snowboarder

Sounds fab but argh predictably can't make that weekend - husband out then a rare night out together!!! Unthinkable!

Saffron - have not been to see hv since little sb was about 6m (now 20m). SUCH a waste of time.

Oh the thought of being in a cinema with my toddler!! Horrendous! Now what I would like is a creche provided..... Never made it to any of the big scream with no. 1 - would love to try with no. 2 but will need to find childcare. Might start securing my mum now.... Hopefully see some of you there come the spring.

I need to find some gloves which allow for thumb sucking.....then they might have some chance of staying on...

I had similar redundancy (and wasn't really sure whether wanted to go back) - issues and ended up not going back to work - so look after my 20m old full time. We have something organised for 4 out of the 5 weekday mornings - actual sign up for classes - which does mean that you do see the same people every week. It is still hard to make friends at classes though - I think especially as the babies get older, more mums back at work, quite alot of the people at the classes are nannies! Not a problem they are nice but have their own friends/groups etc. So class then lunch then nap and afternoons we tend to do jobs/go to park/playdates and tea. Some weeks you can have loads on I find and sometimes (today!) the weather is awful, no one close by is around and its a bit depressing. It's good to try and have a little circle of contacts near bu with similar age children - maybe even via this forum?

My toddler is NOT keen. Which is annoying given he IS little snownboarder!! - am hoping he's just a bit young to find it fun but a bit big to be all cosy wrapped up in his pram. Recently sold the 'big' pram so only got the maclaren and not much protection there! We were the only ones at Little Bubbles this morning. Have to try to get out somewhere this afternoon as I can't bear any more cbeebies (or the whining when cbeebies not on).

I found them great last year when little sb was 7-10m. This year they are OUT OF THE QUESTION as there is no way on earth he will stay still for long enough for me to get them on him. And the fiddle with trousers and tights at nappy changes - unthinkable. So I've quite a few pairs of nice jersey/fleecy lined trousers and jeans and some knee socks from jojo that I'm hoping will be ok. What to do about freezing little hands and glove refusal though? And do you think it's wrong to put boys in uggs?

You can strap just the car seat in I think - totally fine safety wise but just more fiddly to get seat in and out. I also think you can use the seatbelt to strap a base (easyfix or isofix) in so you do just have to click the car seat in and out as necessary.

Will definitely try to make it - where is the Montpelier?

Presumably Crystal Palace Road? There's one out of order on Cyrena Road. But selfishly I quite like it - my house is nice and dark at night and my baby can sleep. When it's on it's like having a sunlamp in your house...

As far as I can make out some tend to move prior to starting primary school - so when little ones are around 3/4. Also lots of the central East Dulwich houses are quite small - first baby territory - maybe the older families have migrated a bit further out in search of more bedrooms? We still thinking about what to do....

My bump is seriously HUGE already!! For a non baby meet up I would prob prefer an evening to weekend but maybe harder to organise? Toddler takes a dim view of weekend playtime being interrupted, sadly....

Just also to say - I know there's all kinds of advice about exactly when in development terms, you should buy shoes, but frankly at this time of year if they are going to the playground and wanting to stand and hold onto things you need to protect their feet. I reckon anyway!!

I got my little cruiser his first shoes at about 10m just after he took his first steps. Got them from Biff in the village (little start rite ones). Since then have sampled John Barnett on Lordship Lane for Clarks and Kickers and the amazing can't remember name shop in Crystal Palace - on Westow Street - maybe Merlins? They have some more unusual spanish brands and very good. Not that I'm into shoes, or anything like that, you understand...

Agree with sophie above - if you don't do it now it will be SO hard once your baby is here! I didn't drive much to start with and it's not that its essential - but it makes getting to some groups etc so much easier (esp now that toddler will spend 10 mins max in the buggy!), and makes places like Beckenham Spa/Crystal Palace/Mothercare(!) easily accessible.

We had upstairs at mag. But have to go in to book! People use the herne too I think?

Oops cross post - C7 we ended up gatecrashing the great but age inappropriate bumps and babes at goose green. Hopefully not too many small babies got in the way of the huge fire engine wielding snotty toddler...

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi, is this a weekly group? What time does it > happen? Looking for things my mum could do with my > daughter on a Monday, as not a lot seems to go on, > compared to the rest of the week. Yep weekly 10-11.15ish it seems - just a bit of a trek over to North Dulwich dep on where your mum is based - or whether she drives. There's Ruby Rhymes too at the church at the top of red post hill which is drop in. Hmm can't think of much else...

Ok I'm probably heading to st faiths playgroup or goose green swings this morning on my own....so might try to talk to strangers!! If anyone else around say hi!

Gah you are all describing my weekend perfectly. In laws here for what seems like a fully catered holiday, yep they are well meaning and bring presents and generally get little sb over excited (and seem oblivious to the need for a nap or to be a bit quiet in the evening when he is asleep). BUT I feel like I've just been catering and washing up constantly - they dont want to eat an early lunch with little one so do breakfast, baby lunch, grown up lunch, baby supper, grown up dinner...repeat..argh...... At least when baby 2 comes along we won;t have a spare room any longer....(hehe evil laugh) My parents much better but they would never get up in the night unless I asked them to. Or nappy change. But I don't mind asking them, so easier.

Oh my god Santa sells out?!? I had no idea! Luckily little sb was scared of Santa when be saw him at the Nct fair a couple of weeks ago. Phew.

Lovely ruth ;-) Forget heat, even grazia doesn't do it for me these days. I bought sainsburys christmas special magazine today for the recipes. (this was after spending 5 mins scrabling on the floor by the checkout picking up the baby crisps my child had emptied on the floor. When I got up an oldish woman looked at me (and clocked that am 6m pregnant) and said patronisingly 'he didn't want them did he?'. Yeah, he did actually, he wanted to throw them on the floor.)

It's not so much that I feel in idiot in normal day to day circumstances but I do feel like I've let myself down by not going back to work immediately post baby number 1 and when people ask about what I am doing about work I do feel quite defensive and embarrased. I also have NO idea how I'm ever going to have the confidence to go back to work now as previously worked in a pretty fast moving, working all hours all encompassing environment and it feels like already after less than 2 years I am totally out of the loop and behind. Edited to add I do also feel quite fat and frumpy and like my clothes and hair and references are all wrong when I see people I used to work with. I nearly bumped into someone from my office a while back but actually ducked into a shop and hid partly because I couldn't bear the conversation and partly because I just knew I looked dreadful!!

Really all you city mini fans? We have a city mini and a maclaren quest and after using the quest the city mini feels like a tank and totally long and wide and unmanouverable (?word?!). It does have the most brilliant sun hood though so we always use it as our holiday buggy, and doesn't tip nearly so easily with a bag on the handlebars. Quest really awful for tipping over/storage and sun shade is pretty non existent. Oh and cosy toes on the city mini has nowhere to fix to.

Yep it's just moved nearer ikea - think where m and s used to be on the valley park bit. And new mamas and papas there too just further down nearer sainsburys!