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On the topic of looking for parents to participate in an exciting opportunity:

I am a second-year Geography student studying at the University of Oxford and am currently in the process of conducting research for my dissertation. I am looking for parents with one or more children under the age of 7 to conduct a 45-minute online interview in July (NB: all children must be under the age of 7 please!). I will be aiming to understand what your experience as new parents has been like, focusing on changes in habits, values and motivations. I would be immensely grateful for your participation, and if you are happy to help could you please contact me by email (Elodie.taylor@keble.ox.ac.uk).

I do believe that some food can help you conceive. More than that, I even believe that certain food can help you choose the gender of your baby.

A girl diet with weight loss is proven to be the thing that sways most - some studies say it has success of up to 80% (I personally think on it's own it's likely to be less than that) and if you skip breakfast without doing the diet you increase your chance of a girl from 50% to around 55%. You could do both, of course. The diet isn't easy, but most aim to conceive quickly on it so you might only have to do it for a few months. You also shouldn't take multivitamins as part of the diet as it's thought that more nutrients sways blue, and "declining condition" sways pink. Lowering sperm count (via one of many methods) is also proven to sway too. Most do this by BD frequency - i.e. daily release/BD or abstaining for 7+ days, or compressed frequent release when you release and discard then aim to BD soon afterwards. You can also do it using jump+dump after BDing, and lowering pH using a douche or gel - this will kill off some of the swimmers and lower sperm count. Ideally you'd also have him finish shallow and to avoid having a big O when DTD. timing isn't thought to sway any more, many impartial studies have refuted it. Again, studies show you have as much chance of a girl from BDing on OV day as any other day. Ideally you want to do the two things above and then BD when you will most likely get pregnant. There's no harm in trying a cut off if you can't let go of that, but just be careful because it can take far longer to conceive with a 3+ day cut off and the diet, etc, aren't healthy to do long term.

I did not suspect anything until I was late. But that is probably due to the fact that we weren't really trying. I suspect when you're eager to conceive you become extra suspicious to your body. So you'll never know:) I wish you best of luck!

I don't remember that during any of my pregnancies either.

OMG I would have 12 kids if it wasn't for the vomiting.

With my twins I was sick all the time for 5 months and the ob didn't prescribe anything, just told me to drink chocolate. I didn't lose any weight though.

With my son I was extremely sick again and lost 8lbs by the time I was 8wks. I never took anything but I was still nursing the twins, I just had to make sure I kept myself hydrated.

I would see what your practitioner says, but I don't think that you would necessarily have to wean.

This is a very hard decision to make. I got an epidural and had a wonderful experience. It does not harm the baby in any way. The concern is long lasting effects that can take place on the mother if it is not done right. However, despite my worries, I got the epidural and it was the best decision I made. I didn't feel a thing! I honestly wouldn't have known my daughter came out if I wasn't looking, seriously! haha! The only downside I guess you can say about this is that I had zero urge to push, so therefore I had no idea when to push, but my OB and the nurses were there to guide me and my daughter came out perfectly fine after an hour and 20 minutes of pushing.

My son could stand for a few seconds without holding anything when he just turned 8 months old. He bent her knees a bit--like a slight squat--to help his balance. He was wobbly and only last 2-5 seconds each time and then he had to grasp back onto whatever he was holding. It was amazing to see your kid trying to stand for the very first time!

Dear Mums and Dads,

I recently had a baby J and have found myself with a lot of stuff BUT no space.

I find that ebay and other sites are a hassle to use, hard to navigate and give me headaches.

I am trying to fix our problem by:

1. Finding you someone who needs your neWish. stuff
2. Picking it up from your house
3. Turning your clutter into money

I finished the website today!!! YAYYY!!!! https://newishonline.sharetribe.com/

I’ve made it really easy to use.

I’ve assembled a great team that are going to put all their time and energy into making your neWish experience easy-peasy.

Best Wishes and Happy,

Alexander Vit

Vital_9@hotmail.com

Hey everyone! Just stumbled across a really cool, hassle-free recipe.

Gina's Flourless Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 180 С.

