alieh

Is it possible that there are just one or two duds on the post-natal ward at Kings, that can explain all of our bad experiences?? Personally, I had one night that was terrible, hideous, could not believe the insults and manner of the midwife/nurse that was "helping" us and one night that was much better, with an absolute angel of a woman who was so gentle and kind and helping everyone to breastfeed, etc. (I honestly wanted to just hug this woman and cry on her shoulder/take her home with me). All of the annoyances I expected with a hospital ward were there both nights (hot, uncomfortable, babies crying, etc.) but I could easily cope with all of that when the care was supportive. Mind you, my buzzer was broken both nights (not ideal when you've had a section and can't lift baby when he is crying and can't get anyone to come to help you!) and the policy about kicking partners out at 10 pm is really stressful for all parties...but other than that, it was just the one (or maybe two) terrible, shocking midwives/nurses that ruined the whole thing for me. When I think about the way that this one woman spoke to me and to the woman in the bed beside me, I still well up almost 2 years later.

I went to Elaine (osteopath) above the Healthmatters shop with my SPD last time I was pregnant and I think she really helped me. Not sure if it was the re-alignment she did or just telling me to stop the pre-natal yoga that was making my SPD so much worse, but something helped!

I would love to meet up, but am at work Mon-Thu and then swimming on Friday AM, which just leaves Friday PM post nap. But if others are more available, go ahead and meet up without me and I will join you happily once I'm on mat leave!

My brother-in-law, sister-in-law and their three kids are contemplating a visit at Xmas, which will strain the capacity of our house to the limits. I wondered if anyone might be going away at Xmas and appreciate someone staying to watch the house, water plants, feed pets, etc? The family is almost freakishly clean and tidy, the kids are very well behaved (age 14, 12, 10), and they would be spending most of their time sightseeing in London, so spending very little time in the house. They rented a house from a friend previously who said that the house was much cleaner when they got back than when they left it! Their plans are still tentative at this stage, but if it seemed that a housesitting opportunity was available, it might help make their decision. If this might be of interest, send me a PM.

Hi snowboarder. We are in a very similar situation - c-section first time (mine for breech) and with the Lanes now ready for the second. Interesting, because my impression from talking to my Lanes midwife was that they would be very supportive of me trying for an HBAC (just that I would have to talk to a consultant to understand the risks, as a matter of policy). I think I am leaning towards hospital VBAC without continuous monitoring, and my impression is that the Lanes will be happy to support me in this. I agree with you about the post-natal ward at Kings. My actual section was completely fine, but my stay in hospital was terrible. After two nights I sent my husband to find a wheelchair and discharged myself even though I still couldn't walk. This time I am just going to stay focused on hoping the VBAC works out and that I can get home quickly and dodge the nasty post-natal recovery ward. Not sure if I'll be able to avoid freaking out closer to the time. Maybe worth considering a change of scene and trying Tommies? I think the Lanes will go with you there.

I have the LG steam washer too and LOVE it. It spins at an incredibly high speed which means much less drying time (though this means you do have to ensure you're installing on a solid and level surface or it wobbles like crazy...suspect this is true of most high speed washers). It's been going strong since 2007 with no problems....watch, it's going to break down now isn't it??

Just had a note from my boss that his kids are all being sick too. Must be something going around - please let it miss my house as we're going on holiday tomorrow!

Oh no! Poor thing. I would think you should offer lots of water and very diluted juice to keep her fluids up. And bland foods like crackers or breadsticks, but she may not be interested for a while.

Yep, we're in this too. Miserable!

Tommy's on Rye Lane sells Phil and Teds, so they might be able to order one too.

Um, I'm just 17 weeks and I have got the "crazies" big time. My poor hubby can't do anything right - if he tries to unload the dishwasher while I'm cooking I want to kill him because he gets in my way, but if he doesn't help clean up I want to kill him. Don't even get me started on breathing too loud....it could be a long 40 weeks at this rate!

I had months of this, I'm afraid. I doubt that anything I tried actually made a difference and it is probably just a phase, but here are some options (mostly already said by others) -Bedtime a bit too late, even 15 minutes can make a difference for us -Or nap too long/finishing too close to bedtime -Simple version of the bunny clock idea, which some kids might understand at that age....put fairy lights on a timer and reinforce that they don't come out until the lights come on -Leaving them if they're just grumbling; if upset, I would go in and lie beside the cot shhing and pretending to sleep until closer to 6:00 to at least send the message (ha ha ha) that it wasn't morning yet -Pitch absolutely PITCH black room. I literally have a black sock over our monitor so the light doesn't flash! -Fan on for white noise -Locking cats downstairs as they tend to kick off and think it is morning as soon as they hear him We are mostly past this phase now (21 months) and haven't seen a 5 am start in months (please continue!). The one problem is that he still sometimes peeps/groans at 4:30 or 5:00, enough to wake me up, but at least these days he always seems to roll over and go back to sleep until at least 6:15. Sometimes I really struggle to get back to sleep myself, but at least I'm in my warm bed and reading a book rather than sitting bleary-eyed in front of Cbeebies (which actually doesn't even start until 6:00...where is the justice??)!

