Convex

some time back someone summarised the chicken pox tips - i feel like maybe it was strawbs or midivydale but a search hasnt worked... i remember piriton, rolled oats in a sock in the bath, what else? are you supposed to use calamine lotion these days? also what do you do about spots on the face? thanks in advance

tidying might not be cool but its very satisfying. there is also a website called flylady - i couldn't get on with it but she does have some brilliant tips. e.g. setting a timer for 5mins (or 3mins, or whatever you have) and pick a 'hotspot' and tidy it till the buzzer goes off. i have a few hotspots i.e. junk-drawer type areas and i was amazed at how quickly they cleared. then you also have the tip where you decide on a number and just go through the house grabbing stuff. e.g., i choose, 12, i go through the house and stick 12 things in a box and chuck them out. when you have no time, you can just do these things when the urge takes you or when you have literally a few mins. my house is still messy but its a lot clearer and i don't worry about it so much as i know i don't have boxes and drawers full of crap as I've chucked most of it out, plus i don't buy so much nowadays. very freeing. ps glad you liked it Sue, sorry i didn't spot your comment earlier.

ah right between floors, we used acoustic rockwool. also a fire retardent which is good. we did the walls adjacent to the neignbours, you could potentially insulate your internal walls with rockwool or add soundproofing layers (we used rubber and acoustic plasterboard) both involve a fair amount of disruption as you need tp replaster / pull up the floors. the insulation isnt cheap but if you are handy you can do a lot of it yourself. might be worth trying to screw down the floorboards first though if its creaky floorboards. good luck!

i agree re programmes, i have boys and find myself over compensating 'girls can drive tractors too you know' etc etc which makes me feel deranged i don't want to overcompensate i want a female polar bear in charge of the octonauts (bangs head against wall) messy goes to okido is a bit more equal i think, topsy and tim makes the effort probably due to the bashing they got after series 1 but really the starting point should be half and half, surely.

it shouldn't affect the air quality... what exactly are you planning to do? we soundproofed some of the room (have chimney breasts so not possible to do whole room) and its exactly the same just quieter and a bit smaller all round.

lovely! and not at all ranty.

thanks everyone!

we have a kids seat which you just pop on the adult seat which is great, really comfy and easy to use... but is now seeping some awful substance, yuck! my friend has a baby bjorn one which is perfect but i don't want to spend ?20-30 if i don't have to. can you recommend one? I'm after a moulded seat i.e. that won't soak up any splashes, that we can clean thoroughly. ideally that doesn't slip around when he is getting on and off. the tippitoes ones look ok and are only ?6, has anyone got those? thanks in advance ps its for a boy if that makes any difference pps sorry for gross post

we went for single size, and bought value range from john lewis, all v good.

i found the 'baby sense secret' to be a good all round book for advice. the info i found most useful from gina fords books was repeated in lots of others... eg recommended routines etc. my first had a good routine but only ever slept in a pram or sling. 2nd was terrible routine but cracked it around 10months with a dummy and advice from a sleep consultant. both good sleepers now.

also a tincture called ashwaganda helped me with stress at work.

thanks again, after a bit of trial and error, we think he is waiting for his brother to come up. but the long naps are definitely a factor, we are going to give it a week of keeping naps under 2 hours and just see if it improves. weve had a good few months of him sleeping through whatever happens in the day, im really not used to protracted bedtimes, with this one anyway!

thanks everyone i might give it a week and see if he sorts himself out - nursery tried to limit his nap to 2 hours today and he basically refused to wake up!!! i feel reassured his nap is semi normal though so thanks very much x

hi, i have given away all of my baby books and just wanted to find out how long your 18mo-2yo sleeps in the day / what is recommended? we do 1 nap and are pretty flexible about when and how long. but he takes ages to go to sleep at night now and am thinking about cutting it a bit shorter. any thoughts would be welcome! thanks

ive recommended them before, but for boys cuts i like GK barbers on melbourne grove. very patient, take care over the cuts and cbeebies on the tv.

jumparoo was a hit for us, playpen didnt work out but we bought a funpod which worked for short term containment (eg answering the door) then its just stairgates and childproofing the room!

Agree with Kes, it didn't work as well last year but that wouldn't put me off having it this year.

lovely post! glad things are improving. nicola is fab.

i will break it up then - thanks for the replies. we were happy to use it for our 2nd (4th child to use it) but i wouldnt use it again, my gut feeling says its too old!

hello, i have an infant car seat which is too old to pass on, how do i dispose of it? have done a quick google but they all say break it up and put in the bin - is that really what you do!?

toast ed!

have you got a train set? otherwise all sounds familiar. big into cars and trains here, plus lego but tends to still want us to play with him. likes jumping off the sofa way more than any toys!

hi, there are mums clubs on here, usually they are pregnancy clubs but some continue beyond birth. similar age should be here... http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1432785,page=6 good luck and congratulations!

for boys, we go to GK barbers on melbourne grove. he is extremely patient with my kids - took lots of time with them when they were very young so they are completely happy there now. always gets a good cut. we go first thing before it gets busy.

there are a lot of threads on this subject, have you tried a search? my top tip is location is very important, as is your gut feeling. different nurseries suit different people. get on the list of at least 3 and hopefully a place will magically arise just when you need it...