Dodie

Discovery Planet, upstairs at Surrey Quays shopping centre. Term time it's ?1.99 for a session any time between 10am and 12pm every week day. There's a baby/young ones area. Very easy, free parking, big Tesco, Boots etc in the shopping centre to pop into for any bits on your way out.

Yes, that seems all wrong - purely pragmatically speaking, surely it's far cheaper for the NHS to vaccinate than to risk a child getting an illness and spending thousands treating them. I've no direct experience but I was once bitten by a rat abroad (very long story). My GP service said that they couldn't give me the post-exposure vaccination (despite me actually holding the serum in my hands, having sourced it from an obscure lab in Collindale - massive palava) but they could do it privately for me if I paid. This did not seem right at the time but I had no choice because if I didn't have the vaccination that day I risked contracting the illness - felt like blackmail! A few days afterwards they contacted me and said they had made a mistake and refunded my money. I think that sometimes in unusual cases, staff aren't so sure of the rules and apply them a bit haphazardly - maybe happening in your case? There is a BCG clinic at Townley Road, it may be worth contacting them directly and getting advice? Good luck.

Hi Astrid... I have an Icandy Peach Blossom which I have used since birth for my twins and they are now three and a half. They walk most of the time now but still fit very easily in their pram when we need it. You can have the seat at the front for your older child and a car seat or cot thing (sorry can't remember what they are actually called! I only ever had the car seats) at the back. We love it. I'm on and off buses all the time with them and it's really no bigger than most single prams, so easy to maneouvre and great for narrow corridors. Never had any wheel problems (they can't puncture)or other breakdown type incidents. They are expensive new but they do come up second hand. The twins club nearly new sales are a great place to pick them up in good condition, second hand, as well as to look at lots of different other types of twin buggies. There is a sale at St Faiths Hall on 27 September: http://ddtwinsclub.org/2014/08/22/nearly-new-sale-2014-09-27/ Hope you find a pram that works for you.

Hello Damien - I have sent you a PM about some work we need doing. Thanks.

There's a funfair at Blackheath this weekend.

Sorry, yes, it was Mark not "John" who did my hair! Very good.

Yes, had great cut and colour from there last month. I think it was John who did the cut and Heidi (?) who did my colour. I've been twice now and seen different people but they do seem to actually listen to what you want.

And indecent exposure (as it sounds as if he purposely exposed himself in order to cause offence) comes with up to 2 years imprisonment under the Sexual Offences Act.

Sorry, just remembered tinnitus also. This always comes in when I lose my hearing with a cold but is not there when it returns to "normal" again (with only the 25% loss). Mine takes the form of a high pitched buzz/squeal that is constant and does not change. It is only distracting when it is quiet around me and my brain begins to concentrate on it. When my hearing loss was bad though, at 75% it was really quite distracting at all times and actually very annoying, particularly when trying to go to sleep and I would hear a very loud pulse in my ear (like I could hear blood rushing through my head in pulses). I also remember a bizarre experience which lasted for a few weeks where I could hear a specific piece of music being played and even though I knew it was my brain "making it up" to compensate for the hearing loss, it was as "real" sounding to me as if there was a stereo in the room. I don't know whether kids get tinnitus but it may be worth bearing in mind that he could be experiencing it.

Hi Belle... I don't have experience from the child's perspective but from my own, as an adult. I initially thought it may not be that relevant for you but maybe not many people have gone through this (as no-one's replying at the moment) so thought I'd bump it for you! I lost a lot of my hearing through glue ear in my pregnancy three years ago. They put in a gromet in one ear (which immediately returned my hearing, which was actually for the first day very confusing as I had become so used to not hearing and kept getting startled by noises on my "bad ear" side!) after 9 months and mine did stay in and they removed it after about 9months and the hole has closed up. I do still constantly lose my hearing when I get colds though (somethign I never had before pregnancy). I have also permanently lost about 25 per cent of my hearing in both ears but apparently this is most likely because I am an adult and you don't heal in the same way as children do (I believe permanent loss is rare in children). This 25% permanent loss only affects me when I'm in busy places e.g. in a pub and finding it difficult to hear people talking to me. For future reference, (when the problems have cleared up and if you're thinking more about prevention in the future), my GP has recently recommended otovent to me (look it up on amazon) to try to keep my ears clear when I have a cold. I've not used it yet but it seems to have some great reviews. To give you an insight into how the hearing loss affected me as an adult, at one point, I was down to 25% hearing in one ear and about 75% in the other. I found it very difficult to hear when in noisy places e.g. stay and play groups, restaurants with music playing and actually tended to avoid these situations because i found it very confusing to work out where sounds were coming from (made me very nervous crossing roads with my new born twins). In conversations with people, I was OK if my "good ear" was next to them and they didn't look away as they were talking to me and external noise was limited e.g. radio on made things very difficult (still find this difficult even with only 25% loss). I am a light sleeper but if I was sleeping on the "good ear" side, I would rarely hear anything that would wake me (again made me very anxious as a new mum). One other point I just thought of. After I had the gromet put in, I had conflicting information given to me by different doctors in the hospital about how to protect my ear when washing hair/showering. Some said that I didn't need to do anything other than not deliberately put my ear up to the shower and let water get in. Others said I should be protecting it and be very careful about this. I did get some infections as a result of water getting in my ear and my GP advised me to wear an ear plug when washing hair and I did this and never had any more infections afterwards. I hope this is of some help. I can tell you that my brother was almost completely deaf until he was 5 when the problem just "righted itself" without gromits (my mother doesn't even remember now what happened). He was talking lots but only my mother and myself could understand him until that point (not even dad) and then as soon as his hearing came right, his speech came on and he developed completely normally and has never had hearing problems since. Children do seem to be able to just get over things so quickly! Not entirely sure what info you are hoping for but please do ask if there is something more specific that my own experience might help with. Hope it all gets sorted soon.

