pilsbury

try angels on Melbourne grove - we literally just took something there yesterday to be upholstered and they were really friendly and helpful and the quote seems very reasonable. http://www.angelupholstery.co.uk/Pages/default.aspx we had a previous bad experience with the linwood and Searle place at the bottom of dog kennel hill (not great service and pretty pricey) and if you search on here, you'll find it wasn't just us...

thankyou for all your info guys, really very useful I also emailed asking them for the info but hadn't heard back, so its great to hear your first hand experiences and puts my mind at rest. plus, as you noted, we have goose green school almost as close away, so we are really lucky (unlike some of the stressed people I've heard about living on the edge of schools like heber and Goodrich). thankyou again :)

hi all does anybody know how far the catchment area for st johns and st clements is "reaching" this year? we live on ondine road towards the end nearest the school, but having read their admissions policy online, i'm starting to get a little concerned that perhaps we're still not even close enough (we aren't (and won't be) church goers and we don't have an older sibling there). we won't be applying for another couple of years still, but I was just wondering if anyone knew? cheers!

My little girl has nearly finished a 3 wk taster of the ballet class in Goose Green, but I'm not 100% sure that its structured nature is best suited to her - I hadn't really realised that the teacher would be teaching them real ballet (you know: toes here, arms here), I think my LO would rather just run around shaking her booty :) Are there any other dance classes around that people recommend on either a Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon?

we went on a Monday a few weeks back and didn't have to queue at all (arrived about 2-3pm). don't forget to make use of the 241 offer if you travel by train - simply download print the voucher off and show this along with your return train tickets to get 241.... http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/zsl-london-zoo?gclid=CJmx7vPvhrcCFUXJtAodSHoAfw

I just wanted to say thankyou to each of you for taking the time to reply to this thread and I'll also reply back to each of the kind people that sent me PMs - it was so reassuring to hear from everyone and your well wishes and happy stories of st thomas' are massively appreciated! We've now got a couple of antenatal appointments scheduled in at st thomas' starting next week, so i'll be able to direct all my specific questions at the doctors/midwives etc then. We also got a leaflet through about ECHO but I don't think we'll attend one of the antenatal days, because at the moment we just don't know whether our child will actually have the condition or not, so I feel like a bit of a fraud + i'm trying to keep telling myself that the baby will turn out healthy anyways... I guess we'll see how our first appointment goes and if we still have questions then attend an ECHO open day. I'm over the shock of the scan now and although had a few upset moments over the last fortnight, i'm trying hard not to worry unnecessarily and this thread has really helped! I do think that nearer the time (i'm 30wks now and as its my second i'm not as prepared as I was the first time!) i'll start to get in a worry though - for example, i'm not sure how i'll manage to let the oxytocin/endorphins do their business during labour, when in the back of my mind all i'll be thinking about is how in a few days/hours i'll know whether my baby really is sick or not... I guess I need to work on some positive thoughts/breathing/reinforcements from my partner on that side of things. thanks again for everyone's helpful words and positive thoughts! xxxx

:( I loved how it was for the last month or longer when the trial was on and now back to early morning wakes - boo!

Hi all After a couple of extra scans at Kings (I'm now at 28wks, baby #2), I've been referred today to have the rest of my antenatal care and actual birth at St Thomas - my baby has a possible heart coarctation (heart abnormality) and Kings would rather I was at St Thomas where they have 24hr cardiac care available, that way they can monitor the baby as soon as its born and decide whether or not it needs surgery. Still in a bit of shock about the news and trying to stay positive as I know they're just being really cautious, but I was just wondering if anyone on here has given birth at ST Thomas' recently and, more specifically, had their child stay for a short time (hopefully it will be no more than a week) in the special baby care unit there? With my first born (at Kings) my little girl got an infection on the way out and we both ended up needing to stay in for a week which was pretty crappy all round, but at least I (or my husband) only had to take her up to special baby care once every 12 hours for her antibiotics... whereas this time round the baby will need to stay on the special baby care unit until either they've decided its not coarctation or they've decided it is and she's recovered from her surgery to fix the issue, either way could be up to a week longs stay. I had really thought this time around it would be so much easier as I was at least familiar with Kings so things would be less scary and I could manage an exit strategy much more easily, but now I'm back to unfamiliar surroundings and of course the stress of potential heart surgery on a tiny baby :( Anyway - if anyone has any experience of the special baby care unit at St Thomas and wouldn't mind sharing their experience I'd be really grateful (either by PM or reply). Any tips on surviving the unit and/or maternity ward there? (someone did say at least the food was a little better at St Thomas, lol). Thanks!!

