espelli

I used to put mine in a vest/sleepsuit and maybe a cardigan and a hat (once his head started poking out and was not covered by the sling). I would then put the wrap sling on under my own cardigan and coat and do one or both of those up around him once he was in the sling. It made me look as if I was pregnant again in a very odd and lumpy way but he was toasty and I could undo a layer if it was getting a bit warm, without disturbing him in the sling.

Hi I can also recommend the stretchy type wrap. I used one all the time when my baby was tiny and it was brilliant.(thank you Handstands!) My baby was prem and weighed under 4lbs when he was born. I was lent a moby wrap by the hospital for kangaroo carebefore he came home and it was great even though he was much smaller than the guidance on the label, and I was definitely using the kari me sling all the time by the time he was 5lbs. I used to fold the fabric in half lengthwise so that it didn't bunch too much and that seemed to work well because he was so little. As he got bigger I moved on to an ergo. I miss those snuggly days!

Oxfam has a site for children called cool planet that might have what you need. Most charity info for children is aimed at 7+ but there might be something useful. http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/kidsweb/

Edanna, I completely agree. I had a similar situation with my son who was also in special care. I had loads of support to breastfeed and was helped to express for him but it was not enough (even with domperidone) and after he had stopped being tube fed so I could exclusively breastfeed him he lost weight, and then lost more and he was under 4lbs to start with. It was so very scary seeing my tiny baby get smaller. In the end I asked the hospital to give him formula and we managed to mix feed for a while before exclusively formula feeding. I think we get into this mindset that everything we do as parents has to be the absolute best regardless of the cost or how small the difference is between what is best and what is good enough under the circumstances. I am sure that there is still much more to be learned about the properties of breastmilk and it's benefits, but we are so fortunate to have the availability of a substitute that enables babies to thrive. I hope my son has had some of the benefits from breastfeeding even if it was limited in time and amount, however I know that by the time he goes to school his teachers will not be able to tell the difference between him and his exclusively breastfed classmates from their ability or IQ - and nor will they ask about it!

Medusa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So far as I'm aware, male nursery > workers are not allowed to assist with certain > types of care needs either, nor are male teachers > supposed to have unsupervised meetings, etc, with > female pupils. These rules and regulations were > all drawn up in response to an increased awareness > of the prevalence of abuse. Do the people who > consider me an alarmist bigot also think that > these measures are excessive? Medusa, where did you hear that male nursery workers were not allowed to perform certain care needs or male teachers not have unsupervised meetings with female students? I have never heard of this in a Nursery or Primary school and it is through the passing on of hearsay and rumour like this that these things become known as "fact" and all men looking after children are viewed with suspicion. Abuse does happen in schools and nurseries and everyone working in them should be vigilant but these have involved women as the abusers too. It is really important to remember that a child is more likely to be abused by a family member than someone who is employed to look after them. To the OP, a friend of mine is a childminder in Lewisham and he is excellent and does not find it difficult to find work. He goes to a couple of Dad/male carer groups with his charges so that he doesn't always feel like a novelty - one of the groups runs out of Hatcham Grove Children's Centre in Brockley - so there are others out there and they are accepted! He started doing it for exactly the same reasons as your friend is considering it. Feel free to PM me if you would like more info.

Susyp, I've nothing to add about the infection, which sounds horrible - poor little thing, but if she needs prescribed medication at school you won't need to give it through the fence! The school will either request you come in to give it to her or ask you for written permission for a member of staff to give it to her. I hope you manage to find out the cause of it.

Belle the free school meals policy is in the same vein as children's centre services-they are made open access to reach those who refused them when there was a stigma in applying for a hand out (or the process was too complex for some to negotiate). I think my point was really that we are fortunate to have these services available to us, but we also need to be aware that we don't have an entitlement to them and that others may be prioritised over us. I wasn't trying for moral high ground at all.

It is so sad that these kind of discussions seem to end up being a stand off between those mothers that stay at home and those who go out to work. I think there needs to be a bit of perspective too, having a job that pays enough to employ a nanny (even if there is not much left over after all the additional costs) is very different to not earning as much as a nanny in the first place. People may not perceive themselves to be well off and going out to work only to pay most of what you earn in childcare is hard to justify sometimes but it isn't necessarily one step away from the breadline. The children's centre wants to support parents and families. It is not making a moral judgement about how wealthy or otherwise anyone is. Nannies are not their focus and so they have limited the number of sessions they can attend to two a week. That is not depriving the children that have nannies - there are so many other things around the area to do and they are fortunate to have a person looking after them who is trained in child development and so should have the skills to devise activities for them in addition to going to activities that are organised. Out of interest how often do people tend to go to children's centre activities? I don't think I went to more than two in a week while I was on maternity leave - did I underuse a fantastic resource or is that about average? I don't see this as a form of means testing. It is part of a strategy to improve children's lives through increasing their parent's skills in caring for them. Many nannies have more expertise and years of experience in caring for children than first time parents do and they are not targeted by the children's centre for support.

You may be able to phone Southwark admissions team and ask them to check for you. I know Lewisham used to do this for parents, I'm not sure if they still do but it's worth asking!

Pugwash, LondonMix and Buggie have explained this much better than I managed in my previous post. My point was really that sure start provides services to support children and they do this through improving the care they receive from their parents and families. A SAHM, regardless of her household's income, may at some point need some support in raising her children and this would come under the remit of Sure Start. If a nanny needs support with looking after her charges it would not. Children's Centres are being asked to ensure that they are reaching the children who are most in need more carefully than previously as they have to justify their funding. Means testing is one way of doing it and prioritising parents attending sessions over nannies is another. Neither is great as ultimately these cuts are affecting children, but it's not Bessemer Grange that is cutting Sure Start's budget. Minder I have not said that nannies should stay indoors all the time! The Children's Centre isn't the only alternative to being indoors and the nanny hasn't been banned, just limited in the frequency they can go.