Hi gwod... I would phone PALS at Kings and explain that your daughter is poorly, you are very concerned and do not feel it is safe to wait that long for an appointment. They can liaise with the department on your behalf to try to bring the appointment forward. http://www.kch.nhs.uk/patientsvisitors/help-and-support/pals

BTW, Relate may also be good. You can talk confidentially to a counsellor either by email, phone, live webchat etc and they can offer you support and practical help for where to go next. http://www.relate.org.uk/relationship-help/talk-someone

Hi Thudnud... your GP will be your best first point of contact. They can refer you to Southwark Psychological Therapies Service (or your own borough's psychological therapies service e.g. Time To Talk in Greenwich). There can be a waiting list, unfortunately but you may be lucky and I have friends who have found it extremely helpful. If you have the budget for it, I can certainly recommend an excellent and highly experienced Psychotherapist, called Anna Chesner. Her number is 020 7515 6342. It is expensive (?70 per 50 minute session but she also does group therapy sessions which are quite a bit cheaper, although I'm unsure of how much - around ?40 I think) but if you can stretch to it, she is fantastic. Over the past few years, I have seen her for two blocks of 6 months each and each was truely life-changing in helping me to take control, understand my life and my relationships with others and move forward. PM me if you would like any further information. I am a mental health professional myself (Occupational Therapist) and I think you are doing just the right thing in recognising that you need external support right now. I hope you find the help that's right for you. With best wishes.

Hi Alethea. I'm very sorry to hear this. It is obviously devastating for the parents but also has a very powerful effect on everyone around them. A friend of mine also lost her baby at full term. I think all that you can do is what you have already done - letting her know that you are there for her whenever she needs you but also giving her the space to contact you whenever that time comes. When my friend lost her baby, I gave birth myself shortly afterwards so it felt complicated for me as I also felt guilt. However, I tried to put my own feelings aside. When we met up a couple of months after it had happened, she just wanted lots of time and space to be listened too. She said that her midwife had told her "you will make friends and you will lose friends over this" and she told me she had been so struck by the people she had considered to be close friends who had just stopped communicating with her. Maybe they just didn't know what to say or how to cope with their own emotions over it but this had been devastating for her. Everyone is going to react differently in these situations but I would say, do whatever feels right. For me, with my friend it felt right to send a card initially, then weekly texts or emails to let her know I am always there day and night to talk either by email, in person or whatever. My friend said that she had another friend who as soon as she found out had phoned her and insisted that she wanted to come round and be there with them and this had been her genuine response and my friend appreciated it. When you do get together, your friend will probably also want to talk about her baby; I remember my friend wanting to tell me about what she looked like and be able to talk about him/her. At the end of the day, there is nothing you can do to "help" her other than give her time, love, kindness and most importantly to just listen to those difficult feelings. My friend has found the charity Sands very helpful. Best wishes; it's a terribly difficult time.

It's something we've been thinking about recently too. We thought about hiring one for a week this summer and seeing how well it works for us as a family. I was walking down Upland Road the other day and saw three campervans in the street which are owned by a hire company called Dub Dub and Away (they've got a website). May be worth checking out?

I couldn't afford them (have got twins) so just had normal bouncy chairs, which mine were more than happy in. But I have two friends who had these and they said they were definitely worth the money. Your babies do spend a lot of time in bouncy chairs when they are little, so I reckon if you've got the cash, I don't think you'd regret it.

Hi there... just wanted to recommend my brother and sister-in-law's gites in Brittany. They have an alpaca farm (as well as chickens, dogs etc) and beautiful gites. We have two year old twins and they have a blast whenever we go to stay. It is very child-friendly - kids can collect the eggs every day, help with animals etc. You can go on lovely walks directly from the gites into the woods and their farm is at the end of a long, country road so no traffic at all other than the tractor (which the kids love). Lots of fun things to do nearby, including an amazing, huge (and usually pretty empty) softplay centre in nearby Pontivy. They can provide cots, highchairs etc with enough notice, as well as a big box of toys. If you google them, they are "Quelvehin Alpagas". http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/france/FR7049.htm

Hi - I'm so sorry to hear this; we live on an adjoining road to you. Whilst sweeping at the front of my house the other day, a street cleaner guy actually told me what had happened, as he had bumped into your friend whilst he was looking for his bag. He had managed to find at least one of the text books somewhere around Brenchley Gardens and was looking for your friend. He told me that if I saw your friend to let him know where he had taken them. PM me and I'll let you know. Hope your friend is OK. Awful thing to have happened, especially when you're supposed to be having a nice time staying with friends. Best wishes.

