cornelia

Heard one this morning at 4.30 but I only seem to notice them when I'm awake anyway. Seems to have been going on for a couple of years now...

I'm just amazed how you all got a place there - my 'baby' (now two years old) has been on their waiting list since birth and they still phone me every few months to say they are still not able to offer a place...

Excellent - thanks to all for passing on your knowledge!

Does anyone know of a shop in the neighbourhood that sells honey produced locally (not necessarily ED but London/South-East)? Someone suggested to me that eating it may help my little one who may have hay fever (lots of maybes there, clearly) and as it can't hurt I thought I might give it a try!

Very handy - thanks! I'm sure getting the name wrong was not helping my searches...

Thanks LL - suspect it will have to be online in that case as Google doesn't seem to think it's being shown in those bars... Good to know!

A relative who will be visiting ED for the next 3 weeks asked me if any of the local pubs would be screening Super 12 rugby matches. I confess I have no idea. Can anyone on here enlighten me? Will I have to send him further afield? Thanks in advance!

For what it's worth, I used the Babyjogger City Mini from birth, and have been so happy with it I just upgraded to a new model (the GT) for number 2. When I get round to it, I really must put the old one up for sale... It's a very useful pram, and good value for money!

Hello all, and especially Jess! Congrats and can't wait to meet your little one - all three of us will be there on Saturday. Looking forward to meeting more of you; Cx

Thanks again - sounds promising! And actually having done a bit more thorough research of the locations, looks like the Clapham group is quite a bit further out (Tooting / Balham area) whereas Catford group is close to Honour Oak so probably a bit more convenient... Sorry - will do my homework next time before hassling all you good people on here!

Thanks! That's very helpful. Don't suppose it much matters which one I join, especially if (as 150+ views and 1 reply suggest) no one local is going to either. Given the demographic here, I suppose the fact that there isn't actually an ED branch is probably quite telling. But at any rate neither Clapham nor Catford is exactly miles and miles away either... I can always just toss a coin ;-)

Am thinking of joining LLL - I gather there isn't an ED branch, but there seems to be one in Clapham and one in Catford, not sure about other nearby locations. Is anyone here a member, or happens to know people from ED / Camberwell / Peckham / Nunhead who are, and which one is more usual / recommended?

If you're on a smaller budget then I highly recommend the Babyjogger City Mini - very stable, easy to push and steer, lightweight and easy to fold (great for emergencies when you can't wait for the next bus!) We brought our newborn back from the hospital in ours and never looked back - 20 months later still going strong though also used slings and Mei-Tai for the first 6 months especially as that's easiest of all...

Is it just the two of us then Jess? Will hover by the bar. Anyone else I missed out who can join is also very welcome of course!

Hi Jess, I should still be up for this - hope to see you there! Jude - are you also able to join? Cx.

Why not? See you tonight at 8. Will hover at the bar if I don't spot you on arrival...

I'm still keen (the 20th, I think it was)... but also free for the EDT on 29th. Looking forward to meeting at least a few of you, if it works out.

When I was in the very early stages, I looked into NCT; the closest one at that time was in Herne Hill, so perhaps there wasn't one for ED at this time of year? Also - hoping to come along on the 20th and the 29th and look forward to meeting some of you!

So, to be clear, are the Harris primary and the bilingual school in competition for the hospital site?

Could try Foyles - they often have discounts.

Hello again and welcome to the new folks! As to this Thursday at the Plough - who is in? I can probably be there, though more like 8pm or so. Also - we seem to have quite a geographical spread - meet-ups have been suggested from Plough in the South to Crooked Well in the North... perhaps somewhere nearer the middle would be a handy compromise (for next time, unless location is already a factor for anyone?) - say EDT or thereabouts? Looking forward to meeting up.

Thanks again - and bluesuperted, I like the way you think! When someone gave my boy a book of construction vehicles for his first birthday, I was somewhat bemused, but it immediately became his favourite and he knew the names of all of them within about two weeks. Big shock for my husband too, who hates cars, refuses to drive (despite having a licence) and was not expecting this. Good suggestion too mrs f; I think he still has no idea what I'm on about when I talk about the baby, but I'm not too worried about that at this stage. April might as well be next century, as far as he's concerned!

Ah, Ellie78, hugs to you... don't despair, it will get better. My son's sleep was woeful for the first 10 months - though I decided not to prioritise it because my priority was trying to get him to put on some weight, and so when he woke up in the night I was happy to have an excuse to feed him. The thing that worked for me was to remember is that a baby will go through stages where different things concern him. And he's still learning about the world. He doesn't know what century he's living in and whether it's safe to be sleeping all by himself. Sometimes other things will distract him, and so there won't be a problem - at other times he'll need reassurance and just to know that if he needs you, you are there. We were lucky in that sleep associations didn't seem to be a feature - sometimes he slept in the sling, sometimes in the pram, at night I generally fed him to sleep, hardly ever did he 'just fall asleep by himself in the cot'. He just grew into sleeping through gradually. One thing we found really useful (think we started at 7 months) was a bedtime routine. Timings varied, but the pattern was always the same. Dinner, bath, story, feed, bedtime (still the same now, though without the feed) - I think the technical term is 'positive routines with faded bedtime'. According to some research I read when I was sleep deprived (Google knows where) it is as effective in studies as cry-it-out etc. So there you are - science! :) Obviously all babies are different... hang in there, you will find something that works!

Thanks Charly - 1 Dec isn't going to work either, but depending on the date, Jan or Feb could work!

Might well be interested in an active birth class - can't make it on 16 Dec but please keep me in the loop for other possible sessions. Thanks!