devsdev

I'm confused about this too - while I've read that car seats have a "life cycle" I've also read the opposite - that the plastic doesn't actually break down. Have a car seat that I would only give away but wonder if it's better to bin. Seems a shame!

Hi all, Do you know if the handlebar lock on the Bee can be fixed and where you can get the spare parts to fix it? We've ruined ours from folding/unfolding the buggy to get it into the car! Thank you! Dev

Thanks Gooders - sadly doesn't pop anything on Google. Am going to try the London Podiatry Center and will also take my older one to someone called Tracy Byrne in Hackney so will report back. Thank you!

Thank you - am waiting for the referral from Kaleidoscope as to where she can go. If not I will try the GP route to one of the hospitals too. Am getting private insurance to cover a visit to The London Podiatry Centre which looks great, but insurance wont actually cover orthotics so this is really so I can get some insight and a second opinion. Thank you for the responses (including via PM) - was suddenly hugely worried last night, but I realise she will be OK and we just need to work through it. I'm so grateful this is the worst worry we have about her! Apart from that sleeping thing...

Hi all, My younger daughter is 15 months and has been seen by physiotherapists at the Kaleidoscope Centre in Lewisham (she was born very premature). Due to the early birth and a brain bleed she has some lasting effects on the left side of her body (amazingly minimal, which we are eternally grateful for). However she definitely needs to be seen by a specialist to be fitted for orthotics because her left foot completely collapses inward when standing (I believe it's called hyper mobility, and I'm not sure if it's linked to her bleed etc but either way it's a problem). She can pull to standing and also "push" to standing and I have her wear "high-top" bobux shoes so she has good support when out. She can cruise but can't walk independently. Has anyone had experience with this and can you recommend a good paediatric podiatrist/orthotics specialist? Kaleidoscope is referring us internally but I fear it may take 2-3 months and I want her to be seen as soon as possible to avoid any lasting problems. Thank you!

Don't get too small a car - you will become better at parking within a few days. We have a Touran and while I was worried about the size it's been fine. And the space is amazing.

I did lots of research and finally got the Summer Infant BabyTouch Plus Digital Video Monitor (pricey, but on sale on Amazon). It's been great - camera can be repositioned from the receiver as well. Reception not amazing but good enough for our purpose.

Another follower of Oh Crap. Worked amazingly well. Unfortunately I'm not sure if you can download it (maybe on kindle) as author got a book deal recently. We also didn't do rewards - flushing was her reward. We stayed at home (it was hot, this was not in London) for about a week so accidents weren't stressful. Also use "big toilet" for poos and potty for wees...which has been a blessing for us! Also I introduced pants (following another method) and then had to take them away (because Oh Crap suggests being commando for a few days) so don't do the whole pants thing first. Bring them in after the first few days. Good luck - massively stressful but so great once it's done. I was terrible until I reminded myself to chill out - that she would get it eventually!

We have one of the Assgard sheds in our front "yard". It's been brilliant and not as intrusive as we thought it would be. Door at the end of the shed has been brilliant. The twin bike locker holds 3 bikes in a pinch. http://www.asgardsss.co.uk/bike-cycle-storage

Join the group called SE23 Mums on Facebook. Lots of mums in the area. Welcome!

You have 8 weeks (or is it more) from birth, so can always postpone registration if you still have time till you sort your name out.

Strawbs - which Citydoc did you go to please? Trying to decide if we go to Bromley or go into town (LB) and go out from there. To all who have done the vaccine a couple of questions: 1. Is it silly to try and do the Men B and chickenpox vaccines at the same time? We have a 2.5yr old and a 1yr old. Obviously more worried about the resistance from the 2.5yr old. 2. Should we go out and have fun after the injections or do you think coming home and having a quiet time is a better way to go? Sorry this thread has been hijacked...but for what it's worth I wouldn't expose my child to a disease that can be horribly uncomfortable or more serious. We do all we can to protect our children from discomfort and harm. Deliberately exposing them to chickenpox seems to go contrary to that.

