oimissus

thanks Molly, I might take you up on the chair potty. Yeah, I didn't really want to have to fork out for the bags for the travel potty all the time, we are out and about a lot. Got loads of knickers already thanks - the sizing is very random, isn't it? M&S massive, John Lewis tiny. She's 2 and a half and I have my fingers crossed it'll be OK, but my niece started at this age and has only a year later really got to grips with it.

specifically - is it necessary to buy a travel potty, or will a normal potty in the bottom of the pram suffice? We are taking the plunge soon and I've been looking at what's available, but really don't want to spend a lot of money. Any tips from experienced potty trainers gratefully received! Oh - and is a 'chair' style potty better than just a normal potty? This is for a girl, if that makes a difference. We have one normal potty but I want to get another for downstairs. Oh - and do you move swiftly onto a toilet trainer seat? I am slightly dreading it all. Nursery are very keen though, she's already had a 'well done' sticker for having a wee in the potty there - if I make such a suggestion she practically runs for the hills!

agree with everyone else, 3 good meals a day at 8 months would be incredibly impressive! One thing I would say - I also slaved away making everything, with only having Ella's pouches if we were out - but thinking back I should have used more jars as at least you don't feel so slapped-in-the-face that something you've spent ages making has gone everywhere but where it should, or rejected altogether - my niece was weaned on jars of baby food, and now at 3 and a half will tuck into just about anything you could mention, loves her food and eats alongside the family no bother - and did so from about age one.

I know Halfords on the Old Kent Road will fit your seat once you've bought it, they seemed very helpful so I guess they might let you try out first?

bizarre. I have taken my own food for my baby into John Lewis / Peter Jones cafe without ever being told I had to buy food there (good thing too as in those days there would be nothing that she would eat) - given that the baby's carers (parents / grandparents / random chum) are spending a decent amount of money it seems spectacularly shortsighted. I think it would be actually quite unfair for parents to assume cafes would provide baby-suitable food, on top of childrens' and adults' meals, much better for parents to provide their own. If you like the place you'll keep going and as your child gets older they'll be eating off the menu. Not rocket science!

watching closely as I got their brochure - it does look good! (and I can go all Chalet School - a bonus!)

all saints is next to Peckham Rye station.

all saints church hall? playgroup is held there so they have loads of stuff for the children, and sofas for the grown ups. Kim from Tippee Toes I think does soft play you can hire.

Katie - lots of enthusiasm about the programme over in The Lounge! Looking forward to Camberwell Grove.

probably being controversial, but I am a great believer in routine and the fact that Mummy and Daddy know when it's best for Baby to go to bed. We have a great sleeper and a lot of that is to do with the fact that, from an early age, she knows that when she goes to bed, there she stays. At that age she would have been heading towards one long lunchtime nap, between about 12 and 2. Lots and lots of outdoor afternoon time. Set bedtime routine, which for us was / is: bath, milk, teeth and stories on the sofa in her room (in her sleeping bag), and into her cot. She always has her bunny blankie, plus a few other soft toys. We've always gone on about how lovely and snug and cosy her cot is, made it somewhere she wants to be, to the extent that these days (2.5 yrs) even if she wakes and cries she wants to stay in her cot, we just sit with her for a few minutes. Once she's in the cot she stays there. We've always tried to leave her to settle down but keep an ear out and go in a set intervals to settle her down (but no lifting out of the cot) - so kind of controlled crying if needed. If she wakes in the night but isn't poorly or teething we shush and stroke her back then sit for a bit and sneak out when we think she's asleep. But at that age quite often she would wake, so again, left her to try to settle (which quite often she would within a minute or two) and then go in and do it again. But, unless she absolutely wouldn't settle, we never picked her up, would cuddle in the cot. All this could take a long time, my husband (much better at nights!) would sit with her and be in and out for ages. But, it has been worth it. Now, she goes to bed no bother, rarely wakes in the night, and if she does either settles back down within seconds, or within a couple of minutes of us being in the room with her. I know this way isn't everybody's and I'm sure someone else will come along with an alternative, but it has worked for us.

it's looking like our (free!!) holiday in a family member's static caravan in Pembrokeshire is a literal washout, so we're looking for something else, and in light of the weather at the mo think a city break would be best - I have to say the idea of a few days in the middle of nowhere in Wales in the pouring rain is frightening. So, we thought of York. 2 hours from Kings Cross and loads of rainy day stuff to do. But, where to stay? Because we'd be going by train (though we could drive, but as this is going to cost us and right now we haven't a bean I think train will be best, for time and money) we can't take the travel cot, so wherever we go will have to have one. Any tips, Family Roomers? Although I'm not keen on sharing a room with Miss Oi, to get some kind of cheapish holiday I don't mind this time. How does that work anyway, in a hotel room, for example - do you switch of the lights at bedtime for half an hour and then when they're asleep stick on a sidelight and watch telly? 2 room self catering would be best - can you get this in the city centre? I've had a very quick look online but thought I'd see if anyone has a recommendation. Thanks!

