Inkmaiden

I would definitely be interested in this, especially drop in sessions.

Also, I found people were remarkably tolerant. Inkspawn was pretty happy for the whole journey (despite only sleeping six out of the thirty hours travel. And on back to back night flights, argh) but at times I worried she was making too much noise or bothering people by trying to get their attention. Several people made a point of coming up to me at the end of the flight to say how well behaved they thought she was so I think as parents we are hyper-aware of every squawk they make when actually a lot of people don't notice because they've got headphones on/ the plane is noisy anyway/ someone else's baby is screaming louder than yours.

I don't know how much floor space you'll have on the flight but when we flew to Australia with our eleven month old we bought one of these- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Babytec-Limited-SJ-1-Travel/dp/B000FVXH86/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1310652084&sr=8-12 and she sat in it on the floor at our feet and happily played away with a selection of new toys and was occupied for ages posting things into all the pockets and taking them out again. But she couldn't crawl so it might be no use to you at all if you have an enthusiastic crawler/escape artist. I know you are not supposed to put babies on the floor in planes but apparently it was fine because she was contained. I also echo nymom- snacks, snacks, snacks and more clothes than you think you'll need- just being on a plane seems to do unfortunate things to babies' tummies. We got delayed for 6 hours on the runway (Fantastic start. And that was the second attempt to actually get to Australia after spending two days at Heathrow during the snow debacle last Christmas)and went through two changes of clothes before we even took off.

The Mountain Buggy is brilliant- so easy to push and manoeuvre, quick and painless to fold and unfold and they really don't take up much space when folded up. Also really like the fact that seats lie all the way back. Mountain Buggies are made in New Zealand so cheaper to buy in Australia- for instance the new duet is $749, which is currently ?493, as opposed to the ?580 it costs here.

Sometimes they don't get a blister at all.

What about a humidifier? If the next round of teething/torrents of snot/blocked nose/colds is anything like the last one think I'll be investing in one. Also, a few drops of Karvol on a tissue tucked under the pillowcase or sheet next to bub's head is sometimes quite effective.

A pack of disinfectant wipes for the bathroom- it got messy in there. Muslins- useful for general mess and when they inexplicably whipped the sheet off the cot and never came back with another one. A sense of humour- mine sadly went missing about 10 hours into my 12 hour wait to be discharged.

I am such a children's book nerd. My recommendations are : The Mortal Engines Quartet and Fever Crumb series- Philip Reeve. Brilliant brilliant brilliant. Septimus heap series- Angie Sage City of Ember Series- Jeanne DuPrau The Wind Singer Trilogy- William Nicholson

Bea's music class? Always really good- 3:30-4:30pm above Soup Dragon.

Calin Bleu slings are great for summer- very comfy and good in hot weather. I also loved the Tricotti- the material is quite thick but it was surprisingly cool and super-fast to get on and off. Although I never used it in the newborn cradle position so that might be a bit too warm for bubba in the summer.

Someone gave us a Slumber Bear- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prince-Lionheart-Slumber-Bear-Plus/dp/B000L3ISWI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306937968&sr=8-1. We never actually used the bear but the noise machine was brilliant- the music was very soothing and the ocean setting induced instant sleep.

We had a hard time with teething a couple of weeks ago. Inkspawn had a temperature on and off for about a week- it went up and down like a yoyo. Lots of broken nights, totally off food, swollen gums, general unhappiness. Teething powder, amber necklace, lots of slinging, ibuprofen if temp went over 38 or she seemed to be really suffering (paracetemol made no difference). I did panic slightly when I's temperature spiked at 39 one night but it came down fairly quickly after that and got steadily lower over next couple of days. She is now totally back to normal chirpy self and hey presto, five new teeth. So no wonder she felt rough.

Inkspawn had this virus last week- temperature, snot, few little spots on face and endless coughing, much worse at night. It eased up after about a week, just as I was about to go insane from lack of sleep. I think all the coughing made I's tummy and chest hurt and needed lots of soothing at night, so slept with me as propped on one side as I could manage or slightly propped up on back which seemed to help. A reaction to MMR can also kick in after the jab as different parts of the vaccine take effect. From the mighty source of knowledge that is The Internet: "The MMR vaccine may cause a brief reaction that can begin from a few days to three weeks after vaccination. Your child may get mild symptoms like the diseases that are being vaccinated against, eg cold, skin reaction, fever or swollen salivary glands." http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/childhoodvaccinations.htm Or Seb could have both. Which would be most unfortunate.

You should be fine, the ergo is great for toddlers.

No problem LoopyMum, just let me know if you want to come and try any of them. This website also has an extensive review section- http://www.thebabywearer.com/. bluesuperted, I totally agree with you about different slings serving different needs. Although I may have taken this reasoning a little too far because I now own seven slings, but with the exception of one (cheap ring sling- ergh, lesson learned) they have all been invaluable.

I have a 13 month old and an ever-growing number of slings! The best ones I've found for toddlers so far are the Sleepy Nico for front and back carrying: http://www.sleepynico.com/ and the Scootababy for hip carrying, although can also be used for front and back carries: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=scootababy&tag=googhydr-21&index=baby&hvadid=5110290515&ref=pd_sl_4t3bo4m87e_e Both quite pricey but very comfortable and I get so much use out of them- I still use a sling more often than the buggy. You're very welcome to come and try them out if you like.

Just to resurrect this thread for a minute- you can also use a maclaren young profi plus car seat with the Techno XLR so you don't necessarily need to buy the soft cot as well. The car seat clips into the buggy facing you and comes with a separate rain cover- the clips used to come with the buggy but you might have to buy them separately now.

So, new mother- you first posted looking for a nanny 8 months ago and have so far posted about live-in nannies, live-out nannies, mummy nannies, childminders and nurseries, generally in fairly uncomplimentary terms. How's your childcare search going?

Asked a member of staff last week when the pool was re-opening and he said due to some problems they've had it will be August at the earliest.

Apparently, freshly squeezed orange juice is a very common craving- I drank it by the gallon. Probably to counteract all the salty and cheesy food I was craving (and eating), especially prosciutto (hmmm) and M&S cheese curls.

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Have you looked at www.ebico.co.uk?