prm

Hi there, having missed the first one I was hoping to meet you all this time but unfortunately I don't think I can make the 12th... Hopefully next time!

I was just discussing ths with my husband and yes probably things have changed a bit since we bought in 2007..at that time house prices were going up like crazy and ED prices were just getting out of hand, more than the properties were worth really. Looking at estate agents windows I can see prices in ED have settled a bit more since then and are probably more realistic now. At the same time Forest Hill has become more desirable with the tube and as families hear about the good schools here etc. so the gap has proably become smaller... But you still get more from your money in SE23 so still a good alernative if you want to stay in the area and upgrade from a 3 to 4 bed for example with a bigger garden. On a separate note for those considering moving out of London it's also worth factoring in the commuting costs which can be thousands per year if you still need to come into London for work!

In my opinion Forest Hill is a great alternative if you like living very close to ED but need more space.

Sounds great, I would definitively be interested, especially if you are doing a session on Tuesdays! Look forward to hearing full details.

Please don't get mixed up! Aupairs are not slaves! They are mostly young girls with no childcare qualifications or experience, who speak little english and are coming to the UK to improve their English and experience family life. They live with the family, and they get a room and food plus a weekly cash allowance for looking after children and helping with some chores around the house if required. It's very different from being a professional, qualified and experienced nanny and a very respectable childcare option if a family wishes to choose it. Our aupair is part of our family and we take her out to meals with us, to visit family and friends, we have a cleaner and don't ask her to do any housework, she has friends and family visit from home whenever she likes.. It may not always be like that but in every case I know of (including our own) families actually pay more and go out of their way to improve the standard conditions offered by aupair agencies. Edited to add I don't think Kapaxiana was refering to aupairs in her opening post but others have introduced the term in later posts and that is what I wanted to clarify.

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Hi all, Thanks for all your tips! We are back from Kefalonia and had a wonderful time. I just wanted to add my own feedback in case anyone is considering it for a family holiday... We stayed in a small secluded beach off the beaten track near Skala called Karminia beach and it was absolutely wonderful. Skala was a lovely little resort with plenty of restaurants and not too crowded (in June). The whole geography of Kefalonia was amazing, the mountains, the water, the plants and flowers...unfortunately we did not get as far as Assos and Fiskardo, as the little one was getting too carsick but the south coast is beautiful and we really enjoyed staying around there and chilling out. The coastal drive between Skala and Poros was breathtaking, and we did make a little day trip to Melissani Cave and Antisamos beach both worth a visit. Dinner at the taverna in Old Skala with the views was a great tip! On a practical note Baby & husband both did get fried up by the mosquitos (I think just because there is so many plants and water around there and we slept with the balconies wide open / no mosquito nets) so I would go as prepared for that as possible). All the properties we saw around the area were beautiful, had great sea views & swimmingpools,were surrounded by lovely plants...although it has been built in the past 10 years or so, it has been done very tastefully and there is no big apartment blocks etc just villas and small resorts with a handful of apartments. Wonderful..highly recommended!

Hi, don't worry too much I think it can be quite normal to get cramps with Braxton Hicks contractions (I get them sometimes and haven't done anything about it) but don't hesitate to call your midwife today for advice & reassurance, that's what they are there for. If at any point you have strong cramps with any bleeding head down to the Kings Maternal Assessment Unit (A&E if they are closed) straight away. I had this at 34 weeks on my first pregnancy and my midwife stupidly said to me "is it more than an eggcup? if not it's probably normal but if you are worried you can go to the MAU". Of course I was worried!!! And luckily I did go to the MAU as they examined me and the blood seemed to be coming from inside the uterus in which case they may have had to deliver the baby straight away. They kept me in for 24 hrs for observation and baby was fine so all ok in the end...but my point is, trust your instinct and if at any time you feel something is wrong go to the MAU and don't worry about making a fuss, better to be safe than sorry!

