Sanne Panne

Thanks, I might try those. We're not really using pull-ups yet (nor are we potty training), I just thought those particular Huggies pull ups might be worth a try since the front part is so well padded and fits so snugly without being tight around the waist... it works most nights but today she had a nice wet spot near her belly button again...

My chunky daughter keeps peeing through her nighttime nappies. We've tried Pampers Active Fit 5 and 5+ which are fine during the day and I recently tried (and thought I had success with) the Huggies potty training nighttime nappies for boys (as she's a tummy sleeper she needs the extra padding at the front so I got the boys version - she still leaks from the front). They are not proper potty training nappies (with cool/wet feel) but they are like knickers so it seems like they're wearing something normal. Is there anything else I can try? My daughter does drink a big cup of milk about 30-60 minutes before going to bed but I'm not ready to give that up yet. Thanks for any advice...

Don't want to go into a full on debate, we have had some good threads about this topic in the past, but I do want to vote FOR immunising. Space them out or delay by a few weeks if your child doesn't seem very strong when the jab is due, but otherwise please do it for your child's and your community's sake.

Fuschia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Mine also love to pour water from one ikea cup to > another (messy though) Yeah mine only gets to do that in the bath - until we live somewhere with a garden one day - hopefully soon!

Vickster Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Train track is a big hit in our house (admittedly > with a boy but don't think it should make a > difference). My son also likes really easy jigsaws > (3, 4, 5 and 6 pieces), in his case particularly > of emergency vehicles! I picked up a box from the > toyshop in the post office in Dulwich village for > ?5.99 last week which are great. Jigsaw, great idea! Can't believe we don't have one yet. My daughter loves boys' toys as much as girls' toys, no preference whatsoever at the moment so I'll definitely try a mini train track.

Same as many posts above... luck plays a big role (we were very unlucky at first and very lucky now so there's hope!). We have a strong bedtime routine (long bath, sleepsuit on, milk, 10-20 minutes of play (now that she's a toddler), bed) and we disassociated milk and sleep as early as we felt comfortable doing (at about 7 months, she's now 19 months). We did a bit of crying it out at 6 months (for 4 days, with success within 12, then 10, then 5 minutes and then complete success - it was very stressful but 12 minutes were doable for us). Am not sure if the crying has anything to do with her being such a great sleeper now though, it's such a long time ago and I never let her cry anymore since there's always something up when she does cry now. At that time it seemed necessary as we were exhausted and our daughter was cranky during waking hours due to lack of sleep - she was a terrible sleeper from 3 to 6 months of age. I'm not saying the gentler methods don't work, just that we weren't able to apply them successfully in over 3 months of trying. Anyway, I think the main ingredients for us are a strong bedtime routine, no feeding to sleep (especially nighttime breastfeeding after a certain age) and a lot of luck. When they're toddlers the bedtime routine doesn't even have to mean that everything needs to be dark and quiet after bath time, all you need is for it to be roughly the same every day - our daughter goes back to her toy box after bath time and runs around a bit more in our busy living room... but after about 15 minutes she'll pick up her monkey and say "bed" and we'll take her to bed without the slightest fuss.

ryedalema Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Or get the > ready-made cookie dough from the butter aisle ar > Sainbury's ;-) She'll eat it unless I add something disgusting to it first! Good idea though. Also thinking a small beginners' train track could be fun.

I know my daughter would also love a dolly pushchair. I'm not getting one now because I hate them too but I suspect that after baby 2 arrives in June I'll become a lot more "whatever works" ;) Good idea about the apron, I had forgotten to mention that she loves dressing up in her own old clothes which she can access in a drawer under her bed... something a bit more creative would probably be a big hit (and not bulky!). She likes drawing but never spends more than 2 minutes scratching on paper although these things can change every month. May get some playdough and see how that works out. Thanks for the input... will look for some dressing up clothes!

