candj

Just to add, you might want to see if the hotel has a nanny service that they use as it would save on having to pay for the extra hotel room, meals, extra time worked, etc, and would be less expensive overall.

When we've taken a nanny on holiday we've paid their usual rate plus pocket money, extra pay for babysitting (if it's longer than her normal working hours) in the evenings or weekends, and her hotel room. One year when our children were young and we had to go to the continent for work, my husband decided to pay the nanny her usual salary plus a chunky flat rate on top for the two weeks which included unlimited babysitting which she was thrilled about and it made it easy because we didn't have to keep track of hours. We were staying in a flat at that time and she had her own room and we paid for all the groceries and incidentals, as well. If your nanny is not full time, I would expect you would pay her usual daily rate plus the extra hours worked including the travel time to wherever you are going. Talk to your nanny and agree on something beforehand so there are no surprises. I've never paid for the time that they were sleeping of course despite her being away from home. Sorry for the rather convoluted sounding post, hope that helps.

It's never too late - I know someone with two children and an eleven year age gap!

I've just had my third and agree that I'm definitely more chilled. My two older ones are in school so it does make it easier although the mornings are chaotic and the afternoons from about 3.30 until bedtime is also manic, but we love it. Car-wise it is a bit of a logistical challenge (must reply to Mellor's other thread about 3 car seats ...), but my husband went out and purchased a new car as a result. The transition for me was much harder from one to two children as my eldest was only 2 1/2 when her little sister came and I found it exhausting to have a newborn with a toddler no matter how much help I had (nanny, housekeeper, husband!). Go for it! And best of luck.

Baby toothpaste has a lower amount of fluoride than adult toothpaste. I believe some organic ones don't have any fluoride at all. As soon as your baby/toddler understands you should try to get them to spit it out after brushing. Edited to add that my kids have been getting dental check ups since they were 2 1/2 - 3 years old and the dentist has used the banana fluoride as well as the rinse.

Agree with above that a diet high in citrus (juice or fruit) is really bad for tooth enamel according to our family dentist. Would try to get your little one used to other drinks or water. It's difficult as my two older ones love oj and those innocent smoothies (and only the orange mango ones sadly). And while we are on the topic of tooth decay apparently raisins are also not great for little teeth as they are sugary and sticky.

Oh I miss understood as I thought it was a second hand mattress from someone else (ie, you don't know them from Adam!). I too have used the same mattress for my two girls but then it had a zip off protector and waterproof sheet. It was absolutely and still is spotless and will be used for my son now and i have no qualms about. The mattress was used for about 2 1/2 years each as both girls moved into single beds. I did change the bassinet mattress for all three children though. Sorry, hope that helps.

You can get the monster spray in Biff in the village. We've used it before and I think it's just lavender water but it works pretty well. Our eldest comes into our room occasionally saying she has had bad dreams and we take her back to her bed and sit with her for a while to reassure her. I always try to ask what she is afraid of and she usually doesn't remember. I think talking to children and finding out what they are afraid of helps. We also have night lights on in the hall and their rooms but sometimes these create spooky shadows and I've had to turn them off before!

Fuschia, you definitely can improvise with the banana bread. In your case for your son, I would use dried apples or any other dried fruit. I've added 1/2 cup of dried blueberries, sultanas or whatever other dried fruit and it works perfectly. And it really isn't that much banana flavour, but more moisture.

Just to echo everyone's sentiment, I too would always buy a new mattress. You will get plenty of use out of one you buy for a cotbed as it will see your child through for at least5/6 years depending on the size of your toddler. I'd buy one with a zip off cover and also use a mattress protector. Same for a bassinet - new mattress, very inexpensive and peace of mind. Good luck Karter! Shall we now start a thread about buggies/prams for you? ;-)

I think all purpose flour is plain but I've been known to use whatever I have on hand and have never noticed a difference.

Mark Bittman's banana bread is made about once a week in my house when I have saved up enough rotting black bananas. It's the dessicated coconut that does it for me, and I substitute pecans for the walnuts (because I don't like walnuts). Enjoy!

The list is endless but what I found helpful in the early days (ie, what we're currently going through!): -after a feed, taking baby out for a walk for a few hours so I could have some me time (knowing they wouldn't be hungry for a while) -when baby woke in the middle of the night, getting baby out of bed/cot/bassinet, changing nappy and handing baby to me for a feed, then refilling my glass of water -making endless cups of coffee or tea and lunch as I sat camped out on the end of the sofa with baby -forcing me out of the house for lunch or even a walk to get some fresh air and sunshine (?) for my own good -taking the other children out of the house so I could have alone time with baby Hope you are well Fuschia! Edited for typo

Pete Bennison if you search the forum. Hopefully he's around, but I did see his van driving earlier. Good luck! Hopefully you can you turn that particular radiator off at the valve.

That's interesting as I've always seen the Nanny Goat Milk Formula for sale here in the UK. Surely the 'nutritional' properties are all added into the formula as it is in regular cow's milk formula.

