chantelle

i agree the holiday is better-celebrated in the US - where the spooky thing is just one element and costumes are much more fun and creative, as Helena says. I hate how here it seems to be all about blood and gore and scariness. Really, it is such a fun holiday in the States - it's sad to me that it gets attacked here as an unwelcome Americanism. Even for adults, it can be a total blast - lots of Halloween parties and parades such as in Greenwich Village in NYC that are like a mini-Carnival. I am happy to put out a pumpkin and welcome children of any age. I've never had any problems and I don't expect anyone to perform for me. It's just a bit of fun in the end. It doesn't have to be commercial either - making a costume for your child is half the fun, and you can also make your own sweets or hand out apples or whatever you fancy.

after the first year I gave our three-day-a-week Nanny ?200 as a "we're very happy" bonus. I've also given her xmas bonuses of around the same amount. It's a nanny share but I don't think the other family have given bonuses, not sure. I just want her to know how much we appreciate her.

edcam - I say "get over it" because it is a fact that children are welcomed in the majority of pubs now and that is unlikely to change. You're entitled to think they shouldn't be, but they are. Frankly I don't have a strong opinion either way on the issue, though I agree with those who say there should be limits (and usually there are). Even child-friendly pubs such as the Florence in Herne Hill says they have to leave after 8pm, and Victorian Inn keeps them penned off in the back.

well get over it because children in pubs are a feature of modern life and half the pubs in this country would be out of business without the food receipts from families. There are pubs to cater to all sorts so it shouldn't be hard to find those without children about. There will also always be badly-behaved children - and adults - you don't have to look far for either but it's not fair to make sweeping statements. and I love how the appearance of mums with children in public is construed as women living the high life off hubby's credit card. But god forbid a mum send said children to nursery or hire a nanny and return to work - because that would just be selfish to have someone else raise the kids, right?

hope you're Catholic because even with the bulge only 3 were non-Catholics and they were all Christians with supported applications. 36 spots went to either siblings or parish children this year, so definitely strong competition even for those practicing in the area.

i think it's outrageous that there is no direct service between Honor Oak Park and Peckham, and how easily it could be put in place by extending the route. Having moved recently to Honor Oak, I can either take the P12 or 171 to get to Rye Lane in about half an hour. If I am in Peckham Rye Park, I must either return to the Rye Lane end of the common to take a long bus ride or trek up the hill to the P12 stop, heavily pregnant and pushing a toddler in a buggy. How much quicker it would be if the 63 simply continued its route. Unfortunately my solution has been to get my drivers licence and drive these short distances - surely not what TfL wants.

it sounds to me like you already have the appropriate basics for now. His interest and attention span will grow in the next few months. I boycott anything electronic and batteries come out if a hand me down or gift makes it through our line of defences.

let us know how it goes! I'm hoping to have a c section at St Thomas in December. it was a mission getting out after one night there after having my son "naturally."

i'd try to keep it going a while yet. I really think most under-3s benefit greatly from naps. Mine always slept better with the nap than without. Maybe try wearing him out in the mornings so that he can't help but get tired! I definitely miss the nap (son now 3 years and some change) - I only benefitted on Fridays, when I don't work, but I really looked forward to that time to nap myself! Especially now I'm pregnant.

my son seemed to take it or leave it once we had gotten to once or twice a day but I did keep it up in a sort of cursory way until 17 months! His final feed dropped to evening, before bedtime and it would literally be about 60 seconds. If you really want to continue I think you might have better luck at bedtime, since it's a quiet time, rather than 7am when your daughter is probably keen to start her day and not particularly looking for comfort.

young children just want to try out the equipment. They should be supervised and quickly ferried away if there are adult users waiting.

thanks Saffron. I was really keen on these before having my son, but a good friend didn't have a great experience with hers so I kind of dismissed it. (her first didn't sleep well in it, and her second was a real tummy sleeper, which didn't work at all.) Does anyone have any ideas on where to put a baby to rest/hang out/sleep during the day in the downstairs of a house, if the crib or whatever is upstairs? As I said, we don't/won't have any sort of carry cot or appropriate pram. I just wonder what others have done. Bearing in mind there will frequently be two 3.5 year old boys in the house (my son and his nanny share mate) on a regular basis who are known to peal around and knock into things. maybe i do need both a moses basket and a crib!

so double the equipment to get, great! ;)

oops - meant to put this in discussion. Thanks Pickle. I don't know if we'll make it to 6 months this time either - out of courtesy to our neighbours, whose room adjoins our own, if nothing else!

