espelli

and me!

Hi Louise, Welcome to the area. Have a look at the Winter babies club thread, there is a meet up on Monday mornings at The Gardens cafe. I have an 11w old boy and am happy to meet up in the afternoons if that is easier - I am only just starting to get out and about in the mornings now and found it impossible in the early days! Elli

Congratulations millymoo!!! It's so good to hear that Isabella is doing well. Kit was a fellow SCBU baby. Being home is such a relief from the emotional roller coaster of being in SCBU. Enjoy the unlimited cuddles! Can't wait to meet her and the other new babies - am determined to make a meet up, are people still meeting at the gardens on Monday morning?

What Prickle describes is the same for all local authority schools. To answer your other question, your older child will only get a place if there is a space in their year group - even if your younger child gets a place in Reception. The sibling places usually only apply to children entering the school at Reception who have older siblings already in the school and not for in-year admissions, although the school will run the waiting lists for Year 1 and above so may well give a sibling preference. Children do still move in and out of schools (and it is not as stressful as the Reception application system), it might be worth asking the Head at your child's school what the mobility is and how many places they have or whether they are full in all year groups. This may enable you to make your decision with a bit more information about your particular school. Hope this helps!

They came to a school I used to work in and told us that a famous football player was coming to run the day. The kids were most disappointed that he had been mildly famous in the early eighties and wasn't anyone they had ever heard of. The 50% of the sponsorship money going to the company is a rip off and the event itself is a let down. It's a shame schools are still being conned into taking part. A sponsored beat the goalie that we organised ourselves went down much better and all the sponsorship money went to the school.

It could be a response to this on BBC News. Kingsdale's last inspection judged Teaching as Good which would put them into the group of schools likely to be re-inspected. Kingsdale's Ofsted Report

Congratulations for all the new babies! I have been following the thread and had every intention to make the meet ups with Kit, but I am struggling with getting going in the mornings too so haven't made any of them! I'm up for afternoons though and can do next Wednesday. I'm free other afternoons as well at the moment.

Wow - so many responses! Thank you so much for your recommendations on here and by PM, they are so helpful. I will try and get along to the breastfeeding cafe on Thursday this week and try a few of your suggestions. In my sleep deprived mind I hadn't even considered that they would have examples of pillows at them! Fuschia and Saffron - thank you so much for your kind offers, I have PM'd you. We are getting there with the feeding - I think I am also starting to relax about it a tiny bit which helps! Thank you again for your ideas, this forum is great!

I have been home with the baby for just over a week and my back can't take it anymore! I am tall and my baby is prem and so very small. I have tried using a combination of pillows and cushions but they don't seem to work and I end up either holding him up above the pillow or hunched over. I've tried piling the cushions but it tends to wobble and he ends up slipping into the gap between the pillow and me. Can anyone recommend a firm, stable cushion that lifts the baby up quite high, or does such a thing even exist? Thank you in advance!

Bee I won't be able to make the cinema this week but it sounds like a fab idea if you wanted to go another time. I'm up for a meet up next week though and am flexible on days/times - that is as flexible as baby lets me be! I've lost track of how many babies there are now! Good luck to those yet to come. Pippa I hope your induction goes well! x Elli

So lovely to hear of all the new babies! Congratulations to all! I have been away from here for a while as my 32 week scan showed that espelli Jr wasn't happy where he was and needed to be born. Kings SCBU was full so I was transferred to a hospital near Tunbridge Wells and he was delivered there on 13th Dec. He has done incredibly well and although he weighed just 3lbs 6oz at birth, he is now an impressive 4lbs and we arrived home on Wednesday just 3 weeks after he was born. We are still adjusting to his very early arrival - I was not supposed to start my maternity leave until next Friday and we were midway through a number of DIY projects in the flat which we now need to complete around him - but he is adorable and I'm so pleased to get the extra 8 weeks with him! We haven't ventured out very far yet but if there are any meet ups planned I would be glad to try and make them with the little one! Bee thank you for raising the issue of coping - I really wasn't prepared for how all-consuming, relentless and overwhelming caring for a baby can be - hopefully we can be a good source of support for each other. Looking forward to meeting up again soon. Elli

Congratulations Mothercourage! How exciting - can't wait to hear who is next!