Just got back from 9 nights here - http://www.adrianhoteles.com/en/roca-nivaria/ - and loved it! We stayed half board but there's an AI option too We got a junior suite which meant that mini P could nap and sleep in the small lounge while we stayed out in the bedroom/balcony sunbathing/reading etc The place is soooo well set up for kids - my little girl is almost 2 and had an absolute ball. The team who run the kids club are great (facilities so much better than her normal nursery!) and you can stay with them to play or leave them on their own. then there's the kids swimming pool, kids buffet and mini disco each night (which she LOVED!). the staff are all really friendly and generally all the children there seemed friendly and well behaved (of course give or take the odd toddler meltdown)

maybe try the qhotels chain of hotels - there's about 15 of them I think dotted around England so I#m sure you could find one close to an "attraction" and they're v child friendly and not too pricey at all - most of them have pools with dedicated times for kids' spashtime and you can get extra beds/cots put in the rooms fine... we went to the one near oxford last year with our, at the time, 1 year old and it was great; planning a trip to another one in the near future. don't expect anything glamorous, but just easy with kids :)

thanks for all the advice. aside from shaunag its a pretty damning report of trunkis, I was surprised! I think we'll leave it for this holiday (as I think she's a little too young still to be expected to hold on the whole time), but maybe i'll roadtest one next time around! thanks again!

hi - off on hols (at last!) next week and I was wondering whether to buy my little girl a trunki (seems like a rite of passage for modern kids!) - she's not quite 2 though - is that too young to expect her to ride on it?

(+ grandparents who sometimes need more entertaining than the toddler!) I've had a look on the "what's on" thread but aside from the stuff at the horniman (http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?6,1072017) has anyone got any good tips of local/short bus/train ride way events that would be suitable for a (nearly) 2 year old and family?

all airlines have different policies - most of them cover it in the FAQ section of their website, so check their first

Interesting thread as I've never owned a car in my life, but will inheriting one when my generous in laws move to france this summer - and ever since they've told us we'll be getting it, I've been obsessively fantasising about how much easier life will be with a car! I think its a) weather related (really running out of local indoor activities to do with a toddler with the constant rain) and b) pregnancy related (with a second on the way in early summer i'm finding the schlepp to nursery pick-up/sainos etc harder and harder as my legs just don't work as fast as I want them too!) much like chillaxed we use zipcar for most day or part-day rentals (sainos or ikea trip or day trips to friends in other parts of London) + hertz/avis for rentals of 1 day or more. I've used zipcar for ages now and think we're really blessed to have so many cars in ED/Peckham and I still love that service. for avis/hertz I recommend joining their loyalty schemes as its usually free to do so and then you *might* get an upgrade every now and then, plus in some rental office (e.g. hertz in Victoria) you can skip the normal queue and go to the gold members' priority queue.

We are redoing a bit of our back garden at the moment, to make a previously unused space into a play, but I'm in need of some inspiration. We have cleared a nice space, but not sure what best to put there, a slide? Swing? Sand/waterpit? Playhouse/fort? Our little girl is nearly two and we have another one due in the next few months, so we'd Obviosuly like something they're both going to enjoy for several years (rather than having to redo the garden again!) Also what do people use underfoot for the children's area? We had thought about play grade wood chip, but now my other half nannies astro turf but I'm not a big fan of that myself... Any advice or pointers to helpful websites wood be gratefully received! Thanks!

