The 6th Broadly Gemini Luxury Bus - this way ladies.

[FrussoHathor]

Welcome aboard our 6th bus ladies.

agnu your neighbours are idiots. I'd put a rail up around a patio too. Or would if my patio to garden step went down rather than up perhaps a higher fence could be the next project?

I think ds might be asleep. He's stopped crying. Unfortunately I'm not sure I'm able to remove my nipple from his mouth without waking him. Oh well. DH is home now so I'll just have to stay in bed with ds for the next hour to ensure that he sleeps.

Hello

Agnu ~ I want to put up a rail on my patio. Is it possible?

Kitty ~ has kitten settled a bit?

Frus ~ The postman might cheer you up tomorrow

Lib, Lor and bring ...hope you ladies are doing well too

Hah hah look at all my smiley faces in my previous post! In real life I am stuffing my face with Haribo! Baby pear is none stop teething. I tried boots granules today. I think it's the equivalent to the dr stuff Frus suggested. It fooled him for two seconds and then he carried on crying. Only managed to go to the post office and boots today and that was by carrying him in one arm Didn't get the chance to buy M&S chocolate cake

How does everyone entertain their babies? Weird question I know but baby pear seems to require a lot of entertaining and I've run out of ideas! I read books, sing, put him on a play mat, play with his toys but it doesn't seem enough which is crazy in my eyes considering he is only 3 and a bit months old. I've tried bubbles but he's not interested. Any ideas?

I do a Tara Lee, Mum and Baby Yoga DvD which N really likes, fills had an hour or so, we also like swirling fabric above our heads and taking our pants off and kicking...

Agnu, what's a forest school? Do you know of any in the north? If I'm going to embrace my inner hippy...

We have a baby gym thingy that he likes for a couple of minutes until he falls asleep & keeps accidentally knocking the dangling bits & waking himself up! Mostly he's quite happy to just sit & watch DS1 charging around!

Hypothetically, what are people's opinions on mixed-feeding? Part of me hates the idea of introducing formula at all but then I wonder if I could just replace 1 or 2 feeds a day with formula then it'd give my poor nipples a break & I might be able to bf longer... Or it might ruin my supply & mean I have to stop sooner...! I would go back to expressing but that hurts too. Also, I hate the smell of formula. It's yucky.

Forest schools originated in Sweden. The theory is that being outside in the natural environment has numerous health benefits as well as being a fab place to learn - most subjects can be incorporated into the learning at an early stage. It's supposed to be particularly useful for children with additional needs, be it EAL, turbulent home lives, SEN or a lack of self-confidence. There's evidence to suggest that all children benefit from the freedom given. It's very focused on children learning to take risks appropriate to their age/developmental stage. For example, a 3yo might be able to safely climb up a couple of branches on a tree, an 8yo might be ready to learn how to build a shelter or a 12yo to light fires without matches.
I've not heard of any full-time, or even long term, forest schools in the UK. Or I'd be working there & taking the DC with me! Mostly it's a company who does sessions for nurseries/schools/team building in companies & will run sessions over a limited period of time. A lot of, particularly inner-city, nurseries are picking up the philosophy & starting to take their children to suitable areas, or including a natural area in their outdoor play area. These aren't necessarily specific 'forest school' sessions, just a chance for the children to investigate nature.
I once did a 3-day woodland skills course with forest school trainers at Cannock Chase so I'm sure there are some up north! They're everywhere once you know how to Google where to look!

Agnu I have introduced formula in a few of kittens bottles but she was having a bottle anyway just with milk I used to express at 10 but have now stoped, it hasn't affected my supply at all as far as I can tell but I hate giving it to her, it makes me feel I'm letting her down but at some point I will want a break or a night out and I don't want to be expressing all the time, never really did it with dd1 until I went onto formula after I was quiting completely and she only had 2 aday anyway so stoped the night then a few months later the morning, it was an easy way to stop bf by doing it so gradually
Pear we don't do alot to entertain kitten, she's easily bored of the play mat etc but just loves being with us. She loves the baby bjorn carrier facing out though noseing at everyone, will stay happily in it for a full day out and about ( I tend to go out alot because of dd1)

Hmm, entertainment. It feels like we're doing circuts these days. A bit of time on the baby gym mat, in the baby swing, in the jumperoo, tummy time with a baby book in front to look at, cuddles, repeat.

We just got back from BYOB (bring your own baby) Yoga and M is totally passed out. It was good! She was very smiley through the whole thing and I got a tiny workout and promptly came home and ate a chocolate cupcake

Agnu if formula is what you feel will work the best for you guys, it'll never hurt to give it a try. I would just suggest to keep up the morning and evening feeds to ensure that your supply will stay up. If things heal you can always cut it out again. There's never a definite right or wrong way to do things. Is donated breastmilk out of the question for you guys? Are there any organizations or groups that offer donated milk? Do you have Eats-On-Feets over there? I know that thekindlife.com also has a milk-sharing section....

pear have you thought of freezing some breastmilk into little "lollies" and letting baby pear gum them? or even just sticking a damp flannel into the freezer and letting baby chew on it helps sometimes too. Also rubbing some clover oil mixed with some olive oil on the gums is a known natural analgesic too. Lots of different things you can try.

