snowboarder

I must be feeling emotional today as that made me cry!! Yes, exactly, no photos at all of me from our recent lovely holiday, very few generally for the last 3.5 yrs! ANd for all the reasons in the article.

Too tempting!! I think long term rental would be good too!!

ps - also - I know this sounds a bit frivolous/wasteful - but I would buy a buggy that you need for NOW - in the future you can always sell on and get something else. So few buggies seem to do everything. I kind of feel it's a bit like a rental!

Strawbs I think they behave differently for their mums!! Maybe he thinks you are off for a while again - they don't understand do they. My youngest has started to scream when I put him down for naps and to bed at night this week - he used to go down with a smile - can only think it's a kind of seperation anxiety? It's all very traumatic!!

Did you find the dot anywhere mrs f? I read on a fb page that it was so small someone couldn't fit theit 20m old in it!! I think she may have been exaggerating but still...def made me think try before you buy! Ah my buggy collection! Well I still find having a double useful even with eldest at 3.5 - we went out for the day on saturday and it was great for him to be able to hop in and out of the bottom of the phil and teds verve when he got tired of walking. I loathe buggy boards - I just find them totally annoying and eldest doesn't even stay on them! I am trying to rationalise now the boys are older and am currently trying to sell out Mountain Buggy duet side by side as that really is surplus to requirements but it was great when I had a 4m and 26m old as both could sleep/do their own thing. I have sold my bee plus which I loved for the nursery run from car park down lane to nursery in the early days as was so easy to have in the boot and clip car seat onto, I'm also trying to sell my mountain buggy single which I love but don't need!! I still also have a trusty maclaren for small fold car journey type times. What am I going to do when I don't need prams any more?!?

Any of the new back to work gang struggling with leaving sobbing children?!? Mine were good at first (well, 18m old cried but he cries when I leave him with his dad!!) but I think it has dawned on 3.5 yr old that this is for keeps and the novelty has well and truly worn off!! Today I had to peel them both off me and it doesn't make for a relaxing morning, and stresses me out all day (I know they are fine once I have left but still!!). Also my older son's nursery has said he's been a bit unsettled - argh!! It improves, right?!? Any tips on how to deal with him? I have stressed I only work on 2 days (daddy works 5 days!), thought I might do a chart for the week which tells him what happens every day, hmm...what else?

Hmm - put the chameleon in storage I think!! JL possibly has the dot - ring and check - my local mothercare did. It def has the peach blossom but that is seriously expensive!!

Ha! Congrats btw mrs F - you will have a similar gap to my 2 I think?!? We have the p&t verve atm which I love for 2 toddlers as it is so sturdy and my chuncky 3.5 yr old can still easily hop in the back (which unbelievably he does still do!) and is well within the 20kg weight limit...it is a big buggy though....but there are sooo many options for tandems now - see the oyster max due out next yr :-)

The dot and navigator are both brand new models that were released in the last month or 2 - they have the massive benefit of having a much better recline on the doubles seat than most of the previous models. I've seen the dot in mothercare and it looks fab - it's tiny! It has smaller wheels than the regular p&t and is narrower - so if space is at a premium would be good. The navigator is basically a new version of the explorer. Think that you can use the car seat on the front with doubles kit at back with both. The only thing you have to be a bit careful of with both is the weight limit on the doubles kit at the back - is 15kg - so if you intend to use for a while or with an older child might not be great...

Yep it makes such a difference - my 3.5 yr old fits fine and looks comfy in it once extended - so much for the bee being too small!

Just gone back to work for the first time in 3.5 yrs leaving 2 at home and I think it's working because we have a nanny who arrives at our house at 7.30am and I relieve her at 6.30pm. There is no way I could manage even 1 drop off!! For the 2 of them it actually works out cheaper I think too...worth looking into? Seems the most streamlined childcare solution most definitely helps...(not amazing as a term time only solution though I suppose...)

Invest in a couple of mornings of nursery (sanity saving!)? Otherwise, no, sorry, not an option!! It is only when you have a second child that you realise one was quite easy really!!

I currently have a 3.5 yr old and an 18m old happily snuggled up in their cotbeds, with sides on. The 3.5 yr old jumped out a couple of times at around 2/2.5 but we had words, bought him a duvet which he likes and a night light and did things like leave the door open etc and he stayed put (amazingly). Now he will not hear of us taking off the sides or getting him a big boy bed, says he likes his cot!! He is however able to sleep in a normal bed (has on holiday and at grandparents). Personally I wouldn't rush it....but I like knowing they are safely tucked up!!

