Yak

Poor thing. Perhaps its silent reflux - where the acidic stomach juices come up but are then reswallowed again? Definitely worth checking out with the dr. I noticed a difference within a couple of days of cutting out dairy - it's not totally eliminated the wind / sick but it did seem to help a lot. Also as a silly first time mummy I've only just realised the symptoms got worse when I started putting him in washable nappies a couple of weeks ago. I think in my eagerness to avoid leaks I was doing them up too tight which was constructing his tummy! Oops.... In the meantime, perhaps bibs are the way forward - hopefully for less than a year tho !?!

The law of regression to the mean means both of you are owed a better day tomorrow..... fingers crossed you both get better days tomorrow!

How is it going ClareC?

My v limited experience (yaklet is only 7 wks) is to make sure you have something that not only makes you feel great but us also easy to maintain. My highlights (done wk before I was due) already need touching up! So worth thinking about finding someone fairly local who you trust either to do the initial cut / colour or aftercare. For the past couple of years I've used Brekken at the Runway Salon in Westminster, who is amazing, but getting over there for a hair appt when breastfeeding etc is proving a little tricky! My understanding is that highlights in particular are fine because of the lack of extensive scalp contact Saffron mentions.

We are similarly pavlovian and hum the same simple tune whenever the yakling is put down, whether that's day or night. That - combined with swaddling and white noise - works at night time and for a long afternoon nap in the moses basket. I was sceptical about humming, but it stopped an overtired crying fit on the M3 last weekend and sent him off for a two hour kip Swaddling wise, we also use the miracle blanket which is great for containing flailing limbs. Snowboarder I would lend you ours but it is one of the top items I would rescue from our house if we had a fire! Think they crop up pretty frequently on here or on ebay.

I'd second the recommendation for the ameda lactaline. I borrowed one off a forumite to try before I invested because they are pretty pricey. But worth it, particularly if you can get one second hand. I express for about 10 mins in the morning and get enough for Mr Yak to do a dream feed at night. I'd not reccomend huggies wet wipes - a builder friend swears by them for cleaning ingrained dirt on work surfaces etc and I have even seen them get blood stains out of a table cloth! Clearly they have their uses but prob best kept away from a peachy newborn bottom!

Congratulations! What a lovely, heartwarming and positive thread. I was so impressed with the care from the community midwives who attended my homebirth and the various teams at Kings that I dropped Katie Yannousiz (head of midwifery) a line and got a lovely email back. Given how tight resources are and how infrequently, in my experience, positive feedback is given to the public sector I'd encourage others to do the same. You never know - it might make all the difference to the care other women receive in the future. PM me if you'd like her email address.

I'd also be v interested - jennyh could I pm you my details too?

Just wanted to bump this post to encourage people to donate to Kings Milk Bank if they can. I phoned on Wed night to give my details and book the blood test; by Thursday morning a whole load of expressing bottles and information leaflets had arrived by first class post. There is a bit of a backlog for appts but if you are keen to stockpile ahead of the test, they will send the bottles out to you. Just phone the number given above - couldn't be simpler.

Sounds eerily familiar. Yakling was windy and a bit colicy from 2 wks, but not particularly in the evenings and was still gaining weight really well and pooing and weeing freely. But he arched his back a lot, grunted and brought up quite a bit of milk or curdled milk. Following a couple of recommendations from forumites and others, I gave up milk based dairy products and within a day or so had noticed a real improvement. Having said that, this week seems to be worse - nor sure if its because I've reintroduced goat milk products, it because we are approaching the 6 week growth spurt & he's just guzzling. But it's still a whole lot better than it was. For what it's worth, infacol didn't work for us. Dentinox helped a bit to encourage good burps. For me personally givng up dairy til about 12 wks felt like less of a faff than colief which requires giving the med mixed in with warm expressed milk before each feed. Good luck with it, and sympathies to you both....

Count us in - see you there.

No practical advice to offer save to say that there is a walk--in doctors centre on Peckham road called the lister center and they are open 8am to 8pm including at weekends and on bank holidays. They were great with us when we took in our 3 day old on a bank holiday. It's opposite Peckham Academy. Best of luck in sorting it out, it sounds horrible both for her and for you.

I hope all babies are faring well, and that everyone is enjoying the arrival of the weekend. In Yakling towers it is being welcomed by the Very Necessary and Wholly Obligatory Gin and Tonic. How do people feel about instigating a regular weekly meeting time and place? Tuesday mornings seems to work quite well for those with babies and toddlers, but other suggestions very welcome. In terms of where to meet, I'll admit to a personal preference to try out the Electrical Cafe by Peckham Rye (which seems to have quite a lot of room for prams and buggies) or there is Lucas Bakery, or Green and Blue. Hope that all babies are faring well and treating you all gently.

