oimissus

Miss Oi ignored her soft toys as a baby but got more into them as she got older, she chats to a selection in bed and always has some in the car or pram with her.

have you tried cranial osteopathy? Miss Oi was very windy and was on Infacol for what felt like ages and eventually I took her down to the Vale practice - 1 appointment and it was sorted - though it doesn't sound like she had it so badly (didn't interfere with feeding for example) so it might take a few more goes - talk to them about it.

yep, I've got far more White Stuff and Sainsbury's clothes than I ever thought I would. I still have a look in Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, when I'm in town. Never been in Peacocks, there's one in Peckham, right? Will have to take a look!

as long as it keeps Miss Oi occupied and seems to have some kind of developmental/educational merit, however miniscule, I don't care what it's made of! Don't see why people automatically brand plastic toys as rubbish, she's got some lovely stuff - all her little people and animals are plastic and she loves them the most. And nothing has broken yet, though she's not too heavy handed (yet!).

Tippee Toes music is really good, it's at a couple of different venues. Check out their website. They are running classes through the holidays.

thanks Saffron, just rang the doc's and managed to get an appt this afternoon (a miracle!), was going to leave it till tomorrow but she is so very under the weather, and I don't think there's anything more I can do at home, she's not eating anything now. Oddly, her nursery has said this can be quite common during potty training, but none of the books I have mention holding poo in or constipation. Anyways, the potties are going away for a bit. Thanks again.

I got into a tangle with this at just before 2, and looking back I think I had too high expectations. So what I would do is just repeat sentences back to him with 'please' attached, and when he gets what he's 'asked' for, say 'thank you Mummy', but don't expect him to always say it right now - I think the main thing is him hearing it all the time - so make sure when you ask him to do something you say it too.

now on day 5 with no poo. I am pretty certain it's because I started potty training and she's been holding it in, as she has with wees, but some of those have gone in the potty (or on the floor or in her nappy) - she seems to have become confused about poos and isn't doing them at all, not even in her nappy. I'm putting her back into nappies and we can try the potty training again another time - but in the meantime how to sort out the constipation, as it's making her pretty unwell, high temp etc. I bought some Oatibix which she rejected so she's had cornflakes, trying to keep dairy to a minimum, and she's veggie anyway so has plenty of veg and a decent amount of fruit - but any other tips on what to give / avoid would be very gratefully received! I have suffered badly from this myself on and off for ever so I am really feeling for my poor little girl!

so sorry to hear you're going through this Ruth (and everyone else). I have very little to offer but this, which I though sounded a bit extreme, but is in some of the books - my brother-in-law attached a bungee to his toddler's door handle so he couldn't open the door to get out (the other end was attached to the bannisters) - so in effect he was locked in. I think this technique is in Toddler Taming, which I have and you're welcome to borrow. Like I said, sounds extreme - but worth a try? Would keep him in his room at least. The other thing I though when reading your post - am I right in thinking that Seb is starting pre-school in September? Maybe that will help (though I appreciate it's a way off!)? Also, quiet time instead of a nap - worth getting some films in, and the 2 of you can snuggle up to The Jungle Book (Miss Oi's fav) or Nemo or whatever? Really hope you all can get it sorted - I am awful on lack of sleep and am damned lucky I rarely have to suffer from. Fingers and toes crossed! x

Miss Oi is at The Villa and they always have a cooked lunch together.

you might be able to disable them, I know you can disable the front passenger airbag so you can put the baby car seat in the front if you want. If it's any help, a friend has recently passed her test and has just bought a Fiesta, she has 2 children aged nearly 9 and 4. And another who's two are nearly 7 and 4 has always had a Golf. (firmly plugging the smaller car!)

we had dog sh*t on our garden path, it got onto the wheels of the buggy and into the house, twice, before I realised it was on our path. Kept the gate shut after than. Definitely dog not fox. Yeuch. Did anyone else spot / smell the huge pile of poo at the top of Highshore Road this morning? In the middle of the road and big enough to be horseshit but definitely smelt of dog. Grim grim grim.

