Pickle

It's not essential Audrey - we used our Chameleon for as long as possible (2nd baby forced me to sell it and buy a dreaded double buggy!), however we did also have a MacLaren which we used for plane journeys etc. Sometimes I found it easier to use the more compact MacLaren, but in general I far preferred the Chameleon.

We went to Elvedon Forest a couple of years ago when our children were around 2.5 and 14 months - I had prepared myself for it to be the most horrific holiday of my life but absolutely loved it. We had a Woodland Lodge (one of the refurbished ones), it was perfect. Far enough away from the centre of the park to be quiet, lots of wildlife came to visit, and the kids loved the trips in to the pool/restaurants on the back of our bikes. It was great to be on a holiday where children were completely catered for, and we all loved the pool. It's good to go when they're young and don't expect to do lots of activities that cost money! Mr Pickle and I used the babysitting service one evening which was great, and we also booked treatments at the spa. I'm not sure what it would be like peak season - we were there during school term time which meant it was quiet. Certainly for us it was a winner, I even came home feeling relaxed which is unheard of with two small children!

Much appreciated ladies, thank you. Mr Pickle has been heard to mutter "if only you hadn't gone on that ?&^%$ knitting course..." many times in the last year, it's all your fault!

My daughter was exactly like this - would fall asleep for about 35/40 mins at lunchtime then wake. I initially got myself quite stressed about it (for me it was important that she slept, as my older child napped after lunch and with such a small age gap I really needed the break!). For a while I tried comforting her and settling her back in the cot but it didn't work, so for a few weeks I got her up when she woke, put her straight into a sling (I had a Hugabub) and continued on with what I was doing. She would always fall asleep again, and I started to quite enjoy the extra cuddles. After a few weeks she naturally started sleeping longer in the cot before waking, and eventually she got into a routine of regularly sleeping for the 2 hour stretch. Good luck. P x

We stuck with sleeping bags right through till they moved into "big" beds just before both were 3 years old. 1 tog were fine pretty much all the time, and we had one completely light weight one for really hot nights.

The market opens at 11am on Saturday, we start setting up from 10am.

About 5 hours to knit one of the vests, so I pretty much do it for the love of it, and not to make my millions!

Go down to Peckham Rye Park - they're showing the coverage and I think there will be a great atmosphere. I'm shamelessly watching it today with friends, will admit that the TV has been on from the start of the BBC coverage this morning. Enjoy!

One of my school friends was Sorrelle, loved it as a name.

As late as possible! We had a small gap, 16.5 months, and decided to buy a 2nd cot (cotbed, both kids have the same one) for the baby. A wise decision as we ended up keeping our older boy in it as a cot until he was close to 3, and he is still using it now as a toddler bed at 4 and will continue to do so for at least another year. Daughter has only just had the sides taken off hers, and she will be 3 in a couple of months. Having watched friends struggle with the transition when their kids were much younger I'm glad we waited - they were both old enough to understand the "rules", and we've never had any problems with them getting up and wandering round at night.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply, much appreciated. I will be selling at the Blackwater Street market (behind Push Studios) on Saturday May 7th from 11am. I'm sharing the stall with my friend who sells yarn, needles etc. for those of you who fancy trying to make your own! Most of the things I'll have this time round are spring/summer type designs - so short sleeved tops, a collection of cotton crochet hats for baby girls, booties etc. I'll have a few long sleeved boys jumpers as well. Lots of the items are knitted in bamboo which is great for any season as it's one of those magical cool in summer, warm in winter type yarns. I'll take a photo of all my stock a couple of days beforehand and post so you can get a feel for what I'll have. Prices will range from ?5 to a maximum of ?20. For now I'm focussing on 0-6 month sizes, as anything bigger takes longer to knit, uses more yarn and therefore costs more. However I'm very happy to make things to order - come and have a chat on the 7th. Pippa x

Thanks ladies. Handwashing and me are not friends (to the extent that I recently took something of mine that did need handwashing to New Zealand with me on holiday and got my Mum to do it!) - so I make absolutely sure that everything I make is machine washable. I've started labelling up some of my items and am writing washing instructions on the back of the price label (although they all pretty much say "machine washable at 30").

