Sanne Panne

> I have a naclaren techno xlr and have used it from > birth with baby nO1 and then with No2. just lay it > flat then they can sit in it. Can you use a buggyboard on it when it's in the lie flat position?

nunheadmum Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I went to Katie Sedgewick who lives in ED. > > http://www.kstherapy.co.uk/ > > I went to her place but I think she may do home > visits too. I went to Katie too a number of times, nice lady.

If the food itself isn't too important (sandwich etc) you could try to claim one of the sofas in the Royal Festival Hall. The disadvantage there is that your kids can go FAR before you know it (lots of space) so you have to keep an eye on them... but nobody will be bothered by their noise and play and it's not a Giraffe style "toddler feast" venue at all.

I'd like to join too, can be there at about 3pm (post-nap), I only know Pickle but hope by 3pm there will be recognisable group of mums! I'll have a 20 month old in a black P&T and a bump.

Helen GV Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > so the toddler seat which sits underneath > eventually is the same one that goes on top at the > beginning? Yes

If you're seriously sleep deprived and/or frustrated and you're confident that your baby is old enough to self soothe without panicking (6 months?) I think you can try controlled crying. It worked for us but it only took us 3 nights, first night 20 minutes (5 + 5 + 10 minutes in between us going in to soothe her), second night 10 minutes, third night 5 minutes. After that she's always either gone to sleep immediately or after 2 minutes of fussing. Right now she loves her bed but she's a toddler now. I'm not sure what we would have done if she had cried longer/harder, I think I would have broken at some point - it's a very delicate balance between your heart/head, instincts, own physical needs (sleep deprivation is serious) and so on. That's why I'd say assess whether you think you and your baby may be ready for it and then maybe give it a try. It may be the easiest thing ever. Our 20 month old daughter is super addicted to her dummy for sleep but for a number of reasons that aren't relevant to this thread we decided to get rid of it cold turkey. I thought it would be hell on earth - the reality however was that she went to sleep after 15 minutes of protest at our first attempt to let her nap without the dummy. So my advice would be to see if it works, if you try it and your baby doesn't respond well and/or you can't handle it, stop it.

> Lol one day we should have a buggy meet up where > everyone can try each other's buggys!! Doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, like a tupperware party without the saleswoman! We could do it in the park one day when the weather is nice.

My daughter hated any kind of "foetal position" / snuggly sling from day one - seemed to feel squeezed. We got a Baby Bjorn (the expensive one with maximum lumbar support which I think was really worth it - they are strong so you can probably get very good ones second hand) when she was 7 weeks and it was great until she grew out of it somewhere between 6 and 10 months of age, don't remember. With a Baby Bjorn you have to be sure the position of the shoulder and lumbar straps is perfect (get it fitted in a shop or look it up online) or you'll get all kinds of aches when your baby is bigger.

Vibe has been great for us BUT the second child isn't here yet so I can only speak for it from the size/pushing perspective, not from having two kids in there. While doing my research I really liked the Powertwin because of the better "democracy" in terms of seating but I tried to fit one in the boot of our car and couldn't get it in due to the front wheel not folding flat nor being detachable. See if someone who has one will let you try to fit one into your car (unless you have a people carrier or reasonably large estate - we couldn't get it into our large saloon). Also think the Powertwin may be a bit bulky to get into shops, buses and playgroups but still wished I had the money and space for a Vibe and a Powertwin (latter as a backup in case the P&T seating arrangement doesn't work well while baby 1 is 4 months old and no longer comfy in the cocoon with the toddler 27 months old and not ready to walk) - oh and of course a single Maclaren Techno XT with a buggy board in the boot of the car LOL. As for side by side buggies, I liked the idea at first but my toddler is very chunky and I just can't picture it working out with her sitting next to a newborn (buggy being pulled to one side, toddler not really fitting well, plus the width issue on pavements and in shops).

I hope that Oakwood are like Albany and that they'll keep me on their books mumof3girlies! Otherwise a transfer to another good team will be fine too... as long as I don't get left out and end up having to go to hospital (I had a very fast labour with my first so I'm not even sure I'll make it to hospital with the second... this is why the idea of going anywhere freaks me out).

My husband likes our P&T Vibe a lot, we bought it a couple of months ago although baby 2 is only due in June - he likes it a lot better than the rattly ones we used before. If you're planning on having a second one before your first child is 3 it may be worth planning ahead and getting a double one (unless you don't like the parcel shelf concept of the P&T - took me a long time to get over the idea).

I'd be there on Fridays pm! (can do Thurs/Fri am/pm).

Fuschia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My god, a nursery IN A PUB! What a brilliant > idea!! Heaven!

Baby 1 - massive shock to me and Mr Panne. Just like Keef said, Mr Panne wasn't so sure if he liked the whole thing (of course he loved/loves our daughter but he hated "it" (the new life, the new focus, all the adjustments) for a good while - things are LOADS better now that baby Panne is a toddler. Since it was so tough at first, since we have now adjusted to life without free time and since we roughly know what to expect from the next one I think the transition to baby 2 will be easier, not because life will be easier but because we're much more prepared. That said, 2 will be enough! I'm not a huge fan of the newborn stage (:-$) but have loved everything from age 8 months upward, so far it's only been getting better (she's 20 months old now). I want to give her a sibling and have the joy of having two children and think I can handle another year of sleep deprivation but all the space and money in the world won't convince me that 3 (or 4 or more) would be better than 2 - at least not for us.

