melbourne groover

Well this is just my experience... It will take a week or so (obviously quite painful) to get truly into the swing of it. But once they are over 5 months I have found 2 naps a day an early one - approx 2 hrs after first get up (should not be too long at 11 months), then another one straight after lunch at around 1 - 1.30 for approx 2 hours. After approx 12/15 months just one nap straight after lunch. Try not to let them sleep after 4pm. Perserverance is the key mainly for your own sanity. That big nap is my saviour, get stuff done, play with older child (hmm possibly not as much as I should), cook dinner etc, even (whisper it) an occasional nap when desperate (i.e epic teething/sickness bugs currently being experienced). All kids are different, but most can be coerced into the nap routine. This then means your playtime is the same is everyone elses (approximately) and those catch up coffee's etc are all possible. Hang in there. You will make it ;-) Good luck.

I'm with you guys - but first pregnancy stuffed my face so deserved to be fat after, took 18mths to lose it. Last one was determined to be good - monitored intake religiously, walked as much as poss, went to gym up to 7 months. Did it make a bit of difference??? Bah humbug. Also is still taking 18 months to get off. Your body does what it does I think...

The vapourisers you just use with water - although they had a menthol thing you could use with it but it was in a shallow well on the outside of the vapouriser which was a bit precarious and vulnerable to being kicked in the middle of the night.... so we never use it. Just use with vicks once they are old enough.

The Phil and Ted's does look good - am v seduced by the lightness and tinyness....

My advice is get a bog standard job from Mothercare etc. We bought a more expensive one the first time and had no end of trouble with it, 2nd time we now have a more basic model (bought off the forum!) and it has been perfect. No trouble to put up and down and robust.

If you can get a hot steam vapouriser we have always found it amazing, in conjuction with the saline drops. We have a Vicks one which I think you can get on amazon. We got ours 4 1/2 yrs ago and still going strong!

Try this site - the reviewer was a washing machine repairman I think ;-) http://www.washerhelp.co.uk/reviews/washing-machine-reviews.html

You can get the baby Annabel without the wetting part. Ours crys and laughs etc and blinks and sucks dummy but, crucially, can be turned off. The nappies are expensive and I am of the opinion we do not need any more nappies to change in this house! ;-) The soft body ones are better as they are more resilliant to changing, we had an unfortunate incident with a Baby born's arm whilst it was being changed.... Have a look at the woolworths website, I got a really good deal on this. Or Toys r us seem to have a huge selection also.

I second the backpack - my daughter really liked hers and it had the added bonus of the top handle for a quick catch if they tripped etc.

Kew gardens was a winner for us!

I would recommend some kind of sling, this means you can be hands free when you need to and also get to the toilet if in a desperate situ...;-) I personally liked the bjorn active as it had great back support and was invaluable for trips when they were a little older but there are a zillion options (and quite a few threads on this also I think). Take a shawl scarf to cover the pram for sleeping if needed if you are doing stopover also useful on the plane. If anything a tiny baby is easier as they just sleep and eat and the breastfeeding is so portable. Get a couple of breastfeeding vests then you don't have to expose too much (personally I was v against getting my stomach out, not so bothered about my boobs....). I liked the Boob ones from the shop on Northcross as they look like a normal vest and washed really well but loads of options on this also.

We have gone for Miele also especially after our last AEG one packed up and despite having the extra insurance it was going to cost ?400 to fix. We had a small issue (my fault as it turns out) with our dryer and the guy fixing it said Miele were one of the few brands you could fix these days.

There is a Calamine and aqueous cream that was quite good - seemed to soothe for longer than the lotion and (as above) in conjunction with the Piriton the nasty early bit seemed to be over quite quickly.

Try Boden or Jojo they both do nice soft waistbanded skirts. My 4 yr old won't wear any hard waistbands so have become an expert at finding ones she will wear (cuts down on dressing trauma...)and the above are the best we have found. Would also keep an eye on H and M as they do various elasticated waist stuff.

I found with my daughter that a softer teat beaker like the NUK ones went down fine but the hard top ones were not so popular. It made a gentle change over and we had no issues. Am hoping for same smooth transition with my son!

You can get a 2 pack of travel bed protectors which can be tumble dried if necessary also from Jojo Maman. These go across the bed either under or over the sheet, although I have only used under the sheet as the texture not as soft or breathable (for obvious reasons I guess) as a sheet. Quite handy if you are washing bedding regularly and also easy to take away with you if you need to. Not sure about the nappies but agree taking her for a wee before you go to bed would probably help.

H and M has some tops with work both for nursing and pregnancy so prob worth a look. How about a couple of nursing vests and then button front tops? (or even ones with low stretchy necklines) Ebay also worth looking at.

My daughter was just over 2 and we had no probs. She went straight into a big bed with a side rail on and still never got out, just used to yell for us to come and get her! I do think it depends on the child, she never really even stood up in her cot. My son though... I suspect he may well be a different kettle of fish...

Cheers, thanks. Hmmm just the wait now for the results...

Did anyone apply online successfully for the last intake? We have received both texts and emails confirming receipt, which I am keeping, so I can't see how they can deny receiving the application? However, always good to be cautious I guess.

Have a look on this page: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/YourServices/educationandlearning/Admissions/startingprimary.html there is a how to apply section and a link to apply online. Good luck! (I did it online and was v straight forward)

Which ones are you using now? I found Huggies the best for us (same scenario changing at 10/11 ish then on till morning) sometimes there was a little leakage but nothing too dramatic... I found Huggies better than Pampers and sadly the Nature ones not sufficient.

I like Liquorish but then am old and unhip so probably not the best person to ask...

I would second Jayne. She cut my hair really well. She does home visits or also think she can do at her house for a slightly more peaceful (than our house) hair cut...

Top tip - this is great!