Pickle

I'm a little out of the loop these days as my children are at school, but some of the nice ones I used to go to were the Goose Green centre on Thursday mornings (cheap, lots of good toys, tea/coffee etc.), Bookstart sessions at the community centre (part of the estate on Lordship Lane) on Wednesday mornings (free), baby & toddler sessions at Dulwich Library (also free, but I can't remember which days these were). There are also a lot of local singing/music groups for babies/toddlers which generally work out at around ?5 a class if you're after something a bit more structured. There are bound to be lots of others, hopefully some people with younger babies will add to the list! Good luck, there's loads out there to do with a small baby and it's a great way to meet other Mums and babies. P x

That is quite expensive for one child - playgroups I've been to in the past range from ?1 (which includes tea/coffee/biscuit for caregivers, and tend to be the more traditional playgroups) to ?5 for the more structured "classes" such as music, Little Bubbles, cooking etc. ?8 is expensive if it's nothing more than a playgroup.

Either Si Mangia or Locale would be my choices - cater really well for kids and nice food/wine for adults. Have a nice time x

Around that age I started giving soups (make in advance and freeze in single portions, easy to zap in the microwave when needed), with little pieces of bread/toast. All different types - lentil, butternut squash, sweet potato, chicken... basically whatever I had ingredients for at the time that I could be bothered making a batch. The kids love it, and have gone on to enjoy soup as a meal now, at 5 and 3.

Sand

We found the Gina Ford potty training book really useful with our son (daughter, being a girl, did it by herself!). I know GF isn't for everybody, but this book is excellent, and everyone I know who has used it has had success. Worth a try? Unfortunately I've long since given our copy away otherwise I would have offered to lend it to you.

Who's to say he doesn't have a ?1,800,000 mortgage? ;-)

I've been with DMC for years, and think it provides a service second to none in the area. Certainly no evidence of an Indian call centre when I ring to make appointments, so not sure where you get that info from Tarot? I don't understand why a doctor making money is such a bad thing - from accounts I have read he's not cheating the system in any way. They train for years, work hard, and deserve every penny they get. No different to dentists who do a mixture of NHS and private work.

My children are at Goodrich (one in nursery, one reception). Having read all of the negative stuff on the forum a while back I was a bit worried, but can honestly say that we are very happy with our experience there so far. Reception teaching is dynamic, the children get to do a wide range of fun activities, and certainly my son's teacher is happy to work with parents to tailor teaching to the individual children where needed (my son is very keen on his reading, so she's happy for us to take extra books, do extra "homework" sheets etc.) I've been volunteering as a parent helper as often as I can, as I think this gives you a good insight into how the school operates (albeit my experience is limited to nursery and reception). I haven't come across anything that gives me concern. It is a very big school, but the way it's structured means you don't really get a feel for the size, due to different entrances for nursery/reception, and lunches are served in different sittings, so the reception kids aren't in a hall with loads of big children. I have friends with children at most of the local primary schools, and from comparing notes it seems that at the end of the day they're all quite similar!

Ewcia, Busy Bees are the free sessions for kids run at the Horniman Museum. Details on the page below (scroll down a bit and they're listed): http://www.horniman.ac.uk/visit

barry finch Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have just moved from Collier's Wood - they have > a big Sainsbury's there which does TV's, DVD > players, clothes etc as well as the groceries :( You're in luck, a trip to East Dulwich Sainsburys and you'll be able to shop for TV's, DVD players and clothes to your heart's content. I believe they even sell phones and multi-media type devices. Top it off with a Starbucks coffee and you'll find ED ticks just as many boxes as *shudder* Collier's Wood. Two hours free parking, and even some nice men who will wash your car for a fiver. What's not to love? :)

Not much chance of Craig winning given that he was voted off last week :) (although perhaps he has MORE of a chance of "winning" at music by not being the winner of the show!)

I used cow's milk from 1 year with both of my children - works out cheaper and much easier than the "growing up" style formula products which I'm fairly sure are just a ploy to get you to continue spending money with their companies! If your baby is getting a good balanced diet all the vitamins/minerals they add to the growing up milk shouldn't be necessary. I also found on the few times I did use growing up milk (flights, generally) the kids wouldn't drink it! Most people I know were still using bottles at 1 year - we used them up to around 2 years when they stopped having milk as a morning/nighttime drink. As long as you're careful about brushing teeth it's fine.

