oimissus

Don't forget that it's not just you who should take time off if baby is sick - I have Mr Oi at home today with poorly Miss Oi - he isn't busy, I've got freelance work, so it's his turn - so ensure your husband's work are primed for this too. If it's any consolation I met a woman at a party and on discovering I had a child she asked if she was at nursery, when I said yes she said, thank goodness for that, she hadn't been in any childcare prior to going to school and had, as a result in her view, and Grotty's links support this I think, spent huge chunks of her school-life being knocked asunder by bugs that the other kids weren't affected by. The only thing we do for Miss Oi (who started nursery older than I think your child is, at 2) is give her vitamins. No idea if it makes a difference . . .

ah, thanks Monkey, that's very helpful and totally makes sense as it looks like a kind of heat rash gone bad, rather than the kind of baby red-bottom-from-poo nappy rash.

does anyone know if there's a drop in place to see a health visitor - I can't get to our surgery's baby clinic and I don't think I need to see a doctor, but it seems a bit ridiculous having a home visit for someone to look at Miss Oi's vicious nappy rash that isn't going away. All I'm after is some suggestions for dealing with it! Thanks.

oh, he is, in Reading of all inconvenient places. Well, obviously not as inconvenient as York, say, or Swansea, but youknowhatimean. Hey ho.

yes, I remember seeing stuff about the Churchill last Christmas, though Miss Oi was a bit young then - will check out what they've got on. The Snowman is in the lead at the moment . . . What I (I mean Miss Oi, of course . . . ) would (also) love to see is a panto with Justin Fletcher in, reckon he'd make a great Widow Twanky.

trains, buses, pizza, cake - Miss Oi's cup runneth over!

pizza AND a big red bus - what's not to like! We'll be trying it out soon, sounds great.

oh my God, she would LOVE that! She watches the film at least twice a week! Wow, lots of good suggestions, will check them out over the weekend.

oh, that's a good tip about Sleeping Beauty, 90 mins seems more manageable. And I'll have a look at Wimbledon, I think it is the Polka. Thanks everyone!

at the Colliseum - has anyone taken their under-5 to see this? I would love to take Miss Oi but worry a bit about the length, and also she is quite easily scared at the moment, are there any frightening bits in it? It's been years since I last saw it. Oooooh, I love Christmas.

well, the private pre-school my neice goes to didn't, but they have started now. It was held in a church hall and not every day so perhaps that's why? I would certainly check out the criteria before committing yourself to a particular nursery or pre-school.

your child is entitled to this the term after they turn 3 (kind of. I've been told that although my child is 3 mid december she's not entitled to this until the summer term humph.). Not all private nurseries offer it. Some school nurseries insist on a child doing 5 morning sessions or afternoon sessions a week, rather than 2 or 3. Non-school nurseries who do it will still charge as they are open more than 38 weeks, but the fees will be less than before, and they may insist on a minimum number of sessions or days.

yes, I was going to suggest book tokens as well, I used to love getting them and being able to choose my own books. No one ever buys me book tokens now . . . .

family day out sounds a good idea, d'you mean Legoland or somesuch? Could be a pretty expensive gift though! Can't you ask what they would like?

we just use a bog standard rubber ring, you can get them anywhere (we got ours in Mothercare). Peckham Pulse pool is very shallow (and warm) so he'll be able to stand and walk a bit on his own.

oh, and - Jamie Oliver's Big milk chocolate bar, keep it in the fridge - yum yum yum yum yum.

Morelys dept store in Brixton - good toy dept and has a very good range of bras for the smaller-backed, larger-cupped lady. Tesco's vegilicious range - best veggie sausages I have yet discovered, and I've been on the look-out ever since me and Mr Oi (veggie) shacked up together 8 years ago.

have you tried putting her down later? Miss Oi's nap has shifted back from 12.30 when she was 1 to 2pm now she's 2 and a half. I think if she's not a fan of quiet time it's worth persevering with the nap, else you will probably have a very whingy child come 4 o'clock! If she's rubbing her eyes at 6 start bath and bedtime then, it takes us about an hour from starting bathtime to lights out (including bath, milk and stories). Now she's napping later Miss Oi goes down about 8, but when she napped earlier she went to bed earlier.

I would also say, whatever you get, a really good thing about bugaboos is the single handle - very handy when you have a toddler who wants to get out and walk as you can easily push it with one hand, as the other hand desperately hangs onto the back of your bolting child . . . you can get pram hooks for a few quid in Mothercare or John Lewis so you can hang shopping from it. Also, it's very height adjustable, for example sister 5'2 and her boyfriend 6'3 can both have it at comfortable heights.

just wrote a massive long response which I lost, so, in short, the Bee!

whatever method you choose, I don't think you need to bother with baby rice, just go straight in with purees or finger foods or both.

we thought about this (same as you, have a Bee) but, after looking around, I couldn't find anything that did all I wanted it to, and didn't cost the earth - I was surprised at how expensive folding buggies were - makes the Bee seem not bad in comparison! So, we've just stuck with it - Miss Oi is 2 and a half (my niece is 3 and a half and still in hers); it's a bit of a cram into the boot but I do love it. One thing that has come in so handy now she wants to walk more, is the single handlebar, which means I can push with one hand whilst holding onto her hand with the other. I don't think that would be so easy with a 2-handled pushchair. Re-kindle your Bee-love!

we have the Graco one too, we use two normal cot fitted sheets, never bought a mattress for it. Going strong at 2 and a half. Never had a problem putting it up or down. My mum, who is 75 and not the fittest, also has one and has never had a problem.

you've got your wish! We had waking in the middle of the night, took ages to get back to sleep for all of us - party across the street not helping!

have you looked on Southwark Council's website? I only say this cos I was talking to my sister about this today (her daughter will start next Sept) and she's watching her local borough website like a hawk as she's worried that open days will get booked up very quickly - might be different here though (she's not in London).