supergolden88

My daughter started reception in January. She also attends breakfast and afterschool clubs and is very happy at Ivydale. She has made lots of friends and is excited to go to school every day. In that respect the school is a great success. One thing I wish they would improve is communicating with the parents. There have been a couple of phonics workshops and there's a little homework book in which the teacher and parents put in comments but apart from that I have no idea what my daughter does in class (and asking her is pointless). I know some other schools have email/text updates and invite parents to sit in at some classes etc.

love this thread. my fashion mojo is dormant under many layers of flab and sadly wont see the light of day for at least a few years at this rate. I cant fit into 80% of my wardrobe. Typing one handed with sick baby on boob so here are a couple of links anthropologie very cool shop stateside that opened branches here last year I think. Cool, slightly quirky clothes, very pretty dresses etc. Generally expensive but register for their sale as mostly everything gets discounted eventually discount brand sales sites are big these days. I like Cocosa but there's also Brand Alley cocosa Brand Alley Asos has some great stuff and there's also Asos Marketplace for original upcoming designer items. These websites have cute stuff aspire Fever Finally I like vintage although it is getting harder to source

Best most used items a humidifier - constantly in use in winter/whenever they have colds a white noise app Socksuit (best sleepsuits ever) socksuit Grow bag sleeping bags (or other non branded ones) Stokke tripp trapp chair Baby bjorn sling Changing table (or any table that can be used as one - we used a Habitat kitchen unit with first baby) lambskin liner for pushchair (also using a large one under bedsheets this time round) baby bouncy chair (the more basic the better) Breast pump (Medela are good) if you want to breastfeed least used Fancy high chair that takes up half the room (chicco or similar). Had to sell it baby hated it and I hated cleaning it. Bumbo - both of my babies hated it and would lock their legs and launch themselves off it! Used for limited time only Room thermometer - useless. First baby born in middle of heatwave. Second when it was freezing. Just use common sense. about 10 different types of bottles bought because baby would not accept the bottle. In the end it's not the bottle or teat shape but how much you persist (and if they want to they will keep on refusing it till they decide to take it)

ED had them some time ago (bought them for a friend). In the baby gift section which is pretty small Gap does the best socks I think - they stay on for one thing. Also this is genius for babies and young toddlers as they dont outgrow it so quickly (socks give outfit some stretch) Best sleepsuit by a long mile socksuit

Henry sounds great almost 100% positive reviews on Amazon. But one thing does put me off - the various attachments dont store on Henry/Hetty but have to be put away separately? I have virtually no storage space and am pretty bad at putting stuff away

Stuck at home with baby and daughter for two days (both coughing and one MILKING it) and going slightly stir crazy. Decided to clean the house to placate daughter who was bored out of her mind and itching to clean the stairs (!) and lets just say using the Dyson with a baby in the sling was not super effective. I hate this Dyson - it's a good machine but completely unsuitable to our house which is 90% bare varnished floorboards. Lets not even mention lugging it up and down the stairs. Can someone recommend a good vacuum cleaner that can cope with floorboards, some carpets, cat hair, toddler mess (and soon baby weaning mess) and is not super heavy but powerful? I may as well go crazy on Amazon while stuck indoors...

baby on sling so cant type much recommend this book Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems I bellieve in your case a very gradual approach would be best (you sleep with them or in same room initially) the book is brilliant and very practicl. Not all of it is about controlled crying which is what the author is known for (wrongly in my opinion).

Thanks everyone. I will see if I can get it done quickly.

There's also ballet classes on Saturday mornings held at Harris Girls Academy in Nunhead. My daughter has been going for over a year and she loves it. Don't think they are very strict but the girls have lots of fun. Have not seen any boys there though (it's all little girls in pink tutus). Evelyn Hunter Dance Academy Tel: 01223 893971/ 079 46700191 On the other hand there's a proper dance academy in Herne Hill I believe which frequently has a friend of mine in tears. They are serious classes and the kids go on to have exams etc.

Hi Laura - where do you get the paperwork from? The post office?

I haven't had one sorted for my baby boy who is 4 months. Need to take a picture which I can hopefully sort out tomorrow. Does anyone know how long it takes to get one issued?

jollybaby Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Anya in Dr Boo comes highly recommended by my most > discerning friend. And she has same name as my daughter. Is it facials she does?

I looked at myself in the mirror today and literally did not recognise what I have become. Work + taking care of baby + sleepless nights= zombie mum. My skin is in a state, hair a mess etc (lets not even go into the flabby body - one step at a time). Anywhere local I can go for a GOOD facial (for tired/dull/spotty skin)? I will treat myself to Willis B for a haircut (first in 5 months) and colour - has anyone tried their beauty treatments?

Sorry to hear baby was sick. That's too awfull why do your say expect two hours of crying? When? When you first put him down or during night wakings? my brain is fried

Just to say you are not alone. My son (4 m) is going through some major teething and waking every two hours. I am getting rather desperate as I also have tons of work to deal with

I may need some help sooner than anticipated. My boy is waking every two hours again. He is teething but I am about to wave goodbye to breaking point

I just managed to express 8oz. I doubt he will take any at this rate. He had an awful night of constant wake ups. I have had no sleep in months. I am really getting desperate.

