Ole

Check out Dulwich Runners, a local running club. I am thinking of joining them once I have got rid of a pesky cold that's been lingering on my chest for several weeks now.

I'm sorry to say that this happened to me too and our baby never went back to sleeping like before. He never had more than 1.5 hours lunchtime nap and at about this age (9 months) he cut right back to 30-40 mins and it has been like this ever since, except that now he is 2 somedays he does not nap at all (but you are not there yet). Occasionally he would do another sleep cycle like you say but that was more the exception, for me it has always been 40 mins at lunchtime and that's that, and I go green with envy when I hear of other people's babies sleeping 2-2.5 hours (even now at 2years old!!) but what can I do. What we do find is that putting him down for his nap slightly earlier sometimes helps. It might be that she is getting quite tired by the time her naptime comes around but that she is over tired and for some reason this makes them sleep worse, so I would try putting her down for her nap a bit earlier so that she is not so exhausted and see what happens.

Thanks for all the replies, although I am knackered it feels good knowing that I'm not the only one! (I have been out tonight so partly that is why I am so tired and awake still!), I think I will give him the option of a nap but if he really does not like it then to take him out and let him do quiet activities.Today in the end he dozed for about 15 minutes.....

He doesn't watch TV except in the evenings while I get dinner ready so the no TV will not cut it with him. I also read to him during the day too so that wouldn't be a novelty at nap time either. He went to tumble tots this morning and then walked all the way back so you'd think he would want to sleep.....Maybe I should just plonk him in front of the TV for an hour after lunch and that can be my 'quiet' time, but he gets really addicted to TV if I let him watch too much of it so I try not to encourage it. Oh dear, you'd think that as they grow you'd have more answers, but they just become different questions....

No, the only time this worked was when he was a small baby, i.e. less that 6 months. He will not nap anywhere else apart from his cot or in the car, but the moment the car stops he usually wakes up. He very rarely sleeps in his buggy. He is truly bionic he has gone through the day with no sleep when we are out and about many times, and although he sometimes naps in his cot at home it is getting more and more difficult...

Over the last few months my 22 month old toddler has been more and more reluctant to nap after lunch, and if he does sleep he will do 30-40 mins absolute tops. He is very active and I can't imagine life without the lunchtime nap. Right now he is in his cot asking to come out and has been like that for almost 1 hour (the first 30 mins he was happy reading a book there but now he is getting louder and louder). I thought they did not drop this until much later. I am very jealous of friend who say they toddler sleeps for up to 2 hours during the day. My son has always been a bionic baby and the 30 mins rest I get after lunch has been the one thing to keep me sane. I'm not really after advice as I know there isn't much I can do about it but just grin and bear it, I was wondering if anybody else out there is like this?

Me again! I have just been told by a neighbour that there is no more Whippersnappers at the Albrighton centre on wednesdays! Having not gone there fore some time, does anybody know if this information is indeed true and if it has been relocated elsewhere? Many thanks!

Hi, we are off on a hiking holiday and I'd like to find one of those rucksack type things that we can put our 21 month old and go walking, but I'm not sure where I can get one, does anybody know of a local place? We are going this weekend and I have not been organised enough and so can't reply on buying one over the internet - are there any shops in the SE22/SE5/SE24/SE21 area (or slightly further afield) where I could get one? (apart from MamamJojoBebe which I suspect will be hideosuly expensive). I have looked in the Mothercare website but I have not found any there! Thanks for any tips!

Thanks for all your suggestions, I have gone for the secret society, sister, my last duchess, and never let me go. Now I don't know which one to start with!! (not that I'm expecting to read all of them but I'm definitely going to have a go!)

I am going to my parents for 3 weeks and they are really great with my toddler which means I will have time to read (yipee!!) but I haven't got time to browse the library or bookshops so I need some suggestions please! I am a medical journalist and editor and I read lots of heavy going technical stuff for work, so I want to give my brain a rest and avoid anything dense, but I get bored with over-the-top chic lit. Any ideas for favourite books?

I had several sweeps from week 40 right up to 40+15 (I think I must have had at least 4 sweeps) and they didn't work. The induction didn't work. The only thing that worked was the scalpel. Boo hiss.

I am writing an article for a magazine on how schools accommodate allergies and asthma, and I would be interested in hearing from parents whose child has an allergy and who are either happy or unhappy about how their school handles it. All scenarios will be anonymised. If you are in this situation I would love to hear from you. Many thanks.

I am writing an article for a magazine on how schools accommodate allergies and asthma, and I would be interested in hearing from parents whose child has an allergy and who are either happy or unhappy about how their school handles it. All scenarios will be anonymised. If you are in this situation I would love to hear from you. Many thanks.