I went 11 days overdue and tried most things but in the end I think the most effective things were the sweeps and good old Father Time. I don't know if it helps start contractions, but if you want a good way to keep them going, try walking crabwise down stairs - it opens up the pelvis amazingly and got me from 2cm to 7cm+ in an hour.... Amy at The Dulwich Touch (aloued I think is her forum name) does great pregnancy massages including massages tailored for overdue ladies. What is the balloon thing at the hospital? My interest is piqued!

Hi Ladies At the risk of hijacking this thread, I'm posting to see if anyone's interested in having some free pregnancy pics done. A forumite posted in the spring babies club about a hobby-photographer who was looking for pregnant women to photograph for his Royal Photographic Society portfolio. It sounded interesting so I got in touch with him and had a couple of sessions done. I should warn you that the photos are mostly done nude, but not exclusively so. I came out with some lovely images that I didn't have to pay anything for (apart from losing my dignity!). He is very nice chap who is professional and discrete. His wife is in the house while the photos are being taken, and Mr Yak came along at the start to check that nothing dodgy was going on. He's looking for more models so if you are interested, PM me and I'll pass on your details. I'd be happy to email you a picture of me or provide more details if you'd like before making contact with him. Apologies for the hijack once again, and best of luck with the rest of your pregnancies!

Hi Ladies At the risk of hijacking this thread again, I'm posting to see if anyone's interested in having some free pregnancy pics done. A forumite posted in the spring babies club about a hobby-photographer who was looking for pregnant women to photograph for his Royal Photographic Society portfolio. It sounded interesting so I got in touch with him and had a couple of sessions done. I should warn you that the photos are mostly done nude, but not exclusively so. I came out with some lovely images that I didn't have to pay anything for (apart from losing my dignity!). He is very nice chap who is professional and discrete. His wife is in the house while the photos are being taken, and Mr Yak came along at the start to check that nothing dodgy was going on. He's looking for more models so if you are interested, PM me and I'll pass on your details. I'd be happy to email you a picture of me or provide more details if you'd like before making contact with him. Apologies for the hijack, and best of luck with the rest of your pregnancies.

Sounds good to me.

Download of the let's go available here

Splendid - thank you all so much. I shall go and quiz Camberwell on the temp of the baby pool and plump for there or Peckham for the inaugural dip. Can I be very thick and ask about swim nappies? Do I just put a normal nappy on him and then a swim nappy over the top? Or does a swim nappy go on in place of a normal nappy? How does it all work?

I'd third the suggestion of Montenegro. We flew into Dubrovnik on cheapy flights with WhizzAir. Hire a car and turn right out of the airport; drive for 45 minutes and you're in Kotor Bay - one of the most beautiful in the world, accordingly to UNESCO. There aren't that many sandy beaches, though, if you're into that kind of thing. They're mostly shingle, but that applies to most of the Adriatic coast. We got a great self-catering apartment with Rent Montenegro, run by a Montenegro / English couple. Most of the tourists tend to be Russian. Currency is Euros and about a third cheaper than Croatia. It's not far (and not hard) to drive down into Albania, either. Malta/Gozo would probably be too hot in July/August, but north Corsica is lovely that time of the year. You can get decent flights into Bastia and then there's plenty of choice of holiday accommodation in Cap Corse, which tends to be less crowded than the fashionable South. The Corsicans love babies and also love the English (on account of the fact that they're not mainland French or Italian, which account for the bulk of the tourists). I've only been to the interior, but I hear great things about the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Again, certainly cheap and welcoming (or it was the last time I was there). Another option would be the northern tip of Denmark - I've not been but I think there are supposed to be some amazing deserted white sandy beaches there. And definitely avoid going in August, if you can. July or September is much, much nicer. I now have seriously itchy feet again....oops:)) PM me if you'd like to borrow some guide books!

Seeing how much the yaklet enjoys flobbing around in water at bathtime, I'm eager to send him & Mr Yak off to the local swimming pool ( at Camberwell) l at weekends while I catch up on some sleep. The yaklet's 4 wks today - am I hopelessly optimistic thinking they could start going after the 6 wk check? Are there any jabs he should have - the yaklet, that is? And when they do take the plunge are there any top tips you have to make it an enjoyable experience all round? Obviously they would only for going for a very quick dip at the start. Thank you oh wise family roomers!

99p shop in Camberwell stocks that kind of thing.

I went along last time and it was great - suitably contained space for toddlers to run around in and plenty of space to sit on the ground with newborns. I can contribute a couple of blankets and bunting....

Mrs F I may well take you up on that offer - the lactaline is one that I'm particularly interested in. A quick call to the co-op tonight suggests that they no longer hire them out. I'm not doing too badly with the medela mini electric but as I want to express as quickly (and quietly!) as possible I', seriously considering upgrading...

I'd like to try out a super-dooper one before shelling out loads of dosh.