Winter babies club (due Dec 2012, Jan/Feb 2013)

[Ramble66]

I'm not sure about the Vac. I'm generally a little suspicious of these things and will have to do some reading. It's a quadruple vaccine I think which I'm not happy about.

Greeners - I'm trying to do without a coat, hoping nov/dec aren't too coat. At the moment I can still do my normal coat up. Do like the idea of parka I can wear whilst using a sling though.

There is a lady selling a maternity coat in the classifieds. She sent me a pic, it's nice. Button up one.

Looking forward to catch up. Other halves coming too?

Re:yoga, I've heard great things about the kings sitaram yoga. I work sat am though. Planning on continuing my usual yoga as long as possible, ideally till due date but would like to do preg class too.

[kmoon249]

hello ladies,

I'm due the 1st week of Jan with my second. Just wanted to say hello to everyone and join the club. I hope to make it on the 17th.

[Ramble66]

Found this.

http://www.medicines.org.uk/emcmobile/File/PdfPil?fileName=PIL.17377.8.pdf&documentId=17377

Also looking at data the increase in cases in London have been the over 15yrs. There has been no increase in cases in the 0-3mths.

Think that's me decided that the benefits don't outweigh the risks.

Welcome Kmoon!

[rougepamplemousse]

A friend has a few pramsuits/bodysuits suitable for first days/coming out of the hospital etc

They are new and on half price sale - close down shop sale.

Please pm for pictures, prices and sizes, I will check with her availability.

[reginak]

To ladies expecting no 2 (or 3 or 4..) in December/Jan...

As some of you may have already discovered, the NCT only has one session of their "refresher" course locally in all of the autumn/winter 2012 and itis fully booked! Luckily a very good local midwife (Ariadna Sole) who regularly runs courses for first time parents, is now offering a short refresher as well. Good feedback on her and her courses posted all over the forum!

Thought I would mention it in case there are others out there that would be interested - I thought it would be good

to get back in the new mother mind frame (feels like absolutely ages ago), as well as meet other mums in the area. And best of all the course is short! (Hard to find time when you've got other kiddies to look after)

Would be really nice to get a good group of us together for the course+afterwards too! I'm due with no 2 in mid-Nov and plan to sign up. Hope to see you there!

Dates/ details/contact info for Ariadna are here:

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?25,967702,967702#msg-967702

[Bursty]

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well. Just wondering if anyone has faced any difficulties getting the whooping cough vaccine? It may just be that I need to speak to my GP directly but the receptionist and nurse at my surgery have said that at the moment the surgery (St Giles) is only offering to children. I find this weird because I thought this was a new national guideline that pregnant women should have it and my obstetrician has recommended it (although said I had to get it from my GP). Can I demand it even if the surgery isn't offering?

Looking forward to meeting you in a couple of weeks!

[greeners]

It could be that they're a bit disorganised about the info and vaccine stocks but the recommendation from the local pct is to give it to pregnant women so they should hear about it soon and make it available. I would speak to your surgery's midwife or GP about it & then speak to receptionist/nurse again saying gp/midwife has advised it. My surgery & midwives were quite on the ball and I think were about to send letters out to pregnant ladies but I beat them to it and already made an appointment to have mine. They're doing it in batches, roughly a one day clinic every 3-4 weeks. The first day was before I am 28 weeks and the second date was when I'm on holiday, so I managed to convince them to squeeze me in to see the nurse at another time!

[pinkglitter]

Neither midwife nor receptionist at my doctor's knows anything about when they will be getting their vaccines, they have taken my details to let me know once they know, but am not filled with confidence! Going to ask midwife again at next appt....

[CharDale]

I had my anti-d, flu and whooping cough injections last Wednesday, all on the dame day, ouch! I'd made an appointment off my own back for the flu jab (I wasn't on the GP surgery list as being due one) and when I got to the doctors, the nurse told me that whooping cough had come in that day, so I had that as well. Perhaps because the vaccine is only just arriving some surgery receptionists aren't up to speed yet. Anyway, my recommendation is have the flu jab and whooping cough in different arms if you have them on the same day, because my right arm was pretty sore for two days afterwards. Although the anti-d hurt going in, my left arm was fine afterwards.

On a different note, has anyone bought any books on looking after babies yet? I haven't but would like to buy something 'practical', a kind of baby manual that covers all the day-to-day stuff (feeding, sleeping, washing etc), trouble shooting advice (illnesses, what to do if X happens etc) and maybe offers some advice on parenting techniques. Any recommendations? Does such a book exist?!