Have you considered an ear infection? Lying down makes the pain of an ear infection much worse hence why they might resist lying down. My sister in law had this with her oldest child and after reaching the end of her tether took him to the GP, who diagnosed an ear abscess!

My sister in law had a stairgate at the door of her children's room so that they could help themselves to books and toys but could not get out of the room and wake everybody up.

I thought 18 months is really early to think about potty training a boy, but for several weeks now he has come up to me and started saying 'poo poo poo' and yes indeed there will a big poo in his nappy, so I'm wondering if it is suitable at this age to try to dash to the potty when he starts saying poo poo, or is it too soon? Could this just be a phase he is going through, or is this how potty training starts? At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but it is now obvious that he does know what it means also he does not say it unless there is a poo in there or if he is just about to do one, so I'm wondering if this is my cue to do something about it??

I am so pleased to hear about Dads being able to stay overnight at Kings now. When I had my son I was there for 4 nights before he was born, and with all the noise, lights etc I hardly slept, so when the bubba was finally born I was exhausted from lack of sleep rather than the labour itself, and although I begged to be moved to a side room or to be allowed for my husband to stay on for a few hours at night so that I could get some sleep, they refused even though I was in tears. I ended up discharging myself because I could just not cope with the lack of sleep any more - I was in there for 8 nights in the end.

I quit work just before I was due to return to work and whilst at first I was not happy (I quit because of employer pressure), now I think it is the best thing I ever did. At first I juggled freelancing with full time care, so like you Princess I was working through the night to meet deadlines and then spending the day with a 1 year old. This was not sustainable so I enrolled him to a nursery which he goes to 9-5 two days a week so it means that those days I can get on with freelance work, but it also means that if he is feeling poorly, if it is an inset day, or we go on holiday, there is no pressure as I can take as many days 'off' as I want. This works very well for us as I think this flexibility was worth my sacrificing my job.

I am writing an article on atopic allergies - predisposition to develop an allergenic reaction, and I was wondering if the mum/dad of a child who suffers multiple allergies will be willing to talk with me? (for example eczema, food allergies, asthma - although not an allergy has been linked to allergies - skin sensitivities, etc) I will be asking you how the allergies have developed in the child, over how long and in what order. It will be a very brief chat. The article will be published in one of the broadsheets in the next few weeks. Please let me know if you'd like to help!

I am having a lot of trouble feeding my son. He is refusing all the lovingly cooked meals I make for him. All he is interested is in snacking on the go, but will only eat raisins, cheese, bananas, bread and butter and yoghurt. I have tried not making an issue of it and simply taking the plate of food away when he starts playing with it, but after weeks of this he seems totally unconcerned by this. I have also tried sitting him in a proper chair 'like a big boy' and not insisting that he wars a bib (which he has learnt how to unfasten. How long can I expect this to last?? Are there any tried-and-tested meals that will tempt him into eating at the table again?

My toddler (18 months) seems very keen on art (i.e. drawing on the walls and making lost of mess),so I was wondering if anybody knows if there is a local art session where he can get thoroughly messy and give my poor walls a rest?

I flew quite a bit when I was pregnant and I was fine, I didn't get any special treatment, the last time I flew I must have been over 30 weeks pregnant (possibly 34) and I was gigantic but nobody even asked to see the note from doctor, but I would suggest getting an aisle seat as I didn't want to keep disturbing people for pee trips, and I made sure I had my midwifery notes too just in case the GP note was not enough evidence that I wasn't going to go into labour any minute.

My son is coming up to 15 months and he is doing this, I spend HOURS cooking him yummy stuff and if I'm lucky he will take a bite out of it. It is driving me crazy. Some days he even refuses his favourite foods, and some days he will eat gigantic portions. I never know how much or how little he is going to eat. At the moment he seems to be OK with just one meal a day and he refuses to touch anything at other mealtimes.

Little Ole had something similar when he was about 7 months. He had lots of poos (and they were very explosive ones!) but was otherwise very happy, at first I also put it down to teething, but eventually I realised it must have been something he 'ate' (had only just started weaning at the time). What I did is I stopped weaning for a a few weeks so went back to milk only and made sure he drank plenty of water too during the day, and the GP prescribed something called Timodene (not sure about spelling now) what was fantastic and cleared up the nappy rash within hours. They did take a stool sample but it came back normal, so who knows what caused it!.......I don't know about the formula though as I was breastfeeding. It all stopped up one day quite suddenly.

Thanks for all your suggestions, his cough is much better (and I'm getting more sleep)!