ooh, I'm Catholic and I didn't know that Saffron, my sister and I had different godmothers so I don't know how that would have worked - have to ask my mum the next time I see her. I know someone who had a naming ceremony for their son and I think they call the 'godparents' 'godparents' - I guess it's understood these days it's not necessarily a religious role? After all, Harry Potter has a godfather! In the C of E church where Miss Oi was christened they were very laid back and didn't enquire as to the religious denomination (if any!) of us or the godparents! The tradition of 2 godmothers/1 godfather for a girl, and vice versa for a boy, is a C of E thing - I didn't know it either until we looked into it.

my daughter is christened and has 3 godparents: 2 godmothers and a godfather. They are close friends of ours, and I don't see their role as being religious, or who would be her guardians (that would be family). I was thinking ahead, and wanted her to have a strong relationship with adults outside of the family, who she could go to for help and advice as well as, or instead of, us. Though as she's never met one and doesn't actually see all that much of the others, I'm not quite sure how that's going to work out! But she's only little still. One my husband has known since he was born, so I can see that we will always have a relationship with him which is good.

I reported the previous thread and I'm glad it was pulled pretty smartly. Let's get one thing clear. You. Don't. Know. If. This. Woman. Is. A. Nanny. She could be a mother, an aunt, a friend. You actually know jack-sh*t about her, but appear to be prepared to come on to a public forum, try to identify her, and bash her for what you consider to be her failings as a nanny. If you are genuinely looking for a nanny I suggest you request to get this thread removed, and look for another way to go about it.

my feelings on your post are so strong that I have reported it. Hope to help.

you can blame that bloody book for comments like that, Knomester, which is full of unsubstantiated twaddle about spoonfeeding - it's a spoon, not a loaded gun or a turkey twizzler. And I would love to see anyone, BLW-style parent or whatever, try to 'forcefeed' my toddler, now or at any age. Not a chance! She has her father's almost total lack of interest in food (though, rather astonishingly, she did eat a bowl of porridge, and a bowl of weetabix, for breakfast this morning. !!!!!) She is a slim little girl, and I have no fears that her early introduction to cutlery is going to lead her into a lifetime of obesity. (I hated that book. With a passion. Can you tell??)

At 6 months Miss Oi had been sleeping through for a while (sorry!), 7 till 7, with I think 3 daytime naps, long morning, short lunchtime and afternoon. But if she was teething we could be up for quite a while with her. We were quite strict with sleep training, and tried to settle her in her cot if at all possible, lots of shushing and stroking her back. But she didn't have anything like reflux, just teething probs or colds.

Miss Oi was weaned at 6 months, she'd shown no interest in food at all, and that was the advice. She was, and still is, a small child who isn't that bothered about food at all (like her father, and so unlike me!) I understand that you can wean from 17 weeks (dangerous to do so before this) if you really want to. I tried BLW but struggled with it for a month, then abandoned it and went to spoonfeeding which we found much better - but missed out the whole baby rice bit, and didn't puree much either, just mashed a bit if needed. I found weaning such a trial that I certainly wouldn't rush into it early!

there was also a series called Invasion, which was cancelled after one series, because it was up against Lost and it's marketing millions I suspect, but it was infinitely superior to Lost in every way - better scripted and more tightly plotted. Don't know how easy it would be to get hold of but so worth a look.

Mr and Miss Oi spent the morning at Crystal Palace Park which seemed to go down a storm!

I don't think it's to do with the length of time a dish is cooked for, it's that when you add the wine you should boil it off fast so that it reduces, and this burns off the alcohol and you're left with the flavour? If you just add it without boiling off it won't matter how long you cook it for, the alcohol will still be there - I always know if I've not boiled it off sufficiently cos it tastes too 'winey', if that makes sense. Miss Oi has had wine in food from about a year old.

(just been gazing at our million-and-one DVDs on the shelf), I feel I should mention Band of Brothers (Mr Oi's favourite) and Battlestar Gallactica, again, he loved and a number of people have said how great they thought it was. And of course, on the film front, if you want something that's going to last a few evenings, you can't beat a bit of Lord of The Rings - awesome. Quite literally.

The Wire Deadwood True Blood Firefly (only one season but enjoyable nonetheless)

I thought it was very common these days as the advice is for babies to sleep only on their backs for the first 6 months - Miss Oi had it (I think I always put her down on her back for longer than 6 months, can't remember now), but at 2 and a half she looks OK. Never thought to get it checked out, ooops.

we went to the Avenue of Sails this morning, all the tall ships parked up east of London Bridge and Tower Bridge which was pretty impressive, and saw a lot of the boats heading - now, is upstream west? - well, west along the Thames to where they'll kick off tomorrow. Was getting pretty busy by the time we left though (about 12).