Thanks for setting this up! I can start...I'm due #2 on/around 5th March. I have a 21 month old son. Hope others can join me to chat about riveting topics like double buggies!

I haven't tried it with my son (have tried it on our own and it was good), but Si Mangia on Forest Hill Road is supposed to be family friendly.

Can't believe it's taken Bugaboo this long! By the way, I saw the Peach Blossom in that shop Tommy's on Rye Lane (just down from Peckham Rye station). Looks fab and would be great with twins, but no chance my massive toddler will fit. Much better looking than the Baby Jogger City Select (which looks HUGE in person) and seemed much lighter. Just in case anyone wanted to go and try it out. Have already measured my door and at 28" there is not a chance I can fit a side by side. Shame as there are lots of lovely ones. Have you looked at the Duo Walker too?

I've been waiting for someone to say that 26.5 months is the perfect age gap and I will have no problems whatsoever when number 2 arrives next March. Still waiting! I think if I definitely only wanted 2 children, I would have aimed for closer to a 3 year gap, but I am getting on in years and would really like 3 kids, so decided we needed to press on (and also know only too well that best laid plans re: timing of babies don't work in the face of Mother Nature). My sister and I have a 4 year gap and we are very close now, but were at very different stages when we were younger - especially once I was 8-ish and she was 4 - and I think my younger sister found it hard because I was always "too cool" or too busy to play with her.

I don't have room for one upstairs in the bedrooms, but am really tempted to make space in the living room. But they are just so flipping ugly! I have seen some gorgeous ones (here if anyone wants to dream: http://www.olliella.com/, but they cost ?900 (yikes!!!). Does anyone who has been through this think that I will even get a chance to sit in a glider chair in the living room with a toddler tearing around? Last time I found my sofa really uncomfortable for feeding (and when heavily pregnant, actually) and wondering if I should get over my shallow hatred of the look of glider chairs to have somewhere nice to sit. The other option I am looking into is turning a normal armchair into a glider using these kind of parts: http://www.swivel-chair-parts.com/GliderandSwivelGlider.html but would need someone very handy to help with this I think.

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but nymom and others....apparently the adjustable hood for the Phil and Ted's is going to be offered as a separate add-on that you can put with any of the Phil and Ted's, if I understand this link correctly: http://www.practicalpushchairs.co.uk/pushchairs/phil-and-teds/37/phil-and-teds-sport-sp-pushchair-buggy.html/ So you wouldn't necessarily be restricted to the Vibe. You could buy any of the other ones and buy the adjustable height hood separately.

I've just been looking at the Peach Blossom and it does sound very good. nymom, have you tried your son in this one too and determined that the seats are too small, like the City Select? Hoping this hi-jack might be of use to other people with...ahem...generously proportioned toddlers.

Thanks for these suggestions. I will look into them. At this stage I am tempted to just stick with my current beat-up Bugaboo Frog and a sling for the newbie! But I will probably regret that quite quickly as we don't have a car and my son will only be just over two when the next one arrives.

Nope, not short either. Darn. I didn't even know that there were different Phil and Teds, so that is good to know. Thanks!

Oh dear, my son is most definitely not small. In fact ginormous is more the word I would use. He's already pushing 35 lbs and he's only just turned 20 months. Okay, well that saves me the trip to try out the Baby Jogger City Select then. Back to the Phil and Teds idea I suppose.... Sorry to hijack original thread!

Because of the presence of the lovely EDForum, I decided to take the free NHS ante-natal classes which seemed absolutely fine in terms of content. I think it was 3 sessions at the small hospital on East Dulwich Road. Then I used the EDForum to meet up with other people at a similar stage in pregnancy.

Have you seen the Baby Jogger City Select, which is quite new and seems similar, but supposedly with bigger seats for larger toddlers? I am going to try one hopefully later today but it looks really good from what I have read.

It is hard to get into the lessons at the Peckham Pulse, but if you find out the day of registration for the next term and go early to queue up, you might get in. We've been very happy with our lessons there.