bobby's bear

Brockwell park water play was up and running this morning as an alternative

I would second the reccomedation for Lorenzo, he took some lovely natural shots of our family in P Rye park last year and we were delighted with them. I think with VAT it came in at ?180 and we got 5 large prints and a copy of all the photos on DVD included

Steve has just finished a floor sanding and painting job for us before we move in to a new house. He did a great job for a good price at short notice, and takes real pride in his work. We would definately use him again and reccomend his services

My 21 month has always been great at going down for her lunchtime sleep until this week! Usually she might chat in her cot for 10 or 15 mins and then go to sleep quietly and sleep for 2 hrs or so, usually between 1 and 1.30. At night she will go to sleep anytime between 7.15 and 7.45 again without protest, and usually she sleeps until about 7. This week on tues at nap time she chatted in her cot for about an hour and didn't show any signs of going to sleep so I ended up lifting her, but she then dozed off her her buggy at 5pm grrrrr and on wed when I put her down she clung to me and howled 'no sleep' so I lifted her again, and again she dozed off at 5pm. The last few days I got a bit tougher and have left her in her cot howling, each time she has gone to sleep (after up to 20 mins protest) and slept for the usual 2hrs. She is still sleeping her 12hrs at night as usual. So I am wondering if this is her dropping her nap (please no as number 2 is due in 5 weeks!) although it all seems very sudden and she clearly can't last until bedtime without a sleep, or is it just her chancing her luck as she got away with it for 2 days (playing with Mummy is clearly more exciting than sleeping) and do I just need to stick to my guns for a few more days to get her back into the routine of it. Any tips etc gratefully received!

Whenever possible I will eat with my 22 month old and eat the same as her (we went down the baby led weaning route which I found really positive) and I find when she sees me eating she is much more inclined to get on with it. I am also happy to let her take food from my plate which seems much more exciting for her than eating her own (identical) food sometimes. I also find with me eating I am then getting on with my own dinner and not watching every mouthful she puts in her mouth and putting the pressure on. I tend also to try and be relaxed about how much she eats on the assumption she wont starve herself to death and tend to say things like 'not hungry today, that's ok lets get down' instead of offering her umpteen other things to try or trying to coax her to eat. All that said I suspect I am just lucky to have a pretty good eater most of the time and very little to do with me!!

Thanks everyone for all your advice, really helpful. No 1 was a terrible sleeper until she was one so sounds like swaddling might reslly improve life for us second time round!

I am expecting number two in a few weeks so have started to think about what we did last time and what we might do differently this time!! Swaddling was something I never really did but have heard it can be very useful. I was wondering if anyone who is a fan could answer a few basic queries........ 1) When do you swaddle - only at night / all the time? 2) How and with what and is it worth buying a proper swaddling blanket? 3) For how long? Last time my LO was into grobags the minute she was big enough but to what age roughly is it good to swaddle 4) Arms up or down? Thanks in advance.

Ours (the origional) has a flap thing that you can popper up onto the shoulder straps to keep her head held onto your chest or back, it also keeps the rain / sun off though she wont let us use it when she is awake!

PS the other great thing about the ERGO is it is small and light and doesn't take up much space so it easy to pop into your own bag when you aren't using it. As you can see I am quite a fan!!

We love our ERGO and still carry our heafty 19mo in it for long hikes. She naps in it brillaintly when out walking, certainly better than when we have been out for walks with friends who are using a backpack style carrier (we usually end up swopping when their LO needs a nap!) She wil nap happliy on the front or the back, and I can happliy carry her and an backpack if she is on the front, so I would say ERGO everytime!

Hi there, Does anyone have an idea roughly of the furthest distance non church place offered at St John and St Clements in the past few years, the southwark website doesn't have that info as it is a church school. Thanks in advance.

The main problem with high fibre and wholemeal foods are they are are very slowly digested which means that baby feels fuller for longer which can mean that they don't then get the calories they need as they don't feel so hungry.

