Pickle

I fed my daughter until about 16 months, at that stage it felt right to wean, and it was quite straightforward thankfully. I'm assuming she is well and truly on 3 meals and snacks a day alongside her milk? In which case really all she should need milk-wise is a morning and evening feed. Can you drop one feed every week or so, maybe starting with any mid morning or mid afternoon that she has? Distract her with food and a sippy cup of water, take her to a playgroup, but try not to feed her for comfort. All babies are different, but it might be worth a try as a starting point. You shouldn't need to express if you're gradually cutting down. My 10 month old feeds 4 times a day (7, 10ish, 2ish and bedtime) and I'm about to try dropping the mid morning feed using similar techniques. Good luck x

Crafty Cooks used to be on nearby (not in Dulwich, but there used to be a class in Honor Oak from memory - worth a Google). I think it caters from 2 upwards, my kids used to love it.

The thing that annoys me the most about that Maggi ad is that at the end they say the word Maggi, and pronounce it "Maggie", when for 30 odd years I have thought it was pronounced "Madgie". I caught my kids singing "Go Compare" the other day. Worst for me was the radio advert... We buy any car, dot com.

Hmmmm, I read it in the Daily Mail, so it must be true... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2231576/50-Shades-Divorce-Wife-inspired-erotic-book-says-husband-failed-meet-expectations.html We had started going out a little more often before having #3, so our youngest at that time was around 3. Youngest is 10 months and we have been out a few times but I hate the thought that she might wake up and I'm not there. To be honest, these days a Saturday night sharing a bottle of wine and watching the X Factor is more enjoyable than having to go out in the cold to a restaurant/pub. I'm officially old.

As a couple I'd say we go out together, without kids, about 2 or 3 times a year. We find it difficult, as during the week every night one of us is out (I have rehearsals on Mon and Wed, he has sports things Tues and Thurs, and occasionally Friday). Come the weekend all we want to do is sit on the sofa with a glass of wine and a takeaway. I've just started reading 50 Shades, on the basis that everyone I know seems to have read it - having got as far as the "deflowering" chapter I can safely say its the biggest piece of bollocks I've ever read! I read earlier this week that a couple have divorced due to the book and the fact the husband wouldn't meet his wife's unrealistic demands. We don't have space for a playroom...

Have you tried the Crystal Palace Sports Centre? My kids go there, I'm pretty sure the lessons are run by the London Swim School, and they do all levels.

Yes, I was about to post the same in response to shaunag - they are words spoken by an Irishman so I don't think they can be called racist?

Ive just read that the One Direction performance the other night was pre-recorded, and the boys themselves were swanning about in New York on Saturday. Had me fooled.

A team of council workers have done a great job on Upland Road today sweeping up the leaves and doing a general tidy up - if you work during the day I don't think you will see them dumpertruck, but they are definitely around.

For Sept 2014 intake you will apply prior to Jan 2014 and places are announced around April. You can't apply any earlier than that, although for St Anthony's you need to make sure you meet their criteria in terms of regularly attending church etc (which I'm assuming you already do).

I've had 3 babies and never had a birth plan, other than "I want a baby at the end of it". I remember my NCT group all being a bit shocked that I had nothing written down, but in all honesty my approach with all of them was that I just wanted a baby. It's sad to hear people feeling they failed :-(

I unashamedly read the online version every evening, gives me a nice mix of proper news (albeit with the DM spin) and complete nonsense that is useful if I'm ever in a pub quiz team ;-)

Agree - if I was after a nice quiet meal for two pre-7pm in the weekend, Pizza Express would not be my restaurant of choice.

Well done Goodrich! Another great way to get a feel for a school (in my opinion) is to go to their school fairs, tabletop sales etc - we had done this for a year or so before applying for primary schools and on the basis of what we saw opted for Goodrich without going on an organised tour. I have two children absolutely thriving at the school now.

Twirly Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I wonder if part of the problem is "tolerance > levels". If you don't have kids, your tolerance > levels are probably fairly minimal. If you're used > to your little darlings running around the house > all day making as much noise as they like, then > you're probably much more tolerant of what others > might consider "bad behaviour". Just a thought. Nah, since having kids of my own it's made me dislike children in general a whole lot more ;-)

Yes, it looks fantastic - I get updates through their Facebook page, and it has been done to cover the piece of wood covering their broken window following a break in, a great idea. The art was done by kids from Harris Girls. Hope it gets put to good use once the window is fixed, it is brilliant.

Love that sign. One of the worst examples I've seen recently was at Starbucks at Sainsburys during half term. Mother with a child, at least my sons age (so old enough to know better) in the queue throwing an almighty tantrum because Mum had said no to her request for cake. It was busy, so they were in the queue for a while, with the screaming and shouting continuing. Mum finally had enough, but instead of leaving said "right, darling, that's it - I'm not letting you have chocolate on your babycino" Gee, that will teach her!

Very nicely put LondonMix. I have small children, and we do go out, occasionally, but to places that are appropriate for them - otherwise I find it's no fun for any of us. If we go out for a meal, we will go at 5pm to somewhere like Si Mangia, Locale, or Sea Cow. We take colouring stuff or the iPad to help keep the older two (5 and 4) entertained while they wait for their food. They are getting to an age where they enjoy going to a restaurant and we are very strict with them in terms of what behaviour is appropriate in that environment. I often go for coffee during the day with my youngest in tow (10 months), and find that most cafes (the Gardens included) are very welcoming if you go in with the right attitude. I always ask for my drink in a takeaway cup, so that if she gets bored/noisy we can leave and I can still finish my drink. If we go out in the evening without kids, the last thing I want is to be surrounded by them, so I applaud pubs that have a strict "no kids after 7pm" policy. It's not rocket science, but I think considerate parenting is something lacking in a lot of people.

Yes, that point has been reached in our house too!

Loved James again last night, he's very talented. I thought Jahmain was terrible, then he got rave reviews from the judges, maybe something was lost in transmission? Ella, meh. Rylan really should go tonight, admittedly it was fun but god awful singing. Nice to see a few of them playing musical instruments. I'm really sick of Louis Walsh, they may as well just record his standard responses ... I tink you've got star quality ... I tink we have found the next big recording artist Blah blah blah.

If you do get toddler beds, try not to get sucked into buying toddler bed sized linen, it's really expensive! When we converted our sons cot into a bed I bought a special duvet, duvet cover etc, but in the space of a year he moved into s proper single bed and we had to buy more bed linen. With our daughter we also converted her cot, but used a normal sized duvet on it - it was big, but at least it meant saving money, and there are a lot more nice duvet cover options for a single bed.

Can I just reiterate my point that the "death stare" reference was tongue in cheek!

Also not 50, but made a couple of good friends who were 60 when I attended British Military Fitness classes on Peckham Rye. I doubt they go to Bingo (that said, I used to go to a weekly Bingo fundraising thing when I was in my early 20s and it was great fun!)

I remember smuggling a packet of jelly crystals to school one day, aged about 8 - lots of kids were doing it and we would sit and eat them from the packet. We were caught by the school dental nurse who told our parents, but I remember my sweet toothed Dad finding it quite funny (Mum, not so much at the time, but admits now that jelly crystals were a better option than drugs). Hot chocolate, pain au chocolate, those things are fine in moderation, of course. Mars Bars are, in my opinion, a different matter. If I was going to feed my kids a chocolate bar for breakfast I'd at least make sure they finished it before they left the house ;-)

No, don't worry, for primary school you can't apply until they're older, and the same applies for nurseries attached to schools. Nursery places are harder to come by and I know of many people who put their names down while pregnant, anticipating returning to work at around the 6?12 month mark.