NCT for 2nd timers?

[PoppetPie]

Looking for some advice / experience here... I'm pregnant with my second child and can't decide whether to do the full on first timers course or the 'refresher' course. My son is almost 5 and we've lived in a completely different area since he was 3, so I don't know many people - main aim for NCT is to attempt to make some friends. There's a huge difference bewteen the two classes - the first is 20 odd hours (£££££) but the second, while only 10 hours is held during the day - and I work FT so it means taking holiday or making time up - difficult when I work a condensed week already! Has anyone done the refresher courses? What did you think? Opportunity to make friends? Waste? Should I just do the full course? Help!

I would do the refresher course - the full course is really aimed at first time parents, and you might find it difficult to make friends with them as the meet ups afterwards will be very much geared towards newborns and not take older toddlers into account. Although if your DS is in school, it might not be such a problem? I don't know.

What about your local clinic? My local clinic ran ante-natal classes for free, and I met my "mum friends" there. It was run by the community midwives and was fab, really honest and down to earth and with them all being midwives who did rotations at the local hospitals there was a good chance we'd see them in labour! Might be worth asking your midwife at your next appointment?

I did the refresher earlier this year - mostly because I'd moved areas between dc1 and 2 and I wanted the chance to meet some people with an older child. I also found that the chance to go over birth no. 1 was useful and I probably wouldn't have had that in the first timers' class. Having to take time off work was a bit of a PITA but evening/ weekend childcare would have been a bigger one if I'd gone for the first timers' course.

Since our babies were born we've met up a few times but not the regular weekly meet-ups that most first timers seem to have. Perhaps, though, this is partly because of the demands of having two small children and partly because we don't live within walking distance of each other (semi rural area). I think we'll continue to meet. It's definitely very nice to have people who understand what it is like coping with a newborn and an older child (here, I have been lucky as everyone in my group has a similar aged toddler). You probably wouldn't get that in a standard NCT class - and I, for one, would miss the "getting by" tips that my group shares e.g. on bedtime for two and entertaining a toddler whilst BFing.

So, if I were you I'd save money and just do the refresher course.

I did a refreshers course and have made a really good friend from it. The benefit of refreshers is that they all have other children so makes it easy when meeting up. There were only 4 people on ours and one was bit intense but to be honest I loved the opportunity to sit down and rest during the day

Also, check if your NCT have a Working Bumps group. They meet in the evenings to make it easy for people and there are a few Mums at my class who aren't first timers but wanted to refresh their knowledge. They also have a Bumps & Babes class which is apparently great for meeting people as well.

I've just finished a refresher course, it was great! As the others said, it helps that everyone is in the same boat, and the sessions are on things like going over your 1st birth, dealing with sibling rivalry etc as well as a refresher on labour and breastfeeding. We have all met up with the toddlers a few times already, and plan to meet up with the babies. If you do a first-timers course you'll be a bit of an odd one out and won't be able to go to meet ups in coffee shops etc with a 5 year old in tow! Although I guess at least he'll be in school during the day so it might work out ok.

It's a shame it's daytime, the one I did was evenings, which was perfect for me. I wouldn't have been able to do a daytime one, what do they expect people to do with their toddlers?!

Failing that, I also did an NCT yoga course (relax, refresh and breathe) which was specifically for 2nd time mums and met some nice people there too.

Try nct rsb (yoga based and add in a post natal class and youll be fine.