CocoC

Have I ever, as a teenager, deliberately upset a smaller child by hoofing his football out of a playground, then demonstrated a complete lack of respect to an adult who pulled me up on my petulant behaviour? No. What he/ they did was rude and stupid. I don't see why we should be encouraged to be 'down with the kids' and pander to their ridiculous behaviour. You'll be telling me next that if I get mugged for my phone I should try and engage positively with the mugger by asking for their thoughts on the merits of O2 versus EE.

Hello I worked with a local maternity nurse to help me with a similar conundrum. Happy to PM you the details if useful. The tips I picked up were: 1) Start with someone else (not Mum) feeding her as she'll just smell mummy milk and want that 2) Try feeding while cradling her and walking around the house 3) Try the 'disembodied arm' where you pop her in her bouncy chair/ swing and sneak the bottle round the front I've heard that the Night Nannies agency also have bottle-feeding experts they can send to you. Hope this helps, good luck

I can assure you red devil I wasn't trying to make a (very lame) joke

Hi Sue I answered the door to three ladies about 5.15pm and they said they were calling on behalf of a charity for the deaf. I didn't hear the full story though, as my little one was hollering to be fed so I had to scarper!

> > If you do encounter them again, might be a good > idea to have a more positive rather than negative > attitude: > > Ask for their advice re: footballing skills if the > ball runs into their territory. Do they know > anything about goalkeeping? Ask what teams they > support etc etc. > > Always best to befriend rather than make enemies > of if you feel threatened. > > You never know, they might actually enjoy engaging > rather than antagonising if it's just a case of > having nothing better to do. Sorry, I find that utterly ridiculous.

Hi Bubster I'm so glad this thread has been useful although I'm obviously sorry to hear of your troubles. I've exclusively formula fed since my daughter was 12 weeks old (she's 8 months now) and I remember the same feelings of frustration that there just didn't seem to be any clear, practical advice on the net. One of the best purchases I made was the Tommee Tippee 'Perfect Prep' machine which makes bottles to order at exactly the right temperature using powdered formula. I must have saved a fortune by not using the pre-made stuff all the time. I know there are other ways to save time when you're making up powder but I was always confused and worried about sterile conditions etc. Anyway, best of luck x

I really like the d?cor. Maybe that makes me a fan of 'cashwank interior design' (love that phrase Seabag) but there you go! Do think it is over-priced though.

Hello We got a flyer through our door not long ago from Northwood estate agents who were advertising their Dulwich office. The flyer showed a lovely pic of Lordship Lane from the turn of the century (the last one!), so lovely in fact that instead of binning it we decided to keep it. We've been racking our brains as to where the delightful image was captured so did a bit of digging and the pic is in fact of the Lordship Lane in Tottenham: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lordship_Lane,_Haringey#mediaviewer/File:Junction_of_Lordship_Lane_and_Boreham_Road_looking_East_c1908.jpg Is this a cunning ploy to free up three bed terraces by encouraging us all to move north of the river?!

Congratulations Victoria! I'm afraid I don't have that one but I have a hypnobirthing book (very useful and practical information) and a great book on homebirthing if either of those would be useful. Don't worry if not, won't be offended!

Ah right minimac, I'm with you now! Completely agree with you and other posters that night feeding once or twice is absolutely necessary in younger babies. It's just my little madam wanted to feed to settle every 45 mins to 1.5 hrs! I was broken...!

Yes saffron, quite right, I didn't phrase that very well.

Hi Minimac I have to disagree with you here - if they are waking half hourly/ hourly it isn't because they are hungry - they are using you as a dummy instead of an actual dummy! This was essentially the root of my DD's sleep issues. Mind you, it's null and void if you're happy to feed to resettle them - many are, I wasn't. minimac Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Are you still feeding him at night? My second boy > is the same age and I tried him on the dummy when > v little but when he was hungry he kept spitting > it out. When they wake repeatedly ie sleep then > wake again quickly like half hourly or hourly it > is because they are hungry not because they need > dummy. I found this out myself after trying the > sooth pat technique after speaking to a sleep > consult and dummy rejected for last couple of > months. Anyway, I gave in fed him and he always > went straight back to sleep. Felt a lot less tired > and more human instantly! Just because he may have > done some nights without a feed doesn't mean he > doesn't need it on other nights as I slowly worked > out! Might be worth a try for you as dealing with > another child whilst bog tired is hard work!

I'm not anti-Botox (far from it!) but what worries me is the cumulative effect - after a few treatments if done at the right place you certainly wouldn't look frozen and would get that 'pick me up' you're looking for - but if you keep going there will come a day where you most likely will look frozen. And not in the cool Princess sort of a way that all the kids seem to love these days.

