Wanhope

Oh no! That's our local favourite too. My son loves their pancakes and they make the best flat white locally! This is terrible news.

Thanks very much for your feedback -- it's reassuring to hear :)

Hello, We're getting close to choosing a nursery for our son to attend from three (he's currently two) and have visited a few different montessori nurseries now, with our preference being Dulwich Oaks Montessori, though before making a final decision I'd really appreciate any personal views people may have whose children currently attend there. The things we like about it are the large open-plan internal space and large garden and that it's soon to start forest school-type sessions and provide cooked meals, though the thing that would clinch it for us is if other people were happy with their children being there -- so pls do let me know your views. Also happy to hear views by PM if you'd prefer. Many thanks in advance.

Hi, We've got a Phil & Teds double buggy with the various newborn accessories (not sure which type, sorry), but am thinking I'll probably just use a sling for baby number two and our main existing buggy for my son until he grows out of it altogether (he'll be nearly three when next one arrives). Seems like an easier proposition than trying to navigate my way around with a double buggy -- especially as my son hated being in anything other than a sling when he was tiny, so have learnt my lesson there!

QueenMab, you could have just described my son -- Who is the most endearing, lovely little thing,but also at times just utterly infuriating! I, too, have stupidly tried to sit through music and movement-type classes or story time sessions with him even when I know I will just spend the majority of the time trying to prevent him running away! Now he's talking, I also have to try to reason with 'can we go now mummy?' after each song has finished! The fact that he even used to try to escape baby sensory classes by crawling when still tiny should really have been a sign for me ... Lately I've felt like all I'm doing at some groups is 'policing' my son's behaviour, which I hate, so have started taking my cues from him a bit more. The activities that currently work well for us are definitely those with a more active slant -- so Gymboree, toddler football etc. Also now very keen to try nature play :)

Hi, We're currently looking for a nursery for our son for when he turns three and when I recently visited Dulwich Oaks Montessori nursery the head teacher said she was planning to start forest school sessions from this Autumn in the nearby woods (she's done training and has relevent permissions). This was one of the aspects that I most liked about the nursery personally.

Hi Bluedark, Re your question about continuity of care, it does sound a bit unfortunate that you can't have access to a midwife. Are you particularly attached to the Gardens? If not, I wonder whether it's worth considering registering with the Dulwich Medical Centre instead? Their general level of service is not brilliant (there are whole other threads on that subject), but they do have an attached midwifery service, which is very highly regarded. You get allocated an individual midwife who you see consistently throughout, and generally in your own home -- so much more personalised than a visit with a different GP each time. Thanks for feedback on the NCT catch-up course. On balance, I don't think I'll bother either as I'm OK (touch wood) with most of the practicalities now -- it's more just the social side of things I'm interested in (my first NCT group was originally based in Islington, though we've now all moved away to more affordable areas...). Hopefully this thread will provide a chance for a catch-up at some point -- I'd certainly be keen :) Hope you're all enjoying the more civilised, less muggy weather -- personally, I can't wait for autumn now!

Hello all, I'm expecting baby number two on 2nd Feb -- can I join too? Also, are any second timers considering NCT classes this time round? I'd like to join something to meet other people due around the same time, but not sure an NCT class would be that useful again? Interested in other views on that.

Thanks all for recommendations so far -- have ordered a copy of Toddler Taming & keen to start reading.

Hello, Just wondering whether anyone has any books on raising toddlers they'd particularly recommend? We have a considerable pile of baby books, but could now really do with a few one-stop resources for ages 1 1/2 plus. Any suggestions? Ones focused on taming tantrums & encouraging eating would be especially helpful ... Thx.

Just a quick question: I thought this started at 10 on a Thursday at the Herne? I arrived this morning at just before 10 to find it had already started and that it was apparently 'full' (with the door closed). Do I now actually need to turn up well before it starts to even get in the door?

Hello, We're a family of Antipodean ex-pats too (one NZer, me, & one Australian, him), plus our 14 month-old baby born here whose future potential accent causes no end of speculation ... Convex, will PM with our email address.

Thanks all for responses so far (including those who've responded by PM). I know ED is still relatively cheap compared with other parts of South London such as Putney, Clapham etc., but there has been a pronounced jump in pricing in just the last six months and I was interested to know what might be driving that and whether people were indeed paying the asking prices. Sounds like they may be, though that doesn't tally with recent data I've looked at on sold prices in the area, where the average is still closer to asking prices of six months ago. So, something is amiss. Anyway, we may now look at other areas; I'd just been reluctant to concede that we'd been priced out of this area, having already moved from another for the same reason (ironically enough, that was N16 -- see above post from mc_hall on the madness there).

