It sounds like a lot of instructions 
However its all useful information, and reassuring that it is written down as a guide to keep beside you, and you don't have to learn it all off by heart 
I think its very clear - doesn't say much more than we were told when we sent out our little ones for the first time (more years ago than I care to say ) except that we were given these rules and hints by word of mouth.
It also keeps you up to date with changes in regulations which may apply by the time a second or subsequent child starts at school.

I am having exactly the same problem - I have the words recorded - have the pics - they show up when I play them - but I just can't figure out how to get the download put together 

It makes me feel very computer illiterate and frustrated with myself  >
Surely it can't be so impossible to achieve when the 'how tos' are there and I thought I had followed them?

Our 3 youngest grandsons stay over half the week with us. They are very lively kids. Any one of them is likely to wake up at some point in the night and need reassurance before settling again. Mostly they are restless when they have coughs and/or colds.
The youngest has had nightmares from being about 10 mths old, not every night, but every few days. I think it may be just overstimulation at bedtime.
When this happens DS has decided that it is important to settle him without getting him out of bed, because the middle GS went through a stage of sleep pattern when he would only be pacified if he was lifted out and taken into the living room - eventually he would yell just for that. We managed to wean him out of it after a few weeks of being firm.
The 3yr old and 2yr old have mostly been sleeping through since about 7 mths old.
The 3yr old has always known when he is tired and asks to go to bed. He is the 'best' sleeper of the three 

My DD has three children - she is 5ft 4in (162.56cm) 

baby 1 was 4.280kg (9lb 7oz) - normal birth with tearing and stitches.  He is adult now and 6ft4in  (193.04) large build
baby 2 was 3.714kg (8lb 3oz) -  normal birth with tearing and stitches.  She is 18yrs now 5ft 5in    (165cm) slim build
baby 3 was 4.678kg (10lb 5oz)    - normal assisted birth (her shoulder got stuck) with tearing & stitches She is 16yrs now - 5ft 5in (165cm) medium build.
My DD has some noticeable stretch marks now 

DD recommends drinking rasberry leaf tea for the last week or so of preg to help prepare the muscles for labour - she used it before the last birth and reckons it made a big difference to labour. She drank this on advice of a midwife and herbalist. I should think it advisable to ask advice before doing the same 

I was lucky with my three - I had normal births except for the last DS (who was induced 3 weeks early) Short labours for each and no tears or stitches for any of them. I was not sore afterwards for more than a few hours discomfort - and up and about the same day.  I also had almost pain free labour for the first two babies - that meant that until the final push I was not able to feel the contractions - more like low back ache - and for the youngest DS - once the induction got under way labour only lasted about 2 hours total.

Yes I had the experience my youngest DS who got first tooth at 3months 3weeks.  He had been born (induced) three weeks early so we expected him to be late with teething.
I remember wondering why he was dribbling feverish and chewing on everything at only 12 weeks of age, but dismissed the idea of teething as being too early. My other kids had got their 1st tooth at around 7months.
The tooth was the reason I cut down on breast feeding him - he really gnawed at me, and at that time no-one could advise me about what to do to stop him. I found that I could nurse him early in the morning whilst he was still sleepy until about 6 months - but then the milk supply just dried up completely. (due to underuse so they said - but I always had trouble maintaining adequate supplies )   
After the first tooth, another  popped out within the week - then he had a new tooth about every month until he had 12   
All his developmental milestones were ahead of what we expected - the disadvantage for him was that people expected his behaviour to be that of a 4yr old when he was only 15 months.

btw at the other end of the scale my father cut another tooth after he retired at age 65 - he had dentures and couldn't understand why they were so uncomfortable. I can't remember whether there was more than one - but I know he had to have it/them removed

Dear Fileneviana

DD = dear daughter - its a useful abbreviation when typing in a hurry   
DS = dear son
DH = dear husband
DIL = daughter in law
SIL = son in law

Actually my DIL has the boys 4 days a week because she has split up with my DS, he has the three boys at our house for the remaining three days.
She is doing a part time course for a diploma or something but not on the days when she has the kids. Basically she can't bother to do training with them - they return in nappies - quite uncontrolled and have to re-learn how to behave in an acceptable way.    ( you can tell that she and I don't get on nowadays    )

What is interesting is that when they are here they soon remember the potty routine, so that is the same experience as with you when you took your break for the pool last week - I used to do the EC when they were tiny on a sort of part time basis    - and it worked. So there is a lot of association with who is doing the caregiving involved and babies can resume without losing what they had learned before. 
In fact I like the term 'potty learning' better than 'potty training' - I think it sounds more gentle somehow what do you feel?

 
Yes its a great idea - and if you add sheets with pictures, and interesting landmarks such as first words at what age - dates of first tooth - able to hold a cup - crawl etc - then when you are a grandma you can refer to the scrapbook. My grandchildren are fascinated by the little wristband from when Daddy was born!

I also tore out the diary page for the month before and month after my son arrived. It just says a word or two about how I felt - who visited and so on - the weather - and when he regained his birthweight.
Another thing I did was cut and kept a very small snippet of his hair about every year till he was about 5. It shows how his blond hair darkened. Now its almost black 

Its amazing how looking at the book now takes me back to when I first held the little ones - I remember thinking at the time "cherish this moment when he/she is so tiny - and you feel the velvety newborn skin - I wonder when this baby is grown to be an adult, whether you will remember sitting holding him and thinking this".   I can tell you the answer - yes you DO remember - the scrapbook brings it all back.

