jennyh

Hi We have the bottom part of the cocoon on our bee but in light of the fact that the seat is moving upwards and the baby's feet are dangling over the end of it, what is the best next thing to get? There always seems to be something to buy! I can't decide between getting a sheepskin liner, a seatliner or a footmuff. For Winter I will need the footmuff for sure but not sure whather it might be a bit hot for the Summer as the fleece on the cocoon is very thick...the seatliner looks good but not particularly comfortable. Anyone got any experience or suggestions? Jenny

No worries, you can also go in store but you need a little card voucher thing which I think can be found on some of the Ella's Kitchen pouches.

If you enter the code ELLA1 at www.elc.co.uk

I'm in!! Although my place isn't big enough to host I'm afraid!

I must say that I used to think that it was she needed the reassurance of us being there when she woke but after a week or so of trying shush patting etc I realised that my presence at her side seemed to make it worse! :( I know that my girl is a very light sleeper and have had countless chats with the midwife and health visitor but its just the way she is. Push around pushchair for 30 mins, finally drops off, cue a police siren 3 streets away and she's up crying immediately! Even the much celebrated 'white noise' is too much noise for her! Sadly whilst she still likes a cuddle when she is awake and in a milky coma she won't settle on me for naps etc so I do admit to feeling a little powerless for other methods to soothe her. She seems to find it easier on her own rather than me stimulating her or disturbing her, usually it makes her cry more as she becomes more awake with my presence or she will stop and be delighted that I am there but then pretend she is wide awake and ready to get up! However when she is really going for it and something is definitely wrong I feel very proud that I can make it better with a cuddle. Simple pleasures eh!? F - you are right, I look at newborns at babyclub and really miss that little slumped, floppy baby who would sleep on me for hours and drop off with just a couple of head strokes. Mine now flails around hitting and pushing if she is tired, she's like a teenager! Back to the original post - like everything, I guess it is a phase, and as Fuschia says - these days are short and if he needs you then that is a lovely thing. Although a little more sleep would be nice I guess!

we went to take a look a few weeks ago and at first it all seemed very impressive, in retrospect I thought that the baby room was quite small but then again it seemed adequate for the numbers they had. It was nice that everything was new but then it is one of the more expensive nurseries so you would hope to have clean and well stocked facilities. From the conversation we had they didn't have any space until next year.

Hi My 5 month old has always struggled to get past the 45 minute point as well! Does he do it just in the evening or throughout the night as well? with my daughter I worked out that a lot of it depended on her state when she went to sleep in the first place. If she was too sleepy when I put her to bed then she would wake much more easily after 45 mins, then again an hour later, and again etc until her dreamfeed after which point she would usually sleep much better. However if I properly roused her before putting her to bed and she went to sleep on her own then she was much more settled. It is almost as if she would wake up after the first sleep cycle and not know where she is so would cry. however - like you she often cries with her eyes shut so is still sleepy so I guess it is hard for her to get to the deep sleep stage. It is controversial and not for everyone but we usually leave her when she wakes in the evening hours because I know she is full and dry and is just struggling to get back to sleep rather than there being anything particularly wrong. After 1-10 mins she will settle herself usually but its not very nice to hear her upset granted. If she carries on and it escalates then I know something else is wrong and so pick her up to burp or give her some calpol if she is congested and coldy or offer her some water if she is thirsty. We did do a certain amount of sleep training with her so she I know she is capable of going to sleep on her own and like you say she is often crying with her eyes shut and often stops on her own. Do you go to him straight away or have you given him the chance to try and settle back himself? Do you think he is hungry? Sadly I don't know what else to offer in the way of suggestions but just want you to know you are not alone, it is very common!!! Jenny

The website says 8-15

Last time I looked I thought it said age 5-15 but I might be mistaken.

Hey, to be honest I don't think they say but there are lots of things to look at so even if he doesn't want to be sat on your knee singing you can always just cuddle him and he can listen. There are lots of bubbles as well which I think they love! Give it a try and see!

I've been there loads and always found it ok, perhaps a bit slow at times but they've always seemed polite. They always bring me water to warm bottles too. My main gripe is overpriced cake!!! We've spoken to the owner on a few occasions and he's really pro parents and babies (he's often there with his own baby) I think he'd be very upset to hear everyone's comments so definitely worth raising with them as sure they would want to change!! He often asks questions about how to Market to the area and how to appeal to the locals so hopefully it will lead to improvements!!

I first took my daughter to tippee toes at the ceramics cafe (thurs 10am) when she was about 14 weeks and felt it was a good thing for a young age. The older babies clearly get more out of it but it's quite gentle so the little ones seem fascinated by it too! It's ?3 a go. Otherwise swimming is nice, jelly babies at Peckham pulse is good and it's pay as you go rather than classes.

I got a second-hand one a few weeks ago from the forum. Before we had a small bin which would get filled up each day and need emptying which was a bit of a chore. We have a sangenic one now and it can store about a weeks worth of nappies which is great (my daughter is 5 months so a newborn would prob produce more nappies!. It definitely keeps the smell inside but then it is worse when you have to empty a weeks worth of nappies because when you do open it, it smells really bad!! I am happy we have ours purely because it saves constant trips to the bin and my flat doesn't smell of wee (or worse!) but it isn't a must have by any means. A decent sized bin with a lid and nappy sacks would do just as well!

