prm

Sillywoman, thanks for describing my point about the "awful" midwife a lot better than I did! That is exactly what I meant. I agree that an epidural (or a c-section or "what you want") is not always the best for you. Most of us are not medical professionals so we need to take advice really, but that is what the "awful" midwife was not providing for her patient in a very sympathetic or caring way. Buggie don't compare yourself to the "awful" midwife in any way please..you are a wonderful caring person and anyone who has to go to A&E with their child will be lucky if they come across you.

We live in a civilised country, even if it costs money to the NHS I think we should have the choice of having an epidural if we want one (unless there is a good medical reason why we shouldn't) But what I meant about the awful midwife is that she didn't seem to give a monkeys about her poor patient..she was there having a cuppa tea with her mates and telling them how her patient really wanted an epidural but she was not gonna give her one. I must say I asked for an epidural at 4cm dilated at Kings and they gave it to me swiftly and without trying to dissuade me, thank god!

yes why did they not give that poor woman an epidural??? that was so cruel, that midwife with the curly blonde hair was awful!

Reren I don't know the right answer but my 4.5 month old had a very similar pattern to what you are describing until a few weeks ago. For a while we let her be, as it worked fine for us, but I thought that at some point we would have to teach her that little girls don't stay up until 11pm, so we better start sooner rather than later! So when she started waking about 45min after the bath & last feed, instead of bringing her downstairs as usual I tried really hard to get her back to sleep (admittedly I had not been trying very hard previously as I was exhausted in the evenings). It took some effort for the first week or so, as she would sometimes wake several times, but we would persevere. I use a slightly modified version of the Baby Whisperer's "pat & sush" technique & lately I have been switching the lights off completely in the room once she is asleep (which has been the real turning point, I guess she probably thinks it's proper nightime and I'm lying in bed next to her, and does not wake up as easily). The downside is that she no longer sleeps until 8am or so, she has been waking up around 6ish since, but for us it's worth it as I didn't realise how much I needed that baby-free time in the evening! By the way we also do a dream feed at 11 and that was also difficult at times (she would not latch on asleep) but it's worth persevering, it works eventually!

I was wondering the same so went and asked about it at the reception desk the other day - apparently they do a mix of different things, some of which may be suitable for small babies (e.g. storytelling) depending on what the baby likes...but they also do crafts and things that are not suitable, so I think it is a case of going and checking it out. You have to collect tickets in advance, and they warned me there is normally quite a que for the first two sessions (10.30am, 11.15am) which are collected first thing in the morning, but less busy on the third (12pm).

Hi Sillywoman, I also used Shot by the Sheriff in the mews in Northcross Road, their number is 0800 0377703/ 07673 504 522. They booked me in quickly and did a good job (they know all the requirement for passport photos). Cost was 10 pounds inc. a keyring, but that was for a baby so not sure if it's the same for grownups. Hope you are well & thanks for the badges for me & Jenny! x P

Thanks Saffron for the tip...I have been sterilising everything before expressing and before every bottle feed for over 4 months and wondering "is this really necessary?" but carried on just to be on the safe side. However a few days ago a French friend told me that in France (and apparently other countries) the health authorities are officially advising that it is not necessary to sterilise, washing thoroughly is enough, even for newborns. So I am certainly going to be a lot more relaxed about sterilising from now on, especially as at 4.5 months old my baby puts everything in her mouth anyway!

apologies if i?m repeating but has anybody mentioned chocolate? apparently it?s good for lactation too...just the excuses we needed to stuff ourselves with chocolate biscuits all day and drink beer (ale of course) every night! (btw I?ve never been a sweet tooth person but since i had my daughter i am really into choccie hobnobs, as are several other breastfeeding mum friends, so maybe that does say something about oats + chocolate?)

Goodness why all that negativity and criticism...she?s probably just a woman who started of like us with had a busy life and kids and managed to set up a successful business...I am sure she had to work very hard to get her business up and running, and obviously she cant sell at the same prices as the Mothercares of the world, but is bringing the convenience to our neighbourhood so we may save ourselves the trips and hassle, if we wish to do so (for the record I?ve rarely shopped there) If there are any mums in the forum that think they may like to set up a business one day, I suggest you participate, as people like this can be really inspirational. For the rest of us we can carry on looking for parenting advice here in the forum, which is indeed a wonderful place for that.

Come what may from Moulin Rouge Come what may

For bottle size I follow this rule for formula fed babies "150ml per day per kg" (which divided by the number of feeds per day gives you the bottle size) plus I add a little bit extra as breastmilk is "lighter" than formula. I then let her take as much as she wants - this is a different issue but I have to say at times we struggle a bit as she prefers the boob and is not too keen on the bottle. So far I have only tried giving a full bottle feed in the evening but I know other mums that are using expressed milk to top up after breasfeeding in the evenings when babies are hungrier and sometimes don't seem to get enough from the boob. What I would say is don't despair if you don'get loads of milk at first, it takes a few goes to get the hang of expressing and what times are best etc. I express mostly in one go, first thing in the morning when the boobs are really full (as you produce more milk overnight) plus a little extra in the evening while my husband is giving her the bottle (personally I can?t get any after feedings, she takes everything). Also bear in mind that apparently "babies are better at getting milk than the expressing machine" so don't worry even if you don't get much it doesn't mean / the baby is not getting enough. Good luck!

the Spectra3 is only 50 pounds on Amazon. I got it following a friend?s recommendation a couple of weeks ago and I am very happy with it too - it arrived very quickly and it?s really good...good luck!