I'm expecting my second child and wonder what people's thoughts are on moses basket vs. crib/cradle for the first six months. We had a rocking cradle with my son, which we already sold on. We liked it next to the bed, but it meant he didn't really have anywhere particular to sleep or be put down when we were downstairs, so he'd end up just on a large cushion on the sofa. Of course, I don't really recall him EVER actually sleeping in the day, but one can hope this baby will have the odd snooze. Moses baskets seem to draw such mixed views but I do like the portability angle. Any thoughts or alternatives? We won't have any sort of pram carry cot, being MacLaren from birth types. The idea is baby will go into a normal cot in her own room at 6 months, but the cot is too big for our bedroom in the meantime. Hubby has already rejected permanent travel cot type set-ups with bassinet and changing area. (that I actually like). thanks!

my 3 year old son hates hair washing. One thing that has made him better able to cope is to give him a dry flannel to hold over his eyes (although it gets wet when i pour a bowl of water over his head to rinse). I also just noticed a little jug you can buy on ebay that conforms to the top of the head so that you are only pouring water back from the hairline, but the child must tip their head at least slightly. as far as amount of baths - only 1-2 week, maybe 3 on the odd dirty week. He has a recurring rash thing that made us cut back to one time/week for a long time.

well, i do think you have to take the longer term view. The longest overlap of two in nursery can only be 4 years and more likely less, so it's only a fairly short-term expense. After school clubs or a few hours with a childminder are a lot cheaper once one and then both start school.

i saw your other post on making an appointment with Mr. Davis, who also treated me. Just wanted to add that I'm 41 and am 28 weeks pregnant with my second child. I'll be 42 just before her due date. I had loads of fertility treatments but both babies were actually natural conceptions. feel free to PM me for any info/advice and best wishes.

good luck late starter! I felt in very capable hands with him. I went on to have my IVF at Guys but I saw him for clomid monitoring and stimulated IUI.

i don't think you can really know at that age. same sex crushes are definitely normal. just try to avoid obssessions - bad for everyone involved!

i think you have to take the initiative. Application period runs from September to January in the year before the academic year.

Hi ladies, I don't know how it took me so long to notice this thread but I'd love to join in and hopefully come to a meet-up at some stage (though I can't make the 27th). I'm expecting number 2 (a girl) around Dec. 18th and have a boy who turned 3 at the end of July. We've just moved to Honor Oak but were in Peckham Rye for 2 years before that. We only moved there though after I'd gone back to work so I feel like I never really made a lot of mum chums in the area - and I know I'm going to need them with two on my hands!

I don't think anyone who actually walks around the nicest parts of Pecham Rye would be put off by SE15 or the name "Peckham." Many parts of it are lovelier than sections of East Dulwich, and IMO it is more desireable because of its excellent transport links. (trains to London Bridge, Victoria, St Pancras/Thameslink, plus Overground due to come next year.) There are lovely roads off Coplestone - Danby, Choumert, Avondale Rise. The whole Bellenden Road area is truly thriving. And Coplestone has its little rough patches but much of it is nice as well. Also check out SE5 - Bromar Road, Grove Hill Road. Denmark Hill station also has more options than E Dulwich station. IMO, most of East Dulwich, meaning around Lordship Lane between Goose Green and Dulwich Library, is severely overpriced and not terribly convenient. Around Peckham Rye Park can be nice, but also not great for transport.

i filled out the petition online against the Honor Oak plan - it was on both Lewisham and Southwark council sites but I never saw it come through the door. the problem with councils providing burial space is that it means no space then for the living to exercise and enjoy greenery. (outside of cemeteries!) Look at a map and it's amazing how much space in a very small radius goes to Camberwell Old Cemetery, Camberwell New Cemetery, Nunhead Cemetery, Honor Oak, Ladywell and I'm probably forgetting others. Together they must be larger than all of the parks in the same area.

my son only started sleeping more than 3-4 hour stretches when he was around 10 months. Possibly because by then he was BFing less and fully established on solids. That's also around the time when he FINALLY started taking a regular nap in the day. (around mid-day, for 2 hours) Before that he would just snooze at random times for no more than half an hour or so. it's painful but I don't think there's much you can do. We tried everything- bottle or BF at 11pm, cry it out, etc. We did do some crying it out around that 10 month stage and maybe that helped his good sleeping kick in but I think 6 months might be a bit too early to get results.