Yes it may well be the same survey but they referred to the British Dietetic Association I think, perhaps it is somethine else and we have crossed wires. I'd hope that sitting on the board of NICE would mean that it was based on something and not porky pies, watch this space I guess. Then again I had a terrible day being stuck in the west end in the rain for a non-existent meeting and a screaming baby, i was ready for bed by 8pm so maybe I wasn't listening properly! Either way I have terrible psoriasis so will be taking tentative steps with her whatever!

I'm not funny, I always was to my OH. Now I'm whingey, tired, stressed, worried, anxious and irritating. Not a good place to be.

Thank you everyone! It seems these things will always spark debate but I appreciate knowing peoples experiences. I called my mother in law for some advice as she is a GP and it turns out her colleague sits on the NICE board and specialises in Infant Diet and Allergies so she said she would do some investigation for me...she has just come back with some really interesting insider info. Sadly I can't repeat it all here as it hasn't been published but suffice to say there is soon to be a large overturning of previous recommendations re exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and weaning. It would appear that there are big question marks over the current guidelines so watch this space for the results of these new trials soon! One of the trials even includes giving peanuts to very young infants...shock horror!!! :) I am now pleased to say that my decision will definitely be based on facts! To sum it up as she did 'a little bit of everything mixed with a bit of dirt is probably best'

Its great, ive been going since December!! A veteran. its from 2pm but often people turn up later so don't be put off if you are there at 2 and it is empty. People tend to hang around for a few hours and there is usually a turnout of some kind, think babies are now ranging from a few weeks to 7 months ish so lots of experiences to share!

I had 2 I think, my midwife told me that there was a new piece of research to say that if they were to be effective it would be best to have them with one day in the middle and no more. So I had acupuncture, then a sweep, then acupuncture, then another sweep, then 3rd acupuncture across 5 days. As mrsf says - I found it reassuring that they checked me over and that they could tell me how favourable my cervix was etc rather than just waiting! (i'd been off on mat leave for 5 weeks already and was bored!) I don't know what worked but I went from having no twinges to having a show after the 2nd sweep and went into labour a day later, the acupuncture gave me some cramping etc as well. Who knows, I may have got there anywhere but I was due to be induced and i'm the sort of person who felt I needed to be in control a bit more so gave me a bit of reassurance. As seems to be the case so much, I had my daughter the day before my induction date.

Yeah thanks Fushcia, I looked at that the last time i was asking about her a couple of weeks ago! I should add that she is 16lb 5oz at 19 weeks so is a good weight already and is very long. Will do some research and go from there.

Yeah I dont want her milk intake to drop and that was my worry. Im not in an hurry to wean her at all, just interested in opinions really. She is distracted during the day as she is so stimulated at the moment, sh makes signs that she is hungry but then gets bored of feeding and clamps her mouth shut. Ive tried changing rooms, facing the wall, feeding out etc but she just strains her neck constantly looking for something else. I thought maybe she just wasnt hungry enough to take a big feed in the morning so was considering reducing her dreamfeed, otherwise not sure what else to do to give her what she needs. She will wake up early and suggest she is hungry but then only take 70ml of milk and not feed again for 4 hours! Has been like this for a while now, maybe I'll wait another week or so and see if it continues and go from there.

Thanks. Baby is 4 & 1/2 months and has been fussing hugely with her milk feeds during the day so takes very very little milk. She then catches up in the evening and has huge bedtime feeds and night feeds but it still falling short of her target and spends the day fussy, getting tired very easily etc. She started watching everything we were doing a while ago but I didn't take any notice really until someone said that she might be rejecting the milk feeds because she is ready to have some solids...anyway I tried a bit of baby rice out of interest and she was crazy about it, she just kept on going until I got a bit freaked out that she was having too much and I hadn't read into it enough but I have never seen her so interested in anything feeding related. I was surprised at how much she was into the rice but then it may have been because she was quite hungry when I tried but it seemed very natural, she just kept opening her mouth constantly and didn't spit any out. Her hand to mouth action is very good but still inaccurate but by no means can she sit unaided and is rather wobbly. I suppose I always thought that solids were needed when milk wasn't enough but she is rejecting her daytime feeds so not sure where we are now!

Hi Not wanting to get into a debate about whether it is right or not but I'm interested in hearing from anyone who weaned early, what age did you start and what were the reasons? Thanks Jenny

Cow was found outside othercare in Peckham by a friend! how weird! HI We've lost THE toy, its a small black/white cow from jellycat, in the last half hour along lordship lane/Pellatt Road, Landcroft Road. If anyone has found it please get in touch...it is my daughter's comforter! Thanks Jenny

I lost my first and spent my second pregnancy a complete wreck, so much so that the GP suggested some counselling to help. To be honest I didn't feel I neednt that and after the baby started moving around that gave me some of the reassurance I needed. I was tempted by a doppler but I knew hat I would become addicted and then freak out if I didn't find it!! I also had 2 extra scans at Baby Premier, one at around 18 weeks and one at 35 weeks. They weren't cheap but it was perfect as it gave me just that little bit of extra reassurance. Hopefully you will start to feel more confident as the time passes but if not then the doppler might be the little bit extra you need!

My daughter is 4 months and has come out in a pimply rash too. Hers came about after the peak of the hot days and seems to be worse when she is upset so when she gets red faced and hot. I saw the health visitor today to get her weighed and she took a look and want concerned. Like anything just said to keep an eye on it and if worsens or accompanied by temperature or discomfort then seek more help.