Bishberro

Hi - I hated all the breastfeeding clothes I saw so what I do is just wear a black breastfeeding vest top under whatever I'm wearing. Then the top clips down and your normal top pulls up if you see what I mean. I just got a couple from Jo Jo Maman Bebe and HM do them as well. The best place I found for nursing bras is the Fitting Studio on Dartmouth Road in Forest Hill. They seem to do really nice pretty ones and although they're pricey, they last well and are not as hideous or huge as most on the market. They stock a Kiwi range called Hot Milk (!) that are nice.

Thanks for all the info. Busymum, ?60k is similar to what we've been quoted too. We've already done the loft a couple of years ago which definitely seemed more cost effective but I really think having a bigger kitchen would be great with the kids and give us a few more years in the house. Unfortunately neither me or my husband are any good at DIY/building stuff so we'd have to pay someone to do the whole lot.

Really horrid question, but does anyone know the best way to treat "accidents" on the carpet? We have a wool carpet downstairs so worrying about what to do if it gets weed on, even worse poo. Not sure whether you can disinfect carpets without ruining them.

Now we've got two kids and all their stuff, we're thinking about getting this type of kitchen extension done to our mid-terrace. I've contacted a few specialist companies and had some v expensive quotes back. Just wondered if anyone local has had it done, how long it took etc and who you used. Tried posting in another section a while back but got nothing back so thought I'd try here.Thanks.

My 2.5 year old is still in his cot bed and has a 4 tog cot bed duvet. The past week or so he's woken up cold as his duvet isn't heavy enough to keep him warm but for safety reasons I assume, you don't seem to be able to buy a cot bed duvet over 4 togs. He's already wearing pjs with a vest underneath so not sure what to do when it's really cold. Should I get him a blanket over the duvet? Just wondered if anyone had any brilliant ideas for when it's really freezing. Thanks

Hi - if you're looking at Playa Blanca then look up the Princess Yaiza hotel. We stayed there when my son was almost a year old and it was great. We had an apartment with a mini kitchen and a separate bedroom which was ideal with a baby and the whole hotel is very geared up for kids - there's even a soft play area. We went with Sovereign who seemed to have some nice family friendly hotels all over the place.

The brake cable on my Bugaboo Cameleon snapped today. It's two and a half years old so not under warranty any more (we bought it from John Lewis). Obviously it's dangerous without a brake but not sure where to take it to be fixed. Tried the local bike shop today but they said they wouldn't do it so not sure where else to try.

Hi Helen - Both my boys have been mega windy and I tried everything - gave up wheat/dairy/booze, drank fennel tea. I also tried windy pops, Infacol, gripe water and nothing seemed to help. It's hideous especially when they're crying and thrashing around in pain but I found thankfully that it did start to gradually subside around 10 weeks in both of them and by 12 weeks it was gone. Personally the only thing I think causes it is that they have such immature digestive systems that they struggle to cope at first. What I found helpful when they were endlessly crying in pain was to bounce on one of those birthing balls while I was holding them and pat their bottom at the same time. Bizarrely it seemed to work. Also giving them a bath seemed to soothe them for a while and circling their legs and pushing them into their chest. One thing I never tried as it was a bit of a faff if you're breatfeeding is Colief but I've got friends who swear it was the only thing that worked. It's expensive but if you ask the GP you can get it on prescription. You just have to express a bit of milk before each feed to mix the drops in. Thinking of you x

I'm psyching myself up to start potty training my son and just wondered if any veterans on the subject had any thoughts on potties. I wanted to get two - one for upstairs and one for downstairs but it seems like you can pay from a few quid to ?20 quid plus for some. Is it worth paying out for a posher one like a Baby bjorn or will a basic one do the job? Some of them looked so small, I wasn't sure my son would be very comfy sat on them for long periods of time.

Thanks for all your advice. I think I've finally worked out what it is - poor little thing has got a cut under his tongue. Think it's probably been caused by his fingernails when he's stuffed his fist into his mouth. He loves doing this at the minute and once managed to get both fists in at once. I think when he feeds it irritates it and it bleeds. I'm glad I know what's caused it at least.

Thanks for the reassurance. The odd thing is my nipples seem completely fine - no cracks, no pain or soreness at all. I'll just have to keep an eye on it and see if it happens again.

I was breastfeeding my 11- week-old son this morning when he pulled away and started crying hysterically and when I looked in his mouth it was filled with bright red blood. I panicked but when I looked I could't see anything in his mouth like a cut and he hasn't got any teeth yetand I couldn't feel any that had come through. I didn't feel him bite me and my nipple looked normal. He carried on feeding and the milk that came out was the normal white colour and when he was sick after the feed it was a normal colour with a tiny bit of rust colour in it where the blood was. Does anyone have any idea what it could have been and should I take him to the GPs? I can only assume the blood was from me and he was crying because of the weird taste but does it just randomly appear in breast milk for no reason? I haven't been ill or had any problems breastfeeding. Or could have have bitten his tongue? He's been ok in himself today and is now asleep, I'm just a bit concerned.

