NCT

tailwindhome

Greg66 wrote:

There's a ton of stuff they peddle about breathing and birth partners, but frankly it's all cobblers and best avoided by anyone with a penis (and TWH).

Why you little.....



4 kids ... no antenatal classes.

It's all pish.

davmaggs

Greg66 wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

Other issue is that I'd like to move us out of London fairly soon after the baby arrives.

Jash, you're really not thinking this through.

How easy do you foresee househunting outside London will be (a) without a car; (b) with a newborn in tow?

Some friends of ours decided that they would wait until they had had their twins before embarking on house hunting.

Two years later they had seen enough houses to make a decision. Two years. If that is your idea of "fairly soon", I'll shut up.

If you're going to move, start looking NOW. Aim to have decided on a house, or at the very least narrowed it down to an area so that you can wait for a property to appear, pre-birth. Put your gaff on the market NOW.

Any notion you have that it will be preferable, better or easier to house hunt after the birth should be swiftly and cleanly expelled from your noggin. I suggest a massive sneeze.

+1

for the love of all that is holy, listen to this man (I wish I had)

UndercoverElephant

Il Principe wrote:

Thanks everyone. I'm pretty torn now. Would be happy to try it, but I don't really want to spend £360 on it. Dunno why it's so pricey.

If you want to meet up with common folk, give the NHS ones a go. If you want to meet up with nice, middle-class types, go with the NCT. Take some quinoa.

davis

DonDaddyD wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

Thanks everyone. I'm pretty torn now. Would be happy to try it, but I don't really want to spend £360 on it. Dunno why it's so pricey.

The free NHS ones are just as good and provide up-to-date NHS advice (you'll find the midwives in the hospital's advice differ from the newly qualified ones running these classes - but the quality of service and advice is always very good and high IMO).

Course it differs. People seem to bugger about with education and childcare every 6 months, and knowledge always seems to go out of date. Take all of it with a pinch of salt: humans have been raising babies since we've been humans....

rjsterry

davmaggs wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

Other issue is that I'd like to move us out of London fairly soon after the baby arrives.

Jash, you're really not thinking this through.

How easy do you foresee househunting outside London will be (a) without a car; (b) with a newborn in tow?

Some friends of ours decided that they would wait until they had had their twins before embarking on house hunting.

Two years later they had seen enough houses to make a decision. Two years. If that is your idea of "fairly soon", I'll shut up.

If you're going to move, start looking NOW. Aim to have decided on a house, or at the very least narrowed it down to an area so that you can wait for a property to appear, pre-birth. Put your gaff on the market NOW.

Any notion you have that it will be preferable, better or easier to house hunt after the birth should be swiftly and cleanly expelled from your noggin. I suggest a massive sneeze.

+1

for the love of all that is holy, listen to this man (I wish I had)

Amen! We moved just before no. 1 arrived. The actual move was pretty easy - coz Pickfords did it instead of us, but the process of finding a place, getting d!cked around by the vendors, them pulling out, then finding somewhere else, buying it, sorting out everything that needed doing, etc. was bad enough without trying to look after a newborn. I think I'd be under a patio if we'd tried to do it after the littl'un arrived.

pastryboy

Never heard of it - wife did a few free things at the hospital though and met a friend there who she keeps in touch with four years on.

Mostly though, friends have been acquired just from attending playgroups/freebie things at the library. They're a little army of mums and brats now - almost all with their second child. No need to pay lots of money to meet other parents.

asprilla

Oh, one of the pain killing options they will tell you about is the TENS machine. It's a great bit of kit as it gives you something to do and concentrate in whilst your other half is in agony. If you aren't operating the TENS then you'd just be a pointless fifth wheel getting in the way.

One word of caution though; if any of the cables come out remember to turn the device off before you reconnect them otherwise there is a very real chance you will apply a large and painful electric shock to your partners lumbar region as she is undergoing major contractions and this may push her over the edge into tears and she may direct all sorts of nasty words and threats at you. Just sayin'.

clarkey cat

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

Thanks everyone. I'm pretty torn now. Would be happy to try it, but I don't really want to spend £360 on it. Dunno why it's so pricey.

