randomv

Hi I did my NCT with Sarah a few years back. She's got a wealth of knowledge and there can't be many issues or concerns which she doesn't have first hand experience of, so of the 6 couples in our group no questions went unanswered. It's a nice informal atmosphere being in her home and certainly nicer than being in a hired hall or something. From my own POV I felt there was a little too much emphasis on the natural side of childbirth and not feel I had failed if I needed pethidine or an epidural, but that was perhaps in response to and led by the majority of the group, but as first time mums to be I wanted to feel it was ok to go down the pain relief route if I needed to. It didn't really bother me as I know my own head and since this is the only NCT course I have done I couldn't say if it is the way all teachers are or whether it is particular to Sarah. If you think the NCT antenatal courses are for you then go for it, I can't imagine a more knowledgable teacher than Sarah and she gave us great support afterwards as well in terms of help with Birth plans. Good luck!

Fair point Saffron, but the question was asked and as such it's important that people understand what it means to have a routine and in my experience I was told to feed on 'demand' just that wasn't always what he was actually demanding. I'm just not sure how helpful this kind of research is. What about second and third babies who have to fit into a schedule due to school runs and the activities of an already busy household? Even those mothers who have been furthest down the AP, feeding on demand parenting style would have to make compromises and do things differently. And 30 or 40 years ago most of us were fed on a 3 or 4 hour schedule as that's what was advised (my mum had us brought to her when we were 'due' a feed whilst in Maternity Hospital)

RhubarbGarden Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "A schedule mum would not feed her child between > scheduled feeds, by definition" > > Actually, in the early days of implementing the GF > routine, if the baby asks to be fed between > scheduled feeds, then the baby is fed. GF states > that a hungry baby should never be denied a feed. > What happens once the routine is established is > that the baby doesn't demand feeds because its > needs are met before it gets hungry, so it doesn't > have to cry for food. Ssshhhhh....don't let anyone know what it actually Says in the book...they might have to change their preconceived opinions on a book they've never read! Having had a foot in both camps (demand feed/sleep for 9 months then GF routine) I'd say this is definitely true. All the 'professional' advice I had in the early days was that if he cried I should feed him. This wasn't what he needed all the time at all! Sometimes, I realised with hindsight, he woke and cried because he was still tired and needed more sleep. My LO cried less once on a routine and once established it made it easier for me to understand the reason for any crying, eg hungry, not had enough sleep etc. As a result he was a much happier baby. Different strokes for different folks, but it's important to challenge any misunderstandings of what schedule/routine are.

Decleor restructuring gel and the accompanying oil. FAB. Not the cheapest but lasted me most of my pregnancy and seems to have done the trick.

Ruth_Baldock Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > We had the first set of MMR jabs when my son was > 14mo. Theyre meant to have boosters at 15mo but > Southwark are the only place in the UK that > stipulate the booster should be given at 15mo > rather than 3yrs. So thats when he will be having > the second jab/booster. Not quite: Lewisham and Bromley also do at 15 months. Probably any boroughs which have had outbreaks of measles (like Lewisham) and their close neighbours (like Bromley).

HH "emotional purgatory" is such a great way of describing the situation! It's incredibly frustrating to feel you don't have control over something that could have such a huge impact on your life and family dynamic, or at least that's how it is for me. As for how long you keep trying, I wish I had the answser. I've told myself that if it doesn't happen for me by the new year then I will start to focus on other things in my life (which I am currently putting off) but as we draw into September and the New Year is only a few months away now I don't feel ready to give up my hopes of giving my LO a sibling. It's a strange feeling to at once be happy with what you've got but saddened by your inability to change it! Best of luck to you and hope we both get what we want soon.

Just to give the other side of the equation...I fell pregnant within a couple of months of trying and had my son at 37, then became pregnant again within a couple of months of relaxed trying when I was 38. I unfortunately suffered a miscarriage and have not managed to get pregnant in the nearly 18 months since, despite actively trying. I will be 40 next month. I am convinced that the sudden change in my ability to fall pregnant is related to my age, although I'm no doctor. I'm encouraged though by the number of women who seem to have managed it though and so I say good luck to you HH and go for it! Re the women over 40 being amongst the highest rates for termination..maybe I'm a born pessimist/cynic but my first assumption is that that's less due to some miraculous fertility spurt in the 40s and more to do with the increased probability of carrying a child with a life threatening condition or defect?

There's a pretty good toddler group in the Phoenix centre, next to Sainsburys on Tues and fri morning plus the Heshima Sure start centre at the back of Sainsburys (on road to car park) is good, but depends where in CP/Syd you are as some sessions are only for Croydon BC council tax payers.

Nearly 2.5 and even then it was only because he was starting to outgrow the cot but had seriously outgrown the travel cot so I wanted to overcome any bed/escaping issues at home rather than when we were staying with parents. The older the better I think as they will almost inevitably get out of bed and run around the first few nights so they need to be of an age where they can understand the consequences of not staying in bed. We kept the cot in his room for a week and threatened to put him in there to sleep if he got out of bed to play around. It wasn't all stick though as we also used a reward chart for staying in bed, but again, LO needs to be old enough to understand.

???? Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Do it yourself, just put the tap on Just make sure the water coming out of the tap has been subject to absolutely zero testing or regulation.

I ate like a horse for the first 6 months and lost my baby weight. The 'problem' for me was that my appetite had grown, I'd become accustomed to the afternoon chocolate and the like and it didn't reduce at the same pace as the breastfeeding did so as I gradually weaned miniRandom over the next 4 or 5 months I did put on a few pounds. Didn't bother me though - there's plenty of time to kick the final few lbs.

Ruth, does he have a morning nap? Maybe it needs cutting? I think that's quite common at this sort of age.

My LO went from 1.5 hours to nothing (most days) pretty much overnight at 2 years 2 months. It may be that just shortening the nap will do the trick, for now, but if you do need to cut it out altogether you might need to put him to bed a bit earlier than normal for a bit so he doesn't get too overtired.

Snowboarder If your hubby is a 40% or higher rate tax payer you really need to get registered ASAP as the potential savings will be reduced after April (not for those higher rate tax payers who register beforehand though). I've just signed up for mini-random. His nursery costs will be ?178/month and we are saving ?73 by using the voucher scheme - brill!! And sympathies on the disorganised hubby..I badgered and badgered mine until he eventually forwarded me the email with registration info and I did it myself.

I got the Maxi Cosi Tobi when LO was 10 months old. It's meant to last until 4 years but he's not yet 2.5 and is almost too big for it and we are having to get another one. If I were to do it again, with a large baby, I'd go for the 1-2-3 seats that seemed to be so big for him at the time, the kiddycomfort or similar.