jperry

It sounds like you dealt with it perfectly Grotty... sometimes I've found with my boys its best just to wait it out until they're finished...not helpful at all though when you have disapproving eyes peering at you! While away on holiday last week with my husband's family my 3yo kept having tantrums and a couple of times wet himself. At the end of our holiday, a family member asked me if it upset me that 'everyone' thought our 3yo was a bit of a 'mummy's boy' in comparison to our 18 month old who is so funny and great fun. I was pretty upset by this as it's completely unfair. As soon as we left our holiday and said goodbye to everyone my 3yo cheered up, and we made a fuss of him on our way home etc - letting him have what he wanted for lunch etc. My guess now is that he sensed and had picked up on what 'everyone' thought of him on holiday and didn't have the words to express himself - he basically felt excluded. Essentially what I guess I'm saying is that children pick up on things so easily. Grotty, perhaps those women shaking their heads in the park need to realise this! Your daughter may have been picking up on people looking at her etc and probably just got more and more upset. Sorry I've not really added anything in terms of how to deal with tantrums - I've tried bribery, yelling, staying calm etc. Sometimes it doesn't matter what I do, nothing works! But if I can, staying calm is my favoured option as at least there's one of us that isn't going crazy. Hope today is a better day today! xx

Salia I really feel for you. I had mastitis with my second child and it took me two visits to the doctor before they would give me antibiotics (although at least I managed to get an appointment!) as I didn't seem to have the 'obvious' signs of it like redness and swelling. I've never felt so sick in my life. I got it when I was weaning my son so luckily I didn't have to give up bf. My husband was due to go o/s for work and we ended up having to pay for someone to come in and help me with the children (like you, toddler and baby). Could have been avoided had the first doctor I saw (Seldoc) been able to help me out. It's completely unacceptable that you weren't given an appointment - this was the very reason I left Melbourne Grove and went to DMC. As others have said, it's not perfect but I've always been reasonably happy with their level of service. I really hope that you have someone you can call on to help you out as it's really terrible trying to look after two little ones when feeling so crappy. Feel better soon! xx

I'm from Melbourne but agree with what jLo says - I went to Brisbane recently and was struck by how much it has changed for the better. The benefits to living in Brisbane (in my opinion!) are the close proximity to places like Noosa. Although having said that Melbourne and Sydney are also near great beaches. Melbourne was a great city to grow up in - I had a fabulous childhood there. I think the only thing I find when I go home is how everything feels a lot slower and you notice how there's a lot less people around - can be a positive or negative I guess depending on what you're looking for. Good luck with whatever you decide, I hope it works out well for you all.

We bought a LeapPad2 for our almost 3 year old and he loves it. I haven't yet purchased any other apps but there's plenty on there to keep him amused and there are different levels for different ages. I was getting really over having him wanting to use my phone all the time - it's perfect for long journeys in the car. Would definitely recommend it.

Hi all, I'm due Nov 22nd with my second. Will PM my email address, would love to join in any future meet-ups - unfortunately I can't make July 17th. My son is now 15 months old so slightly nervous about coping with two under two! Hope you are all feeling well and hopefully meet up with some of you soon!