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i can't comment on schools these days, but when i went up to secondary school (20 years ago now!), we went from the primary school 'having homework 3 times a week' to having homework in 3 subjects every night!! if the homework was a continuation of what was done in class that day, it was best to do it that night while everything was fresh in the mind. i got home, had a snack and small break, then worked to hopefully finsh it before dinner at 7pm. then after that i was free to relax. towards the end of the week when i was getting more tired, i would leave a couple of things to do over the weekend. it was good to have a routine every evening, made it much easier to get it done.

thanks bqc! also don't forget to join the Boots baby club which has lots of money off vouchers and coupons.

Quick question - do these wriggle off like socks? I keep hearing that socks come off and some brands are better at staying on than others! So just wondering before I buy scratch mitts (for newborn), whether I should look at certain brands or they are pretty much the same? Many thanks xx

well done heidi and sorry to hear about your experience. he's is absolutely gorgeous xxxx

thanks njc - that's really useful info. much more than the shop told me!

Many congratulations Heidi!!!

just a tip for anyone else who finds it useful, if you do decide to get a bath seat from mothercare to fit into your little baby bath, take the bath with you to make sure the seat fits - because you can't return bath seats. i was about to buy the seat without having checked, and then decided to doublecheck the returns policy. then had to go back again with the baby bath.

thanks for the reply melanie. i too would have thought that the guarantee attaches to the pram rather than the person. as you say, as long as you have the receipt all should be fine. many thanks x

thanks for all the replies. its all so helpful candj - what an absolute sweetie you are! thanks so much for the offer xxx. i have decided to get the adaptors as they are not too expensive, but give the base a miss for now and instead strap the seat in and see how it goes. major announcement also - i have finally bought a pram!!!! after all that umming and erring and getting all confused! many thanks once again x

thanks for the tips. still on amazon for ?60 plus free delivery - great. was just doing a john lewis online order so had been hoping to get as many things in one go from one place! but a ?20 discount on amazon is not to be sniffed at!

I've read through a couple of different threads and seen that the BT 150 is a popular monitor to get. I was just looking at the cost of it on the JL website and see they do an own brand one which has some pretty good functions and costs ?60. also like the fact that it has a 3 year guarantee. There aren't any reviews of the JL own brand monitors on Which, so just wondering if anyone has bought one and has any thoughts on it? So instead of the Which panel, its the eastdulWHICH panel! (bad joke!) http://www.johnlewis.com/230499313/Product.aspx any advice much appreciated as always k x

thanks pickle, that's really helpful!

a lady called tamu also sells shea butter (search under 'tamu' in the search box). she used to be at ED Warehouse, but is no longer there, although she is often at local fetes and sends out orders by post. it is very soothing generally and i use it for my eczema. her mum makes it according to how they make it in africa. the wonderful thing about it is that it doesn't sting when you apply it, unlike many other products. re lady's areas, for thrush the gp can prescribe a medication combined with hydrocortisone. so hydrocortisone can be used externally in those areas and it could be worth asking your gp if that might help you. have also sent you a pm!

if you get the free 'se22' magazine through your door, that has a good list of weekly activities. there are usually spare copies at dulwich library and various shops in ED.

Hi all i am about to buy a baby car seat for the first time and although the shop has explained all the different bits (adaptors etc), i was wondering if people could please advise what they thought was necessary to save me wasting money! do i need to get the (1) 'easyfix base' and (2) 'car seat addpators' as well as the seat??? it is very confusing! we have a vw polo in case that's relevant to answering the question. any advice would be much appreciated many thanks in advance kxx

Hi all. I am thinking of buying a Bee secondhand. I'm just wondering if anyone knows if the warranty passes to the new owner? I was looking at one on Ebay, but the seller said she thought the warranty didn't pass because it was registered to her address. Any advice / expereince of this would be very much appreciated x

i will also give that a go - thanks!

whitstable is one hour in the car - the sea air is reviving! the high street is narrow in places though and busy, but its better along the seafront i keep meaning to try columbia road flower market (east end - i think its on sundays?) hampstead heath takes about an hour in the car, lovely pubs for lunch and then a walk on the heath crystal palace park is nice for a long walk if you don't normally head that way. there's the dinosaurs around the lake, the small maze, etc. are plenty of cafes in the triangle of shops - 'Domali' does divine cakes and coffee let us know what you end up doing. have fun! x

Thank you!

toast - agree with you the north/south thing is a silly argument. there should be enough places for people to go to their nearest school. no one wants to be dragging a 5 year old on the bus everyday (and who's going to pay for mum's bus fare twice a day???), or having to get the car out to go to a school 2 miles away.

was in dulwich medical centre today and reading on the noticeboard about their expansion plans. said the surgery was built to deal with 7000 patients, but now up to 11,500 patients (although they do actively encourage new patients to keep on registering and haven't shut their books over the last few years). said there has been an increase in local population and this is forecast to further increase. this seems to be one of the main arguments being used to increase surgery size - so assume that this argument will be put forward to Southwark PCT and planning authorities. my point is that if one public body ((Health) seems to have figures re local population increasing, then these figures should also be relevant for other public bodies (Education). biggest problem seems to be this issue about there being a surplus of primary places in north of borough, while the shortage is in the south.

Sorry I hope this isn't too un-family-room-ish, but I thought you guys might know! My silver plated frames have a gold/brown tint to them, although still some silver spots too. Does anyone have any tips on how to clean them please? Any advice much appreciated x

great - sounds just the thing. many thanks

Smiler Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > One of the freebie magazines (the little one) that > comes round lists all activities in it, which is > useful. yes there's a list in 'SE22' magazine

hi there. congratulations! pre-natal classes also usually have a large focus on the pelvic floor muscles - important for pregnant women i'm told! cost is a factor though, so you could always just go to a couple and do the exercises shown at home, in addition to any other exercise/classes you do. there's a recent thread about pre-natal aerobics and other classes seem to go on at various places.