My separation anxiety

Ben had a great time with his dad for
a couple of days. Photo: models

By Baby Blogger Kate Richards
Recently I spent two nights away from Ben, visiting old friends. It was a very strange feeling - we hadn't spent a night apart since he was born 14 months ago. He stayed at home with my husband, who predictably called on his mum to help. They had a great time, and he has a new-found respect for me, which is a wonderful side-effect.

On arriving home, I got a long cuddle then everything returned more-or-less to normal. Ben was more clingy for a day or so, and a bit more fussy about eating, bathing and nappy changes.

Good news about teen vaccine

Laura Johnson
Well it's been rumbling away in the background. If you were wondering whether to let your daughter have the new HPV vaccine you might not have known about it.

This was the question of whether the vaccine used in the UK was the best one.

The campaign to vaccinate against cervical cancer has been radical - and even a little controversial.

Birth choice questions

Laura Johnson
It was to have been a drive to reduce Britain's growing rate of caesarean operations - but it's now achieved the opposite.

Whatever the guidelines say, the headlines say that women can now "opt" for a caesarean. Already one in five births are by this route - and it has led to allegations that some celebs are "too posh to push".

Cats aren't 'feline' fancy dress

Stacey Collins

There are pictures of me as a child parading my pushchair around the garden. A quick glance inside of the pushchair reveals not my Baby Born, but my poor cat, dressed in one of my doll’s dresses. With the look of distaste on his face evident even underneath the bonnet, I now feel guilty at ever forcing my cat to be my baby.

Is love that hard to find?

Stacey Collins

Why is it that news programmes never report any positive news? Riots, deaths, recession and other such subjects leave news watchers everywhere feeling depressed and disheartened and wondering if the cliché ‘no news is good news’ should perhaps be changed to ‘no news on good news’.

Birmingham's beautiful bodies?

Stacey Collins

If I asked you to guess which city had been reported to contain the best female bodies I’d expect you to be imagining Paris, Milan, London. If I added that the city with the ‘best body’ figures in England has also been voted the city with the worst accent by a BBC survey, is home to Cadbury World and the infamous Spaghetti Junction and has produced the likes of Toyah Wilcox you would probably be a little shocked once you realised it was the Midlands city of Birmingham.

So what's wrong with home births?

Laura Johnson
Would giving birth at home be important to you? Several campaign groups say it should be - but if the statistics are to be believed not many women are bothered by the idea.

In England just one in 40 births take place in the home. It's been controversial. Many medics regard it as unsafe - in case something should go wrong. Yet there have been strong campaigns in support of women having this choice - and it's got to be more pleasant than the atmosphere in hospital.

Will Chinese lanterns go out with a bang?

Stacey Collins

Happy Bonfire Night! Remember to wear gloves when using sparklers, stand 25 metres away from lit fireworks and now wildlife experts and farmers are asking people to think twice before setting off Chinese lanterns.

The releasing of the paper lanterns into the air has become increasingly popular especially on celebrations and Bonfire night. However, as incidents arise regarding uncontrollable fires as a result of lanterns landing on roofs of houses and in fields, the lanterns have become less popular with wildlife experts and fire-fighters who have been called out over 100 times in the past two years to put out lantern-related fires.

Time to get a jab?

 Laura Johnson
British health services are still struggling to get pregnant women to have the flu jab, it seems.

Senior doctors lined up yesterday to plead with women to agree to the flu vaccine - but it looks as though we are keener to give it to children than ourselves.

Should we get choice of caesarean?

 Laura Johnson
Recently they were called "too posh to push" but now opinion seems to be swinging in favour of giving birth under the surgeon's knife.

About one in five babies are now born this way - and some people now say it should be part of the "choice" that you get when you are pregnant.

But experts are also saying that you should  not be given free choice of caesarean section without understanding the risks involved.