oimissus

we had the coccon (borrowed from a friend) but it didn't last anything like 9 months, our daughter was sitting pretty upright at around 4-5 months and the cocoon only works when they're horizontal. I would try and beg/borrow/steal a cocoon and buy the footmuff (or any footmuff that fits) - we're still using the footmuff at age 2 so that's worth the full price.

yes, thanks so much for wonderful sessions, Ella has loved going. Hoping that you manage to get a venue for the Thursday morning class so we can keep going. Have a lovely christmas, susi & ella

I think your midwife can refer to a physio specialising in this.

I agree, pk, it's scaremongering, pure and simple. I feel very anxious now about making the right choice for my daughter (she's been at home with me for 2 years). Should I be worried about the lack of responses from current Villa parents???

as well as the above good advice, make sure that she's in the right size nappies and that her popper vests (if she wears them) aren't too small as that might exacerbate the problem.

can you put him in a sleeping bag and so limit his mobility? You can get them to fit up to 36 months.

what bad press? I am very interested as we have finally been offered a place and are about to pay our deposit so this is a bit alarming. Please can you supply details? Everyone round here (very close to The Villa) sends their children here and I've only heard good things (though I haven't heard much as I don't know that many parents!). (Our other choice was Ephraim Early Years in the Peckham Academy which in fact my husband preferred, but we don't know anyone whose children go there - if anyone has any experience of it we'd love to hear it! Thread hijack over . . . )

The last few times I've been I haven't bothered to book and it's been fine, I try to get there about 15-20 mins early. The Jelly Babies sessions in the week are Tuesday and Thursday 3-4, term time only I think, Rafts and Rascals is on other days, technically for older children but I've been once and it seemed fine, hardly a riot so you should be OK. Check on the Peckham Pulse website for the hydrotherapy pool timetable.

mine was Becky in Nunhead, I thoroughly recommend her.

i am about the only person I know who liked her NCT class, simply because everything, home birth through to epidurals and c-sections, was discussed - the very first thing the teacher said was 'NCT - the NATIONAL Childbirth Trust, not the NATURAL Childbirth Trust', which reassured us all - but other people's experience seems to have been dippy-hippyish at best, and downright unhelpful at worst. And we had quite a bit on the first few weeks at home. With the best will in the world, mainly women will end up having an assisted birth to some level and I think it's very irresponsible not to prepare people for what might happen, in an informative, non-scaremongering way. I was so surprised when I found out not everyone's experience of the NCT was as good as ours.

do you mean today, Thursday? Jelly Babies is on at 3pm at the Peckham Pulse, swimming in lovely warm pool.

Baby Gap socks all the way here, the baby ones are very thick so good for winter and they clamped on to my daughter's legs.

this is where you can find brochures for the different areas in Southwark, you can pick them up in the library too. http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200246/activities_and_things_to_do/768/fun_for_under_fives there never seems to be much going on the afternoon which is difficult now the days are shorter, I assume this is because poeple with older children will be doing the school run so that knocks out the afternoon. I'm not sure what the 1 o'clock club situation is, I never use them as my daughter is always asleep then. Mainly I try to zip to the park once she's got up and it's still light, and do things like the shopping, and then painting / play-do stuff at home. There's jellybabies swimming in the Peckham Pulse on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3pm. And go round to friends' houses.

I think it's 10-11.30 (definitely starts at 10). You can park on Sydenham Hill outside the community hall, it's near the junction with Crescent Wood Road.

no, no, he's left to be a missionary in Argentina or something. Oooh, you'll have to come along to check the new guy out.

Baby Gym - the hall is set up with load of mats, stuff to climb over, under, ball pool, trampoline, stuff for babies, tunnel, little climbing frame and slide. Safe enclosed place for babies who are just on the move (it's for under 5's but I think it's particularly good for crawling / just walking babies).

oh yes, the music man at All Saints is lush! Wednesday mornings there's also Baby Gym at Sydenham Hill Community Hall, ?1 (no buff music man though . . . )

second All Saints on Blenheim Grove. Baby Sensory is lovely for little ones, not the cheapest (though not as steep as this) but you're not doing anything that you'd do at home, which made it feel more worth it. Google Baby Sensory to find a class. Tippee Toes music at All Fired Up ceramics cafe has a baby class (though it might be from 6 months), can't remember which day (Thurs?), ?3. There's also things on in the libraries, if you go to the children's bit on the Southwark Council website there's a bit for under 5s and you can download a brochure listing these, and a lot of other playgroups etc in the area.

my daughter (now nearly 2) went through a phase of bellowing in outrage when she was put down, probably at around this age - you could tell from the tone that she wasn't distressed (and we knew she wasn't ill). Lasted about a fortnight, felt like forever at the time. She's gone through a number of different bedtime phases, we're currently in the 'chat and sing to herself for about 30 minutes before conking out' one. I would listen to the tone of the crying - does he sound distressed or cross - our daughter's cry was definitely a cross bellow. Teething is a tricky one, our daughter could be as happy as larry, no dribbling or red cheeks or any obvious signs, but the pain did seem to kick in at night, and the crying would have a different tone and I would then remember that perhaps she had been chewing her fingers a bit in the day. So pay close attention during the day and if in doubt I'd maybe give him a dose of Calpol at bedtime. I wouldn't cut back on his lunchtime nap, I think that might just make him overtired and cranky and possibly worse at bedtime. I'm absolutely no expert so just really relaying our experience which was that it was just a phase. I think they do chop and change so much, and most of the time, before, during and after, we've had no idea why!