bluesuperted

Hmmm no experience of this personally but I just wondered about making some expressed breastmilk icecream as that might be tempting and nice on her throat? Or mixing milk in with yoghurt if she likes that, really stirring it in well so it's just a bit sloppier... I had to do that with antibiotics with my son (and had to add sugar/honey at first - he was over a year though - as he was point blank refusing and babyled weaned!!) - it was a great short-term fix. Other idea is to syringe feed her milk as you would medicine? SLow but would get some milky calories in... Good luck, hope she gets better soon and you don't get too engorged... x

Another Magic Circle fan here! Hoping to come this week as it's been a little while since we were able to make it and my 19 month old loves the space especially the chippings section just outside, perfect mix of freedom to roam and safe semi-enclosed area. Fab group of mums too :)

That's really interesting gwod. I've only had one child and one EMCS but it was due to going very very overdue (long failed induction) and that runs in my family; I'll try for a vbac next time but I expect I'll end up with an ELCS at 42 weeks to be honest. I definitely dream of 3 or 4 babies so it's nice to hear your experiences.

Sounds like metanium has done the trick for you. I do like Metanium but I absolutely LOVE raw egg white. It is the most amazing thing for nappy rash IMO and has cleared it up pretty much instantly whenever I've used it. It goes on really smoothly and looks so soothing, I swear by it and it's always my first choice when I see any redness (better on cloth nappies too). An old wives tale that really works!

My 'only' referred to the dog attacking another dog and not a child, not to the scale of the attack. The point is, it's a massive worry for parents regardless of who was (fatally) harmed and it's something I encounter every day living in Peckham. Definitely worthy of inclusion on this board.

Marie81, I absolutely disagree and think it's very relevant to warn people about a dog to keep an eye out for that obviously has some serious aggression issues (thank you sunbob). I am often surrounded by dogs not on leads both in the park and on the street (SE15) and it's a worry to me. There is only so much you can teach a child; I have seen dogs bound over to very young children without the owners doing anything, licking faces and even growling. There are sadly a lot of lovely dog owners but a lot of very inconsiderate ones too (you only gave to count dog poo on any 5 minute walk to see that) meaning we have to do what we can to keep our children safe. If that means giving a warning about a particular dog that has attacked already then so be it. I don't care if a dog had *only* attacked another (much smaller) dog, that's enough for me to want to steer well clear, especially as the owner sounds dangerously ill-equipped to control his pet.

There are so many hideous, drawn out bugs flying around at the moment, this term has been awful for staff and children at my husband's school in the area (plus mums and babies I know).

I was just thinking about this thread and along the lines of Saffron's post - my son always grows out and then up. And at the moment, he is eating like a horse and his tummy is going back to his pre-12month level of chubb, so thinking a few cms may be around the corner! It would make sense that other babies go the other way, prioritising height over weight. We are a family of fairly short people so not holding my breath for a 6-footer...

Ha I wondered that too.... X

Oh I was also always a bit confused by that sentence! In second week of Easter Hols I might come with hubby. Can we please share our one child ;) Maybe it should say 'every adult must be accompanied by one child (unless two parents/carers attending for same child) but no more than three kids under the care of a single adult for safety reasons' It's a bit of mare to write all that in a sentence! Molly come along! Xx

It's the highlight of my week!!! Missed you guys today but we went up this afternoon with Grandad instead :)

Oh dear! Ours is really good, have to fiddle to adjust volume to optimum loudness/quality but even listened to the whole of Stephen Fry's Chronicles on one journey (sleeping baby!). I think ours was actually a really cheap version, so maybe you were unlucky or maybe it's your system that doesn't like them... Our car is only just 21st century but I think the stereo is decent.

Oimissus - if you have a tape player you can buy one of those cheap attachments and plug in an iPhone, iPod, other MP3 player, even a portable CD player. We have a CD player and a tape player and if I had to give one up, I'd definitely save the tape player with adapter, it's brilliant! Here's one with good reviews on Amazon but I think any would be fine: Sony Car cassette adaptor http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B00007EDLW

We washed ours a few months ago after a particularly foody/sticky long journey. We put it in on the lowest heat possible (ours is a rear-facing 2-way Britax Elite seat) and aired it dry over a period of days, not even on radiator. Despite this, it was a REALLY tight fit and took a bit of stretching and elbow grease to get it back on so just be really careful! Maybe a short cycle would help as well. Hope this helps! Others may have some odour-removing tips that don't require the machine. I don't think we'll wash ours again in case it shrinks beyond all recognition! Our maxi cosi infant cover was absolutely fine though so I think it depends.

Fuschia, you are a legend!

Nope only a teacher's wife sadly, just being pedantic about your 'most teachers' comment, and now causing another digression from Ragina Ford and sex, whoops.

Hmm, classes of 20 are all but extinct in the state sector, 30 much more the norm. A maternity nurse might swoop in for a few weeks only, a primary teacher forges a close relationship with 30 children a year, plus other less close relationships (e.g clubs, residential trips, other year group class). It's a funny comparison IMO...

HH, the PGCE course gives trainee teachers direct teaching experience of approximately 90 children in one year (if you train to be a primary teacher, many more than that if you train as a secondary teacher). Reaching 300 wouldn't take too long after that plus teachers have experience of more children (on an 'anecdotal' level) than they actually teach....

I can't come... My husband and son both have horrendous virus which is getting better but not quickly enough for me to make it tonight. Am disappointed! Have fun all xx

That's really really helpful, thank you so much! :) xx

I don't quite understand about the storage actually, can you explain or am I being dense? Where does the double mattress go? I quite like the double bed option as will be using it primarily for parents coming to stay in the first instance. Sorry am jumping on the sofabed bandwagon Crokes... If I ever get paid for a chunk of freelance work (argh!!) then we are off to IKEA for many, many reasons!

Oh that's the one I have my eye on for our spare room pebbles.... thanks for the review, looks like a really good one, will have to get saving.

Belle - eeek, I nearly cut and pasted the Daily Fail article yesterday but I decided against it for fear of mass arguments in the EDF Family Room so close to convivial drinks ;) Not going to start a GF debate either (but, disclaimer, grr). But the snippets and gist of the DM suggest hideous comments abound in that book! And wonderful reponse from this blog, which I really like anyway. I particularly resonated with the comment (about enforced date nights and bans on talking about babies) 'we may as well be told to cut off a limb ? such is the bereft feeling of emptiness when away from them.' For an even more amusing response, check out: http://motherventing.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/sex/

Hi sorry only just saw this!! By no means oracle, it's just a fab cheat to nicely cooked meals in my experience :) Think pork chops would work well for pulled pork, give it a go!

Re babies and uni: I also regularly take my (now rampant) toddler into uni with me and he has always been well received by tutors! I've taken him since he was very small and last week when I went in alone (as his Grannie was down) my tutor was visibly disappointed!! He's even been invited to take part in two child psychology lectures.... Digression! Good luck with pumping, the hospital grade ones are amazing, think you can rent them.