Sanne Panne

Thanks for all the feedback! It sounds like it's a great area. I heard Fairlawn is a good school - we may leave the UK before our toddler reaches school age but you never know of course...

We currently live a bit downhill from the Plough but we may move to one of the roads off Forest Hill road mentioned in the subject line. The streets look nice to me, the houses seem quite big and there's good access to parks/shops/transport but I wonder what it's actually like to live there - is it a nice neighbourhood? I guess it's not that different from our current area but I wonder if there's anything else you can add about living there (kids, community, safety etc). Thanks for anything you think may be worth sharing!

pommie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > yeah my daughter stands up but shes not a light > baby so sometimes find it hard to pick her up!! Same here, my 20mo is massive (14 kilos) and I'm 6 months pregnant so we have a good reason to transition her but she's still so happy in her cot and such a good sleeper (don't want to EVER mess with a good sleeper - I've been on the other side)... for now my husband does most of the in-and-out-of-bed lifting but we may have to bite the bullet within a couple of months :(

I should be able to do the 16th too

njc97 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > *facecious suggestion* Send him to nursery? Same here with the childminder. At home she only seems to like three different vegetables but at the childminder she eats everything.

Sounds fun, depending on the date I might be able to make it!

I *think* we started with a tiny bit of something ultra-mild-organic-approved-by-the-dalai-lama (him again!) at about 3-4 weeks old... but I'm really not that sure anymore either and it's less than two years ago! What I also don't remember is when you start putting them in a bouncy seat while they're awake. Of course you just play it by ear but since you mentioned the "forgotten facts" I'm wondering about this.

The concentrated Neutrogena one (from the "Norwegian Formula" range) is great to rub into your hands before going to bed - you can put a lot more on than you would during the day and it can do its work without being interrupted by you washing your hands and using hand sanitiser. I find it a major pain to keep remembering hand cream during the day anyway so I prefer a nice thick cream at night.

I'll probably be out on Thursday but I may be there next time you meet up, have fun! Anna75 - I fully understand where you're coming from. My home birth was unplanned (it went way too fast to be able to make it to hospital) but it was such a good experience that I'm planning on having the next one at home as well (plus - the labour may be even faster this time and I'm not keen on giving birth in the car!). After one easy and healthy birth you have a lot more confidence about the next one.

Not sure if I'd be able to meet up multiple times (we're moving soon and things will get busy...) but I'd definitely love to join a big first meet-up where we all exchange our plans/thoughts/experiences. I had one home birth in 2008 and am hoping for another one in June.

Hadn't thought about that option yet, thanks apenn! Think I'll drop you a pm soon, Molly x apenn Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You should contact Molly: > [email protected]. She knows everything > about real nappies - which very rarely leak, even > at night! > -A

That's great prm! Enhorabuena!

Chop your veggies up finely and cook them in an omelette (cheese omelette if your toddler likes cheese). Or cook and them puree them an mix them into a bolognese sauce. Always works! Mine is very keen on broccoli and spinach but most other vegetables are hidden this way. And yes quiches are great but I'm too lazy to make them...

How did your scan go, prm?

Generally the Maclarens are a good pick as they're light while still good quality (they don't fall apart). We have the Techno XT which is good but it's the heavier among the Maclarens. I'd go for a model with a weight somewhere in the middle range of the Maclarens (the lighter ones may be a bit flimsy, not sure). And yes I guess it's a good idea to keep those little hands far away when you're folding the buggy... I can picture some really nasty accidents with the Phil and Teds that I have too though so it's just a matter of market volume and therefore likelihood of enough accidents hitting the press... i.e. don't assume other buggies are fine to fold with your baby/toddler right next to you.

I had two good experiences too, Brazilian and Greek research fellows, all lovely and very knowledgeable.

Thanks so much for offering me to try some of your nappies, you are all so sweet!!!! I'll try a pack of Baby Dry first I think, those never hurt to have anyway... may let you know if I want to try some of the more exotic brands. Thanks again, *lots of kisses*

We're going here http://www.childrensimmunisation.com/html/index.htm?gclid=CMX1zLKmrqACFQWElAodxVDRZg Vaccine costs ?95 but you have to register with them as well at a cost of ?50. Harley Street really is a black hole for money. Clinics run on Saturday and next available date is 10th April I believe. For other clinics try googling private vaccinations (etc).