Unfortunately I can't make the 30th and I'm going to be away quite a lot in June & July but would love to join you on any August meetups

I waited until 6 months to follow general advice and it went well, first baby rice, then purees and so forth. However I felt she was ready earlier, so with the second one and being more confident on the subject I dont think I will hesitate weaning from 5 months onwards, if he shows the signs of being ready. Other friends started earlier so whatever you decide to do I am sure it will be fine...after all it's all trial an error, mine has always been better spoon fed but a couple of baby friends refused purees quite early on (ie 7-8 months if I remember correctly) decided they preferred to feed themselves and did so brilliantly.

Thanks for all the advice! How exciting, can't wait to go now! If anyone else has been / has any more tips please do post them or PM me. Cheers!

Wow, thanks for all the tips! We are actually staying in the southern part of the island near Skala - I booked it in a bit of an impulse without knowing anything about the island, but the plan is to get out in the morning and spending the day exploring the island, best beaches and towns etc. so we will make sure we go to Myrtos, Fiskardo, Foki, Assos etc. Do the beaches have showers in them and are there shady spots generally or should we purchase our own parasol? Do restaurants have highchairs? Thanks!!

HI all, We are soon off to Kefalonia with our 20 month old and it will be our first time in Greece (well in fact our first holiday abroad with toddler, apart from visiting grandparents in Spain). I will be 6.5 months pregnant too. Has anybody been to Kefalonia/ Greece and can offer some tips on what to do / where to go / what to avoid / what to bring with you / what local food to eat and not when you are pregnant. In fact any tips whatsoever on travelling to a beach destination with a toddler will be most welcome! Thanks in advance.

Hi ladies, hope you are enjoing your pregnancies! Just wanted to add my name to the list..I am expecting baby no.2 for the 7th Sept, my daughter will be almost 2yo when her little brother arrives. I did my NCT classes with Tess / Sillywoman the first time around and they were brilliant so I highly recommend them to first timers. Apart from getting a briefing on what to expect in labour, the best part for me was to meet 5 other mums who were all due within days of me. Once the babies were born they were the best source of support as you realise you are all going through the same things at the same time, can exchange a lot of advice, hang out together etc. It was really invaluable at a time when you can often feel confused and alone being home with a baby all day long. Well worth the money in my opinion. This time around I already know what labour is about pretty well, so was hoping to meet some other second time mums here at the forum so that we can again share our experiences of juggling a baby & a toddler at the same time. Would be great to arrange a get-together sometime...I also did that via the forum last time and met some lovely people.

Thanks for the tip GinaG3..I too have the same issue with my 18 month old and the same visions of rotting teeth!

Hi again, my daughter developed a very high fever on Friday which we couldn't get down with Nurofen or Paracetamol so we ended up in Seldoc on Saturday morning where they confirmed she had an ear infection and gave us some antibiotics...although only because I asked..doctor said he did not necessarily think it was worth giving them as they would only shorten the illness by a couple of days if that, he even said I should not even bother with attempting to lower a fever as that was the body fighting against the infection, so not even bother with paracetamol unless child is very upset..which she is, and I don't like seeing my child in pain so even if it only shortens it by a couple of days I am giving both without hesitation. It really amazes me how different the approach is between here and Spain (the only other country I can compare with)..over there they give you meds & antibiotics without hesitation. And yes I know the whole reasoning behind letting the body build up its own defences and how the body can become resitant if over exposed to antibiotics but every time I go to the GP I leave thinking why did I bother going at all, as no matter how ill we feel or how many days we've been ill, they always send us home saying there is no point in taking anything just let it run its course! Oh and no surprise when the doctor said don't bother giving any decongestants as they don't work either!

Thanks Saffron, I do use a menthol rub suitable for babies or a drop of olbas on a tissue near the cot, which I think does help her sleep better. I would like to give her something that helps soothe the throat and break up the phlegm - I mention something over the counter or even a "home" or natural remedy as I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that some decongestant meds were recently removed from the market in this country for under 2s. The medicine I have from Spain, which I was given by a doctor has "Phenylephrine Hydrochloride" and "diphenhydramine hydrochloride" and over there it's given from 3 months old. At the end of the day it does seem sensible if there is no improvement in a few days I will go to the GP but it sounds like this flu thing can last for a while.

