Norfolkvillas

I also work in Chiswick, but drive to work. I think 1hr 10 sounds pretty miraculous for public transport. In the past I've bussed it to Forest Hill where you can get a direct train to CJ, and then connect to the Chiswick train, but it takes something like 35 mins from FH to CJ alone. It's always taken me close to 2 hrs door to door that way, although it is quite a relaxing, non-frantic journey. You're right that the ELL from Peckham Rye will make a big difference!

Of all the full-time nurseries I looked around, I liked Piplings (ED and Forest Hill branches) the best. In the end though, we've decided on a place at Buds which is short sessions and term-time only so might not be what you're looking for. The children at Buds seemed to be having far and away the jolliest time. I was also due to look around Gumboots on Crystal Palace Road which I believe is highly regarded but gets quite oversubscribed. I think choosing a nursery is such a personal thing, involving so many different factors which are specific to your circumstances (cost, hours, location / convenience, length of waiting lists, term-time only or full year, half days or full days etc etc) even before you start thinking about the more qualitative (and subjective) aspects of the care and the setting.... maybe that's why you haven't had many responses to your post. I would suggest making a shortlist of the nurseries that tick your boxes in terms of the 'need-to-haves' according to your location / budget / session requirements, and then do a search on the forum for each name on your shortlist and it should bring up lots of local opinions already posted (with the exception of Mother Goose Upland - I and several others have posted asking for feedback on this nursery in vain). Southwark council will be able to provide you with a list of nurseries - I think someone's posted the link on a recent nursery thread... Hope this helps!

I'm in the same situation - baby 2 due in a few months, with lots of associated changes imminent. My son is 2 yrs 9 mths and we're taking a relaxed approach. He is enthusiastic and interested (mostly), so I feel it's a shame to ignore it, but equally I'm not aiming for any particular deadline, and if he regresses, then so be it, and we'll put it on hold for a bit. He's been late with most other milestones, so I'm actually feeling pretty pleased with where we've got to so far.

Someone stole two massive terracotta planters from our very visible front garden on a pretty busy corner last Sunday or Monday. It must've taken two people to lift each of them. I was incredulous and incensed! My only comfort is that they were planted with fake bay trees which were just getting to be past their best and turning a giveaway blue-ish green. If anyone happens to spot them, please do let me know....

Sunday 12th sounds good to me, and I can meet anywhere, so no preference on location. Having missed the last one, I'm looking forward to meeting you all! Amber

I found the baby Bjorn carrier unbearably uncomfortable after sone ridiculously short amount of time (perhaps up to my son being about two months old). It was a while before I discovered the joys of the Ergo - I think I used it from 5 months up until he was about 2 yrs (and he is an extremely chunky little guy, always at 98th centile on the weight charts). Now I'm expecting my second, I'll prob borrow a wrap type sling for the very first few months for baby-wearing, and then switch to my wonderful Ergo as soon as I can. I'm sure a zillion people will post other recommendations for different slings. It seems to me that the baby Bjorn is the very least comfortable carrier out there, but because it's well known and has prime position in John Lewis, everyone seems to end up with one....

Snap with Caroline_S - this second pregnancy feels like it's sped by - possibly cos I was feeling rubbish for longer at the beginning. Our son is also 2 and a half and we've just come back from a relatively civilised and relaxing holiday - not sure I can comprehend holidays with two kids! I am definitely up for the next meet up though, and can do either of the dates suggested. Hope all Autumn mums are feeling well!

We've just been on hols with our 2.5 year old. About a year ago I bought some of the polystyrene swim rings from someone on this forum, and they've been brilliant. Easy to get on, no blowing up, and my son who started with 4 per arm has this holiday been kicking about with just one per arm - almost proper swimming!

Rachel4 (and hellosailor) if you want to come round and have a look / go at one in the flesh, you're welcome to pop over to ours - just pm me if you want to.

My sister is trying to buy in Honor Oak Park and last weekend was one of 5 parties that went to 'best and final offers' (ie sealed bids) on a three bed house there. Another house on the same street came onto the market a few days later... at an asking price ?40k higher than the one they looked at.

Sorry, I can't help with access to Which? (but that ?1 thing drives me mental as well, especially as they make it SO difficult to unsubscribe before taking further payments - grrr) but I think basically that the whole Kiddy system has been proven safer than the 5 point harness system by some way. We have the Infinity and that came top in the year we bought it - must have been 2010 - but I'm not sure if the league tables will have changed much since then? We're very happy with ours, and I particularly love how easy it is to sling into friends' and family's cars when they've needed it.

I second the recommendation of Steve Biddulph Raising Boys. My husband and I both found it an interesting read, and my husband in particular thought it made a lot of sense.

Free parking on brockwell park gardens - I think it's the first right after the park as you come up Norwood road. Either find a space at the bottom by the gates and take the path up and over the hill (there are signposts at the top, or just ask someone which path to follow). Or, for a slightly shorter but less-suited-to-buggies walk, park up at the top of Brockwell Park Gardens just before it turns the corner and go through the small gate and walk across the grass - I guess you kinda need to know where you're headed for this one, now that I think about it. Alternatively, friends say there's meter parking at the bottom of the park - I think they mean around the entrance on Brixton Water Lane... maybe another forumite can enlighten further??