I want to get my 19 month old daughter some new toys (we have about 10 toys that are somewhat interesting for her age, just looking for a couple more) but am not sure what to get - what are/were your favourite and most successful toys for this age? My daughter is very much into cars, duplo and stuffed animals. She also loves naming things, e.g. animals and colours (she already has a few toys for that). And she has an awful Dora book with incorporated "piano" from M&S that she really enjoys too. Of course a few "grown up" cups, teaspoons, a sieve and the steaming basket from the kitchen are always very much appreciated as well. I like the idea of her toys being educational to some extent but they really don't have to be - if kids who love stuffed monkeys can get 10 minutes of happy play (more than once) out of a bed and blanket that I buy for the monkey then that's equally good. Or if they already "play kitchen" at this age I could get some mini pots, pans and cups (she has some wooden "cutting fruit" with velcro that she likes) but we don't have space for anything really bulky.

Thanks, looks like it's just us.

Our power seems to have been off since around 1am. Does anyone have the same problem or is it just our house? We're on Barry Road near Goodrich.

I had a planned hospital birth turn into an unplanned (but amazing) home birth with Oakwood. They were great. They had never treated me any differently for originally preferring a hospital birth. I'm not sure to what extent they can still support planned hospital births (or even some hospital transfers) though as they are really tight on resources and may have to let go of some bits of their otherwise fully comprehensive care. Don't quote me on this but it would be worth finding out. I'm registered with them again for my second child (planned home birth this time) and very happy with that. About getting to know the midwife who will help you deliver your baby - they have two teams and if one or two of the midwives in your team is not available when you go into labour, you may have one or two midwives from the other team (who you may not know) be present at your baby's birth. This was my case (my main midwife was there but the other two midwives were from the other team) but since I knew they were from the same practice (sharing the same philosophy etc) I didn't feel uncomfortable in any way. Can't say whether their "offering" is better or worse than Brierly as I don't know anything about Brierly. Good luck with your decision, you should make it very soon though and for Oakwood you will need to register with the Forest Hill group practice first!

Thinking about you today Pickle, hope you have a good flight!

First of all, congratulations! I'm following this thread with great interest as I'm in a similar situation. My daughter seems so small still (nearly 19 months old, 4 months to go till #2 is here) but I've started to mention things here and there and I'm going to order some of the books that were recommended. Let's hope for a smooth transition from 1 to 2!

> I thought that Gambados had a no shoe policy on > their soft play frame thing? Perhaps they should > now! They do actually have a no shoe policy, I thought it was to keep the play area clean so I just put some indoor sock-shoes on my daughter's feet as her regular socks were so slippery and I didn't want her to fall over while running. Big mistake! I will call Gambado to let them know - maybe they should put up a warning that explains it's not only for hygiene but also for safety. to be honest, pretty much all kids are just on socks there anyway. Just not my daughter :-$

Yes I felt (and still feel) so guilty! Of course, accidents happen, but when you know you could have prevented it you are always going to feel bad. My daughter has adapted very well though, kids just get on with things. I guess the biggest risk is when they wear any kind of non-slip soles. When a slide is fast you cannot always control the exact position of your own legs - I didn't think of this and assumed I could keep her on my lap without her touching the slide.

If you do, please be careful especially on a long slide and if they're wearing shoes or anything else with non-slip soles. I took my 18 month old to Gambado last week and took her down the long slide on my lap, as we do so often. This time at top speed my knees parted a bit and the heel of my daughter's sole touched the slide, causing her foot to overstretch and then causing other parts of her foot to touch the slide resulting in a very big scream at the bottom of the slide... she had broken her leg (tibia and fibula fractured about an inch above the ankle) and is now in a cast for 4 weeks. Of course this was 100% my fault but when we got to A&E they told me this is actually a very common accident. I had never heard of it so I thought I'd warn those of you who also didn't know! My toddler is always very careful so I'm normally not too worried about accidents but there you go, some of these accidents don't have anything to do with how much of a daredevil the toddler him/herself is...

sorry - missed one post so this reply is useless - deleting it.

