millie42

Thanks everyone. I had no idea that 3.5 was prety young. We will pop his back in night pullups for a while and see how it goes. For about two weeks these were dry each morning so i thought it was time to stop using them but its obviously too early. Michelle

I am having trouble getting my son (3.5 years) dry at night. He has been out of nappies during the day for about 9 months but is nearly always wet at night so we have decided to put him back into pull ups and try again in a week or so (....and give me time to clear all the washing!) We have done all the usual stuff such as reducing fluid in the evening, waterproof bedding, beds pads, lights on on the way to the bathrroom, lifting at 10pm but nothing seems to work. He did the day time toilet training bit very quickly so were wondering whether we were missing something???? Any ideas much appreciated. M

Very interseting. I will mention this to my son's headteacher. He is at St William of York in SE23.

Everyone always says when you are pregnant - don't worry it will all fall off when you have it and start running around after them. I think this very rarely happens and this is made doubly worse when we see all the celebs skinny minnies again after a matter of weeks. I believe if you stayed naturally thin and lsot weight easily before you will after the baby and if (like me!) It was always a hard slog it will be hard again. After having DS1 I was still a good two stone more than I should be but thankfully never added any more to that with DS2 and now that DS1 is a year have finally managed to shift it all I am so not a gym fan so did it through the diet and gentle exercise route. With kids we have little time for ourselves and so it does take time. Also I am still a different shape than before even being back to pre-preg weight - hips and back wider! Stick with it. It will all come off eventually.

Hello Molly. Hope you and the girls are well. I would love to use your mum to knit some little things for Felix and Max. In the past their great grandmother has knit stuff for us but she is getting a bit too old now. Very exciting so will take a look for some yarn and patterns. Is she able to adapt patterns? I hear Lewisham library has a large pattern stock so will check it out when I have a moment. M

We are also a great fan of the ikea while one too - really easy to clean (and also fits in my dishwasher when things get very grim). Also really portable folding down to really small and great value. We originally had a trip trap with DS1 but he hated it and it was sent back. The ikea one was always intended as a spare for grandparents but has been a great buy. M

Normanton Road methodist church has a friday session that is worth looking at if you can travel.

Hello there. I had a total nightmare with the birth of my first son and so when I fell pregnant with number two I made it very clear that I was determined to have a section. Everyone was totally supportive of this decision and made it clear it was totally my right to chose. I feel very strongly that if you really dont want to deliver naturally you should try and insist on one. Sections are major surgery so should not be undertaken lightly but natural births are also very dangerous proceedures both for mother and child. Although I have the ugly scar and my lower abdomum is still slightly tender, my delivery via section was 1,000 times better than my experience of a natural delivery. After the section I was up and about within the day. Having spoken to many doctors on this point it is clear the anti-section mood at the moment is purely due to funding with many recognising extreme government pressure to keep elective sections statistics down. That all said - most women deliver perfectly easily without sections and recover very quickly so it really is down to personal choice. If anyone wants to chat about my experience of both - feel free to pm

My OH take our son to the classes run at Crystal Palace and really rates them. Maybe worth checking them out if you are able to travel that far. m

Thought the day was great by the way - although i am totally heart broken that my gorgeous golden cocker spaniel did not win the Golden Oldie prize (I am joking and suspect it may have something to do with her having rolled in fox poo about 10 minutes before the show - ho hum!). Maybe get some local bands to play a few sets, more food stalls - popcorn, candifloss, sweets, tofee apples, cheese, bread, sweet/fudgeshops olives etc. Dont want to try and pretend its Borough Market but a few more foodie stalls would have gone down well and reduced the queues at some of the others. Also I know from other bits of the forum that a number of mums run small craft businesses which may be interested in getting involved. Also would mirror some of the other posts about the older style games. I would be really interested in getting more involved next year if you need anyone - I promise to leave the fragrant mutt behind next time. M

Well done you! He is totally adorable. My first son's birth was a total nightmare and I ended up being pretty traumatised about the whole thing. However rest assured in time you will forget it all - I did and I went on to have another (.... I blame it on amnesia/insanity). Enjoy him as they are small for such a short time. M

Anyone know if this is now back to afternoons or is it still open in the mornings? Many thanks

We had a Angelcare monitor and sensor pad but never used the sensor pad. I actually chose that one as I really liked the design (shallow I know) Also we only really used the monitor for about a month when the baby was very small so I would not bother paying a lot for one again.