I'm not in the same situation as I have a murderous commute to my office 4 days a week (but I do really enjoy it once I'm there) but isn't there some kind of workspace somewhere near Clapham / Wandsworth which is specifically for freelance mums and dads who are trying to achieve a work-life balance but don't want to isolate themselves at home. And they have an on-site creche or something? Oh, here we are, I've found it - http://www.third-door.com/index.html Putney, so not quite as close as I had thought, but perhaps could be worth considering....

I'm definitely up for a meet up too, although can't do 30th June as on hols, but will aim to make the next one!

Hello, my parents live in the Lecrin valley! Which village are you staying in? I confess, since our baby entered toddlerhood we haven't been out to stay, but that has more to do with our particular house being very toddler unfriendly, rather than the destination, so I haven't too many toddler-specific tips I'm afraid. There's a restaurant / cafe called Los Naranjos in Melegis which has a grassy (and fenced) play area next to it, so that's a nice place for a cold drink and tapa. In general, your toddler is bound to be welcomed absolutely everywhere you go - the Spanish adore children, and it's a particularly friendly valley. The beach at Salobrena is sandy and wide and looks like it would be good for toddlers - about a 40 min drive from the valley. Um, I'll keep thinking and PM you any further tips as and when they come to me. It's an absolutely stunning and unspoilt part of Spain, so I'm sure you'll have a lovely hol!

Apols if I'm posting this in the wrong section, but we are sadly leaving our lovely nanny share in September and are looking for a live-in nanny. Can any Family Room-ers recommend any reputable nanny agencies who don't charge extortionate fees? I seem to remember several recommendations from a while back for a lady based somewhere outside of London (Surrey? Kent?) but think admin my have deleted the posts as they were quite old. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I felt the same way about Jumperoos, and as all my son's little friends DID have one, I didn't feel so bad about not having one ourselves - it meant he absolutely adored having a turn in theirs, even long after the friends themselves had lost interest. Now that I'm pregnant again, I would definitely consider getting one for our next baby - because I now realise how short a time you have to endure looking at it and, as another poster says above, it provides 'getting on with other stuff' time like nothing else.... My plan is to buy one second hand, and sell it on again as soon as we're done with it - thank heavens for the East Dulwich Forum!

Thumbs up from our family too. If it did daytime screenings of kids films I know my husband and soon-to-be-of-film-watching-age son would use it very regularly.

In both my pregnancies, we've had an early gender scan (because my 20 week scan has been scheduled at more like 24 weeks, and patience isn't my strong point!) with Babybond in Crystal Palace - ?79 and it's mostly just the normal type, but they do switch it to 4D at the end and give you one 4D piccie to take with you. I was only 18 weeks both times, so wasn't expecting much, but my son's pic was really very clear and you could absolutely tell that he was going to look like his daddy. Second time around we're having a girl and she had the cord in front of her face, plus her hands up, so wasn't playing ball at all - the sonographer did her best, but the pic isn't very clear at all so doesn't tell us much. Would I recommend it? It was certainly nice to have as a by-product of something we were planning to do anyway, and my son's pic is a cute memento, but I don't think it's something I would ever pay extra for... but that's just me...

Which bit of Kefalonia are you going to? The very North-eastern tip is one of my absolute favourite European spots - around Fiskardo and the coastline facing Ithaca. The water is crystalline and totally flat - I don't think I've ever seen anything like it outside of the far east / indian ocean. It's perfect for paddling toddlers and just mesmerising for everyone. But, the beaches on this side / end of the island are almost exclusively pebbly, so Crocs or similar for the whole family are a must. If you are staying at this end of the island, my favourite beach is Foki Bay - a tiny cove with a beach, plenty of shade, a small taverna, and very very picturesque. The last time I went my son was about 8 months old and I think we went around end June - I don't remember it being too hot (although I love the sunshine) and because our villa had hugely thick stone walls, it was mercifully cool inside for sleeping. We took binliners as well as our travel blackout blind. Enjoy! Oh, and Kefalonia produces some of Greece's best wine - the local grape is Robbola (sp?) and the best vineyard on the island is called Gentilini if you want to look out for it in the shops / on wine lists.

Thanks Lacey - won't bother with swim nappy etc then. SJ - I didn't even think, but you're right, maybe water play won't be in operation anywhere this year.

A friend seems to remember it didn't come on til beginning June last year, but I'm just wondering if they might have taken this hot spell into consideration and started it earlier?

Actually, that reminds me - isn't there some kind of clear film that you can apply to windows which keeps heat out in summer and heat in in winter?? I remember someone mentioning it to me last winter, and I thought at the time that it could be handy for trying to keep my son's (south-east facing) room slightly cooler through the summer...

My toddler's room was 29 degrees throughout last night. Unfortunately, his window is actually a patio door so we can't leave it open or partially open. This makes his room one of the hottest in our house. I kept his door open and the window in the next door room open, and put him in just a nappy and 1tog sleeping bag. I confess I tend not to worry about it - I figure babies the world over sleep healthily in much hotter climates than May in the UK, so how unsafe can it be? Perhaps this is just really naive of me though!