jenc

I'd love to do this, I have a 3yo and 1yo and will be on maternity leave again from April. I'm a basic knitter with enthusiasm for other arts and crafts!

Snappy snaps in Peckham definitely does on the spot printing, not the cheapest but v quick.

I'd love to come along to these, weeknights good for me too and July also good.

I had a successful ECV at 37 wks at kings last nov, I was very nervous about it in terms of distressing/hsrming the baby but was keen to avoid a second c section as had to look after toddler. It was far less uncomfortable than I expected and the guy doing it was lovely, very understanding, and monitored the baby during and after. The injection didn't make me shaky but would imagine everyone reacts differently. Obviously it helps that it was successful but even if it hadn't been it wasn't as bad as I'd expected so I think worth trying. My baby was small too though whivhi think helped with the turning. Good luck! Jen

I bought one for my newborn and 25mo and I really like it. Fits through my front door and living room door and also into shops. It is very easy to push. We used carrycot plus seat until literally yesterday (newborn now 4m), carrycot is quite narrow but my daughter was small so not an issue for us. The rain cover is an issue when you have carrycot plus seat although in July it won't be so much of a problem - fingers crossed! As Snowboarder says the issue now is that the toddler can harass the baby but I personally still prefer it to an inline. If you'd like to have a look at mine you'd be more than welcome, just pm me.

Hi mammamia, I can't make this Monday either but will give you a shout if we try it after that! Thanks all for info.

Have been thinking about going to this with my 2 yo and 3mo, is it the kind of playgroup where you can turn up around 10ish and still get in or do you have to be there on the dot?

Thanks so much for starting this thread amydown, I've been puzzling about it since number 2 arrived in November. So far, as far as I can tell, the only definite is the glass of wine when it's all over! I've found its success or otherwise depends on how tired the baby is, and mine seems to be tired a lot - despite being almost three months old she seems to only want to be awake 1-1.5hrs before she wants to be asleep again. Anyway, I digress, at the moment I'm putting them both in the bath (son is 27m) about 6/6.15 then getting the baby out and drying her while toddler still in bath, then dry and dress him while baby kicks on floor, sometimes crying, on a good day not. Then into our room to feed the baby while toddler reads books with us, then put baby down while I take toddler into his room, give him his milk and put him to bed. Usually the baby is crying at this point but the toddler is quick to put to bed so I rush back into her then and sort her out. Stressful. I was hoping that number 2 would be one of those babies who just drifted off to sleep by themselves but sadly not. Great to hear other people's strategies.

Was just about to trawl the Internet and the forum for toddler activities and now I don't have to, thanks so much! Great idea.

Hi Amy I bought a mountain buggy duet from there in september and had to pre-order it. Their customer service was fine, apart from the fact they over overcharged us as we had to put a deposit down then pay the balance when we picked it up. They got the amount of deposit wrong and overcharged us but refunded us quickly over the phone once I'd pointed it out. I wouldn't say their customer service was any better than anyone else's but it was perfectly acceptable in my case. Getting through to the store on the phone could take a while as you have to go through an automated system. Hope that helps. Jen

Just to add - maybe not for OP but for others reading - that I had c/s in Oct 09 and then a successful ECV last month on my breech baby. Was dreading it and it was unpleasant but bearable, especially given that it worked. Mr Marsh, the consultant who did it, was lovely and really reassuring and informative. Hope your baby turns Claribel.

Thanks for that Fuschia, she does come off on her own and then I offer the other side which she usually takes. Was up far too much last night and toddler also kept husband up so we're all sleep deprived in this house today, bleugh.

Such a relief to read this thread, my 4wo is keeping me up all evening feeding then when up in the night it's often 1.5-2 hrs of feeding and winding before we're back asleep. Yawn. Interesting what's been said about feeding from one side as long as possible in the evening, I tend to do 30ish mins on one side then swap, is that not long enough? Am going to try and start 'bedtime' in a couple of weeks too but have no idea how it's going to work with baby plus 25 month old! Much sympathy to all those not getting enough sleep.

Another vote for Katie Fisher, she diagnosed thrush and posterior tongue tie with my son which no one else had picked up on. I had a truly miserable time until I saw her and she spotted both straightaway and got us into the tongue tie clinic quickly and wrote a letter to my gp to get these circular wound dressings which really helped with sore nipples.

