alieh

I had months of this, I'm afraid. I doubt that anything I tried actually made a difference and it is probably just a phase, but here are some options (mostly already said by others) -Bedtime a bit too late, even 15 minutes can make a difference for us -Or nap too long/finishing too close to bedtime -Simple version of the bunny clock idea, which some kids might understand at that age....put fairy lights on a timer and reinforce that they don't come out until the lights come on -Leaving them if they're just grumbling; if upset, I would go in and lie beside the cot shhing and pretending to sleep until closer to 6:00 to at least send the message (ha ha ha) that it wasn't morning yet -Pitch absolutely PITCH black room. I literally have a black sock over our monitor so the light doesn't flash! -Fan on for white noise -Locking cats downstairs as they tend to kick off and think it is morning as soon as they hear him We are mostly past this phase now (21 months) and haven't seen a 5 am start in months (please continue!). The one problem is that he still sometimes peeps/groans at 4:30 or 5:00, enough to wake me up, but at least these days he always seems to roll over and go back to sleep until at least 6:15. Sometimes I really struggle to get back to sleep myself, but at least I'm in my warm bed and reading a book rather than sitting bleary-eyed in front of Cbeebies (which actually doesn't even start until 6:00...where is the justice??)!

Thanks for setting this up! I can start...I'm due #2 on/around 5th March. I have a 21 month old son. Hope others can join me to chat about riveting topics like double buggies!

I haven't tried it with my son (have tried it on our own and it was good), but Si Mangia on Forest Hill Road is supposed to be family friendly.

Can't believe it's taken Bugaboo this long! By the way, I saw the Peach Blossom in that shop Tommy's on Rye Lane (just down from Peckham Rye station). Looks fab and would be great with twins, but no chance my massive toddler will fit. Much better looking than the Baby Jogger City Select (which looks HUGE in person) and seemed much lighter. Just in case anyone wanted to go and try it out. Have already measured my door and at 28" there is not a chance I can fit a side by side. Shame as there are lots of lovely ones. Have you looked at the Duo Walker too?

I've been waiting for someone to say that 26.5 months is the perfect age gap and I will have no problems whatsoever when number 2 arrives next March. Still waiting! I think if I definitely only wanted 2 children, I would have aimed for closer to a 3 year gap, but I am getting on in years and would really like 3 kids, so decided we needed to press on (and also know only too well that best laid plans re: timing of babies don't work in the face of Mother Nature). My sister and I have a 4 year gap and we are very close now, but were at very different stages when we were younger - especially once I was 8-ish and she was 4 - and I think my younger sister found it hard because I was always "too cool" or too busy to play with her.

I don't have room for one upstairs in the bedrooms, but am really tempted to make space in the living room. But they are just so flipping ugly! I have seen some gorgeous ones (here if anyone wants to dream: http://www.olliella.com/, but they cost ?900 (yikes!!!). Does anyone who has been through this think that I will even get a chance to sit in a glider chair in the living room with a toddler tearing around? Last time I found my sofa really uncomfortable for feeding (and when heavily pregnant, actually) and wondering if I should get over my shallow hatred of the look of glider chairs to have somewhere nice to sit. The other option I am looking into is turning a normal armchair into a glider using these kind of parts: http://www.swivel-chair-parts.com/GliderandSwivelGlider.html but would need someone very handy to help with this I think.

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but nymom and others....apparently the adjustable hood for the Phil and Ted's is going to be offered as a separate add-on that you can put with any of the Phil and Ted's, if I understand this link correctly: http://www.practicalpushchairs.co.uk/pushchairs/phil-and-teds/37/phil-and-teds-sport-sp-pushchair-buggy.html/ So you wouldn't necessarily be restricted to the Vibe. You could buy any of the other ones and buy the adjustable height hood separately.

I've just been looking at the Peach Blossom and it does sound very good. nymom, have you tried your son in this one too and determined that the seats are too small, like the City Select? Hoping this hi-jack might be of use to other people with...ahem...generously proportioned toddlers.

Thanks for these suggestions. I will look into them. At this stage I am tempted to just stick with my current beat-up Bugaboo Frog and a sling for the newbie! But I will probably regret that quite quickly as we don't have a car and my son will only be just over two when the next one arrives.

Nope, not short either. Darn. I didn't even know that there were different Phil and Teds, so that is good to know. Thanks!

Oh dear, my son is most definitely not small. In fact ginormous is more the word I would use. He's already pushing 35 lbs and he's only just turned 20 months. Okay, well that saves me the trip to try out the Baby Jogger City Select then. Back to the Phil and Teds idea I suppose.... Sorry to hijack original thread!

Because of the presence of the lovely EDForum, I decided to take the free NHS ante-natal classes which seemed absolutely fine in terms of content. I think it was 3 sessions at the small hospital on East Dulwich Road. Then I used the EDForum to meet up with other people at a similar stage in pregnancy.

Have you seen the Baby Jogger City Select, which is quite new and seems similar, but supposedly with bigger seats for larger toddlers? I am going to try one hopefully later today but it looks really good from what I have read.

It is hard to get into the lessons at the Peckham Pulse, but if you find out the day of registration for the next term and go early to queue up, you might get in. We've been very happy with our lessons there.

Not Ivydale, but my childminder is on Marmora Road at the Forest Hill Road end, so not far from Peckham Rye park. She only takes kids over 12 months, so not sure if that is suitable. You can PM me for details if you like.