we're heading to this place next month http://www.adrianhoteles.com/roca-nivaria/ (also from that babyfriendlyboltholes site) as it ticks the winter sun box + has an activity club that will take our nearly 2 yr old + has lots of good reviews on tripadvisor from families. we're getting a junior suite, so that we can put little one to bed while papa and I sit in the lounge and chill for the rest of the evening. booked the hotel direct and flights with BA, but I think some of the low-cost carriers fly to Tenerife too (we had air miles to use so stuck to BA) although its not quite Sardinia, last year we went to sicily for a week when she was one and had such a lovely time. stayed in a self catering former fisherman's cottage right by the sea on the southern tip of the island. in may the weather was perfect - some days a little too hot, but mostly just perfect (mid-late 20s) for toddlers. the locals LOVED our baby so much, such a lovely fuss made of her and they don't give a hoot if she's out "late" (by uk standards) with you in a restaurant. will definitely return to the island one day!

hi all first off I want to apologise for my delay in responding, no excuses just busy at work! secondly I want to thank each of you for taking the time to response to this thread or send me a private message. I was genuinely so touched when I saw how many of you had responded individually and sent me tips or stories of your own experiences, it nearly made me cry in fact (and who says everyone on the edf is a miserable sod (ok well everyone outside the family room))... it was so helpful to read the kind words and hear that what we're going through is really quite common. and there's some great advice about how to make drop off as stress-free as possible and how to incorporate nursery life into normal life for my lo. so THANK YOU!! i'm really pleased to report that after a very tearful drop off on tues, yesterday and today went must better. still a few tears, but only on the threshold of getting there (and not the entire walk!) and if we leave her directly in the arms (cuddle) of one of the staff and do it swiftly, she seems to be calming much quicker now. we already tried to talk lots about nursery over the week as a whole (her new friends she's making, her favourite toys and activities there) and now on work mornings she tells us that mama and dada are getting the choo-choo to work and that she is going to nursery to play :) I think that come tues we'll definitely have tears again as its such a long time away from today, but we will get there slowly. so I hope this comes as a help to those of you who are also going through a similar situation thanks so much again, I REALLY appreciate it!! xxx

Yes we did have a few settling in days with her before she started *properly* & that all went really fine - my husband stayed with her or in the adjoining room and she was absolutely fine... odd!

Hi all My little girl (20 months) just started at nursery recently after spending the first part of her life at home with either myself or my husband or both - we took her to loads of playgroups, rhyme times etc though and she always seemed really confident and social and not clingy at all. My husband and I are both working now though so she's started at a local (well recommended) nursery 3 days per week, but she doesn't seem to be settling too well. In week 1 she seemed to love her nursery days, but by week 2 the novelty had worn off and staff told me she was quite teary during the day. Now we're in week 3 and each day she's been dropped off this week has been full of tears (on all counts!), even on the walk there she realises where she's going and gets upset. On the flipside the staff have told me that overall she's happier during the day, but i'm worried they might be just telling me what I want to hear rather than the truth. The other ironic thing is that in weeks 1 and 2 she wasn't sleeping great at night at all (teething) and this week she's slept thru at night, so I thought that would help with her general mood... I was wondering if this pattern sounds familiar or not? Obviously each child is different, but we're starting to worry (already) if maybe this isn't the right nursery for her - or are we far too early on to worry about that? Be good to hear your experiences, thanks!

we have the little tikes one - not cheap, something like ?140, but my little girl loves it and is definitely built to last! note of caution - its a bugger to put together, took my other half nearly three hours on xmas eve, but like I say its v sturdy so its worth all the effort as you know there's no way it'll collapse on your little one and should survive any toddler tantrums :)

Thanks for all the advice :) Barbara, I'd like the sound of your class and I'd like to give it a shot this Saturday please :) do you need extra details from me in order to reserve me a spot?

thankyou, i'll check it out.... I live by ED station and don't have a car, so if anyone has any reccs for places nearer by that would also be helpful :)

hi guys, any particular reccs for pregnancy yoga classes? either weeknights after 7pm (though could be earlier on mon and fri) or weekends...

i'd also be interested in a dance class at the weekends for my 20 month old. there is the ballet at goose green, but there's a long waiting list....