Pickle

What a pain! We're having work done at the moment and our builders commented that they've never seen stuff disappear so fast from a skip. I've noticed trucks driving up and down our street many times a day looking for scrap metal etc.

Fab, thanks for arranging Ryedalema x

Last time at the Plough I rang in advance and they reserved an area for us. Looking forward to it!

Lovely afternoon, thanks Fuschia :)

We'll try to pop by and say hello :)

Hi Amy, I used prefold nappies (basically a big cotton rectangle, which you fold and cover with a plastic cover) with my daughter when she was first born - she was under 6lbs at her lightest, so also a small baby). They are cheap, and can be very effective if used properly. The main thing is to get very good covers, as that is what will hold the nasties in! I then moved to "proper" resuables once she was bigger, although my prefolds ended up lasting for the first 6 months. I suggest you contact Molly (The Nappy Lady) who could show you different nappy options and help find one that's best for you. P x

We took one to NZ, it's the first time we had done the trip with a Trunki. I found it had pros and cons... They are fine as carry on luggage, and hold quite a lot. Difficult to pack neatly due to the shape inside where the wheels are, but we used ours for a change of clothes and the kids toys and it was fine. You have to make sure it's up the right way when you open it, otherwise everything falls out (learnt that one the hard way!). Ours was used extensively while in transit at Singapore as a ride-on. You do have to be a bit careful not to go too fast as they can topple over. We found that after a while our 3 year old complained that his legs were tired due to having to move them all the time (design fault - they need some kind of little foot rest). Both kids enjoyed pulling it along, although it did cause a LOT of arguments! They are a bit bulky and uncomfortable to carry in the instances that you're not wheeling them along. All in all it was useful, and a bit of a novelty item for the kids. Feel free to come and have a closer look at ours (which is still full of all our things despite being home for a week now - house renovations mean I haven't been able to unpack!).

It was really nice to see you all and to put some faces to names. And SUCH cute babies to cuddle too :) My kids had fun, and C hasn't stopped talking about his new friend, your daughter has an admirer Molly. Although he is very insistent that his new friend is called Bolivia...

I'm around and 3ish post nap is ideal for us, so I'll head to the picnic area. I know Mel and Molly... for others I've got a P&T Vibe (red seats), kids are 3 (boy) and nearly 2 (girl) with blonde hair, I've got short hair. I tend to spend a lot of time yelling "STOP", and "COME BACK", so the picnic area is ideal for us!

He he, this post has really made me smile. May you have a long and happy relationship ladies ;-)

I started offering water with meals when weaning started (in a Tommee Tippee cup), but it wasn't until my kids were about 10 months old that they actually started drinking any. Try not to worry too much. Edited to add: when I started weaning I didn't offer milk with solids - I would always offer milk feeds at separate times.

I've flown business class twice to NZ (in the days where I had lots of airmiles to play with and only one child!), and it's great in terms of space when you're travelling with a baby. No experience of the airlines you mention, but Singapore Airlines provided a bassinet as usual in business. I was a bit stressed the first time about noise and grumpy business class types, but it wasn't a problem at all. We had one woman who sat beside us, took one look at our son and asked to be moved... which she was. Baby Pickle then slept the entire journey, and she ended up sat beside a bloke who snored so loudly it could be heard at the opposite end of the cabin >:D<

Maybe too late now Molly... but yes, I'm about, and living in a very small space indeed! Kids are currently "asleep" through all the banging and crashing but was planning to head up to the Horniman this afternoon due to rubbish weather, as we can't stay in the house. P x

Hey AJ, I'm just back from NZ - we fly Singapore Airlines who don't offer toddler seats, but C slept pretty well simply sitting in his seat with pillows around him to rest his head on. We managed to make quite a cosy little bed for him using a combination of pillows and blankets. M slept lying down, with her head away from me and her feet on me, as that seemed to be her preferred position. I would tend to say not to get a toddler seat, as it takes away your options - if he's not comfortable in it you then have a long flight on your hands with a grumpy 3 year old! P x

You lie the "main" seat completely flat and the carrycot slides on top, then the toddler seat clips in over top (quite a high position). When the baby gets to a sitting stage you change it so that the toddler seat is underneath and the main seat upright.

That's great news Ruth, sounds very promising. I too have always put my babies down awake, and both are great self settlers and generally sleep very well (are now nearly 2 and 3). I'm sure you'll find that gradually he's happy in his cot for longer periods, and things will slowly but surely become easier. Take care, P x

You can use a Hugabub for a newborn, I did with my daughter - there are different carrying positions to choose from when they're tiny.

Fuschia, something you're not telling us?! ;-)

SF, we've not had any problems with the Vibe. Ours was one of the very first ones made - so it does surprise me a little that it's been without fault as it's usually the early ones that have teething problems. The only thing we've had to do is replace two tyres (they're not very hard wearing in my opinion - my Bugaboo tyres still had heaps of tread on them after 18 months hard use, whereas the P&T ones were worn out after the same amount of time).

I loved my Huggabub - used it from when my 2nd child was newborn till she was around 7 or 8 months and found it extremely comfortable. Really good for keeping my hands free to be able to deal with my toddler while my baby was content. She was quite a fractious baby for the first few months and the sling was a sure fire way to calm her down and get her to sleep. We then moved to a Patapum (similar design to an Ergo) which I used to back carry my daughter. Once again really comfortable, and she loved it. We've just used it for the last time for our recent trip to NZ, so I'll be washing it (once I have a functioning kitchen with appliances!) and selling it on if anyone is interested. I struggled through with a Baby Bjorn with my first child, having done no research on what else is available - even though he was tiny I only used it for a few months as it really hurt my back, shoulders and neck. I wish I'd done more research as loved using a sling with my 2nd child.

We've got a P&T Vibe which has served us well over the last 21 months - they're a bit roomier than the other models and not as heavy. My kids fight over who gets to sit in the bottom, so it can't be that bad ;-) They really are the most practical double in terms of width, meaning you'll still be able to get into most shops and they fit on a bus - I had a side by side double for a while and it was a hassle getting it through doors. Personally a buggy board has never been a hit with us - I find it really difficult to push a buggy with one attached, let alone convincing DS to stay on it for any length of time (sore legs, sore arms... you name it, he'll use it as an excuse!). Both of my kids walk a lot of the time now, but it's always useful to have the P&T for them if we're going longer distances, or if I need to get somewhere quickly. P x

It visited our household about 6 weeks ago, then we kindly passed it on to my family in NZ when we went there on holiday. Oops :-$ The kids and I got it about 5 days before we left (it's a brilliant quick fix diet), Mr Pickle came down with it on a long haul flight. Not nice.

This looks amazing, we'll definitely be checking it out! Maybe we should arrange a weekday meetup there ladies?

We had a Bugaboo Cameleon and a MacLaren Techno XT - the cameleon for getting out and about round East Dulwich, and it was fine on buses etc. The Techno XT is our "in the car" buggy, useful for day trips, and invaluable for taking on flights (it's just back from it's 5th return trip to NZ and still looks as good as the day we bought it 3 years ago, can't fault it). My son always slept like a dream in the carry cot in the Bugaboo, and always seemed really comfortable when we converted it to a seat. We had to convert to a Phil 'n' Teds when we had #2, and I was always quite sad that my daughter didn't get the luxury of the Bugaboo experience :-$ If the Bugaboo Bee had existed when I was first pregnant I would have bought one, I think they look great and seem very practical.

The Mag might be OK with a couple of weeks notice - last time it was left quite late to try and book, so worth a try SB if you're around. Either Mag or Plough perfect for me.