Adam

I gave some stuff to David, the bric-a-brac shop owner on Upland Rd. We agreed he'd try to sell it for ?60 (it was easily worth that). 6 months and about a dozen visits later, he won't give me the money or my things back. There's no sign of the stuff in his shop. He always fobs me off with some excuse why he can't pay - recently simply claiming he has no cash. It doesn't seem to bother him that he's basically just stolen my stuff. And he seemed like such a nice chap too...

Also have you thought about swimming lessons - v difficult to get into ED Bathsand Peckham Pulse but Crystal Palace and Beckenham are also good options

Just to add to Hollie's post that you need to add an extra 1/3rd or so to cover tax/ national insurance on what you pay the nanny, plus obviously costs of food for her/ insurance, petrol etc if she uses your car. It's a great option though if the financials work out - and lots of nannies looking for work at the moment, as you can tell from the EDF...

In exactly the same situation. My mum is taking my 11-month old to Monkey Music in Herne Hill, which they both really enjoy. There is a 9.30ish and 11ish class - we have to do the earlier to tie in with pick up for older child from Pre-school. There will also be free dance at Salvation Army in Camberwell (see ED Tots) when they are a bit older, but not sure my Mum would be up for the trip. Also swimming at ED Baths? But again my Mum wouldn't do swimming! Tricky isn't it.

Couple of things we are thinking of in the nanny share we are about to go into: - agree that the families will take at least two weeks holiday at the same time, in addition to two weeks chosen by the nanny herself, or she will not get a real break - be clear between the two families who hosts, and how you split costs - car insurance, petrol, food, OFSTED registration if relevant. Remember the family who hosts in the morning get the benefit of the nanny's help at te most frantic part of the day, which the family dropping off do not. - agree activities with the other family. With two or more kids being looked after at the same time, some activities e.g. Swimming may not work, at least for younger children. For older kids after school, the other family may want their kids to do activities when you want your kid to be relaxing at home, or vice versa. It's good to check you are on the same page on this, or at least degree of compromise required. - lastly, an obvious point but check you are agreed on rate of pay and paying properly via payroll (ie paying tax and NICS). It's amazing how many people try to do cash in hand or other dodgy arrangements with nannies, which could backfire on you both. Hope this is some help. Interested in any other ideas people have.

This sounds grim, but we've been told that foxes will give your garden a wide berth if you put male urine, which has been left a few days to ferment with a couple of garlic cloves (!) round the edges. Haven't tried it yet but will when we get desperate! This tip comes from Colin of K&O Pest Control who is a top man so Gould be worth trying...would be interested to know how you get on!

Tennis with Gordon of Tennis 4Kids? 2.30pm Monday and may also be starting Thursdays, on Barry Road. My daughter started at 2 and I found it great for all round agility/ burning up energy. Monkey Music is great and think they have local classes both Mondays and Thursdays

Little kickers in Nunhead (see their website) or Dulwich Magic at the Edward Alleyn spots ground on Burbage Road onSaturday mornings both do football for 3-year-olds.

Co- sleeping has been our only way to cope with number 2, who is still up several times a night at 9 months. In my views the SIDS risk is overstated, if you follow the advice above - sheets not duvet, pillows out of the way etc. Do try it. Totally sympathise with how you feel. Our Baby number 1 would only sleep during the day when on the move, though number 2 has needed more reassurance than her at night. They are all different and go through better/ worse stages, as people have said above - it's nothing you're doing wrong. Personally I would try a local doula or maternity nurse for a few days, if only to give you the reassurance that there's nothing else you could be trying and that it will pass! Good luck.

Fiona foster is excellent - she starts form 2.5 or 3 I think. Google Fiona foster dance for her website - classes are at Push Studios or Ivydale School Nunhead

Upstairs at The Mag on Lordship Lane - a nice airy space where we went for our daughter's 1st and 3rd birthdays

Crystal palace national sports centre also has classes for 3-4 year olds on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons which strike a nice balance between fun and learning

Thanks for the post! Which day is the party?

Compton pool near Paignton in south Devon is great for kids - self catering with lots of shared play equipment, petting farm etc. pricey in school holidays but you may still be able to avoid those given the age of your kids, and there may be deals other times.

We love all of Monkey music Tin pan Annie Classic Disney soundtrack (Mary Poppins, Jungle Book etc) CDs Tin pan anie is the most blary/kiddy - but not too irritating, and of course our 3-year old'sfavourite! Also thinking about trying story CDs we have at home (Tiddler, Night Pirates, Little Red Train) on next car journey. 5 hours to Devon, yikes....

Apparently Kings do allow kids but I agree we would have to be desperate - will try to come up with several other plans instead. At least going for a home birth there will be a midwife for my wife to go into King's with if other plans fail and I need to stay behind with our eldest. One-off night nanny has prompted me to think we will also try former nannies/ babysitters - at least someone she already knows. Thanks everyone

Thanks everyone for the ideas, and good to know we're not the only ones worried how it will work! We are currently thinking go for a home birth, with a couple of friends/ grandparents on standby - and hope we don't have to drag our daughter along to King's with us in the early hours...

Just wondering what arrangements others made to look after existing children when they went into labour with no. 2? Our daughter will be just 3 when her new sibling arrives. We think she might be quite scared (and bored) by coming to hospital with us but don't have friends or family who could look after her on short notice in her own home. We want her to have positive memories of the new baby arriving and not to be unsettled before he even arrives home - does anyone have any experience to share? Thanks

My mother who looks after our 3 year old every other Thursday would definitely be interested in meeting other grandparents. If you get enough responses perhaps we could set up an email group to line things up?

Cool man. Should be an interesting project.

Virgin has generally been fine over the years for me - and I do get about 9.6Mbps (speedtest.net) on my '10meg' service. BUT recently it has been patchy - losing the service for a few hours. I use it for work, so I can't afford to have an unreliable connection. And the customer service in India is shockingly bad. Has anyone else experienced loss of service at all?

Is anyone else still owed money by Bojangles, from the Upland Road nursery that closed down in September last year? We are still owed nearly ?900 (a month's deposit) and now it seems the liquidators Alexander Green themselves have gone bust. Anyone in a similar boat, or has any tips how to get our money back?

Thanks everyone (especially Keef!)

Does anyone know where you can get sand for a children's sandpit locally? I was about to buy some on Amazon but then they wanted to charge me ?35 for delivery - so the sand would have cost more than the sandpit itself!

We loved the photos Lionel at Nousha took. He is great with little ones and has a lovely big house and garden for them to run around while he takes the photos/ you go back to go through them and try to whittle the number down...in Consort Road.