Saffron

Never seen a cat 'cheek' a bell then?

Instead of terrible-2s, we've had traumatic-3s. I think it's normal for some children to hit this stage later than others. Aside from changing the snacks, has anything else changed? New routine at nursery etc? Change can be tough on little ones of any age. Same guidelines as for tantrums in 2yos have helped our teary 3yo. Xx

Water is back on at Hilly Fields! Xx

The big playground with swings at far end of Ladywell Fields (opposite end of park from cafe) is heavily shaded. And the water is back on at Hilly Fields! :)

'The Science of Parenting'

Often being outdoors in the shade is cooler than indoors, but long walks and hot busses can be exhausting. Glad it's a bit cooler today. Although, I hope we'll have more warm weather before the summer's over!

It could still be a growth spurt. During times of less growth, fat stores are being built up. During the growth spurt, your baby can access these stores plus the milk she normally drinks. So overall feeding patterns may not change significantly for some babies. I would also recommend reading the book The Wonder Weeks, which helps you track your baby's developmental milestones and precursor fussy periods. xx

I think a lot of people would agree that being a modern parent can be very lonely, compared to our tribal roots. No longer do we live in small villages with big families. Each in our little house, with our own lives and worries, actually it's not just parenting, modern life in general can be lonely. It's no wonder social media is so popular. When I once observed that I felt out of the loop (re parenthood), a good friend with older children remarked that as parents we are not out of the proverbial loop. We're simply at the centre of a different loop. Of course it's all much-of-a-much when you feel like you're struggling to keep up social ties, and people are going on about who snogged whom at some party you didn't even know was happening. If you think your friends are just assuming you can't make it to most stuff anymore, maybe you should specifically talk to them about it? Of course it could always be that the economy has hit them harder than you think. A lot of people who look like they're doing pretty well are actually really struggling behind closed doors. Are your friends just going out less in general? I know Mr Saff and I definitely struggle with our finances, despite both working. We're more likely to have informal dinner parties now than to meet friends out for dinner. It saves on baby sitting too. But tbh, even many of our single and childless friends are struggling to balance work-life commitments in the current economy. Making new friends can be an uphill struggle too. I already have so many commitments from home and work, plus keeping up with old friends. If I get an hour to myself it's a rare blessing, but then 20 min into it, I start to feel like it would be nice to have a friend over to visit... Ah, but everyone's out or already has plans. Hmm. Keep working at it. Friendships forged in tough times will see you through a life time, but don't forget there are other people like you who're looking for new friends too. Try not to worry if things don't work out all the time. Take a step back. Your plate may be fuller than you think. Mr Saff often works wknds, so if you're ever at a loose end get in touch! xx

Try the Dr Beckmann's (Stain Devils) brand. Their stain remover for food/tannins should remove yellowing on baby clothes. It's the stain remover labelled 'Tea, Red Wine, & Fruit Juice'. Or check the Stain Devils website for alternate stain products and fabric types: http://www.dr-beckmann.co.uk/how-to-remove-stains/. These stain products work really well b/c they're specifically chemically formulated to target different types of staining. If you're using the one for fruit stains on brightly coloured children's clothes, just have a care not too leave the stain on too long. Clothes dyes for babies and children are often vegetable-based dyes which can lighten if you leave the stain remover on too long. (I got distracted and once turned a brown and pink toddler dress into orange and cream, doh!)

fl0wer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We haven't had a hosepipe ban yet. So what does > the panel think about this way of using up the wet > winter's reservoir supplies? > Should we encourage all gardeners to do their > watering at dawn or dusk, as TW suggests? > How to frame such a request, so that it gets > across positively? > Some people refuse to curb wastefulness until a > regulation is imposed on them. > Not convinced this is the best way to achieve > wiser use of resources, am interested in a > non-regulatory approach. Well, it seems the answer is in the question. You're interested in non-regulatory approaches, but you admit that some individuals will not bring their over-usage under control until regulations are imposed on them. So, what's wrong with imposing regulations? If universally installing water meters leads to universally unacceptably high bills, then either everyone is using too much water, or we're being over-charged (or both). In highly developed areas where water is at a premium (eg, California or Texas), it's quite common to have both water meters and public service campaigns offering advice on saving water. Also, local governments may offer guidelines or even laws about water consumption (eg, only using hosepipes on certain days etc). In the private sector there is an economic drive for water-saving devices, so these become cheaper with more options available too. Are you not interested in regulations because you believe the government would not install/enforce them? Hence just looking for community/civic ways to teach good water usage?

True (perhaps), BUT depopulation would effectively worsen the pensions crisis. AND, how would one attain (and more importantly maintain) depopulation? The UK population is aging, we're not growing a larger younger population in quantity enough to overtake the accumulation of the aged population. IE, the population of young people is falling in relative terms (as I understand it). We could tighten immigration to restrict population growth, but unfortunately most immigrants are young workers. Their skills influx and taxes, not to mention their willingness to live in undesirable rental conditions, makes them an asset rather than a burden, by many accounts. We could attempt to depopulate London by re-settling individuals elsewhere in the UK. This would take mass cooperation between the government and private companies, in addition to a way in which to determine which people to keep in London. Mass contraception is out, as it's already noted that we need (at least some) young people. Short of mass plague (which isn't a maintenance scenario anyway), I'm not coming up with much else on depopulation, although we're probably overdue for a plague anyway.

susiq Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > will report this trapping through proper channels, > have school got permission to trap foxes, how do > they "dispose of them", how long do they leave > these poor things before dealing with, who is it > that deals with them, IF these reports are true > this may be a serious case of abuse, torture, will > be calling scool first thing to ascertain if true. Did you reach the school?