Also, frus I'm so sorry that things are really challenging for you right now. Thinking of you often and letting you know were are always here (or fb) if you need a shoulder!

*we

Lib, sounds like you take your pants off and enjoy kicking with her lol

how is a forest school better than a Montessori? Isn't it just about allowing the child to develop at their own pace and allowing development (eg climbing) by creating opportunities, stepping back and not helicoptering allowing them to and trusting them develop their skills?
Is that not what anyone who home eds wants?

at lib kicking with her pants off.

Because it is Frus! Montessori is quite... clinical in a way. It's all set out nice & neat for the children to explore. It's not natural & dirty & fun! I would love to flexi-school with a forest school that ran continuous sessions based on age/ability groups, rather than a 1/2 term, 1 day a week, den building course. Mind you, I'm not sure it'd really be 'flexi-schooling' if I was joining in too! One of the local home ed groups has recently started doing some forest school sessions. I'll be taking my DSs when they're old enough! If I won the lottery I'd buy a woodland & build a log cabin & spend all day every day up a tree.

You'd love my weekend treat then. We go walking in the woods. Well I attempt to push a buggy, dd1 moans, and dd2 eats whatever she finds. Tres educational. Honest.

Sounds ace Frus! Do you loud-parent all the way? "Yes, DD2, that's bark. It's dry & rough... Oh, look darling, there's a big green caterpillar on the bark. Let's look up in our book what sort of butterf... No? You'd rather eat it? I see, ok... So what does the caterpillar of the red admiral taste like? Is it different to the cabbage white caterpillar you ate a few minutes ago? Can you say metamorphosis, DD2? No? Maybe when you've got an empty mouth..."

I've had a bad evening. DH swore he'd be home by 7.15 so I agreed to give DS1 a late snack & hold dinner for him. We have a system whereby he calls shortly before he leaves so I know when dinner needs to be ready. Except he didn't call when I was expecting him to... Loooong story short, DS2 woke up at 6.45 & screamed like he was in agony while I was just trying to put water on for the pasta, DS1 got grizzly & fed up... I couldn't stand to hear DS2 screaming so cried while washing up a saucepan. Then I got irrationally angry, shouted at DS1 desperately tried to keep DS2 latched on while weighing pasta... Just generally a nightmare evening & DH strolled in the door at 7.45 once DS2 was happy & gurgling & acted like a wounded puppy when I told him that I'm never holding dinner for him again because I refuse to spend my life trying to placate screaming hungry children while waiting for him.
All was relatively ok after that, until I was trying to get DS2 to settle & he decided he was hungry again but I didn't have enough milk to feed him. DH is out buying formula now, just as a back-up for when I get really sore. I'm going to try some suck-training with him to see if that helps but he's definitely still got a tie. I can feel it & it makes me feel sick to know it's there. DS1 has one too & I nearly cried earlier when I noticed his tongue going heart-shaped. I hate knowing that there's something there that's either causing issues now or could do in the future & there's nothing I can do about it! The NHS won't do anything. We have no insurance & we can't justify spending getting on for £800 for something that might not even be necessary! Where's that last third of the tub? Ice cream makes everything better!

((Hugs)) for you agnu

Am I supposed to loud parent through the woods? I'm more of a "no dd2 that is not your grandma" "oh you want to be a dog, fetch! " "yes dd1 that's a beech nut, yes that's a beech tree, yes that's also a beech nut, no I do not know what moss is made out of"

I have come to the realisation that I am a pushy parent. I've sent dd1 into school to ask for her 4th reading book. She's only been back 8 days. Although I do think Ive got her on a roll. Is an average of 15 pages a night excessive? I appear to have convinced her she wants to be up a reading band by half term. I'm pushy right? [bad mummy]
Oh and DH has taken dd2 to school.

My poor baby has a snuffly cold. She has snored, snorted, sniffed and sneezed all night long. I'm tempted to rub her all over with Vicks!

I hadn't thought of Vicks lib, baby frus has a cold too. although I might end up with vicks eyes jabs today.

I've heard that you put Vicks on babies' feet... Something to do with being able to cover them & the baby not eating it! Personally I've tended to use olbas oil - just a drop on a tissue tucked under the bedsheet at about head height. I've always found it sorts it out within minutes! Miracle stuff!

I had a complete meltdown last night! Not entirely sure why but I seemed to be under the impression that DS1 would always dribble & never pronounce his 's's properly because of his tie. Therefore he was doomed to a life of social embarrassment & would have to live in a cave & catch rabbits to survive. Of course, DS2 would be joining him because of his TT too. DH was no help. He just kept umm-ing at me & saying we'd 'keep an eye on it'. Not overly helpful when it was taking all my self-control not to track down where the London specialist lives & jump in the car at 1am to go demand he helps me! I think it was the combination of a stressful day, tiredness, & too much ice cream! I feel slightly more sane now I've slept well!

Frus ~ did the postman arrive?

And did your last jabs go ok?

pear yes. But I was out. will pick up tomorrow morning.
Baby frus is mega grumble bum now. He is not happy.

Have sent DH out for a bottle of . We have the result we wanted with my stress/anxiety cause.