The Pliko is great when they're still light but when they grow heavier (probably 12 months+ if you have a chunky one, otherwise later) it's harder to get it onto pavements and over uneven surfaces as the weight of the child is very much in the middle of the buggy (rather than close to you) so you need to push the buggy down quite violently in order to lift the front wheels. Otherwise it's a great buggy. Just my experience though.

I'm sure you'll be fine. If your son is all over the place in his cot and won't stay under the duvet you can also consider these polar fleece sleepsuits until he's bigger. They're expensive but really good and they're lined with cotton and toddlers can walk around in them quite well.

Thanks for all the advice, I'll get the health card as well as a note from the midwife/GP and will check my insurance. We're flying BA and I'll check their policy regarding flying during late pregnancy. We've come to the perfect compromise where I don't go a whole week in advance of the wedding and my husband isn't arriving last minute - instead we're all travelling together two days in advance. Should be peanuts! (famous last words)

Thanks all, I think I'm going to convince my husband to "escort" us to Holland (by plane) and then fly back the next day and join us again the week after... a bit decadent (just checked and it's only ?87 actually...) but it will make life sooo much easier. We always fly from City airport when we go to Amsterdam (it's my original home town hence the frequent visits) because it's such a simple/pleasant/fast airport. The type of plane we'll be in won't hold any kind of buggy but if my husband is there we won't need it as much. Hope we can make this work. A 2-3 hour ferry ride would be peanuts but 6.5 hours is probably a lot. Especially if you add the boarding process etc... Sensiblewoman, my daughter currently still does a 1.5 to 2 hour nap around midday but when we're travelling she improvises with short naps and seems ok so I'm not too worried about that (although I'm not sure I could "schedule" one nap for the car ride from Calais).

Another thing is that at Schiphol airport they don't give your buggy back at the gate, you have to walk to the hold baggage caroussel with your hand baggage and your toddler.. not very attractive when alone. Maybe one of those beeping/flashing granny cars can pick us up from the gate ;-)

sanity girl Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > To be honest if it was me I wouldn't go. I think > being 32 weeks pregnant, having a toddler in tow > and having to travel one way alone is a pretty > good excuse. I could understand if it was a > sibling, but I think as it's a cousin it is fair > enough to say you can't make it. Maybe I should ask my husband to fly out with us and fly back to London the next day (daughter and I are going a week before the wedding, husband can only come for the wedding itself)... I still don't like flying but it may be the most drama free option when accompanied by someone who can look after suitcase and toddler... Anyway, still curious to see other replies, I find it very hard to judge how tough the trip will be.

I'll need to travel to Holland with my toddler (who will be 21 months old when we travel) in late April - I'll be about 32 weeks pregnant with #2. My husband will travel back with us but on the way out it's just us. We have to go, it's a close cousin's wedding. Our options are: Eurostar - seems a bit tricky to be heavily pregnant and get a suitcase, buggy and baby into and out of a train twice as it's 2x2 hours on the train with a 1 hour stopover in Brussels (and stress about missing the connection if there's a delay in the first leg). Ferry - either directly to Holland (6.5 hours on boat from Harwich and very little driving - 2 hours on this side of the North Sea and 1 hour on the other) or the hoover craft to France (45 minutes on boat but a 4 hour drive to our final destination). Driving is easy as you don't need to lift your luggage in/out at any point (will have people help me on both sides) but my daughter will probably get impatient if she has to spend a lot of time in the car. Plane - just 45-50 minutes in air, still allowed when 32 weeks pregnant I believe, and no real issue with radiation as it's a short flight that's not even that high up. I wouldn't know how to fit my daughter on my lap for take-off and landing though as my bump was pretty impressive when I was 32 weeks pregnant with #1. And in spite of having flown lots and lots for work and pleasure I still have a slight fear of flying. What would you do? Can you recommend anything else, e.g. swimming?