Yes, I could easily make the girls ones into a little dress, I hadn't thought of that, thanks!

Wise people of the forum, help! As you may (or may not) know, I'm a knitter and braving my first stall selling to the public in a couple of weeks time. I made a little blue vest for a baby boy which turned out quite cute, so then went on to make the same pattern in pink. When it was finished Mr Pickle looked at me like I was crazy, saying "what parent is going to dress their boy in that?", and is adament that it's a boy's pattern and not suitable for girls. I disagree, on the basis that I would have happily put it on my daughter when she was little! What do you think? Picture attached (doesn't do them justice, I'm rubbish at taking photos). I need to know whether I'm wasting my time making more in feminine colours, or whether I should stick to boys colours. I'd also be interested in opinions as to what I should charge for them - they are all going to be made in either 100% merino wool or bamboo. ?10? ?15? All feedback welcomed.

Don't waste money on expensive potty training kit... if your kids are anything like mine they'll use a potty for about 3 days before deciding a toilet is MUCH more fun :)

Ooooh lovely, enjoy! I had 3 nights alone a couple of weeks ago before joining my lot in Scotland and it was fantastic. Felt a bit guilty at the airport dropping them off when my son, with a very ernest little face said "oh Mummy, you'll miss us and be sad won't you?". There I was trying hard not to grin like a cheshire cat and desperately trying to convince hubby to go through security so I could go shopping!

Lots of lovely name suggestions on this thread. I'll always remember the night hubby and I sat down and each compiled a list of names we liked before the birth of our first child. I was obviously having a patriotic "I'm an antipodean" night, and hubby a Scottish one - my list read like the cast of Home and Away and his Monarch of the Glen We had three names picked out for our son, and actually ended up with the 3rd choice as it suited him best when he arrived. When I was little my best friend at primary school was Emily, and I have always known that if I had a daughter that would be her name (although she never actually gets called Emily, she very quickly became a Millie). I think choosing names gets harder the more children you have, as no matter how hard you try you will always have heard the name being shouted out at a playground! That's where the benefit of uncommon names (yours are lovely Fuschia) comes in to it I guess.

Oh dear! Hot weather seems to have the opposite effect on my two, they sleep really well (probably due to being overheated, oh well...). Up early in the mornings though as it's so sunny, but I don't mind so much as when it's sunny I'm much more eager to get up myself. Pregnant in the heat is miserable though, I sympathise. My daughter was born in June, I really struggled from April onwards when the sum started shining. Lots of icy cold drinks and cool baths! You can't have too much longer to go now?

Thanks for the heads up about the Crystal Palace Park egg hunt - we went and had a lovely time in the maze, the kids were absolutely floored to be given an egg (nice ones too) by the Easter bunny when we finally found our way to the middle. Followed by a picnic in the park and a go on one of those huge blow up slides. Home for a rest before we go to a different park for the afternoon. What a lovely break, the weather has been just perfect!

The easiest solution might be to get a baby monitor and keep the door shut? That's what we did for both of our kids when they were babies... although our cat pretty quickly figured out that he would rather not be near them, especially once they started perfecting their grabbing skills!

It is Spooks, we saw signs with character's names on them on some of the buses parked in the cafe carpark today. The director is a local so I guess it makes sense to stay on home turf to film!

My son was 6 weeks - the noises he made meant that neither myself or hubby were getting any sleep and it was a nightmare. He went into his "big cot" (a cot bed) and from that night on slept far better than he ever had in the moses basket! Daughter was about 4 or 5 weeks, similar reaons. You have to do what's right for you and your family :)

How terrifying for you, but I'm so pleased all is well. Nice to know the community will pull together so willingly to help too. Have a lovely Easter weekend x

My daughter will be 3 in June and I had completely forgotten about the 2 year check! I do remember my son's one though. As he chatted away I was asked whether he could talk. She measured him and asked whether I was worried about his height (had never given it a thought). Complete waste of my time so I'm not in a hurry to go through it a 2nd time.

When my son started I went to look round on Thursday and he started the following Tuesday! Still spaces, and likely to be quite a few more come September when a number of the children (my daughter included) move to school nursery. I think I'll be in tears as will miss the ladies so much - they're like my 2nd Mums :)