Oooh I love a good spa day. I also loved the Sanctuary and was gutted when it closed. The Urban Retreat at Harrods is brilliant at treatments but not great at present for a trip with friends as they are currently building the relaxation rooms, pool etc. which will make it more of a 'destination' spa like the Sanctuary was. One to visit in the future though. My two recommendations would be: - Senses spa at the Rosewood: http://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/london/gallery (no pool/ wet area but amazing relaxation areas) - Spat the Four Seasons: http://www.fourseasons.com/london/spa/ (plunge pool, sauna, relaxation pods, amazing views) Have a lovely day!

The Lanes are fabulous midwives and delivered my first born at home, but as far as I know you have to be a Dulwich Medical Centre patient as well as under the care of King's. Plus their services are very sought after so it can be very difficult to get caseload care with them. Good luck with your transfer and I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

Hi Kate Sorry to hear of your dummy woes! We had lots of sleep problems with our now seven month old and I'm not ashamed to say I threw cash at the problem and in doing so received a lot of advice from sleep consultants, from endless books, websites, forums etc... Ours wasn't dummy related but I can pretty much say categorically that everything I read during that time advised an all-or-nothing approach to dummies (e.g. take the dummy away entirely) if the baby was unable to find their own dummy in the night and replace it himself. My NCT friend went through a pretty hellish week of enforcing the no-dummy-rule during day time and night time sleep but then it was problem solved. Good luck in whatever you choose to do - I understand how draining disrupted sleep can be...

There's often a Dad or two at the Tippy Toes singing groups, and the Bea's Baby Bop ones too.

LadyDeliah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > There was no thought at that time, of making > things easier for mother's with young children to > stay socially involved in their communities. I agree > I don't really feel like catering for you or your > kids. You didn't care about the mothers who came > before you and the issues they faced. Disagree. How do you know what I do or don't care about? > > You need to stop acting like you are important > just because you had a kid. This happens thousands > of times every day to women all over the world. > Stop shouting 'look at me' and just get on with > it. Couldn't agree more. I'm not important for having had a kid. I've no desire to be 'looked at.' I just want to get a bloody coffee from time to time. And where I go, my 7 month old comes too. Unless you'd rather I left her at home on her own? Anyway, this is all going off topic. I will leave it there.

It does help! Thanks Sue :)

Sorry, the first para above should be in quotation marks (as they're not my words) but I don't know how to do it. Probably because I spend too much time nursing a cup of coffee and slice of cake at a too-cramped caf? somewhere.

Well said! Especially as every time I see the mummy-buggy brigade they appear to sit for hours nursing a cup of coffee and a shared slice of cake, Cant be much of a money spinner for the local cafes having them in. My other half and I often manage to get through a full english breakfast and coffees and be out of a cafe within half an hour where-as the tables full of the mums and buggies who were there when we arrived are still sat with their empty cups gossiping when we leave. "One of the worst instances of this was recently when I went for a quiet lunch at Dulwich picture gallery, I sat outside and ordered my meal, a mum came with a buggy and sat at the table next to mine, to be joined very shortly after by 4 other women with babies and toddlers, who had chairs moved to join their friend, high chairs brought out, and then proceeded to take out tupperware boxes containing their own food, pots of yoghurt then call the waitress and order one slice of cake, a pot of tea and ask for spoons and forks to eat their own food. Not only was my meal disturbed by the noise and being hemmed in by buggies and high chairs but despite the waitress coming several times to ask if they wished to order from the lunch menu (it was a busy warm day at 1pm)nothing further was ordered. There was a kind of arrogance and disregard for the other diners and the restaurant concerned. Frankly I think offering a dedicated place for them to go can only be a good thing. Tis a bit strongly worded in my humble opinion NewWave. Was the food theirs or their babies'/toddlers'? If the latter then it's perfectly acceptable to take your own baby/kiddie food unless you want to feed them on cake. I hear you about disruption and sorry about that - but despite appearances - most mums and dads are acutely aware of it and will try wherever possible to minimise it. Also the 'dedicated place for them to go' sentiment feels a bit off. Yes I'm a mum but I'm also a woman who probably likes going to the same places you do for good coffee, good food and good company. Can't we all play nicely?

Also kimferrari, are you looking for a general practitioner (GP)/ family doctor or a paediatrician?

Dolly totally mimed, apart from the little song she made up about the mud, which she sang live. Never mind, good on her anyway.

Yep cordsm that's her! She had a cracking 'don't mess with me' face.

Oh noooo! I loved seeing Mackerel out and about. I also rescued her from a tree once Zebedee! I remember once seeing her have a contented nap right in the middle of Ulverscroft Road. Cars had to stop coming up and down the road and people were trying to shoo her away but she refused to budge. Hope her stubbornness wasn't what got her in the end. I also remember seeing her in EDs around Halloween. The staff had created a spooky shop display complete with pumpkins and cauldrons - Mackerel had climbed in and sat there like the witch's cat - occasionally turning her head and scaring the beejesus out of people who were walking by and thinking she was a stuffed animal.