When I had my kids I had them in hospital and we were expected to stay therefor 5 days till the milk 'came in'. I had lots and donated it to the hospital for prem babies who really needed it. It was good to be able to help.

My babes put on about 3/4 to 1 pound in weight every week after the first couple of weeks - so needed all I could produce
Unfortunately my hormones dropped to normal pre preg levels within about 4 months after each baby so then the milk supply dropped.

I feel sure that in the UK there are schemes for milk banks now - here you could ask the midwives, health visitors, or at any GP surgery.

By the way my three large babies all grew up to be average height, average weight healthy adults. So much for them saying I was letting them get obese on breastmilk.

Yep absolutely! 
My grandson aged 2 1/2 is doing it with me - he gets a little sweet (smartie) if he does well in a pottie - and his little brother 18 mths is doing the same. I havent started taking Benji's nappy off for this - but he gets the (wicked) reward for just sitting on the pottie. They are with me for 3 days a week - I discovered that when they are at their Mum's house they both are in nappies full time. But when with me Joaeph manages to wear proper underwear and is proud of staying dry. I reckon that investing in lots of easy wash cotton underwear pays dividends. It takes a few days of puddles and really watching for the signs (pausing for a moment - faraway look etc 'pushing and/or grunting) mean you can catch them - then then loads of praise. Kids haven't changed over the years - its the conventions that have changed 
Good luck - keep us informed on how you and DD get on.

Hi 

Yes! to me the term EC sounded strange when I first heard it - then after a while (several years after actually) I realised that up until the advent of good disposables - most mothers used the technique of learning when their baby was likely to wee and/or poo and "held them out"  in anticipation making appropriate noises as you described. I don't think we gave it a name - it was just part of bringing up children.
When I had my three children I found that if I got it right - then I saved a lot of washing
I used to take off the nappy before feeding, and pop him/her on a small potty immediately after - make pss-pss and grunt noises - (I agree that the position you hold them in helps quite a lot). In between feeds I kept checking the nappy and kept a potty (or bowl for very little babies)handy and could often catch a pee. It was amazing how soon they learned the routine, and would respond with making the appropriate sounds themselves as they used the potty certainly by 9 months. Mothers did this as a routine - we never had to force the child - but always showed how delighted we were after sucesses.
 
Another advantage of pottying was that babies rarely had nappy rash after the first 3 or 4 months, they spent more and more time without a nappy at all. We were always looking forward to the summer months when they could run about with just a Tshirt. Then by the time the cold weather came - we aimed to have them out of nappies altogether.
 
My two boys were clean and dry day and night by 14 mths - my daughter was during the day but not dry at night till she was nearly 4. I didn't like to tell people that she was not dry at night - I even thought there might be something wrong with her.
One night a friend gave me an incontinence pad that she had spare after her child had had surgery. Stephanie said she didn't like it - but I said she had to have it under her to save the bedsheet from getting wet. From that night on she was totally dry.

Hello -
I used the Doman 'Teach Your Baby to Read' kit with my eldest many years ago when it first came out. He loved his flashcards as a toddler.
I didn't keep up the reading cards much longer than a year - he was so keen on more and more cards that I decided he needed to have other developmental experiences. I had the idea that he might lose out on 'play'
 
However when he started school he went straight into reading with confidence.
Whilst the other kids were starting from the beginning, he already had a wider vocabulary and was more articulate. Certainly the teachers were pleased with his progress and kept him busy - he was always encouraged to extend his skills, using them to use dictionaries and finding information.
The practise he had had in early reading and language skills were definitely an advantage. 

 
Huge congratulations to   • lawrencelb for The New Toy and  • Khloe for Colors of the Rainbow - the winners of the "Write A Children's Story competition.
Also to the runners up - it must have been a very difficult choice  - and I love the special forum signature buttons!
Well done all the truly imaginative forumers who entered the competition!
I must say you were braver than I - it has taken all of you a fair bit of work to get those fantastic stories completed

^ He was 8 months - it was 'mum, mum' he said 'down' , 'ta' , 'tada' (teddy), 'dada' at 9months.

> I am looking out at a beautiful sunset right now, gold, apricot and grey and blue streaks across the horizon and the swallows are swirling in the sky getting ready to migrate.

v are you an early bird or a night owl sort of person ?

Thanks and karma to you  to encourage you on your way

Having a second (and 3rd 4th etc if that happens  ) is so much easier because you already are a baby expert - know the routine . . . so you have more time to adjust to the differences between them.
Also just think how your big girl will love to 'help' look after her new little brother 
In fact there was 19mths between my first two - the boy was really useful fetching things for me, and he was so proud of her 

  Hello
This is what works for us:-

I show three playlists taking one out and bringing one in except for the family one which stays put.
I try to add another word to the family set each time - (we have lots of grandparents and relatives)
I do them as a wind down routine at bedtime because my grandchildren are at nursery during the day. Doing it one at a time means that each child individually gets their cuddle and story as well - then they accept  that its bedtime.