EmilyPie

Some good, brightly coloured, unusual and ethically produced clothes in some of the links in this article. Not cheap but definitely worth a look http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/apr/29/top-10-ethical-shop-childrens-clothes

And I tried the touching when talking thing and it definitely helped with the blatant ignoring, thank you.

Definitely go outside of school holidays. I spent a very stressful summer holiday morning trying to chase my very mobile then 1yo through massive crowds as he repeatedly ran off, largely oblivious to the fish which he couldn't see anyway through all the people. Still shudder thinking about it. Esp as we went with a friend and her 6yo who wanted to spend hours staring quietly at every tank. Looked like it would be great without so many people though. Especially the sting rays and the penguins.

Their website http://www.cookfood.net/

I don't know if they still do but cook used to do gift vouchers. They deliver tasty, healthy food in portions for the freezer. We stocked up before both ours were born and it was great not having to cook/live on pizza. They're online or there are shops in blackheath and (I think) west dulwich.

There's also an upholstery place in Brockley near the Brockley mess. Haven't used them myself but have heard they're good.

Current favourites with my 2yo are bigger digger by Steve Webb, jump on board the animal train by Naomi kifford and monkey puzzle by Julia donaldson. The walker books tend to be pretty good for this age too. We like bear hunt, farmer duck, the ravenous beast and penguin. You can get versions of these with DVDs with animated versions of the stories which are also good. However, for bedtime we have a big book of nursery rhymes called lavenders blue, and he chooses 3 or 4 from that each night for us to sing. Nice combination of book and lullabys.

I'm also with otta. Mine are 2 and 3 weeks and I definitely enjoy it more as they get older. With my 2 year old I delight in the person he is becoming. I love the fact that we can have conversations, share jokes, that he sleeps through the night (god it took long enough!). I enjoy watching his personality develop as each day passes. Of course the 3 weeker is lovely, and is nestled in the crook of my arm as I type having a sleepy feed, but I find him a bit unfathomable, more like having a small animal than a little person. I am looking forward to watching himm grow and reveal some of the mysteries of who he is. And to getting a bit more sleep and not being permanently covered in puke! Maybe I'll feel differently once the little one is older but I don't think so.

I was in a very similar situation. We went cold turkey in the night first, putting him in his cot instead of in our bed, telling him it was sleep time when he woke up, offering him water and leaving him to cry, with me or my husband going in after 2, 5, 10 minutes etc telling him we loved him but it was sleep time. It was horrible but it worked. Took about 2 weeks. Once that was sorted we tackled the feeding to sleep. I went out and my husband stayed with him, holding his hand until he fell asleep. That bit was surprisingly easy. We then moved on to the same routine as with the night time waking to get him to settle himself, which worked after 2 nights.not necessarily the best way of doing it but it did work. They're often a lot more adaptable than we think! Alternatively you could try giving him a bottle in the night and gradually reducing the amount you give/replacing with water. Didn't work for us as he wouldn't take a bottle and was also snacking most of the night rather than having a set number of decent feeds, but did work for some people I know. Good luck, I remember how hard it is. It does get better eventually!

Suffolk rather than Norfolk but we've always had good results booking through Suffolk secrets. Lots of their places have travel cots etc and Suffolk is lovely, esp the coast and heaths areas.

We got married in charlton house http://charlton-house.org/ Didn't use the reception space in the end as had the party in our flat but looked round it and was really nice and cheaper than lots of other places we'd looked. Might be worth a look.

Thank you

Does Sydenham wells have a cafe? Loving the idea of a water feature for entertaining the 2yo, but at 9months pg tea stops are essential!

If it's any consolation I was a nightmare picky eater as a child - plain pasta, cheese only if cut into shapes, cornflakes and not much else. Was also very strong willed so just wouldn't eat if I didn't like it, even if I was really hungry. Now however I love food and eat pretty much everything. So fussy eaters when small don't necessarily stay that way.

My 2 and a bit year old will eat fish fingers and I work that for all I'm worth, breadcrumbing everything I can think of and telling him that it's like fish fingers. So far I've had success with salmon in breadcrumbs, chicken in breadcrumbs (if using breast it is good to marinate it in buttermilk or yogurt first as it keeps it moist) and veal in breadcrumbs. I sometimes use whole meal breadcrumbs, or add a few sesame seeds too. You can make in bulk then keep in portions in the freezer. Other meals that always work for us are macaroni cheese and millet and cheese and, if I'm knackered, scrambled egg and toast or pitta and dips, including hummus, tsatsiki, avocado and cream cheese or aubergine and cream cheese. Good luck!

Just seems to be the Wednesday activities that aren't showing when looking at the site via my I-phone.

Definitely get checked out before yoga. Hip pain is often because of a loosening of the ligaments in preparation for birth which stuff like yoga can make much worse. I saw a physio at lewisham pretty quickly and they gave me a few exercises and a special support belt to wear. A white stretchy thing with Velcro that isn't particularly attractive but mostly not visible under clothes and really helped. Pelvic floor exercises help too - sooo boring!

Sounds like v hard work, and very unhelpful intervention from the neighbour. I'd have had a hard time not telling her to f off! Mine is 2 and loves a good tantrum. I do find staying as calm as possible works when I can manage it and it sounds like what you did in the park was good. Not always possible or easy though. I've had terrible scenes where I've ended up shouting and crying as much as him! There's a section in a book I have called 'the science of parenting' on tantrums that I've found useful. It talks about why they have tantrums and how to distinguish when they're trying to manipulate you (generally no tears, able to reason) from when they're being overwhelmed by their emotions - fear, anger, disappointment etc. basically for latter is best to stay calm and be a reassuring presence so they learn you'll help them deal with difficult emotions. Also talks about distraction techniques etc and somewhere gives details of how to hold them when they're going particularly mental to calm them down without either of you getting hurt. Not possible to implement all the time but I found it helpful to try and get inside their heads. Good luck - and enjoy the wine!

Done