Hi there... sorry to hear all the problems you are having. I had mastitis a few times when breastfeeding my twins; it really is hideous. The Dulwich Twins Club has a breastfeeding peer support volunteer, Sophie, who is lovely and can come and see you at home (or whatever would be most helpful in terms of support). PM me if you would like to be put in contact with her. Hope things get better soon.

Could anybody recommend a shop/somewhere I can take a treasured table lamp to be fixed please? It's the switch and probably something and nothing to somebody who knows what they are doing. Thanks.

If you do decide you want to go ahead with the sleep training approach, then maybe you could go and see your neighbours and explain what you are going to do so that you aren't worrying about that in the night. Hopefully they will understand that it's for their good as well as yours (especially should be understanding if they have kids themselves).

The multiples playgroup is moving again. For the next two Mondays, it will continue to take place on Mondays 9.30 until 11.30am at the Peckham Rye Playrooms. It will then finish and move to its new venue at the Albrighton Community Centre, 37 Albrighton Road, SE22. At the Albrighton Centre, the group will be on Thursdays from 10am-12pm. It has already started at this venue also, so for the next two weeks, both sessions will run but from the 23 September onwards, it will be just the Thursday session at the Albrighton.

Hi... aggghh, nothing worse than losing extreme amounts of sleep. You must be feeling exhausted. For me, I would say that you are absolutely right not to let her go downstairs and play and yes, if you give in to this I absolutely think you are opening up a pandora's box of her learning that if she screams and screams and screams she will eventually get anything she wants. It's so so hard in the night not to just do ANYTHING it takes to be able to get some sleep yourself! For me, I would say that even giving in after an hour and bringing her to your bedroom isn't a good idea. I would say that if you have set this new rule that she has to sleep in her own bed, than you should unrelentingly stick to that. I know that's easy to say when not faced in the wee small hours with a screaming toddler but I reckon that if you absolutely stick with it, within a few days, she will have got the message that it is night-time and not playtime. Not meaning to be prescriptive and I am sure you will find a way that works for you but this is what I would do:- 1. She wakes up screaming and wanting to go downstairs. You go in and comfort her with cuddles or soothing noises, stroking hair, tummy etc if doesn't want cuddle. You don't offer anything else to soothe her, other than saying "it's night time, darling, it's time to sleep". There should be no offering of other options, reasoning with her etc as this just re-inforces the behaviour. Try to settle her but she will doubtless continue to scream at top of voice. Leave the room after you have said this. 2. Repeat, re-entering the room every 5 minutes and if you are happy to start to leave longer and longer gaps as time goes on. 3. She WILL eventually go to sleep. This might take even 3 hours (or longer) the first time you do it and WILL feel hellish and you may have lots of moments where you doubt yourself but you have to trust that it will work and you are just teaching her how to get a good night's sleep. Which is a very important and valuable lesson for her and the whole family. Then repeat the next night and the next. If you are ABSOLUTELY consistent, the screaming time will decrease each night and it will work. You need to be prepared however that for a few days, it will be much worse before it gets better. But it's way better to have a few hideous nights than this situation carries on indefinitely. It's difficult. And it's basically a controlled crying technique which I understand and respect isn't the right approach for everyone. I've got two year old twins and just cannot afford to have them both kicking off through the night as I would lose my mind! Also have friends with triplets who absolutely cannot afford all that either. They shut the door at bedtime and never re-enter the room. All have slept well since birth using these kind of techniques. It's definitely not that this would happen naturally, I have had to teach them from early on and be unrelenting. They do go through little phases such as you are describing but I also use the above technique and the behaviour has always stopped within 3-4 days (getting less and less each day within that 3-4 days). Good luck!

We went last night. Really friendly staff, excellent choice of beers and good burger with nice crispy chips; they also do great pieminister pies. Such a great pub! It was nicely busy but easy to get a table. They seem to be having live music on sunday afternoons.

We went to a birthday party at Surrey Quays Farm recently. It worked really well. There were kids there of all ages (the birthday boy and girl were 3 year old twins) and they all loved going around the farm first. They had hired a room on site where everyone hung out and had the food afterwards (could get in caterers or do your own sandwiches etc). The farm is also by the Thames so lots of milling about looking at the boats, pebble beach when the tide was out etc. I don't think it was too pricey either. I suppose weather could be a factor in October but you would have an indoor space to mill about in/shelter too. Also, the parents brought along a few beers etc for the adults!