Sanne Panne

My daughter goes to the "red class" (for the youngest kids) and seems to really like it there. She's not shy but there's a rather shy girl in her class and I like how the staff interact with her (for as far as I can observe that during pick-up time). They don't force her to be more outgoing, they just let her be herself but they do actively engage with her. I also like the manager, there's nothing fake about her (some school/nursery managers seem to want to "sell" themselves and have different agendas than you'd want them to but A is lovely without all the frills ;)). Feel free to pm me if you want to talk more.

Thanks for the feedback! She only woke once last night and woke up with a clean bum so her skin got time to get a bit better. It's not weepy or chapped or rash like, it's just very red and she screams when I wipe it (even with cotton wool/water). Saffron, interesting insight about the intestines still maturing, it could be true. Great idea about the oil - good for out and about as I currently need lots and lots of water on my cotton wool in order to make it even slightly bearable for her to be changed. As for the nappy free time, I know it's a pain to keep cleaning poo/pee off towels (I put her on towels, she's somewhat mobile but not crawling yet) but if it helps, I do it anyway. I prefer spending a day at home and do (even) more washing than seeing her that miserable again. Ole, she's a bit better today and hardly ate solids yesterday so food may indeed play a role. I only read this after I fed her some more carrots and sweet potatoes though so I can't do a real test. Will try milk (and baby cereal type solids) only for a couple of days and see... Clare, yes we have the cotton wool out too but when, ahem, clay like poo sticks to a metanium bum you still have to rub quite hard! Oh what a charming conversation! Anyway, good to know it could still all be due to teething, I almost hope it is so that I don't need to go to the GP (and then hear it's nothing anyway). Will call the GP before the weekend if she goes back to her hourly poos today. Am optimistic after a better night... Fingers crossed!

I think it's lovely for a first child: good for bonding, good for peace of mind (is she choking on something, maybe air?) and so on. And undoubtedly studies show it's better for language development although I personally think the impact would only be measurable if you spent the majority of the baby's waking hours pushing the buggy around. If you spend lots of time talking to your baby at home and when in the park etc I'm sure s/he won't miss out on you saying "look a tree" while in the buggy (and you can still say it, I doubt the child will call cars trees for the rest of its life just because you weren't looking at the same thing that morning). I did really love having a parent facing buggy for #1's first year but don't feel that #2 (only 7 months old so no comparative study yet) is missing out being in the P&T now (but of course I'm just one of those parents who want to justify their own situation). She'll learn lots from her big sister. And I talk to them all day long anyway. I think they wished I shut up (although my eldest comments on every single thing she does too). NOT trying to know better than the studies but I just *think* the average child's language development doesn't mostly depend on the type of buggy you buy. Maybe parents who buy parent facing buggies are more focused on language development already so if the same parent ends up with a forward facing buggy the kid wil probably develop at the same rate thanks to the involvement of the parent. (Maybe). Wow I'm really rambling now. All very subjective and not based on research clearly. But that's allowed here I hope ;)

Our nearly 7 month old baby has been teething for a while now, no teeth yet (our eldest had her first at 9.5 months so I'm not really expecting them yet) but her gums are definitely bothering her. She's pulling her ears, is a bit cranky (usually the happiest/easiest kid in the world) and teething gel and baby nurofen seem to calm her down which is probably a sign too ;) My question is about poo (don't mothers love talking about it!). I know frequent, different, rash causing poos are common during teething. But can a baby who used to poo once a day change to once every hour during the day and JUST be teething? It's been going on for two weeks now. It's sometimes runny, sometimes clay like, sometimes yellow, sometimes green. Sometimes it comes out with a lot of gas, sometimes not. But it's just so frequent! (almost always small amounts due to the frequency and her poor bum is bright red now, she screams even when I just use cotton wool and water... next step is to clean her sitting in a bowl with tepid water and baking soda I fear!). And it's so often not completely normal looking. She looks healthy, pees enough, is on formula (I weaned her at 4 months thinking I was going back to work and then I decided not to go... tried to relactate and failed but that's another story), not really interested in solids yet (takes a few spoons here and there but then refuses and still gags when the food isn't very "slippery"). She's big, strong, chunky and happy (although a bit crankier than usual as I mentioned before). She used to only wake once between 7pm and 7am but now wakes 2-3 times (and poos when we feed her). Could she have a sudden intolerance to her formula (that she was fine with for 3 months, never changed brand, it's Hipp)? Or could she have something else going on? Or should I not overanalyse it and wait for the teeth to appear? :)

Your scent??? She's nuts. A baby always loves its mum's scent. Anyway, we've always had success with tummy sleeping if you don't find the idea too scary. Allows them to get rid of gas on both ends much more easily while in bed... Not particularly helpful with nasal congestion though. Hope things improve soon!

