sanity girl

Hey, I went there as a toddler too, many years ago (1970s!!), and also loved it. I have many happy memories.

Hi, we had same experience as ratty - no problems

Thanks - I'll definitely be along there once my second arrives in September :)

I used moltex when my daughter was newborn and they were pretty good in terms of not leaking. Afraid to say that I soon moved over to Pampers though as they are far superior in terms of "performance" and also loads cheaper :-$

I think mini mode do some nice things online - they have a range called something like "Molly & Jack" which is nice

I don't think it is just a boy thing - my daughter was like this settling in to nursery age 2. It's only now that she's going three days a week age 3 that she is no longer making a fuss - I think the fact that there is not too long between each day there helps, also the staff there are lovely and always give her a cuddle if she does get upset when I leave. Like the others, she always stopped crying a couple of minutes max after I left.

I had a lisp until I was about 7 or 8 (can't remember the exact age, my memories are vague) - I had speech therapy for it, which sorted it out. It really wasn't a big deal for me at the time. I did have a dummy until I was 3, so wonder if that was a cause?

just a few more I can't resist, then I'll stop! Al Green Love and Happiness the mighty Aretha Franklin

Here's a happy one to compensate

I love that Noah and the Whale track - will have to check them out now, thanks Tillie. This one is hurty too

I use the Maxi Cosi Tobi for my daughter and my parents have the Priori XP to use when they are looking after her and they are both very good. I think they came out well in the Which safety tests. I did manage to keep my daughter in her old rear facing seat until she was about 15 months though.

I had an identical experience to kristy, done just before my daughter turned 3, although my daughter's reward was not so big (I asked her what she would like from the dummy fairy and she said very precisely "a dark pink giraffe", so that is more or less what she got after a search on ebay!!). It was very successful. There were tears and a bit of restlessness I would say the first 3 bedtimes/nights, but after that it was fine, and now just over a month later she doesn't mention the dummy at all. So I would agree with Kristy, maybe wait until your little one is a bit older, if you can bear it?

My crafty solution (if you can afford it) would be to buy new replacement peppa pig trackie bottoms and hoodie and pretend that the boil wash worked, and follow belle's suggestions for the babygros. Good luck!

Maclarens are great. Techno or Quest are good if you want the buggy to recline properly, or a Triumph if you want something a bit more compact and lightweight. I've used a Triumph many times when flying with my daughter and on occasion the cabin crew (BA) have stowed it on board in the business class section if the flight wasn't too busy and there was space. It's always worth asking them nicely once you get to the gate/board the plane, as usually you leave the buggy to be stowed just before you board.

Hi, have you tried ikea? I used these ones for some shelves in my bathroom when I lived in Italy and they looked really nice up - the link doesn't give a very good idea of how they look up. They have plenty of other simple designs.

Hi, I'm afraid I can't make this one as I'm always at home doing dinner/bath/bedtime with my 3 year old weekday evenings. If the next one is a weekday lunchtime I'll be there.

My daughter goes to the nursery ballet class (they can start from 2.5 years) at South London Dance Studios in Herne Hill and loves it. It costs ?84 for a term. Here's their website

Definitely a maclaren techno xlr as it will see you through from birth to toddler. That's what I've got lined up for 2nd baby. I'm going to use it fully reclined with a fleece or phil and teds cocoon when the baby is tiny, and then it will be great as a normal pushchair once baby is 6 months or so. I used a peg-perego travel system for first baby and a maclaren soon took over from that. They're just so much more convenient than anything else - easy to fold, well-made, compact etc.

to those who use olive oil - doesn't it leave you smelling a bit of salad dressing? Or is there a special kind that you can buy for use on the body that doesn't smell so much? and do you put it on while your skin is still damp after a shower, or on dry skin? millsa - I too feel huge at 16 weeks pregnant - at this stage last time I had no bump whatsoever, now after a big lunch I feel fit to burst!

Do you mean South London Dance Studios - based in Herne Hill? Here's their website

That's really kind of you, but don't worry, I'll hang on for the lovefilm dvd in May.

Hi Gina the help I found was while I was still in Italy. The ladies who worked at the drop-in centre were lovely. I've also now just remembered that while I was still in hospital in Italy I had hands on help from the mother of one of the other women on the ward I was in -just for the first time I got my daughter onto my breast. I was so lucky she latched on and got going first try. I found the general attitude in Italy to breastfeeding much more open and encouraging than here in the UK. I fed my daughter anywhere and everywhere and all the comments I got from members of the public whilst doing it were warm and positive.

Sounds good to me

I agree with fearmpw1. I had my daughter in Italy and received no advice/help etc re. breastfeeding. Luckily I had no problems and found it easy and wonderful from the start, but still when she was 1 month old and I finally found a local drop-in mums and babies clinic and the advisor there watched me and said yes, you're doing it right - it was such a relief!

my laptop is on its last legs, no that's not really an option for now...