reren

I have a week til due date and am loving really good birth stories! Did you find it was really different 2nd time round - would love to hear about really positive birth stories. Didn't have a great time first time and ive done a lot of preparing this time (hypnobirthing course etc) - would love to hear about people who had long first birth and speedy / positive subsequent birth?! Only positive stories please!!

Not sure anyone who hasnt been pregnant themselves can fully understand this situation. I personally feel quite physically vulnerable while pregnant and it puts me off being too demanding about a seat - but i have got more confident this time (2nd time round) and just firmly and politely say 'can i sit down please' and i find people always stand and usually hadnt noticed rather than trying to be rude. Also find as i got more obviously pregnant people are generally really considerate. But i find the bus much easier than train - often people aren't travelling as far and happier to stand themselves. Are you going to farringdon - have you considered the 63 - depending on where you live? I started getting the bus every day - took longer but always got a seat and it was actually quite relaxing just sitting on bus for an hour - but i appreciate you may not be close enough to the right bus stop to do that...

Anyone used a good rug cleaning service locally? Want to get a small rug taken away and thoroughly cleaned - so dont want a carpet cleaning service that comes in - have only seen carpet cleaning advertised on the forum?

This is so,helpful thank you - was this based on final offers after wait list orvjustvthe initial offers?

Anyone have any recommendations for best birthpool brand to buy for upcoming home birth (fingers crossed)? Am a bit flummoxed by choice on line and wondered if people had any personal experience to share in terms of brands that worked well? Also we have a fancy tap in kitchen (design over substance) and no way are we going to be able to attach hose to it- can you fill a birthpool with cold water from outside tap partially and then heat up w boiling water I wonder? Otherwise bucket might have to do...

Just wanted to add my thanks for the reassurance - i am currently a few weeks from having my second brierly baby and could not be more impressed with the service (especially ray who is the most amazing midwife). I am constantly thanking my lucky stars to be having my babies in this part of london / the world. We are so lucky.

We have found a gold stars reward chart a really good way to get (nearly 3 year old) son brushing teeth, getting dressed etc. i like the way it rewards good behaviour and is positive - but i find he gets very fixated on new toys - hard to get him to understand he needs 7 stars before he gets a reward...and even then the house is silting up w cars bought as rewards. Worry we're getting good behaviour essentially thru bribery...he doesnt yet understand removing stars for bad behaviour so we find naughty step/ taking away toys for bad behaviour is better as more immediate. so the reward chart isnt the only thing we rely on - but i wondered if others have tips for using it without turning your child into a brat!

Anyone watch that new programme w nanny giving family advice - i tuned in thinking i'd probably not like it but found it really interesting. Those shows are usually so formulaic - but she had some very interesting ideas about how to handle difficult behaviour. It didnt feel too judgmental and the people weren't super extreme. It also didnt present it as though she had solved everything overnight - was impressed and there were a couple of techniques i'll take away i think...really interesting about how to avoid saying no all the time...

I'm worried about a friend who has got himself into a mess with tax - is going to need to come clean to hmrc and wondered if anyone could pm me who has dealt with an accountant who has been able to help them in this situation. Ideally want to recommend someone to him who might negotiate w hmrc on his behalf? Will need to be experienced dealing w small ltd company and self-assessment returns.

Another vote for leave this - i was able to put my son down and he'd go to sleep in moses basket by himself - but as he got older turned into a terrible sleeper! I am pretty convinced sleep comes to some children easily and others not so much...we did everything bar control crying and he continued to be pretty terrible sleeper until he hit about 2 and now is great...i think for him nothing we did would have made much difference he just had to get to the point developmentally where he could sleep thru...that said im pregnant w second and will be praying he is different / trying whole new battery of techniques once again :-)

Shame that some one had to post something crass (or was it an attempt to be funny?) on here - cause the reality is that most men dont even notice that is what you are doing. And if they do - they are generally concerned not to embarrass you or be seen to be staring. Most people would much rather not hear a baby crying than risk sight of a nipple.

Do any Goodrich parents know how they work out eligibility? Is it based on when you fill out the form? Do you essentially go on a waiting list - so if you were organised enough to do it the day your child turned 2 would you have a better chance than someone who waited? Is there a deadline by which you must have filled in the form to be in the running for the following sept?

