes, health visitors, etc. 2. a more formal therapeutic group which meets regularly (twice a month or once a week) with mothers who sign up for it at the beginning for a set period (maybe 6 sessions) and they attend with or without babies. And I would be delighted (and qualified) to run this. Do these sound like a good idea? B

Molly thank you for raising the issue. With my question, I was partly trying to make sense of it for myself, see if I had been one of very few having a tough time, and partly i was checking out if there might be the need for some sort of support group as you suggest. I am a psychotherapist, but i think being a mother gives me more credential! Would anyone be interested in taking this further in terms of setting up a post-natal support group? I already see mothers in private practice, but a group of mothers would be better, then you really know you are not ALONE! B

I am looking back at those three months after I had my son. I remember feeling like I had been run over by a train, at high speed. And feeling in shock. And that it was never going to change... Did you have a similar experience? How would you descibe it? Thank you

Molly, i had a tear too... Anyway, car is back in action. I could come tomorrow morning or Sat morning, if that's any good to you. To pick up blanket... Let me know. Barbara

gosh... difficult one! 1. pasta/ curry/ parmigiana/ pizza... 2. salad, hummus and carrots 3. avocado, goat cheese

My son (16 months) slept till 8 am while we were away from London (Cornwall, then Italy) and had a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. We didn't do anything extra tiring... on the contrary. But the moment we got back to London, it's back to 6 am and nap is 1 - 1 1/2 hour. I blame the bloody planes! They are so loud above our house... What can I do?! Shoot them on sight? Explode another volcano in Iceland? The thing is doubly frustrating: I hate waking so early and not having much time during the day AND I feel he needs that extra sleep, which he doesn't get at home. So I suspect, he is he always tired... I AM moving, that's for sure!

I know a Darcy whose mom is Ruth... her? But her daughter is about 3...

what is CP one o clock club? I go to Sally Army. It's lovely.

the building work is apparently a new one o clock club, rather than a cafe... not sure about toilets

?4.50 at B&Q, but the heaviest thing I've ever carried, so take a car!

Thank you very much for your response. When I right click on Messanger I get a Tasks Icon, but no settings option... I have not run a clean up and no one has access to this computer but me and both Skipe and today Internet Explorer disappeared, so that I have to go to the 'Start' icon and then get a list of stuff from which I can choose them... NExt time the message appear, I will make a note of it... Thank you

I have a Sony Vaio and I don't quite understand how it works: why Messanger always starts when I switch on, why icons disappear from the desktop, why I keep getting messages that someone wants to alter my hard-drive... I don't think this is rocket science if you know a bit about computers, but I don't. I would be happy to pay a reasonable fee or to exchange with a yoga session/ massage. Thank you very much! Barbara

Hi there I am very sad that my (dead) grandmother's woolen blanket has a big hole in it. I cannot bear to throw it as it has so much emotional value to me, but I can't knit well enough (or at all!) to repair it... Is there someone out there who could help?! I guee it would take half hour to an experienced knitter to pull the threads together. I don't hope for a perfect job, but just for the hole to stop getting bigger. I will repay with money, a cake, a meal or a massage or whatever I can offer.... Thank you so much

Hi there I am very sad that my (dead) grandmother's woolen blanket has a big hole in it. I cannot bear to throw it as it has so much emotional value to me, but I can't knit well enough (or at all!) to repair it... Is there someone out there who could help?! I guee it would take half hour to an experienced knitter to pull the threads together. I don't hope for a perfect job, but just for the hole to stop getting bigger. I will repay with money, a cake, a meal or a massage or whatever I can offer.... Thank you so much

Molly yes, I am actually booked on a course with Odent at the week end. Just started panicking thinking will this be useful?! Of course, it will be useful as a personal experience, but would be nice to make it into something profitable as well... Thanks