Grotty

Very interesting thread - over the last month my 2yr1month old has been seriously messing about with naps - taking up to 2 hours to go to sleep at lunchtime and now the same is happening at bedtime. We've had a few days during this time where she has gone without a nap as we've been out somewhere and she can make it through the day until about 5 before crankiness sets in. I've been doing tough love this week which has resulted in her going to sleep within half an hour at lunchtime but she is still messing about at night. I've been perservering as had read that at just over 2yrs most kids still need a nap. BUT maybe it is time just to give it up???

I'm so grateful to the forum - according to GF no pees on day 1 = failure. Just wished i persevered first time round. Anyway it feels a lot more relaxed today as i'm not expecting any wee's in potty so everyone is less pressurised. Watch this space...

How are you doing Lochie?

Thanks etta thats really useful and encouraging advice. Having read that yesterday we've decided to give it another go today as my daughter is still anti-nappies/pro-pants so seems crazy to be ignoring that. Did you just take nappies off forever or put them on for naps/nighttime as GF suggests. And then how do you know when you should ditch nappies for sleeping too? Not looking forward to next few days but hopefully we'll come out the other side ok. Just preparing a star chart now!

I tried potty training my 2yr 1 month old recently using GF as she was showing all the signs listed in her book of being ready including demanding to wear pants and refusing to wear nappies - however on day one there was no wee in the potty at all despite sitting on there lots of times for up to 10 minutes as stated - we just had a lot of frustration and 6 changes of clothes! I figure that she just doesn't know when she needs to wee or is resisting it for some other reason. According to GF if no success on day 1 its a sign they aren't ready. So when do I try again? Any advice gratefully received!

I was similar thinking i'd got away without them, then they appeared when 1st daughter was 1 week overdue - i had used bio oil all through pregnancy and continued using for months after - still seemed to look horrid - then with second pregnancy never used any creams/oils and stretch marks were obvious from the minute i started growing. Now second baby is 6 months and again i've used no oils/creams and i have to say the stretch marks seem to be fading on their own - not sure if it is due to concerted effort to try and lose baby weight, but they are much less obvious. I went on a beach holiday after my 1st daughter was born and hid in a swimming costume due to appearance of stretch marks - am about to go on holiday again and have no problem with the idea of a bikini now. I reckon you should just hang in there and see what happens over the next few months xxx

Have just set an alert on my phone every morning to remind me to drink lots of water - hopefully that will work!!!

Pickle thats amazing well done - it must feel wonderful to be so close to your target. I reckon we should all meet up and celebrate our achievements so far!!! Nabz - I was reading your post about wishing weight loss could be done without exercise - i have to say that deep down I know exercise would speed things along but my first four months on WW I did literally no exercise but by sticking to the plan lost close to 2 stone - now of course i'm left with a strange shaped body and lots of loose flabby skin so exercise is essential, but I just wanted to say that you really can shift some initially without pushing yourself too far! I'm now doing an intense park-based fat blast class once a week which i don't think helps with weight loss but definitely is helping tone everything like mima08 said. I weighed this morning and lost 1 pound this week which is a huge relief as i've had a pretty slow couple of months due to weaning/tailoring off breastfeeding. From today I am not breastfeeding anymore so drop to 26 points so hopefully will now be properly aligned with correct daily allowance and may start seeing results again. Saying that I pored through my online stats just now (love the stats!!) - average of 1.4lb a week so very happy with that. 8lbs to go - hoping to achieve that by the time I go back to work on 1st August! Hope everyone has been doing ok. My current aims to get through the week are 1) stop thinking about ice cream and 2) drink copious amounts of water, which i keep forgetting to do!!!

Would prefer a waitrose but happy with M&S. There. I said it.

