katgod

yes, liking the look of that one thank you, anyone else have any suggestions?,

she's trying to sit up in it and tipping forward, and her feet are over the end......it looks a bit dangerous to me!

Daughter is very long and is too big for bouncy chair but not strong enough for the Bumbo. Any recommendations for something to put her in until she's strong enough for Bumbo or highchair? Thanks

scooter can be dismantled and thrown over buggy more easily than bike. don't think having both works. DS got wooden balance bike for second birthday and was too small and uncoordinated to use it much. he got mini micro scooter when his sister arrived (when 2 and 8 months)and never looked back. balance bike gathers dust. he has now learned to cycle aged 6. if cycling a biggie for husband get bike. if you on lship lane/in park/dragging it around and not bothered about early cycling, go scooter.

Plain old basic change mat. I just lie baby on it, dad who is a gentler soul lays a towel on it as he thinks it's cold for baby. Change bags-i had a normal black bag with number 1, with a foldup changing mat, and lots of pockets. It was perfectly adequate, and as plain and discrete husband quite happy to take baby and gear to change nappies. BUT, i felt a bit deprived so spent my leaving gift vouchers for number 2 on a snazzy change bag with matching mat, bottle insulater etc. It lasted about 2 months, got scrunched under wheels of pram, was impractical, clashed with my clothes and was a complete waste of money (over fifty pounds). Now with number 3 i have a neat little pouch thing that has a matching change mat and enough room for phone and purse and a few nappies. It is great. But any bag will do there is no magic to it you hust need a mat, nappies, wipes, spare trousers and nappy sacs when they are tiny. And half the things you think you need you won't need.good luck.

The council have got better at instructing the bin guys to put blue bags on top of the street bins so the foxes don't rip them open. Am very uncomfortable at foxes wandering in to the house, and don't like feeling I have to shut the door every time i leave the room in case one comes wandering in, particularly following the case of the babies attacked in their cots in east London recently. Also they chew toys/paddling pool etc in the garden, and we have to check for fox crap every morning before using the garden. I really don't like them. At what stage does a population of animals become too big? In the burbs squirrels are considered vermin and can be baited I think - will that ever be possible with foxes? NB I ask this in a spirit of enquiry - why are squirels and rats different to foxes in the way the council/public treat them, is not intended to infuriate the fox lovers or descend into yet another fox rant thread.

agree IKEA one if on a budget, Tripp Trapp if have the cash or want something to blend in. In laws have IKEA one, we have Tripp Trapp, is very much a general use seat now but still going strong and baby 3 will be in it. My mum has a folding mid range one and it is rubbish - leans baby back too much, and the 'wipe clean' seat has weird seams that are not wipeable at all.

Baby 1 about 10 hours from first niggle to birth, baby 2 was 3 hours from first niggle to birth (waited for husband to come home, sorted out childcare for baby1 and arrived at King's already 10cm dilated), baby 3 was 1 hour 50 minutes start to end, but had my waters broken by the midwife, so all very quick after that. They have been quicker each time and also heavier, so am stopping at 3 coz have a mental block on bigger than 10lbs.......

I get worried when people talk about going on a diet. That suggests a temporary state of affairs. Better to take this as a great opportunity to get you and your baby set for life. As most people on here seem determined to be doing the best they possibly can for their babies, why not try to do the same for yourselves. All that lovely vegetable puree, and no added salt and organic and freshly made stuff that we feed babies (most of the time) - eat the same but not pureed! Think of it as a way to stop you dying early from heart disease, diabetes, cancer or a stroke. I am no food martyr, but i recommend a little book i just got for 2.50 on amazon called Food Rules. It is a bit americanised, but the basic rule is 'eat real foods, not too much, mostly plants'. Here are some of the rules designed to help us all eat real food in reasonable amounts. Not all of them but just some highlights that Family Room peeps might like.. ~Shop at the edge of the supermarket and stay away from the middle - the fresh food will be round the edge while the processed stuff tends to be in the middle ~avoid foods you see advertised on TV ~avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not, like fake butter (marg) and non fat cream cheese. all the extra processing does nothing for you ~avoid food that contains ingredients that you do not have in your own cupboard at home ~avoid food containing ingredienets a 7 year old cannot pronounce (variation on the rule above!) ~'the whiter the bread the sooner you'll be dead' - white bread is like sugar so far as your body is concerned. ~sweets, chips, crisps, pastries, biscuits, cakes etc are fine as treats but not every day. Because they are cheap and available we eat more of them than we would if we had to prepare them ourselves, so treat treats as treats. It is fine to have them on special occasions, or even just at weekends, but just because cakes, icecream etc are cheap and easily available does not mean they should be regarded as everyday food. Non of it is rocket science, but it should help keep us healthy which is more important than being thin. I hope it helps, it is making me think twice as I go round Sainsburys. There are now aisles i totally avoid, and once you get the habit it is easy to stick to. And it helps that I decide what the special occasions are. Leaving the house without shouting at anyone? = bonus almond croissant for me.......

I had 5, would say about same discomfort level as a smear, which I count as not nice but not really painful either. did not work. had pessary thing to start induction that did not work either. Had waters broken in the end - ahh the rfelief of getting going finally! Good luck to your daughter.

