espelli

Ooh how exciting! I'll make sure I catch it on iplayer in the morning! Shameless plug alert - if anyone is looking for child care from September I can recommend a great nanny with her own child (at Heber nursery in the mornings) who is available for 3-4 days and has experience of working nanny shares. PM me if you want any further info. See you tomorrow at petitou Loren, look forward to seeing you - anyone else up for it? X e

I'll be there tomorrow! Park will be perfect x e

Yes, go by his weight. If he's draining the bottle each time then I would definitely make up 30mls more and see what he does - he will stop when he is full and you know he's getting enough when there is still a little bit left in the bottle when he is done. I was advised not to let my baby go longer than 3 hours during the day and 4 hours at night between feeds when he was small. In terms of your supply, even if it drops off a bit you will still be able to feed him should you choose to. My baby was prem (born at 32weeks) and in SCBU for a while which meant I had to express from the start. Expressing didn't work very well for me, so once I was able to feed him directly (he was tube fed to begin with) my supply was not enough to sustain him. We very successfully mix fed for six months which I was very happy with. I would breast feed him at each feed and then top him up with a bottle of formula.

Sadly it happens at schools in London too! The pressure comes mostly from the parents and not the school - many school staff find is as distasteful as people on here.

I'd also be really interested in a class. Espelli jr is only 7 months old at the moment but I'll be watching this space!

Dulwich College is UV treated, but I don't know about swimming lessons there I'm afraid. It is nice to swim in an non chlorinated pool.

Belle Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Scotland runs (or did in my day) a 1 March-28 Feb > system, so that the age range is 4.5-5.5. > Preferable, in my opinion, but I am biased! sorry, > continuing the tangent. Thank you Belle, it was Scotland. I wish we did it here as I think it would benefit those younger children who are just finding their feet in Reception when they move up to Year 1. Sol, your plan seems a good compromise and you can apply for Junior School at the usual time. It would be a good idea to let the Junior School know that you are going to take up the place but will be travelling at the beginning of the year, to prevent them giving the place to someone on the waiting list when your son doesn't arrive at the beginning of term! (apologies if you realise this already)

It's discretionary to a point. Parents can choose for their child to enter reception in January of the school year they turn five or send them the following September if the child's birthday is late in the year. However, they will enter school in Year 1, not reception. The discretion is when they start but not which cohort they join. There is a school system (I can't remember which country) that runs their cohorts from April to February and means that children are never less than 4 years 5 months on entry. A much better system in my opinion. Sorry this is a bit off topic!

The age range in each year group is from Sept 1st until August 31st. So the oldest child to start Reception can only be 5 years 0 months - it is also possible for a child to start Reception at 4 years and 1 day old. Hence the difficulties Summer babies face.

Sol, in that case your child would join Year 4 rather than Year 3 so he would be with his peers and would miss out Year 3 entirely. If you returned before the end of the school year then he could join Year 3 and finish the year.

Jane - I really hope it's not measles and it will pass quickly. Keeping my fingers crossed for you! Nabz & BME - the ivydale baby group is on a Wednesday afternoon. Had a lovely time at the crooked well today - have a great weekend everyone! I'm already looking forward to swimming on Monday! X e

Sorry I missed the messages on the last page! Moominfilly - I'm still interested in the sleep seminar and I think nabz and Kate are as well. I think Kate is going to ask her NCT group if anyone there is interested to get the numbers up! X e

Was good to catch up yesterday afternoon. I'm also up for doing something on Friday - I've heard good things about the crooked well group - apparently they do a good buffet of crumpets and pastries - although obviously my motivation for going would be to develop Kit's social skills!!! Swimming was great on Monday and I can't wait for next week! X e

Thank you Anna, is anyone interested running another sleep seminar? My flat is too small to host unfortunately or I would offer, but I'd be happy to provide cake etc if someone else could! Is anyone around tomorrow afternoon for a coffee? x Elli

I had the same thoughts in pregnancy too and also had a boy! I haven't read Raising Cain, so I can't comment on it, but I have read 21st Century Boys Which I can recommend, it has relevance for your baby at the age he is now and also deals with issues he may face as he gets older.

eco79 I'd like to do some longer walks, but I don't think I'm able for 10 miles yet! I'm doing the 5km Buggy Push in Brockwell Park today to raise money for Bliss. I'll see how I do with that first. (and make sure I track the activity points!) I've enjoyed my first week and have managed to keep up with the tracking - the app is great, it makes things very easy. I'm due to weigh in tomorrow and strangely I'm a bit nervous about it. I think it's because I don't feel like I have been "dieting" I have been more conscious of the grazing I got into the habit of doing, but I'm used to feeling deprived on a diet and I don't - which is making me worry that I'm not going to lose this week! Anyway - time for me to stop over-thinking and get my trainers on! I'm so glad it's a sunny morning, makes the idea of a walk in the park very enticing! Have a great Saturday!

I can make it too - I've not been before either so will look out for biscuit badges!

Anna, I'm interested too - it sounds like you've filled those slots though. How many people do you need for a group? Could we start another one?! So many tired winter mums!!!

I love this thread! I also remember reading it pre-baby and thinking that the badges were a great idea. 2nd generation badges would be fab! Re-reading it post-baby, I have a very different take on it and completely relate to what's been said. Thank you for resurrecting it!

Can I join you please? I have been inspired by your successful weight loss using weight watchers and have joined online. It's appealing to my geek side too! I have a lot to lose - and did have before pregnancy (so I can't blame that;-)), but reading this thread has encouraged me to make a start. Must make the most of this weather for a long walk in the park!

I did a lot of babysitting when I was at school and uni and also did daytimes in the holidays and weekends. I always referred to what I did as babysitting. I think if someone has advertised as being available for daytimes they would be expecting to do more with the children than just watch tv. If you are not paying nanny rates then it would be good to have planned something simple or have suggestions for something to do, rather than expecting the babysitter to show initiative, but the ideas you give in your first post seem reasonable.

Sounds like fun! I'm around on Tuesday. Good idea! X Elli Edited to add: Nabz the golf course entrance is on Marmora road and it backs onto brenchley gardens More info here Jubilee picnic will be good to see you and little saff again!

Hi It's another lovely day shall we meet in the picnic area in Peckham rye park? Will aim to get there for 2. x Elli

I would suggest using traditional tales to start a conversation with your daughter. Little Red Riding hood, Hansel and Gretel and the Wolf and the seven Little Kids are all good ones. I agree that you don't want to freak her out, but I would agree with cuppa tea that it should be a person's behaviour towards your daughter and how it makes her feel that should trigger a 'stranger danger' response rather than her looking out for a 'bad man' who will probably come across as very friendly (refer to wolf tricks in above stories!) and can therefore be more dangerous. Guidelines I find quite helpful with children of your daughter's age are: That if they get lost, don't go off with anyone but find someone in a uniform to help them and That it doesn't matter what anyone tells her, she can always tell you anything that is bothering her and that she will never be able to tell you anything that will stop you loving her. They hopefully cover both (thankfully unlikely) situations where a child may come to harm from an adult.

Ooh I'm up for this too! See you there! x e