Pickle

Thanks Mel. Thankfully they're both sleeping now, so at least I get a break from it for a while. The no milk thing is hard isn't it?! M will be expecting a bottle when she wakes up, so not sure whether to try it and hope for the best (in the kitchen, where any disasters are able to be mopped up!), or feel like a horrible Mummy for starving her. I don't think she'd accept a rice cake/toast instead, especially not now as "mulk" is her latest word so there's no disputing what she wants! And as many of you know from meeting my joyful bundle of toddlerness, she's not one to be messed with!

Ha ha, good advice! He keeps ringing for "updates" - I think he's hoping I'll say "yes, it's a miracle, they've both stopped throwing up so go out and have a lovely time, don't worry about us". Either that, or I'll leave a stinking pile of clothes/towels/linen for him to deal with at whatever hour he stumbles in >:D<

Thanks all, and thanks for your kind offer Helen GV - we all went to the laundrette, exciting experience for 2.5 year old and my little one fell asleep. Sheets/sleeping bags etc. are all dry now so at least I can relax on that front. Of course we got home, seemingly fine 2.5 year old suddenly looked a bit strange and now he's throwing up too. Thankfully he's old enough to tell me something's not right so we made it to the toilet. They're both down for their naps now, little one ate a small amount of lunch, older one didn't want anything, so we'll see how it goes. Do you think I can pull rank on Mr Pickle's plans to go out drinking after work tonight?! :X

Hi ladies, I suppose I'm lucky to have got through nearly 3 years of children without this happening... but my 15 month old is unwell and I'm not sure which approach to take. She started vomitting at 1.30am, after a bath etc. she went back to sleep and woke at her usual time. As she seemed fine I gave her a bottle, which came back in impressive style straight away. I tried giving her some toast and water for breakfast, as once again she wanted food, and this has also come back to see us. My question is - do I continue to give her food when she asks for it? Or do I just give her water for the next few hours to avoid her being sick again? She seems absolutely fine other than the vomitting, is charging round the house in her usual style. I think it's going to be a long day (the highlight of which will be going to a laundrette to get cot bedding dry as we don't have a tumble drier - the first time I've ever wished I had one!!). Thanks. P x

I've had the pleasure of meeting Iain, he's starting work doing some decorating for us next week - and I can vouch that in person he's just as nice as he is online :)

My kids are a bit young yet, but just wanted to say it's a fun idea! You really are a positive person aren't you?! An absolute breath of fresh air on the forum, so nice to see. Hope you get some takers! P

I'm quite scared of dogs, and do find it really unnerving when a big dog comes bounding towards me in the park. From years of using the parks I know that 99.9% of the time the dogs ARE totally harmless, and most owners are pretty good at ensuring the dog stays with them, or comes when called, when they're off the lead. For the benefit of my kids, who I don't want to be scared of dogs, I tend to make conversation with the owners which usually results in the kids being able to pat the dog - so a nice outcome, and I know almost feel like I "know" some of the dog owners as we tend to use the park at the same time and pass each other often. However there are a couple of people I encounter regularly on the Rye walking dogs (not sure what breed they are, but from my uneducated view maybe some kind of staff/bull terrior type dog) who are never on leads. These dogs, one in particular, are really aggressive towards other dogs and on a number of occasions I've watched the owner of it struggle to regain control as it launches itself at another dog. While I've never seen them bother a person, the behaviour this dog shows towards other dogs is really scary and I really don't think it should be allowed to roam off a lead. There are times I've been at the duckpond and the dog appears, the owner hasn't even been in sight of it. So a tricky one - I think the majority of dogs are fine off leads as long as the owner has full control and is courteous in terms of other people - however a small minority of dogs should definitely be on leads. Somehow I don't see a "please keep your dog on a lead if it's aggressive" sign working ;-)

I really hope that "journalists" who turn out pieces like this don't get paid for it!

Great idea. I'll leave my buggy at home this afternoon and instead encourage my two wayward children to walk instead, bound to make life much more pleasant for everyone we encounter... ;-)

... or try doing more energetic things in the morning? I use this approach with my 2 and they have a lunchtime nap from around 12.30 - 2.30/3ish (my son will be 3 in January and he would happily sleep all afternoon if I let him!). I try to keep them on the go non stop from when they wake in the morning, a mixture of running round, groups, activities etc. I'm all for keeping the nap going as long as possible, as it's what keeps me sane ;-)

