charlottep

Yak, you're tall and slim (we met when you bought my maclaren) and I wonder if that's just the way you carry. You remind me very much of my good friend who has measured small in both her pregnancies (referred for scans too) but who has gone on to have 7Ib babies.

I'll take 5 tickets too pls.

New mother, it's one of those wetsuits from Jo Jo, not a sun protection suit. But there are many babies in her class in regular swimming costumes and they all seem pretty contented. Must say that I don't find the family room particularly cold either, but maybe that's just me. Although being Portuguese I would have thought that my tolerance would be lower? In any event, I have been very happy with the whole experience at dulwich pools - my toddler and baby seem very happy too.

My 9 month old attends swim class every week and shows absolutely no signs of being cold. She is very happy in the pool. She does have a little wetsuit though. The temp did start off quite chilly but it's pretty good now.

Saila Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Plus... How much money earmed doesn't really > impact things. The male just gets prorirty it > seems. I earm nearly 3x my partner, makes no > difference Saila, that's up to each couple to decide surely, rather than a broader social pressure? I am the main earner, my husband and I decided together that I should continue to work and that he would try being a SAHD to our toddler and baby. I know we are unusual and I do find that very odd, as I don't think that as individuals we are particularly enlightened or "right-on"! It was just the most practical solution for our family. Unfortunately, we do encounter stigma though - when I returned to full time work after number 2, LOTS of people (particularly family) were concerned about how my husband would feel - would it be too insular for him, etc. No one seemed particularly bothered about how it felt for me to return back to work and leave my babies for 50 hours a week! I must admit, it's not a great feeling being away so much (particularly when one of them is unwell), but I console myself by thinking about the very positive example we are setting both our son and daughter.

i've had success with detinox too. lather it up daily and the comb through with a fine tooth comb. Worked very well on our daughter

Lots of suggestions, thanks everyone. Good to hear about the dad's group in lewisham. shame there's not something local for dads. i'm sure there are more around than you'd think

Belle, you're right about DMC. I think Dr Kunde (sp?) fits them.

My boy started waking up very early at 14 months. I dropped the morning nap at that point so he didn't have an opportunity to make up for sleep later on during that nap. I brought the lunchtime nap forward to 12-2pm and bedtime remained at 7pm. Initially it was hard for him to get through to 12 and we had to keep out and about, but within a couple of weeks he was coping well and it did stop the early waking for us. We're now at a point where we desperately holding on to his lunchtime sleep, which he doesn't really need but which we rely on for some down time.

Great thanks, I think anything where there is even a small presence of dads would appeal. Not sure he's up for something like bumps or babes, although i loved it! I'll take a look at ruby rhymes. Swimming is sorted but any other suggestions very much appreciated. Thanks!

My husband looks after our 9 month old daughter on Mondays and Tuesdays. Any ideas on what classes / groups / activities would suit them both? Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

An article on this on the BBC website today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12380329

My 9 month old has been very snuffly since about 4 weeks old. It sounds as though she's very congested, but she has no other symptoms and her chest is clear. The snuffling gets worse after milk (she was breastfed for 6 months and is now on formula). We were referred to the allergy clinic and fortunately she didn't test positive for any allergies. She's very contented in all respects and is a great eater and sleeper, but it just doesn't seem right to me that she is so snuffly, she sounds like a little motorbike sometimes. Anyone have any ideas?

had to live in flip flops for the last two weeks of pregnancy with number 1, it was truly grim. Keep an eye on bp, as mine started creeping up a little while after the onslaught of the swollen feet. The best thing is obviously to try to keep them elevated, near on impossible with a toddler to run after, i know. You're nearly there, good luck!

Alieh, i have one (i bought melbourne groovers one) and my toddler loves his seat "up high". My baby is also very cosy in the regular seat, which is very roomy and great for napping in. You're more than welcome to take a look / test drive. PM me if you're interested.

My 2.8 year old loves the julia donaldson books too, especially "Room on a Broom" and "Thr Gruffalo" . He's also crazy about the Margaret Mayo series, "Emergency", "Choo Choo, Clickety Clack" and "Dig Dig Digging". His absolute favourite though is a book called "Manfred the Baddie" by John Fardell. Hairy McLairy also go down very well.

Yes I agree with fuschia re objective factors. First time around I had a very difficult time, hard birth, tongue tied baby who didn't but should of had the snip. Shocking baby blues too as a result. I remember hearing the term "babymoon" for the first time around about then and thinking how ridiculous! Second time around brilliant birth and brilliant feeder, and wonderful babymoon.

yep, i agree completely Polly, we hear what we want to. Personally, I've always found the pressure in this country to bf exclusively a bit much. Obviously, I understand the reasons why, but the delivery of the message often feels militant. Likewise, if the authors of this research receive funding from the food industries, that is disappointing. Recommendations are clearly useful, but informed personal choice has to be paramount, and as long as we're motivated by what we feel is best for our children then we're doing a good job IMO.

I was totally anticipating helena's scenario with my stubborn 2.8 yr old, but it has actually been a very easy transition so far, we are in to week 3 so I guess still early days. Again, he seems to think he can't leave his room, so he calls for us in the mornings, which suits me fine. We could be in for a whole heap of trouble once he does, but so far so good.

I think it often comes down to a change of approach in recent years. For our mothers' generation, being the all round housewife was pretty much the norm. However, with my mum at least, she didn't spend half the time I spend with my children taking them to play groups, classes, the park, swimming, etc. When I'm at home with my children, I feel that I have slacked off if we haven't done at least one proper activity a day. My mum always remarks on how much we take on. I guess if I stopped doing this, much of that the washing, cooking and cleaning would be done more regularly. The house could be immaculate, but my children would be less stimulated. It's not so much a case of us not being able to do it, nowadays I think we just think other things are more important. We're all still working bloody hard!

Is it true though that 65% of European member states and the US elected not to follow the WHO's recommendation? That would explain why my family in Portugal thought I was nuts to wait 6 months before weaning.

yes, i have experienced exactly this with both of mine when i introduced top up formula, they were a bit better on aptamil. It took a couple of weeks for their digestive systems to adjust and then they were as happy with formula as with breastfeeding.

My son recently started complaining about ear ache at night only, i thought it was more like a bit of separation anxiety as he had no other symptoms and was cheerful during the day. I took him to the doctors anyway just to be sure. She said his ear was as red as cherry and gave him antibiotics, she was surprised he hadn't been complaining more. Probably worth ruling it out...

Bishberro, I haven't tried the one at beckhenham spa, but i do use the one at dulwich pools regularly. My 8 month old has been going there since she was 6 months for an hour a week while i take her big brother swimming. I think it's really quite nice, new, bright and clean, plus most importantly I get a good vibe from the two ladies that run it. They'll do bottles and snacks, but they don't do nappies (which I think is pretty standard). Apologies, I know that doesn't directly answer your question, but it's just something else to think about.

My 2.8 year old still has his although recently he was been taking a long time to drop off at 7:30 bedtime so we cut the lunchtime nap down to no longer than hour. Some days he doesn't drop off after lunch within this time, but he seems quite content to sit in bed and flick through his books and play quietly. We try to make sure he always gets at least an hours quite time after lunch otherwise he's a little wired by the end of the day and so are we.