Hi all, my 17 month old seems to have a version of this bug too. She has had a cough for about two weeks (with some diahrrea initially) but it is becoming increasingly chesty and she has had a couple of choking / vomiting phlegm episodes. I have been giving her some cough medicine that I got in Spain a couple of months ago - but it doesn't seem to be doing much. I am under the impression this type of medicine is not given in this country, and was wondering if anyone could recommend any effective over-the counter (or home made) remedies for chesty coughs. I am wondering whether to go to the GP, as last time we had something similar I was told to give nothing else but paracetamol or nurofen until she got better and just let it run its course. My only concern about this is that at this rate I would be giving paracetamol/nurofen on a permanent basis..when it isn't the flu, it is teething or something else...and it just doesn't seem right to have her so medicated all the time.

pommie, I also had gestational diabetes and although I was quite shocked / upset at first it was actually not that bad at all. As others have said a lot of people can control it with diet, which I didn't find that hard to follow (in fact it helped me to be healthy and not put too much weight towards the end of my pregnancy). You have to stay away from hardcore sugars & sweets but apart from that you can eat pretty much anything and eat carbohydrates in small quantities. You will have to see how your own body reacts to different foods and quantities (when you test your blood sugars after eating - which once you get used to the routine is really easy). If you were at Kings you would get seen every week at the Diabetic Clinic to monitor your sugar levels and review your home results and you would have extra scans towards the end of the pregnancy to check the baby is not getting too big - but if you are following your diet and your tests for sugar levels are coming back ok I really don't think you have anything to worry about (my baby was completely average size and smaller than they had estimated). Exercise also helps and if you were to need insuline, as far as I understand that would control the baby is not getting too much sugar & shouldn't get too big. So in summary I would just advice you not to worry, it really isn't that bad. Best wishes with the rest of your pregnancy!

My almost 13 month old never took the bottle so I kept breastfeeding until 12 months to ensure she got her milk. Beaker was not an option as she also does the thing of taking a gulp of milk and letting it pour out of her mouth..But recently I found the best way of getting her to drink anything. I offered her a small Innocent Smoothie carton with a straw, I wasn't really expecting her to take it but she drank it whole! I have since been giving her milk with a straw and she takes it so well. In terms of quantity I read they need to take 400ml a day (including youghurt, cheese, milk in cooking ie. all dairy)so I every day I give her 180ml at breakfast (120 drunk & 60 on cereal) 1 petit filous or youghurt, 180 ml in the afternoon and some cheese with her dinner (no milk before bed as she's never taken it well). In summary, you can give it anytime or anyhow your baby prefers, as long as she has approx. 400ml

Hi, I have booked my one year old for her 12 month jabs in a couple of weeks at our GPs Forest Hill Road Practice. After booking I have noticed in the practice booklet that it states: - At 12 months: Hib and Meningitis C - At around 13 months: MMR & Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) Does anybody know / has any experience on whether these can be given all at once, and is it advisable? I figure if they can, it's one less traumatic trip to the doctors, but they may have separated them for a good reason. Many thanks, P PS. Also wondering if these generally cause similar reaction as earlier ones (in our case, baby got very upset about 4 hours after jabs, was OK by bedtime)

Thank you all...it's really strange, we don't have any carpets or curtains in our dressing room...it's a bright aired room and I thought we were pretty good at cleaning & storing our winter clothes! Will have to tackle the pest & be a lot more careful from now on.

Thanks for all the advice! Obviously it's time to give our dressing room / closet a good cleanout and put all that pest control stuff around. How about the clothes that have been affected (not all have holes)...can't give them too hot of a wash as they are wool so I guess throwing them away is the only solution?!

Dear forumites, My husband has found a pile of his jumpers covered in tiny worms & moths! arghhh!!! Some time ago he also found one of his jumpers had holes in it..thought maybe it had been caught on something sharp and didn't think much of it but I wonder if it was the same. Does anyone know how to deal with this / treat the affected clothes / prevent it from happening again? Many thanks in advance, x P

Mercadona has them as well