I worked in the weight loss industry before getting pregnant with #1 so was super conscious about my weight once I'd had the baby. I managed to lose the weight first time round in about 6 months, and my body went almost back to how it was - I did it using a combination of going to Weight Watchers and gentle exercise out and about with the pram. Having enjoyed feeling normal again for all of 3 months I got pregnant again! Second time round I put more weight on in pregnancy (felt rubbish, toddler to deal with, chocolate became my best friend) however managed to lose it quite quickly after my daughter was born - was back to my "goal" weight when she was 4 months old. Once again I went to WW, did a bit of gentle exercise and some powerpramming. HOWEVER... while I weigh the same as I did pre-pregnancy, my body is far from being the same. I have a "mummy tummy" that just won't budge, and on a bad day I also feel like I look pregnant. Not helped by the fact that my belly button popped out when pregnant with #2 and has never gone in again (think I need to ask Santa for some plastic surgery to fix it, it freaks me out!). I know that if I did some serious exercise I could probably improve things, but with 2 children under 3 who are at home with me full time it seems impossible. My boobs, while never rivalling Jordan, have shrivelled up to nothing thanks to 2.5 years of almost constant breastfeeding. Kids eh?!

It's a tricky one. I grew up in New Zealand, where the system is very simple - on your 5th birthday you start school. If your birthday falls in the holidays you simply start on the first day of the new term. So much easier than here. I do agree with you toast, 4 is so young to be starting in full time education. I still haven't figured out how old my children will be when they start (son's birthday is Jan, daughter June) but I really hope they'll be nearer to 5 than 4. They don't legally have to start school until they're 5, so you do have an element of choice, I'm not sure how easy it is!

Oh, such a shame Fuschia! I got there about 5 minutes before it started and by the time the doors opened it was pretty busy. Good once you're in thought, so might be worth a try another time?

:)) Love it!

Yep, just checked on the Bookstart website and it says 10 till 11.30am. Hopefully it'll be good, always nice to find new sessions suitable for both kids. See you there.

We'll do the same, so will see you there. P x

I'm another happy Kings customer, having given birth there twice - Jan 2007 and June 2008. I think the thing with hospitals and birth stories is that people are more likely to tell you about their bad experiences than the good ones, so don't read too much into what you hear. I had two complicated pregnancies and can't fault the care I was given by the team of consultants there, from when I was admitted to hospital at 30 weeks for a week long stay through to my inductions. We're very lucky to have fantastic midwives in the area too - I was under the care of the Lanes Group at Dulwich Medical Centre (not in existence first time round, Erica was the sole midwife there and is still there now, she's brilliant). Good luck!

Hope all goes well today Fuschia, what a horrible thing to have happen to you :'( Hopefully will be able to meet up Wednesday if all is well. P x

We received a royal mail parcel (posted a few weeks ago) today - so they're obviously starting to try and clear the backlog by working Sundays.

Will he drink milk? Maybe try a smoothie packed with loads of fruit (get him involved in making it - my nearly 3 year old won't touch them usually but if he's put the fruit in etc. he'll guzzle it down). Otherwise I agree with the BRAT advice, something I've always used for myself after illness as those foods do seem to help. Hope he feels better soon.

Scary situation Belle, and so hard to know how you will react until you're there. I probably would have done exactly the same as you. Nice to know there are people out there who care enough to stop and check you were OK though. Hope you're feeling OK now, not a nice thing to have happen. P x

I had a kitten when I was pregnant - we got him after I knew I was expecting. If you are sensible (wear gloves when dealing with litter trays, or better still delegate that duty to someone else ;-) ) the risk is very very small. Having grown up with cats I was told by my GP that chances are I would be immune anyway. In all honesty you're more likely to catch toxoplasmosis outside of your own home without realising you've even been exposed (in parks, other peoples gardens etc.) than you are when dealing with your own kittens and taking precautions. Just thought it was worth a mention, as if I was in your situation I would keep them! Good luck. P x

I take my son to Jazz, the new barber on Lordship Lane. Nice guys, put him completely at ease, and he gets a lollypop afterwards which keeps him happy. Costs about ?9. Have also used Uomo (near the Magdala) in the past, but it was slightly more expensive there.

It's in the Lordship Lane estate, the Bew Court building - it's the building that faces onto Lordship Lane, by the controlled crossing. The creche runs every morning except Wed (when it's used for Bookstart). I hadn't ever heard about the Bookstart session that runs there, so would be interested to hear if anybody has tried it. My son starts at the creche next Thursday, so I was thinking that maybe going to the venue on Wednesday for Bookstart might be a good way to ease him into it?!

I was thinking of either doing that or trying Bookstart at the Magic Moments venue (noticed it's from 10 - 11.30am Weds, anyone tried it??). We went up to the Horniman this morning but as both children were in boisterous moods I just let them run round for a while rather than causing chaos in the storytelling session :-$