sophiechristophy

Hey there, I am heading to the US next month with my 4 month old, and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for good value family travel insurance? Thanks! Sophie x

Is your main concern with the milk his calcium intake? There are high levels of calcium in other foods, such as almonds, green leafy veg (e.g. kale and spinach), broccoli, and swede for example, so if you incorporate some of those into his diet, you don't need to worry about the milk. Maybe slices of apple with almond butter on for example? Also worth noting that lots of yoghurt products marketed at kids are quite high in sugar content - munch bunch e.g. has over a teaspoon of sugar in each 42g pot, which quickly adds up. S x

i was thinking maybe teething too, as my baby was like a new born when her teeth were coming through after having slept really well. x

i've fed in an ergo, although it is a little awkward. i love the carrier on the whole though, and definitely was amazing in the early days with the infant insert to help baby get off to sleep!

I have no issue with feeding before bed. As far as I have found it really relaxes my baby, and isn't a problem at all. In fact, I think it is a really nice thing. And she has slept through on and off since she was 8 weeks old, so I definitely don't think it does any harm at all. My advice would be to roll with whatever makes your baby (and you) happy and helps them to fall asleep. Don't worry about a routine, or anything. Just trust your instincts.

Don't worry too much yet! You are only a few days overdue!! Try to get some rest, and eat as much as you can - I bet you go into labour all on your own, and you are going to need all your strength for the birth :) Good luck!!

how about just some mashed up avocado?

i think we have a duty to protect children from harm, rather than turn a blind eye.

Just read The Help - black perspective of working as domestic help in Mississippi in the 1960s, really good: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Help-Kathryn-Stockett/dp/0141039280/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279127027&sr=8-1

You might want to wait until your baby is born to see if you need a blackout blind rather than spend the money before - we don't have them and our baby has been totally fine and slept without. Just a thought! Best, S

It depends on what you do with your baby. Our baby is breast fed, so that means no bottles or formula. We use Nature baby care nappies, works out to about ?10 per week. For changing we just use water, cotton wool and olive oil, two packs of square cotton wool pads a week. Worth mentioning that if you breast feed you will also need to buy nursing pads for your bra, i use about a pack a week, but was more in the early days of feeding. Also pads for bleeding, for the first 4-6 weeks, and in the early days after the birth, you use a lot of the maternity pads, like maybe almost a box of 10 a day (they are about ?2.50 per box i think). For bathing, we just use water, so that is free :) Hope that helps! S

Hi everyone, Sorry for posting this so late after the event, but just wanted to say thanks to everyone that came last Thursday! It was so nice to meet the new mums to be, to see some familiar faces from last time, and meet babies that have been born in between!!! Hoping to have another get together, picnic in the park next time possibly, in May - keep checking back on the thread for more info. In the mean time, hope everyone stays well and takes good care of themselves!! All the best, Sophie

This is a really good website for accommodation: www.sawdays.co.uk :)

Hi there, So, it looks as though we have a lovely group coming along for the meet up on Thursday, how nice! If you are planning on attending and haven't pm'd me, could you drop me a note just so that I can get a clear idea of numbers to let the cafe know for our table booking? Thanks so much, and looking forward to seeing everyone in the park on Thursday at 2pm. Best, Sophie Molly - so sorry for any confusion, and also that you can't make it on Thursday. I moved the date because of the school holiday. S

Just a little reminder to everyone - the next meeting is next week, on Thursday 22nd, NOT tomorrow as earlier suggested in this thread. Vangough - oh you poor thing! Hope you are getting to rest up. And look forward to seeing you hopefully in May! Fingers crossed I will have my own home birth story by then too! Sophie x

Hi Crystal, I am a community cookery teacher, and lead a session for under fives (youngest participant I have worked with was 12 months)at a children's centre in north london. I often work with children who are quite particular about what they like to eat at home, which tends to be really frustrating and worrying for their parents. In the sessions we cook a whole variety of recipes (the kids do the cooking, with parents help :), a lot of recipes people are surprised by as the ingredients we use are considered to be 'adult', rather than for children. Anyway, i can't tell you how beneficial it is for the children to eat together - without fail, even the most choosy of the group try the different things we have made. So, maybe would it be possible to invite some friends with their young ones and maybe do a little lunch club together? Where the children eat together and the parents take a bit of a back seat? Or do any of the local children centre's have cooking sessions? Just an idea that is a bit outside the box, environment as well as the actual ingredients can make a difference. (Having said this, children's eating habits do seem to go in stages, with periods of choosiness, often common to specific age and stage of development, so don't be too worried!). S

