LeilahB

Our little girl, Ina, was born on 4 Nov weighing 6 lbs and 11 oz as well - now adjusting to the chaos of newborn plus toddler on little sleep!

Was only able to express 3oz but it bought me an extra 2 hours of sleep - bliss! Thanks all.

Thanks so much for all the tips! Over-excited at the prospect of a couple more hours sleep!

My daughter is 2 weeks old and I'm breastfeeding her. I'm keen for my husband to give her a late evening feed of expressed milk so that I can go to bed early. Does anyone know how much milk I should express for one feed at this stage? Thanks

I am having a similar experience with my two-week old. Last night she fed from midnight-3am and again at 5am and 6am. Our midwife also assures me that this will calm down but I am finding it a bit difficult, especially when I get up having had about 4 hours sleep and then have to deal with a toddler. Any tips on how to bring the mammoth feeds into daytime hours would be massively appreciated!

We had our side return done last year (and extended into the garden) and it's completely transformed the way we use the ground floor of our house - the kitchen is now the main family/kids room and it has meant that we have been able to keep the living room pretty much child-free, which is nice! We used Martin from Keypoint Construction - he/they were absolutely brilliant. I was on maternity leave at the time and they really went out of their way to make it as painless as possible, and stayed within budget/time frame which was a relief. Our architect, on the other hand, was a bit of a waste of space - but because the builders were so good it wasn't too much of a problem. Happy to pass on details.

There is a cookery class for 2-5 year olds at Rosendale CC on Mondays at 10am which is absolutely great - they get all the kids cooking a savoury and a sweet (last time it was ghost-shaped pizzas and pumpkin muffins) and then they sit down and have an early lunch. Very popular so good to get there early for a place, but we've found it really fun and a really good way of trying new foods/recipes

I've got a daughter who is two and a bit and another due early November - am just thinking about what kind of help (if any) I might need. My daughter doesn't go to nursery so she'll be at home and am a bit worried about getting completely frazzled trying to deal with her and the newborn on my own - I had been thinking about getting a mother's help for a few afternoons a week (from 4-7ish) to help with dinner/bath time etc. Just wondering if anyone else has experience of a mother's help - what they do and don't do (light cleaning? Clearing away dinner etc?), pros and cons and rates. Any advice much appreciated. Thanks, L

Rosendale childrens centre has some really good activities for toddlers this term - cooking classes on Monday mornings and stay and play on Wednesday mornings (also a stay and play session for childminders on Tuesday mornings). Always plenty of Mums with toddlers and younger ones in tow. And it's free!

I got a couple of pairs of really nice maternity leggings from Top Shop on Oxford Circus (one black and one dark blue) - highly recommend!

I've just been in exactly that position! 34, didn't know how to drive, number 2 due in November. Am afraid that I think it will be tricky to do in 2 months - even if you're a natural driver (I definitely wasn't) you first need to book and pass your theory test (think there's a waiting list for that) and only when you've passed your theory test can you book your practical test - when I booked mine (twice - I failed it the first time round) there was a 2/3 month waiting list. But I didn't look into the boot camp option, so that might be a possible alternative?

7 Nov - our second, don't know what colour : )

Just to say that we've had a really positive experience - our nanny is lovely (with both of them) and as our children are the same age has been very 'tuned into' the same issues as I have been at the same time, and the girls really seem to love spending time together (my daughter spends a lot of time asking where they both are when I'm at home).

I have a nanny with her own child and we pay her ?8.

Hello all - I had an emergency c-section with my first and am now pregnant again, due November, and currently registered with brierley for a home birth. They've been very supportive - and I had a meeting with a consultant at King's a couple of weeks ago, who explained the risks of the scar rupturing (about 1/300 he reckoned), but basically said it was up to me. My brierley mid-wife also said that of the 10/12 home births they do a month, approximately 2 of those are HBACs and that she has never in her 20 odd years of being a midwife seen a scar rupture. So there must be quite a few women out there doing it. I may chicken out at the last minute, and my first was 16 days late so we may end up in hospital being induced anyway, but at the moment, the plan is a home birth (I had a MISERABLE time in hospital the first time round and desperately keen to avoid the same experience).

We use Nannypaye who are very good, and not very expensive.

I looked at Buds recently and also at the Dulwich Pre-School for my daughter (she's 2 and I'm thinking of putting her in for a couple of mornings a week from next Spring) - they seemed quite similar to me but I'd be really interested to hear from anyone who had views on which was better/which they preferred. Thanks, L

I also quite like OJ and his column in the Guardian, and I read the section on childcare in Affluenza with equal amounts of interest and guilt when deciding how/when to go back to work and what to do re childcare - ultimately, I think it's good to have people putting forward alternative views from what seems to be the perceived wisdom of the moment.

I can't make 11th July but hope you have a lovely time and will try to make the next one. L

Hello! Great idea - my number 2 is due on 5 November (I have a 22 month daughter as well) and would be really keen to meet up (we're in Herne Hill but v easy to come up to ED) x

hello nylonmeals! do I know you?! Reliable Cars in HH (who I think serve ED as well) have a service where you can ask for a baby seat (think it costs about 2 quid) - I use them a lot - number is 020 8671 6666.

Definitely recommend the florence and the lido cafe in herne hill - both are excellent, but the new play room at the florence is amazing.

hello newcomer - I thought that my employer (magic circle firm, very busy department, horrific hours, no part-timers etc etc) would be very anti restricted or part-time hours but found that once I started the discussion, they proved to be considerably more flexible than I had expected (although I will be interested to see how it works in practice and how the rest of the team view me). I would ask if I were you - at least then, you know you've tried. And the worst that can happen, is that they say no.

What a good thread! I feel very comforted to hear that other people have been agonising about this issue too - I feel like I have thought about nothing else for the last six months or so! Anyway, after a lot of soul searching have decided to go back 5 days a week, 9-2pm in January when my daughter will be 18 months old. I'm still feeling pretty ambivalent about the decision but figure that I will give it a go and see how we find it as a family. I'm a city lawyer and used to work horrific hours so it will also be interesting to see whether I/my firm can stick to the agreed hours. We shall see. What a tricky one though..

has my nearly 15 month old baby started having problems with her sleep again! After months of decent sleep 7pm-7am, she has suddenly decided to start waking up and screaming (last night from 1045pm-1am) - no idea why (no teeth coming through, no major change to routine - although she has just started to walk, no illness - although she did have her MMR about 4 weeks ago). Nothing seems to settle her apart from being picked up and cuddled in our bed. But then we don't get any sleep. Am feeling frazzled - I thought those days were over!! Arghh...rant over. Any tips very gratefully received, L