mima08

Hits, the local leisure centres have great baby swimming lessons - if you go to Peckham PulsePulse, they have a lovely warm pool. We have been going since my son was 4 months. They can be tricky to get signed up to, but once you have renewals are simple. Mx

Hi susypx, I am a local mum and have recently started my business as an independent web designer. You can check me out at www.designedbymima.co.uk. As a small business myself, I really appreciate the difficulties involved in getting started and that keeping costs down is a must. I always aim to give unbiased advice as I would rather have happy clients than make a quick pound. I am currently building a couple of websites for local businesses / individuals and can get you references if you'd like. If you fancied a coffee sometime we could have a chat about what you need/ want - I am based in ED/Peckham border, but can easily get to most places nearby. Drop me a pm if you are interested. Kind regards Miriam

reading all the comments, I feel less silly for blubbing... will definitely make sure I'm in more pics with my son - I have so few of my parents...

Hiya, I've read the phrase "under one, food's for fun" many a times while weaning my LO (now 20months). We did go down a baby lead weaning -ish route, but it was that phrase that kept me sane :) How about offering a bit of finger food (I seem to remember a thread on here about some babies liking it more) as well as other food? I know it's easy to say & hard to live by (I'm still struggling) - try not to worry! mx

I can sympathise: dropped little one (20month) off this morning and had to peel him off me - his dad usually does the drop off and apparently he is happy as larry then, bouncing into the childminder's house! Not with me: even though I tell him while we get ready and he seems quite excited about seeing his "wohoo" (name & sign for childminder), the tears started outside her door... It does upset me enormously and I need to remind myself that he is fine in less than 5min of me leaving... hope it does get easier! mx

Very funny!

Yep, ours did this for ages, but since loosening up the straps (as he takes his arms out of them immediately anyway), this problem has gone away...

Hiya, we have the same problem.... I have resigned myself to just watching him carefully - thankfully he is old enough not to launch himself out of it (actually, I think as long as the bottom ones are snug, it is unlikely that he could....). You could try experimenting with different height settings, but it did not help us... mx

Sorry to hear your son is feeling so bad. I cannot comment on the meds, but we just had the same cold it sounds. What helped a bit was baby vicks for chest - and in my desperation I even followed advice to put it on his head and soles of his feet (!!!). Don't ask, but he slept through (I am sure that's just because the cold had gotten better by that time, but when it comes to sleep I have become very superstitious....). Anyway: baby chest rub, olbas oil on a bib near by, and although I know that milk causes even more mucous, smoothies helped with getting something resembling nutrition into him.... Good luck, at least it didn't seem to last too long mx

Hiya, I second a footmuff - but if you have the new bee, make sure the holes for the straps are in the right position. Annoyingly they moved them just enough to make using some footmuffs a right old fuss & tricky with a wriggly baby. Am sure they did this to make you buy the very expensive bugaboo one! However, there are lots of footmuff makes that still work, I got one from ebay that covers the whole back seat & can be used as a seat liner alone or footmuff combo and LO was / is very comfy with it.

Hiya, I had very bad PGP towards the end of my pregnancy - could hardly walk. I saw the Dulwich Chiropractic Clinic, they have lots of experience with pregnant ladies and sorted me out within 2 appointments, plus one top up. Very helpful, when I explained the problem they fitted me in as an emergency appt. link to details: http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/directory/1855/65275.php Good luck, hope it gets better soon! mx

Apparently there has been a 50% increase in these type of robberies in the last few months: snatch & run, not (much) physical violence (thankfully). But the "successes" seem to attract more attempts - which is why the police is trying very hard to combat the problem. In terms of worth-while: apparently about ?80-?100 for a smart phone....

Hiya, I was walking along Adys Road this evening just after 8 o'clock when two youths came up behind me on bicycles and one of them snatched my phone out of my hand. It happened just outside the Church - opposite side of the road. The guys (I assume) then cycled off towards the playground, splitting up to go around the playground on each side. There were a number of people along Adys Road and I wondered if anyone saw them? I have reported the whole thing to the police but cannot give much of a description, other that they were slight in build (which made me think they were teenagers) and wearing hoodies. Any more description would be helpful. I was VERY impressed with the police response - given that I was not hurt and it was not a physical attack per se, I did not expect them to take it very seriously. But they did, and I was impressed with their efforts. Which is mainly why I am asking here whether anyone had seen the two (youths) on bicycles this evening. Also, the police did mention that there had been a significant increase of these types of robberies lately, and the area around the Goose Green playground seems to be a hotspot - so please be wary! mx

Hiya, here is a website which I find quite fun to look at (and then only do about 1% of what it recommends): http://www.brillkids.com/ They sell rather expensive software (I tried the free trial, it was fun but in 10days with a 9months year old, what did you think the results would be like? :)) Anyway, there is a forum & a fair few free resources, which are quite good. When I was little, my mum used lots of games build into normal days to get me learning stuff, e.g. having numbers "races" while walking the dog, etc. mx

yes - call seldoc. Also, NHS direct can be very helpful. And check about what combination of nurofen / calpol for babies you can give at that age (I cannot remember, but I did find nurofen much better at bringing a fever down, must be different reactions?). Hope it gets better soon mx