If you want some extra weight to push you can borrow my P&T with Mia in it any time ;)

I'm registered with the Oakwood midwives for baby 2 (had a great homebirth with them with baby 1) and currently live in ED. We're looking for a bigger (rental) home within ED but we can't seem to find anything and since I'm 27 weeks pregnant we're starting to feel the heat... so we're thinking of including Herne Hill in our search (other neighbouring areas aren't as convenient for my husband's commute). I doubt the Oakwood midwives are able to come to a home birth in Herne Hill so I'm wondering if anyone knows if your local midwives will normally help you transfer to another team (that would otherwise be booked up, especially for a birth that's less than 3 months away) or if you're pretty much on your own if you move away. Of course I should just ask Oakwood themselves but it's the start of the Easter weekend and I'm not going to page them for this, yet we want to get on with our house search!

Most of our nicknames refer to her (gorgeous, yummy, healthy) chubbiness... we should stop this at some point! (she's 20 months now)

helena handbasket Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don't remember my parents calling it > anything......... so I called it my "front bum". > Isn't it obvious? That's what we do in Dutch too and I think I'll teach her the same in English (unless it sounds very unnatural in English??)

On our first holiday with baby we knew there was no bath tub in the cottage so we brought a big strong plastic storage box which we used as a baby bath - it didn't take up too much space in the boot as we had packed most of our stuff in it. Back at home the box turned into our daughter's first toy box. ?10 very well spent! Agree that bouncy chair, baby monitor, portable blind (or just binliners and masking tape) and calpol can be very nice to have. Have fun!

Yes the Ricki Lake documentary is not bad, I can't stand her shows but the is worth watching. I think you can download it and watch it online (I did, don't remember if I paid for it). Try googling it, it's called The Business of Being Born. Most of the issues she highlights don't fully apply in the UK as the NHS is obviously not as commercialised as medical care in America is, making birth less of a "business" here (although it's apparently still true that once you're in hospital and have one intervention like the induction drug syntocinon (pitocin in the US) or an epidural you're more likely to need more intervention throughout the birthing process). The film is pretty negative about hospital birth, I prefer more balanced documentaries, but again it's worth watching.

It might help if you tell her that King's is so nearby and that in the slightest case of doubt there will be a team of experts from one of the best hospitals in the country at a 10 minute drive or 5 minute ambulance ride away, depending on the circumstances. Making it clear that you have the medical option so easily available is probably a lot easier than convincing your mum that homebirthing really is safe... or you can tell/teach her both of course ;)

pilsbury Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thx for the v quick responses, really impressive! > Sorry i'd missed that other thread snowboarder, > answered all my questions really, doh! Will give > them a buzz tmrw... Great. It's not just the contacts (although they are great). The content of the classes also helped a lot, not only me but also my husband - and partners are less likely to read as much as you if you were otherwise planning on getting your information from books. We ended up with an unplanned homebirth and my husband says he would have been completely freaked out if he hadn't understood the stages of labour so well thanks to the classes (midwives only showed up when I was already pushing). Books are just books anyway - the classes are very down to earth and somehow it all sinks in better when you talk about it with real people than when you read it on the bus to work. Go for it if you can! Sillywoman - my husband still says that the (seemingly silly) card allocation game where the "if you feel the urge to push" card should NOT be moved to the "go to hospital" section helped him decide to put some old sheets on the floor rather than call a cab or ambulance when the time came and the midwives were still not there. It may seem obvious but when you or your partner is in labour you don't reason like you normally do and things you learned in a class can come in very handy at such a time (tu)

The Nappy Lady Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I love the Sid and Andy Number Rap, Yummmm I love Sid in the number rap. Andy, bit of a kiddo. But Sid, yeah! Sportacus has an ok body but he's the coproducer of Lazytown so he's not just an innocent actor-victim and that's enough to turn me off. Justin gives me the creeps although his programmes are really good. Otherwise I'm not prejudiced at all. As for non-tv confessions... I give my 20mo a small piece of my toast with Nutella a couple of times a week but there's only a hint of Nutella on it for her because I will have licked the rest off to keep her from getting chocolate all over her face (and to make sure I get enough Nutella). That's your anti sugar, hygiene obsessed mum from a year ago.

> > How about less other parents, so you wouldn't have > to worry about getting a school place? > > Sorry ;-) Heheheh I wouldn't mind a big indoor soft play that's clean (paid for, I don't mind) that has a large designated toddler area and a cafe with tables that all have a good view of the play area.

Plain olive oil can be great on very dry patches (and your bump) if you have 10 minutes to let your skin absorb it before you get dressed again. Definitely no parabens in there, you can even get organic olive oil to be sure it's 100% pure, is still cheaper than many cosmetic alternatives. The shea butter suggestions sound great though!