BellendenBear

Another recommendation for Winston's wish and also the BBC website. Both give good guidance and an understanding of what children are capable of understanding about the finality of death at different ages.

We had a P+T Sport (bought on EDF) with a 2.3 year age gap. I absolutely hated it. Baby did too. She was fairly average size but seemed to grow out of the cocoon thing after about 6 weeks before being big enough for the seat. It lasted about 8 weeks before being ditched for Maclaren + sling / buggyboard. A friend with similar age gap got a double mini city jogger and loved it.

This is a general comment about the siblings policy and not about Ivydale specifically, but shouldn't this policy be reviewed? It seems ridiculous that all the subsequent siblings get prioritised for entry to a school even if the family no longer live at the address that they did when the eldest child was accepted. Obviously I see why siblings need to be at the same school, but surely this leads to people playing the system, ie renting close to a preferred school for the eldest to gain entry and then moving away. This must be so frustrating for those who live close to a school, plan to be a part of that community, yet have no chance of their children being able to get in. Perhaps the sibling policy should only apply if you still live at the address (or a closer one) that you did when the eldest child got in?

Does anyone have any experience of sending their children to the Harris Primary schools? We went to an open evening at the Peckham Free school last winter. It was a really depressing and uninspiring evening. 2 teachers from the Peckham Park Primary spoke to us along with the Pricipal of the Peckham Academy. Their expectations were dismally low with a promise that by the end of year 6 the pupils would be approaching national average. Their expectations of what children would be doing in reception seemed to be at a similar level to what my daughter and her friends were already doing at nursery aged 2.5 - 3. They seemed to have thought about how children from disadvantaged backgrounds could benefit from their system (very admirable) but didn't seem to have considered where children not from deprived socioeconomic groups fitted in. I was really disappointed as I had been quite excited when I had heard that there would be a new school in this area. If anyone has children at either of the Harris Primaries in Peckham I would really like to hear from you. As things stand, the Free school is our second closest school, but it won't be one of our 6 choices.

We have looked at both and were really impressed with both. Lyndhurst seemed really organised, warm and inclusive. DKH felt a bit more vibrant, the kids seemed really happy and were proud to show off their school. I like the fact that both are pretty relaxed about school uniform. I slightly preferred Lyndhurst, Mr Bear preferred DKH. I would say that you are lucky to be in a location where you can choose between these schools. A difficult decision though.

Glad someone else started a rant about this. I have been really amazed at the lack of information that primary schools put on their websites. Surely open days would be an obvious thing to add at this time of year. We emailed 6 schools at the end of September to find out how to arrange a tour, and only 1 replied. Like alieh said, it does make you wonder how easy it will be to engage with the schools in the future. I would have thought that many parents, particularly working parents, would use email and the internet to keep in touch with what's happening. On a positive note, we have been really impressed with the schools that we have seen.

Definitely

Is there any way of finding out which schools are likely to bulge?

We had the same problem with our Quest. The DIY shop on Camberwell Church Street sorted it - 12p for parts and labour. The problem recently recurred so I went to East Dulwich DIY. They charged 35p. That's East Dulwich for you.

I recently applied for a baby passport. It took 2 weeks and 5 days with the check and send service.

I was going to suggest the traffic club too. It's sponsored by TFL. My daughter really loves the stickers and workbooks and is definitely more receptive to learning about road safety since we got them.

Well done Audrey, I'm in. I still owe you a drink / cab fare from last time. You will have met my 2 at the Wooden Circle with their nanny. Unfortunately I was at work. See you all on the 5th.

We watched the Deptford High Street episode too. Really really interesting. Molly, we said exactly the same thing about the clearing of the E+C estates.

Sounds like you have already had success, but I had just one other suggestion. Does he sleep in a sleeping bag? My 1st daughter started waking really early having always slept until 6.30-7 at a similar age. It was because she needed more wriggle space. We moved her into the bigger size sleeping bag. Problem solved.

Hi all, I managed to lose our Maclaren rain cover on Lordship Lane sometime between 11.30am - 12.00 today. If you found it please let me know. Thanks.

Does anyone know where I can buy Birkenstock's for toddler (3) locally? Does anyone know how their sizes compare with Clarks? Thanks

I didn't mean to give the impression that I was knocking the care I received at Kings. I totally agree that the care that they provide is excellent on the whole. I put 'observed' not because I didn't feel that she should have been observed but because she wasn't. The paediatricians wanted us to stay for 48 hours so she could have 4 hourly observations recorded. Her obs were checked twice during that time after lots of reminding. I know the postnatal care is supposed to have improved a lot since then. Also I wasn't saying that group B strep can't be a serious thing or that the decision to induce and give ABs in my first labour was wrong. Just that the circumstances of the 2nd labour were completely different and uncomplicated so I didn't see the point in screening for something that many people have and that isn't screened for in everyone. Had my waters broken early again or there have been any other risks then of course I would have had anti-biotics.

I thought that you only needed to have antibiotics if there is a delay between waters breaking and onset of labour? Otherwise everyone would be screened and more people would need antibiotics. I had group B strep in 1st pregnancy which was only detected because my waters broke at 37 weeks and contractions didn't follow. I ended up being induced in KCH, having loads of iv anti-biotics and having to stay in for 48 hours for baby to be 'observed'. 2nd pregnancy I opted not to be tested again after discussion with my midwife (Brierley). They would have given iv antibiotics at home if I'd wanted. I had a very uncomplicated home birth. Like you say lots of people carry group B strep without knowing about it which is why I decided not to be tested.

We have an Ergo and a Vaude framed carrier too. For me (5'2" and weedy) the Ergo is way more comfortable. Mr BB has always liked the Vaude though. We went to the Lakes last year when baby was about 5 months. I found carrying our 2.5 year old in the Ergo more comfortable than the baby in the Vaude. The advantage of a framed carrier for long walks is that they have a really good rain / wind cover which is almost like a tent. Maybe more of a consideration for the Lake District than California.

We have the John Lewis sheepskin rug which I used in the moses basket for the first few months then made a few holes in it and used it as a buggy liner after that. We have a Maclaren quest and it is still possible to fold it so I would have thought you'd be ok with the Bee. As already said, easy to wash in the machine.

Would any of you mind telling me how far you live from Bellenden school? We will be applying for Sept 2013 but think we may be too far away. Do you know of they are taking a bulge class this year? I think I saw something on the forum a few months ago suggesting that they might. Thanks.

You can get the traps in the DIY shop on Lordship Lane. Or John Lewis or Amazon. Last year we had millions of moths and their larvae in the carpets, drawers, bottom of the laundry basket etc etc. We spent a fortune on various traps and repellents and got the carpets steam cleaned. I think it helped a lot and we seem to have less than last year, but they are definitely starting to show their horrible faces again.

Flat sheep skin bear lost this morning somewhere near Peckham Rye, East Dulwich Road and the Leisure Centre. FLATOUT If anyone finds him please let me know. My sleep depends on him.

I do find this article very sad too. And I don't understand why anything that tries to explore why we have such low breast feeding rates is always interpreted as being an attack on people who struggled to breast feed. The really sad thing about this article is that the researchers found that health services don't provide the necessary support to help women to breast feed meaning that the women had been given unrealistic expectations. It doesn't then go on to look at what extra support might have helped these women, just that we should lower their expectations in the first place. Surely that's terrible? For lots of reasons some women can't or won't breast feed, and I am definitely not saying that they should be made to feel guilty or that they have failed in any way. But we should definitely look at what might have failed them in this process so that the support available isn't total pot luck as many of us have experienced.

It's probably just her way of telling you that suburbia's not her thing. Maybe you should come back?