Mine took to them much better than Avent. Got MaM in Coop pharmacy on lship lane this week. She is happy as the teat is smaller.

It's an attitude thing. Dear friends and family live an hour out of London. One boy, in Year One at an 'outstanding' primary school recently had 'bring your DS to school' day. Now it may be contentious, but, broadly, I would say most ED parents I know do not allow their 6 year olds to have a DS or are at least a bit embarrassed to have one, and the local schools would not encourage use of the DS in that way. My friend's son was the only one without a DS. And at 3.45 in the afternoon seeing the local park and swings deserted, as people rush back to their garden (or DS) and no one really chats. But never say never.

All the private nurseries I have used have just given a discount on the fees for grant. No 'free' time at all. The amount the government pays is so much less than market rates that it doesn't work any other way. At one nursery we could either have the grant deducted from our bill on the month the nursery received it from Southwark or have it as a cash refund. Current nursery just deducts it from monthly bill. I pay for 15 hours of nursery time per week and pay over 100 per month even with the 'free' element.

hello, I have not been on the EDF for a while and thought to myself this mo0rning@i wonder how prdarling is getting on with school place' so am delighted for you to have got it sorted.

Agree with moderation. We locked the cupboard with the bleach etc, and had a stair gate to keep number 1 in his room when I was unable to keep an eye on him, but taught him to go down the stairs, repect things that were out of bounds and find it is easier to visit grandparents and child free friends with children who have boundaries. Saying that some kids are more inquisitive than others, you can always reassess when a bit older. I'd save your money for now.(And we were not DIY savvy enough to figure out how to fit stair gate on curvy bannisters!)

Janerbus do airport transfers in Majorca, we used them and they were reliable and had car seats for our (older) childrten although they were quite old and battered. They had a web site and quote prices for all the different resorts. http://www.janerbus.com/default.asp?idprod=78536&leaf=2&lang=en edited to add link hope it works!

i have a Kiddopotamus, a big UV filter shade that folds up small and ties on to any buggy or pram. it extends the size of the hood to make more shade. V good.

think she'd probabaly rather not - seems pretty over subscribed at the moment.

Yep agree the fashion for tunic type tops generally means much less need for maternity gear. New look jeans are great. The summer sales are on - got most of my tunic tops in french connection sale last year.think I have a black staight office type skirt lurking still that u welcome too-have passed the rest on already. Even sainsburys will have tunic tops that will work with bump I am sure Bluewater has gap new look bloomin marvellous marks (also so mat wear) and H and M (cheap and cheerful mat range in there) dorothy perkins and top shop altho not sure top shop there has at range and TBH I feel too untrendy for top shop now!!! Is quite overwhelming there but good changing facilities and lots of cafes and nice and flat if have buggy with you.

Thanks A, sounds good. the lizards might make big brother like it too. Thanks F too, have been to SDF too, they are closed on Mondays though which is my current moping about not quite knowing what to do day!! F take it easy, all the best Kx

My NHS classes started when I was about 35 weeks pg and I did not manage to see the course through either as babay came a bit early. Would not expect to hear anything til about 7 months. so far as I know the nly alternative is NCT - they have a web site but you have to pay (unless you can show you are on benefits etc I think)

ohh please tell me about the farm. It always looked closed last summer. Daughter loveds Big Barn Farm and think tha she would appreciate animals more now than when i took her before and she was too small. Excited that the park has been done up too.

second one just fits in. Keep nursery going if you can-switch to mornings only if cost an issue. I kept doing shorter hours at our 'full day care' type nursery til baby was 4 months, then switched to a cheaper, term time only morning session nurery. Now at home with new number 3, son at school and 3.5 year old at nurery 3 mornings-she loves it, saves her watching TV. Be realistic, they will watch more TV than pre baby. agree that you just don't panic so much or worry about being perfect. Sometimes the baby has to cry in cot for a few minutes as toddler needs feeding. Is easier if you plan to just carry on with Monkey Music/swimming/whatever it is you do day to day with toddler as it gives you structure. That 'I can't leave the house' thing is not an option if you want your toddler to carry on with his/her life, you just DO get out. Even less of an option once have school age child. What is important changes. My new baby often does school run still in her pyjamas and in her sleeping bag. Never would have done that with first, but the most important thing is that number one gets to school on time. Not saying it's easy, just that you will have learned from your mistakes, feel more confident, and realise that they ae robust. Good luck.

My 6 and 3 year olds are maybe a bit unsophisticated, but they are quite happy that Kings of Leon sing 'Socks on Fire'. I listen to Heart Fm in the car, their daddy likes Xfm, and so far have had no problem with lyrics.they like we buy any car too, and also Go Compare ad with an opera singer in though. I remember desperately trying to talk over my Prince cassette back when a teenager so my Mum would not pick up on the lyrics in some of those songs! I am so uncool now I do not even know those Rihanna songs. I'll stick to Heart-plenty of Michael Buble and Abba!!

is worth asking - I don't think this is a fixed thing. I understand that, for example, Dulwich Village Infants take some March children (who would usually be January starters) in September IF there are spaces - it depends on how many children are born September to end of Feb, and places are then allocated birth date by birth date, so a March born child might get a September place and a June born one is highly unlikely to get the place. Hope that makes sense. Other schools are v rigid. If your child is March born I'd def try to speak to the head about it.