The Nappy Lady

No worries Claire, it's just I know people have bad experiences and give up, and don't realise not all cloth nappies are bad (want to say in a silly voice "when good nappies turn B A D" at this point LOL). littleEDfamily almost exactly the same thing happened to me with my first daughter at baby clinic - took her nappy off to be weighed on a low coffee table type affair, kneeling at her feet, and she did an explosive poo which went all over me, the change mat and the carpeted floor. I didn't know how many positions to apologise in, but they assured me it had happened many times before, and your post has finally helped me to believe this is the case. Ah, the joy of motherhood. Molly Edited because experimenting with the bold function did some strange things, but got it sussed now!

Hmmm I reckon 50p for a little tooth and ?1 for a molar.....but I gather it varies....maybe it's a postcode thing like selling houses LOL! Molly

Bessemer not in Nunhead, is behind DKH Sainsburys. Also a friends child started there last year and they are really please with it - were worried when allocated but after visiting and meeting the head felt completely different. Big issue is distance tho - crazy to have a trek/drive to school when you live 2 streets from one that is your first choice. M

Really feel for those of you that didn't get first or second choice, but do try not to panic too much yet as going by previous years a lot does sort during the shake down, especially if you are very close to your school of choice. Such a horrible thing to go through tho. Molly p.s. Also curious re the Nunhead failing school????

Lol....yes with about a month of wobbling first of course! Looking back this feels like quite a long five years though I have to say. M

Ah, my 'big' girl (5 3/4) lost her first baby tooth today - one big gap bottom middle and what suddenly seems a tiny tooth in the palm of my hand. Wonder if she will time it right to be able to sing 'all I want for Christmas are my two front teeth' this year! Beware of a low flying Tooth fairy in Nunhead tonight. M

Hi Katgod, Well, I am and I'm not.....in that I've stopped doing the full on advice letters, and weekly demos, but am doing some outreach work for Southwark Council still, and a monthly demo at my local Surestart....can't quite hang up my hat completely :-) Oh - for anyone else, you can still get advice letters via the website, and then come to my Surestart demo if you want to see exactly what it is you've had recommended to you. I just didn't have the time to do the letters any more. So, you are very welcome to give me a shout if you want some advice on wraps, and I can sort you out a 5% discount on anything off the website still......call me Arfur Daley if you like, wink, wink. Best wishes, Molly [email protected] 07977 130318

Hey Belle - you might not - my sister used to get her son, aged about 4/5 at the time to put a plastic glass over any spider that wandered into her house, and then he'd have to remove it because she has such a phobia of them. He's in his 20's now and totally fine with them, so it didn't seem to do him any harm. On the dog front - my problem is that I have to teach my children to treat dogs with caution, because we had Coco before we had them, they have both grown up with her as part of the family, and she is so sweet tempered - both have used her as a prop/frame when learning to walk, cuddled her, fed her and generally love her and the danger is that they think all dogs can be treated like her, so I spend a lot of time going through the whole thing of not patting dogs you don't know / asking the owner if it is OK etc. etc. Totally agree with whoever said dogs shouldn't be off lead if the owners can't control them - we always try to be considerate of others, keep her close when passing children who appear nervous, or stop to let them pat her/reassure parents if they seem to want to do that. It is all common sense really, but sadly there are those around who don't behave that way I know. Sometimes it is just that people don't think - I had a lady with a young puppy the other day which was bounding around and nearly knocked my toddler over - not being nasty, just being a bouncy puppy, but I did say to her, in what I hope was a nice way that she really needed to be careful of this and teach the dog not to jump up ASAP because that kind of thing just isn't on. I think there will always be some 'issues' around parents & children and dogs in the parks because we are the 2 sets who tend to be there the most - come rain or shine etc. but I'd like to think that most of the time we all manage to rub along fairly well (sitting in both camps so to speak I would like to think I see the problem from both sides). Molly

Re Alcohol - My Dad gave Mum a pint of Guiness every day during her pregnancy with me (she was 40 years old at the time too)....it is supposed to be very good for you, or so they believed back in 1968/9....anyway I seem to have survived it unscathed.....

Totally understand (and we have a dog, plus two children). Some dogs unnerve me even so and also have had a couple come up a slobber or put muddy paws up on buggy - so annoying. Heidihi - Dulwich Park is tricky because as I understand it dogs are omly allowed off lead on the outside of the path so I tend to walk on the path to ensure she stays on it, or outside it of that makes sense. I think what others suggest - stopping and standing infront of buggy is a good plan if you are really worried and do try to encourage your toddler to pat friendly dogs - say ones that are out with children etc as the worst thing in my opinion are children who scream/run/generally freak when a dog comes near them - loads of Harris Girls do this and it drives me mad, even if not my kind hearted spaniel Coco. Oh and I am told if you grab both of a dogs front legs and pull apart you kill them outright, though I pray none of us ever need such knowledge. I've never heard of a dog attacking a child in a buggy so if it happens it must be very rare but caution is always a good thing, especially with some of the (sadly) untrained bull breeds that are around now. Molly ps - Peckham Rye is a lovely park full of lots of lovely dogs and owners....honest!

