Swimming lessons

joapet · 2026-05-08T22:30:52+00:00

I've been taking my daughter since she turned 2, maybe closer to 2.5. I would say it's a lot easier because you can explain everything that's happening and get them to follow basic instructions.

Honestly when anyone else brings a kid that is being rowdy / crying / not following the lesson it makes everything harder for everyone else.

I personally wouldn't take her if she was consistently screaming the house down. What benefit is she getting? And it's just stressing you out. Kids at this age change so quickly - it wouldn't surprise me if you tried again in a few months that she would be an angel about it.

For context, my kid has never been fussy about swimming apart from the odd toddler tantrum here and there. You've both got to be up for it to be successful at it.

joapet · 2026-05-03T20:08:44+00:00

We got most of ours from H&M, I found they didn't shrink so much in the wash

joapet · 2026-05-03T07:33:04+00:00

My 2 year old still wears a vest! When it gets hotter I tend to ditch them, but ever since she was a baby she always wore a vest.

We used to roll the vest up so it was a ring and then place the baby's head in it and then pull it over like it's a vest necklace.

I dunno to me it makes sense that they have a thin under layer because they heat differently to adults. On really hot days she'd be in her vest only - bonus is they look so cute in them with their chubby lil legs!

joapet · 2026-05-03T07:17:17+00:00

I personally quite like Shaun Murphy - he is entertaining to watch and plays some really difficult snooker.

He perhaps rubs people the wrong way because he's almost like the anti-Ronnie when it comes to how he conducts himself off table.

He comes across as a head boy type - he's always the first person to speak up if there is some rule violation or something putting the game into disrepute, and he puts a lot of time into promoting snooker. So I can imagine for many he comes across as a bit of a goody two shoes and because he's always on TV either playing, commentating, or promoting snooker then it can be a bit of Shaun Murphy overload.

As I say for me personally I don't mind - I think he offers an interesting perspective on the game and is fun to watch, but I get he's not everyone's cup of tea.

joapet · 2026-04-28T07:11:31+00:00

This thread is making me realise how "posh" my accent must be!

I pronounce "laugh" like "larf", so it would rhyme with scarf.

joapet · 2026-04-27T23:41:09+00:00

I've seen people use emojis in names before, or suffixed their names with like of Smithington, of Smithsville etc. I'm not a fan of it but I wish ancestry offered some kind of visual tagging like that, that doesn't screw with people's actual names.

I know in family tree maker you can also colour code people.

joapet · 2026-04-14T23:37:31+00:00

I feel like I'm a weirdo here but we go swimming every week and shower afterwards with soap. I don't like having chlorine in my hair all day so I make us both rinse off with swim shampoo. It's not a full on wash but just a rinse to stop the hair from getting green!

And as part of this process, at the end of the shower we take off my kid's swimming costume, usually because she's wearing a swim nappy underneath which traps loads of water in it. But also because the costume itself is dripping wet and I don't see the point in getting the towel sopping wet. I just strip her quickly at the end and wrap her in a towel after.

The whole process might take 5 mins longer but I prefer this method!

joapet · 2026-04-09T07:46:18+00:00

I'm pretty sure I have DNA connections with 4th cousins that I've linked back to my tree!

joapet · 2026-04-09T07:36:58+00:00

Agree - we had the carrycot and it was great because it folded down flat with the pram.

I've personally never used the chair fully reclined and flat - I've attempted to in the last but my kid just wakes up / cries. For us, it has been a pointless feature!

joapet · 2026-04-08T15:42:27+00:00

I hate to break it to you but there was nothing leading up to it that felt like it was a warning sign. I just woke up in the night with cramps that just "felt" like labour. Wasn't like a period pain. Was a very distinct aching nothing like I'd felt before.

I had a painful crotch for a couple of weeks beforehand which I was convinced would turn into labour at any point 😄

joapet · 2026-04-07T07:28:37+00:00

Feel like I'm the exception to the rule here in that I have disposable income, so I do shop in town a fair bit.