the only help I can give (I freelance but it sounds very different) is that as long as you pay your National Insurance contributions at (I think) level 2, then you will get Maternity Allowance paid to you (same as statutary maternity pay but for the self-employed). We remortgaged last year and we didn't count my salary as I had to have 3 years behind me (but I kept my name on the mortgage, just with a salary of ?0.00) so that could be a problem.

well, I daresay they wouldn't have actually let us drown . . . lucy - I didn't know Whitstable had a sandy beach, I thought it was all shingle there? Good to know that there's sand closer than Margate.

ahh, Camber Sands. Picture the scene. 2 little girls, aged about 5 and 7 (me and my sister), dresses tucked in knickers, paddling and pottering on the sand. Parents sitting higher up the beach, doubtless having a fag (this was the 70s). Tide is coming in. Unbeknownst to us, but perfectly visible to my parents, we are on a little rise in the sand, and the tide is coming in not just in front of us, but behind and all around us. Eventually we realise and have to wade through waist-deep water to get up the beach to get to parents who are p***ing themselves laughing. And then, we have to go and have lunch, sitting on a leatherette banquette in wet dresses and knickers. This was apparently our fault for not, as Ra's al Gul would say, minding our surroundings. 30-odd years later (I may be slightly underestimating this) it still rankles. And I bet my mum would still fall about laughing.

Ruth - pththahahahaaaa! kitty and I were discussing ironing this morning - I bought a Cath Kidston ironing board cover which did encourage me for around 5 minutes before I went back to my slovenly ways. Also, you can't iron whilst watching TV - if I'm watching True Blood I want to enjoy Eric Northman in all his glory, not keep looking down to see if I've singed a cuff. So, Eric wins. I find if I wear clothes that are pre-baby, ie slightly too small, that smoothes out the creases quite well . . .

ditto everyone, save it up for 2nd birthday. Cake and balloons so you can take some nice photos. And definitely drink for the grown ups!

ditto 'cleaning'

yes, 'ironing', what is this???

I give Miss Oi her toothbrush to suck/chew for a few minutes before sitting her on my lap and brushing from behind. In the morning it's often whilst she's watching a bit of television, which does help. At night it's on the sofa in her room and she can be difficult, but usually the threat of 'no stories, straight to bed' does the trick. I have the pressure of 2 grandparents who are dentists hovering over me . . .

I wouldn't actually recommend the Ka as such, just saying that you can get by with quite a small car - if I was buying now I'd go for a Golf or Focus. I do think in London life is so much easier with a smaller car. We use the car quite a bit, we drive into town quite often at the weekend, and now Miss Oi is older (and when she was a baby) we're going out to the countryside and seaside quite a bit - again, down country lanes smaller is better. I would third air con (we don't have it, yeuch) and also a CD player, longer journeys are becoming a bit of a struggle with no music or stories to play Miss Oi. (Our car is very low spec, if you hadn't guessed already!)

do you have off street parking? Because if not I would suggest getting the smallest car you can get away with. We thought we'd have to get shot of our Ford Ka fairly soon after having Miss Oi - 2 and a half years later it's still going strong, and we get to sneak into parking spaces that others can only look at wistfully. It's amazing how much we can cram into it - buggy, travel cot, high chair, toys, food and luggage for a week away can all fit in (as well as 2 adults and a small child of course!).

good-oh. And bugger at the same time, if we'd gone there that would have taken about 40 minutes of slog into Margate off our journey! Know for next time.

oh, how I wish I'd known about Minnis Bay before heading out on a 2 hour slog to Botany Bay. Was a 4 hour round trip worth it for a half hour paddle in the sea??? The jury's out . . . Is Minnis sandy? Would that be the closest sandy beach?

have you looked at the Odeon in Surrey Quays, I have a feeling they might do something.