The Family Challenge
Can Catherine Bennett and daughter, Frances, 10, overcome fear and embrace the world of 'the flesh-coloured tight'?
Nothing had prepared me for the agony of baby jabs. How am I going to face the baby abattoir again?
Zoe Williams: The jabs are done for a whole postcode on the same morning, so it's a maelstrom of screaming infants: the place sounds like an abattoir
Push … then nip and tuck
'Mummy jobs', in which cosmetic surgeons set out to erase all evidence of childbirth from a woman's body, are already big business in the US. Now they are catching on here. Viv Groskop reports on a disturbing trend - and asks three mothers how they really feel about their post-baby bodies
‘We’d built the business up, we’d brought the children up, so when Pauline turned 50 she said, “Right, I’m going to do something for me for once – I’m going to have my thighs done.”‘ Within 48 hours of the liposuction, she was dead
This week a poster claiming cosmetic surgery 'just got easy' was banned. The truth is, even a quick nip and tuck can kill. Jenny Kleeman reports
I did not eat for a year
Experience: It's hard to think of an occasion that doesn't involve sharing food or drink. It's not possible to replicate the feelings of warmth and companionship and the easy conversation that having a meal together promotes.
The family challenge
Is it possible for a family to do yoga together - and relax? Emma Cook grudgingly gives it a go, with Simon, Louis and Evie.
I always thought mothers who didn’t breastfeed were feckless – but now I realise why some reach for a bottle
Zoe Williams says she never went to any breastfeeding classes because three years ago, by chance, she met my best friend on her way out of one, and she was fuming.
The pros and cons of express delivery
Zoe Williams: With labour, it's not as simple as short good, long bad. Sure, there's a macho swagger to a short labour (say, under five hours): especially with a first baby.
Anti-natal
Zoe Williams: Pineapples, sex and curries are all supposed to bring on labour, but there is an even more desperate method.
My baby has taken total control of my life – and other parents can’t stop telling me how to live it
Lauren Laverne: Being pregnant has taught me valuable lessons. I swear that when The Bean finally makes his entrance into the world I will never give pregnant pals my two penn'orth unless they request it, even if I have to wear a bridle to afternoon tea.