Sanne Panne

Right now may not be the ideal moment to go cold turkey but you could limit it to using it for sleeping - so in her cot and in the car when she's meant to sleep. We did it with our daughter who was quite an addict and it seems to work well. Whenever I pick her up from her cot in the morning I tell her to throw the dummy back into the cot - I turn it into a little ritual and she seems to think it's fun to throw it in now. If she tries to hold onto it I say "noooo, the dummy belongs in bed". If she ever asks for it during the day or if she finds one on the floor somewhere I say "naaah, you don't need the dummy now, the dummy is for bedtime right?". Somehow it works, she seems to have accepted it. A dummy is nice for that sense of security when a lot is going on, and that sense of security is important for bedtime I think. If she stops using it during the day you won't need to worry about it interfering with her talking and it'll probably not have a real effect on her teeth either. I haven't even set myself a target age to get rid of the dummy for bedtime... don't see any harm in it at all.

P&T owners - do any of your babies/toddlers mind not being able to sit fully upright? I just read in a review that "In the most upright position, the seat still has a reasonable recline. As the base of the seat slopes backwards, a child is not able to sit upright independently of the seat back." Our daughter is used to a harness that allows her to sit upright and even lean forward independently of the backrest and she gets pretty cranky even in a Maclaren... :-S I really like the relative compactness of the P&T but would have a few fears/prejudices to overcome.

nancysmum Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i have a people carrier (toyota estima emina). and > it fits. you're welcome to come over and try > fitting mine in your car if you like before you > commit to buying anyting. let me know if you > would like to hx If you're sure you wouldn't mind, I'd love to come over and try it one day. I'm very flexible with times/days - will pm you. Thanks so much nancysmum! Pickle, thanks for your reply too, it gives a lot to think about - in fact I'm thinking that if the Jane doesn't fit in our boot, a high quality side by side buggy (with comfortable seats and nice wheels) could be an option although that doesn't take care of the width. And Pickle/Mellors, I think I should read some reviews on the P&T Vibe as what I've read seems to be about older versions.

nancysmum Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hi I use a Jane powertwin tandem buggy and i LOVE > it! I use it for toddlers (plus a buggy board at > the back) but i think you can get a version that > will take a baby carrier in one of the seats. It > is quite big when collapsed down, but luckily i > have a big boot in my car! hx Do you have an estate? We have a pretty big car with a pretty big boot too but according to the specifications of the Jane, it's higher than 45cm when folded (which is the height of our boot), even with the wheels taken off...

Would those with experience mind sharing their opinions about double buggies/pushchairs for a baby and a toddler (age difference will be 23 months)? I like the Jane Powertwin tandem as it seems to be the pushchair with the best individual seats for both children but it won't fit in our boot. We'd have to get an additional compact buggy for when we travel by car which might be a bit crazy. For general direction, here are some questions, but all and any input is welcome. 1. Which pushchair do you have, would you recommend it and why? 2. Is it true that... a. ...side-by-side buggies aren't great for different ages because they'll pull towards the heavier child? b. ...side-by-side buggies mean that the toddler will bother the newborn? (my daughter doesn't like the single Maclaren so I fear the double one will be worse). c. ...the Phil&Teds is great for the newborn phase but sucks once the youngest child also wants to see the world, as the bottom seat (which to me looks a bit like a shelf) kind of sucks? I heard a bigger toddler may find the bottom seat "cool" but will a 2.5 year old? d. ...tandem buggies other than the Phil&Teds are impossibly heavy and a massive pain to get into the boot of your car? e. ...tandem buggies are very hard to maneuver? Again, all other advice and recommendations are welcome too! Thanks in advance

Am on Barry R near Goodrich and am still waiting for two 1st class mail items sent to me on the 13th and the 18th (it's the 27th now) and one small package also sent to me via Royal Mail 1st class... Have been receiving some other items, not sure when those were sent though. I can't believe how this can happen so consistenly in such a modern country :-S

Gotta love the Dutch system where everyone has to go to school within a week after turning 4. The year during which they join and the year after are very playful and no academic pressure is put on the kids - they just get used to the idea of school and catch up on "maturity" if necessary. During these introductory years the teachers deal with one or two newcomers at a time thanks to the spreading of birthdays (except for a slightly busier start after the summer holiday) meaning lots of personal attention. And yes, the Sept-Oct-Nov etc starters do advance while the March-April-May etc kids get settled - classes are small and the programme is designed around the continued integration principle. As an added plus, there are no cliques formed as there are no large groups starting at any time of year. As for secondary education - there are no private schools (not at primary level either) so the average level of the state schools remains intact. We do have state grammar schools but they don't give you a greater chance of being accepted at some posh university as we don't have posh universities. Maybe that's the problem ;-) OK just tell me to move back to my own friggin country if I think I know better. Of course I don't know better but I thought it might still be interesting to see how things work elsewhere.

I personally don't believe in homeopathy and am a firm defender of herd immunity and the associated parental responsibility BUT people should be allowed to do their research, hopefully being honest with themselves in the process and not getting blinded by highly subjective publications... (I know the last bit is often the core of the problem) Anyway, if you are concerned about side effects and do believe in homeopathy there is supposed to be something called a homeopathic vaccine "neutraliser" which is given the day before and the day after the vaccination, allegedly neutralising the negative effects of the jab. Not my cup of tea but if it makes more people comfortable getting the jabs I think it's worth it.