Hiya, I have been searching for a weekend class for my (very active) 19months old. I recently spoke to a friend who runs a gymnastics club in Sussex & has introduces parent/toddler classes where they learn basics like jumping, rolling etc, all in a fun setting. I was wondering if there was something like that around here? I did check out tumble tots, but they only run weekday sessions (it seems) but i need something on the weekend.... Any ideas? mx

Hiya, sorry to hear about your horrible experience, and totally understand your need to "vent" - bad attitude like this is particularly distressing when you have a crying toddler and are worried about them. Hope you are all ok now. I don't personally know that pharmacy and live more in the Peckham direction but please be assured that most places around here are really nice, friendly and helpful. I always found the Lloyds Pharmacy, as well as the one on Lordship lane (think they are called Sogims?) excellent. Boots on Rye Lane is a bit hit & miss, IMO. I hope you are settling in well - you & your kids will love it here! mx

Hiya- one way we keep overcoming irrational fears is by "kissing" - i.e. what ever LO is scared off, I show that it is safe by giving it a kiss and saying what a good xyz it is. We had kissing the pop-up book, kissing the hairdryer, (almost) kissing the microwave... although I have drawn the line at kissing the hoover & lawnmower... No idea how you can "kiss" the fly or bugs, though...

Hiya - thanks for the tips, funny enough, ever since writing on here, he is actually getting interested in sitting on the potty! after weeks of them just cluttering up the house...Of course, nothing goes in there yet, but it is progress! Babs - in my searches I have come across this for young babies https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxveGZvcmRuYXBweWZyZWViYWJ5fGd4OjNiZDVjYTJjMDVlYjIwMWU&pli=1 (sorry I cannot figure out how to do a link???) - wish I had seen it at 8months! mx

Thumbs up for this - we have a boys one and my LO loves it. Still have to hold him somewhat where he cannot stand but I have much more confidence to let him run around (obviously with supervision) in chest high water (his chest not mine :)) He loves swimming and the swimming costume with floats was recommended by the swimschool we go to. have fun! Jacks50 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > we used the vest with my boys but they struggled a > bit as they ride up and get in their face, but > with my daughter we used the swimming costume with > the built in floats - it was much better than the > vest as it pulled it down and kept it out of her > face. (they make boys ones too!) She got used to > it within 10 mins and was swimming around the > pool, shouting at us if we touched her! (very > independent lady) she was 18 months when she first > used it.

After my c-section I read somewhere that c-sections can sometimes interfer with the production of certain hormones and result in milk coming in late - sorry for being vague, it's been some time. I definitely recommend getting a lactation consultant - like Strawbs, big regret that I didn't Thumbs up for contacting claire kedves at kings - she is amazing, and get your friend to speak to the GP, domperidone is a drug that can help, her GP should be able to advise. Best of luck mxx

Thanks for your the tips - i will go & get one of those seats that go on top of the big toilet, figure, I probably need them anyway.... And Caroline - that is reassuring to hear that you had similar experiences, I was wondering what I was doing wrong! I definitely want to make this as stress free as possible - he is still very young, no need to rush. Interestingly enough, today he sat on the car potty by own choice (it stands around, just in case) - although with nappies on! Taking them off, he was a bit hesitant, then sat and and sat and..... nothing. LOL! I will start putting his doll on it again, it's a "drinking & peeing" doll, so maybe that gives him a hint :) mx

Hiya, my lo is still too small (18month) but i strongly believe in giving pocket money. No idea what the appropriate rate is, but I have a few friends who have given pocket money from 4yrs on and the children use it for all the little extras they want. Seems to be working very well.

Hiya, I am using the word "training" in the loosest sense, as we are really trying to be child led here. But recently, my LO has started to be very aware of bowl movements - pointing to his bottom half, clutching, and making (quite funny) noises to indicate when he is about to do a po. This is now quite reliable. Similarly with pees, although not all the time (I know about the peeing as we tried a day of no nappies around the house - my floors have never been cleaner). He also hates wearing nappies, and tries to pull them off. So I thought it would be a good time to try the whole potty thing - but suggestions of sitting on the potty are generally met with blank refusal. Sometimes with howling (even though I don't try to force the issue at all...). We have two potties - a plain one and a fancy car-shaped one, which was of lot of interest as a toy - not as a potty.... Any suggestions? He seems genuinely upset about going in his nappies (although 1min after the deed, he forgets about it...) thanks for any recommendations! mx

Hiya - 18months on, I still love my bee and LO seems always very comfortable. I am not very tall and find it easy to lift into the bus, simple to fold and manage to pack a huge amount of "stuff" into the bottom basked. We too had the shimmying wheels but absolutely no problem to get the repair kit (I phone the helpline no. in Holland, I believe, and they were very relaxed, no questions asked about purchase, just sent us the kit within 3 days). I have seen there are places that allow you to hire a buggy for a week or so to try it out (obviously difficult if you don't have a baby, too :)) One reason I went for the bee was its high resale value (currently, at least)... mx