KatDew

We moved from Melbourne Grove to the Hambledon clinic. We've been really pleased, they're nice people and efficient.

We have an IKEA kitchen in the house we bought. The kitchen is 8 years old and still looking good. We didn't put it in though so no idea what they are like to install etc

Charles? I think at Payne and hunter on lordship lane

We went from 1 to 3. As others have mentioned the washing and food provision are endless and the childcare bills are horrific.

Still wouldn't change it. The dynamic is different, noisy, slightly feral but there is a lot of fun.

I was one of three, I never thought the dynamic was right growing up. Honestly I think 2 or 4 works better but having got twins second time round, nothing was going to sort out that dynamic so we are sticking with 3.

We have an ASPACE mid sleeper for our son. It went together really easily and looks good as new 3.5years later.

It was slightly pricier than some but I believe it was worth it.

We had solid oak in our old house which we put in. 8 years old and it looked good with a very intermittent sand and Danish oil treatment. (And I mean very intermittent.... Max once per year)

New house has black granite. Initially looks good but an utter pain. We have three kids and it shows every smudge, finger print going. You have to polish it dry to make it look good and then gets stuff on it minutes later! Would avoid.

Double Trouble: twins and How to survive them by Emma Mahony. I found it a very reassuring read when I was pregnant with my twins.

Balance bikes are ace. My three all had balance bikes. All three learnt to ride pedals bikes within a few minutes of trying.

Put your favourite first. Just make sure you have some realistic choices as well.

Each application is treated in isolation according to the individual school's application criteria. Of the schools that are going to offer your child a place the council will offer your child a place at whichever school is then highest on your list.

Dungarees, my son lived in them till 2 for exactly this reason!

My kids left a year ago however my three children all started as 6 month old babies and stayed through till they went to reception. I was very happy with them.

Awww Thank you Alex. We will miss you guys to. Abbotswood road was such a lovely community and we will really miss being part of it. I think it is a very rare thing in London to have a road where you get to know so many people.

X

We stayed at the Davey Crockett ranch/lodges when we went. You still get the extra hours and parking at the park is included but it was significantly cheaper than the hotels in the park. If you have a car with you the journey is very easy between the accomadation and the park.

The kids did rename it 'the shed' but they has everything you need.

We had our twins 5th birthday at 'The Lodge' in Dulwich park today and I can't recommend them highly enough!

It's a lovely venue for kids. Lots of space, with different areas you can use for different activities. The venue is run by whippersnappers. They arranged lots of varied activities. Our 'party lady' (as the girls named her) -Nancy to adults, was ace. She really engaged with the kids and managed to make both twins feel very special... Including getting my 'shy' twin to relax and enjoy herself.

Anyway as 5th birthday parties for twins go... I would say they made it remarkably easy. If you need a party for 20 small people I would say they are seriously worth considering.

I have trained with Guilio for two years. I started because I was trying to get in shape for a charity run.... I carried on because I managed to get more exercise done in an hour, than I would manage in two left to my own devices!

Guilio plans the sessions, so you get a very systematic organised work out.... I certainly don't have the ability to plan that, whilst also doing the actual exercise. After two years I have decent abs (no mean feat after 2 c-sections) toned arms and I have good fitness levels, which helps when keeping up with three small people.

Guilio manages to plan a work out that whilst it 'just' about, stays within my capabilities, proves that I can always achieve more than I think I can.

.... And during all that, he manages to keep up the chat and make sure that a visit to a professional 'torturer' is actually really good fun.

I moving out of the area this summer so am having to stop my sessions with Guilio but I would highly recommend him and he must have at least one spare session a week right now!

:)

^thank you

Although in the interests of honesty I am not on the GDC specialist register for paediatrics. I certainly treat a lot of children patients and I used to teach paediatric dentistry at Kings, however our regulator is extremely strict about the use of the specialist title.

Just to clarify.... But thank you once again for the kind recommendation.

My son went from balance bike to push bike with no stabilisers. Required help for about 30 mins max and he was off.