The NCT site contains a lot of detailed information and apart from a few lines it doesn't blindly copy the NHS site or other sources it seems: NCT FAQ about Swine Flu. They don't really urge pregnant women to get the jab - and they repeat various times that swine flu isn't as infectious as some other diseases. Somehow I feel more confident about getting the jab after reading the FAQ though - and since the NCT isn't sponsored by GSK I don't think this confidence is based on false premises...

My daughter's was fine initially too and in her case it also took 3 months for it to start getting funny (read: scab and puss). After 2-3 weeks it calmed down and now it's just a little pre-scar wound that doesn't open or change anymore.

I like the "of your choice" bit! Off to read the form now, thanks!

I like the "of your choice" bit! Off to read the form now, thanks!

I'm pregnant and won't qualify for statutory maternity pay (SMP) but will qualify for maternity allowance (MA) because I'm self employed. Directgov states the conditions for MA as follows: You may be eligible if: you've been employed and/or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in your 'test period' (66 weeks up to and including the week before the week your baby is due). Part weeks count as full weeks; and you earned ?30 a week averaged over any 13 weeks in your test period And it states the calculation of the amount as follows: Maternity Allowance pays a standard weekly rate of ?123.06 or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings (before tax), whichever is the smaller. My question is: is MA calculated over the entire 66 week period (including all the weeks you weren't working and therefore had zero income, making the average income over the entire 66 week period very low) or only over the weeks you were actually employed and generating an income? I was a stay-at-home mum for most of 2009 and will have only worked for about 42 weeks in the aforementioned 'week before the week my baby is due'. Thanks for any insights anyone can give me! Will probably call them next week but am getting a bit nervous...

I'm pregnant and won't qualify for statutory maternity pay (SMP) but will qualify for maternity allowance (MA) because I'm self employed. Directgov states the conditions for MA as follows: You may be eligible if: you've been employed and/or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in your 'test period' (66 weeks up to and including the week before the week your baby is due). Part weeks count as full weeks; and you earned ?30 a week averaged over any 13 weeks in your test period And it states the calculation of the amount as follows: Maternity Allowance pays a standard weekly rate of ?123.06 or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings (before tax), whichever is the smaller. My question is: is MA calculated over the entire 66 week period (including all the weeks you weren't working and therefore had zero income, making the average income over the entire 66 week period very low) or only over the weeks you were actually employed and generating an income? I was a stay-at-home mum for most of 2009 and will have only worked for about 42 weeks in the aforementioned 'week before the week my baby is due'. Thanks for any insights anyone can give me! Will probably call them next week but am getting a bit nervous...

Thanks so much Mellors, they are supposed to be a family friendly company as most of their licensees are mothers (flexible hours, option not to work during school holidays etc) so I would hope they are flexible but I just started (and got pregnant sooner than expected) and haven't been able to build a relationship with them yet. I will call ACAS on Monday and unless they advise otherwise I'll probably inform my head office sooner rather than later. If anyone else has more knowledge/advice to share here that would obviously be great! Thanks again Mellors, this already helped a lot.

Thanks so much Mellors, they are supposed to be a family friendly company as most of their licensees are mothers (flexible hours, option not to work during school holidays etc) so I would hope they are flexible but I just started (and got pregnant sooner than expected) and haven't been able to build a relationship with them yet. I will call ACAS on Monday and unless they advise otherwise I'll probably inform my head office sooner rather than later. If anyone else has more knowledge/advice to share here that would obviously be great! Thanks again Mellors, this already helped a lot.

I got pregnant quite soon after starting my own franchise and I wonder what my rights are wrt maternity leave (not maternity pay, I'll find that out separately). My franchise contract runs until November 2010 whereas I'm due in June/July 2010... I am not planning on returning to the franchise after the baby is born (as it won't be financially viable anymore) but I don't want to be in breach of contract by stopping early, so I'm hoping to be able to be on maternity leave (with just maternity allowance from the government) until the contract runs out. The contract states that if I stop generating an income (and therefore paying them royalties) before the contract ends, they will make me pay royalties until the end of the contract anyway, based on the average royalties I'd been paying them until the day I stopped working. Maternity isn't mentioned anywhere in the contract and I don't want to mention it to the head office before I know what my rights are... Does anyone know what those rights are? On Directgov I only found rights for the employed - they must assume that if you're self employed you're not bound by any contracts but I am. Any advice is welcome, please let me know if there's anything I need to clarify. Thanks!

I got pregnant quite soon after starting my own franchise and I wonder what my rights are wrt maternity leave (not maternity pay, I'll find that out separately). My franchise contract runs until November 2010 whereas I'm due in June/July 2010... I am not planning on returning to the franchise after the baby is born (as it won't be financially viable anymore) but I don't want to be in breach of contract by stopping early, so I'm hoping to be able to be on maternity leave (with just maternity allowance from the government) until the contract runs out. The contract states that if I stop generating an income (and therefore paying them royalties) before the contract ends, they will make me pay royalties until the end of the contract anyway, based on the average royalties I'd been paying them until the day I stopped working. Maternity isn't mentioned anywhere in the contract and I don't want to mention it to the head office before I know what my rights are... Does anyone know what those rights are? On Directgov I only found rights for the employed - they must assume that if you're self employed you're not bound by any contracts but I am. Any advice is welcome, please let me know if there's anything I need to clarify. Thanks!