Thanks Pebbles. Weigh-in this morning showed no change, neither up nor down, which means over the last 5 weeks i've only gone down 3lbs, which is disheartening. However, I suddenly clicked just now that i get 14 extra points for breastfeeding but with weaning and one bottle of formula a day i'm now "mix-feeding" so the extra points aren't necessary and i've probably been overeating for a week or two. I'm supposed to drop 7 points now, so from today i go from 40 down to 33. Eek. Have just been scraping by with 40 so this is going to be a serious challenge... Hope everyone is doing ok x

Thanks Pickle for the words of encouragement and well done to you and Pebbles on the weight loss again. Excellent work!!! I feel much better about it now, particularly as I just found some photos of me 2 weeks after baby was born - we had some professional shots done of whole family (siblings, partners, cousins, kids) for my grandfathers 90th so I couldn't say No, but its good to have them because there is a massive difference between now and then! And I'm also starting to get a few comments too, which is a huge boost. Total weight loss so far is 28lbs and thats since January 1st!!! If i can lose another 7 i'll be thrilled but target weight would be 7 more on top of that... I did go to a baking group last night though and ate 7 pieces of cake so may have to write this week off. Boo. But golly it was nice to be let loose amongst carbs and fat and chocolate and icing etc etc eek... Nabz i've been doing WW on my own - couldn't face going to classes with 2 small kids - the nearest one at a convenient time was at a church at the top of Barry Road on Wednesday mornings, but there are a few in Peckham in the evenings - check the website. But with just the app on my iphone its been incredibly easy to follow. I have to say the biggest motivator is knowing other people who are dieting - this thread, other mums, my sister - makes a massive difference as i have someone to moan to/gloat to each day if necessary! It works for some and not others but you should definitely give it a go! Looking forward to more exercising this saturday. Hope you're all having a good week x

Hey - nice to have more people on here doing the same, and i'd just also like to say don't lose heart. 1 or 2lbs or even none in a week seems like very slow work, but I've been going for 4 months and it all adds up to LOTS and LOTS so keep going and by the middle of the summer you'll be really pleased you stuck with it! Another pound down for me this week and i finally FINALLY after 4 months got my trainers on - I joined Urban Fox Fitness, paying up front for 4 classes (the only way i'll be certain to do it) which involves an hour of fat-blasting in Ruskin Park every Saturday morning. I'm still in a huge amount of achey pain 2 days later but its worth it and i feel so much better for it, physically and mentally. woo-hoo. Nice that the sun is coming out too. Just need to lose a little more and i'll have an excuse to buy a new wardrobe in time for summer!!! Hope everyone has been going ok this week x

Thanks Pebbles & Pickle & Hooray for the 2lbs Pickle. Slowly but surely we're all getting close to our goals. Must say this thread is definitely helping with the motivation so thank you to you all x

I moved my 5 month old in with my just-turned-2 year old last week. The baby still wakes 1-3 times a night but the eldest never wakes or if she stirs she is straight back to sleep. During nap time today the eldest had a major tantrum but baby stayed sleeping. They are much more resilient than I gave them credit for. The mornings are now better as toddler always wakes first and when baby was still in our room she would be woken by toddler coming in and bouncing about. Now she sleeps on for sometimes as long as an hour more. I should have done it sooner!...

Ok so had a total light bulb moment this week. Lost a whopping 4 yes FOUR whole pounds. For the first time in probably months I didn't go over my daily points allowance, didn't use any of the weeks extra points and had a good walk (not quite got the trainers on yet but its a start!) and there you have it - a nice good chunky slice of weight loss. Its definitely too much to be losing each week and I certainly can't keep up that level of ruthless determination, but its a huge boost so YAY. Moral to this story is um oh yes, the 2 pillars of weight loss: healthy eating and exercise. Now why didn't i think of that before.... Hope everyone else is going ok.

Bollocks Easter and minus points have finally caught up with me - 2lb weight gain this week - a WHOPPING TWO WHOLE POUNDS!!!! I'm extremely annoyed and pretty much feel like the last 2-3 weeks has been a total waste of time. And so annoyed as I was so close to being only a stone away from target weight. I went straight out and marched for an hour this morning with baby strapped to my front. I walked so fast my butt cheeks have been hurting ever since - what a sight that must have been. Urgh. Right. No. More. Rubbish. Must. Do. Better. Going to try and steer clear of weekly points this week and get those trainers on...

