Princess

Can anyone recommend a reputable firm who are able to provide us with night nanny (who more than likely won't need to do anything as my son is 18 months and generally sleeps really well) or very capable CRB babysitter for the next 8 nights and possibly a day or two at short notice?! With baby number 2 due in 13 days, we have cover in place for all overnight eventualities in 9 days time but nothing for now. Having had a few 'twinges' this weekend and a precipitous labour with my first, we would feel a lot better if we had someone with us overnight as we fear there won't be time to ring around our list of friends, get my son up and drop him off before baby arrives! Thanks in advance Px

Thanks Fuschia too all very helpful. I guess I just have to sit tight and see what the midwives find on Friday. Never more than at times like these do I wish for family who live on my doorstep!

Thanks Ruth. Weird our childbirthing lives are still mirroring each other after our firsts being born just days apart too! I feel as though I haven't seen my midwives for weeks (will be 5 in fact when I see them this Friday). It was only due to a bit of a scare that I found myself up at MAU one evening and they told me he'd turned from breech as he was 3 weeks ago to transverse which I've suspected for a while. As my first labour was so fast I am a bit concerned as to what we'll do if it all starts early but the plan was always homebirth or an ambulance dash to King's. I guess now it's the ambulance no question. I'm not against a c section at all and to a certain degree knowing the timing will be a godsend!

Thanks B. It hadn't really occurred to me they might take me in and keep me there to monitor me! It's childcare for son no.1 that's stressing me (oh and the fact we're moving out of our house before baby and into our new one after baby). I know my parents will try and drop everything to come from Wales to help but as they both still work it's not quite as straightforward as it could be. If we can be a teeny bit organised and anticipate all eventualities it will help a bit.

Baby number 2 has been breech for a while. Following a trip to MAU this week for something unrelated it transpired he is now transverse and seems to be quite happily staying this way for now!? I will be 36 weeks on Friday and understand this is the point all options are discussed. Just to prep myself (and my wonderful family who have gone to great lengths to arrange come down for 2.5 weeks in mid July to help with son no.1), when might they do an ECV and if this isn't successful a c section?? I'm not sure if it's relevant but my first was 8 days late but arrived in just under 3 hours pretty much in the car park. Thanks Px

I too am a SAHM but I was more or less forced into it when I was made redundant just before I was due back to work following a years mat leave. I also discovered in the same week that I was 6 weeks pregnant (quite a surprise)! My situation made looking for another job, part time at the same level impossible so, I set myself up as a freelancer and have been lucky to get quite a bit of work but it's nearly killed me! With no child care provision or family close by working all night to meet deadlines and then doing a full days childcare the next day has become a regular occurrence. Like Belle, I found the first year incredibly challenging and if I'm being honest, I was quite keen to get back to work. However, I can honestly say the past 6 months with my son have been a joy (obviously we have bad days too)! He is 'coming on' in leaps and bounds and to a certain degree I do attribute this to him being at home and feeling secure (I would probably be saying the same thing if i'd have returned to work and he'd have been in nursery 4 days a week too though)! With no.2 on the way in about 5 weeks, we have had to make some serious lifestyle changes. We will be leaving ED so we can afford a bigger house and garden all on my husband's salary. We have made the long term decision that I won't go back to work until the kids are in school however I might potentially look at training to be a childminder in the future. This seems much more sensible than trying to juggle freelance work around nap times etc and will give me a huge sense of pride to see the little ones grow and develop in my care not to mention a small degree of financial independence. I think the SAHM is a dying breed in London (it seems less so amongst my friends outside London) perhaps this is largely down to the financial pressure to have to return to work? I certainly have found it very difficult to meet other SAHM's with kids the same age as my first (18 months) in the past 6 months which is a shame as it can leave you feeling quite isolated. However, from my experience this is the only downside to being a SAHM. I can honestly say I'm pleased fate played the hand she did!

I did the London Ambulance course a while ago. I hired the space at The Herne for a few forumites. The landlord did say to us, if in the future he could add one of his staff to the course, he'd donate the space for free. As I say it was a while ago but worth asking if anyone's considering getting a group together.

When I was a student in Manchester this place was fab for all my art materials. I now use mail order for quite a few crafty bits for myself and stuff for kids. http://www.fredaldous.co.uk/

Yep another vote for Lorenzo!

John Lewis have a variety of colours.

Tumble Tots is pretty good for this sort of thing. They set up assault courses for the kids to clamber, jump and run over. The oldest session they cater for is 2-3 year olds. We go to the walking-2 years but I'm sure it's a similar sort of thing! Px

mums4u, I completely agree pregnancy is much tougher second time around. I absolutely loved being pregnant with my first and as QueenMab says was the centre of attention, wasn't allowed to lift anything heavier than my handbag, enjoyed long lie ins and cat naps at the weekend etc etc. This time, I've found myself a full time stay at home mum to an energetic 17 month old with a fledgling but booming freelance business to manage during my sons lunchtime nap and bedtimes. Just to complicate matters that bit more, we're caught up in a moving fiasco which will see us putting our stuff in storage and moving into a short term rental right when the baby is due too. With a little less than 9 weeks to go I would give almost anything to have my son in nursery part time, family that lived close by or a bit of that wonderful thing called maternity leave looming on the horizon. Hey ho, I mustn't grumble as I suspect this is the easy bit. Juggling a newborn and a toddler is going to be a whole new ball game!!

