Trish

You can get the ointment over he counter without a prescription.

My daughter attends Gumboots during term time and did do a week or so at the summer holiday club they provided. But it is half terms I struggle with more than anything, but as you say, most of the other holiday clubs don't operate from 8am to 6pm. If there was one available then I would use it. I've had to take leave to cover October half term and Christmas. I have a little one at nursery and the nursery is closed for 2 weeks but they are a different 2 weeks to the school so I need to take 3 weeks off in total - which doesn't leave much annual leave for the remainder of the year! I've not worked out what to do over February half term yet. She could stay at my mum's but she misses being with her family, and I miss her too. I don't see her for 5 days. It's far from ideal. I'd be very interested to hear of provision over those half term periods for a full working day.

If it makes you feel any better my nearly 2 year old is doing the same thing. He has an older sibling so doesn't know any different, so isn't necessarily an attention seeking thing - I think my little one gets over excited or is just trying the behaviour out to see what reaction it gets. Nursery (he's full time) are using time out (for one minute). So I'm trying to do the same at home as a last resort. Other than that if he starts getting rough/over excited then we gently hold his hands and say in a soft voice 'gentle hands' and use his hands to stroke your face - or whatever it is he's been getting rough with. He seems to quite like this and smiles and replicates the behaviour himself. I'm sure I remember going through this phase with my daughter too - I am hoping it's just something he'll grow out of. Best of luck.

Lots of us!!

My daughter is at Goodrich (Year 2 now) and when she first started in Reception it was really a case of the teachers trying to manage the parents who were clearly struggling with letting go of their little ones. I would like to think the teachers are being sympathetic to that and so allow them to help their child to hang up their coat etc. Once my daughter had been in reception for a few weeks, and certainly after Christmas, we were firmly told to wait outside (to my relief since I always had a pushchair with me anyway so couldn't go in) until our child was sent out at pick up. And on arrival children were encouraged to hang up their own coats (which tended to mean my daughter went on the floor and got trodden on!). So I'm sure things will change soon but it doesn't hurt to mention something to the teacher now if you feel so strongly about it.

They've finally been clear about school uniform on the website which seems to be slowly be taking shape over summer - a huge improvement! http://www.goodrich.org.uk/Uniform

First Steps on Upland Road is a Montessori Nursery and they do freshly cooked dinners each day.

My boy's the same. I'm loving the extra cuddliness of a boy - if his cheek isn't pressed against mine then he's not close enough as far as he's concerned. He's quite podgy too so it's utterly gorgeous. Difficult to cook, yes, but I know it won't last for long so I'm enjoying it!

Just a quick note to say I was in a similar position to you - I didn't realise how traumatised I was from the first birth experience. It really knocked me for six in a way I hadn't imagined - my confidence was rock bottom for a long time afterwards and I felt invaded and violated really. It impacted on all aspects of my life and still impacts on me physically a little bit even now, 6 years later. However, what I wanted to say was that I went on to have a second child it couldn't have been more different. For the sake of my first child I wanted to cope with labour without any medication ideally, so that I could get back home to my little girl as quickly as possible. I was worried enough about the impact a sibling would have on her overall, let alone having her mummy disappear for a week or so. I fought my fear so to speak. My second birth experience was really beautiful - it couldn't have been more different. I never at any point felt unable to cope with the pain and I was in control all the time. If I think about the first time round too much I will still dissolve into tears. But I have such positive feelings about number two. I can't believe two births can be so entirely different. I'd happily do it all over again tomorrow - so don't worry if you opt to have another. It doesn't have to be the same.

My oldest goes to After School Club. I pick up the little one from nursery first then drive to After School Club to get the big one. It's not perfect and I'm always feeling racked with guilt but I think that's a working mother's role in life. My daughter does enjoy the After School Club - to the extent that even when I am off work she often asks if she can go to After School Club anyway (I try not to be personally offended and rejoice in the fact she doesn't have issues with it!). This obviously doesn't resolve your issue of not getting them home at a decent hour although that hasn't been as much of an issue for us as I thought it might be. School holidays are the biggest challenge for us at the moment.

I had exactly the same situation - although was bridesmaid at the wedding. I was devastated our best friends didn't want our new baby there and felt personally insulted at the time. On reflection I can understand why they didn't invite children. It would have increased numbers significantly since if you allow one person's child you have to agree to others. In the end I asked my cousin to come and look after my baby. I hired a cottage as close to the wedding venue as possible - it was only a 5 min drive away. I had planned to keep popping back to feed my little girl but she ended up taking a bottle from my cousin. It all worked out fine in the end and we had a great day/night!

Well I took the gamble and stuck it on a cycle for sensitive garments and it came out good as new, smelling a whole lot better - wish I'd just shoved it in the washing machine in the past now - far easier than hand washing!

Thanks very much!

My 16 month old boy was very ill in the car a week or so ago. Despite washing the entire car seat and cover, I can't get rid of the smell. Any top tips? Has anyone put their car seat cover in the washing machine? I realise I probably should have used biological washing liquid rather than non-bio. Need to attack it again this weekend! Thanks Trish

Thanks so much for the feedback - that's all very reassuring. It's such an important decision to get right, isn't it? Fingers cross my little man gets a place now!

