mima08

Dear all ? thank you for your feedback and good luck wishes! We are really excited about investigating our options and the comments a great to help shaping the idea. Based on the feedback, I guess we should focus on the food aspect, and need to strike a balance between offering quality at a good price and still having a viable business. One way we wanted to set ourselves apart from some of the competition was the idea of food plans ? meaning that not only you don?t have to cook but also you don?t have to think about shopping for your meals ? it is all pre-arranged. Personally, at the time when LO arrived I did not feel like making any food decisions; I was happy as long as something healthy was put in front of me! And I suspect, I?ll feel the same once I am back at work.... So we are thinking of tweaking the idea to offering 3 ? 5 ? 7 day meal (Lunch & Dinner) plans which can be bought at any time (including vouchers ? thanks Yak!) with different nutrition focus (i.e. nursing mother, BLW babies, etc) and market them at these groups (expecting parents, parents about to wean, working parents etc). The longer meal plans would include regular deliveries, overcoming it issue of limited freezer space. What do you think? We appreciate that there is some strong competition out there but honestly, you should see, smell & taste Sylviamaria?s cooking and you?d understand why we want to do a food business! PS: Jollybaby - I like your idea re-maternity clothes too, maybe a second stage for the business! :)

Hiya - sorry to hijack, but do people really think these work? I am just a click away from ordering one, however, a recent review of bank statements makes me think of curbing my baby-related spending. Therefore I'd love to hear some success stories before I buy....

Hiya - my little one has been formula feed since 3months and did not sleep through properly (still does not often, at 7months). Among my friends we have all variations: bf babies sleeping like a dream (for a while), ff babies not sleeping, the reverse and all in between. Therefore the ff does not seem the magic answer that some people make it out to be. I agree with Saffron, that a gentle fading out might be a solution. Also, our LO moved out of our room and we noticed a BIG improvement. Plus, he has a few cuddly toys in bed, and I sometimes (maybe 50% of the time) hear him playing with them peacefully in the dark but then falling back to sleep (that is when there is no cold/teething/development leap...), so I leave him to it - however other babies get a bit too excited by having toys, it's a trial and error thing I guess. On the nap front, I try to loosely follow the baby whisperer idea (max 2hrs sleep at a time at this age, but insisting on more than 30min) with semi positive results, so I am holding on to it for the moment. I really hope it improves for you, sleep deprivation is the worst thing, you have all my sympathy! mx

So sorry to hear about your friend. TBH, I think everyone is different. Personally, I just put some "useful" books (cannot even remember their titles) straight into the bin. I remember desperately reading novels, things that were light and had some humour just to escape the sadness for a little while, whereas a friend of mine how also recently lost her dad became really interested in aspects of her dad's background - he was from Ireland and could trace his family quite far back, that kind of thing. I know this is not terribly helpful, but maybe chat to the friend to gauge how she approaches mourning? Mx

Thank you again, all for the comments & support. Although there were no other signs over the last few days, he has now come out with a horrid cold. All snuffles, blocked nose and coughs - I feel so sorry for him, but am a little glad that I have something to blame! JB - there are chickenpox going around, a friend's little girl very recently had them.... Roselid, I resorted to full symptoms treatment: vapour rub on chest & back (with top up during the night), Karvol, saline spray twice (once before sleep/once when he woke up) and he "only" cried badly ones during last night (a fair few mumbles other times, easy to settle though it means I only got 1hr sleep). I know it sounds weird that it did not seem obvious from the start, but until last night, there really were no signs of a cold! Anyway, I am glad it seems something tangible - I am worried about the idea of night terrors as a friend of mine has them it sounds awful... Although I think she also said babies that young are not believed to get them. Wishing all your little ones speedy recovery & easier settling! mx

Oh thank you b, I did not even know about SELDOC! Let's see what tonight brings, all is quiet so far (I probably just brought doom on myself by saying this...) thanks all for your sympathy :) mx

plimsoul Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > needless to say my twin boys who had a nanny that > they loved for over 2 years will not be able to > stick a stable relationship. > > Oh dear, that is terrible news.... is the same true for au pairs ;-) Definitely agree about the point research/statistics - especially as too much is used out of context. I do welcome a healthy debate, however cannot stand the approach that says "your children are doomed unless you follow xyz ....". And too much government intervention gives me the creeps.