If you want to meet up with common folk, give the NHS ones a go. If you want to meet up with nice, middle-class types, go with the NCT. Take some quinoa.

the reason it's so pricey is so that people that are NOCD* don't go

*not our class, darling.

hegyestomi

If you can do one thing then go to the birth yoga at St Thomas' Hospital, London (with your wife/partner).
Can't remember the name of the teacher but it was a specific one off class for couples where you been shown about 20 different positions with partner that can help while in labour.
It was on on Saturday morning and seemed to be regularly on.
I can only recommend it, I thought it was great

Wrath Rob

Asprilla wrote:

One word of caution though; if any of the cables come out remember to turn the device off before you reconnect them otherwise there is a very real chance you will apply a large and painful electric shock to your partners lumbar region as she is undergoing major contractions and this may push her over the edge into tears and she may direct all sorts of nasty words and threats at you. Just sayin'.

I zapped my 7 month pregnant wife at full power in front of the entire NCT class when we were looking at them. I thought it was hysterical. The other men thought it was quite funny. None of the women in the room saw the funny side of it.

Was NCT worth it? Yes for the first year, though we had a slightly defective group. None of the others lived very close, 2 emigrated shortly after birth, 1 of the other guys was/is a massive pr1ck and the ladies got a little bitchy. After the first year we'd been to enough toddler groups to have met plenty of friends in the area and then when your kids start school a whole new network kicks off.

tailwindhome

Do you people have no friends and family?


That London eh?

londonlivvy

TailWindHome wrote:

Do you people have no friends and family?


That London eh?

Nearest family is a six hour drive.
Nearest friend about 12 miles away, but in London that takes about an hour, frequently more.
But we did just move to Surrey, so we could have a house. I didn't want to live in a 2 bed flat with 7 bikes and a baby and noisy neighbours having wild parties every weekend.

So yeah, the Meet Some Mates element of NCT was definitely a winner for us.

asprilla

londonlivvy wrote:

TailWindHome wrote:

Do you people have no friends and family?


That London eh?

Nearest family is a six hour drive.
Nearest friend about 12 miles away, but in London that takes about an hour, frequently more.
But we did just move to Surrey, so we could have a house. I didn't want to live in a 2 bed flat with 7 bikes and a baby and noisy neighbours having wild parties every weekend.

So yeah, the Meet Some Mates element of NCT was definitely a winner for us.

That about covers it. We moved to Walton because it was a two be flat in Earlsfield or a four bed house with garden here. Mates from when we lived in central London are now scattered to the four corners of the M25 and everywhere takes an hour to get to.

clarkey cat

four bed house with garden here.

Fieldcommon?

greg66_tri_v2.0

londonlivvy wrote:

TailWindHome wrote:

Do you people have no friends and family?


That London eh?

Nearest family is a six hour drive.
Nearest friend about 12 miles away, but in London that takes about an hour, frequently more.
But we did just move to Surrey, so we could have a house. I didn't want to live in a 2 bed flat with 7 bikes and a baby and noisy neighbours having wild parties every weekend.

So yeah, the Meet Some Mates element of NCT was definitely a winner for us.

Anyway, LL (or should that be SurreyLivvy now?), onto the important stuff: you must be damn near fit to bust about now, no?

itboffin

Ha ha your boned your life is over, tell you what I'll take those zipps off your hands youre going to need the money and you won't have time to use them.

asprilla

clarkey cat wrote:

four bed house with garden here.

Fieldcommon?

Opposite side of the ressie.

Paid the same our landlord on Garratt Lane wanted for a one bed ground floor flat.

clarkey cat

we really love it here. so glad we moved from East Dulwich 18 months ago. Great for Baby Cat. couldn't imagine raising a kid inside zone 2.

asprilla

clarkey cat wrote:

we really love it here. so glad we moved from East Dulwich 18 months ago. Great for Baby Cat. couldn't imagine raising a kid inside zone 2.

Yup. Love the kids parks, feeding the ducks at Claremont and walking in the sticks.

Only problem we have is the school, we live very close to the crap one. Hopefully moving within Walton before Christmas. Ideally I want to be somewhere on the A25 in 10 years, Shere, Abinger Hammer or similar. Just not yet; I wouldn't be able to cycle in every day.

As you say, glad we aren't raising kids in zone 2.

greg66_tri_v2.0

itboffin wrote:

Ha ha your boned your life is over, tell you what I'll take those zipps off your hands youre going to need the money and you won't have time to use them.

Bagsy the Campagnolo gruppo on the Dogma.

itboffin

Its full of electrickery fella you haven't a chance

greg66_tri_v2.0

itboffin wrote:

Its full of electrickery fella you haven't a chance

Yeah, but it comes with a book of spells and magicks, right?

tailwindhome

Greg66 wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Ha ha your boned your life is over, tell you what I'll take those zipps off your hands youre going to need the money and you won't have time to use them.

Bagsy the Campagnolo gruppo on the Dogma.

Hehe

He doesn't want that super heavy weight frame.