The Nappy Lady

Hmmm - let me take some photos .....

Yes, good point - let those with the knowledge (I.e. The contractors) prune at the recommended times (I did mean late Autumn for our trees yes).

Got home to discover that my amazing neighbours had got together & stopped the pruning....sadly the tree outside our house has been savaged, but at least the rest of the road has been saved. Couldn't speak to anyone at Southwark apart from a poor receptionist, so they ended up speaking to the boss of the tree surgeons by Phone & he called them off given the number of people in the road who were up in arms....power to the people! Wish I'd been there to see it. We are now on a mission to get agreement on Autumn pruning in future, if anyone can help with council contacts please let me know.

Has this been raised before? I expect so....sigh...a big round of applause (not) to Southwark Council for their complete disregard for timing, in pruning back all the trees right NOW just as they are coming into blossom...even the tree surgeon I spoke to today agreed, and said it is (I quote) "Absolutely the wrong time to be doing it, and very bad for the trees, but it is when Southwark insist we do it"........why oh why can this not be done in the Autumn? Am I going to have to start chaining myself to trees and becoming The Tree Lady next? If anyone else agrees, please join me in emailing [email protected] to raise your complaint......

Hi Muppet, Yes & yes in my opinion. It's a fab school and as far as the Ofsted....in all honesty I think we were robbed. But, the school has immediately responded to the negative points raised & are working hard to get a better result next time. It's a lovely, friendly school with a fantastic atmosphere & a very active parent body. There is a 'street party' on the day of the Royal Wedding in the playground in the afternoon, why not come along & meet some of the parents, children & staff.

I love the power of the Forum .....let us know what happens, hope the one in the window does the job.

Hi Karter, It is well worth giving cloth a go for all the reasons listed above. Also if using cloth nappies you can use washable wipes too - much, much nicer than either cotton wool or wet wipes (again loaded with chemicals) & on these alone you will save about ?300 over 4 years, which effectively pays for your cloth nappies! I do my demos on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at Ivydale School Childrens Centre in Nunhead 9.30-11am, however I don't think the April one will happen due to school holidays so the next one will be in May. In the meantime a good place to start is The Nappy Lady website - take 5 mins to complete the tailored advice questionnaire & you will get a detailed letter back advising on the best system for your specific circumstances. Also lots of information, either to read or by watching the on line You Tube videos. It really does take the headache out of choosing & working out how you use cloth nappies - it's where I started out 7 years ago when pregnant with my first! www.thenappylady.co.uk My 2 potty trained at 25 months & 27 months and I'm positive using cloth helped them to understand 'cause & effect'. 2 years in nappies is quite long enough, even for a nappy lover like me LOL! Good luck with everything. How lovely to have a cloth nappy thread - not had one of these for ages :))

When I try to watch the videos it says they are private and I have to log on with the details the owner has given me?? :-( Well done Mum Mob!!

Damzel The chemist in Northcross Rd & also Health Matters on Lordship Lane sell Paper liners. Otherwise, I might have something in my stash you could borrow, depending on your daughters size may or may not be pull ups. Otherwise a folded flannel inside the nappy might work, has for other people. If she is 'withholding' it is quite common so don't worry. Molly 07977 130318

This is how to remember: Spring Forward, Fall Back.....without that I'd never know which way the clocks were going! LOL. Love the Summer so much, & the sense of anticipation I always get at this time of year. Am starting to plan what bedding plants to invest in this year (a clear sign I no longer have a babe in arms)! Xx

Ah yes....buggys....I had a Bugaboo 2nd time around and loved the carrycot & parent facing option, so much nicer when they are little. I think being able to tuck a newborn up in a carrycot/pram for walks when they are little is so lovely, it seemed much more comfortable too. But buggys really are a whole other thread in themselves! I never had a top & tail bowl either!

Ditto the Ergo!

