The Nappy Lady

Thank you one and all for the suggestions. Space is a bit of an issue, otherwise I'd def. go for a play kitchen - but she does get to use the one at playgroup twice a week so I don't feel too bad about it. I'm going to think through the other options, and at least feel like I've got some ideas now, especially with Christmas looming too..... Molly

Stand up, grab keys & purse & just walk out the door!! Leaving the house will feel like a major expedition soon so embrace the ease & freedom while you can. Have regular manicures/pedicures & general pampering now too (again time & freedom). Sit or lie on the settee & listen to your favourite music, relax, meditate or whatever.....just appreciate having the time to stop, think about stuff and be YOU, these days will return, but not for a while! Good luck.

I think you can put a maxi cosi on a quinny zap frame - they fold up very small....

As the crow flies Rachel. What are your closest schools & what road do you live in?

Check this out.....what a clever idea.. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/4169198/Buggy-scooter-wins-an-Oscar-for-Phil-Teds You can't see very well in the picture, but when attached to the buggy it is to one side, not central, so you can walk beside it/your older child. Clever people, those MB inventors!! Molly

No worries Hollybush, apology accepted, just felt I had to say Noooo, we're not all like that! xx :))

No worries - I had time to kill last night as you can tell! OH, and spell check turned the word 'Buckle' into bucket on my last post....just on the off chance you were wondering why I had a bucket in the car seat with the baby LOL!! Molly

fmay - def. point this out to James Barber on the thread in the main room of the forum, it's a good point, and all they need to do is open the creche earlier a couple of times a week....

Thanks Pickle, they all get the chance to learn recorder in Year 3 (I think it is), so next year! Good to know that can be a lead into wind instruments, I will certainly be encouraging her to take the lessons next year. I think I need to ask about sitting in on a couple of these lessons, so I can get a feel for what is actually going on. I'm glad I'm not alone. At least by the time C starts school O may have 'settled' into 1 or 2 activities, as then it is going to get REALLY expensive, with two of them doing stuff.

I saw on the main thread about the pool reopening that James Barber is going to ask whether the timetable can be revised because people were saying that every weekday after school was reserved for swimming lessons, so when could parents take school children for a general swim after school. So, I would add your issues about the timetable to that thread, so James can maybe compile them and possibly get something positive done about it all as and when they revise the timetable. It all seems to have gone horribly wrong as far as I can tell. Re the pool being cold - does anyone know how long the water has been in for? I know in pools in general it can take several days for it to get up to full temperature after being filled, so maybe that is the problem? I hope so, as otherwise you wont see me rushing to jump in!

It is basic common sense....I'm sure the odd lick isn't going to do any harm....BUT dogs do a lot of nasty stuff with their tongues, eat stuff when out on walks, potentially carry worms, and could even potentially bite. I think your friends were totally out of order, and I am saying this as a dog owner and lover....please, please if anyone is in the situation again you MUST say something. Sorry but s*d your friends feelings, your child (and it's health) is more important. I'm not obsessive about hygiene, dogs and kids on floor together etc. but dogs licking children, especially on the face, is just not on.

Hi all, My 6 year old currently has a 1 hour Spanish lesson each week after school with a group of other children (mixed ages and abilities I believe). I'm not convinced that I'm spending my money wisely, based on her progress. However, I am really keen for her to learn some basic Spanish, and it is tricky as her father and I only speak a few words, picked up on our annual 3 week holiday to Mallorca. I'm wondering about 1-1 lessons, no idea what they cost, or whether I would see better results.....or am I wasting my time and money, and should I just be waiting until she is older? If only I could afford a Spanish Au Pair!! Hmmmm, if anyone can recommend anyone, or share their experiences of teaching a child of this age a language (without daily exposure to it) I'd be interested. Re after school clubs and activities in general. I'm finding it really difficult to know where to spend the money these days, with so many choices. Her school (Ivydale) offers fantastic opportunities music wise, for now we've plumped for Guitar, but I keep wondering if that's the right decision. Apart from that she does Beaver Scouts on a Monday (brilliant and only ?1 a week...phew), gymnastics on a Tuesday at ?6 a pop, and then the Spanish....and it all adds up. I'm torn between thinking I must give her access to this stuff in order to help her work out what she really wants to pursue, and thinking I'm crazy to be spending so much money on it all. Am I alone? :-S Confused as always....Molly

