littleEDfamily

My mum taught for quite a few years at a Steiner School in New Zealand. She was a mainstream teacher brought in as a remedial reading specialist, so was never 100% sold on the Steiner ethos. Her view was that it is great for artistic children and brings out the best in children's behaviour (calm, caring etc), but that it's not great for kids who are very academic or inclined to thrive on competitive sports (obv much more of an issue for older kids, not littlies). But that's just one lady's opinion based on her time at a faraway school (she could never get over the fact her 'hippy' colleagues went to school without makeup - still makes me giggle to think of how 'unprofessional' she thought it was!). I suspect, as with all things child related, you'll probably know whether it's right or not for your child when the time comes - does the Streatham one have lots of outdoor space??

I kind of miss my nephew calling me a 'Siwwy Biwwy'. I'd like to see this chart so may swing by Townley.

Just had a look at the ongoing thread in the Lounge - very comprehensive it is too....problem with most things in the that section is there is just too much guff to get through to get to the juicy detail. But I shall duly save any further comments on this matter for that thread.

Ooh, yes, I saw her on Fellbrigg and I too noticed the crop. Now, she is a nice lady. I once had a chat to her. I'm actually a better celeb spotter than I thought! Joanna Page, not once but twice, Jo Brand......or perhaps I need to get out of ED more often....

I take what I can get celeb-spotting wise. I also saw Kate Thornton in Dulwich Park last Saturday. I not a fan, but a spotting is a spotting. I am waiting, patiently for Alan Davies to come to the hood and declare his undying love for me. He seems rather sold on North London, though, and his wife and kid.

Saw James Nesbitt at Mimosa in Herne Hill last weekend.Not ED, but it counts. He had been jogging. PS I know we have had numerous threads on this before, but no harm in a fresh one in this section!!! I want RECENT celeb sightings!

My old boss tried for many years to get pregnant, through natural and assisted means. Finally, she packed in her job to give it her full attention, and lo and behold at around 45, she managed it. I will try and see if I can get in touch with her.

I would definitely not worry about a lisp for under 3s. Maybe even not until they're 4/5. My nephew had trouble with Ss and well as Ls (and tends to be a little hard to understand - talks too fast and doesn't enunciate properly), but just a few sessions with a professional at around 5 and a half years cured him almost immediately of the major problems. Prior to that I don't think the correction would have been so quick and easy. I think the fact that they have a decent vocabulary and communicate happily and confidently is so much more important that the details of how they pronounce certain letters (says the new and improved me!). When our daughter was about 2.5 I freaked out that she was still saying 'f' (instead of 'th', e.g. I'll be free on my birfday'), and harangued her into learning the 'th', but she now says all her 'th's in this rather peculiar and over-emphasised way. I prob should just have left her to gradually pick it up on her own. A speech therapist friend of ours (noting how hysterical I used to be about my daughter speaking perfectly) warned me not to go overboard as kids can develop a stutter if pressured too early.

We've had a similar challenge - we adore the Basque corner or France, but too far to drive with littlies unless you're very brave! Would recommend St Jean de Luz though if flying (into Biarritz with Ryanair). Not coastal, but one idea may be the Loire Valley - lovely, but not that exciting. (Unless you're getting plastered on le vin.)

Put 'em in a drawer, I say!!!

The Boori one has this great mechanism that you sort of do with your leg, so you can do one handed and no fiddly bits at the sides. There is a small clunk when you get it to the top, but with practise you can do it quite quietly. I'm amazed they are banning that function, as for those of us shorties with tall children (that you have to put on the lower settings as soon as they can stand to avoid escapes), it's hard to get them out without a dropside.

Old Kent Road virtually is East Dulwich... whereas Croydon, well, I think that's another country....

Love the Silvercross. Well done you for showing him what is important. For some women, it's shoes and handbags, for others....carefully chosen baby paraphenalia.....

My daughter slept for the first 5 months (except for the first few weeks when we just used the Bugaboo carrycot placed in our room) in an 'antique' crib that my great uncle made and my sister and I slept in (I took the decision about which cot bed to buy very seriously and it took me some time - we settled on a Boori sleigh bed, which I highly recommend, esp as has a very easy to use drop side, and good resale value)! But my husband never appreciated its historic value or aesthetics, and I got nervous about the safety aspects this time (it has two huge star cut outs on either side, and some bits are chipping away), hence the move to something slick and modern. So, yes, Snowboarder, I agree that the crib size (bigger than a moses basket/ smaller than a cot) option is worth considering. Our plan is now to move 3 year old to a single bed when new baby outgrows Bednest and covert Boori back to a cot for bubs, which will mean we get 6 years' use out of the cot bed and we can still use as a daybed/ sofa thereafter. I do like the Stokke as well. And the Leander. But that's just me being a bit of design junkie and there ain't nought wrong with the IKEA ones either. Is it sad to spend so much time thinking about these sorts of things?

Given how long my last baby was (and new one seems destined to be) not very long at all (3 months max!). I had written it off as unjustifiable luxury, but the govt seems determined I have it. I have fingers crossed, resale value would be good. It just seems so well designed and I am a sucker for that sort of thing.

I just found out the govt plans to give me ?195 for popping out another sprog. I am getting this ingenious contraption with my windfall. Love it - http://www.bednest.co.uk/ There must be cheaper versions of this, but it sure is good looking!

THey may also expect you to pay for Ofsted registration, insurance and first aid training. Also, don't forget about the monthly fee to the people who manage your payroll for you.

Oooh, I love the Florence. I'll def be taking you up on your discount - even more so when this baby is out and I can enjoy a pint (although it sounds like the discount is just on food, disappointing!)

I think cot beds are the way forward, but if you got a cot at the start then I think go straight to a single bed once the cot is outgrown. Grab yourself a bed guard of some type - some great products out there to keep them safe (my friend's little 2 year old just broke collar bone falling out of her bed). What about a car bed - ridiculous things of course, but my nephews (8 and 6) love theirs still(and they are safe for littlies). PS Some bed sizes are 'small singles' if space is an issue.

Pellatt Rd, opposite the Mag. Be warned, not open weekends or during private school holidays. It's small and charming. Nice food.

Jacks. Not much room, but as long as you don't allow toddler to go mental, they never make you feel uncomfortable. They can go and sit at their own table and play. I sometimes think the more room there is, the more freedom they expect. My daughter tends to behave at Jacks for some reason.

PS I'm the same stage of pregnancy as you are, and given you're being woken in the night, I say RELENT!!! There's no way I could have persevered if I'd been up the duff. We need every ounce of our rest!!!

Yep - we had the same major sleep regression (at 2 and a bit), but persevered and eventually got there - took about 2 weeks though and it nearly broke me. Then lo and behold at 3 years, she discovered her thumb - much much worse than a dummy!!!!!!!! I have to say, we have never been able to replicate the good sleep routine we had while she had a dummy (she loved that dummy so much she always went to sleep first time -it was her end of day treat, and we virtually never had bedtime dramas). I wouldn't beat yourself up for letting her have it for a bit longer, esp if just for bedtimes.

Which one in 4 weddings - post a pic!

Based on my experience with working with part-timers (although I was a part-timer of various kinds myself), I definitely think Fridays off is the least disruptive day. There's often a different 'vibe' in the office (ie lots of people on a go-slow anyway), which makes them more tolerant of people not being available. It shouldn't really matter what others think of you at work, but for all but the most thick skinned, it does!! Don't have Mondays off - lots of the shops (like William Rose, Moxtons) are closed on Mondays - which is very irriating when it's your only day off in the week. Good luck with it all xx