Belle

I def find holidays with another family the way to go. Somehow although the ratios may be the same, having more adults around = more chance of a bit of a break for everyone, and the kids are less bored (in my experience). Best hotel stay we had with my first was when there was a sort of split level suite, with the sitting area down some steps where we put the travel cot. We were able to watch tv in our sleeping area and have the lights on low without disturbing him. Saying that I can in no way imagine this working with his little brother! Also have to say i've never experienced the 'stay up late - sleep a bit later' thing - if anything my kids get up earlier after a late night. So I'd def be inclined to investigate babysitter options or stay in. My friend had a fab holiday with her one yr old in the states last year and used hotel babysitters most nights, all went fine. Mark Warner is just SO expensive, we've never gone with this option plus my oldest is only just reaching an age where I think he'd be happy in e.g a kids club.

I'm really getting into massimo dutti at the moment - quite zara ish but maybe a bit less fashiony, quite reasonable. Gap has some nice bits at the moment. I find FCUK so overpriced these days! Boden I only buy in the sale...Sometimes I pick up on brands i like in local boutiques e.g. vila or darling in the likes of Oliver Bonas/ED and track them down online - can get cheaper deals (I do still buy a fair bit at both these shops though). Liking the Bonas own brand 'poem' though not sure whether it'll stand the test of time, washing-wise.. My favourite jeans are Topshop and Gap.

having flown both easyjet and ryan air with kids, easyjet is def way more family friendly, and yes they do usually board under 5s first, but it can be a bit of a scrum so just be up at the departure gate and visible in good time.

My older son has a strawberry near his bum of all places,caused us a lot of problems in his first few months but has since been fine and is disappearing. have had quite a bit of experience of the various rounds of dermatologists etc - but if it's not a strawberry mark that prob won't be much use! let us know.

Hi - not much in the way of a solution to offer, just sympathy! Both my sons (3 1/2, and 10 months) have been/are like this. I tried a babydan play pen with my first: he hated it, but i did find some use for it in room divider mode (it's hexagonal, and can split up so you can fence off particularly dangerous things. It's expensive though - ?80 or so, and not that easy to fold up/down. We brought it out again for baby 2, who turns out to be just the same as his elder brother, and lasted a week in it before he just screamed whenever we approached it. Plus, it took up too much room. So now, I just run the gauntlet a lot - try to keep small things out of reach (hard when his big brother is into go-gos and moshi monsters etc), use a ball pit to slow him down a bit if I'm trying to get something done, and if desperate put Peppa Pig on! For showers etc for this stage I bring him in to the bathroom if I have to, but prefer to do it when he's asleep (at night if need be). To be honest at 11 months I'd say there's not much point - you'll get past this stage, and they get to the point where they're all explored out in their own environment so less inquisitive (or so I found with my first). You also just end up trying to do certain things when they're asleep. I do look longingly at friends whose kids sit in one place!

I bought my goddaughter some Katie Morag books by Marie Hedderwick, set on a ficitonal Scottish island, I used to read these as a girl about the same age: http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/more-katie-morag-island-stories/9781849410908 Milly Molly Mandy books are also great, also what about Shirley Hughes - my naughty little sister etc?

think that's v unprofessional of the receptionist! And not very helpful... do you have anything you need to see a doctor about, even just something routine? Might be good for her to come with you and have the roles reversed, see how it's v normal etc? I am building up to my son's preschool jabs and think (fingers crossed!) that him coming with me for all his little brother's immunisations will have helped prepare him/normalise it a bit.

Gavin Morrison on Harley Street (also does appointments at the westminster bridge rooms, st thomas's, a lot easier to get to from here) has been fantastic with my son's ear problems. Highly recommend. Our insurance is pretty standard but covered it all no probs.

mackerel pate - quart of a tub of philadelphia, 2tbsps olive oil, 2tbsps lemon juice, 2 smoked mackerel fillets (those ones you get vacuum packed) flaked, blitz in magimix or with hand blender to the consistency you prefer...you can spice it up e.g. with paprika, or just season with salt and pepper.

I have that heated airer, and it is really good, but I don't find i can get stuff dry overnight on it...depends how much I put on. It's great for finishing off stuff that only gets half dry in the washer dry, but am finding particularl where we've moved to that as it's in a cellar stuff isn't drying so fast. I would say I have managed with jsut the airer until now (second son 9 mths) but am admitting defeat: weaning is meaning we are going through too many changes of clothes and I am spending my life doing washing!

Fuschia, I think I recall a thread where people all shared what they call girls' bits...I think the problem is there isn't such an innocuous equivalent as 'willy' - the colloquial words for girls' bits seem to be either derogatory or a bit seedy somehow. Willy is just the perfect level for kids! I know there was a school of thought on here in that thread that we should refer to girls' bits as 'vulva', but I can't bring myself to say that to my 3.5 yr old, so have kept to the vague 'girls' bits' or 'I don't have a willy' (cowardly, I know!) instead.

Son is 3.5 and we've touched on 1) who has willies (but havne't come up for a good way of explaining w hat girls have), 2) when son number 1 gets upset because 'it got all big', we just say 'just leave it alone for a bit and it'll go back to normal' try to be matter of fact but it IS hard not to giggle... 3) he did ask me where we 'got' his little brother. We'd just been in the garden chatting about seeds and flowers so I said remember when he was in my tummy, and it got big, then he was ready toc ome out, like when the flowers/herbs are ready to be picked, they started out as seeds etc etc. That was all fine and actually he didn't seem interested in how the seed got there so we've left that for now...on holiday he saw my friend changing and pointed out her boobs saying 'Just like mummy's!' so he gets that women have those too...he knows about periods a bit because he's seen me with Always, I've said they're a special plaster for mummies, that we bleed sometimes but it doesn't hurt etc.

didn't there use to be a scheme whereby you could keep up your national insurance 'points' towards pension whilst taking time off to look after your kids? But I think the Govt scrapped it? Whilst I see that it's not feasible to subsidise SAHMs I think schemes like this make sense.