I agree with Sillywomen. I am currently looking for an au pair and the going rates seem to be anywhere between ?60-80 per week plus board and lodgings. The working week is a max of 5 hrs a day, 5 days a week with some evening babysitting agreed by both parties.

I am looking for an Au Pair for a few months from August and would appreciate any recommendations for reputable agencies please. There are hundreds on the web and all seem to vary in how they go about placing Au Pairs, fees etc so if anyone has first hand experience of using a specific agency I'd appreciate your advice. Thanks Px

I used Rigby & Peller Bluewater a couple of months after I'd given up feeding my first. They were fantastic, my appointment started bang on time and nothing was too much trouble. I spent a small fortune on new bras and then promptly got pregnant again! Ooops.

I'm afraid we're away that weekend too. It would seem we are highly likely to be moving out of ED a couple of weeks before our due date (still nowhere to go to yet though. Arrgh no stress here)! Although I shall dipping in and out of the forum from somewhere in the UK, I'm not sure I'll actually be around to meet many of the Summer Babies in person. If I can make the meet ups before/after baby then I definitely will but probably best not to factor me in your counting as I feel as though I'm not the most reliable person at the moment!! Px

Thank you Helen GV and anna_r. Comments such as yours are exactly why I love this forum!

Thank you all for your advice. I think I should probably go and try some when he has arrived and my enormous bump and boobs have settled down a bit. Having read your responses and found similar threads on mumsnet, it would seem as though feeding in a sling is a real art. Whether I'll have the time and inclination to perfect that with a 19 month old running around remains to be seen I guess! PS Ruth, was having two so close together really such a good idea?!

Baby number 2 is due in July and I am really aware I will have a very active 19 month old on my hands at this time! I would love to be able to feed the baby as 'hands free' as I possibly can so I can still supervise my toddler in his morning and afternoon activities and try and prevent him running off whilst enjoying summer afternoons in the park etc. I was tempted by the Baba Sling but having started to research I am now thoroughly confused by the choice out there. We used a Baby Bjorn to carry our first around when he was tiny. A friend did lend me a Hug-a-bub but I never really got on that well with it. I'd prefer something with a secure fastening as I never did trust my own tying capabilities! Does anyone have any advice they could give me on what works and what doesn't for breastfeeding please? Thanks Px

Hi Ladies, I was really looking forward to this but am having a bit of a nightmare with house selling/buying etc. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to miss this one in favour of trying to find somewhere to live so I'm not homeless at 8 months pregnant with a toddler in tow! Hopefully catch you all next time. Px

Bishberro, I'm really sorry to hear your news. A very similar thing happened to me at the end of last year. I would say "yes" they do need to honour your vouchers if this was agreed before you went on leave but I'm by no means a lawyer. A really handy thing I discovered was the free legal advice you are entitled to as part of your house insurance. They helped me fight for every penny I was entitled to and it really helped. I walked away jobless but with the pay out and benefits I deserved after 11 years service which was a far cry from where we started when they initially handed me my envelope! Good luck Px

The second is good for me too.

I'm currently juggling being a full time stay at home mummy to my 15mth old son with my new freelance design business. I'm around all week and generally up for walks in the park etc but do find meeting other adults for sensible conversation is so much easier when my little one's at home with his dad! So Saturday get togethers sound good to me. After considerable procrastination about the NCT refresher 'thing' I've signed up to the one in Herne Hill in June. Congrats on your news of a little sister for S Ruth. We've another little boy on the way. I'm just hoping this one is a little bit more chilled than his older brother! Px

We were there at the same time today and I have to say we were disappointed with it too. It was our first visit and despite reserving a spot for 10 and 5 high chairs (sorry Fuschia!) they weren't ready for us and tried to squeeze us around a table which was obviously too small. The kids menu was very small and nothing was served with veg just chips. Unfortunately, the macaroni cheese which I've enjoyed at The Bishop numerous times was dry and the bacon fatty and chewy. It could of course just have been a 'bad' day but I don't think we'll be back again in a hurry either.

I was just wondering if anyone could recommend any good groups for a VERY active 15 month toddler. We go to Tin Pan Annie, Bea's Baby Bop, Rhyme Time and swimming but we're looking for more energy burning things to do!! We're going to try football up at JAG's at the weekend and I have heard about Tumble Tots and Diddi Dance but the timings don't work or he's just a wee bit too young. If there's anything else anyone knows about that they'd really recommend (either free or paid for) we'd love to hear about it. Thanks Px