Hm, maybe I'm mixing things up and the transvaginal scan is only done at the 20w scan? (also don't worry if that scan is booked for when you're actually 23 weeks along - quite normal apparently).

The Nappy Lady Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Don't know if I have this right but thought if you > get chicken pox vaccine then you are more likely > to get Shingles in adulthood and that is a more > serious illness? > > Could be wrong but am sure I was told this at some > point. > Shingles vaccinations are being developed as well and should definitely be available by the time our kids' generation reaches the vulnerable age for shingles. Does make you think about the elimination of one disease allowing other diseases to pop up but I think the vaccinations in the current schedule have been given for long enough to know they don't cause this type of domino effect...

We've been planning it for a while and will probably get our 20 month old vaccinated privately. No point getting the nasty disease and it's been part of the general vaccination programme in the US for quite a long time now - I'm not afraid of chicken pox being dangerous for my child but it's still quite nasty and takes a long time to clear up and I'm not keen on my toddler infecting our new baby to be if she gets it this year (which is quite possible) - the baby won't become immune from getting it this young and would therefore have to get it again. I don't think we should immunise against every single "health inconvenience" - we need to get our kids' immune systems to be activated as well - but chicken pox is no fun so we're having it done in addition to the regular vaccination programme. Just my opinion of course...

Hm ok, so Pampers Baby Dry (which we used ages ago before moving on to Active Fit which is a nicer fit for babies/toddlers on the move during the day) and Nature Babycare seem to be worth trying... wish they sold them in sampler packs but I can always keep them for daytime use if they don't work at night! Maybe I should design a Big Wee Nighttime nappy and strike it rich!

Very true Peckhamboy, they don't seem to want to commit to any kind of 100% overall good news. Just ask them "are the measurements you took all within the range of what's considered normal?" and they'll say yes or no. You'll see that on your final report that they print out for you as well (there's a kind of slider next to each measurement that will show you how far above or below average the measurements are - everything that fits on the slider is still normal though).

Nope they won't even try to look at the gender, I know they sometimes do a guess at NT scans in the US but it's almost always too early. If you're very impatient (like I was) you can have a private scan done in one of the Harley Street clinics at 16 weeks (earlier is sometimes possible too but 16 weeks gives you the best chance of getting a 95%+ certain answer). PM me if you want to know which one I went to. Cost is absolutely crazy though, ?150... you may find a cheaper place...

Good luck tomorrow! You'll be fine, bring a book though as it can be a long wait, especially if you don't have an early morning appointment (the delays obviously build up over the day). The sonographers and the staff who take your blood and your blood pressure are usually lovely and they're willing to take their time to answer questions and reassure you. Your appointment will probably go as follows (based on my 2 NT scans): you'll be called in first to have your blood and blood pressure taken and be weighed. After that, you're sent back to the waiting room so the blood analysis can be completed before your actual scan is completed. You'll probably wait for 30-45 minutes and will then be called into the ultrasound room. Staff will introduce themselves, tell you to lie down and they'll start the scan (the first bit is transabdominal, the second bit, which I think they only do if you agree to take part in the research, is vaginal). It's important to know that they usually don't immediately tell you "ah, that looks all great and perfect". They have to measure everything twice so you will see them staring at the screen and talking to each other without necessarily explaining you a lot. They will tell you "look, this is the abdomen, look this is the femur" and they may sometimes say something reassuring that they can judge immediately (like the blood flow to and from the placenta being good) but they can't officially tell you whether the neck fold is within normal range until the scan is over because they need to put it in an equation with the exact gestational age and the blood results. Unofficially I know that, roughly, anything under 2mm is fine anyway and anything a bit above that is usually fine too. Don't go by this though, just use it as a reassurance when you see 1.6mm on that screen but don't start worrying if it's a bit more than 2mm (again this is the neck fold measurement, not the abdominal circumference and brain size etc which are all a lot bigger). As for the pictures, just buy two little tickets from the machine, bring 2x ?1.50 exact change. The sonographers will probably not even ask you for the tickets but it's good to get them anyway. Just tell them you got tickets for a couple of pictures and they'll give you the two nicest ones they have. Sorry for the "book", edited a few times to add things I forgot! Again, good luck tomorrow!