Hi, there certainly were boys there, not sure about current situation - way more girls and a sea of pink of course! Will try to get a current contact number for Fiona for you. Molly

My Mum was mad on oranges when pregnant with me, but they are probably my least favourite fruit, so who knows? My cravings seemed to be Peanut Butter and lots of chocolate (surprise surprise)! Molly

Hi Sparky74, There is a lovely, relaxed and fun class at Ivydale School on Friday's from 4 to 4.30pm for the age 3+ (older children then on successive 30 minute sessions) - run by a lady called Fiona Foster and worth considering if you can persuade you budding Darcy Bussell to wait another 6 months! Molly x

Was that the one with the baby with the lovely curl on top of her head? If so they live in Peckham and used me for nappy advice!! See, I know all the celebs me.....(not!). M x

Ha, Claire, that is very funny re your Mum - my Mum was visiting earlier this week and I showed it to her and she welled up (at the grand age of 81) just like I did....I guess maybe you have a better chance than me of it wearing off by the sound of it. Whichever ad agency they are using, they are doing a good job for them I reckon. M

ClaireinSE22, that's fair enough, but hand on heart, if you get a good two piece cloth nappy system - nappy with separate wrap over the top they do give much, much better containment - 95% compared to most disposables which perform at 75%. The reason I used cloth was because of the way disposables leaked compared to the cloth nappies. I used 'posies for 10 weeks with my first daughter and had at least one (often more) leak every day, switched to cloth and had 3 leaks from then till she was 1. Second daughter in cloth from birth and again, would say I had 4 leaks in the first year. But some cloth nappies are, frankly useless. I fully appreciate cloth isn't for everyone, and I'm not even doing the Cloth Nappy Advice any more in the way I was, (too much other stuff going on in my life), but with cloth the key is getting good advice and the right system otherwise a lot of people give them a try and give up on them thinking they don't work. Anyway, I really, really don't want to take the thread off on a tangent, and katgod, I don't have any big mission here to try to change your mind, anyone who has ever had advice from me will be able to confirm that I tell people to use disposables as and when they need to, like you'd use paper plates for a party etc. I'm not some kind of anti-disposable nutter. I started off sitting on my hands not to even post on this thread, and apologise if it annoys anyone that I have. I'm no environmental saint, and we are all doing what we can, within our own lives I know. Molly x

Have seen the actor Adrian Lester a few times, once in Locale when it was still the Green - he's lovely and very handsome. James Nesbitt at Browell Lido a few times over the years. The interior designer off Changing Rooms who used to say "I think it looks really, really nice..."...what was her name? Not sure she really counts as famous. Oh, and Alex Kingston used to live on Goose Green don't you know, pre Hollywood days of course. Molly

Why offensive? There are plenty of things in life I find offensive, but not an advert about growing up, and becoming an adult/wife/mother/grandmother...and and a working woman, at least gives that impression at one point in it.

Thank goodness for that. Never thought becoming a Mum would leave me so emotional on a permanent basis!

Has anyone else seen this - the one with the baby growing up through to being a Grandmother - and if so did it do to you what it did to me (wobbly bottom lip)! Damn I'm such a girl. Brilliant bit of work, best advert I've seen in ages. M

I gather sburys Eco nappies are good. They all sit in landfill the same so don't be too hung up on brand from that point of view. If due to chemical content that's different. Do understand re washing but if every nappy is leaking that is prob more washing than cloth! Some babies are just very 'explosive' but usually becomes less so once over the first few months, hang in there! M

Just thought I'd pass on that Matalan have loads of lovely vest tops in many colours all at ?2.50 each at the moment - work really well if you wear two at once and pull the top one up and the bottom one down in order to feed without exposing baby belly, or spending a fortune on 'post' b'feeding tops. I went to the one in Lewisham a couple of weeks ago and stocked up. Molly x

Someone a while ago mentioned ones that you can open using your foot, much easier if you've got a newborn in your arms they said.....but we just had pressure fitted ones that you open with one hand and they've been OK...manged to fit one downstairs with a round post too and it has been OK. The thing I dislike about the pressure fit ones is that they have a bar across the bottom which is a bit of a trip hazard, where as the ones you fit to the wall don't have that so they are better, if you can cope with the re-decorating later. Molly x

I guess that is part of my problem too, just fed up with politicians/politics in general - no faith in any of them and bemused as to who to vote for. Weekend election - what a sensible idea (therefore something that will never happen in the UK eh?!! ). M

Plus Ivydale in Nunhead and Bessemer, Oh and Bredinghurst also in Nunhead, 5 mins walk from Ivydale!!!