tomo

My toddler adopted one of my old dolls, that my parents still had at the their house. He's really taken to her and pushes her in his toy buggy and pretends to change her nappy etc even sharing his beloved toy monkey with her. I'm not sure there is much that can prepare them for the reality of having a new baby in the house, it'll be hard enough for us as parents! I've got 'there's a house in mummy's tummy' book and we talk about all the things he can teach his baby brother when he arrives. I've also warned him that babies cry a lot, because they can't talk yet. He seems pretty relaxed about the whole idea so far! He has gone through a very clingy mummy stage recently, where only I can do certain things for him which worries me. Hope Maurice settles at nursery soon. J's had some very wobbly times at nursery, but absolutely loves it now. Sorry to have missed the last meet up and I can't make this one either as we 're away for the weekend. Hope you're all feeling well. Heartburn is making a return for the first time this pregnancy and definitely feeling the weight of my bump already! Hope to catch up at the next meet.

Boo! I can't do either date at the mo.

Lovely to see everyone today, seeing a few familiar faces and meeting new ones! The Victoria worked pretty well as a meeting place (J loved that playroom!) would be great to meet up again. I'm around during the week Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays with toddler in tow. So could do a park/ coffee on the run meet one morning? Anya, sorry you couldn't make it. But hopefully see you at the next one. I can vouch for her fab Pilates classes! (I did her postnatal classes) Can you remind me what time your pregnancy class is? I'd really like to try and do some form of exercise whilst pregnant, but need to work out toddler bedtime/husband's work logistics.

Great, see you there!

We should be able to make it too. Victoria sounds good to me too. Are we saying 10.30? Joanna77 a lot of local streets are permit resident only but you can park on Danby Street (my road!) there are some pay and display spaces but further up it's free to park. I think you can also park on Choumert road (west side) for free too.

Hello! Another one here expecting second baby 9th January. I also was part of the winter baby club a few years ago and meet a fab bunch of ladies including the lovely espelli (hello!) so would love to meet up with some others.

It takes us an hour too for our 2.5 year old. Start running bath at 6pm, loons about while bath is running, teeth, pjs and 2 stories, lullaby then lights out by 7pm. On a nursery night we skip the bath though as he's normally overtired, so goes to bed earlier.

My son who's a bit younger (2.5 years) than yours was a chronic early riser, so sympathies! I'd definitely try reducing the nap and doing earlier bed. If my son skips his nap which often happens on a nursery day I try and get him down for 6.30pm. This helps break the overtired/early waking cycle. Gro clock has been a god send in our house. It does take perseverance, but it works! My son now stays in his cot till 7am when he calls for me 'Mummy! Sun's come up!' Even if he wakes earlier he chats/sings until the sun comes up on his clock. Hoping this will still be the case when we eventually take the sides off his cot?! It's a complete turnaround from the 5am starts! They are a pain in the arse to operate but has saved our sanity. We started of with setting it to come on at 6am and gradually moved it to 7am. A far more acceptable time of day to wake. Although my husband now has to get up at 6.30 and tip toe around the house!

Nicola from child sleep solutions is brilliant. V sympathetic and will come up with a plan to suit you. She gets mentioned on here a lot. http://www.childsleepsolutions.co.uk

Totally echo what the others have said. My 2 year old's a big old grump when I wake him up. I'm restricting his nap otherwise he takes much longer to fall asleep at bedtime. Snack and some telly usual helps and if there's someone interesting around, like the grand folk then he snaps out of it sharpish. I rarely make afternoon plans on this basis and if we get out it's a bonus. But sometimes we're lucky if we make it out to the garden which is fine too! The grobag control is infuriating, we have the same thing in the morning and with having his nappy changed too! In fact it's a constant series of bribes threats and negotiations to get him to do anything!

Any recommendations on brands to go for? Our electric hob is on it's last legs and I'd love to replace it with an induction hob but no idea where to start.

Any further news on this?

Dulwich Festival Artist Open House Weekend. http://www.dulwichfestival.co.uk/openhouse?tid=All&page=2 I'm opening my garden studio where I'll be have lots of my paintings on show. Pop by for some Art, a piece of cake and enjoy the garden! I'm at 29 Danby Street, SE15 4BS Open today and tomorrow 11-6pm https://www.facebook.com/carolinethomsonart

Just wanted to give a recommendation for Simon Orchard Photography a locally based photographer. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Simon-Orchard-Photography/554479097918279 He recently did a fantastic job of photographing my paintings(I'm an Artist) for documentation and print purposes. He was very professional and delivered some excellent images that I wouldn't have been able to achieve with my own photography skills. He also does weddings and family/baby shots too. Forgot to say, very reasonable price wise too.