Oh thanks both - and thanks Buggie for PM - that's v v helpful. I'd thought it would be much more expensive.

I don't mind rain in moderation but it's these crazy storms (hail today FFS) that make going out so tricky! not good to be caught in one of those, esp not with a 3.5 yr old on scooter with not much waterproof clothing. Having said that I did manage to have a lovely day at the park today, somehow timed visit to cafe to coincide with rain outburst and were outside for the small bit of sunshine we had today. My tip is to head somewhere with places you can dive into if need be, e.g. around the dulwich park area - then you have cafe, library, bread of life cafe to nip into if it suddenly showers. Or peckham rye but has to be on days when 1 o clock club open, this week it's Tues/Thurs, so next week Mon/Weds/Fri. The cafe at DP is good for a bit of a play if stuck sheltering from the rain, and the cafe at PR is good for going out and playing in the garden bit if the sun does deign to come out. Whereas e.g. Goose Green is totally exposed! have ended up sheltering under the netball bit before...same with Ruskin Park. Something about endless bad weather makes me v unimaginative when it comes to indoor activity too, I worry 9mth old is being overexposed to 3.5yr old's saturation in Ben10... re washing: mine has been on the line since yesterday morning, has dried/been soaked alternately several times. It was almost dry when it went out as we have a washer dryer. ARGH! I am also lusting after a tumble drier, what a sign of my age! Does anyone know anything about the logistics of plumbing one into a cellar? presume if already have a washer drier there it'd be ok? sorry for a v boring tangent!

very serious girl - i'm sure I've got the train to canterbury from victoria sometimes? that would be good for westminster...

where's the best place to buy the kiddy range? John Lewis?

Oh god, that's terrible - poor, poor girl. And how brave of her to report it. Really hope they find him soon and that she gets lots of support.

oh thanks buggie, i think he's doing ph but also putting a camera down...that's good advice about trusting the professionals when it comes to him getting upset etc. not quite sure how we'll manage the box/bag, but am sure t here will be a way!

My 9 mth old has severe reflux, mostly under control but with some ongoing issues. We've held off on anything too invasive but our specialist is now very keen for us to have a camera study, which will involve a probe being put down (under anaesthetic) so that they can monitor his insides during a 'normal' 24 hours, i.e. carry on feeding as usual. this can happen at home though babies often pull the tubing out, so you can opt to stay at Kings. He is being sick still to a level which the doctor is not happy with , although it doesn't bother him, also he is a terrible night sleeper, often waking and doing this weird swallowing thing, like he has a bad taste in his mouth. Anyway I think I am convinced this procedure is the right move but wondered if anyone has had it/ had a child have it, so I know what it entails and what to expect? I know i can quiz the doctor more but layman's/parents' perspectives do help too.

I tried to get on one but missed out on a place as was a bit late this term, have signed up for the autumn term - the one this term was being run at various places including the Albrighton Centre on a Friday morning, for 10 weeks. They do a creche too. I think there are details on the Southwark website - will see if i can find the link. To be honest I'm not sure how I'll manage the commitment of 10X fri mornings but want to do something!

My son (3 1/2, so prob a bit young for it really) has loads of the little plastic ones, collects them along with go-gos (sp?), and one big soft one that was a present. hasn't registered online or done anything else with it, is it a game too?

espelli Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's discretionary to a point. Parents can choose > for their child to enter reception in January of > the school year they turn five or send them the > following September if the child's birthday is > late in the year. However, they will enter school > in Year 1, not reception. The discretion is when > they start but not which cohort they join. There > is a school system (I can't remember which > country) that runs their cohorts from April to > February and means that children are never less > than 4 years 5 months on entry. A much better > system in my opinion. Sorry this is a bit off > topic! Scotland runs (or did in my day) a 1 March-28 Feb system, so that the age range is 4.5-5.5. Preferable, in my opinion, but I am biased! sorry, continuing the tangent.

hi there - check out the babyjogger city mini - me and lochie both have it so good opportunities to trial it!

There is a middle ground though, isn't there? Between the BMWs and the million pound houses, and being on benefits? I don't think that parents who choose not to have more children are necessarily doing it for the luxuries, nor for the essentials, but something in between that amounts to 'comfortable'. I didn't grow up on the poverty line but we didn't have very much money, lived in council houses, wore a lot of hand me downs etc. no great hardship as such, but my parents chose not to have a third child because they felt that would stretch things too far. And if I'm honest, it wasn't always easy being the one with the slightly crap clothes, rubbish car, not having level of treats at Christmas/birthdays that my friends had. I wouldn't change it for the world but I just wanted to add the child's perspective really. It can be tempting to romanticise childhoods which didn't feature much money, the reality isn't necessarily a barrel of laughs. This is absolutely not a comment about how many children people choose to have or not have, it's just that I feel perhaps as is often the way on threads like this there's been a bit of polarisation, and the middle ground hasn't been represented! Not all parents who choose not to have more children are doing it so they can keep up with the Jones, and equally I know that lots of parents who do have big families are brilliant at coping economically. Back to the original post: there's no way I can see myself having a third child, the toll was too high physically and mentally with #1 and #2! I actually feel delighted now that the small baby days are behind me and it's onwards and upwards...I also don't feel it would be fair on my two children as I'd almost certainly have depression again, and having grown up with a parent with depression, that's not easy either.