Looks like you'll have a Maclaren in the boot and a baby bjorn for the little one... (do you have a bjorn already by the way? I have one with lumbar support, the fanciest one, bit grey from washing but otherwise great condition)

Yes heard about another local case back in early summer 2010, imported from Holland :-$ The girl was just 2 at the time and did have her MMR jabs on schedule. Kids also get MMR jabs in Holland but mumps do apparently still spread albeit in a milder form.

For those with Kent/Herts type childhoods (I'm "one of you", grew up in Holland, same thing - always out, no playgroups, few toys in the house): how do you feel about your kids growing up here? My husband (who's almost 40) grew up in central London and was also always out on his bike and playing day-long hiding games around Oxford Street with his friends at age 8) but maybe his folks were a lot more laissez faire... I know right now he wouldn't let our kids roam the streets (they're too young now but I know he won't change his minds in a few years time either). Don't want to hijack the thread at all, just looking for some thoughts...

I have the Vibe and think it looks really uncomfortable with my relatively but not excessively big 2.5 year old in the back. When my 6 month old is in the back I already worry about her head reaching the top of the seat frame soon. It can't be comfortable to rest your head against a metal tube while seated...

I agree with Keef that his drinking habits at home may be the most important but also the hardest to tackle. My cousin's husband hardly ever goes out (they're not in the UK, no public binge drinking culture) but he drinks two bottles of wine a night at home. My cousin says he doesn't even get that drunk anymore. Be careful with the "taking a glass from his bottle" method because she did the same thing and she claims it's what made her husband move up from one to two bottles a night. Initially he'd bring the second bottle home with the purpose of letting her have her glass while ensuring he could have his whole bottle (and then have something left for another day) but of course he now drinks the whole second bottle as well. Their relationship seems ok (they have kids, he never drinks before 6pm and is never drunk in front of the kids - he's a so called Functioning Alcoholic) and so does his health (so far) but it can't be sustainable...

Gwod, you're right about it being difficult to judge whether she's been "good" or "bad" after a day with so many opportunities to be good and bad. She threw one of her slippers at her sister's head this morning and two hours later she actually gave her a toy out of her own initiative. Sillywoman, I heard of this approach and even talked about it with other mums before having this second baby but somehow forgot about it again... it's the best possible fit for my own instincts (I just clearly can't turn those instincts into practical ideas myself!). Going to try it for a week and see what happens.

Sounds like it might be worth giving a try. Agree that the goal should be "being nice to S all day" rather than "not hurting her all day". And yes Saffron I was going to put a "yeah right" comment in the "wait for the sibling relationship to stabilise naturally" sentence but didn't want to sound more sceptical than I already did ;) Still open to different or more of the same opinions and any tips/experiences you're willing to share!

Still not sure what to think about reward charts. On one hand I really don't like the idea because I don't want my (2.5 year old) child to expect a reward for good behaviour (kids already have enough of a sense of entitlement at this age) but on the other hand I've heard great things about them and various mums have told me that the good behaviour you're using the chart for will eventually become natural and the child won't expect the reward anymore (and you can move on to the next issue you want to tackle with star stickers until your child is perfect hah!). It feels a bit wrong. But maybe my instincts are a bit wrong. A big part of parenting is letting go of some of your pre-parental principles after all... The behaviour I am thinking of using it for is "not beating up baby sister". My negative reactions to bad behaviour (naughty step, strong telling-off, denying her telly, taking her out of the bath etc) haven't really helped much, and "just praise for being nice" isn't enough to keep her from squeezing her sister just a bit too hard at least five times a day! The behaviour isn't extreme and I may be a bit over-protective towards the baby (6 months old now) but it's bad enough for me to want to do something about it. How do you feel about giving stars for being nice to a sibling? Is it worth a try or would you just wait for the sibling relationship to stabilise naturally and hope the baby doesn't lose a limb in the meantime?