I watched the clip but thought there was no real debate, just a slagging match of who had read (or not read) what research. From this "debate" I could not really tell his position - other than he seems to think nursery care is evil and screws children up? He was also talking a lot about neglect (I guess we all agree that is a bad thing), but does he equate being placed in childcare is a form of neglect? But then again, until relatively recently (in historical terms) nursery care was relatively rare, does that mean all previous generations, who were brought up by their parents/ wider family or nannies were happy & well-adjusted?

thank you for your reply, it is pretty scary (thoughts of A&E came to my mind at one point last night...)- I didn't think it was an ear infection as he seems perfectly happy during most of the day and generally has good naps (i.e. up to two hrs) at his normal times....If it carries on again tonight, I will make an appointment at the dr, however with current waiting times, any other thoughts would be appreciated... Thanks!

Well, my LO is 32 weeks old and according to the books (mainly wonderweeks) this should be a period of relative sunshine. And during the day, it is! (mostly anyway). However over the last 4 days his nighttime sleeping has gradually gone worse, from a few heartfelt squeals at 12.30, 3.00 and 5.00 am to last night when he was absolutely hysteric (again at those times), crying so heard he turned dark red and nothing could console him. Cuddles, feeding, singing, carrying, rocking, we tried it, nothing worked, he kept crying for a good 30min on top of his lungs. It almost seemed like he had a nightmare & could not snap out of them? Is that possible? This is really new as previously he would have hysterics when he was annoyed but this is different.... I gave him calpole at one of the times thinking maybe he had teething pains - he just had his first two teeth, but it made no difference....He is not ill in any other way as far as I can tell and during the day behaves normal (although his milk intake is down, but then again I am feeding him solids as well). Any thoughts / advice would be appreciated!

Hiya we are just back from a 2 week holiday in Santa Maria di Castelabbate in southern Italy (about 60miles south of Naples). We were 2 adults, one teenager and a 7months old baby. The place we stayed in has several appartments varying sizes but it does not feel like an apartment complex at all - more like individual villas. The area is really interesting, beaches, caves, ancient ruins and lovely countryside are all really close by. The town is approx 5-10 min walk, there are two beaches in the town (these do get very busy though) approx 15 min walk (albeit down a very steep short hill - it is not for someone with limited mobility however we managed fine with a baby buggy). Other beaches are a short drive or longer walk. It seems a place were the Italians go on holiday - lots of nice restaurants too! I can hugely recommend, we will defintely go back (have no other connection to the place). I have attached the link address in tripadvisor in case you are interested: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/VacationRentalReview-g644244-d1675520-Apartment_in_private_residence_with_sea_view_a_c-Santa_Maria_di_Castellabate_Campania.html

Hiya - I am yet to experience the stresses of going back to work, but I have been the employer for a fair few mums (and in one case a dad) who needed flexibility because of childcare demands. I (hope)I have always been reasonable, trying to work around their needs as much as possible and in return always had great & loyal staff. I agree with EDmummy - don't make it a problem, but just state it as matter of fact, suggesting solutions. Plus I would guess in your line of work, you could always say you'd finish things later in the evening from home? As I will be in the same boat soon, I am really hoping that more organisations realise that for many types of work, actual hours spend in the office often mean very little in terms of quality of work - and if it requires regular long hours, there is something wrong in the first place!

Yep, you are right... am probably not showing sufficient commitment! Story of my life.... :-)

Thanks! I've also seen (now that I looked...) that they are shown on ITV player.... but I am the only one in my house interested, so a pub with other fans would be more fun...

hiya - do you know of any pubs that show re-plays of the games later in the day? I know, I know I should make the effort but mornings appear to the time when I finally can get some sleep....