I make on stove with milk each morning - doesn't take too long. I mix in banana and blueberries - yum!

Does anyone have any feedback on First Steps Montessori Nursery on Upland Road? I'm hoping my son will secure a place in September but would be grateful to hear from anyone who has a child there. Many thanks

Do they allow you to organise an online supermarket shop to be delivered to your accommodation at Center Parcs?

Earlier this week I started phoning at 7.59am and finally got through to someone at 8.40am. Needless to say all appointments had been taken. I end up having to use Seldoc.

We stayed in Baglio Oneto on the West of the island with a 2 year old and the staff were very accommodating - but it wasn't self catering. A year later we went to Masseria Pernice, which was self catering (if you chose) or there was a cook on site who could make you meals. It's also a working vineyard and served the best wine I've ever tasted (free most of the time!). The apartments weren't very plush but the place and the food were beautiful. There was another hotel we stayed in when my daughter was 5 months old in Castellammara del Golfo. I cna't remember what it was called but it was right in the centre with a lovely pool and a fab restaurant. The staff were lovely and adored having children around - my daughter would regularly get carried off to see the chefs in the kitchen!

My son is 12 months old and has been waking between 4.30 and 5.30 each morning. He's been doing this since he managed to start sleep through at around 8 months-ish. I'm working full time so finding it quite tough. Any tips on how I could get him to sleep to 6.30 in a morning? He has nap in the car at around 7.15-8am, but sometimes babbles for half the journey. He sleeps for an hour at nursery at lunchtime then has another nap when we drive home at around 4.30pm. He goes to bed around 6.45/7pm. What's this wake to sleep thing all about? It sounds like it means me waking an hour earlier - not sure I can physically do it!!! And he's pretty restless all through the night because of all the things the other mummies mention above - mainly teething, although he keeps catching colds along with conjuncitivitis from nursery. Almost too tired to deal with problem but have tried to hope that it will go away/settle once clock change settles down but it hasn't.

Fortnightly blue bin collections aren't enough for us either.

Again, congratulations!!! You will feel guilty (we all do) but if you were home all day you'd probably feel guilty about not being out at work too. If you've cracked good childcare then you're most of the way there. My best advice would be, as Monkey says, make sure you have a decent cleaner in place who does ironing. And ideally one who has cover when not able to do it. I couldn't fuction without this. You then have to be terribly organised about making sure you've got your washing done and dried so it's ready to iron on cleaning day. Lay out all the kids clothes and school things needed for the following morning the night before. At the weekends, cook in bulk and stock up the freezer. Take meals out each morning to heat up that evening. Don't even try to do a supermarket shop - I don't particularly like it for fresh bread or fruit...but I totally rely on online shopping now. Don't try to plan too much at the weekends. You need a day to organise your life for the week ahead! Returning to work does make you feel alive again. It is very hard to leave your child, especially if they get upset, but I can assure you, you will cry more than they do. And you are rewarded with the best smile in the world when you pick them up! I'm juggling two now and working full time - one at school and one at nursery. I benefit from a very accommodating line manager who accepts that sometimes, if my child is sick, then I need to leave the office. But she also knows I'll find a way of making sure anything urgent gets addressed. Life is very fast-paced and hard but I cherish every single moment with my children. Best of luck.

I went back to work full time after my first child and, as you know, I'm about to return next week after having Jacob, who's now 10 months. I've also managed numerous staff through these situations. I think in an interview situation you state that you'd like to work certain hours (at the end of the interview) - I don't think you need to explain why you need to work those hours unless pressed. It's almost as if you're flagging/presenting it as a problem then rather than it being a fact. I also think it's worth saying to a prospective employer that if there are times when it is essential you work later and you are given prior warning then you would try to arrange things so that you're available. From personal experience, I have an extremely understanding boss who knows that I will get the job done - if I have to leave early to pick up a sick child then she knows I will make sure anything that needs doing is done as soon as I can, and if it cannot wait then I'll make sure I've flagged the issue to her or delegated it to someone else, or forewarned the relevant people that there will be a delay in whatever it is. In the same way, if my boss urgently needs me to do something or needs me to do an overseas visit or evening bash, then she knows I'll do everything possible to juggle things so that I can be there....and invariably I manage to do so. There are lots of mothers out there juggling the same problems as you, and we have valuable skills to offer, despite being mothers. Please don't see it as a problem but go into an interview situation prepared to present practical solutions to any issues they may have with slightly different working hours. There's a lot to be said for being in the office at 8am rather than 10 am - you can get so much done when everyone else isn't there! I wish you the very best of luck in any future interviews you have.

My son kept his mouth firmly shut until he was ready to eat anything - which turned out to be around 7 months, despite my enthusiastic attempts to wean from 4 months. Once he decided he was ready, feeding has been unbelievably easy and an absolute pleasure - he eats anything as long as it is home cooked!!! I'd advise chilling out, accepting they eat when they're ready and just keep offering food without any expectations.