prdarling

Fairlawn has an optional uniform but not sure how many opt in or out. Personally I can't understand a school that doesn't have a uniform, it seems really odd to me and not very school-like

Thanks very much Have booked the Mag. Is a March birthday and can't risk outdoors and soft play places don't serve drinks :) Love the Marsden Rd idea, will definitely book for my other son's birthday in September Hmm, now for an entertainer....

Hope someone can help. Am desperate for ideas for my 4 year old son's birthday party. I wanted to use the function room at The Herne but it's fully booked. Anyone had/been to any cool kid's parties? Thanks

The co-op has no rear access, so the only place to store anything is out ront. I agree it's a dump. The Co-op used to be worse before its revamp about 2 years ago but it's still fairly shoddy. Nero there is another thread about someone looking to take over the blue and yellow place - fingers crossed something goes ahead as it looks like something from Shameless at the moment

How exciting, it's stood empty for at least 5 years - would be great to see something lovely open up!

Never been to Howlett's but heard great things about it. Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green also good

Mine are 18 months apart. My first son had no real comprehension of what was happening. Even telling him there was a baby in my tummy did not translate to "there will be a baby livng in our house". He liked my big tummy and luckily it didn't stop us doing anything at all - in fact the day before i gave birth to baby number two, I took the 18 month old swimming in the very old fashioned East Dulwich baths, which is not the easiest to get into at the best of times!!! The lifeguards' faces were a picture. Once baby arrived he peered into the cot, said "Baby!" and walked off to do something more interesting. I think it depends on your child..once you start the ball rolling, see how much they grasp and how interested they are and take it from there. We had a book as well which helped but he really was just not that interested!

Battersea Park Zoo always goes down a storm with mine

Another vote for the brilliant Oakwood. Looks like both are superb, so your best bet is to go and have a chat ASAP and go with your gut feeling. They are both VERY pro natural birth... I succeeded in 2 great births just with gas and air (but both in Kings) thanks to their excellent care - gently talking me out of an epidural which was 100% the right decision and being supportive of my wish for a hospital birth. With my 2nd baby I was discharged from the delivery suite 2.5 hours after giving birth, safe in the knowledge that the midwife who had delivered my son would be along three hours later to check on us. Just amazing. Good luck with whatever you do!

My son will be 4 next month and has been out of nappies for 18 months but is still in pull-ups at night. He has no bedtime milk and has a wee before the pull up goes on and yet he is nowhere near dry. I still haven't established whether he is staying dry and then doing a lazy morning wee or whether he really is weeing overnight but I am not going to get rid of the pull ups until he's staying dry. I TOTALLY agree with Fuschia - don't stress about it. If he's not ready, he's not ready, he will get there in the end. My son took ages to do his poos on the loo - months and months after sorting the wees out but one day he just said, I'm going to do a poo on the loo and that was it. I couldn't believe it. I had got a referral from the GP to a constipation clinic as it was becoming such an issue (holding it in for days, refusing to poo anywhere except a nappy etc) but I think the simple answer was that he needed to be ready himself. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Can anyone recommend football classes for 2 and a half/3 year olds please. We've tried Little Kickers but not keen on the venue and they have not proved to be very professional, coaches showing up late, sometimes not at all and the only time you can get through on their, ahem 'hotline' is when they want your money for the next set of classes. Any suggestions as we are really keen to continue with our little man Thanks

For those (like me) who can't wait until next week, if you go onto www.channel4.com/born there are clips from loads of different moments they have shot, some gorgeous water births, some very medicalised ones. I'm desperate for another baby but I don't know if showing Mr Darling this programme will make him feel nostalgic or nauseous! I wanted to kill that idiot smirking copper who trid to lock his wife in the loo, what a toolbag.

We had an amazing trip to Mediterranean coast last summer with our two boys who were then 22 months and 3. They were treated like princes everywhere we went. Flight to Dalaman only 4.5h so bearable - airport tiny and brand new so very easy to get in and out. We rented a villa from www.ownersdirect.com. Will definitely go back

Thanks for these replies, very infomative. I have boys so the fab girls' schools are out anyway. I didn't realise Kingsdale and Charters were still an option, so that's great. A lot can change in the next 5 years or so so I guess we'll have to take a punt and see Cheers everyone

Mr Darling leaves at 7.30am and drives to J4 of the M4 getting there 8.45 if he's lucky, but usually 9am. Add another 30 mins on for Reading. If you leave any time around 7 you should be fine as yu'll miss the school traffic. Yo9u won't need to pay the congestion to get to the M4 either. Persoanlly I would drive as for me it works out cheaper than public transport

