amydown

We stayed at the Almyra hotel in Cyprus as it was recommended for being child-friendly. Our toddler was 18m at the time and there were other families with toddlers and little babies too. Paphos itself didn't have much to offer I have to be honest but we pretty much stayed in the resort and it was great! They have a crech which was really nice and run by English nursery teachers and they are really well equipped for kids and babies generally (early dinner with childrens buffet) and provide you with warm milk in the evening for baby, can loan you steriliser, and all sorts of stuff. If you search for the Almyra hotel in Paphos on Google, lots of info on the website.

Just to add that if the waiting time to see the Kings specialist is too long (we had to wait for 2m), you can get tests done privately. We went to a clinic at Harley street and was seen immediately. If you have private insurance for the baby, it should covered. If not, it cost c.?500 (yikes) but worth the money in our case. We still had the appointment with Kings when it was our turn and that was really good too in germs of follow up chat to talk through progress since our first test done privately, etc.

Had the old model Bee with No. 1 from when he was around 2.5 months. Had the M&P Pilko fro the first 2.5 months and found it too bulky for me but it was nice to have a proper bassinet for newborn - I don't think I would have liked strapping newborn into the cocoon in the early days personally. We have just bought a Cameleon however for Baby No. 2 (started a thread on Cameleon vs. Bee recently). Overall, Bee is a very good buggy especially if you use the bus a lot.

And can I just check whether it would be possible to request a private room and pay? King's maternity unit comes up as one of the hospitals with private units when I googled it but when I had No.1 there couple of years ago, you couldn't get a private room by paying for it. Due to have c-section and hubby is very tall so would be nice if he could get a decent-ish sleep whilst looking after me and No.2.....

I had loved the donkey and really wanted one but when I actually went to see it, didn't like it at all. Too heavy and odd looking with the basket in single mode...

Hmmm... Thank you for the replies and the PMs. I think we will re-assess the situation and maybe wait until he can go to nursery for 2-3 days a week further down the line.

Hubby and 2-year old son sometimes go to the football class at JAGS gym on Sat mornings. I think it's called Baby Booter and it's a drop in class. They always have a really good time and it's from 11am-12pm. ?3.50 a session I think.

Hi all, We currently do a nanny-share for 4 days a week and our 2-year old could start at Gumboots potentially just for Fridays. I have heard that nurseries normally recommend at least 2 days a week as 1 day a week makes it difficult for children to settle in at that age. Does anyone have any experience (both positive and negative) you could share? Many thanks in advance Amy

Cameleon being delivered this week.Thank you for all the advice!

Ooh, when is the micralite coming out?

Thank you for the replies ladies.

We have been really happy with our Bee for the past two years and I was just going to get a double buggy for No. 2 that will arrive in January. I was rather infatuated with Donkey so went to see one at the weekend and actually didn't really like it after all. On top of all this, John Lewis has given us a full refund for our original Bee as it had a faulty strap. Thought they would just replace the part but what great customer service! So, we are back to the drawing board with the buggy dilemma. Having ruled out the Donkey, I think I would like to get a second hand P&T at some point but would still like either the Bee or Cameleon as the main buggy for the little one. As said before, been happy with Bee but Cameleon does look more comfortable, especially when they are little and can use the carrycot. Any thoughts mums?

Wow, thanks for all the recommendations ladies. I'm looking forward to leisurenly reading sessions when maternity leave starts....

Hi all, We are expecting our second baby in a few months time. The age gap between the two kids will be 2.5 yrs and I would like to do some reading on how best to introduce the baby to our little boy who is currently just under 2. Reading for me as a parent and also a book to help me explain it to the toddler would be great. Any recommendations/ ideas much appreciated.

We are expecting No. 2 in January and the age gap will be 2yrs 3 months. I really fancy the Donkey but hard to find reviews from actual users rather than retailers. Does anyone on the forum own a Donkey? I did see one by ED station a while back but I wasn't pregnant then so didn't stop the lady to ask questions... Edited to say that we already have a P&T for the nanny share and I struggle with it even just with No. 1 - due to my height, I find it hard to push it around and especially to get it onto pavements, etc.

Hmmmm... I had mine quite early on, within a week of seeing the midwives at Lanes. I would ring up your GP/ Midwife to check that you have indeed been referred? Might be worth ringing King's to see if they can find you on the system in case the letter went missing in the post.

Congratulations Pippa! Glad that the scan went well. I'm also a second-time mum. Toddler son is now 22 months and expecting our second on 15th January. Looking forward to a lovely meet up in due course.

Thank you for all the recommendations everyone!

I really want a nice luxurious holiday in the far east this summer (August)... (oh, and our 20-month old toddler will be joining us). Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, etc etc all being considered. Any recommendations for child-friendly resorts? I'm not a fan of being in a car for long durations in this part of the world normally (especially with a toddler) so somewhere we can fly into without a long car transfer journey would be great. Thanks for your help in advance!

Oooh, lots of options. Shall have to check them all out over the next 12 months!!!!

Really fancy some nice tea, cake and scones in posh places. Am taking our 20month old with us. Recommendations please!!!

No expert on the order of teething but radnrach, would it be worth checking your little one our for ear infection? Just that the mention of him touching his ear and tugging on it sounds similar to the signs I was told to watch out for for ear infection. Just in case.

Personally, 3 hours every two weeks for 3-bed house does sound quite stretched (even without the spareroom). Just to give you an idea, our cleaning lady (through Sonia's company recommended here) comes round twice a week, two hours each time. It's 4-bed house but she doesn't clean the guest bedroom or the study. No ironing either and change of bedding is only by exception as I think she would normally run out of time? Our house does get rather messy (would like to blame on toddler but more me actually) but it does give you something to compare it against.

Another vote for Bee although we did have a M&P Pilko for the first 10 weeks of D's life. If I was doing it again, I'm definitely buying the Donkey though (but would still need the Bee). In fact, I might buy the Donkey anyway. It's an investment right? :))

Haven't received anything through the post but dropped them an e-mail. Thank you for the post. Personally, I would love to see the pedestrian crossings as per the proposal (both from pedestrian and driver's point of view). It's quite scary when you are driving down Lordship Lane, especially near Coop. So many people jump onto the road from behind parked cars - tempted to do so in order to avoid having to walk to the pedestrian crossings. It's so dangerous.