Strawbs

Otta I hear you, baby strawbs is always in bed by 8.30 (normally 8.15) else my sanity goes out the window..

I always find with baby strawbs if I try to put him in bed later than normal (normal bed time is circa 8.15) all that happens is he ends up with less sleep and is grumpy, it never results in him sleeping longer unfortunately. I am just going to persist with 8.15 (maybe 8.30) and then off to bed he goes, thankfully he always goes off without a problem its the sleeping through that is the problem.. x

amazingly yesterday my son slept til 6.30 (he is a 5am riser!) but today 4am he was ready to get up, obviously it wasnt going to happen which resulted in after me going in and trying to pat him back off to sleep him calling out endlessly for an hour - mama mama - whilst I laid awake praying he would sleep, he eventually went back off and slept til 6.45.. Ive always thought 5am was early but 4am is just rude! x

Chloe you sound exactly just like me, we have a 2 year old who is happy in his cotbed (bars still on) and we have another baby due in march so figure by August we would have to buy another cotbed until it literally dawned on me that my 2 year old might be ready for a snazzy car shaped toddler bed which I will let him choose (within reason of course!) so we are going to do that. I do fear that it will then open the door to him wanting to get out of bed but I guess that will come at some point anyway. Pebbles - great idea on the duvet!! thank you. xxx

All done! The dish is really the only cafe I can go to with my toddler and relax!! X

I spent about ?800 and I thought that was being quite extravagent for a christening but ?2000 is a bit out there!

Hi all, looking forward to the date for the next one.. Turns out it is not a cold I have been sporting for almost 5 weeks now but allergic rhinitis so at least I am not contagious so will do my best to be at the next one. x

Rents in ED are ridiculously higher than what they were when I moved in 5-6 years ago so yes I agree with you!!

Have you tried the clearblue fertility monitor? They are really helpful at pinpointing the right time each cycle. Just a thought of something else you could try. X

Hi Ladies, I am sadly going to have to pass on dinner this week. I have had a wretched cold for over 3 weeks now and I assumed it would be gone by now but I dont want to pass it around so Im bowing out. Off to the doc tomorrow to see what they can tell me but pretty sure I just need to persist with olbis oil and supposed rest (no chance of rest with a 2 year old!). have fun and please count me in for the next one! x

Hey BB, we did think about that but my toddler loves to run and quite without direction so I just couldnt trust him on a buggy board or anything like that I dont think. He will be 2.5 when baby number 2 arrives so it is hard to know at this stage as I guess a lot will change in the next 5 months with him but I cant envision him walking nicely next to the pram and not trying to run in to the road etc.. Id like to say I'll wait until baby is born until i buy a pram so I can be sure but Im not sure I can cope with that level of lastminute.com haha.. *crazy virgo* That's why I thought maybe the select was a good idea s it converts to a single.. oh decisions decisions.. I think I'll stop torturing myself and just go and look at them.. x

I am very interested in this too actually as my now 2y old has always been a terrible sleeper and still doesn't sleep through the night and I am expecting number 2 in March and am already thinking about stashing away some extra cash for a sleep person to help me with them both once number 2 arrives.. I'll be reading with interest! X

I've just googled the dot and it looks good but I am curious how the child in the back gets on. Do they get bored and fussy not being able to see anything? I think I will head out to kiddicare at Croydon and test drive a few. X

Brilliant thank you very much!

I just did some measuring and my door isn't wide enough for the side by side so the select had just jumped to the top of the list! X

I have a large cup size so places like mothercare can't help outside of suggesting a larger back size and smaller cup size which I don't want to do. Is there somewhere nearby ? I was shocked when pp was closed! Thanks x

Hi, My 2nd is due in March. If you join the spring thread there are lots of us on there who are mums to toddlers already and expecting our 2nd. We are meeting up on the 17th for dinner if you fancy it. I work full time adn wont be stopping until Feb but happy to meet up then or at the spring thread meet ups..

thanks both. I havent seen the select in real life yet. Where is the best shop to go and have a look at prams? I tried mothercare on old kent road but they dont stock the baby jogger line.. convex - I'll have a look at that site now thank you! x

Hi. I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on these two prams? I am going to need a double next year for a newborn and a 2.5year old. I was sold on the city mini but then saw one in real life and it looked enormous! I've heard with the select you can make it a single or double as required (2.5 year old will still attend nursery 3 days a week) but I was quite keen in side by side. Thanks!! X

I got mine at the doc the other day but I know the boots near me at work does it and Im pretty sure for pregnant people it is free, you just need to make an appt. They were charging ?12 for people who didnt fit in to a 'free category'.. hope that helps. x

Hi sorry, in theory yes so put me down on the list but it will depend ultimately on the night if my partner gets home from work on time, what time was everyone thinking of meeting up? I wouldnt be able to make it before 8pm but happy obv for people to meet earlier and I'll meet you there when I can. x (agree with the menu on at toastED, its lovely but Ive only eaten there not pregnant and even then I remember having to order the lamb as the rest was cheese, ham and fish and that was ?20 on its own, their bread, cheese and ham is gorgeous though). x

hi Kittenheels, nope havent started anything and doubt I will this time around. I hear there are some fab preg yoga classes in ED though so I'd check the forum out. For the 2nd time mums - is anyone doing the NCT refresher? I made some fantastic mum friends from my original NCT course who I still see regularly, I was thinking maybe of doing the refresher from a perspective of meeting more mum friends rather than actually learning anything new. x

Not so local but what about a Toby Carvery? They might be able to find space for 25 and you dont have to wait for meals to be cooked then either as you all just line up and get it.

Evenings works best for me, I work 5 days and also have a toddler so after he is in bed is probably the only time I can actually sit and have a conversation with people haha.. When I was part of the autumn thread when pregnant with my son we used to meet at the actress for dinner I think it was once a month (but it may have been fortnightly, I cant remember) so that is always an option to get a regular thing going. x

That is mega helpful thank you so much x