ladywotlunches

I only have a primary age boy too, so have no direct experience of the older children, but I too like the sound of strictness in a school. Like DenMotherSmith says, if the boys behave then they aren't subjected to discipline. Sounds pretty much like the 'old days' when I went to school. Personally I think some schools have gone too far the other way and are soft on 'feisty' children, allowing them more freedom, which in turn hasn't helped them in society. (But this could turn into a much larger debate). I'm also watching with interest to see what happens with Harris Boys, and I hope it gets local support. It would be the ideal option for us (until my baby girl gets to secondary age, and Harris Girls has got a LOT of catching up to do if I were to ever consider her going there :) )

My reading of the OP was that frump did speak with the parents - and was trying to clarify that she wasn't just angry about damage to her car, but more about the complete lack of observation the parents had of their children at a junction.

Yes I heard once that the stronger the smell of 'chlorine', the dirtier the pool is, as the chlorine only smells when it's activated by the nasties it's trying to cleanse. Urggghh.

I wish the 63 would make that last bit up the hill and round the corner to HOP that they always talk about. There were rumours that it would be too difficult for a double decker to make the turn, but then on Friday I saw a learner bus (Double deck) come round the corner. If L-drivers can do it, then surely the fully-qualified ones should have no problem??

Wait til he's ready - it took a whole year between getting rid of nappies in the daytime until we got rid of them at night. When we realised that he was staying dry all night then just weeing when he woke up, we started the whole reward chart thing ("if your nappy is dry in the morning you get a sticker" type thing - though we also backed it up to start with with a chocolate button after breakfast!! >:D<)

No link to autism. The guy who published the paper has been struck off. Go ahead with the jab and don't worry. Just go prepared with treats for her afterwards! :)

par_avion, that's magic! Just tried those exercises and my tingly left shoulder after a day carrying/feeding feels MUCH better already.

Oh no - that little boy of yours likes to test you for sure!! Sorry I don't have more advice, but a thought that just occurred to me when you mentioned your own insomnia because of too much coffee - could that be his problem too? I don't want to get into restricting diet whilst bf thing, but if he might be particularly sensitive to it, it could be creating a vicious cycle?? Could you bear to part from the cup for the day and give it a try? :-S

Yep - my body is definitely in the 'holding on' camp too. With number one when I stopped BF at 6 months the weight fell off - I was also conscious NOT to lose too much as I was bridesmaid at my sisters wedding and had an outfit made for me. Even still at each fitting the dressmaker was saying 'you've changed again, I'm going to have to take it in'. And on the big day itself my mum was stitching me in (strapless top, not a good idea to have too loose, esp post baby!). Now, I'm at 5 months, and starting solids. normal bras and dresses, here we come! :))

Hi Liz. What you describe sounds like the siblu parcs in France. Take a look at their site - I've not been there yet, but friends have recommended it to me. Good luck!

Thought I would share with you all a new website a friend told me about green-buttons.com, which is where you can buy and sell good quality baby and kids clothes. Its been set up by a local mum (and probably something many of us have thought about doing too!). Its great as i've sold her my nice boys stuff, and am now looking at what I can buy for No. 2 (girl) instead. Retail therapy with a conscience! FRM - I posted here as I'm not buying/selling anything, its more of a suggestion. But if you think the post should really be in classifieds, please move.

SG - have you tried Gripe Water as well as the infacol? I found it more helpful and it has a more instant effect on trapped wind. tastes bloody awful though, but if you can syringe it down his throat it might work!! (I used the dropper from the infacol for A). x

No worries - glad you found the comment helpful. Good luck with the rest of the pregnancy and enjoy baby when s/he comes along!

I'm putting my head above the parapet here to say that I have reused our mattresses for no 2. I actually did a straw poll of mummy friends and of 10, only 1 had changed the mattress for number 2! I did some research and FSID do say that if the mattress is waterproof (which my crib and pram ones were) it is suitable to reuse, just clean it with anti bacterial spray and wash the cover. For our cot mattress, no.1 was never very sicky, it had a washable cover and again I sprayed with antibac. My reasoning for the cot mattress was that by the time she was ready for that, she would be that bit older and stronger. And on the sleeping through note - one friend told me that she had a second hand mattress for number 1, who slept like a dream, and bought a new one for number two, who was a nightmare. So, as ever, you never can tell... Can I please ask no-one to discuss my decision further on here? Its a decision I came to after research and don't feel I need any retrospective advice. Sorry to sound a bit snotty but I've seen others decisions criticised before on the forum and I don't think its fair on the mum. I've only posted my experience as it differs from that already posted and I felt Karter might like to hear another view before making her own choice.

I'd second the recommendation for Nespresso. Lots of choice, no mess, a nice 'crema' top on it. John Lewis often have trial days - and I think Selfridges have a Nespresso Cafe in store that you can try before you buy

Gripe water. A friend gave me a bottle when we had a bit of colicy pain (which may well have been due to introducing formula) and it worked a treat to get the wind up. Tastes bloody awful tho!

Yes - bottle feeding does cause more wind I think, just the suckling action. My MIL always says this to me (ie that mine won't be as windy as I'm BFing which she and my SIL didn't do hence the constant comparisons!) I find passing the baby to DH for winding useful especially if there's a bit of possetting ;)

Ah - I knew I could rely on the forum for a thread on this today! My little one is just 17 weeks, so into the latest 4 month stage. For my first, the advice was strictly 6 months and I think we did baby rice from about 5.5 months then onto other solids at 6 months. At the moment, she seems happy with just milk (mostly BF with the occasional top up) so until that changes, I'm not going to rock the boat. Once again, a bit more conflicting advice (and differing views on here). Pebbles and Plimsoul, I'm with you. Us mums should take advice when we need it and adapt to the best thing for each baby as an individual. Its advice, not legislation, after all.

And I'll have my 4 year old as he's only doing 1/2 days at school settling in this week and next. And the following week I'm busy. But I'll be there first week of Feb (if its on each week?)!!!

Re: babysitting circles - if you have a group of mummy friends it's worth looking at mynightoff.com - there you can set up a virtual circle and book nights out, with friend babysitting, then earn points by sitting back for them or another family in the circle.

Does anyone have any experience of alarmed locks for scooters?

Hi All Starting to think about holidays for this year as it will be our first in school holidays. We have an almost 5 year old and a new baby, and a friend has recommended to us before the Siblu parcs in France. I'm imagining that they are kind of 'Centerparcs on Sea' but has anyone been and can you recommend? Also - is it realistic to think that the South of France will be warm and sunny at Easter? I've been to Cannes once in March before and the weather was lovely then, but I was working so can't vouch for bikini weather!!

Ooh great - i'm guessing that there are two screenings, so we choose which film we want to see?

Saila - have got bpa free bottles so I don't think I have the plastic prob, just the hot spots! Perhaps one thing I might change is heating the water longer in the micro then adding the powder. The only thing is as I'm just topping up, the only time I really use formula is when she's still crying out for more. The would be a long 20 mins ...

But surely after 30 mins the water in the kettle will be cooler than 70 degrees? Yet another issue for parents where advice is confusing and contradictory. I'll follow my usual plan of listening to my instincts. Am just waiting to be told that I should sterilise my nipples before every breastfeed :)