Pickle

... and just ?6ish at the Forest Hill Rd newsagent!

Another vote for the Forest Hill Rd supermarket, good value and quality. I also find the shop beside the small Sainsburys (near the Plough) often has nice fruit and veg in their bowls outside - I'm pretty sure it's a pound per bowl which is good, especially for peppers, bananas etc.

It gave me a fright, agree it didn't sound like thunder (after watching a plane crash thing last night I was convinced a passenger jet was about to appear in the street). My kids reliably inform me there was lightening.

Had it happened near the end of the day? My feeling would be that it's perhaps fair enough if it was near pickup time, the staff were trying to get the children organised etc. and didn't feel they could properly dedicate time to making sure it didn't happen again. In that situation I could understand that the easiest and safest option for all would be to have him away from the others with an adult. If it happened earlier and it was an ongoing "punishment", then no, not ok. At 17 months the nursery staff need to be helping him to understand that biting isn't appropriate rather than excluding him. I'm looking at it purely from a "what would I do" view - I've never had kids in nursery but that's how I'd manage the situation at home if one of my children was doing something similar. P x

My rule of thumb tends to be: If it states on the packet NOT to be taken by breastfeeding Mothers I steer clear If it says "breastfeeding Mothers consult your doctor" I take it 3 kids, 3.5 years of breastfeeding, I haven't harmed anyone (noticeably) yet ;)

I've used them many times with no problems x

I swear by them - I used one as my only form of pain relief for all three babies, and all three labours were inductions using a drip (which I was told would mean I'd need an epidural for the pain). I hired each time from Natures Gate online.

If you plan on staying it's definitely worth doing. Chances are the price has gone up, you would be able to find updated prices online I'm sure.

It is expensive to become a British Citizen, and (rightly so) a lengthy process. You need to sit a test, then the actual application is in the region of ?700 from memory. I became a citizen in 2010, having lived here 9 years, however haven't yet gone on to get a British passport - I travel on my NZ one and don't really need two!

Hi there, If you do a search a few threads should come up, I think this question was asked a couple of days ago.

My summer born girl is one of the youngest in her class, but has made the transition to reception with no problem at all - the day is almost completely play based and she has a great time. I wouldn't like to put a child straight into year 1, it's a huge leap in terms of the learning they do (much more formal and structured) and friendships are well established within the class from their reception year.

The street cleaners did a great job on Upland Rd yesterday morning clearing up the mess left by dogs. By the time I did the school run there were already fresh piles on the path again. Horrible.

Agree, I've used the Lanes twice and can't fault the care, particularly for my last pregnancy. I had Erika (she was my midwife for all three babies, but the Lanes didn't exist when I had #1) and met a few of the others, all lovely. It felt like luxury having the midwife come to me for my checkups.

Seriously, don't be worried. Two posters have voiced negative opinions regarding the school before the new head was employed - they do not have children at the school, therefore I can only assume they are not there on a daily basis to see for themselves the school Goodrich has become. Book a tour, talk to current parents. Don't base anything on what used to be!

If you catch it, chances are your boyfriend will already be well enough by then to cope, as doesn't it usually just last 24 hours or so? We had exactly this scenario a couple of years ago, and just muddled along with the 2 kids, as my parents live on the other side of the world and hubbys family are in Scotland. Could you line up some Mum friends to perhaps help out (if need be) during the daytime? Fingers crossed you stay well xx

I got one done when my baby was a few weeks old at the Post Office/newsagent on Forest Hill Rd.

Medusa, how long ago did your children attend the school? There has been a new head teacher there for a year or so who is truly excellent, I think you may be reflecting on the school before changes were made.

In a nutshell I've been really pleased with the environment and teaching at the school, my children are thriving there. I was worried about the size of the school too (especially coming from NZ, where there were 70 pupils in the whole of my primary school!), especially for my oldest child (now in year 1) as he is quite a reserved boy. Once he started my fears were unfounded, as the reception classes have a feeling of being a little community of their own. He really came out of his shell in his first year there, and the teacher was brilliant at identifying the things he enjoyed doing (writing little books!) and encouraging him. He's now in year 1, and his little sister is in reception. Very different personality, and once again the teaching has been tailored towards bringing out her strengths. They have both made really good friends and look forward to going to school every day, which for me is the most important thing. The head teacher is very forward thinking and the changes in the school over the last year have been extremely positive. It has a real community feel about it too. Good luck.

Yep. How long have you been back for?

Also, during the day do your best to keep him awake when he would usually be awake. My little girl naps at 9am for an hour and 12:30ish for a couple of hours, so I was careful to only let her sleep at those times. For a couple of days when we first got back I put her down for the night a bit earlier (6:30 instead of 7). It gets easier as they get older - my big kids know that if they wake up and it's still nighttime they have to stay quietly in their room and not wake us up :) They returned to school the day after we got home, and the routine of that really helped them to get over the jet lag quickly this time round.

I've been travelling to and from NZ with kids for 6 years now (I've done it 10 times, and these days it's with 3 children). We always find the jet lag worse on the return trip, most recently it took our youngest (11 months at the time) a week to get back into her normal routine even with me being very strict about routine to try and help her. Definitely wake him from long daytime naps after the normal time he would sleep for in the day. It feels mean, but it's the only way to get them back on track. Get outside during the day as much as you can, and at night (once again I'm going to sound mean!) ignore as much as you can, unless he's really upset. Feel free to pm me if you want any more advice.

Just giving this a little bump up as I was speaking to my child's teacher yesterday and understand there are still places available for September. Both of my older children went to the school nursery (now in reception and year 1), it is absolutely lovely and a great introduction to primary school.

We always travel to the airport in a black cab - 2 adults and 3 kids, one in a buggy which you can just wheel in and restrain in the wheelchair space. Very easy.

My 1 year old doesn't nap in the pram, and hasn't done so since she was a few months old. However she sleeps 2+ hours in her cot after lunch which for me is perfect, enables me to get dinner organised and have some chill out time before getting the other kids from school.

When we had our kitchen renovated we used a two ring electric hob (I put an ad in the wanted section on the forum) and a microwave. They did the trick for the 6 weeks or so we were without a kitchen.