[greeners]

Chardale, im going to wait a couple of weeks in between the jabs to avoid that!

Re books - I've been given 'what to expect - the first year' by a friend so I'll start with that. Not read much of it yet but it seems fairly comprehensive, like the pregnancy one.

[greeners]

Oh have just realised I have a parents evening on oct 17th. It always overruns but I will try to come to pub after if I'm not too hoarse from talking!

[moggsvet]

Hi all,

I am a new expectant mum, due on Jan 20. Would love to join the group and say hi to everyone. I am only just starting to investigate the NCT or NHS classes thing so happy to take advice from anyone.

Also I have just started a brand new pilates class that is great for pregnant mums. I am finding the classes fantastic and I feel I get exercise for me as well as for the pregnancy (whereas 1 or 2 of the other ones I went to seemed a bit more about just stretching and really didn't seems o exercise me much at all). If anyone is interested let me know. They are just along Peckham Rye.

Nice to chat.

Amber.

[klove]

Hi Moggsvet/Amber, which pilates class do you go to? I really need to start something before I lose any semblance of fitness! Anyone else getting out of breath going up stairs?

As to books CharDale, I'm reading 'How not to f*** them up' by the psychologist Oliver James and would highly recommend it. It's a really nonjudgmental approach to motherhood, different mothering styles and the going back to work childcare dilemmas. I've been given a lot of earth-mother type books recently and it's quite nice to read something that keeps it real.

[CharDale]

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check out both those books.

I'm also interested in pilates. Amber - would you mind posting the details: venue, day, time and price? I really need to do something as my fitness is going to pot and I do get out of breath easily (I guess our lungs are getting a bit squashed).

[Bursty]

Thanks for all your advice on jabs. It seems that my surgery was just a bit disorganised and now has them in, so I am going for the double whammy tomorrow morning :-S

Re books, CharDale my brother & sister in law just gave me "Your Baby Week By Week: The ultimate guide to caring for your new baby" by Caroline Fertleman and Simone Cave and from reading the first couple of chapters, this seems practical and non-scary.

One of the alpha-mums at work also recommended Gina Ford's "The New Contented Little Baby Book" but I have to say that although this provides routines on when to feed / sleep / wash (for both yourself and your baby) I found it genuinely terrifying - very strict.

Also, although it's not quite on topic, quite a few people recommended that I read Juju Sundin's "Birth Skills" which is about ways to cope with labour. I found it informative and reassuring (although time will tell whether it actually helps on the day...!)

[magkath]

I have seen a couple of nice designs on Etsy, suitable for pregnancy and babywearing. The only problem is I don't think they're water/wind proof.

Battling the same issue (due in Feb).

[magkath]

Hello,

I am new to the forum and the area (moved in May).

I am due with my first in Feb 2013 (home birth hopefully).

Can I join the thread? I am absolutely stuck for information.

Any good yoga classes in the area that run in the evenings?

Workshops for parents (not nct, please) that are especially father friendly?

As for the flu jabs, I would think twice about it. I have consulted my MW, GP, obstetician back home and made my husband call all to Japan to ask his doctor as well. The answers were: 1 for and 3 against. That really scared me off.

The main reason given was that vaccines usually contain mercury.

[Sonners]

Magkath we're going to ante-natal classes run by Ariadna Sole instead of NCT. Similar thing but Ariadna is a midwife. She's posted about her courses on here so if you search her name it should come up.

On the flu jabs my midwife told me at my last visit that I should definitely have it. I thought that mercury had been removed from most UK flu vaccines for 2011/12 onwards, although I may be wrong. The NHS guidelines tell practitioners to consider the "Summary of Product Characteristics" of a particular vaccine for particular patients so I would hope that those containing mercury are not offered to pregnant ladies but worth discussing with your nurse before having the jab.

[KWinberry]

Hi Winter BC Mums!

Sorry to butt-in on your thread... I have a 5 month old 'Spring baby' and am organising a social gathering where we swap and sell our baby stuff... A friend recommended I post here as alot of the stuff will be for the 0 - 6 month age group. It's at the Crooked Well on Tuesday 6th November from 10.30am.

You'll find all of the info here: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?25,973794,973794#msg-973794

Or PM me if you have any Qs.