Hi all, I am due with number 2 on 20th Aug. I currently have a 16 month old girl. I would love to meet some other summer Mummies, especially those with toddlers already as I imagine second time round with a baby and toddler in tow life will be quite different! We have swimming on a friday morning so might make the playground by 11 if anyone is still there, otherwise we should sort out another meet up soon. X

We took our baby to Oz when she was five months and I would echo what everyone else is saying in that it is a great time to fly long haul with a little one. The cabin crew fell over themelves to help us and even took her into the galley for a play when they were quiet to give us a break. They only thing I would add is to bring more nappies and changes of clothes than you think you need. I think the cabin pressure upset our LO's tummy and we had several leaky poos and then during turbulance the steward spilt orange juice on her so we needed several costume changes. The temperature on board also ranged from freezing to boiling.

No advice here, just sympathy! I have a 13 month old and we have always struggled with her sleep. We had a month recently (when she was about 11 mo) when she slept 7-7 and we thought that was it cracked, but nicely timed with my return to work she has started waking at 4am and crying alot in her cot, but when I bring her into bed and try and feed her back to sleep she thinks it is playtime, usually after 30-60 mins of trying to persuade her to sleep with us, I have enough, put her back in her cot at which point she promptly closes her eyes and goes to sleep, now if only she would do that without the 60 mins of preceeding singing, hand clapping and pulling Mummy's hair! I think other posters are right though there must be some genetic component, neither hubby or I are great sleepers and we are often awake in the night and struggle to fall asleep ourselves.

On the fancy dress theme I was sent to a fancy dress party aged 7 as Marie Antoinette and was told to say repeatedly 'let them eat cake' I couldn't remember who I was supposed to be so my Dad wrote it on my arm in marker pen. I was also told that when the ice-cream van played a tune it had run out of ice-creams so I used to feel sorry for all the children that came running out of their houses when it drove by!

I am sorry to hear that :( you have always been such a great source of useful and interesting information. We miss you on here.

I popped up on monday but was told it starts next monday (the 12th) It is on from 1-3pm.

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Absolutely daft. How many combinations of > coffee/water/milk to people need? Six

Another vote for naked except for some large ski socks which had to be peeled off and binned afterwards!

There is so much advice and support out there for starting breast feeding, but very little information about the best way to finish! I am still demand feeding my 12 month old 3-4 bf a day, a morning and night feed and then 1-2 feeds during the day or sometimes a few more comfort feeds when teething etc. I have loved feeding him right from the beginning but feel it is time to stop, mainly because my periods still haven't come back we we are thinking about siblings for him! I am also going back to work next month. He is a great eater and fairly chunky so I am not worried about the nutritional side of it and he happily drinks from a cup. I am looking for a bit of advice about the best way to stop, drop feeds (though they are variable from day to day)or go cold turkey? and what do you do instead? The boob is such a curer of all ills that I am worrying about what replaces it when upset/ in pain / tired etc etc and how do you cope with the shirt pulling / back arching etc that is usually a request for a feed?! Any suggestions gratefully received, I am feeling a bit emotional about the whole thing!

Wow. I am / was in my previous life too though not quite at your level, but have dived alot all over the world. I am a fair weather diver though, at my happiest in a short wetsuit! I genuinely enjoy looking at the fish on the octonauts, or in the horniman aquarium, reminds me of lots of great times underwater. Hope I'll get back to it one day. Have you dived recently?

............Scuba diving is watching the Octonauts and identifying marine life. Oh how life has changed!

We are doing exactly what happened in our house for mothers day (our first I must add!).... NOTHING, bitter, me, never!

Thanks, think I might go with Davina as my fat 9 month old doesn't yet know what her legs are for so don't think she'll be giving me a work out any time soon! Hubby works away from home alot so a DVD that can be done during nap time / evenings is ideal.