I'm sure the specialist can advise her what formula to try but there are loads out there for babies with sensitivities - goat's milk as Claire says, but also soya and I think Aptamil do a hypoallergenic one for babies. I don't think cradle cap has anything to do with allergies so wouldn't worry about it as it will disappear on its own or you can get shampoos that help control it. Good luck to your daughter. Edited for grammatical error!

Maybe start having monthly facials? That's what I did although I never had issues with my skin whilst pregnant (two girls and currently boy - so not sure if it was the gender of the baby in my case). My skin never looked better. It was after I stopped breastfeeding that I noticed changes to my skin (and my boobs for that matter!). Hopefully it's limited to the first trimester and will pass. Good luck!

I agree 100% with you Molly - obviously some unscrupulous parents in the past were using it as a sleep aid. I just didn't want to come across as recommending it to someone with young children when we ALL know it works and is fine as long as you stick with the dosage!

Sadly, Medised has been reclassified for not being suitable for children under 6! Before 2009, it was available for babies as young as 3 months, but they changed it because some children died (most likely because of being overdosed due to the drowsy side affects of the medicine). What you can do is ask your GP who will probably be able to prescribe it or something similar or do what I did (forum users please don't shoot me down) and say it was for my 6 year old when she was actually only 5 and I would use the same dose as on the pre-2009 label. I only ever used it right before bedtime as it has two ingredients that they really needed, the paracetamol and the diphenhydramine hydrocloride (sp?) which clears the congestion (the side effect of the latter was drowsiness) and they were able to sleep through the night. When my youngest who is 3 1/2 is REALLY unsettled because of stuffy nose, etc, I have given it to her but I remember the dosage for a child that young and certainly only used it when really needed. I used to keep my old 2009 bottle with the 'suitable from 3 months' on it in case I got a knock on the door from social services! I'm not a doctor, so I would ask your GP to see if they can help. If your two are sleeping through, then I would think they wouldn't need it! Hope that helps.

Your little one sounds young to have them, but it really sounds like night terrors to me. My eldest had them and they always kicked in when she was overtired/jetlagged or stressed about something (new sibling, potty training, starting nursery, giving up dummy, granny visiting and sleeping arrangement changing, etc.). She would scream inconsolably and nothing would stop or wake her until my husband started to take her outside in the garden to 'look at the stars'. The sudden change in temperature and environment would wake her up and she'd be fine and she'd remember nothing then or in the morning. She would scream and look straight through me when I was in the room trying to calm her down. It was an absolutely terrifying phase that lasted about 7 months and gradually she outgrew them. I just wonder with your holiday to Egypt and slight time change and also you being away might have unsettled her a bit. As someone suggested maybe give her some calpol before bedtime if she is teething just to rule that out. Also, has she just started walking recently as I've known children to sleep poorly during the night because of this for some weird reason. Good luck and hope it ends soon!

Can you push her afternoon nap back by 20 minutes so she can take it when you get home? Or do you risk her falling asleep in the car on the way home? The transfer from buggy/car seat to cot NEVER worked for me as once the children were up they were up. I'd be inclined to try to get a neighbour/friend at your house with a nice cup of tea for the 20 minutes you're away or try to work something out with your neighbour with her own baby and you can swap duties or do a bit of babysitting. Good luck!

My youngest has had a chesty cough/runny nose on and off for a good three weeks and now my oldest has just started with the chesty cough and sniffles. For the chesty cough I've been giving a cough medicine with an expetorant like guaifenesin (sp?) in it which really helps - it makes them cough more but then they can settle better as their coughs are more productive. I've also been using the vicks rub on the chest as well as a carvol plug in. If their noses are really blocked I use Medised, as Molly mentions, not sure how old yours are, but it used to be available for babies 3 months old and was/still is a life saver because it makes them drowsy. I think that Medised has paracetamol in it so it can't be used with calpol or neurophine or any other medicine. I also occasionally use something called Night Cough which has an antihistamine in it so again, makes the children drowsy and sleep better if the children have an annoying dry cough. I don't use medicines for longer than three days as I don't think you're supposed to. Then the children go back to school and, alas, they get sick all over again with something new! Hope that helps.

My consultant told me to wait until my 6 week checkup before resuming any exercise. At least have the doctor's go ahead before you start anything no matter how well you feel. I've had 2 sections and will be having my third in a weeks time so would think that pushing a newborn in a pram and going for long walks would be a good start. I did Liz's Powerpramming (user Goodliz) class in Dulwich Park with my first and really enjoyed it. Best of luck with your recovery.

Natural History Museum, Science Museum and you can have lunch at Carluccio's which although a chain, always gets good reviews and is very family friendly. Agree South Moulton Street lights are nice should you want to brave Oxford St this time of year! or even the lights on Bond Street are nice too - and restaurant choices on and around Picadilly. Or someone on another thread mentioned the Winterwonderland in Hyde Park being really good, but I haven't been ... yet. Hope that helps.

My consultant told me to get the swine flu jab if they offered it, but I didn't realise they were offering it and haven't had it - am due in a few weeks so hopefully a moot point. He did mention that pregnant women tend to become more ill with swine flu so I'm not sure if this is the same with seasonal flu (although am currently hacking and coughing thanks to my two school aged children). Sorry not to be more helpful. As above, I would contact your GP/nurse and ask them.