Good question, SP. I was thinking the same thing. I've got the P and T Sport and my huge,long 7 week old is already looking squashed in the cocoon and I can't imagine he's going to last another 3 months in it. Also when you do switch, does the baby go on the top or the bottom?

Thanks Clare. Roundhay would be perfect as that's where most of our family are. All I can seem to find are city centre flats to rent but wouldn't be that ideal for us with two kids.

Hi. This is a total long shot, but with two kids now and both mine and my husband's parents living in small flats, we're looking for a place to rent in Leeds over Christmas so we can still be close to family and friends but not all squashed in one place. We're looking for anywhere in Leeds/Harrogate, preferably for a week max with at least three bedrooms. It would be great to find a family home that's already geared up for kids so we don't have to worry about glass coffee tables, lack of stair gates etc. No sure how it works with regards to insurance etc but we're willing to pay a decent price. So if you know anyone who lives in Leeds and might be going away themselves over xmas and might be willing to consider us staying in their home then please give me a shout. Thanks

Hi supergolden, if you're after an ameda one like Fuschia recommended, there's one for sale on the forum at the mo. Sorry I can't do links but the seller is localmum1.

Hi - Caterpillar Music is good when they're that age. It's on above Soup Dragon on a Monday morning - 10.40am and a later class at 11.20am I think. There's also a toddler group at the Ackroyd Centre in Honor Oak.

We've been to Majorca, Canaries, Spain and the US with our bugaboo cameleon over the past 3 years and have always been ok to take it up to the plane door. Even when we had the carry cot bit on it and it was quite big, the airline staff have been ok about it. I took the hood fabric bit off (not sure if you can do this with the Bee) so it didn't get too dirty but we didn't have a special bag for it and it's always been fine.

Hi - not sure this will help but I had a very sleepy, jaundiced baby first time around who would fall asleep after feeding for just a few minutes. What I found helped was stripping him off before a feed so he was a bit cooler, changing his nappy before a feed to make sure he was really awake or during a feed after he'd nodded off. If he still nodded off, I rubbed his palm, walked my fingers up his spine or gently rubbed/tickled his feet. Sometimes in desperation, I'd gently blow on his face which also seemed to work for a little while. It's so frustrating but hope it gets better for you and your partner.

Thanks for the opinions. It definitely sounds like the perfect thing for my big wriggler so think I'll give one a go.

Hi - I'm a rubbish public breasfeeder and can't seem to manage to get the baby in a good position and latch them on properly without the help of a cushion. My technique doesn't seem to have improved with son number 2 (who is also huge and v heavy) so I'm dreading feeding him in public. Rather than drag round my massive feeding cushion that I use at home, I noticed these thrupenny bits ones that seem a bit more portable. Before I shell out, I just wondered if anyone had used one and if they found them helpful?

Hi Fuschia - great news about the one o'clock club. Do you know which days of the week it's going to open in the mornings? I know last year it was only two or three. Thanks, BB

Thanks for the ideas and sorry for hijacking the original thread. That's a great idea about the early bathtime as the baby doesn't seem to kick off until a bit later so that might work. Will also try the sling/swing option!

It's good to read your posting Charlotte as I have a 2 year old and a 3 week old and am finding it a bit of a struggle at the mo as the baby has no routine at the minute whatsover. I suppose it's early days yet but my oldest son is in a very good routine which he put himself into at an early age so I think I'm finding coping with everything on demand with the youngest a bit tricky. I never know when he's going to need a feed (can be anything between 2 and 4 hours) and juggling this with taking the toddler out and about isn't easy. Bedtimes are especially difficult as the baby seems to have developed bad wind (trying to be optimistic and not class it as colic yet) and is really unsettled from around 7pm. He cries continually and just wants to be held which is really tricky when you're trying to bath and put a toddler to bed. I've tried leaving him to cry in his moses basket but just can't bring myself to do it for long as he gets hysterical. He finally collapses through sheer exhaustion around 11pm. Anyone got any tips about how to deal with bath/bed time with a screaming baby who won't be put down and a tired toddler?

Does anyone know if the peckham rye one o'clock club is going to open in the mornings during the school holidays? I know they did it last year three days a week it opened from 10am and was desperately hoping they had enough staff to do the same thing this year too. With a new baby, I haven't actually managed to make it down there for a few weeks to ask them myself. Thanks.