Thanks Kate - I dont think burping is the issue with my baby although I do burp him if I think he needs it. It's all in the timing. If he is too stressed and crying he refuses it. If he is sleepy but not too sleepy he usually feeds well from a bottle. The breakdown of the amounts is very interesting - my son never takes more than 5 ounces from a bottle (at least not so far). Today was his first day with a nanny and he took even less (I was with them as well). He was very unsettled all day - new person around and he is teething and not sleeping well (or at all). It may be he doesn't take more from the bottle because he knows the boob option is there for him. We'll see how tomorrow goes. I really would like to keep breastfeeding but have him take some bottle feeds every day. I keep expressing but it is really hard to see the breastmilk wasted - usually it's when I decide to use all the EBM that he is being very difficult and having none of it!

I did not mean he took less EBM because he was satisfied with less. Rather he took less because he realised - wait a minute I get that from a boob! Or maybe it was the timing. I am so tired I don't know much anymore!

My son is four months and a good size - 75 centile consistently. I have been trying to space out his daytime feeds in order to improve his nightime sleeping. I also have quite a bit of work on and will be employing a nanny 2 days a week as of tomorrow (fingers crossed!). For these and other reasons I have been trying to give him a bottle with every feed this week (with EBM or formula or mix of the two) hoping to eventually have him take a full feed from the bottle. Funnily enough when the bottle contains just breast milk he takes mucg less than when it contains formula or a mix. Up till now he used to refuse the bottle and only take a maximum of 60ml but recently he started taking it more - but only in his bouncy chair. If he is hungry and the timing is right he may take up to 120-140ml. Usually he does this in one go and will then refuse to take it again. I then usually offer him the breast and he will breastfeed for a bit. The timings for the feeds are * between 7/8am breastfeeding. Not very hungry. * 11am-12am bottle then boob. Today he took 140ml then refused any more. Did not breastfeed much either. * around 3pm - usually he takes very little here from either bottle or boob. Yesterday he almost refused this one completely * around 6pm bottle (around 140ml if all's well) and then breastfeeding from 7pm till bedtime * he will then wake between 11-12am and either take very little from a bottle or breastfeed. He has done nights where he slept from 8pm-3.30 am and others where he woke up every two hours (last night - awful). * usually another wake up around 3/4am breastfeeding I just read the formula recommendation is for 210ml for each feed and 5 feeds a day at four months. He takes nowhere near that much from a bottle and I cannot believe he manages that much breastfeeding as he usually only feeds for a few minutes and my supply is not overabundant. My questions are - do your babies take that much per feed from a bottle? How long do you offer them the bottle for? If they take less are they hungrier later on? Should I just forget about the amount and go with the flow? I would like to be able to leave the nanny with a bottle and let them get on with it without having to top up with breastfeeding. And while I want to continue breastfeeding for a couple more months at least I am too exhausted to continue for a full year (which I did with my daughter. She was exclusively breastfed for 9 months only managed to take the bottle then).

My son did the same around the same time (to coincide with first set of jabs). He started taking long gaps between feeds and feeding less and less. He also cried and fussed whenever I tried to breastfeed him. I too went into a panic as my milk was drying up. I think the baby was going through a phase of eating less but he was also suffering from very gassy tummy (hence the crying) which the GP diagnosed and suggested we use infacol with every feed. That seemed to help. I expressed often to build up supply and drank mothers help tea (you get get in at Health Matters) which may or may not have helped but at least you feel as if you are doing something! Lost of breastfeeding at night helps with supply (but does not help YOU as you will be even more tired). I now try to leave 3/4 hours between feeds to make sure he is hungry and not snacking. Even a small 'snack' would ruin his feeds. Best of luck

I will try that yoga pose now! You may be right about the posture as well - the back pain started in pregnancy and is getting worse daily.

I saw that too. Pretty amazing - but if it's so effective can they not create a product that gives the right concentration for people to use? I bet if I mention it to my GP they will look at me as if I am crazy (they do anyway)

Thanks for your tips and PMs everyone. I have hopefully found someone 2 days a week - due to start on Thursday so we will see how we get on. She works for a friend of mine the rest of the week so I feel fortunate she can help out temporarily. I still need to find someone more permanent further down the line unless her circumstances change (and she wants to stay on). Can anyone post some advise on nanny share? How does it work for them and so on? I think much as I would love to have a nanny full time or 3/4 days a week the cost would be prohibitive and I would like my baby to socialise with at least one more baby/toddler. Also please give me some advice on your nanny care costs - how much does it work out if you include tax etc?

I posted a while back about having terrible backache due to constant breastfeeding/sling/baby carrying and probably terrible posture too. Last night it got so bad that it took me over an hour to find a comfortable way of sleeping which did not hurt like hell (using pregnancy body pillow again!). I have a constant ache between my shoulderblades worse on the right. Would massage help? Or any other treatment? Send me some recommendations please.