Yay Sandra! Glad you can come! Laura - sorry you can't make the 22nd, will look forward to seeing you in May though :) Sophie x

Hello everyone! We are coming up to a month since we met at Dulwich Park Cafe, and I thought I would see if people would like to meet again. I am proposing 2pm on Thursday 22nd April as the time and date, at the cafe in the park again. It was such a lovely time last time, and again, it would be lovely to see anyone planning, or who has had a home birth and would like to share stories and experiences, as well as have a good chat. Let me know if you can make it! Best, Sophie

Hello everyone! We are coming up to a month since we met at Dulwich Park Cafe, and I thought I would see if people would like to meet again. I am proposing 2pm on Thursday 22nd April as the time and date, at the cafe in the park again. It was such a lovely time last time, and again, it would be lovely to see anyone planning, or who has had a home birth and would like to share stories and experiences, as well as have a good chat. Let me know if you can make it! Best, Sophie

This depends on whether you are giving your baby formula or breast milk? If you are giving your baby breast milk, you don't need to supplement with water to stop him from being dehydrated when you are weaning. If it is formula, you can offer a little water if you want (or if he is getting constipated). There is water in milk, so you are giving him 'water' in a sense when you give him milk. Another thing to consider is that your baby's stomach is still really small, and what you don't want to do is let him fill up on water or milk, rather than his meal! So best to offer the food first, and liquid after. Hope that helps! :)

My pregnancy yoga class has been such a life saver. Totally recommend it!: http://www.lightcentrebelgravia.co.uk/yoga/Katy_Appleton/katy_appleton.html

Hi, In October we are going over to the US for a wedding, and I am planning on taking out maxi-cosi infant car seat with us for our baby who will be about 5 months by then. Does anyone know if there are any differences in the law when it comes to using a car seat over in the USA? I was hoping on just using the seat belt to strap the car seat in. If anyone has taken a car with them to the US, I would love to know how it worked! Thanks, Sophie

Speaking of the US vs UK thing - a few of my best girlfriends are from the US, and they have been the most shocked my my decision to have a home birth. I think there is a real acceptance and confidence in the medical model in the US - when we were all at uni together, I remember my US friends being really frustrated that UK GPs wouldn't prescribe something when they went to see them about colds etc. Back home in the US, because of the structure of the pharmacutical industry, people are so used to being prescribed something for any complaint, even when it is unnecessary. Quite interesting!

Hi Reren, Just wanted to let you know that we just started a little home birth support group, which met last week at the dulwich park cafe and was a really lovely way to meet other expectant mum's who are planning home births, and also some great mums who have already had homebirths who very generously shared their experiences with everyone. We are planning on meeting again towards the middle/end of April, so if you fancy it please come along :) It is a very laid back group, and some of the mum's have had hospital births as well as home births, so very open minded in terms of being open to whatever your birth brings you. I will post about the next meeting in the next week or so. All the best with your plans, and remember to trust your instincts. It's your baby and your birth after all :) Sophie

Hi everyone, I just had this forwarded to me from Sitaram yoga, who received it from a TV production company looking for two pregnant ladies, one in her 40s and one in her teens, to take part in a new documentary they are making about motherhood. thought I would put it out there in case anyone was interested: Dear Mum-To-Be I am writing from an award-winning television production company, betty. We are currently making a documentary about motherhood for Channel Four?s prestigious Cutting Edge strand, which I wanted to let you know about. The film will look at motherhood through the eyes of two women of very different ages (a teenager and a woman in her forties) who are about to become mothers for the first time. The programme will follow them through the latter stages of pregnancy, through their births and as they get used to being mums. We?d like the documentary to offer an insight into the experience of motherhood through the eyes of the two women at different stages of life, in a sensitive, non-judgmental way. We?d love to speak to women in their teens and their forties who are due to give birth to their first child between now and June. For your information, betty is a leading television production company, specialising in high quality factual programmes. Our recent credits include; the award-winning series Find Me a Family for Channel 4 (about adoption), Repossessed for BBC1 (about families facing repossession), Country House Rescue for Channel 4 (about country estates facing hard times) and the Emmy-award winning drama, Forgiven. You can find out more about us at www.betty.co.uk. To find out more - without any commitment to taking part - please give me a call on 020 7290 0536, or email me on [email protected] I look forward to hearing from you. Many thanks and best wishes Emma Hayes Assistant Producer