scareyt

Bluesuperted I wish I had seen that kellymom article in my early days of being a Mum! People really recommended BW to me but it was hopeless for us and I got really stressed out about it, feeling like I had failed every day and was irredeemably chaotic and doomed to have a freak child who would never fall asleep alone until he was 25. I now know I should have thrown BW away, read some AP books that would have told me i was doing everything right, and relaxed about it all. All babies are different and they keep changing just as you think you have got them sussed so there is really no need to stress about it all as much as new mums always do. (But if the books didn't make you stress about things, how would they sell more books???)

Hi I know this is an old thread but in case anyone is looking at it again - we stayed in Hotel Migjorn at the end of April two years ago and liked it. Nice set-up with loads of toys for babies / young toddlers, good food and friendly welcome. Only downsides were that its rural and really in the middle of nowhere so you have to drive to get to the beach or go out anywhere else in the evening so for us it was a slightly too quiet week. I've been daydreaming about this place for this year but can't (yet!) persuade my husband that all the socialising involved is a good thing! http://www.caseriodelmirador.com/ If anyone knows of anywhere similar but walking distance to a beach and cafes please do tell.

You could try the Museum of London near the Barbican - it doesn't get rammed like the big famous museums and has lots of fun stuff for toddlers to play with.

We use a Lumie Bodyclock that used to be in our room - turned up quite high for bedtime stories, lower when it's time to get into bed, and very low overnight. It was great for nighttime changes when he was little, you can turn it up just enough to see what you're doing without the extra light being a horrible shock for either of you. I would love to get something pretty like the toadstool or rabbit lights for his room and reclaim the Bodyclock but being able to control the amount of light is so useful I'm not sure that bedtime would work as well without it.

Hi we had a similar thing and the Nuk bottle/cup was the only one that worked. He still loves it for bedtime milk at 2+ but now drinks happily from normal cups at other times.

We had this a-frame shape Chicco one which was great as it's really easy to carry around the house - I used to put it on the bed while I was getting dressed, on the bathmat while I was in the shower, and on a blanket on the floor in the living room and it kept him happy for ages. It looks like it's not available now on Amazon but there are lots of similar a-frame ones and they are much cheaper than the big ones with mats. Also they're stronger - my little boy first pulled himself up to sitting on this and was thrilled. Really recommend. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chicco-Jungle-Nursery-Activity-Centre/dp/B000IYGJQ2 We also used to swap baby gyms among our NCT group every now and then as they all get bored of their own eventually and that extended their usefuless.

I've heard great things about The Wolesely on Piccadilly for a meal with kids, if you want really special.

The Sitaram classes at the Lido are lovely, we went for about a year until my little boy got too old for it. Nice balance between stuff for mums and stuff for babies. Might try the Breather Yoga class as I really miss it - thanks for the tip kimgreg!

My mum had CPS (not in preganancy) but taking a b complex vitamin supplement every day cured it. Not sure if it would work / be allowed when you are pregnant but might be worth looking into.

I'd vote Gymboree any time - the equipment is lovely and all the toys get cleaned after every class, classes are small and friendly and it's not too noisy. It's also a bit more structured than Tumble Tots and the class leaders are a lot more involved, with parachute games and bubbles and games which they can join in with, or ignore and carry on playing on the equipment if they prefer. We've been going for over a year now from when my son was about 12 months and will probably quit soon as he's not getting as much out of it as he did, but I'll be very sad to leave! We did Tumble Tots for a while first, when he was around 10 months and found it a bit overwhelming. I think it does depend on personality though - my little boy was very small and shy at that age so the free-for-all style of Tumble Tots didn't suit him and he ended up waiting for goes on stuff a lot. It felt too crowded to me. Gymboree is expensive but I'd say especially over the winter months with a 12-18 month old/new walker/shy child it's really worth it.

Yes I tried drowning in a bucket but it's so revolting when they swell up and you still have to dispose of the corpses. Which is why I like my Southwark green bag method - and they get to take part in the cycle of life by becoming compost!

They are vile and eat everything in the garden but I don't poison them because that kills the frogs which I love. Every damp morning I fill a whole green food recycling bin with them and put it in the brown bin. Gross but less so than any other control methods I have tried!

