uptime

Thanks for replying. Spent 30 mins on the phone to BT and am told an engineer will phone in 24 hours. Worse time of year for it to happen. Internet is working. Before my call to BT and various rebooting attempts I could access the recorded stuff but now can't access anything at all via YouView box. IPlayer is working but saying 'no signal' when I try to access freeview.

Anyone else in the ED/DV area lost their YouView access to TV? Trying to assess whether it's an area wide problem or just me facing a really bad Christmas.

I am in the same boat - can't bear DMC and looking to move. Met Dr C recently at the seldoc clinic and thought she was really good, so I would definitely move but for the fact that I can't imagine it's easy to park the car closeby (unlike DMC).

Can anyone suggest a local tailor for a small job? I have a couple of (pre-having a child) suits that I didn?t think I?d ever need to wear again but I?m about to embark on a project which requires me to wear a suit every day. All I want is to change the bootcut style trousers to something more straight-fit / tapered. Any recommendations would be welcome.

Hi Hollie

We are going through exactly the same thing. We've also had a couple of changes - new nursery and new nanny - but it sounds almost exactly like your situation: Previously very gregarious toddler becoming shy in new social situations. I know it's easy to say, but I genuinely think it's a phase that we shouldn't worry about.

Thank you so much for posting the highlights. A very funny diversion from the England football game on the telly!

I have one too. She seems to be fearless and loves climbing, running and jumping but asks to be carried if we have to walk anywhere! Very odd. If we go anywhere new, the first thing she says is 'outside?'. I don't think the 'unable to sit still and concentrate for longer than 5 mins' is just a boy thing, as we have the same issue (unless it's Peppa Pig). I'm home alone with her on Saturday and wondered if anyone had any info on soft play areas that might be open this weekend in Dulwich. I know about Gambados and Peckham Pulse but is there anywhere local and open during holiday time? Have already looked at edtots and couldn't find anything. And I can't face Dulwich Park again.

All great advice from srisky. My only other suggestion would be to take one or two of the potty training books with you (eg Lulu's Loo) just in case you need to keep reinforcing the message.

Sorry, can't help there as we always stay 'on resort', complete with two kids clubs!

We've been to Crete four times and love it. The locals are very child-friendly and welcoming. The Ag Nik shopping streets sell the usual holiday trickets which your 6 and 8 year old might find interesting. Can also recommend an amazing restaurant called Pelagos, which has a fantastic outdoor eating area with lots of bright colourful decorations (and cats) to keep the kids amused. Have a lovely time.

Congratulations. You could try dixieunion.co.uk which is US style pulled pork (the pork is cooked off site beforehand, I believe). They had a stall, which I visited, at the West Norwood Feast event yesterday and the food was lovely. The people operating Dixie Union also catered for a party my husband and I held a couple of years ago - they are very professional and reliable.

I'm a control freak too and, a bit like midivydale, found that starting a routine helped me feel better able to cope with the general chaos a newborn brings. I don't think 7 weeks is too early to start. I also used baby whisperer but had a slightly more rigid version with a 3 hour cycle: 1 hour Eat, 1 hour Awake/Activity, 1 hour Sleep. This also meant religiously getting up at 7am so I could do the 3 hour cycles and have bedtime at 7pm. And yes I did the whole bedtime routine thing as well: bath, massage, book, bed (gradually slipping in In the Night Garden when my baby was old enough). My husband jokes that I found Gina Ford a bit too laissez faire but I never actually read any of her books. Good luck!

It's my favourite place in the whole wide world, although we haven't taken our 2.5 yo yet as we missed the opportunity to take her when she couldn't fidget on the plane. I'd definitely go to one of the resorts that is easy to walk around and that has a dedicated kids club (even if you don?t want to put your child into the kids club, you know the resort is set up to cater for kids). We?ve stayed at the Conrad, which would be ok with a little one and we saw a small baby there, and Soneva Fushi, which wouldn?t be so good with a baby because you have to get around the island on bikes. Our friends went to Huvafen Fushi with a couple of babies and I only heard good reports. In terms of routes, I think only BA fly direct which would probably be preferable with a baby. We went with Emirates and changed planes in Dubai. Have a great time. I am so jealous.

I've just got back from holiday and I read Capital by John Lanchester. It's not really 'getting away from it' as it is set on a street in south London but it was very funny.

Have a lovely time.

Gosh, there are a lot of lawyers on the EDF. I am one too. I have the opposite of the 'hiding the shoes' problem in that my toddler barely gives me a cursory glance when I walk out the door in the morning. She has formed a much stronger bond with my husband who does pickups and days off when sick etc. That's pretty hard for me to take, but I love my job, and as a part-owner of the firm, there are pressures on me. Having a child has definitely affected external (client) perceptions of me. If we are lucky enough to have another, I will be putting sabbatical leave on my OOO rather than maternity leave. I find that quite sad.

F - just buy it off itunes. Please don't download content illegally. It's copyright infringement.

Having looked at both online (slow day in the office), I'd go for Robb Stark. My current US TV series crush is Gabriel Macht; he plays Harvey Specter in Suits (C5). I love him.

I find it really interesting to have the male perspective on some of the issues that have been raised on here (but don't ever tell my husband that).

We bought a Miele one for a ridiculous sum of money and the motor broke after a year. They fixed it for free but go figure...

Very useful thread. Do either BC or Ipe feel comfortable in disclosing how much the tinies.com daily rate is. I had a quick look at their website but not suprisingly couldn't find anything about costs.

Me too. Need to lose that last stone. Thankfully not going skiing this year. Last year I had to rent saloppettes from that place in forest hill because I couldn't fit into my own gear. Would have had to do the same again this year which would result in some difficult questioning from husband. The big problems for me are portion control and booze (do a lot of evening work events). I have also started to track on WW online for the first time in ages.

Thanks all. This is really helpful. I'll try the cbeebies stuff myself on iplayer, and ask them to buy either the jolly phonics DVD or the day full of songs DVD.

OK, so my parents want to buy my toddler some 'educational' DVDs for Christmas. They don't find Peppa Pig as amusing as we do! I looked at baby einstein but that seems to be all songs and I think they were looking for DVDs that would improve her speech and maybe lay some ground work for reading. We are not pushy parents but don't see any harm in this. By contrast we are getting her a scooter! Any ideas?

Has anyone tried this:

http://www.advancedchildacademy.co.uk/sale/

Better, less wonky and wider pavements.

Is there anywhere to buy kids DVDs on Lordship Lane eg Peppa Pig? I am refusing to buy from Amazon and would prefer to buy locally if I can.

You might also try contacting a meternity nurse who could come and stay with you for the rest of the week until you're back on your feet. We got ours (a long time ago now) through Greycoat, +44 (0)20 7233 9950. We didn't have time to interview in advance and just took whoever was available at the time. Also expensive though.