Spooner

Hi Marion I have no idea how a migraine group would work but I would like to be involved and appreciate your suggestion!

Ruth - what is the Lets Go? Thanks

The helicopter seems to have been particularly busy over our garden this weekend and at this very early minute on a Monday morning. A little disconcerting and certainly no Ocado delivery in sight yet. What can it see that we can't, given it is still dark?!

Is this playgroup running tomorrow? It sounds great. I am happy to volunteer if you still need help.

We are new to the area and whilst I love the local independent shops, I need to venture further afield for adults Christmas gifts. I only have childcare for one afternoon and into the evening so was wondering where is best to go nearby that has the mainstream chain shops. Happy to drive or take public transport. Thanks in advance

I am new to the area and think the only thing missing is a supermarket that sells the high quality ready made meals that you occasionally or frequently eat depending on your lifestyle. As fabulous as the Sainsburys here is, it just doesn't come close to M&S or Waitrose on certain types of can't be bothered to cook food. If it was a small store I don't feel it would detract from the local independent shops much or cause a stampede of outsiders (or locals if the split opinions here are anything to go by) into the area. I am sure it would do extremely well and a million times better than the waste of space that is the Co-op.

Hi Belle We were put on nutramigen - i didn't think there was a hope in hell of getting my baby to drink it but she did without issue. it is hopefully only unappealing to adults. not sure if you were breastfeeding but i was given the option of giving up dairy myself for several weeks as an alternative to dairy-free formula - suddenly nutramigen seemed more appealing. we also tried dairy free aptamil to see if that helped as i was told different things sometimes help for different children. as it was too early to start introducing solids immediately we were given some sort of rice stuff which you mixed in the milk and it weighed it all down a bit - this helped somewhat though nothing dramatic.

Belle I agree that it seems to be a process of elimination to work out what actually works for your little one - we found ranitidine and dopermine reduced my baby's reflux a lot. We tried the dairyfree milk before moving onto the medicines - apparently it can be caused by a dairy intolerance. We also tried to start weaning a bit earlier as I was told some solids in the stomach reduce the chances of the milk coming back up. I don't know about anyone else's experiences but our baby just gradually grew out of it at about 6 or 7 months and it seems like a dim distant memory now. I remember it being a bit stressful at the time but all the doctors I saw said it would calm down as she gets a bit older and sure enough it did. Hopefully that might give you some solace.

Hi Emmy Try not to panic - we have twins and it is amazing. The positives far outweigh the negatives. Getting your head around the equipment is very daunting at first. The Twins Store or Twins Uk are very good at giving advice. We have the Mountain Buggy Urban Duo which we are very happy with. It is very heavy indeed but it is all terrain and pretty solid. Width of your hallway may determine whether you get a side by side or one up front and one behind style. You can get in most shops with the side by side and we had a double carryoot that fitted on for the first 6 months so it was like a pram - not necessary but I liked being able to see them. We kept the babies together for several months until 1 woke the other up when we would separate them during the night. Since they were 1 year old they sleep together again which means there are lots of giggles in the morning rather than lonely 'pick me up' cries. Spooner

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Hi We are wanting to move to the area and have looked at several 4 bed period properties. We LOVE the area and naively thought we would get a bit more for our money than in Battersea where we currently live. How wrong were we!!? It seems to get a 4 double bed place in Peckham Rye or East Dulwich that is not too far from the station with a good garden you are looking at ?700,000 or thereabouts. Estate agents tell us the area is going up and up in price...though we all know you can't trust anything they say. Having spent many hours looking at house price trends, it still isn't terribly apparent to me what we should be playing. All I can conclude is that these prices are overly inflated and seem to be very much bucking the trend, although as there is limited stock if we want to move anytime soon that is what we are probably stuck with. I am really happy to pay a fair price rather than looking for some amazing deal but these prices just don't seem to sit with London trends or the dire state of the economy. Any advice or opinions or useful websites would be much appreciated. Thanks a lot

Hi I remember seeing someone gave a link to a tool which Southwark Council use to measure how far you live from local schools. I have searched the forum over and over and can't find it anymore. Does anyone know it please? Thanks Spooner

Hi Does anyone know the catchment for Goodrich this year? Thanks

Thanks so much for so many helpful comments. It has made us feel much better about the idea and I hope I haven't offended anyone with having these concerns in the first place! I was aware that I am beginning to sound like my mother for being worried! From your responses it sounds like there is quite a community spirit around the area as well which is always a huge bonus. The schools admissions sounds so confusing as Chantelle is right about Shenley, Crofton etc being further away than the published distance the last child to get a place in the current school year lived from Lyndhurst. Any further insight would be great as our house purchase is quite based on being near a 'good' school re Ofsted. Thanks for your advice once again.

Hi We are about to go for a house just off Shenley Road but were originally planning to move to Peckham Rye or East Dulwich. We have 2 babies and now need to think about schools and child safety. Are we mad going for Camberwell (we are aware of it certainly once having a bad reputation) or is it now a good enough area for families? We would have been quite happy for a bit of edginess pre-babies but now need to be rather more sensible with our precious cargo! Any advice much appreciated. Many thanks