Our first was a dummy addict and we just had 2 cot bumpers going all around the cot (why are standard cot bumpers so short?) and then 6 dummies in the cot. Felt a bit pathetic and yes it was... but it worked.

My 2.5 year old has recently started blinking in a more "pronounced" way (more frequently and a bit more strongly). She doesn't do it all the time but it's not "only when she's tired", "only when she watches telly" or "only at the end of the day" (although maybe a bit more at those times, must keep track). Today we were out all day and she did it too. She's quite good at expressing herself verbally and she tells us her eyes don't bother her at all. They're not red either. Does anyone have experience with this? I'll probably take her to the GP and to an optician for an eye exam this week but am wondering how common this is. Found a lot of discussions pointing towards a (temporary) tic on US forums. Also think the central heating could have to do with this although it's never bothered her before. Anyway, I'm sure there is no single answer to this but am just wondering if anyone has ideas/experiences to share. Thanks!

Go to your settings. Deny any kind of access (most importantly your "friends list") to people you aren't directly connected to. The default is that friends and photos are visible to friends of friends and maybe even to outsiders. Next, limit some of your profile visibility (the friends list again and in some cases even wall posts?) to colleagues and ex colleagues you are connected to. As long as your friends/comments aren't visible to a random member of the public I think it's none of their business who you talk to, unless you're in a very high security job.

Had two homebirths but am all for hospital births too, mine were at home because labour was too fast to get to hospital with the first and then, with the second, we didn't even bother planning on going to hospital. With your first born as fast as he/she was it may be more stressful trying to get to hospital than just doing it at home. If all is looking well now (no breech position, no blood pressure issues etc) and your first birth went well you're probably better off at home... UNLESS you find the idea scary. In that case you should just go for a hospital birth and go in at the very first sign of labour. Don't make anyone push you into a homebirth if you don't want one. It's great but if you're not comfortable with the idea it's overrated and not worth it!

We also had size 3 during the day and 4 during the night for a while when our baby was around 4 months and the size 4 nappies still seemed very bulky (she's 5.5 months now and still fits into 3 but she's always in 4s now). Worked quite well!

Has she tried letting her baby sleep on her tummy? I know it's not recommended but their necks are so strong at this age... Both my girls have always slept a lot better on their sides and tummies. Just a thought. Sleep regression etc can also play a role although I am a bit suspicious of all the different theories out there - every book/theory has a different truth and they all have so much room for interpretation that they're always "right".

Snowboarder and other flu victims, are you feeling a bit better yet?

That makes sense edanna, when we potty trained M in October we initially gave her an M&M for each pee and after a while she forgot about them. When she did remember we said that they were only for poos and now she doesn't ask anymore.

Merry Christmas to you too, edanna and thanks for the feedback. Can't wait till our baby starts sitting by herself, it'll be much easier to put her down without needing a bouncy seat or putting her on her tummy which she gets fed up with quite quickly. As for correcting the bad behaviour - 2 minutes on the stairs don't seem to impress her much but 10 minutes in her room don't seem THAT much better (she does get upset but her behaviour doesn't improve much) and I don't actually like running the risk that she may get a negative association with her own bedroom. It's probably more like 5 minutes she spends there, I don't actually count but it's longer than I would put her on the stairs (I take my time to wash bottles when I do put her in her room :-$). Reward charts - was talking about that idea with my husband today. I agree they could work but am a bit worried that she may think good behaviour must always be rewarded with something. Have you or has anyone else had that experience? The answer must lie in redirecting (which I could be better at), lots of positive attention (which I do give) and time. Can't wait to read other tips/experiences!

Adding that M has near perfect behaviour with other toddlers and babies. Doesn't hit/push when we're out of the house (never has - we haven't ever had to correct her) but seems to get it all out at home now. So she CAN be good. When she's motivated...

Medela Swing here if you still need one?

We did that too and it worked very well. Once she started sleeping through after the 10:30pm/late feed (at 3-4 months) we dropped this "dream"feed and gave her formula at 7pm/bedtime and I would just give her a little (breastfeed) top-up if she'd wake in the middle of the night. Right now at 5-6 months she's mostly on formula/bottles and we don't dreamfeed. If we do give her a late feed and she does wake for another feed before 7am she does a poo during that feed (too much milk in her system I guess) and then she's really up. So for us giving that late feed up at some point has been the key to sleeping through.