littleEDfamily

I always enjoyed Tin Pan Annie - it seems to work for babies as well as the toddlers to which the class is tailored. And unlike some other classes, I always found it quite relaxing (for me). The downside is the expense at ?7 a session. http://www.tinpanannie.co.uk/timetable.html Sorry, mind has gone blank about about other activities......Whippersnappers, maybe?

The 'growing up' excerpt is really poignant....put something into words I couldn't articulate, but have felt more and more, especially after the cloud of babyhood exhaustion passes by and you start to reflect.

Our 3 year old sneaks in with us in the early hours of the morning about 50% of the time. I think she gets cold as throws off her covers in the night. She came in last night, so volcano and lack of flights doesn't seem to be correlated!

A friend I saw a couple of days ago had this brilliant one she got from Bentalls in Kingston which has a cooler bag at the back and then a flap at the front which drops down to reveal a complete picnic set. Obviously not the traditional picnic basket look, but very functional and quite slimline.

I second the recommendation for South London Dance studios. It's amazing what they get out of the girls (and the odd boy), and despite a few tears at the start, they all seem to love it!

Maybe a bit expensive, but I thought quite pretty: http://www.coxandcox.co.uk/products/ascot-hamper-large Sainsbury's seems to be pretty geared up for summer season, so may be worth checking whether the big one has anything. ED on Northcross may also do some...

What's your vision of Lead ZingZilla? What do you reckon lurks beneath??? Just trying to get a visual.... ryedalema Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm watching Zingzillas right now - is it weird to > think that the lead singer monkey is quite fit > (underneath the costume obv.)? > > Someone's going to tell me it's Keith Chegwin or > something now aren't they?

Yes, 64 Zoo Lane is definitely the pick of the bunch. Is it immature of me to sing the song as '64 Poo Lane', though? I told my daughter in complete frustration the other day that she wouldn't be watching Waybaloo as they were 'loons' - she seemed quite offended. What's with the strange noises and baby talk on shows like Waybaloo and In the Night Garden? Surely they're meant to be helping our children learn to form actual words. Didn't know Lenny was Big AND Small. Fascinating, yet still quite grating.

Lenny Henry is Big, from Big and Small, right? I am going to watch 64 zoo lane all week to verify this....... I can actually tolerate that one....

We spend quite a bit of time in the rampant UV of Australia, and my advice is 30+ sunscreen on their little faces (quite like the roll on ones, esp if they don't like to co-operate, but we did get a really nice organic one at HealthMatters) plus a hat as back up (that they may or may not keep on), and then light long sleeve cotton tops/ shirts (and dresses for girlies) so that you don't have to worry about sunblock on their shoulders and arms, and 3/4 length trousers so it's only the bottom of their legs you need to apply suncream to. Cotton clothing won't block all the sun's rays, though, but if exposure is light to moderate, will suffice. Little lycra sunsuits are a godsend if they're playing around in water. Controversially, given the type of summers we have been getting in London and the high levels of pollution in the atmosphere, unless the little one is out in the worst part of the day for more than 30 minutes, and it is a really warm sunny day, I often don't bother with suncream for me or our daughter. Obviously it does depend on the kind of skin they have and how easily they burn, but I think a little bit of sun exposure can be healthy, and there's something about slathering kids all over in sunscreen every time they set foot in the sun that strikes me as a bit OTT. To answer your question, I think children's suncream would be fine on a 9 month old. I think the advice is for no sun exposure at all for very young babies, but as they approach a year, I think it's unlikely their needs would be very different from children. The staff at HealthMatters can enlighten you on the chemicals that the 'organic' sunscreens do not contain and why they are thought to be harmful.

Thanks guys - must be something in it. For while I thought she was up to some trickery, but the pain seemed oh so real. What with teething, growing pains, teeth falling out, childhood illnesses - this growing up business is tough.

After a really active day, our daughter woke in the night complaining that her legs hurt (both of them, front of calves, just below the knee). Bless her, she really seemed in pain - proper crying. She is 3 and a bit and seems absolutely fine this morning. We rubbed them for her, which seemed to help and did the 'standard' (Calpol - modern panacea!) A quick google suggested it could be 'growing pains' - anyone else had experience of this? I have vague memories of growing pains as a child, but deep down I've always thought they were a bit of a myth.

Aaah, the power of the forum....

Could your parents come and look after your daughter one or two days a week here in East Dulwich? Even just one day of saved childcare can make a big difference and I would always choose grandparents over anyone else if you have a half decent relationship with them and they are up for it (but 4 days is just too much even for the sprightly types). If you can get through years 1 -3 (when your subsidy kicks in, although that certainly won't pay for all of it), I tend to think you're through the worst of it, and by 3 years old they definitely need the social interaction of a nursery/ pre-school. There are some cheaper nurseries (I think one near Burgess Park in Peckham, which is apparently v good), but ?50 a day, whether it's a childminder/ nannyshare/ nursery is the very minimum you could hope to pay. My advice would be to stay where you want to be long term, and just muddle your way through it. I don't think you'll find a perfect solution, but the pain will be short term (if you only decide to have 1) and if you want more, you'll get some respite from the childcare dilemma during your second maternity leave (small mercies!!) The unfortunate thing about childcare is that you just don't know what is going to work until you try it. I was convinced what would work best would be a nursery close to work (Canary Wharf) - it wasn't, then I tried a nannyshare (I fired the nanny), then a combination of nanny and nursery (wasn't that impressed with either) and finally I just gave up and left my proper job, became self-employed and did most of the childcare myself (begging, borrowing and stealing help with the little one from friends or husband's leave etc etc). Other parents (but not many) seem to hit the jackpot from the start - I hope you are one of them! Like many others on this forum, I tend to think a nannyshare/ childminder is preferable for under 2s (but still get your child's name on as many nursery lists as possible to keep your options open).