[Apologies in advance to anyone who thinks this subject has already been done to death ...] I just wanted to quickly check with people house-hunting in the area whether you think the current, advertised starting-point for three-bed terrace houses -- now c. 600K -- is legitimate or utterly arbitrary and driven mainly by local agents. Now I know 'legitimate' is difficult to assess in this context; obviously, if there's demand and people are actually prepared to pay the asking price or thereabouts, then the price is justified. But it seems to me that there's been a massive jump in prices since the beginning of the year -- in the case of three-bed terraces, that jump seems to be c. 50K -- and whenever I ask local agents about it they just go glassy-eyed and repeat the words 'it's demand' to me. I'm skeptical. A 50K price jump in six months? Really? I'm not asking for specific details re prices offered v. prices advertised, but in general terms are vendors actually getting anywhere close to those kinds of asking prices or is the massive hike in asking prices actually translating into only a marginal increase in the amounts offered? Is 600k now *really* the threshold for anyone, like my little family, trying to get a three bed terrace around here?

I'm so sorry to hear you're being harrassed by breastfeeding zealots! That's the last thing you need. If it's any consolation, I breastfed exclusively for eight months and this did NOTHING to prevent or lessen reflux. Even when I cut out all dairy and soya from my diet I never saw any dramatic reduction in reflux symptoms. When some type of food protein intolerance is sitting behind reflux (as is often the case), it's also quite difficult to identify the exact culprit. It's not always just dairy and soya and some paediatricians recommend also cutting out wheat and eggs -- a nightmare if you're breastfeeding, dealing with reflux (and so not sleeping or really relaxing) and still trying to feel like a normal, functioning human being. Given all that, it is kinder to both you and your baby to at least try a hypoallergenic formula if you can. Neocate worked for us in the end and seems to be fairly widely prescribed by paediatricians. I've also never had any difficulty obtaining repeat prescriptions for this from my GP (the DMC). Sorry, rant over! Just very bothered to hear that you're being attacked by some unpleasant lurkers. Re your specific questions, we were prescribed both ranitidine and domperidone at one stage and actually never used the domperidone. My understanding is that it's an anti-emetic and as our baby had the so-called 'silent reflux' (ie, he wasn't really a possitter), we thought it was unnecessary and didn't want to over-medicate. Our paediatrician later agreed that domperidone is unlikely to have any impact if possitting isn't a problem. As for omeprazole, we did find that there was generally a bit of a wait in obtaining this from pharmacists (we used a range, all based in ED) as the syrup needs to be specially prepared and can take up to three days from the time the prescription is first submitted. I don't think the expense was ever the problem. It also has a fairly short shelf-life (two weeks, I think), so prescriptions need to be renewed quite often. Again, though, we never had a problem getting repeat prescriptions from our GP when needed. You're also right re the dose needing to be very closely correlated to your baby's weight, so something to keep an eye on. Hang in there -- it is hard, hard work! -- and please feel free to PM me if you need to chat.

That's great news re your referral; well done. From my own experience, I found that just feeling like you're doing something constructive about the situation really helps (it's easy otherwise to feel really defeated by it all). I hope things get better soon.

Hi there, I also wanted to echo what others have said re the 'will be over this by six weeks' advice -- I think that's probably unlikely and is certainly inconsistent with what our paediatrician advised and our own experience, sorry. We saw NHS paediatricians and paediatric dieticians in both North London & at Kings (which has a paediatric gastroenterology clinic) via referrals from our local GPs, though I did have to be fairly assertive about the need for them sometimes. We also went the escalating medication route, from gaviscon to ranitidine to omeprazole, and actually found everything a bit useless and time-wasting until the omeprazole kicked in at around the same time that I managed to get all the dairy and soya protein out of my system (for us this was around five weeks). In sum, I'd say try to manage this as quickly as you can: try to get a referral to a paediatrician as quickly as you can and, if you are breastfeeding, it's well worth cutting out both dairy and soya straight away as these seem to be the most common problems sitting behind reflux. Reflux and its various associated problems is horrible, horrible, horrible, particularly if it drags on without effective treatment; however, by way of consolation, our baby is now ten months old and off all of his medications. He still has a hypoallergenic formula, Neocate (we stopped breastfeeding a few months ago), but is reflux-free and now able to tolerate dairy and soya. So it may take a bit longer than six weeks to get through, but for most babies it DOES end! All the best and, as others have said, feel free to PM me if you want any advice.

Hi, We've just moved into the area from Islington and have a 15 week-old baby who'll be in need of some little friends soon -- can we also tag along to the next catch-up?