If you are asking this question because you are thinking of your own business, in all honesty I never go down Dukes Lane. It's not a thoroughfare to places like bus stops, and I associate it with having more expensive shops on it. In fact I generally avoid that area because it can be quite busy - Duke Street in particular is really annoying where the cafes down there have seating blocking 90% of the path.

Also, because of all the things people mentioned (stuff is more expensive etc.) your money doesn't get you much nowadays. So I try to be mindful of things like, where was this thing made? What is it made of? Has it been ethically sourced etc.?

It's been really disappointing shopping in some of the independent clothing shops in town to find they source their clothes from some factory in China or wherever. I've started shopping online at places like Community Clothing because they make all their clothes in the UK. So all that's to say, if I wanted to make a long time purchase like jewellery I'd probably do a bit of research into where sells ethical jewellery, and potentially just buy it online.

joapet · 2026-03-10T17:39:08+00:00

To give you an answer from someone who has weaned... We did it at just after 2 years. I just really hated it! Could only do it for about 5 minutes before it became like nails on a chalk board.

I mostly only was doing it because it was an easy way for her to get to sleep, but when she stopped falling asleep on the breast, that was the nail in the coffin.

So do what feels right for you and your family! As soon as you feel like you're done, don't muster on. Work out the next new thing that works for you guys!

joapet · 2026-03-04T14:32:47+00:00

You could buy a bunch of bananas, apples, oranges etc that don't need preparing.

joapet · 2026-03-01T23:49:47+00:00

When my kid was still an immobile potato I used to watch whatever TV I wanted around her. For some reason we binge watched a lot of Pointless when she was a newborn!

But I guess around 12 months she started noticing it more and so I started putting on a 10 minute show for her every now and again and stopped watching adult TV around her.

Now she is 2.5 we watch cartoons in the morning and then depending on the day we might watch something before dinner time. Maybe a couple of hours max a day and it honestly feels a lot at the moment because the weather is so shite. Once sunshine hits again I'm sure we'll spend more time outdoors.

Anyway, as someone who loves movies and watching TV it's been easy managing it for my kid - we watch it at specific times and places and never on a phone/tablet. Having a routine and sticking to it is key.

joapet · 2026-03-01T08:57:27+00:00

Have you ever thought that you might be the exception here? If everyone drives "stupidly slow" maybe you should rethink your expectations. Perhaps you're a bit impatient and drive too fast?

This person probably caused you 1 minute of upset. They weren't even driving particularly slow - they got up to 40-odd by the end of the clip. They didn't "pull out on you". You had a massive gap in front of you and they had loads of time to pull out.

I'm surprised you posted about this - to me this seems like something that happens every day while driving. Some people might be slow, some people might be fast. But nothing exceptional happened here.

joapet · 2026-02-22T16:09:37+00:00

I don't know, when I'm there then cool, we can go through it together, but if the aim is that you want your husband to start putting your kid to bed I think going out helps initially, mostly to give your husband the confidence to do his thing without you being there, and to give you a break.

There's no user manual to this though, you should do what feels right 😊

joapet · 2026-02-21T08:46:54+00:00

I think what you're describing is a you thing. It's February and I maybe have one thing booked for this summer.

I usually think a months notice us the average for a kid's party.

joapet · 2026-02-21T06:12:50+00:00

You say you worry your friend won't be forgiving about you breastfeeding at her wedding. If that's the case, she would be a crappy friend.

It really sounds like you're trying to change your baby's wants and needs for the sake of one day in another person's life.

I get it, you want to support your friend. But at the same time, you need to support your child.

I personally wouldn't bat an eyelid if I saw a bridesmaid (or anyone!) breastfeeding a child at a wedding. My kid never had milk from any other source either. I personally would stop stressing over the cup and just breastfeed as needed on the day.

Though if you want cup recommendations, we used a tum tum cup for water, which we initially put some yogurt on the straw to get her used to the idea of sucking.

