Buffnutter

Hopefully you'll be lucky - I had exactly the same problem taking bags to the charity shop from the same place a while ago. Luckily I was able to send extracts from my dash cam to show when I arrived and left and the fine was cancelled. (I was told that I should have left e.g. the boot open to show I was "loading" like lorries do - I did point out having to leave a car unsecured seemed like a high price to pay for using a bay for the intended use!)

I just filed a post about a maclaren volo stroller in the general for sale section rather than family room classifieds but can't work out how to move it - can you help please?!

thanks

Eye drops for little ones is really really tricky. Hopefully it has been better for you this week, but just in case not we have to do it fairly regularly with our three year old so my top tips are (excuse the repetition of points already suggested):

1 warm the drops a bit

2 lie them back cradled across your lap so they are having a bit of a cuddle at the same time

3 do the whole thing as speedily as you can, no big build up or chat about it in advance, all very matter of fact

4 drops on their closed eyelids and get them to blink (they will anyway)

5 as soon as they have blinked a bit sit them straight up and give them something nice to take the taste of the eye drops away - a little fruity something works wonders for us - like Goodies Dinopaws)

Still not a pleasant thing for anyone but at least it is over pretty quickly.

Good luck!

Yup, coverage fine and been here a long time!

We saw Hollie and she was fab - we failed to get organised in time to join one of the courses so had a private course just me and my husband over two days at the weekend and it was great - made a massive difference to my labour and the birth experience overall for both of us - even when there were complications. Big recommendation from me.

Reading esmeonline's post has reminded me our wheels did get a bit sticky at one point but luckily ours just needed a good dose of WD40.

Our Cruz is still going strong after 3 years without any wheel (or other) problems and we have found it great - much easier to get on and off buses and manoeuvre around shops than the cameleon as the wheels are narrower. Other pluses for us were getting the extra carrycot for when our little one was tiny so he could lie flat (unlike the bee) and the fact we could switch between rear and forward facing as needed (which I felt strongly about). The basket beneath is also massive which has been really helpful as is the extending handle if your or your partner are tall. No regrets from us! (We do now have a super light Maclaren we keep in the boot of the car - but still use the Cruz around ED.)

We have a major thumb sucker and have been steeling ourselves to try to wean him off it (he's coming up 3 in June). There is a book on amazon called Charlie's Thumb that seems to get good reviews - anyone tried it?

Little Fingers Montessori on Barry Road is open 8am to 6.30pm and our son absolutely loves it.

I go to the Monday night Harris Academy zumba as often as I can and it is fab! Fi and Dom who run it are totally awesome - encouraging and really fun. There is a huge range of ages, sizes and ability :-) It can be pretty strenuous if you really go for it but you can also go more gently and no one will look askance. I highly recommend it.

All the above, plus make sure you don't put your perfume on just before you get in the car! (My mum used to do it sometimes when I was little and it was a sure fire trigger.) Also petrol fumes at petrol stations. Koo-di potty training car seat pads are handy for making it easier to clean the seat afterwards and Rug Doctor Odour Remover great for when you scrub and scrub the seatbelt/buckle but still cannot seem to get rid of the smell!

Thanks for the recommendations everyone, very helpful! Off to choose frames tomorrow......

Thanks Scrambles. Yes we will get them free too as they have given us the voucher to use at any opticians, (and I gather the opticians replace for free too when damaged) they just don't give us the actual specs. Good luck with the patch, I may be needing the same advice in a few months time!!

I completely agree with Kate H. My son has been there for 18 months and loves it too. He comes home teaching us new songs and talking through things like the life cycle of a butterfly. Would also highly recommend. Similarly PM me if helpful.

Our 2.5yr old needs glasses for his squint and I wondered if anyone could recommend where we should get them? We have the prescription already from the hospital but I am conscious we are likely to be constantly replacing broken pairs so wondered if anyone had thoughts on the relative merits of Specsavers in Peckham and the various Opticians on Lordship Lane/Dulwich Village in terms of numbers of styles on offer/fitting glasses well for kids/turn around time for replacements etc? Any advice much appreciated!

Hi

My husband and I had a private 2 day course with Hollie at short notice (having completely failed to get organised in time to get on a course) and she was fabulous. There is no question that the time we spent with her directly contributed to the birth of our son being a very positive experience (even though there were complications) - I cannot recommend her highly enough!

Thanks everyone - hugely helpful!

That was my thinking exactly in terms of who to use when - but we are new to the wonders of babysitting so it's great to have another view! V helpful re rates too - thanks v much.

I appreciate it is bound to vary hugely but a rough guide would be very helpful! For example what would people pay a 15 year old (daughter of a friend) as opposed to CRB checked experienced nanny? (Little one will already be asleep and rarely wakes so nothing to actually do other than just be there!)

Hi all

I know this thread has been silent for a while but it would be great if anyone could give some more feedback now the Barry Road nursery has been going for longer? We are thinking of sending our little boy there when he is 1 in a few months and would love to hear from any parents with their thoughts, particularly for under 2s (i.e those in the baby room). On our visit it still seemed rather quiet (though they did tell us that it was a particularly quiet afternoon) so it was a bit hard to get a real sense of the place.

Thank you!

Hi guys

Sorry for vanishing over the past weeks - been having a challenging time with not sleeping/teething/stinking colds etc etc. Anyway, we would love to come along to the EDT on Monday too and see everyone pre-xmas so count us in please!

Claire and Lysander

Anyone around this morning?

Claire and Lysander x

I am assuming Peckham rye cafe park at 11.30 unless anyone says differently?

Hi guys

I'm up for meeting tomorrow too, see you there.

Claire and Lysander

Annoyingly things keep getting in the way and I can't make it this week either but will be around next week for sure! Hope you are all well.

Claire and Lysander x