I've never really used foundation and always felt a little wary of make-up in general but had a light bulb moment after discovering Benefit's Hoola - a little dusting and I come off looking a little sunned more than anything. That and a little mascara. The more water I drink the better my skin looks but I forget that unfortunately so currently looking a little haggard...

Weight watchers is VERY easy especially if you have an iPhone as they have an excellent app which you can log your points each day. I'm a rubbish dieter as like you am unable to give up foods I like but weight watchers is just a food counting diet so you can eat what you want. There are free foods (fruit and veg) so if I've maxed out during the day I just have salad/fruit salad/roast veg for dinner. Not one single day has gone by without me munching something bad be it cake/chocolate/biscuits but still managed to lose weight so I recommend it wholeheartedly!!!

Hi Nabz, After 2 kids I was horrified with what I saw in the mirror so I started on weight watchers 6 weeks after having my second - they give you a lot of extra points for breastfeeding so I never feel hungry and baby has steadily and healthily grown along her original centile line so is obviously getting exactly what she needs. I have rather sheepishly done NO exercise but by vaguely sticking to points I have been losing 0-2lbs a week and am now 25lbs lighter. Slow and steady.... (and feels relatively easy)

Managed a whopping -15 by the time Easter finished but on weigh day I was still another whole lb down! Main aim this week is do get exercising. Watch this space...

Hello out there forumites, I know this is an age old topic but I'm in need of advice/comparable stories/assurance it will all be ok! My 5 month old daughter is refusing to take a bottle. Unlike my first daughter, I haven't done any expressing/bottle feeding with her at all so the bottle is a totally new thing. However, I want to be able to go out in the evenings/get hair cut in the daytime/have a bit of freedom so could really REALLY do with her taking the bottle, and she will have to in the next few months when I go back to work. For 3 days in a row now I have offered the bottle just before bed when I know she is hungry - each time she wails as soon as the bottle teat goes in her mouth despite getting some milk drops. She just has no idea what to do with it. Each night she has cried until falling fast asleep, which is then a problem as she goes to sleep without a feed (wakes an hour later when I breastfeed) - First 2 nights I tried expressed milk, 3rd night I tried formula. We have done the same during the day with post-morning nap feed which my husband has done but still same problem. Tried 2 different teats - Avent and Nuk - same response. I know this is all about perserverance - a friend of mine went to see an "expert" recently out of desperation and after an hour and a half of trying the baby caved in, but how to get to this? My questions are: Do you keep going with the teat in the mouth despite crying or calm baby down between each attempt? How do you deal with the fact that baby is essentially missing a feed? Do you really just keep going until they cave in or set time limits for trying before offering boob? Is there a best time of day to be trying? Any help greatly appreciated, thanks

Ok so i think it may be time for me to get up off this couch - there seems to be A LOT of exercising going on out there and its making me feel ever so Waynetta Slob. Pebbles i'm very VERY impressed you lost weight over a holiday - that takes some will power. I need to find me some of that this week. Two days left on my week and my weeks "extra 49" is already at 0 and there is still Easter Sunday to come, sigh - I was really hoping to to knock off a rather optimistic 3lbs this week bringing my total to 2 stone but its clear this target will have to be delayed. Maybe if I can finally make it into my trainers tomorrow. Keep up the good work everyone...

I also had a repeat & elective CS after failed induction first time round - It was very similar to Ruth's experience - very calm, civilised, quick and felt much safer than the debacle that was birth of no.1.

That's very funny - just made me chuckle - love his style - he's a natural in front of the camera!!!!

Well done Pickle - I feel guilty every time I see the thread about the free exercise class and quickly skim over it, but should probably Just Do It! Good news is i'm back on track this week with a 2lb loss woo hoo....