Thank you so much to all of you for all the great and valuable advice! So sorry I've not replied sooner, but didn't receive notifications and wasn't aware people had replied. It's all quite daunting getting it right with your first when you have no experience to fall back on, so thank you. bawdy-nan that's really interesting feedback and a nanny would indeed be a great option but as you say it all depends on finding a really good one and I imagine that's not easy. Where is Mrs Doubtfire when you need her?! :)