I find this thread quite funny: I moved to ED exactly because I did (and still do) think that the people are "cool". I knew I wanted to have my baby in a place where people really care about their families and there is loads to do with kids. I did not want to be somewhere where children are never seen outside and mums get angry stares in a cafe/restaurant/pub if their baby cries or even worse, are not allowed in! As for my conversation topics? As people said before, you'd be surprised how your perspective changes, especially in the first few months. And it is very funny how you can have a in-depth intellectual discussion about any topic at the same time as comparing notes on babies poo/eating/sleeping/behaviour... And finally, as well as an icebreaker, I guess for me a lot of the baby chat is also about reassuring myself that what LO & I go through is normal - I guess it would need a very self-assured mother who did not have doubts and worries and therefore did not want to compare notes with others....

Thank you! I am loving this book - only on 3rd chapter so far but would love to hear from others who have read it to compare ? It will take me a little while till I finish though....

Hiya - I would love to make it on the 15th... just wanted to check age ranges? Does it matter? Mine is only 7 months and not crawling yet....

Hiya, I am on the edge between ED & Peckham, happy to travel. I'm also happy to host sometimes - currently house is not yet toddler proofed (although will have to be soon), but have a small garden which might work (if the weather ever allows...)

Hiya - thanks Yak for resurrecting. I am also very interested, would anyone consider a weekend course (even if there is a long waiting time) as Mr M would also be interested.... I recently heard from a friend who had a course (I guess the same idea or even the same one?) held at the Montpelier, they have a cinema room which might work or could be persuaded if sufficient people buy food & drinks. Jenny, could you let me know if there are still spaces on the course you organise (or if it has already taken place), otherwise, would anyone be interested if I tried for a weekend one?

HIya - I am the mum to an only child and given my age & personal circumstances mean it is quite likely to stay this way. I often worry about it as I come from a large family and love it, but, due to unusual circumstances I am by far the youngest. This means when growing up, I often felt a bit alone, especially on holidays etc as my sisters & brother are so much older. They love me very much but I was often jealous of the "group effect" they seem to have with each other (and our cousins - we are a large, close family). Because of the age difference, even their kids are a lot older than my LO (adults in fact) . DH is also from a large family, and has children from a previous marriage. His kids adore our LO but the age gap is even bigger than with me and my siblings. So even though he has siblings & cousins etc, I am worried history will repeat itself. So I guess it is up to me to enable as much friendship and social companionship as possible - hence, if there is an Only Child club, I'm in!

Hiya - seconding the one size up suggestions, it really helped. LO is approx 8kg but on 9kg + nappies. Also, found Pampers (and huggies etc) all not good enough - Sainsbury own brand do the trick!

I too find this threat really interesting. I am currently on maternity leave with no. 1 and am not relishing the idea of going back to my old job with its very long hours, boredom and frustrations. I do have to earn money, but I only want to work 3 days, which, although my company say they are supportive (which is great) I am very suspicious that these turn into 3days paid, plus long evenings etc unpaid to cope with the workload... tor - it might be a silly question, but where did you find a careers advisor? I seem to only find ones dealing with new uni graduates, and that is a long time ago for me....

Hiya - I've been using the Garnier infants suncream which is easy-ish to rub in & comes in factor 50. I am off on a very similar holiday as you just next week and have been told by others to take: - swimseat for splashing in the pool (acquired yesterday) - a UV blackout cover for the buggy to enable sleeping & sunprotection - a spare soft mattress for rental cot - bags for water sterilisation (if you sterilise anything) - not too many toys!(I have a tendency to overdo it....) I will keep an eye on this thread, too!

Hmmm - sounds scary! we will need a car for general running around even though we are not planning any long trips there, so taxi is not really an option. Looking at a Peugeot outside my house , that would be plenty for day trips, it's just the luggage and buggy question I am not sure about ...