Gambados has air conditioning. We went with my friend and his little boy one day last week. It's pretty quiet during school hours, plus they sell coffee, and alcohol...

There is a statutory requirement involved because the Early Years Grant [for 15 free hours] falls under the Childcare Act. As such statutory guidance to local authorities is issued by the Department of Education: http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/statutory/g00209650/code-of-practice-for-las http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/e/la%20role%20statutory%20guidance%20final.pdf For more information you should contact the Family Information Services (FIS) in the area in which your nursery is located. If your nursery is in Southwark, their FIS contact info is as follows: Southwark Family information service Monday to Friday - 9am to 5pm Tel: 0800 013 0639 [email protected] http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200016/childcare/710/early_education-three_to_five_years/1 Have your nursery make a full and transparent explanation of how your hours are credited and what additional fees you will be expected to pay. If you're still uncertain, or feel that you may be credited/charged incorrectly, speak directly with FIS. When we read online about how our 15 hours would be credited, Mr Saff and I were both a bit confused. After speaking with our nursery and FIS, we were 100% happy with the explanation and credit of the hours. Also, our nursery was very happy to make the explanation clear and simple. Not everything is explained very well online with these grant schemes sometimes. xx

Read that Asda has sold more paddling pools in the last week than all last summer. Love it!

We have the opposite problem. Little Saff is a poo withholder. Sticker chart has been really helpful, with special trea when set no. stickers achieved.

Particularly in this weather, traps should not be left out during the day at all. They should only be put out at night, checked and restored in the morning.

Indeed the stream at Ladywell is brilliant with cafe and playground too. And of course it's always 'on'. It had water even during the last hosepipe ban! We were there yesterday but didn't make it out of our own garden paddling pool today. Too knackered from yesterday!

I think it's a fair question if anyone is missing a loved one, but I hope people would have the presence of mind to only post personal details in a PM, and recipient not to repost details publicly without good reason. Xx

joom Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > tomskip Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Did anyone phone the school and ask them? There > is > > a small garden in front of the Old School House > > within the boundary of the school premises. I > am > > not sure if the children are allowed > unsupervised > > access to that garden during normal playtimes, > but > > they certainly have lessons and learn about > > gardening and wildlife in that garden. Whatever, > I > > am sure a 2 minute phone call to the school - > 0208 > > 693 1050 - would have established the facts. > > Maybe you didn't read my previous post, but I did > go and check this evening So it seems a phone call to the school about their policy on this would indeed be a good idea.

Emski Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My 10-wk old has never been great at sleeping in > her basket, but now she seems to have taken > against the buggy as well... just cries whereas it > used to be virtually guaranteed to make her drop > off. Now she'll only sleep in the papoose, where > she will drop off quickly and sleep for hours, but > am I storing up trouble for myself? Should I be > pushing the basket, and even working on getting > her to fall asleep on her own without rocking her > into slumber first? My feeling is she's still too > young for that, and to wait for the magical > 12-week turnaround before biting any bullets... > Any advice? Could it just be the weather throwing > her? > Thank you Have you thought of trying a baby hammock? Amby Hammock Nature's Nest is lovely. I had a used one off the Forum and resold it on the Forum. It was a great investment and also easy to resell, so nothing lost if you try and it doesn't work.

Check around resale shops and places doing house clearances. You can often find good quality furniture at reasonable prices. If you let the proprietors know that you're looking for a particular type of furniture, the may be able to contact you when they have suitable stock. I particularly like the junk/resale shop in Ladywell (Lewisham side of Ladywell bridge near the carpet shop, where I got a beautiful antique wooden rocking horse very cheaply.

If your gut is saying it's urgent, I'd go to the A&E. Even if they don't change any meds, you'll at least have received a complete second opinion and lots of reassurance. Xx

UK data may be less available for a variety of reasons. There are bigger data pools in the US and Canada compared to the UK, and it may be cheaper to run trials there. Pharmacokinetics and toxicology would be very, very similar among these populations, so other countries like the UK would generally able to base their prescription policies on such data. In addition to which the UK runs a Yellow Card Scheme for reporting adverse drug events. So although the majority of research in some cases may be completed abroad, adverse drug events are collected from within the UK.

Actually, this drug looks like it's rarely prescribed b/c it's largely been overtaken by newer antihistamines. Hydroxyzine is quite an old drug with a lot of research and data behind its use for a variety of treatments. However, for its use as an antihistamine, it's mainly been superceeded by new antihistamines which don't cross the blood-brain barrier and are more selective for their targets. It's confusing/misleading to refer to this drug (or any drug) as 'powerful'. Drugs are more accurately described in terms of 'potency' relative to other drugs in the same category, and 'selectivity' for the receptors with which the drug interacts. In this case, hydroxyzine is a potent, non-selective antihistamine. In layman's terms, it hits several different receptor systems including histamine receptors, and it does so more effectively than other antihistamines. Its non-selectivity for histamine receptors means that it has a variety of side-effects which could be undesirable for general use as an antihistamine, due to interacting with other receptor types in addition to histamine (and considering that newer more selective antihistamines are widely available). However, its high potency means that it can act more effectively at smaller doses than less potent, selective-type antihistamines. And, at smaller doses, side-effects would be less likely to occur and would take longer to appear. So although this is not a common drug, I can't see any reason pharmacologically speaking why a short course of this drug would present any serious problems. I agree with WM, a plan of action for trial length of taking hydroxyzine is probably a good idea. Were you given a short prescription with directions to check back with the GP or specialist by prescription's end?