Or it looks like the Hugabub can take a newborn too? Sorry, I am suffering from information overload here. Help!

Ok, so I am still confused. Is it the mini-Mai Tai that would be recommended for tiny babies? I can't see myself carrying baby for more than 4 months.

Thanks for this great thread. Deciding on the right sling for the new bubba has been on my 'to do' list. Our Bjorn was fine for a v small baby (and I managed to breastfeed our daughter while she was in it while walking dog in park, for which I thought I was very clever), but I used to get shoulder ache. I think it's better for Dads who can carry more weight through their shoulders. I am still a bit confused, but I think I am going to try the Ergo one - if anyone cares to sell theirs to me, please PM.

Oh Smiler - I really do feel for you!! I love the idea of 4 grown up children (2 girls, 2 boys) who all get on famously well and come to visit for my delicious Sunday lunches. So my 'fantasy' would be 4. The reality is: I had one because I wanted kids (in that sort of vague way you want kids, not knowing quite why) and then we are having a second because I thought she would benefit from a sibling, and once again thought in some vague way that another one was the right thing to do. I am hoping once we have two, I will be blessed with strong feelings to stick at 2, as a 3 child family brings all sorts of new practical requirements I just can't quite cope with. And I am done with giving up beer for months on end; it's frankly no way to live!

Do you need to get it up stairs to your house/ flat?

Hmmm... it's tricky. What about finding a nanny who works for one family only, where maybe they don't want to commit to a permanent share (as maybe it's too much work for the nanny on a regular basis), but where the family may like to offset their costs on an occasional basis and give the nanny an opportunity to top up her income. Bit of a long shot, but worth a go. You'd prob also need to suss out a few friends who could help out for a day or so here and there, and maybe also rely on hubby if that's a possibility - it's a faff, but with a bit of tenacity I am sure you could find a combination of options that allow you to freelance. I used to nannyshare with a family where both parents freelanced. They ended up paying for quite a few days more than they strictly needed, but it got them through the first two years with their careers still intact as well as the chance to spend a good deal of time with their little one.

Ricki Lake has done a film about birth!? I'm intrigued. I used to watch her for hours when I was a bored teenager on summer hols.

Interesting comments relating to 2, SteveT. I vaguely remember some of your previous posts and you must have had some pretty sharp corners to knock off if this is the 'softened' you (meant in a nice way, and by the way I agree)! It makes me laugh as my mother-in-law has told me I too have been softened by parenthood, and if that is true, it makes me cringe a little to think just how bl**dy awkward I must have been before, as Miss Congeniality I am not!

Seconded about the post-natal ward. I hated it too. My husband was instructed to leave straight after the birth pretty much, and there was no one to make me cups of tea on demand or change the channel for me. But even worse, I was in this alien place where I couldn't share my elation of having survived and having a real baby! There I was, just a bruised, hungry woman, alone with her Blackberry. Surreal to say the least. Now I really do have to stop posting on this Forum. Even I am getting bored of me :-$

My original comments were flippant suggestions about how to shut people up if they are giving you unwanted advice about the risks of homebirths. But in fact they are quite accurate based on my experience of giving birth at Kings - I didn't feel particularly comfortable going to the loo in a shared bathroom spattered with other women's blood. That said, I do genuinely believe that a hospital birth is not necessarily the safer option, which is the argument most people who disapprove of homebirths tend to make. All of us filter the information we are given about the relative risks of various births types(hospital/ c-section/ homebirth/ waterbirth) through a lens which is clouded by our fears, values and experiences - not to mention the opinions of others - and ultimately end up doing what is the least terrifying for us at the time, no matter how 'rational' we feel we are being about it. On a much more practical note, the Nappy Lady has a very good suggestion about bringing your mum along to a midwife visit. My husband is pretty ambivalent about where we have the baby, but did have some vague concerns about us trying for a homebirth. He felt it really helped him to hear our midwife (Erika at the Lanes) outline in detail their approach to assessing risk during the lead up to the birth and during labour and the criteria they use to make medically informed decision about when to abandon a homebirth in the best interests of mum and baby. I recommend the horse's mouth, so to speak!

Sorry I seem to be posting a lot at the moment, but couldn't help but add my two pence worth about this. We are planning a home birth, and I am amazed by the reactions it prompts, even from normally diplomatic people. My lovely brother in law, who never says anything controversial came straight out with "Well, you are putting preference over safety." I had to really scramble for a defence and came up with the fact that basically hospitals are filthy dirty places and people should really consider, if there are no contra-indications to homebirth, whether that is really a place you want to put yourself and your vulnerable child into unless you have to. Not the most brilliant argument, but it seems to shut people up. I throw in a few comments about MRSA, and blood spattered walls for good measure.