Hi, I need to arrange a Gatwick airport pick up for some visitors next weekend: 4 adults + 1 toddler (toddler carseat needs to be provided by the cab company as I don?t have one) I tried Addison Lee but it?s VERY expensive..does anybody know / can recommend a local reasonable priced and reliable cab company that can provide the same service? Many thanks in advance!

Great to hear many positive stories and I also wanted to give Kings some praise. I too was concerned about the stay in the Post-Natal ward after hearing some horror stories & posted here about it a while back. I haven't given birth yet but due to a complication a couple of weeks ago I had to stay one night for observation at the Ante-Natal ward (which is the same ward minus the babies) and I was positively impressed...the midwives, doctors & all the staff were all really nice and very attentive, the food was excellent for a hospital in my opinion (you even have a menu to choose from), the shared bathroom was always clean and available when I needed it....maybe I was just lucky and I do realise things are a bit more complicated after labour & with the baby (i.e. I really would like to keep my baby with me all the time and hence I will have to ditch the earplugs & mask plus getting the hang of breastfeeding, babies crying etc.) but all in all I am feeling a lot more positive & I'm no longer dreading it. Best wishes to everyone!!

I don?t mean to scare anyone but in my opinion avoiding unpasteurised / certain cheeses (I don?t have any specific info on feta, so can?t comment on that) is THE most important thing in pregnancy and I would take zero risk. It is not just the risk of miscarriage in early pregnancy, I know a case of someone who got Listeria at 8+ months pregnant from eating some kind of cheese (don?t know which one exactly) and as a result had a severely disabled baby.

Thanks ladies, all the advice is much appreciated! I have googled "cellular blanket" and "swaddling" and I am a lot cleared about what I need to do! Plus have instructed husband to look into best heating options.

This is probably going to sound silly but out of all the things I could be worrying about weeks before having my first baby, I am currently trying to work out how I am going to keep her warm at night. The advice I have seen around is to put them just in the babygrow / pjs and in a sleeping bag, with nothing else on top to avoid risk of suffocation. The problem is the warmest baby sleeping bag I have found is 2.5 tog... but our bedroom gets really cold at night (below 10 degrees in the winter I am sure) this is fine for us with our 13.5 super warm duvet but what should I do with the baby? Can I put anything else on top of the sleeping bag e.g. a blanket or a mini duvet (which comes with her mini crib but ironically they don?t advise you to use it until age 1, when she will be too big for the crib anyway!) Is it really that dangerous? Or should I just keep the heating on all night on low? What did you do with your winter babies?

Hi guys, hope you are all well..sorry I haven?t posted in a while, I have been on holiday and am currently dealing with a couple of pregnancy issues that have come up so a bit overwhelmed with info and various appointments plus supposed to take it easy this week. But would love to join you if there are any meetings from next week onwards.

Hi, I have also been diagnosed with GD so will be joining you ladies on Tuesday mornings as well! I also feel a bit overwhelmed..I have been very healthy all my life and I had taken it for granted that my pregnancy would go without any issues.At least it is reassuring to know that we are not the only ones going through this & are being well looked after at Kings. Buggie I am also with Oakwood...does having GD mean we won?t be looked after them but the specialist midwives instead?

Anybody meeting today in the end? I am not going to make it unfortunately but hope you have a nice time!

apparently kitchen foil blocks out light completely...not very pretty but as an emergency solution, it?s worth a try (obviously applied to glass the directly / tightly and secured with tape or something, not loose over the whole window)

I am not sure where the right place to post recommendations is so here it goes too, for all my fellow pregnant forumites... Last week I had a full body pregnancy massage with Amy Eddison following recommendations from other forum members - and I would like to pass on the recommendation..the massage was wonderful and Amy is very nice, plus it's a really good price compared to local beauty shops..?30 for 1 hour and she has a special offer on for ?20 for the first visit (I am not sure if that is ongoing or for a limited time only) I will definitively be coming back again soon!! If you are interested Amy is qualified on pregnancy massage but also other forms of massage: Thai, Swedish, Indian Head...her number is 07800 636266 and she is based in Dulwich Village.

Hi, I have put the 7th July in the diary (maybe the 23rd June too but not sure yet)

OK here's another idea...rather than trying to find one date that suits everyone which is always going to be difficult, maybe we could do a regular meeting e.g. every other Wednesday: Weds 23 June Weds 7 July Weds 21 July Weds 4 Aug And so on. Like a drop in kind of thing, not everyone will be able to make every session but hopefully everyone who is interested can make it some of the dates. We can post here the day before and say who's coming. What do you think?

Hi ladies, it was really nice meeting you all yesterday! It would be great to keep the group going and have regular meetings...how are you all fixed for Wednesday 7th July? And of course anyone new wanting to join will be very welcome.