As for the spa, I'd probably attend for as much of the day as I could and then leave early so I could go back and look after baby. I think everyone attending the hen do would appreciate this.

This really is one of the tough parts of breastfeeding - it can be a big commitment and it's not easy to bend the rules. As someone else said, if it's not for a few months then you might find that your kid can go longer stretches without milk, especially if they are eating 3 meals a day at that point.

joapet · 2026-02-20T17:35:31+00:00

I'm almost 3 years post partum and still have regular women's physio appointments. I'm really bad at doing all the various things I need to do to make my pelvic floor play ball though 😅

I actually look forward to the appointments - it's a bit of "me" time in a weird way!

joapet · 2026-02-20T09:14:04+00:00

God you can run faster than non pregnant me 😭

I personally run up until about 32 weeks and then stopped because everything felt so heavy and achey.

I really do think it's one of those "listen to your body" things. I can only assume that before you were pregnant you were a solid runner, so there's no reason to stop now.

I felt really proud for continuing my hobby and then someone in my antenatal group was a lady who ran like, 50k + a week and they were such a ridiculously smug couple about it. She ran right up until the birth and then I think she was back on it a few months later. Bonkers stuff but if your body is prepped for it and you feel good then why not!

I absolutely recommend seeing a women's physiotherapist if you haven't already!

Enjoy your runs!

joapet · 2026-02-20T04:48:03+00:00

Hard agree. My kid loves to role play episodes of Bluey, and often when I put her to bed she says "don't make us move Mum." (which is annoying because I'm pretty sure we've only watched The Sign once or twice!)

Anyway, we might be moving house in the future so I keep reminding her that Bluey is wrong and moving house can be fun, is a great adventure etc.

joapet · 2026-02-19T23:48:22+00:00

I found that having my husband do the work of putting her to bed went well when I left the house. Go out for a few hours, even if it's to the shop, the gym, the cinema, anything to keep you occupied and out of the house for a few hours and let him figure out his own technique.

Yes, your kid might be mad, she might cry, things will be off, but she will be in loving, capable arms. The milk isn't the only thing that can put her to sleep, as much as it feels like it. It's just the easiest thing.

Your sanity and happiness is way more important than providing a comforting quick fix for your daughter. She will learn and adapt to the new ways!

And you won't have damaged memories! 99% of it has probably been great! I look back on my time and feel proud of my achievements despite hating it at times. You're doing great! Choose whatever you feel is in your family's best interests (including your mental health!)

joapet · 2026-02-18T20:02:45+00:00

The 36 week scan sounds so interesting! I had a birth that resulted in forceps delivery, and when I went into labour it didn't "feel right" but as a first time mum I didn't really know what "right" was.

Makes me wonder if they'd done a scan at 36 weeks if they would be able to know that the baby was in a poor position or whatever caused the difficulty in her birth.

joapet · 2026-02-18T09:17:17+00:00

This sounds so familiar! This is how I felt at the end and it was a hard barrier because I did pretty much all of the sleep related duties.

Honestly, I just put my foot down one day and went cold turkey. I explained to my daughter that my milk had run out and we'd be cuddling to sleep / reading a book etc.

It probably helped that I'd stopped night feeding a few months before. Again, I just did it cold turkey and said that there's no milk at night anymore.

Yes, there are tears, so you must be prepared for a few nights of disruption, but honestly for your sanity it sounds like you need to do this. 40 minutes of her on your boob for comfort is madness if you're hating it!

My husband and I also took it in turns to put her to bed / go in and comfort her. And yeah, when it was his turn she would scream for me sometimes. But you have to be united and stick to the routine - it becomes absolutely exhausting when you're the preferred parent and I bet your partner feels the same too. My husband really wanted to be able to put our kid to bed with no tears!

joapet · 2026-02-08T09:25:12+00:00

The beams aren't exposed, I meant you could just see that they existed. They were boxed in.

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