canela

Not sure where on the Sussex coast you are going - but Brighton has become very diverse over the last 10 years or so. There is a great organisation called Mosaic for mixed race children and their parents. Google it and give them a call - I'm sure they can point in the direction of other support networks. My mixed race cousins grew up in Brighton in the 70s and 80s and had a lovely childhood. Though I presume from your post that you are not going to Brighton as I'm sure you wouldn't be so concerned if that was the case? I shall be hopefully be joining you with my two mixed-race kids over the next few years - so good luck!

I think it is open every day. we often go along after school.

There is a big home school community in South East London. I'm not a member myself, but if you google you should come up with some websites. Are you not able to get into a different school?

best tip - always bring a little snack when you pick your child up. some days they are just exhausted and sometimes they are really hungry too. it makes the journey home so much nicer. be prepared for your child to be very tired at first. some days she will just need to collapse after school. be prepared as well for her to play up at home a bit - sometimes kids have to be very good all day long at school and they kind of 'use-up' all their good behaviour, particularly if it is difficult for them to do what they are expected to at school, i.e. sit still sometimes, concentrate, be quiet sometimes etc. "I can't be good any more" is what my son would cry when he got home. i used to find a walk or run around the park in the evening was a good idea. also be prepared for your child to not want to talk about school at all. "dunno, can't remember" is the standard response I get when I pick them up and ask them what they've done. but don't worry - they will tell you, just not when you ask them to.

I got really iron deficient during my second pregancy and it takes a while before you get back to normal - so I would recommend you eat loads of iron rich foods whilst you are waiting for blood tests to come back. I took Floradix and ate a lot of red meat, lentils, green veg, very dark chocolate etc. Even if you can't get to a yoga class can you make sure you get some proper relaxing in every evening? Even if it's just a warm bath, bit of Telly or a good book on the sofa, rather than running around doing things?

I would imagine that a serious allergic reaction is really scary and would leave most people shaken and scared - especially a young child and a mother! This must be a common response and I presume the allergy specialists will have some advice in how to build up confidence again.

woah - this is a whole new world to me as daughter just been diagnosed with eczema and given steroid creams. must admit i was just going to use them. however, although the dr said it was impossible to tell what caused it, the info leaflet she gave me talked about internal and external triggers. seems like i'm going to have to do a bit of reading about - can anyone recommend a good website?

I got some unusual but very useful advice from my health visitor for first child. She said to take all clocks, phones, or any device with the time on it out of the bedroom, so as not to get caught up in the cycle of worrying about did the baby sleep for half an hour or one hour or two hours, and how long to get them back to sleep etc. I found it really made a difference. it's not just the amount of sleep, it's also the quality. Also people constantly asking you if your baby sleeps through yet really do not help as it is very easy to get obsessed and fixated and feel that if you can just crack the sleep thing everything will be ok. Sleep changes when you become a mother, and broken nights are often the norm for many a year. I was just talking with a friend today about how now even if I'm not with the kids I'll still wake up at 6am and be ready to get up - something unthinkable 10 years ago! I know it can feel desperate when you are really sleep deprived, but it really will get better.

does anyone know where I can refill camping gas tanks nearby?

if you search the family classifieds section you should get a load of local child minders.

the best bit of advice i ever had was someone telling me when my eldest was born to enjoy it "as they really don't stay that little for long". i never really minded that much about broken sleep and running round after 2 little ones all day as I just had this feeling that these were golden days and I wanted to squeeze every last drop out of them. (probably helped that i didn't have to go to work and lived in a warm country near the beach...). now life is different, both at school or pre-school, and I'm so glad I have those beautiful memories. but am equally happy when I meet up with friends for pub lunch whose kids are still really little, and I suddenly realise I can sit there with a glass of wine and hardly think about the kids all day as they just go off and play in the garden - whereas my friends are still running round trying to hold a conversation whilst change a nappy, feed, play toy cars etc. it's fun when you're in the moment - but then you look back and wonder how you had the energy!

thanks for the tip. I'll give it a go. Just wasn't sure what age they could start using it.

Does anyone know any athletes foot powder or similar you can use on kids? Has anyone used tea tree oil at all?

Hi. I can't remember which is the correct name - I mean the three hour playgroup session. Anyone know if it is on today? Or anything else fun for a 3 year old?

My co-sleeping kids were also fine with nights away. When they were little they slept with my mum or with a cousin. As long as they understand you are not there they don't seem to mind, in my experience.

Roccio in Dulwich.

yeah - i gave up when my lovely little boy was classified as a "grumpy baby". I know it worked for some friends but that book drove me nearly insane trying to do it for the first 3 weeks. in the end hubby threw it in the bin and we were all a lot happier! there are lots of different ways of caring for a baby so if it?s not working it might not be the approach for you?.

my sister did this around the same age and switched breast for bottle, which seemed to be pretty hassle free. he may accept the cot if he has something to suck whilst he?s there. good luck.

There are loads of childminders in East Dulwich and you will definately be able to get a place with one you like if you leave a couple of months for looking. There are loads of nurseries too but in my experience you have to get your name down asap as some of the waiting lists are very long.

I agree - you need to be out for bedtime for a night and go have a cup of tea/glass of wine instead! If you are not there, she will not be able to have you at bedtime - full stop. Sounds to me like the whole situation of living somewhere else, new pregnancy etc is getting everyone stressed out - as is to be completely expected! - and kids always pick up on that. How long are you going to be there? If it's not that much longer, I would just look for a way to defuse the situation and not worry too much about it. Perhaps even try a whole different bedtime thing whilst you are away from home. Something fun? Don't worry about the bath every night? Then once you are home you can do it all properly again.

Do you have the link to the booking page as I can't find it (may be being very stupid....)?

some registered childminders will also do occasional babysitting in the evening.

agree with saffron. introduce a routine that works for you but don?t get too caught up sticking to it or not as little babies change a lot as they development and what works at 2 months isn?t always right for 6. months. I used to find it helpful to think of having a rhythm to the day rather than a strict routine.

memorable moment that i only learned about later - me having a short, intense, primal screaming sort of home birth, oblivious to the crowd of neighbours that had gathered outside, who cheered when husband (after having delivered the baby as midwife late...) opened the door and announced it was a girl!

on a long flight like that you should usually get some in-flight entertainment. i've found that pressing the buttons on the remote control can provide hours of entertainment! and your son will probably sleep at some point. best thing is to try and reserve a seat beforehand or else get there really early to make sure you get a good spot. if there are people with little babies they will get the seats with extra space, so you need to try and get a window seat - the worst thing in the world is to be stuck in the middle of a row of 5 or something! when you get on, go to your seat but mention to the crew that you would love a whole row if there are empty seats and they will try and oblige if they can - they want your child to be happy and quiet as much as you do!