Helenlouise29

Don't beat yourself up. Really you mustn't. No one is perfect and we all lose our tempers or come to the end of our patience. I admit that I have before got cross and raised my voice at my little one when she was going through a bad sleep phase ( every hour) and I have a partner to share the load with. Unlike you I was able to walk away and hand her over. I like you felt dreadful. When you are tired and you are up and down with them you can't but help feel grumpy. You are normal and you are a wonderful mother and if you weren't you wouldn't be sat there feeling bad. It happens so be reassured in the knowledge that once in a while we are all will or have done this. Your little girl will have forgotten this and you must too. She is lucky to have a mummy who loves her like you. If you didn't last night would be nothing out of the ordinary and you wouldn't be giving it a second thought. You are doing an amazing job now give yourself a break. :)

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We found a moses basket useful as our crib just seemed huge for our baby when we bought her home from hospital ( she was a small baby 6lb 13). She slept in the moses basket as it offered some sort of snug comfort where as she seemed to seem lost in the crib at first and wouldn't settle in it. We used it for the first couple of months. However all babies are different. We didn't buy it until we realised this so maybe wait and see. You can always order online if you feel like one would be useful at the time. Like PGC says it would be silly buying something you didn't need.

They def do tours twice a week. Think its Tuesday and Thursday at 6pm but you would need to check. Your midwife should tell you this information. I really liked this as it put my mind at rest to see where I would be. Its good to see around and you can ask all the questions you want to know. RE: water birth - you can't pre book. Its only available if the pools are available but like mentioned most rooms have an en-suite and blow up pools. I had a blow up pool in the en-suite and it was great. There is as mentioned one room with one built in. I was offered this but I found the room I had to be more private and convenient as the pool was in the bathroom. So you are most likely to be able to have a water birth if its suitable for you. When you first go into Labour and are still at home you can ring forward and specify that you want a water birth. If the rooms with pools are available they will keep it aside for you if its possible. I found Kings labour ward excellent and the staff and facilities are great. You will be in great and safe hands. Good luck.

My baby likes to bite down on hard things when she is teething and eating I give her sticks of carrot, toast,apple, tomato and cucumber ( and have done from beginning of weaning) to hold and bite down on but at the same time give her mouthfuls of her dinner. Although smoother dinners work best. The sticks seem to act as a good decoy and distraction and I am able to feed her as she has her mouth open to bite and doesn't seem to mind her dinner going in too. Biting down in-between mouthfuls also relieves the discomfort for her and gives her an element of control.

This company specializes in baby and toddler friendly travel http://www.babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk/ Haven't used them yet but seen their brochure and web site looks quite good. The girl who owns the company formed it when she had a child and realized it was difficult finding holidays that catered for children. DOn't know if it will cover what you are looking for but thought it may be interesting and useful anyway.

I will back the recommendation of Elaine at the ED therapy rooms. She is great and lovely with babies and new mums. Such a nice lady. Totally worth every penny. I too had a colicky baby with reflux and Elaine was brilliant at calming my little one down and helping her with her sleep. I would thoroughly recommend Elaine.

Don't over buy before your baby comes along. I bought the entire John Lewis baby section and enough clothes in 0-3 to clothe a nursery of 70 because I was worried I wouldn't have everything or enough. I used about a quarter of what I bought. She lived in babygros for the first 3 months. Wait till they come along and just buy the basics. Shop as you need. Also baby shoes for newborns only every look good in the cupboard and on shop shelves. They are not practical and you will not have time to even contemplate using them. You can buy really good quality nearly new stuff on sites like this and netmums. I spent a fortune on everything new and wished Id known you could get high quality second hand.