We've never done this before so I don't know how it is going to go... there will be coffee and crumpets available so please come and socialise - even if you're not up for the 'swap and sell market' idea.

Okay - now back to the workshop and flu jabs discussion...

Best

Kath

[greeners]

Magkate, welcome to the thread.

I have been attending Sitaram yoga classes which run throughout the week and I think they do an evening class on Wednesday & Thursday at kings and on Sunday at brockwell lido. If you google Sitaram yoga you should be able to find a list of their class times. I go the Saturday morning one as I find it hard to attend evening ones.

There are also some classes run by the teachers who used to teach out of the dulwich therapy rooms studios but they've now relocated to a venue off goose green. If you ring the dulwich therapy rooms they should be able to give you contact details for the teachers. I think Push studios also do a class but I may be mistaken and it's Pilates.

As for classes, I was dubious about NCT for many reasons but have now decided to go for them. I have heard that ariadne's classes that someone mentioned come recommended and that the NHS parent craft ones are pretty good too, but get booked up. Someone was also advertising an active birth class on the forum the other day, maybe in the classifieds section.

I'm in two minds about the flu jab (gearing towards having it - as i'm currently suffering from a horrible cold and cough and realising that it's not much fun when no chemist will sell any over the counter meds to relieve it!) and have booked to have my whooping cough jab in a couple of weeks.

[magkath]

Hi Greeners,

Thank you so much for all the info.

I'll check the classes and depending on how much toll commute takes, we might meet one Saturday.

As for colds and no medicine: elderberry syrup! You could get Sambucol, but I'm not keen on additives in it (only 1 though) and make my own.

1 cup dry elderberries (I found that NYR sell them, or buy on-line)

3 cups water

bring to the boil and simmer for 30min.

strain through sieve or cheese cloth

cool down a bit and add 1/2 to 1 cup honey (raw if you want extra benefit)

take 2 tbs a day (you can dilute in a glass of water or 1 spoon hourly when ill.

It'll keep in the fridge for upto 3 months.

You can also try onion and garlic (stinks to high heaven, but helps).

chop 1 large onion and and 2-6 cloves of garlic

add 4 tbs of hot water and sugar to cover

leave to macerate for 3-4 days at room temperature.

once the thick, oily syrup is formed you can add some liquid honey

Take 1 spoonfull 2-3 times a day (cauation, it does taste dicgusting.

No need to refrigerate as you should use it up before it goes off.

[Ramble66]

Ive got a cold at the moment - living off hot honey, lemon, ginger and cloves.

I'm definitely not having the flu vaccine, not had flu since I was 8ish and it's still very comin to get flu even if you've had the vaccine, there are just too many strains. I don't tend to take medication anyway so even if had flu not pregnant I wouldnt take anything.

As for whooping cough, I keep going back and forward. As my husband us a teacher I'm starting to lean towards having it. The main age group that are getting it are 15yrs+. I was thinking of getting him to have vaccine but this won't protect baby. The vaccine doesn't stop you getting it, just reduces symptoms.

How is everyone doing generally?

[moggsvet]

Hi everyone,

A few people have asked me about the Pilates class I go to.

Its run by a lovely lady - Jen Alger. It is held at "The Pilates Garden" on Peckham Rye.

Its brand new and she is getting booked up quite quickly as the prices are quite reasonable compared to others, she has some great equipment and so its a lot more than just a stretching class which a few of the others seemed to be. I went to a few and unfortunately because it was a pregnancy class it seemed not to exercise me much at all. But I am sure there are lots out there that are fantastic, that was just my experience.

If you're interested she is putting together 1 or 2 pregnancy classes at the moment so give her a call.

Ph: 07833220150. E: [email protected] W: www.thepilatesgarden.co.uk.

Hope everyone if feeling fit and healthy and enjoying this time before they get too big! :))

[joey257]

Hello!

I am due in early December and just came across this forum!

I noticed a few people asking about classes, I am going to an Active Birth workshop (one day) this sunday (21st October) run by a friend of mine. I have heard really good things about it from people that have been before. If anyone is interested you can find out more details from her post: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?25,976127 or contact Charly at [email protected].

[n_m_jones]

Hi everyone,

Are we still meeting up tonight? 8pm at the Great Exhibition?

If so, I'll be there, I couldn't make the last one so I'm looking forward to meeting you all. I'll bring my husband too.

Nicola x