amydown

Snowboarder, I think you are in fact correct in terms of financial return on side return vs. loft. We spoke to a number of estate agents before having the work done and the general consensus was that if you assume you do the works now and sell the house on striaght away, on average, you would lose about ?20k from doing the side return and make your money back on the loft but no profit. We still decided to go for it because we absolutely love the location of our house and figured that we won't lose money in the long-run. With the kitchen now taking shape, although sq ft wise we are not gaining that much extra, it totally changes how you can use the room. (now have a cooking area and then a live/ play area for the little one) I don't think we could have lived in the house when the works were going on though to be honest. We are living with our generous sister's family down the road which saved us a lot of money in finding another place.

We used to use Tescos. They were usually ok but felt that the quality of fresh produce like fruit and vegetables was always really poor when you get them online. Have now been with Ocado for about a year and haven't had any problems. The driver also normally gives you a call on your mobile to let you know they'll be with you in half an hour, etc.

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Thank you for all the advice. I do actually have the no-cry sleep solution (shame on me). Before having the little one, I never realised the full extent of my total lack of self-discipline. Unable to stick to routines and caving in all too easily. Time to get the book out again... Gina, I shall give take your advice on board as although I don't mind the broken nights at the moment, I agree that in the long-run, it won't be a healthy sleep pattern for him.

Does anyone know of any professional sleep trainers that do not use cotrolled crying methods? I have nothing against the CC method but personally find it uncomfortable for us. My one year-old is still waking up regularly in the night. I'm making matters worse by breastfeeding him and co-sleeping (I still love both of these but probably doesn't help with his sleeping habits). I don't really mind the night wakings but we are doing a nannyshare and it's proving to be quite difficult for the poor nanny to put him down for naps in his cot. Having just spent a traumatic 2 hours trying to put him down for a nap in his cot without feeding him (and failed), I feel that I am in need of some professional help as I am probably the source of the problem but really don't want to do CC. Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

We have the older model and it definitely doesn't fall out when you fold it!

Depending on the age of your baby, using finger foods could be brilliant. Our little one loved chewing on sticks of melon, watermelon, pieces of toast (possibly because the roughness of wholemeal toast helped with itchness?), etc etc

Babington House is amazingly equipped for childern and they even have a creche for over 1's. A bit pricey but they do last minute deals for non-members sometimes.

Thank you ladies. We got the Unblievabowl but I must be doing it wrong (or perhaps the wooden surface isn't suitable) as it gives way half way through... I shall also invest in a Baby Bjorn bowl.

Hi Heidi, Yes, Daniel did have a dairy allergy so no weaning onto formula! He seems fine with buttered toast (and chocolate, oh dear). He also had potato and house dustimte allergies so was worth getting the tests done. x

Hi Heidi, Here I am - Mrs T's friend :)) We also have an allergy test booked in with King's for October but like Mrs T says, couldn't wait so went private. We went to a clinic called London Allergy Clinic (imaginative name...) just off Harley Street and had a one-hour session with Dr Warner, a consultant paediatrician. This involved him doing a skin prick test thingy on baby's back and I could ask him any questions (and not just allergy-related) about the baby which was great. The test cost ?400 from memory and you basically have a chat to come up with a list of suspected allergies and then do the test. We tested 15 in total. You get the results during the consultation which is also good. The clinic decor was rather dated and shabby so when I first got there, I did think I was in the wrong place but after seeing Dr Warner, was really happy with the results. http://www.londonallergyclinic.com/index.html Hope it helps.

So, Master T is a strong-willed 10m old boy and meal times usually involve his food bowls being picked up and thrown onto the floor along with the contents. We have tried the Tommee Tippee magic mat thing which does offer some resistance but not nearly enough. Has anyone come across suction bowls that actually work or is this a myth....

Hi Ratpack, I have recently commissioned a web designer to design a website for me - through recommendations from another forumite. Unfortunately, quite a bit more expensive than off the shelf options. PM me if you would like details.

We had the same problem with our now 8.5m old son who used to wake up for the day at between 4.30-5.30. After months of trying all sorts of weired and wonderful tactics, we got this stick-on blind stuff and now he sleeps until at least 6.30am every day. We used the stick-on stuff and since we had a black-out blind anyway, the blind goes over the stick-on stuff making the room totally dark. Stick on blind

Mine refuses to go to sleep.

Thank you for the advice everyone. We will try Petal Cleanse and we are away on holiday in a week's time and that should give us a better idea of whether it's the cats or not.

Our 8-month old boy has had a runny nose for over 2 months and after many trips to the GP, they are pretty sure he's developed an allergy to our cats. We have been referred to King's for an allergy test for this plus food intolerances but was told by them today that we are currently on the list for an appointment in October. His symptoms are getting worse by the day and we are trying to decide a) whether to go for a private test (any recommendations?) and/or b) to rehome the cats now based on medical opinions we have received so far... (anyone know of loving homes looking for a couple of gorgeous cats?) It is absolutely devastating for us but can't bear the thought of putting the little one through the daily pain of itchy nose. Has anyone gone through a similar experience? Advice, recommendations for private allergy clinics, offers of a loving home for our Yogi and Cookie all gratefully received. (cats are fully neutered, vaccinations up to date, lovely with the baby, very affectionate, and even have their own passports!) Edited to ask for any recommendations of cat sprays, etc. for allergies in the meantime.

Would love to borrow it!

Having read this thread, I am now intrigued and want to read this book. Does anyone want to sell theirs if finished with it?

Hi Fuschia, I am in the process of setting up an on-line shop specialising in maternity/ breastfeeding clothes. Currntly concentrating on smart clothes for work/ weddings but am widening my range to casual stuff too. I currently have a stock of sample clothes that I have ordered and you are welcome to come and try them on! I will be launching the shop more formally this summer once I have everything set up.

Thank you. I shall persevere with pursuading the GP...

I think the Lanes team is let down by the admin team who are responsible for relaying messages and booking people in for first appointments. Once you are allocated a midwife team though, they are absolutely fantastic and the midwives do respond do every single pager and mobile phone messages no matter how busy they are from my experience. No excuse for what happended to Fuschia I know but I just wanted to make sure there was a clear distinction between the failure of the admin staff vs. the midwives. Hope you are getting plenty of rest Fuschia and wish you all the best.

I also have a similar question - Is it possible for allergy to cause sickness after 12 hours or so? On two occasions, our little one had a pot of petit filous in the evening and then threw up big time the next morning promptly followed by temperature, etc. Was diagnosed with stomach bug and a viral infection but I'm thinking it seems odd that both times, he had petit filous the previous evening...

Thank you all. More shopping projects - love it!

So, this is the first father's day since the wee man was born and I was going to get a mug with baby's hand prints from All Fired Up for my husband. I then suggested we get that for the grandads and therefore, can't get it for husband any more!!! (True baby brain moment). Any ideas? (This is a present from baby to daddy)