number 2

we're just about to do a bathroom refit. i really want a bathroom cabinet for storage underneath the sink. i've scoured the internet and the only one that i can find that i think will suit us/our house/what we're wanting for our new bathroom is this http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S49903111/ only problem is that it's from ikea. we've bought a number of chests of drawers from there before (all cheaper lines, it has to be said) and they've all disintegrated after a couple of years. we went to have a look yesterday and my other half started raising concerns about previous stuff we've bought. we also have an ikea kitchen and the drawers in there are doing great so far. does anyone have anything similar from ikea and how are they holding up? thanks

six feet under west wing we also watched the inbetweeners from start to finish in about 3 weeks recently. thought i'd hate it but it was hilarious though you might spend your time cringing with your head in a pillow. it's excruciating!

grrrr. i wish i'd known that about ivydale.................

i've always paid mine for their holidays

i think there's a chance esme's child and mine may go to the same childminder ;)

yes, is newmother/dulwichgirl2 a troll? i have had 2 absolutely wonderful childminders who have given nothing but love and wonderful care to our 3 year old. he is now at puddleducks in nunhead 3 days and still with his childminder 1 day as i can hardly bear to tear him/myself away. puddleducks only take them from 2 i think. my childminder is a glorious halfway house between a childminder and a nursery. 5 or 6 children, 2 sisters who work together, excellent environment and they get out every day to groups etc. pm if you'd like their number.

our boy started using cups like these http://www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product/tip_it_up_beaker_9m__/ and it was the only way i was able to get him off bottles as he LOVED it. i think that amount of milk for such a little person is absolutely fine. my 3.5 year old still has 2 good sized sippy cups of milk every day. i see it as a good, wholesome drink. he only drinks that or water so i'm happy. i would try to persevere with cow's milk. maybe try semi-skimmed. a friend of mine had to give her daughter that as soon as she stopped using formula as she gagged on full fat stuff.

we stay in an apartment in the bay when we go. it's around the same price as an hotel, but gives you the luxury of being able to cook yourself and have a bedroom to put little ones to bed while you relax in the living room. we use this website http://www.aspaceinthecity.co.uk/

certainly sounds like spd to me. i think you can get special belts that sort of hold things together and helps a lot for many people. good luck!

yes, she can start nursery the term after she's free for 15 hours a week which you can top up in private nurseries (and possibly council run ones too). you might struggle to get a place straight away at a good nursery - it took me a year for my son's name to come to the top of the nurseries i put his name down for.

hi, can you say exactly what he looks like? we have a very fluffy ginger and white cat who comes to visit us daily (we're on the other side of the rye, so i think it's probably not the same one). he started by befriending our cat and then coming in for tea (by our cat's invitation, not ours!) but our cat was sadly killed about 6 weeks ago and this cat still visits. we started giving him food as he always seemed starving and, to be honest, he didn't look too well cared for - no collar and riddled with fleas. could it be the same cat? please pm me if it is.

thanks for your tale chantelle! it is encouraging:))like i said, 5 more months of throwing everything at it. puppies are great if not ;)

if you're looking for stories of trying for babies when you're over 40 (or even approaching 40) here is mine..... we had our nearly 3 year old son when i was 38 after a year of trying and a miscarriage. i ended up having acupuncture which i really felt helped. when he turned one we started trying again. i was coming up to 39. i'm now facing 41 down the barrel of a gun and still no pregnancy. i've basically been told that my fsh levels (indicator of ovarian reserve) are high and that it's unlikely that we will conceive. not impossible, but unlikely, which, tbh, i find more difficult because then it's really difficult to make the decision to stop trying as there's always the chance that the next after we stopped month might be the one where we finally cracked it. i come from a large family and my sisters have always been such a source of joy and comfort to me. i so, so wanted this for our son. but it probably isn't going to happen now. i've given myself 5 more months. if nothing by then i'm getting a puppy!!!!

i got a reply from james barber today which said although he doesn't know anything about it it's not beyond the bounds of possibility with the way things are going. he's going to try and get a "definitive" answer for me.

duchess of dulwich, if by "sorted out" you mean closed i think that's a little harsh!

thanks fuschia. i've emailed him.

i do hope you're right nunhead mum. the play worker there seemed pretty certain, but hopefully she's mistaken. maybe i'll hold fire until there's some obvious plan afoot..........

not according to the woman who works there. she said they're not sure when it's going to close but it definitely is. i spoke to her about whether anyone had started a petition and she said that noone had yet and they weren't allowed to as they were members of staff.

my childminder told me last week that apparently the smashing one o'clock club at peckham rye is to shut. due to "cuts". this was concerned by one of the workers there on friday when i asked her. i'm so, so saddened by this. i can't use it that much nowadays as i am back at work 4 days a week, but a lot of friend make good use of it as do so many parents and childminders in the local area. this is one of a number of things that are going down the pan as far as public funding for kids and young people is concerned and i find it extremely worrying. i am thinking that i'd like to start a petition. you never know, it might do some good. i have noooooo idea at all how to do this though. i also thought an e-petition would be a good idea, you know - if you send it to 5 people, who send it to 5 people, yada, yada, yada. does anyone have any know how about this type of thing?

i think my son went through exactly the same thing this summer when he would've been about the same age. very clingy when we had to change childminder and basically waking up every night for the whole of the 6 weeks summer holiday. i think, in retrospect, it was his canine teeth coming through. they must have been bothering him for weeks and weeks. i would say it's just a stage. he'll get over it. but in the meantime do whatever you need to get by and good luck!

i got a babysitter off here - ally mcb - and she was LOVELY. i'd certainly recommend her. we'd never used one before so i was pleased to have found such a gem. she's a registered childminder and i remember thinking that if my childminder ever went awol i'd be knocking on ally's door!

sense by the lightening seeds. it's been making me cry since i first found out i was pregnant. that and different world by jackie wilson. i'm a mess whenever i hear either of those. and also one day like this - our boy kind of chose this himself and it was the only thing that would calm him down at times when he was grumpy. sums it up really. if i could only have one day a year with him it'd make every other day worthwhile!

thanks everyone!

since our boy was born over 2 years ago we've only been on holiday to the uk and france. the poor wee lamb has never been in a plane and i'm sure he'd love it. so, we're looking for a nice, warm (at least warm enough to swim) holiday, preferably with an apartment or villa in the school easter holidays (april). anyone got any ideas? thanks

when i was looking for a place for my boy i didn't like asquiths. i found it too clinical and businesslike, but i know some people on here really like it. i went to have a look around mother goose on the same road as asquiths and loved it! i think the best bet is to get your name down for as many as possible. i put ours down at easter and still haven't had a call back from any of them. good luck. (there's always childminders which i personally prefer when they are little anyway)