Thank you all so much - so am I right in understanding that it doesn't actually make any difference financially whether you go for nursery or just use your 15 hours free at a private nursery? In a way since you get the 15hours for free you might as well keep them in private nursery and have greater flexibility over times? A friend of mine lives in Westminster and their nursery provision is full school day - so I guess that makes it much more appealing to send them to nursery than the local school as you are getting so many more hours...

Have to say I'd really strongly recommend doing a course - I listened to the Marie Mongan CD's first time round, but really didn't know how to make best use of them and found them almost useless during labour. I've found that doing a course has made a world of difference to my understanding of what to do on the big day.

I'm sure there must be previous posts on this - but I'm so confused about nursery and there's hardly any information on the website for my local school (Goodrich) - so I wonder if you wonderful forumites can help? My son is turning 3 in October - so I think i'm right in saying that the earliest we could send him to Goodrich nursery is September 2014 (when he will be almost 4). When do we need to apply - is that in the new year? I see that the schools are offering open days locally at the moment, is this for nursery as well as school? I was thinking I didn't need to think about it until the new year - but should I be going to see the school now with an eye to Nursery? Or will there be opportunities to go and see the nurseries around the time that admissions open for nursery? Also - from what I see on the website - the sessions are quite short (8:50-11:50 or 12:40-3:40) so what do other parents do? Do you send your children to Goodrich in the morning and nursery in the afternoon for example?

Just a quick update - I found a lovely practioner called Suzy and have just finished a 4 part one-to-one class which I really enjoyed. Haven't actually had the birth yet - so can't report on its success - but just doing the course has been a great experience and I can't recommend Suzy enough. Check out her site http://www.limitlessyouworldwide.com/about/

Would highly recommend Gary vu - really nice guy and doesn't try and convince you to do work that doesn't need doing. He's done a couple of things recently and i'd really recommend him.

My nearly 3 year old is at nursery 3 mornings a week - but I'd like to organise a class or something for him to do one of other mornings or afternoons (ie Monday or Tuesday). I've looked on Ed- tots and know about some of the drop-in playgroups - but I wondered if anyone had any recommendations on classes? Would love him to do an arts and crafts class for example - but can't seem to find? Has anyone any experience with the eos dance school? Too prim and proper for lively little boy? He loves dancing - but don't know if ballet is quite his scene yet...

Feel your pain - though sounds like u are having a tougher time than me w not sleeping at night ulcers etc - but i am so tired this time round. Hadnt thought to check iron levels - but going to do that too - i was very iron deficient after the birth last time and it made me feel unbelievably awful - if nothig else want to avoidfeeling like that when baby arrives. You might think about a fruit smoothie with yoghurt and oatmeal in mornings - really good way to get some slow release carb and protein into you first thing. Maybe also just insist on nap on weekends. My husband is lovely but i do find he can't really understand how tired I am - ive taken to just insisting on a nap - brokering no objection :-) and going to bed really early - he has been ill with various colds and tummy bugs quite regularly thru the pregnancy so is always suffering slightly more than me (!) but taking to my bed fOr extra sleeping seems to make him realise i really am tired :-)

A little while ago there used to be a regular meeting place for au pairs in costa coffee on a Sunday at 3pm - anyone know if that is still happening?

Anyone else got an au pair keen to make friends - my new Italian au pair is keen to meet people! Mettlesome have pm'd you but don't think she's heard anything from your au pair...

Coriander is really really expensive - a similar look can be achieved with a very much cheaper alternative http://www.maiaworksurfaces.co.uk/ We splashed out on a composite stone (cheaper than corian but much more than maia or butcher block) and I think it's much nicer than the Maia worktops - but they are worth a look depending on your budget. John Lewis kitchen store has them installed last time I looked and will give you a good sense of colors...

Also worth bearing in mind that if you have a drier that is non-vented you will need to pour out water from drier by hand - sink becomes critical. No drier? Prob not so crucial - but we find we use our sink all the time.

My new Italian au pair has just arrived - she is interested in meeting new people - be great to put her in touch with others?

Interesting - I just read something similar in a book about psychology (the explored mind - or something like that). But to me it just doesn't really ring true...in my experience people who's parents heaped lots of praise and attention on them are well adjusted and feel good about themselves - its the much more common issue of parents constantly criticising that causes problems...I can see some value to what the article is getting at - but I think over analyzing how you interact with your children might be a problem in and of itself- surely you want to do what comes naturally to you - I think I'd feel a bit weird if (rather than saying - well done, aren't you clever) I found myself saying 'look at how impressed everyone is with you' or whatever the 'right' style of praise might be...