I'm looking for a photographer to document some of my paintings. I need the images to be of sufficient quality to produce large prints. Please could you contact me if you think this is something you could help with. Many Thanks

My brother had very bad acne as a teenager. After trying all the usual treatments, he eventually took roaccutane, which is a pretty harsh treatment, but it did work. It did really effect his confidence as a teenager and with hindsight I think my mum would have pushed for a more effective treatment earlier than she did. Best of luck!

We ummed and ached over this for sometime. We also originally wanted engineered wood for the whole of our downstairs. Having looked at the options though, we decided on a quality laminate floor. We used quickstep which was significantly cheaper than either Amtico or engineered flooring, but similarly doesn't scratch and is very hard wearing. We got a white washed wood effect board, but in a wider and longer length than the usual laminate. I think it looks great. The only negative is the pattern repeat in the laminate, because it's essentially a photograph of a piece of wood, so greater care is needed to not lay two identical planks next to one another. You do obviously get a variety of planks in the box. We also had the issue with the difference in height with the previous flooring. Our fitters took off the skirting and lowered it. We will have to redecorate, but we were planning on doing that anyway. Overall we're really happy with our choice.

Does anyone have any recent experience or the recurrent miscarriage clinic at Kings or St George's in Tooting? My GP has referred us and given me the choice of where to go. Kings is obviously v convenient for appointments, but he rated the head consultant at St George's. Just wondering if anyone had experience or either place. Feel free to pm if you'd rather not post on here. Thanks!

My son had this, he still has occasional bouts. Our GP sent him for a blood test to eliminate dairy allergy, and also a stool sample to check for any underlying bug and also checked for absorption. He had very loose stools at the time. All came back as normal, so took it upon ourselves to eliminate windy culprits. So no more beans, pulses etc and generally reduced his fibre intake. I also gave him a probiotic powder (the health matters store on LL sells it) It all did help, but he can still get trapped wind from time to time. I'd definitely ask to see another GP and see if you can get some tests done.

I wouldn't recommend the Fisher Price little people one. It's not very well designed. The lift is impossible for a toddler to push up, so requires help from an adult. The petrol pump is too short for little hands to use properly. You also get two cars with it, and emits a delightful noise! Sainsburys had a wooden one on offer that I was tempted to get , not sure of the make though. Shame about the fisher price one, I have fond memories of using our fisher price one when I was little. Their design quality is not what it once was.

Ah, congratulations! Always wonderful to hear of good birthing experiences. Well done you!

We're wanting to have new flooring laid in whole of our downstairs and was wondering if anyone had any experience of using the Floor studio (they're on the Purley way, in Croydon)for provision and install of new flooring? We're specifically looking at getting Quickstep laminate put down due to practical and cost reasons. So if anyone has any other recommendations on someone who can provide this product and install that would be great. Thanks

My son goes there two days a week. He's only been going a couple of months but I'm very impressed so far. He's my first, so also felt like the overbearing mother, but I'm very pleased with our decision. All the staff are very lovely and my son seems to have settled in really well. Best thing to do is go and visit the nursery and get a feel for the place. Feel free to Pm me if you want.

Total sympathy! We've also got an 18 month old who historically has been an awful sleeper. We have been doing very gentle sleep training with him over the summer to help with early morning waking and bad nap habits. It has really helped although we have had a bit of a regression recently due to illness. But it has made a massive difference to our lives. As others have said, it's not about doing it for you, your child needs sleep. There are many gentle methods to help your child learn that night time is for sleeping, not playing. It's not all controlled crying. Consistency is key though, if you wobble and give in then you end up sending mixed messages to your child. So I think you and your partner both have to be really committed to making it work. I did the bulk of the 'training' but having the support of someone there to say I was doing the right thing was invaluable. It's tough, but I was so hideously sleep deprived, something had to be done. It is amazing to see the difference in my son too, on the days when he's had a good full nights sleep. He's less clingy and whiney than when he was clearly knackered from not having enough sleep. We used Nicola Watson, child sleep solutions. She's wonderful and has been a great support through out it all. Good luck!

Oliver Jeffers, Lost and Found and How to catch a star are firm favourites and good calming bedtime reads. Julia Donalson books are fab, Room on the Broom is my personal fave so gets read a LOT! Meg and Mog books are good too and always seem to go down well if my son's particularly fractious at bedtime.