Spray a 23 cm springform pan with baking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper and spray again.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the chocolate and butter, constantly stirring until fully incorporated. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl add the sugar and eggs. Using a handheld mixer beat together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. While mixing, slowly add cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, and brandy. Add the chocolate mixture and blend until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven for about 50 minutes or until a thin crust forms on the top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with few crumbs attached. Remove and cool in the pan on a bakers rack. Remove the sides of the pan and dust with powdered sugar and arrange seasonal berries in a pleasing fashion on and around the cake. Slice and serve with Whipped Cream.

Whipped Cream:
With a hand-held mixer, beat the cream until peaks soft peaks form. Add the sugar and brandy and beat until well combined.

Do you watch Game of Thrones? Maybe it's just my fangirling, but I think this show is a great source for cool and unique baby names! That's the top of my favourites:

Girls:

1. Arya
2. Daenerys
3. Brienne

Boys:

1. Theon
2. Tyrion
3. Sandor

Anything can  alter the child's nighttime sleep patterns, so it really depends on what changed in your life. Travel, illness, shifts in day-to-day routine and leaps in development  and many other things could cause this.

Here are the tips I used when my baby boy wouldn't let me sleep:

I EP and I started giving two feedings closer together than the day feedings before bed. One about 1- 1 1/2 hours before bath and one at bed time. Starting solids also helped even though some say it doesn't. My guy sleeps about 10 hours.

You could try one of those big cars for kids? All the boys LOVE them! Or if you think he is too big for it, you can give him a bike. 

Each to their own. I have had friends admit that they provide TV to their kids so they don't have to deal with them as they spend most of their time in their rooms entertaining themselves.

There is lots of research into the negative effects on kids who watch a lot of TV, worth googling if you are particularly interested.

Mine also loves "Diary of a Whimpy Kid"! He's also liked
- Explorer: The Mystery Boxes by Kazu Kibuishi

I've read some of these myself 

The thing about social networks is, yeah, you can see what your child is posting, but there's no way for you to know what they've been viewing or exposed to. Instagram, for example, has a lot of content that kids under 14 shouldn't be looking at. I think 14 or 15 is an ok age for kids to start on using social networks..

I am not a single parent, but my sister is. And in my opinion, it is not THAT hard only when you have a support from your family, or when you have a good career. Otherwise it is one of the biggest challenges in the life of a woman.

We got the BT150 after doing some research that was two years ago, it's still working fine for our second baby. We weren't paranoid enough to worry about a video one, seems overkill to me.

Not sure if that model is still available but I'd probably recommend the equivalent BT one since its last model was pretty good..

Hi there:) I have practised attachement parenting with both of my kids. This group on facebook has been really helpful - https://www.facebook.com/attachmentparentinguk.

Я бы выбрала смешанную) Мне кажется, так лучше. Мы же так росли и учились.

Good Topic!!

Irene, remember that this time will pass, and you won't feel this couple months later. I've had the same feeling after my baby was born, but now that he's older I feel so much happier. It's just the hormones, so you can't really do anything about it. Only wait till it will pass.

My kids love to help me in the garden:) They pull weeds, and sometimes they pull more than just weeds, but I don't mind  Also we work together on their costumes for school shows and Halloween, if that counts.

Oh, I love Game of Thrones! Just finished watching the last series. Can't wait to see what's gonna happen next season!

btw, right now I'm hesitating between Downton abbey and Grey's Anatomy. Have anyone of you watched these series? Which one to choose?

Their maternity ward was renovated. You should go and check it out yourself, they probably have open-doors days 

Hi there!

We are a private tution service that is based in Sutton. We specialise tutoring in core subjects, for children aged 5 and upwards, and are qualified to tutor in all major exams including SAT's and 11+!

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We're also on all social media platforms if thats easier for you!

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I felt the same at first. now a year after I got back to work it does not stink so strong to be away from my baby... I can't say I do not miss her at all but it is not a constant urge to check up on her anymore. plus I'm lucky to have a good nanny 

Great idea, Enola! I was thinking about starting my blog. I know there are alot oа great mummy blogs in the UK already but I was thinking to specify the area of my future blog. For example, I'm the big fan of cooking. So maybe my blog will be about child nutrition.. What do you think?

Hi all! 

We had a lot of our nephews' clothes, but most of our things came from Marks and Spencer and Debenhams. I bought online only once - from Etsy.com. Handmade christmas costume was just too irresistible:)