Am running late but will be there! Elli

Hi all, I can make this week too. See you tomorrow! Elli

I'm so sorry I didn't make it last night, Hannah I can't apologise enough that you were on your own. This week is crazy at work with several late nights and I am feeling the strain! Is the next meet up on Thursday at the Actress? All being well I can do that one. Congratulations to all who have had scans, I had mine last week and didn't find out what it was, but all is well. Hope to see everyone next week.

I can't make this evening I'm afraid, but am up for the Gowlett on Tuesday. Sorry to miss you all!

Hello again, I'm really sad to have missed the meet up. Unfortunately some family stuff meant that I had to be out of London unexpectedly. It sounds like you had a great time and I would love to join in on the 27th. Mooncake, I would also be interested in finding out more about a hypnobirthing course. MissMack, making your own sling is such a good idea - will start looking out for some nice fabric! Elli

My midwife told me that they now have 4 pools. 1 permanent and 3 inflatable. She said that she has never known them all to be in use at the same time but that there was no guarantee as it was first come first served.

That's so good MissM! Thank you for doing it. I wonder if any of us will end up having babies on the same day?! Thank you for the explanation mikandnik - it was a question I really should have asked this morning but it went out of my head (along with a lot of other things these days!)

Can I ask a question about due dates...? Going by my dates I am due on 28th Jan. I was monitoring this and am definite about them. At my scan they gave me a new date of 3rd Feb. Which one is really more likely? or does it not matter as it won't happen on either of those days anyway? I don't really trust the scan date and am more inclined to go with the original date. Is that silly? Maybe I'm over-thinking it but I'd appreciate your thoughts!

Welcome Mooncake! Mik and Nik I also had my second midwife appt this morning - I am just 16 weeks and walked home with a big grin on my face after hearing the heartbeat, it was so reassuring. Apart from all the symptoms I have at times wondered if I was imagining all this! Looks like the G&B gathering will be great with so many of us there. Looking forward to meeting you all. Elli

In my experience this decision is made by the Headteacher. A practical consideration would be whether there is a space in the other class, as legally class sizes in Key Stage 1 are limited to 30 children per teacher. I've taught children who have spent some time each week in a class in a different year group as the provision in the other class was more suited to the needs of the child, and even with the best will in the world, if a child's needs are significantly different - and particularly if they are social or developmental - the capacity to meet them, even with differentiation is limited in a mainstream classroom. However, these arrangements were with year groups that were more than one year apart (eg Year 3 age child visiting Reception) and they were children who were on the SEN register but who did not have statements. As your daughter has a statement, and presumably has additional adult support hours within that, it may be worth discussing with the school how spending time in a different year group may help her to achieve her targets - particularly if they are social in nature and if she is operating at a developmentally younger stage than her peers. For example spending time with other children who are at a similar developmental phase can help develop social skills in a way that spending time 1:1 with an adult cannot. Schools do have the flexibility to do it, but in my experience it takes a brave headteacher who is prepared to explain their decision to the local authority etc.

Hi I will also try and come along on the 25th, thank you for organising it! Sal, I also had the horrible taste in my mouth and found that sipping orange juice worked to help hold it off as well as constantly sipping water. When I was going into a situation where constant swigging wasn't possible I ate a chunk of crystalised ginger with the sugar washed off. I couldn't drink milk or eat eggs either as that made it worse. It didn't ever really go though and I still have it at times now (15 weeks) but it is so much better, I sympathise! Looking forward to meeting you all, Elli

This is really good info, I was also looking for a class. The Jags class on Sunday sounds good but do you need to be a member? The website seemed to be all about membership - unless I was looking in the wrong place!

Hi all, I'm also a first timer - due on 3rd February. Glad there are some other newbies, although I'm sure having advice from those who have been through all this before will be so useful! Congratulations and looking forward to following everyone's progress! Elli