No perfect solution to this really. I have 16.5 months between #1 and #2 - quite hard at the beginning, brilliant now (they are 3.5ish and nearly 5), and got easier quite quickly as we could go to playgroups etc. that suited both of them. Downsides were two sets of nappies, two children requiring assistance at mealtimes, and also I was in the situation where for the first 6 months neither child could walk (my son was nearly 2 when he walked) which made it physically tough. One school year apart means they are now at school nursery and reception respectively so as a Mum you do all the hard work over a shorter time and then get a little bit of time to relax! They are very close, and jealousy has never been an issue as my son was too young when his sister was born. I have my 3rd baby due in about 7/8 weeks time - so a much larger gap. Benefits will be that the older children will be able to "help" a little, and are much more able to do things for themselves if necessary - and also with them being at school I will get more time alone with the baby. However I'm very vary that jealousy could be an issue this time round. I have a brother that is 4 years younger than me, and I have vivid memories of how my life changed when he arrived.

The new series of Masterchef - the Professionals... it's just not the same without the voice of India Fisher. Every time the male voice pipes up it makes me angry, so I guess this counts as irrational rage?

Are the bus lane restrictions in operation on a Saturday? If so, they continue until 10am - so you may have been unlucky. Not sure that they are though, so as long as you weren't parked on double yellows or anything you should be fine.

I'll watch this thread with interest - my best leggings are from Glassons, which is a clothing store in NZ - I tend to get my sister to send them to me. They wash brilliantly and last forever. I got a pair from White Stuff which had holes in them after a couple of months, very disappointing given the price. I'd really like some nice dark grey ones (which is the colour my WS ones were), but can't find any that are nice - all the grey ones I see are the "grey marl" colour.

Sorry ladies, but Thursdays are still out for me due to hubby's sport. Hope you're all well. My cholestasis has flared up (I've had it in both prior pregnancies too), so life at the moment consists of lots of blood tests, midwife visits and trips to the MAU, not much fun. On the plus side, I can't believe how quickly the weeks seem to be passing - not long now! P x

I've always found that if you get turbulence and are asked to take the babies out of the bassinets, do it very very slowly - chances are the turbulence will be short lived and there's nothing more annoying than having had to lift your baby (potentially waking them) to then find they can go back in 2 minutes later.

Be a bit wary of the recommendation above from Susanne2001 - posting history shows her advertising her services (under the name Marta) as a dog walker, as well as claiming to be called Susanne and recommending her cleaner called Marta in another section!

No advice I'm sorry, but huge sympathy, what a nightmare. I would approach your GP, to then perhaps work towards a referral to a sleep specialist. If she's not sleeping much during the day and awake so much at night I don't think that sounds "normal" (whatever normal is!). Good luck, I hope you manage to get some help.

YouTube is good (and free!) for the phonics songs, and the kids love them - be warned though, you'll find yourself singing them walking along the street and waking in the middle of the night with "a a ants on my arm..." running through your head! We also use: http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ There are free elements, but I've signed up (cheap annual fee) to be able to access all the resources. I find my son (and daughter) love playing the "games", which means they're learning without really feeling like there's any pressure. There are lots of iphone apps, search "phonics" and pick and choose the ones that suit you (if you have an iphone!). These keep my kids entertained for ages when we're in waiting rooms/restaurants etc. I have some basic flash card ones, as well as a spelling one which my son really enjoys. In terms of writing, I've found this comes after reading - certainly for boys. I've always encouraged it, and both can write their names, but I haven't worried too much about how they go about forming the letters. In reception they start teaching them the correct pencil positioning etc. to form them properly and the kids seem to pick it up quickly. There seem to be songs/rhymes associated with this too, I must ask the teacher what they are to see if I can find resources online. Hope that helps. I'm no expert, but it's what seems to be working for us!

Both of my kids have been able to recognise the letters of the alphabet from around 2.5/3ish - through some gentle exposure at the creche they went to and they enjoy watching the Jolly Phonics videos on YouTube. Son is now in reception and starting to read confidently. I think a lot of it has to do with what you do at home, especially in the first couple of years at school. We play a lot of phonics games on the computer, he has phonics apps that he loves on my iphone etc. and we read books all the time. He's showing a lot of natural interest in how to spell words and will have a good attempt himself before asking for help. It has been brilliant watching my son develop in the last few weeks, and when he recognises words when out and about the joy on his face is priceless.

I always went with the same time each day, regardless of what had happened before. I do think the consistency helps (it did for us anyway - whether the same applies when #3 arrives waits to be seen!).

Agree with the others. The only way you get any real choice is to opt for an independent school rather than a state one. Good luck.