I had the Kari-Me the first time, but I didn't love it because I found it annoying to tie (there were always long pieces of fabric dangling in puddles when I was trying to tie on the go!) and also my son liked to come in and out and I found I had to re-tie every time. For the next baby, I have got one called a K'Tan (sp?). It is the same stretchy fabric as a Kari-Me or Hugabub, but it is in two ready-made loops so you don't have so much fabric and tying to contend with. Can't comment on how it will work as I haven't used it yet, but it seems like quite a good design. I also have the Coorie Fleece pouch sling, which is great for throwing on in a hurry and should work well for feeding. May not be the best choice for long times carrying though, because it is just the one shoulder design. Agree that your best bet is to go to a Sling Meet and try a few different ones.

I vote for Big Barn Farm! This is the only one that my son will actually watch.

Just one final point which seems to be missed, and which someone else raised above...if you don't have a car and rely on buses and your buggy to do all your shopping/chores, you are likely to have the buggy full of groceries (and baby!) and therefore not be able to fold it, even if it is a Maclaren type. If a bus is already carrying a wheelchair or 2-3 other buggies, then I am happy to wait for another one. But if there is an open space, I don't see what I shouldn't be able to hop on the back doors and wheel the buggy into the space. I get that people hate "SUV prams", but the rear wheels of the Bugaboo strollers are only 3" wider than those of a Maclaren so it's really not that much of a difference.

I had this, and my lactation consultant said that the traditional advice about letting boobs dry out between feeds is the exact opposite thing you need to do for badly cracked nipples (if they are dry, then each feed just re-cracks and reopens the wound). The trick is to keep them clean but moist. When mine were really bad, my GP prescribed wet dressings that I put on my nipples between feeds. I also had these silver nipple cups, which made a huge difference: http://www.breastfeedingheaven.co.uk/breastfeeding-products/silverette-healing-cups/prod_138.html Finally, the silicone nipple shields can really help when the pain gets unbearable. If it is to the point where you're considering giving up breastfeeding, these can really help get through a bad few days while your nipples start to heal. And if the pain persists - look especially to see if the nipple is flat or misshapen when baby comes off - there is probably a latch problem and/or something else impeding baby getting a good latch (like tongue tie). In this case, she needs to seek help from one of the breastfeeding cafes, or a proper breastfeeding/lactation consultant.

My cat did this to my son as well. It seemed to happen when he felt cornered, i.e. if he has a quick escape route he seems to run rather than scratch. It was right across the eye too (luckily just lid and below), which could have been quite bad! I'm not sure there is anything you can do, except continue to explain to your son how the cat likes to be approached, and what he does when he gets scared or angry. It won't sink in now, but in a matter of a few months he/she will be able to understand so much more. We do loads of talking about the cats "See how much he likes it when you pat gently? Can you hear him purring? That means he's happy. He doesn't like that, see how he ran away., etc, etc, etc". We also started getting our son to help with feeding the cats (he carries the scoop over and puts it in the bowls) and sometimes give him a bowl of cat treats to dole out to the cats. He loves doing this, and it means the cats associate him with food, which makes him more popular! Again, your son might be a bit too little right now, but you may be surprised how soon he could do something like this. My son is now 19 months old and he mostly gets it now. He generally pats the cats gently and likes to give them a kiss.

Or those of us without cars?

You could also try Disprol, which is also paracetamol but it is dissolving tablets that you can put in milk or in a little bit of water. My son loves the taste of it!

I found that there was very little that I really NEEDED in the first few days. Even the stuff that I thought I had well prepared (e.g. sleepsuits) didn't fit because baby was so big. Daily trips to Mothercare with a list of obscure things I needed were a feature of my husband's paternity leave! Shopping as you go can really help save money and stress. I'm trying to remember the list of things that were really essential to have on hand, but don't have it handy. Off the top of my head: -a few baby gros and sleepsuits (in a few different sizes) -blankets/swaddling blankets -a good sling for newborns (I had a Kari-Me and pouch sling) -carseat -somewhere for baby to sleep (we had an amby hammock) -personally, I was glad to have a good buggy with a flat bed-like pram attachment. We used it as somewhere for him to sleep in the lounge and it was nice to be able to go for walks. Others might be happy just with slings. -a change mat (we just got a plastic one that had raised sides to help avoid baby rolling off, and used muslins on top as others have said) -you could get a bath (we had a tummy tub) but you don't even need this straight away -nappies (just a couple of packs because you might find some brands work much better than others for you, and/or that you want to try cloth) -wipes -muslins -nappy bags (i.e. rubbish bags for dirty nappies) -flannels We then went out in the first few weeks for other bits and pieces: vibrating bouncy chair to see if it would help soothe fussy baby, millions of breastfeeding paraphernalia, etc, etc I'm sure if you posted on here people could give you a realistic idea of what to focus on. Changing bags, I have coveted many that I have seen but still haven't bought one! My son is 19 months old by the way. I tend to just chuck some bits and pieces in my handbag and/or in the bottom of the buggy. These are the kinds of things you can window shop for on your daily meander up and down the Lordship Lane trying to get baby to sleep!

I have heard of people who developed asthma in pregnancy - could it be some kind of seasonal allergies that are triggering asthma that you haven't had a problem with before? My allergist told me that women in pregnancy often experience either a significant worsening or significant improvement in asthma/allergy symptoms while pregnant. I don't see what paracetamol has to do with a wheezing cough?! I agree that you shouldn't be fobbed off, and should perservere with the GP.

I will do, ClareC. Thanks for putting up the number. If it makes anyone who has encountered this driver feel any better, it appears that he hates all human beings so we shouldn't take it personally! And I will mention the design of the new buses too. It is just that one pole that needs to be moved by about 3 cm and it would be no problem.