Go for it, don't let me put you off! I am very glad we did I was just trying to be realistic.

Hi, we took on a puppy last april. At the time my kids were 6 and nearly 4 year old twins. We had previously had a lovely rescue dog that had died of old age three years previously.

Honestly a lot of rescue centres may be reluctant to let you take on a rescue dog due to the age of your youngest but it does depend. They maybe ok if it is a dog with a known history of being a family dog. I do believe the waiting list can be quite long. For these reasons we took on a puppy as it is, in my opinion, the only way of getting a dog who is definitely 'ok' with children.

There is obviously tons of info online.

We took on our puppy at 10 weeks (he is a mix nothing exciting) I know he was reliably house trained by the time we had had him 2 months but I believe that is quick? He is not perfect on the behaviour front though, his worst crimes involve.... Chewing up precious bits of Lego, running upstairs when feeling mischievous, barking in the garden at our neighbours cat, and occasionally still enthusiastically greeting grown ups in the parks with muddy paw prints.

Puppies are exuberant though and issues have occurred, there has been the odd puppy scratch/bite (more nibble really) incident when he was little. Which was tricky. No one actually hurt but it will happen and hard to explain to a four year old. Also depending on the size of dog you get you may expect the odd moment where a bouncy young dog bumps a four year old over (not happened to us as our dog is a titch). There were a few occasions when I genuinely thought 'what have I done?!?!'

Our dog is now nearly 14 months and the kids adore him. He is incredibly reliably house trained. Has good recall on walks and mostly well trained. I completely trust him with young children although he still seems to have a bizarre dislike of motorbikes and teenagers and is still known to have a good bark at both.

It is worth remembering though that not all kids like dogs and you need a 'play date' plan to ensure that dogs can be kept away from small guests who might be scared of dogs.

They are a big expense though, far more than you expect. There is initial costs, food, insurance, toys. He has chewed up a few things that needed replacing (thankfully mostly stopped now)dog walking fees if you work. Vaccinations/worming treatments plus other vets bills.... Puppies like toddlers get sick more! Puppy classes (essential if you haven't had a dog yourself) and any homing fees if you need to go away without dog! It adds up.

Ultimately I would do it all again though, to me a dog 'makes a home' and I think it has been very good for the kids. I love having a dog around when the kids are at school. I really enjoy the walks and having a dog is incredibly sociable.

Just do some good breed research so you have an idea what you are taking on, be prepared to take on a surprising amount of work the first few months..... But I would say go for it!

One of the bigger three beds and extended! But yes, we need more space!

It's lovely we have been here for 9 years... But mine is one of the houses currently for sale.

The location is good, really nice neighbours, my kids are in Dulwich village infants school. But we are bursting at the seams. They are nice houses but not designed for two adults, three kids.

I went for my twins third birthday 18 months ago. My three kids loved it... Personally I felt in need of holiday afterwards!

As described there can be long cues so be careful of school holiday dates. If at all possible avoid the holidays. The cues for the favourite rides can be very popular... And have snacks/entertainment for the cues.

It is a long trip for one day as it is over 2 hours drive each way.

The rest of paultons park is much quieter with animals and some rides with no cues.

My kids still talk fondly of their trip though!

I just wanted to say if anyone needs to get their Kid's eyes tested I would highly recommend Charles at Paine and Hunter on Lordship lane. He has done eye tests for my three kids in the last month. 4 year old twins and nearly 7 year old. He saw them on a Saturday, on the nhs. He was running on time and he was excellent and putting them at ease.

Apologies if I have put this in the wrong section!

It gets better, hang in there. My eldest was just over two when my twins were born, so I had the dreaded 'three under three' looking back I think I fixed a fake grin/grimace and pretended all was ok. I drank a lot of coffee. My twins just didn't sleep well till a year and I used to dread the days when I had all three on my own all day with no plans to escape!

Accept help, it is ok to admit you can't do it all.

Fast forward a few years and our life is unrecognisable. They all get along very well. They support each other and play well together.

Be kind to yourself, it is such a short phase in life when you look back.