We are currently ED residents but considering moving over the border into Honor Oak. Our local primary will be Fairlawn which I am more than happy about but can anyone give me an insight into secondary schools. It's a few years off but I'm finding the whole househunting/estate agent/moving situation so horrendous that the idea of moving again in a few years time is too awful to contemplate. Any words of wisdom? Thanks

Mine both moved from a cotbed with sides on, to an adult size single bed just after they were 2. With DS1 it was easy peasy as he loves his sleep so it never occurred to him to get out once he was in. DS2 is slightly trickier but because he shares a room with DS1 and wants to be grown up like him, we made the move sooner than we would have just for some peace and quiet. We have to make sure he's on-his-knees tired before putting him down, otherwise he does get out and mess around but there is a babygate over their bedroom door so he can't go far

Go into admissions/apply online/Login Put in username and password (they can email to you immediately if you have forgotten) It will bring up your own "My school admissions" homepage Scroll down and it should have your child's name and date of birth, Date submitted and which version it is Below this are options 'view application' and 'edit application' Go into edit application - make your changes - click Save and Continue - read small print, click submit application

Michelle if you gave up your Oakwood place, you'd almost certainly only be offered a waiting list place at the Lanes...there are simply too many pregnant ladies and not enough midwives especially with the demise of the Albany. I only have positive reports about Oakwood, but I had my children in 06 and 07 and the situation was slightly less chaotic then. However I didn't see a midwife until after my 12wk scan at Kings - I think I was about 17wks with baby 1 and 13 weeks with baby 2, not for any reason other than that's when i must have appeared at the top of their list. I don't want to be too blunt but as many pregnancies don't make it past 12 weeks so there is little point in getting into the system until you get viability confirmed. As someone has said, the Early Pregnany Unit at Kings is excellent for any concerns in the first trimester I agree that it is hard to contact them, but i can echo others to say that once you have a team and a pager number they get back to you immediately. Midwife services like this are a precious commodity and we are bloody lucky to still have such a thing..it's virtually unheard of elsewhere and while it's clearly not a problem to see a different person each time, continuity of care is an amazing resource.

My niece went straight into a double and is still there 6 years later... it's actually better than a single in my humble opinion as they have so much space to rolla round they never fall out! Never bother with a toddler bed - they'll grow out of it a year later. Cotbeds with the sides off are an interim measure but there is no way any child over 3-3.5 could be comfortable in one. Both of mine went into full size single beds just after their 2nd birthdays - i'd have done doubles as make very handy guest options, but they share a room and refuse to be parted so not enough space

I was promised a Rolex while lying in Kings hours after giving birth. Three years, 9 months and another baby later, still nothing. Whatever you do, don't just say you'll do something and then or it'll be thrown in your face every time you have a row, just as it is in our house!!!

Another vote for a childminder. It's a much more appropriate environment for a 6 month old baby and also works out cheaper than a nursery. Your baby will have 1-1 care or at most 3-1, will get to nap in a proper cot in a proper bedroom and spend the day in a home-from-home environment. Childminders can be more flexible than nurseries too. Southwark will have a list

18 months between my two boys - virtually identical to Pickle's story..my two are now 2.2 and 3.8 and either get along like a house on fire or batter the living daylights out of each other, depending on mood! Was hard at first, especially as boy 2 was/is a rubbish sleeper but there was no instance of jealousy and they can't imagine being without each other. It definitely depends on personalities and whether kids are same sex (in my opinion). I have a friend with a 4 year gap and her eldest is still struggling with his baby brother - hugely jealous, won't let Mum out of sight, doesn't want to go to school and leave Mum and baby together, tantrums, aggression etc...basically a nightmare. I also think that a big gap is tricky with different sexes...another friend has a 4 year gap with a 9 year old boy and a 5 year old girl. They have no common interests - sport/computers/trains etc for one and dolls and princesses for the other and my friend is constantly organising playdates otherwise her kids tend to play by themselves. Obviously nothing you can do about this, but food for thought!

FYI The Oakwood Midwives may not be the same as Albany but they operate in a team of 3 who alternate to look after you throughout your pregnancy and you are pretty much guaranteed one of the three to deliver your baby. May not be a 1-1 but it's still a bloody incredible service for the NHS. If you are offered them I wouldn't hesitate. I don't understand how the Albany can operate like this? Surely if your allocated midwife has been up all night delivering a baby, she couldn't then come and deliver yours at the crack of dawn the next day??? You may be able to pre-book holidays but you can't pre-book babies! This is where I think the Oakwood has the advantage by working in teams.

Known as the 'arsenic hour' in my house. Another vote for the TV I'm afraid. Mine are at pre-school/childminder all day 3 days a week, so it's their only chance to see TV. Otherwise we get the play doh out...nice and creative but minimal mess. Sticker books always go down well too and they both love jigsaw puzzles. Agreed though, it's not much fun from now until March!