Top things for me, which I didn't find / know about first time around, and loved and used loads 2nd time; Baby Night Gowns - these have either an elasticated bottom or a ribbon drawstring. Either way, no evil poppers to do in the night when bleary eyed - fantastic. Also babygrows all the way for daytime until baby is at least 4, if not 6 months old, so practical and comfortable for them and easy for you. Plain white good for future babies, but you can also get some really funky printed ones now, which I think make them feel a bit more 'dressy' if you feel the need! Cuddledry Towels - just the most clever thing ever and really do improve bath time. Relatively expensive, but worth every penny in my opinion. You only need 1 or 2 and can always ask for them as a gift from a relative if need be. Sheepskin for the pram - loved it. Breastfeeding necklace - to distract baby from developing bad habits like hair pulling, opposite nipple tweaking or scratching whilst feeding. Used from day 1 so DD2 always played with the necklace, not me (phew)! Oh - one of those inflatable donut things for them to sit inside once learning to sit up....invaluable for about 2 or 3 months, then pack away until number 2 comes along! Ditto, one of those push along brick trolleys when they are learning to walk....same as above, only needed for a fairly short space of time, but so essential when it was! For us - Babydan play pen, which can be opened up, changes shape to need etc. Has been used as a room divider, a fire guard, a pond guard, a play pen.....a stair gate across an awkward landing area where a normal gate wouldn't have worked. Really, really useful bit of kit, depending on your home / dangers therein etc. Proper changing unit, which actually had a baby bath under the change mat. Fantastic, saved my back (changed DD1 on the floor initially and wrecked my back and knees very quickly). So much better being able to change nappies standing up, even if only for the first 6 months which is when you are doing changes with the most regularity. Lots of muslin's for mopping up, burp clothes, discrete breast feeding, swaddling (mine were big enough for this), etc. etc. Errr.....cloth nappies and washable wipes...but I have to say that otherwise, I wouldn't be The Nappy Lady would I ;-) Things I ditched; Room Thermometer - total waste of time, DD1 born in heatwave so it just kept 'alarming' non stop. Baby moniter with no.2 - she was either in with me, or right next door, so I'd hear her if she was truly upset, if not, sleep on! One of those wrap around slings (Hug a Bub)...hubby loved it but way too much faf for me, give me an Ergo every time. Those tiny pop up travel cots - well, they are OK, but the minute your baby can sit up they are useless, and before that you could 'create' a bed out of some folded blankets, cushions and the like if you really needed to. Or just get a 'proper' travel cot from the start. I'm sure there is more, but I can't remember any more!

FAB! Big lump in my throat.

FRM sort 'em out please......sigh....

Some walking, not as much as I'd like, and I run 2 or 3 miles a few times a week, when I can fit it into my schedule.

Yougest is 2 and errr....a third(!) or so now....She's pretty heavy to carry, but I don't carry her that much these days.....

Hmmmm, I do wonder if an Osteopath might be a better bet than a chiropodist, maybe I'll lead the way Nunheadmum.....incidentally, I asked some poor Mother at Ivydale if she was you the other day, obviously in error....LOL. candj - good point re my girls - I do catch O parading around in my heels whenever she gets the chance so maybe they will see the light of day again properly one day. Can't believe I still haven't met your new member of the family, but big contratulations! xx I want to be glam again!!

Since having my two lovely girls my feet are half a size bigger than they used to be (sooooo annoying).... Also the big toe on one foot seems to 'click' quite a lot and is very painful if I wear high heels - as if the pressure put on it when my foot is in that position is causing real problems. I don't honestly know if this is linked to the pregnancies or not, but it certainly never used to be an issue. It isn't a big deal as my days of pretending to be Sarah Jessica-Parker are long gone anyway (were never really here to be honest)...but it would be nice to wear high heels now and again. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? If so did you get any help for it? I'm wondering whether to see an Osteopath, but not sure if there is much point, maybe I just have to throw out all the lovely shoes I've been hording and embrace my flatties :-(

DD1 was awful for this. With DD2 I wore a breastfeeding necklace from Day 1 (didn't know about them when I had my first). So, she learnt to play with the necklaces instead of me and I never got any of the scratching, hair pulling, fiddling with opposite nipple (my firsts worse habit, and if I tried to stop her she would scratch me, ouch, ouch). When I did nappy demos all the time I had a stash of the necklaces which I sold for ?10 each so people could see them (lots of different types) and get hold of them without having to shop on line and pay P&P. I've still got some left if anyone is interested - would be great to reduce the endless stash of baby related stuff in the house. Apologies for this now appearing as a sales thread, but really it's the knowledge I'm most interested in passing on. I really do swear by the breast feeding necklaces, but I do suspect that you need to start with them quite early as (my own theory) is that it basically stops them developing all these other bad habits. These things are designed for the job - very strong (tested to high tension), with lots of bright beads, or animals etc. on them, designed to stimulate both sight and touch. To keep them interested you can keep them hidden inside your clothes, or in a bag and just whip it out at the same time as your....err....feeding apparatus! LOL. C did bite me, but it was 3 times in 1 day, when she was first adapting to having teeth in her mouth. I actually cried real tears and shouted out loud in pain the 2nd and 3rd time because it hurt so much and she never did it again. I didn't act angry or anything, just said "Ow, Ow that really hurt Mummy" inbetween sobs!! Other than that she honestly didn't ever do any of the stuff you guys mention, and which I too experienced first time around. Of course, with only 2 children to my name it is hard to feel I've done a thorough study, but I do know plenty of other parents that swear by them too. Hope your babies start to behave themselves soon, it is horrible when you feel like them are beating you up. xx