Oh yuk you poor thing. It's so grim when everyone is sick. Hope you all manage to fight it off soon. xx

My 2yo has suddenly got too tall for all his trousers but the next size up all seem to be too big around the waist and won't stay up. Does anyone know where I can get comfy elasticated jogging bottom-type trousers to fit a skinny toddler boy? Thank you!

This is the one: http://www.aplaceforeverything.co.uk/home-storage/triple-laundry-basket-sorter?ret=989 It was a bit annoying at first as the sticks kept sliding out of the bags but I put a couple of stitches to hold each one in place and it's now great. But I now have to eat my words re throwing things away - this afternoon my 2yo spotted a missing piece of a lovely wooden puzzle under the passenger seat of the car, and I am pretty sure I threw the rest of the puzzle away months ago, convinced that piece was lost forver. Gutted.

Another thought - our tickets for the afternoon session said get to the arena 75 mins early which we did but were then queuing outside (in the rian - yuk!) to get in for about 1/2 hour while they cleared out the morning people. So I wouldn't bother getting there more than 30-45 mins before it starts. Enjoy!

We used a Leapfrog learn and groove dj station in the kitchen from about 7 months - kept him happy and contained for ages at the far side of the kitchen while I cooked. He did evenutally realise it was a prison and try to climb out, but he still enjoyed using it from the outside for a few more months. Probably not worth buying a new one at 11 months but if you have the space and can get or borrow one second hand I would really recommend it for a few months of peace. That was then replaced by a toy kitchen which has been brilliant and provided hours and hours of playtime. For showers I just had him in the bathroom with me with some toys and was really strict about not touching the toilet. Showers were very quick!

I think 'benign neglect' was all the rage in 70s parenting but that does sound rather extreme! My mum certainly embraced it, and in fact whenever I feel a bit bad for ignoring my son while sorting out house/ messing about on phone, I console myself that I'm freeing him to discover his own inner resources and strength, just like a 70s kid....

Sticker books, snacks they haven't seen before ( major tantrum on plane averted when lady behind us produced pot of dry kellogs shaped rice krispytype cereal), cheap toys they haven't seen before saved for landing.

Thanks for the tip! Heading there shortly!

We have just spent a weekend at the inlaws where she produced lunch and dinner for everyone every day (dinner 4 courses with tablecloths and candles) played with her grandson all day long and never seemed to do any tidying or work in her very tidy house! So now feel quite chaotic and incompetent in comparison. It feels like our house is one of those toys where whenever you hit something, more pop up in other places. It seems to be impossible to have more than two rooms / areas under control at the same time. Things that I found do help: throw stuff away. You never ever miss it after that brief tug of guilt as it goes in the bin. We have a three part laundry sorter with bags hung on a frame which made a massive difference to the pain of laundry. Whenever one is full I take it down in the morning, chuck in the machine and it's a full load with no sorting or effort or decisions to make or piles left behind to stuff back in the laundry basket. Highly recommend! Can't remember where it was from but will look it up if I get a chance.

Uptime, we saw basketball and I wouldn't worry at all about distracting other people, the crowd was very noisy & jolly when we were there, with plenty of coming and going so it shouldn't be a problem going in and out if your little one gets bored. Other tip is the toilets inside the basketball arena were much nicer than the ones just outside. I only queued for the ladies inside just after the game finished, other times we could walk right in and there is baby changing in some cubicles. We found it really entertaining, they put on quite a show! Have fun.

Yes the long pregnancy massage there is brilliant and it's such a treat to lie flat!

I would definitely bring a picnic and snacks with you. We went to the Olympic Park yesterday and queues for food were long and the food was expensive and not great. You can't take in any liquid over 100ml but empty plastic bottles are fine and you can fill them up at water fountains inside. (In the park - don't know about Wembley). We didn't take our little boy but saw lots of people with children and buggies and they all seemed to be having a good time. Lots of big open spaces for toddlers to run around and explore & of course no traffic which is lovely. The whole thing was amazing and I now really want to get day passes for the paralymics so we can take toddler. Security queues and transport were all quick, seamless & really well organised. (we arrived at 9.30am and left at 8pm but there were no events in the main stadium that day so park wasn't at capacity) Main tip for anyone going to the park - layers, waterproof coat and comfy shoes essential - there isn't really anywhere to shelter from the rain outside the venues & you spend most of the day walking around. Enjoy!

Thanks DVnewbie! It's nervewracking handing him over but everyone there does seem really nice.