No tips I'm afraid, just shared frustration - 24 mo eats bread, breadsticks, pitta, houmous, fishfingers, potato waffles, chips, yogurt, cake, shreddies - again notice the total lack of anything green. In fact pretty much everything he eats is beige. fruit and veg squeezies meant for babies are the only way to get any goodness into him. I try and give him something different and he will not even touch it, even with bribery. I haven't tried the "it's this or nothing" strategy as I feel so bad about him going to bed hungry but it is going to have to get to that soon. I wouldn't care but both me and his father are adventurous eaters and love food which makes it even more frustrating. Arrrggghhhhh.

Another recommendation for Greg, he fitted two new cupboard doors for us this week and was very professional, quick and tidy.

This has cheered me up no end too! My 23mo son eats a very limited diet despite also happily munching on broccoli when younger, like you snowboarder I have the photos to prove it so I know I wasn't dreaming it. Both me and his father LOVE food so I find it very disheartening that he's so fussy, I'm just hoping that like lots of things it's a phase and by the time he's five he'll eat everything but somehow I doubt it. I try to be relatively relaxed about it but just find it incredibly irritating. Hope the next one is more interested in food and one of those lovely children who eat anything! On the upside my brother was the fussiest child in the world and now eats like a normal human being so there is hope.

I can't help with the reasons but I'm just glad to hear that other people's toddler boys behave like mine! Although mine won't eat anything better for the childminder than for me. But he certainly seems to behave better for her. Little monkeys.

I had one at 40+5 at midday and went into labour that afternoon (in M&S!) although didn't really realise until my waters broke about 6pm. Had my son that night. So I guess it worked for me but like everyone has said, he could have been on his way anyway. The midwife who did it did say as she brought her hand out (ouch) "that's a bloody show" so maybe he was. I found it quite painful while it was happening but no lasting discomfort and it was over quite quickly. Good luck!

Hi everyone I'm due in November with my second - my little boy is 19 months. I'd love to meet up with you all on 17th July, I'll email Sunlover with my details. Jen

Maggie O Farrell's The Distance Between Us is fab, and I'd second One Day by David Nicholls. One of my fave books is The Rotters' Club by Jonathan Coe, v absorbing but easy to get on with and amusing too. Also love Nevil Shute's A Town Like Alice, about a woman who goes to Australia after WWII, and I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. Neither are difficult to get into. Happy holidays!

Hi, I've lost a green patterned sunhat/baseball cap type thing this afternoon and a navy blue and white striped sunhat last week, both from JoJo and both size 6-12 mths - if anyone's found either of them if you could PM me that'd be great, chucking money down the drain on sunhats my son keeps dropping!

thanks everyone for the advice - I've read the BLW book and know that gagging is a safety mechanism, not that that makes me any less nervous! Mine has never choked and probably never been anywhere close to choking, I'm just totally paranoid about it - and gagging sounds like a prelude to choking sometimes but obviously is actually them avoiding swallowing the food isn't it? I also am reassured by the fact that you rarely hear of a chid dying by choking. I'll forge ahead with the finger food and be brave!

Is anyone out there as paranoid as me about this?! I started weaning my son (7m now) about 6 weeks ago and the mush side of things is largely going well, but I'm really concerned about finger foods and choking. I'm probably being completely neurotic, and I've even been to a baby first aid session so I know what to do if he does choke, but I'm worried about finger foods - I do give them but then sit there and watch him like a hawk - somewhat off putting for him I would imagine. I've started with some toast, some toasted pitta bread and some carrots, but does anyone have any advice as to how long or wide the pieces should be and also how well cooked veg should be? Any advice or reassurance gladly received - thanks!

I felt exactly the same (still do about lots of things) and I think there's a whole load of pressure out there along the lines of 'if you do this and make sure you don't do that your baby will sleep through the night by X number of weeks' and as far as I can tell it's a load of rubbish. Mine (7 months) sleeps through some times now, other times doesn't and when he wakes up I give him milk because it gets him back to sleep - I was feeling really bad about it and thinking I shouldn't as he doesn't NEED milk but who cares if it gets him (and me) back to sleep. Interestingly when I mentioned it to the HV she said go ahead if that's what gets him back to sleep and you shouldn't expect babies not to wake up until they're at least a year - one of the most helpful things I've ever heard from a HV! Having just held him to get him off to sleep for his nap, I just keep telling myself that I won't be doing that when he's 10, say, just like he won't be having milk in the middle of the night when he's 10 either! It's really hard when you're in the middle of it but I think I've found the most helpful thing just to think that it will pass eventually.