The worst word I ever heard my Mum use, however bad things got was 'Damn' bless her.....afraid it didn't stop me from growing up with a few more, well used swear words under my belt. I don't like it, and HATE to hear children swear (when done intentionally or during moments of conflict etc)....actually what I really, really find upsetting is when I have heard parents swearing at their children e.g. a mother of a 2 year old telling him to "Get an F'ing move on"....I find that truly distressing. Anyway, my 6 year old is starting to be aware of swear words, knows what some of them are, but knows 100% that you do not use them, thinks some other words which are not swear words are (like Antling), bless her. My view, is that in the real world there are very few of us who will not issue a few expletives now and again (those that never do...you have my respect). I don't encourage my girls to swear, but I'm sure sooner or later they will. If I had a choice (if only) I'd rather they swore now and again, rather than do drugs, or smoking, or the 100 plus other things I am already fretting about that lie ahead of them. Although we shouldn't laugh about it (and I don't think anyone on here was suggesting we should), I think it can be genuinely funny when a toddler comes out with a swear word at a totally appropriate moment - i.e. when dropping a toy or something. It can be so hard not to react, because of course you don't want to encourage it, but it is always going to be either mega embarrassing, or funny depending on the moment. My Mum said my older brother went through a stage of babbling "Booger, Booger, Booger" over and over in the pram when he was just starting to talk, and she used to get so embarrassed by it! I try to stick to "Oh my goodness" as much as I can, but sadly fail waayyyy too often. :-$

Hi everyone, The monthly cloth nappy drop in session is this Wednesday 16th March from 9.30-10.30am at the Ivydale Childrens Centre, entrance on Bellwood Road in Nunhead. This is a great session to come along to if you are interested in using cloth nappies, or needing help with a system you already have, advice on accessories or whatever - please feel free to come along and I will do my best to help you. As always this is a totally free, no obligation service with no sales pressure (I don't sell nappies at all). For the 'full' Nappy Lady advice service you can go to the website www.thenappylady.co.uk and fill in the 5 minute questionnaire which results in a very detailed advice letter tailored to your requirements. You will also find loads of links to You Tube demo clips now which are 'almost' as good as coming along to see me! Best wishes, Molly -------------------- Molly 07977 130318

Battersea Park also good & has the little zoo too (you have to pay to get in). I love Telegraph Hill as already mentioned, there's a 1 o'clock club there too, also open Saturday mornings, when it mostly seems to be Dads & children! Greenwich park playground good, big with lots if sand too but if you park up the top (pay & display) it's quite a big hill to push the buggy back up (especially a loaded P&T - not sure I'd manage that!). Kensington Gardens - PD Memorial Playground is fab, but probably a bit ambitious with toddler plus newborn unless you're feeling adventurous - I kept losing O in there when she was 2 as it's big & there were masses of children so you do have to literally follow then around which I find tedious (lazy mummy). Nice new little playground for under 5s at Burgess Park, with water jets outside fenced in area & also the new cafe overlooking the playground. Parking close by though it does get busy - small car park. Playground behind Honor Oak Park Station quite nice, a bit different at least. Easy parking shared with cemetery right next to it - turn left into it as you drive down hill towards the station after the allotments, down narrow drive then park to right and walk up the path on the right with cemetery on your left. Have fun! Xx

I was on the FSID website the other day and they seem to imply cot bumpers used to be 'not recommended' but have changed their stance - see here; http://fsid.org.uk/page.aspx?pid=412 They say: Bumpers: there are cot bumpers in the cot. In the past, there were concerns that bumpers might make babies too hot, increasing the risk of cot death. However, research has shown that they have neither good nor bad effects. Take it out when your baby can get up on her hands and knees so she can?t climb out. Make sure there are no trailing strings or ties. Hope this reassures you. I think FSID is the best place to check this stuff as they are always most up to date. xx

You are a very good grobag Snowboarder! Mine were both just under 8lbs so an over 9lbs baby always sounds huge. Well done girl!!