Pickle

I don't think it's possible to use different seat units on the chassis of a buggy such as the ICandy or Bugaboo, however it is possible to use different car seats with the different frames, in which case there are adapters available. Perhaps this is what you mean? P x

The only thing we've ever used are stairgates, and only at the top of the stairs when our eldest son was a bottom shuffler (and couldn't turn himself backwards to come down stairs safely). My youngest daughter is a mischief maker, but we've managed without cupboard locks etc., and we took our stairgates down prior to her crawling and have taught her to go up and down stairs safely from an early age. Obviously it's a very personal thing, but we simply keep things that shouldn't be touched (cleaning products, sharp things) out of reach and don't use any of the other childproofing things you can buy.

Excellent, looks like there will be a few of us. Now fingers crossed the good weather forecast for the weekend carries over to Monday!

We invested in cotbeds from the Mamas and Papas "Ocean" range for our two kids (born just under 17 months apart, so both needed cots). They were quite expensive but have been excellent - our son is now 3.25 and is very happy in his little bed now that we've taken the sides off, and our nearly 2 year old is still in the cot version. Very sturdy, plenty of room for them to grow and they look nice :) But similarly I know of lots of people who managed perfectly well with cheap and cheerful cots from Ikea and the likes. It's really down to personal preference. P

Yep, I'd be up for the Herne on Monday afternoon. 2.30ish onwards good for us.

More than happy to spend an hour at the Herne one afternoon, we were there for lunch on Sunday and my two had a great time in the playground while we had a drink in the sunshine. Could do afternoons from about 2:30ish, forecast is good for tomorrow (Fri) if anyone fancies it? Mockney - enjoy the fact that you're still able to read the papers, that will change once Rory gets older!

Great news! I would say that by then you'll probably only be feeding a few times a day (both of mine were down to feeds early morning, early afternoon and bedtime by that stage), so those hours will be easy to do without having to worry about expressing at all. It should be pretty easy to gently adjust his feeds when you get nearer to the time so that it works out for you with no stress at all. P x

Liquorice satins are stripy multicoloured sweets (some shaped a bit like a pillow, some round), similar to hard boiled sweets, with a chewy liquorice centre. But don't you dare go and buy the new stock, they're mine, all mine (6)

Thank you Miss Hope, please let me know when the liquorice satins will be back in stock and I'll call past to get some. Delicious.

Yep, absolutely fine, just reheat throughly when the time comes to eat them.

Can I add a plea for more liquorice satins? Every time you get them in I pretty much buy your entire stock for myself, but they don't come into stock very often. Surely I'm not the only addict in East Dulwich?! Please. Pretty please.

Another vote for the approach used by APenn and Belle. With child #1 we went the Annabel Karmel route (which is excellent, and her books are useful. I still cook some recipes from her books which we all eat). #2 was fed on the same food we eat from early in the weaning process due a combination of not enough hours in the day to puree and her reluctance to eat anything that didn't look like what her brother was having (17 months older than her). I don't add salt to our food, so not a problem for them to have the same as us. For recipes that are spicy I just take their portions out before adding chilli etc. Up to the age of 1 the most important thing is that you have fun with it - don't worry too much about how much they're eating as it's still milk that they get the majority of their nutrients from. Give a range of tastes/textures and enjoy!

We also use both Locale and Si Mangia as good places to go with the kids. Like Mrs TP we tend to go early (5 - 5.30ish), so the kids aren't tired and the restaurant isn't busy. Locale staff have always been brilliant with the kids and the food is nice.

Iain, I absolutely love that music, beautiful. I used to have the CD, but had completely forgotten about it and hadn't heard that piece for years, so thanks for posting.

Really nice to see everyone, lots of new faces which was great. I too have a bit of a headache this morning, which on 3 glasses of wine I don't feel is justified. Woken at 5am by our cat having a lovely time chasing a bird round our bedroom. Anyone want a cat? Enjoy the sunshine today, see you all soon.

I'm hanging out for a glass of wine! I'll aim to get there for 8pm, sadly wearing the clothes I've had on all day as can't find any better option in the chaos of our renovations (suitcase still isn't unpacked, and we've been back for 2 weeks!). So I'll be the scruffy one in jeans/cardigan.

Interesting that you were a sleep walker too, I was really bad as a child (to the extent my parents used to find me out in the garden, having unlocked doors etc.) and am still quite bad as an adult much to the amusement of Mr Pickle who has to answer questions such as "where's this boat taking us?" as I'm standing looking out our bedroom window at 3am. My son is a sleep talker too, once again takes after his Mum :-$

We've had exactly the same with both of ours. My son (now over 3) has always been an excellent sleeper but we had a period of waking doing exactly as you describe. He was often standing up and very confused which we think may have been a bit of sleep walking (which I used to do a lot as a child) as well as bad dreams. My daughter has done a similar thing over the past few months, she's 22 months old now. However I think hers is a combination of night terrors and teething - she's been very slow to get her teeth and they really seem to bother her these days. Fingers crossed the last few nights have been much better, so I'm hoping we're through the other side of it now! Hopefully it will pass with your little one.

Free parking (large carpark, plenty of spaces), but not free to go in - it cost me ?6.40ish for 2 kids which I felt was worth it. I think the prices are on the website.

It was excellent, like a nursery type layout with excellent outdoor space. Bit chilly there today, typical that my two (when not whinging, crying or fighting) wanted to play outside! Great car parking, very easy to negotiate with two little ones. We will be going again, I'll post to let others know when and we can try to meet up there.

Great! Yes, it's this Friday at the Plough from 8pm. See you there.

Excellent, we'll aim to get there for 9:30. See you tomorrow.

You shouldn't need any of those things? For take off and landing have your baby on your lap using an infant seatbelt extension (which they will supply). At other times you should just be able to have him/her sitting on the seat if awake, or lying down with the seatbelt fastened around if asleep. I fly long haul frequently to NZ with my two kids, two of these times we've bought seats for them despite being under 2, and we've never had to use anything special for them. This is with Singapore Airlines, but I'd be surprised if there was a huge difference with BA. A car seat would (in my opinion) be a real nuisance when flying long haul with an active toddler. My daughter loved being able to climb all over her seat, and when she slept she just lay down on the seat quite comfortably. Same applied to my son at a similar age. P x

Yep, we're up for it. I've never been there before, but worth a try. We can be there any time from about 9am! P x

There's also a new one (well, since I went away in Feb anyway) called Zingzillas which my kids love. So far I've seen Cleo Laine, John Dankworth and Julian Lloyd-Webber on it, quite impressive for a kids programme (and all people I've had the pleasure of performing with in the past, so kids are getting a running commentary on Mummy's life pre-children!).