For both of mine (3.5 yrs and 10 mths) - I always tried to get out and about as much as possible when they were small and eventually both of them slept really well in their buggy/car seat. I found I was going potty being stuck at home so would go on long walks, trips into town etc. Now the oldest is 3.5 (and obviously I cant have both asleep in buggies) I try and do everything in the mornings get them home for lunch and straight into bed they both sleep in the afternoons for 2.5/3hrs which gives me some free time. If they wake up grumpy it would be back out in the pram or up the park for an hour or so before tea. It does take a while to get them into the sleep routine and we had a few niggles on the way but they (and I) are now much better natured in the afternoons and the routine works well for all of us. I think it is very hard being at home full time with a young baby esp and it is really important to get structure in your day so you always know you have something planned. The kids welcome the routine and its a great way to get to know other children and mums. The kids will fit into your routine if you stick to it.

We take our two to Beckenham spa. They have Family Splash sessions on most days and at the weekend. Very good and clean. M

Myself and one of the other EDF mums met up with our kids on Monday in the Rye picnic area and are planning to do it again on Monday next week. May decide to go to Dulwich Park next time but others are welcome to join us if you are free and have children to wear out. Michelle

I agree with Pickles above. Different HVs told me different things so I now rely on asking fellow mums. Also its useful to remember that children are hardy little things and there is never any wrong or right way to childcare. Feel free pm if you need any info and I am sure posting on here on the forum will give you loads of info. BTW - Your username sounds familiar - Did we not meet up at one of the baby picnics at the summer? I am Felix's mum. Safe to say he is still refusing to crawl and concerving all his energy for eating and growing teeth. Do feel free to PM if you need anything.

My three year old does them at the Beckenham spa and totally loves them. Lessons last 30 mins and in groups of about 6 children. The facilities are really nice and new and there is a cafe you can sit in and watch them while they have their lesson. It takes me about 10 mins to drive there from Honor Oak so not far. You book in blocks of lessons but think you may be able to start anytime. Worth checking out their website. Good luck Michelle

Great - Thats ideal. I usually go to Dulwich Park more than Rye as my oldest prefers the playground there - however happy to meet up in the Rye if that is easier for you. I am sure we must have seen each other around! What about next Tuesday? Am? M

Toast - I am totally in the same boat (have a three year old and 10 month - both boys) on a Monday and Tuesday morning so if you are local to ED and are free - maybe we should meet up and get them to both wear each other out together! M

I agree with pretty much all of the above and think we can learn many lessons from the danish model. Men should recognise the importance of and work involved in caring for our children but it is really up to us to instil this appreciation through how we treat our partners and young sons! If we are lucky this may have been done by their mothers! I have many friends who moan about the lack of help that they get from their parents and yet they pretty much wait on them and treat them like demi-gods. Please don't think I am criticising the role of the traditional mother in our society. My mum stayed at home with us and was extreemly happy doing it and I have friends who love being SAHM and their family roles work really well for them. If we make it clear that parenting is a role requiring both parents pulling their weight (and I don't mean the man simply bringing in the money) womens roles would be much easier. Howver if we want men to pull their weight more, they can and will and its up to us to ensure they do.After all we all know they are pretty simple souls (albeit with a tendency towards laziness). Apologies for the feminist rant. M

As I mentioned before both of mine slept in our room for at least 6 months and Felix (10 months) I am ashamed to admit is still in a cot in our room!!! BAD/SAD MOTHER I KNOW . He sleeps in the nursery for his daytime naps but is in with us at night. Thankfully he sleeps through and I am now used to his snoring which often rattles the walls. He is fine in his room but I still love having him in with us. By 6 months I was ready to put my fist son in his room but Felix will be my last baby (far too old for anymore) and I guess I still really love seeing him at night. Maybe we should have another threat on TIPS ON HOW TO LET GO OF OUR CHILDREN!! just for me. Michelle

Fushia - that would be great. I keep meaning to try the club at CP so may see you there next Tuesday. Michelle

Hello all Have a great time today. Are Wednesdays a definate day going forward as we would love to join you but Wednesdays are impossible for me as are back at work on that day (groan)! Maybe a monday or tuesday sometime so I can retain some sanity during the holidays! Have a fun meet. Michelle Max (nearly 4) and Felix (11 months)

We had both of our boys in a cot in our room for at least 6 months and both of them moved into their own rooms without any fuss at all. I did however start putting them in the nursery for their daytime naps so they could get used to that room. Having them in with us was much much easier and made the pain of night feeds much better. To be honest after a while both of you wont really notice the odd little noises/snoring they make during the night and when they wake up for a feed you will probably find the partner "not on duty" doesn't really wake up properly so their sleep is not really disturbed. I personally found having them close to hand (esp as they seem to get so many coughts and colds) reassuring but its really person choice. samstopit - you are a diamond. I would never have survived on a fold up bed in the nursery. That would have been the end of our marriage. Looking after a baby all day and night is as hard work as any job and I think both parents deserve some quality sleep. I hope your other half realises what a gem you are! Good luck