As ClareC says, any travel sleeping bag will have a zip centre front and centre back so you can bring the buckle which goes between babies legs through to insert the shoulder straps into. I was lent one which I'm pretty sure wasn't an actual Grobag....have you tried Google - a search on 'travel sleeping bags' might bring something up. Edited to add I found these: http://www.mothercare.com/Baby-Travel-Sleeping-Bag-2-5/dp/B002RSGBBA/ref=sr_11_1/280-8353074-2720564?_encoding=UTF8&mcb=core Looks good as you can actually turn it into 2 separate legs, so no fiddling trying to get baby out of car/bucket through sleeping bag, which I sometimes found tricky. http://www.mothercare.com/Baby-Travel-Sleeping-Bag-2-5/dp/B002RSGBBA/ref=sr_11_1/280-8353074-2720564?_encoding=UTF8&mcb=core http://www.thatcuteage.com/p2862-Grobag-Safari-So-Good-Travel http://www.thatcuteage.com/search?find=%28Travel%29 Size wise, no issue with going up a size, as long as they are not too huge on him. You may find that length wise he doesn't get a lot longer over the next few months as at his stage babies often go 'out' (i.e. getting chubbier) rather than up, so see how it goes. I have a couple of sleeping bags that fold up at the back and then popper fasten to themselves to make them shorter, then you open them up to the full lenth as baby grows - they've been very good. They have central zips but I don't find it tricky to get baby into them, so maybe yours are just on the small size in general? Hope you manage to get sorted.

It looks great SuperGolden - excellent value for money with all the extras, and clever the way the sun shade comes out of the hood. I can't resist looking, even if I'm not in the market any more!

Glad you got an apology Goose Green Grump, but I do hope they are going to do more than just that. In this day and age it is totally insane for them to manage the process in this way. For those who didn't get a place, we used Superkids Swimming School and they were very good, classes at a couple of different places in the area and you just phone up to book up, then they send you a form to register. A darn site easier! Stuff like this really winds me up, I'm a born administrator LOL...anyone got some filing they want doing?!! p.s. GGG - brilliant name, was it specially commissioned for this palava?

Hollybush Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would hate that! Probably they will let their > dog lick their baby - dog people are like that, > the dog is seen as part of the family, but they > should stop it from licking other small children > for sure. I'm with you completely. Hollybush, that is a HUGE sweeping generalisation. I am a dog owner, have been all my life. I am also the mother of a 6 year old and a 2 year old. I hate 'licky' dogs, and our dog would never be allowed to lick any children in the way DuchessofDulwich describes (even if she was the type to try). I would be as digusted as the next person if a friend's dog was allowed to do that to my children. I think I would have asked them to please shut the dog in another room, as otherwise you'd need to leave...or a less direct way maybe would be to pick the baby up and keep pointedly pushing the dog away each time it comes close. DuchessofDulwich, I suspect your friends may 'see the light' once they have their own precious bundle, if not I'd avoid going there again until your little one is a rambunctious toddler, at which point the dog will come off worse I suspect!

Hi, Just a heads up that the road is currently closed for resurfacing (hurrah), so you can't get down to the car park. Molly

They are resurfacing it (hooray), but no access currently so don't try to park by the cafe today! Molly

DD1 loved a potty the childminder had, which is one Mothercare & others sell I think - it's like a little chair, so has back support, with the actual potty bit that lifts out so easy to empty. I got one for DD2, to use alongside the basic one I already had, but like candj above, DD2 is insisting on sitting on the toilet - to be like big sister I guess....sigh.... In the end I don't think it matters too much which type you get, as they will use whatever you have and wont know any different. Molly

Medised was a lifesaver here too when DD1 was little, I was gutted when I found out the guidelines had changed by the time DD2 was born.

Where in South Africa? Some areas are Malarial, but more if going to safari areas etc. if I recall correctly. You can always check with your practice nurse (or possibly a chemists?) to be 100% sure. Molly

Try BC Bikes at Goose Green, they have a website if you Google them so you can phone first to check. I'm sure if they don't have one in stock they would order it in for you. They would also repair the puncture if that would help.

2 weeks to go until little C turns 2, and I need inspiration for a present. She's inherited a lot of stuff from her big sister, so doesn't need clothes, has a micro scooter, and a leg bike already, plus a dolls buggy....what to get her? All suggestions welcome!

It is a shame, but they did do a lot of consultation, so I do think they tried to get public opinion of what was needed. Plus plans were up inside of what was going to be done etc. for a long time before work began. I would recommend the neoprene Baby Warma suits (mine is from Konfidence for kids), website here: http://www.konfidence.co.uk With one of those on the pool temperature will be fine. I'm about to get both my girls bigger ones, even though they are now 2 and 6 as both feel the cold in the water. We found our little one at 6-12 months old would stay in the water up to 3 or 4 times longer with a Baby Warma on. Molly

So pleased Buggie. One of my favourite things was seeing my baby sleeping with a trickle of milk at the corner of her mouth as if full to the brim & very contented. I was on a baby high both times, best feeling in the world. Well done for getting through some tricky days so well, you'll have a ten pound baby before you know it!