You could use any footmuff or seat liner...at any seat angle you like!! I didn't really use the cocoon either but did have a car seat size cosy which worked well when my youngest was v little. I have never used a bugaboo specific footmuff - they look v long on the bee - you could buy any make you liked I think - some come up smaller than others (john lewis fleecy ones?) too...

Ok I know everyone else has been and gone and lost that baby weight, but here I am 9 months on and 18 months still on. I've had a few things conspire against me over the summer but yesterday I restarted ww tracking and this morning I went for a 2 mile run. I basically need to lose 30kg, which is daunting, but maybe if I think of it in 10 (or 5?)kg blocks? This is going to be HARD.

Hi - as you know we have just (hopefully) sold ours. I'm not aware of any major issues with the model of buggy (and I'm such a buggy saddo I'm a member of a double buggy forum!) - I wonder whether it's because people buy them for siblings having found a tandem doesn't work so well (we did!) and then sell on once the older child is walking more? Generally I think the strengths and weaknesses of the buggy are fairly well documented. It is without a doubt the slimmest side by side there is. You can easily get on a bus with it and I've regularly negotiated all of the shops along lordship lane with it. It was the only side by side that fitted in our small terraced house hallway. The seat units are still big enough for toddler - I have a pic of my now 3.5 yr old in it, and it still pushes like a dream and goes up kerbs with ease. The not so good things are that it is heavy to lift when folded and the fold is pretty big - check your car boot! Also the seats are so close together that as mine got older there was quite a lot of kicking and footsie games going on! It's a great urban buggy I think and it worked well for us for a 26m and 4m old up until nearly 3 and 12m old. Then I realised I was mostly pushing around a double buggy with one child in it, and hey presto the Phil and teds started working well for 2 toddlers! I think it just has a fairly short lifespan for siblings, obv less so for twins.

I put a pillow (v flat mothercare cot one) in the cot at about 18m to try to encourage him not to constantly somersault around the cot. Don't think it does any harm either way? At 3 and a half mini snowboarder is the only one out of his friends still in a cotbed with sides on I think. He won't hear of us even taking the sides off at home, never mind a big boy bed, but is fine when away. So it doesn't have to be all or nothing I don't think. And if they are older when you move them (3 plus?) it seems to cause fewer probs!

I know!! We def found once we swapped grobag for a pillow and duvet (think at around 2yr 8-10m?) it made the transition to a bed easier as didn't seem that different really. How old is she?

Ready beds are good but I think they almost feel more different than a normal bed - they don't really seem to have a pillow and an odd cover. Is she usually still in a grobag or does she have a duvet?

Yep we found this with our eldest around 2/2.5. Annoying. Also found that all travel cots are not equal, and our graco one was actually significantly smaller than a hauck one my parents invested in - the hauck is more like a regular cot size. Pain to buy a new one for such a short time though. Eldest snowboarder is still in his cotbed at home At 3.5 (weirdly...he climbed out of it at 2 but now won't swap it for a bed!) but since he was around 3 has been happy to sleep in regular single beds when on holiday/away.

Thanks everyone - really looking forward to it. Ceebeebee your villa looks amazing!! I've done the soller trip before (child free!) - I think this time with a 3 and 1 yr old it might be a bit much but next time!!

Cool thanks - just to be clear I'm not really into hot housing him - it's more that we have this 2 hr period when we are in after lunch and I thought it would be worth a try - otherwise I get pestered for Ben 10 on tv!! Yes, numbers are a good start - that's easy enough!!

Wow! An alphabetised list!!

All I know is that I could read and write at around 3/4 before I started in reception (teacher mum!) and I know that I was pleased that I could!! I would just like to give him the opportunity - using the right/recognised techniques. Fair enough if he is not interested! Currently he knows the letters that start his and his brothers names and that's it....but randomly can 'sing' the alphabet song! God knows where he learnt that...but it makes me worry for what goes on at preschool! Can you buy Jolly phonics books?

Can anyone point me in the direction of any books or where to start with teaching my 3 year old to read? We have a 2hr 'quiet' time after lunch whilst his younger brother sleeps and we read books/do lego etc but mostly he LOVES to watch tv....I think we could/should spend our time more usefully!! I know children learn to read using a phonics system but am clueless how/where to start. Any pointers?