Espolea I think it is very sad that the budget cuts mean that SureStart children's centres need to be more targeted with their activities and support for parents. The main reason that these centres and services have been so successful at reaching those who really need them is because their open access policy meant that parents who were looking for good quality activities for their children came to those that the children's centres put on. This meant that the parents who needed more support with their parenting did not see children's centres in the same way as other forms of state support offered to them by, for example, social services and also came along. I do not know your particular circumstances, but the fact that you are able to employ a nanny shows that you are socially aware and able to employ good, high quality childcare for your child. I don't mean you are just financially able, more that you are able to navigate the various tax, insurance and other things required to hire a nanny. Your nanny is probably an experienced child care professional and they are able to provide stimulation and appropriate activities to meet your child's development needs. Sure Start is now having to be targeted at those parents who need support with those things and so while it is a real shame that they are having to make that choice, you can see that they consider nannies to already be aware of their charges developmental needs and therefore not the first in need of the support offered. A neighbouring borough has had it's Sure start funding cut from 12 million to 1 million and children centres have closed. This action, while sad, may prevent the valuable work they do from being lost entirely.

I also like unusual names and my son's name has been mentioned on here too! Although we call him Kit. We were going to call him Fletcher and I still really like it, but when he was born it just didn't somehow suit him. Also on the shortlist was Inigo, although I preferred Ingo, and Loki.

Hi, there is a Contact a Family drop in session advertised in the Peckham & Nunhead Let's Go Children Centre guide: Contact a family Rye Oak Primary School and Children?s Centre Whorlton Road, SE15 3PD Drop in session offering information and advice for parents and carers who have children with a disability or special needs. Age: Under five Time: 9.30am to 12.30pm Tel: 020 7358 8654 I've tried to attach the pdf but it's too big. You can download it from here: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/3161/lets_go_guide_peckham_nunhead_and_peckham_rye_september_to_december_2012

Prebooked tours also allow for a lot of the school's normal business (teaching and learning) to take place uninterrupted, something I would imagine parents would value. If you don't trust what the school is saying to you before your child is a pupil there then don't put it down as one of your choices. That lack of trust as a starting point is not a good basis for building a positive relationship with a school. If you were looking for your child to join the school outside of the normal entry points then you would be right to ask for a tour then, but to be honest demanding a tour when you decide to turn up smacks of arrogance and the attitude that senior members of staff at the school have no more pressing business than to sit around waiting for parents to show up and want a look round! Just to be clear - I have no connection with Kingsdale at all.

I've used these on a school coach journey to Devon and they were brilliant - worth every penny to stop the smell setting others off! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cleanis-Vom-Vomit-Bags-x20/dp/B003LY7CQW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1345143085&sr=8-2 I have also used gusseted freezer bags with a thick wadge of tissue in the bottom which works quite well too and is cheaper.

signed

Apparently rubbing grass stains with the cut surface of a white onion works! I haven't tried it myself but it might be worth a go!

In short, yes nurseries are obliged to make reference to the EYFS and should keep records of what they have seen of your daughter's development. It doesn't sound like you are being pushy and it might be worth doing what katgod suggests and try talking to the manager. She should be able to answer your concerns.

If it is a strawberry mark or haemangioma then the Ophthalmologists at Kings are very knowledgable and refer on to a specialist clinic at Great Ormond Street if they need to. My son has a haemangioma on his lip and when we were seeing the Ophthalmologists for a separate issue they picked it up and gave us some useful information even though it is nowhere near his eyes. At the moment we are not pursuing treatment so I can't comment on the process involved, but I felt confident that the doctors at Kings knew their stuff! Feel free to PM.

Hi, Good question! I was wondering whether to put this info in the above post but decided it might be a bit wordy if I did! The fb group is a closed group - anything that is posted is only visible to members and only members can post. Becoming a member is by request or invitation but any member can accept a request or offer an invitation. The only reason for making it a closed group was so that people can put their addresses up for a gathering or other details without worrying that they were available to the whole world. Tomo, I also feel very lucky to have this thread, I've met some really lovely people through it and would love to catch up with some that I met pre baby. I didn't do NCT and baby arrived before my third NHS class so I have really appreciated the community of this thread for support and shared love of cake. x Elli PS Thank you again Family Room Moderator for setting up the thread in the first place!

Hello, As there is a new lot of Winter Babies due now, a few of us were thinking about moving on to a facebook group so that we can share details and photos etc as well as leaving the board with just one Winter Babies Club to minimise confusion. So far we have done it through word of mouth when we meet up, but there are a number of people who came to the meet ups when pregnant but haven't been to any since and who may be following the thread. One of the best things about having the forum baby clubs is that they are open to all, and I wanted to let people who haven't been able to meet up know that there is still the opportunity to meet up even if the thread has gone quiet. It can be found through this link https://www.facebook.com/groups/425802494124436/ or by searching for Winter Babies Club on facebook. x Elli

Here is some info about air bags http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/choosing/airbags.htm I think it is ok as long as there is a bit of space between the child seat and the door (for side airbags)

Yay it worked! PM me with how to get it to you!

Hi caz, That was spectacular well done! I've done a quick check of the dvd and it all looks good so I'll try it in another machine tomorrow and let you know if it's a success. Hope you get a lie in tomorrow!

I'm hoping to record it (I say hoping as I've got a tenuous grasp on the workings of the dvd recorder) so you are welcome to a copy if it works! Good luck tonight! I'm really looking forward to watching it!