One Sweet World

Still breastfeeding by any chance? I have a wonderful camping chair for sale on the forum that I bought for just this purpose but now no longer need!

Finally got round to watching this. Love it - thanks for posting.

There's a chart here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_with_alcohol that indicates how much alcohol is left in a dish after various cooking methods. I looked this up once after hubby pointed out to me that I'd been giving casserole with wine in to our baby (probably only about 8 months). I then did a frantic search for the effect of alcohol on babies but only found pages on alcoholism in parents - it was as if no-one except me had ever actually GIVEN BOOZE TO A BABY! She seems to have survived but I've still never read anything about whether it can have any ill effects.

I can't help I'm afraid. (And have to confess that the weather forecast is making a little Jubilee party with friends look ever more appealing.)

My 21-month old really likes frittata-type omelettes, where I cook some vegetables with oil (onions plus ribbons of carrot/sweet potato/courgette), then mix with beaten egg, return to the frying pan till cooked underneath and finish the top under the grill. It's by far her favourite way to eat veg. She has it in fingers to eat with her hands and likes it hot or cold as a packed lunch. We eat it too mind - I probably wouldn't bother if it was just for her! Hmm - not sure it would work with just egg whites though. She's also got into homemade pesto (I freeze it in small pots), and chicken in onion/garlic/passata sauce. Toast and hummus as a snack if she needs filling up, and she'll eat as many cherry tomatoes as she can get her little hands on.

There's a free, child-friendly event on Sunday 3rd at the Old Royal Naval College. http://www.ornc.org/events/detail/the-big-jubilee-lunch. My plan is to escape into Greenwich park if it all gets too much!

Our toddler often goes to Baby Booters. Seems to go best if she's with her daddy rather than me; always comes back with great reports. ?3 drop-in session on Saturdays and Sundays.

Is it this you're after? http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,857716

Took my toddler to Kids Club on Saturday after seeing it on here and she loved it! Warm welcome, great snacks, indoor and outdoor toys, and a clean, warm building. ?1 entry.

My nanny's taken my daughter (21 months) and one other to this on Tuesdays twice now and tells me they love it. From 11 a.m. and free!

Thanks for all these helpful posts. I breastfed my daughter till 15 months and absolutely believe it was the best thing for her, but took supplements myself during that time. I heard a news item about a baby of 4 months dying from Rickets in the UK, presumably because the mother's level of vitamin D during pregnancy was very low, which has reminded me about the issue. In January this year the Chief Medical Officer sent out advice that all pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, and children aged 6 months to 5 years take vitamin D, as evidence suggested 1 in 4 people are deficient. See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9035173/Vitamin-D-deficiency-in-UK-a-major-problem.html, or for the letter itself, http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_132508.pdf. There are signs of a resurgence of Rickets in the UK, at the extreme end, and other bone development problems in milder cases. From what I understand, it was eradicated at one time by giving all children Cod Liver oil, and by supplementing common foods, but now we longer give Cod Liver oil, and are rigorous about covering children up and using sunscreen in sunny weather, the problem is resurfacing. The organic foods I've been buying (good for other reasons) don't seem to be supplemented as old-fashioned sugar and salt laden baby foods once were, perhaps!

Government advice, not widely highlighted by midwives or health visitors in my experience, is for all children under 5 to take daily multivitamins. I've tried offering Abidec and the 'great tasting' Wellkid Baby and Infant, but both are very firmly rejected by my 20-month old. Any tips?

Tried to do this, but the survey doesn't seem to accept the 'other' option as valid when you come to submitting.

I'm not at all clear on why bottles are bad. Can anyone advise? I get the idea that if children are sucking at them all day long it's bad for their teeth, but my 18-month-old drinks pretty efficiently. Decided today to have a go with soft-spouted cups (like she drinks her water from) but she either complained or was just uninterested. We had a really hard time when she was first born trying to get her to first drink and then keep down enough milk to gain weight, then found she was totally hooked on boobs when I had to go back to work so had another very difficult time (lots of tears) getting her to accept bottles during the day. So the idea of another struggle to move her onto cups is a bit depressing! I'm also trying to cut down the amount of milk as I know that's what you're supposed to do, but again I'm not that clear on why. I understand that too much milk for a toddler can be a problem if it discourages them from eating more nutritious foods, but recently she's been eating well, as well as drinking at least 450 ml of milk a day.

Haha - I agree about Busy Bees! Went once and couldn't understand the hype, but haven't dared say so publicly!

Oh bad luck - All Saints closes during school holidays and it's half term this week. Will be back on next week in the hall behind the church. For activities generally the Southwark Let's Go guides are a good place to start: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/2409/lets_go_guide_fun_for_under_fives

I take my daughter to the playgroup at All Saints, opposite Peckham Rye station, on a Wednesday. There are two sessions - one from 10 till 11ish (v popular) and one from 11:15 till 12:15. We go to the second one as it's much calmer, although it does runs in to lunchtime a bit. Warm welcome, lots of toys, lots of space, craft for the older children, filter coffee, and singing with the guitar-man at the end. All for free! We love it.

Called this morning and after much asking around the receptionist said it would be closed from 20th November till 12th December.

Oh - and I can also recommend Tea Dance for Little People in Brockley (mentioned above) - lovely atmosphere and lots of things for physical and creative play, though at ?5 entry plus extra for food and drink at cafe prices, my daughter gets to go once a week at most.

The cafe on the corner of The Gardens and Peckham Rye has a room at the back with space for toddlers to roam, and a few toys and books. The food and coffee are not the greatest but they seem to have got rid of the grumpy staff; the last couple of times I've been there they've been very friendly and cheerful and my daughter's had a lovely time.