Yak

Snowboarder, you should change your forum name to The Pram Lady. If I ever have another baby, I would pay cold hard cash for your advice!

Good on you! They are pretty low on donors, I believe. They'll tell you when they call you where to go for the test- from memory, it's the post natal ward (but I could be wrong). There's a thread on this I can dig out later (or search milk bank in the top right hand box).

Hmm my other plans have changed so we are now going to be swimming at peckham pulse at 3pm if anyone fancies joining us? Otherwise might catch people next week?

There's a useful thread here Good luck!

Would a trial of the nursery - say of a couple of weeks - be an idea? You could agree to review it after then...perhaps if its going well could Mr B squeeze in a visit to reassure him, if he has a spare half hour?

Hi all, anyone around this week? Busy Mon but around Wed pm or Thurs pm.

I think there's a very good reason why pregnancy lasts 9 months, Josiehendrick - it took me at least 6 months to get used to the fact that I was pregnant, let alone that I might be a mother! That was just way way too far into the distance for me to contemplate. I swore I would not turn into a manic obsessive over prams, naps, wee or poo. I swore I would always travel light and not look like an overburdened camel crossing the plains of the Sahara desert. I swore I would do one non-baby activity every day. I swore I would keep up to date in my professional field of work. I swore a lot. But once the baby popped out and I had this incredibly needy little bundle on your hands, things do change. But you do retain a sense of your own identity. I've made fantasic friends with other parents - many through this forum - and equally continue to have fun with friends who were friends before I became a mother, if you see what I mean. No reason why you can't have both! You just need to juggle stuff around your little one. And use the forum if ever you have a crisis about why your baby seems to be weeing for Britain ;-).

Hi kapaxiana, it's ?1 donation (for tea/coffee and biscuits) and it starts at 9.30.

I went last week and it was great. I think it will become a staple of our week as the autumn weather kicks in!

Also worth seeing if you can do a trial run of her staying over at friends or family - that way, if you need to transfer her in the middle of the night to someone else's house she won't wake up in the morning in totally unfamiliar surroundings. My sister did this when expecting her second, but luckily didn't need it in the end - she had a home birth in the middle of the afternoon. We whisked off her son to our house at the first sign of contractions and dropped him off once the baby had been born and everyone had had some sleep. Other top tips I've picked up second hand (I'm sure parents with more than 1 will have loads more) - buy a present for the eldest sibling from the baby (such as an "I'm the big sister" Tshirt from Amazon). Make sure the baby is in a moses basket / cot and not being cuddled by a parent when you introduce your daughter to the newest member of the family. Involve her in as much babycare as possible - my nephew is still desperate to fully participate in every nappy change, particularly if it involves poo! (Maybe that's just him / a boy thing, tho....). And - as controversial as this may sound - might be worth asking friends / family to look after your daughter for a few extra hours (depending on when the baby arrives) so you can catch up on sleep before introducing her to the baby. Overexcited toddler plus needy newborn plus physically and emotionally exhausted parents is tough for all concerned! Good luck!

Yes, I've heard that Peckham soft play has just had a big deep clean and they have bought new toys. The baby gym in Camberwell will reopen next year as part of the next phase of the pool and gym refurbishment too. There's still definitely room in the market for something based in E Dulwich, though...

Yep, the bread of ife cafe is just by the Plough pub on Barry Road. Good luck blackkat at swimming - I'm not around nexct week but I suspect others will be. Patt1980 feel free to share 4 month sleeping regression woes with us - I think at least 2 of us have been there, or are still there! See you later.

so....are we meeting today? I have cabin fever and need to get out out out of the house! Can be in most places E Dulwich based by 3ish.

Yep, I think the summer has officially ended. Grr. I think the room at the back of the electrical cafe is booked for groups only. How about the bread of life cafe on Barry Rd? Plenty of room for rolling or toddling ones. Or Johansons in Camberwell, but it might be a bit of a trek for some & has buggy unfriendly steps.

Have you tried extending the handles on the maclaren? We went round john.Lewis to test pretty much every pushchair and it had the highest handles once they were pulled out. I am tall and like to stride out too so I know where you are coming from!

I loved the book but fear they might have "hollywooded" it. Given the replies so far I think I'll be staying away!

After 3 works better for us too... I have weaning appt with health visitor in a couple of weeks, read river cottage and am planning the obligatory trip to IKEA for an antilop but that's as far as we have got. I shall be all ears snowboarder!

I have one and absolutely love it (insofaras you can have positive feelings for a breastpump!). It is quick as you would expect from a double pump but even better, it's really quiet so you don't feel like you are attached to an industrial dairy machine. I express up to 10 oz / 260 ml a day and that takes about 10 mins in the morning & 10 mins at night. I had a madela mini for a short while but never got more than an ounce or two. It has variable settings for speed and strength of suction but I've never felt the need to use them. They come up on the forum /ebay and you can get new bits for it from most online breast pump sites if you want to reduce the (admittedly considerable) cost.

Nothing but a hairband for me! But definitely invest in some nice pjs for feeding in. This avoids cold shoulders/gappy back syndrome in the cold winter months of night feeds!. And big black pants for the first couple of weeks to contain those lovely maternity pads are a must.....

The diocese website http://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/ has a directory of local churches and their websites. Be aware though that some churches will require you to be an active member (i.e. by attending for a period of time) before baptising your little one. Good luck!

Or R11 on the forum here collects stuff for the refugee council..

It's not as if they can chuck you off or anything ;-) I for one shall be feeding the yaklet when we fly ryanair next week. Particularly given the amount they charge for the "privilege" of having a baby on your lap.....

Welcome to all newcomers! Yes do join us today if you are around - pm me if you'd like my mob no. Thurs next week works for us, either at mrs f's or a cafe with space for wrigglers. Any suggestions of where is good? Blackkat, wanhope & patt1980 whereabouts are you based? We have tended to hang out in se5 / SE15 but we can meet more centrally in e dulwich if that works for you.

Mima08, Mr Yak is also v interested so a weekend would be great for us.

I'm resurrecting this thread because weaning is looming and I'd like to be able to be confident that I can deal with choking. Are people still interested in doing a course? Jennyh did you have any luck with the Mag? Sounds like it could be a good venue.