I would wait to start the job, see how you manage with the commute and also the job itself. I hope it is everything you would like it to be, but worth giving yourself some time to settle there as well before making other huge life changes. Re: uprooting - my dad's job had us moving internationally every 3-4 years. I was quite distraught with a couple of moves (when I was 12 and when I was 16) but quickly adjusted. As long as family life is stable and you are all happy, little Saff will be just fine. I think the parents find all the changes a lot harder to deal with. So if you are OK with any changes then she will be too. In terms of school run, are there any childminders in your area who drop off to/pick up from the school? If you're in Hilly Fields then SE23 Mums or SE4 Families on FB might be able to help there. You could also ask about your working hours so you could do early morning starts and leave by 4pm to be home at a reasonable time. Or work from home once or more times a week? Lots of options to help the process, but depends on the employer of course. Good luck!

First birth horrendous because I had a midwife who was awful for the most important bit. I really should have asked for her to be replaced as soon as I realised things weren't working - not fair on her or us. Second birth was premature - I was in and out of antenatal ward beforehand. Birth was attended by registrar, consultant, neonatal team - everyone was absolutely amazing and I was so incredibly grateful to be in such an excellent hospital. The midwives are generally lovely, I had a temp the first time and was just unlucky.

Thank you so much Amy - this is really helpful. I will be jotting a lot of these things down. It's hard to come up with a figure for the costs, but tracking costs for a month is a good idea especially because things like money for the kitty can be tracked by the nanny. Our nanny has done shares before (one for 14 years) so she is absolutely relaxed about the share which is great. And thank you for the last bit of advice - agreed that being upfront and honest at all times is really important. Fingers crossed for finding the right family soon! Thank you again :) Dev

Hello all, We are looking at entering a nanny share and would love advice on finding the right family and on having a successful share. Obviously ensuring the nanny is right for both families (we have found one and will be starting with her soon as a single family/sole charge) and that the finances work are fundamentals. But beyond that what are the things that are really important or have helped you have a successful share? I had a few specific questions as well. - We have 2 children (the older of whom will be in morning nursery 5 days a week starting September) - would it be normal to offer to split the cost 60-40 with any family with 1 child (rather than 50-50 or 66-33)? - Is it better to have the share in one house (especially when the share is not for the full week) or have it at both houses? - How do you manage the costs of food etc especially if the share is in one house - do you have a fixed contribution a week or does each family buy a certain amount of supplies/raw materials? - What do you do if one of the children is sick (especially with something like chicken pox or vomiting)? It is very difficult for me to take time off work if my kids are sick (true for everyone I'm sure) so having care that continues with sick kids is important to me. Thank you so much for reading and for your advice - as always it is very gratefully received. Dev

Yes, thank you!

Thank you for both of these links (Petra - yes, this was what I was looking at for historical reference/curiosity - thanks!). Dev

A year or two ago someone posted a link to an incredible map showing the circular catchment areas for many of the local schools. Does anyone have that link still and do you know if it has been updated? Thank you so much and hope everyone got the schools they wanted for their little ones!

Not immediate, but the London Pet Show is something you could do in the future. Some friends recommended it and we plan to take our little one there next year.

Thanks katgod. And I'm sure the logical emptying after every use will escape me too! We have carpeting which will not help! Could I ask which brand you have? Going to start looking - I think we need one. Am sick of clothes on every radiator!

Try NCT website - there was a woman in Penge who I rented one from. Though it wasn't particularly helpful if I'm honest...

Sorry to jump on this thread, but I've just been looking at tumble dryer options as well. We don't have the space to have one "properly" installed but have space in a small box room. So it seems a condenser dryer is the logical choice. I just wanted to know - does a condenser dryer cause damp in the room it's in? We have to get the box room replastered because there's definite damp (exacerbated by the fact that we use it as a drying room!) - just wondering if there's anything special we should get done to the walls to accommodate the dryer? Probably a daft question - I should really know more about houses than I do! Ah, from hoovers to dryers. The excitement never ends!

Our builder told us to only buy direct as you can end up with fake ones which don't fit otherwise. They are pricey though at over ?200 a pop! Maybe you can talk to other blind companies to see if they have any other solutions.

This is exactly the question I wanted to ask after getting soaked the last couple of days! Thank you very much for all the suggestions - and thank you for asking the question srisky!