carebear

Writing as admin, please could you change the title? The previous poster?s suggestions are both more appropriate and more relevant.

I was where you are this time last year and becoming increasingly panicky! In the end we got the afterschool club spots by about half term but there were six weeks of cobbling things together. I had some lovely offers of help from other (non working) parents. There are also some after school clubs that do pick ups (eg Jolly Forresters I think). Finally you could try advertising for someone to provide you with afterschool wraparound care. Afternoon help can be pretty hard to find (holy grail?!) but we found a lovely girl who does the morning drop offs for us which allows me to get to work earlier and consequently finish earlier. It is a bit of a nightmare initially but these things do seem somehow to work out. You may find that you get offered some days of afterschool club and that you?re then trying to fill the other days. Good luck!

We?re now out of water completely BUT can hear the pipes doing something dramatic so hopefully some improvement soon...

Which end are you? We are slightly more towards Sainsburys and have v weak pressure but some semblance of liquid coming out of the tap!

Ha ha, thanks - my son has a very comparable sense of humour so I?ll give them a go!

We went and I would say it was worth it but only because we stayed so long. All the rides were free once in and v little queuing (perhaps because people were put off by the price!) so my two went round and round everything all afternoon! It was a bit of a weird set up and I think the deal could have all been made a bit clearer but generally a good experience for us.

This is great, thank you all!

We have been using the Biff and Chip books but suddenly at level 7 they seem excessively expensive! I wondered if anyone had any recommendations for books to help with my son?s reading around level 7,8,9? (I believe this equates to turquoise, purple, gold)? Thanks in advance!

If you are expecting a baby in the winter months, this is your thread, use it as you wish. Please, no advertising. Congratulations to you all! Family Room Moderator

Congratulations! You might find this thread useful: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1863514,1865660#msg-1865660 Or the summer baby equivalent as it sounds like you?re on the cusp!

If you are expecting a baby in the autumn months, this is your thread, use it as you wish. Please, no advertising. Congratulations to you all! Family Room Moderator

buggie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Pretty sure your voting card for the election > would be admissible as proof too. It may vary by school but for us, we had to provide proof of address for the child specifically - polling card therefore would not have been sufficient. Easier said than done!

We used a letter from our GP surgery to prove address, might be easier?

Thank you both - will investigate both :)

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a local orthodontist? It's actually for me, not any of my children, but I might need to take my baby along to appointments so would love to find a family friendly place which also provides adult services if possible. TIA!

Hi, I highly recommend Nicola at child sleep solutions. We?ve used her for various sleep problems now (for different children!). We did it all over Skype, although she offers various packages I think. She gets loads of good recommendations on here too. http://www.childsleepsolutions.co.uk Good luck and feel free to message me if you have any questions :)

May be worth having a look at Mother Goose Greendale - I?m not sure if it might be a bit far for you but given that you mentioned Little Jungle I thought it might be worth a thought. No idea about their waiting list either but their outside space is apparently brilliant so worth an ask!

Hello, I?ve had two v different labours at St Thomas?s; first fairly long vaginal delivery with a few issues in 2012. Care throughout labour was second to none. Postnatal was quite a different story and resulted in a complaint from us. In spite of this, I opted (with a v high risk pregnancy) to go for St T?s over Kings the second time in 2014. This time for c section due to the complications. Again, care was fantastic throughout delivery and post natal was significantly better, possibly partly because we were more prepared to put our foot down about certain things this time. Number 3 due in a few weeks? time and the plan is St Thomas?s again even though Kings is a lot closer. This is nothing against Kings, more a testament to St T?s and a belief that the pros outweigh the cons. Feel free to pm me if you?d like more detail x

I have always read better to put 6 down for the reasons above - you could be sent miles away if you don?t... I believe Heber wasn?t full this year and have heard good things so could be a contender (appreciate may be a bit far but might work if you?re considering Harris?). Good luck!

Is this today?

I would recommend the JAGS bouncy castle parties for that age group :)

We?ve held several parties there now as well as attending many more (it?s the go to party for my youngest?s peer group!) and I would highly recommend. The children LOVE it and it?s so easy for the parents - they?re v helpful with setting up tea (you bring your own) and do all the clearing up at the end. And I think it?s well worth the cost with the bouncy castle too :) I also think 3 is probably the perfect age, although also v suitable for older and younger guests too. I?ve never noticed an issue with heating and one of ours has a birthday in December so I expect if it was going to get cold we?d have known about it!

If you are expecting a baby in the summer months, this is your thread, use it as you wish. Please, no advertising. Congratulations to you all! Family Room Moderator

Hello, Wondering if anyone can recommend somewhere I could get a private pregnancy scan at around 28wks? I'm hoping to take my 5yo on a specific date (a Thursday) so ideally would like to find somewhere easily accessible from ED either by car or public transport. None of the babybond places have appointment times that work and everywhere else I'm finding is on Harley St at 3-4 times the price! Thanks in advance :)

Hi, Sorry to hear you're experiencing this stress. I agree with all the advice above regarding trying to speak to the manager and establish whether you might be able to get further clarification about how well set up for babies they are. Also, if the nursery is part of a chain, you could try talking to somebody further up the food chain - if they become aware that there are issues and they are advertising as being open to younger babies they may wish to take steps to ensure the setting is appropriate. All that said, I think you are right to be concerned on the back of those comments and wise to consider other options. You might consider a nanny or nanny share (and this could be for just six months or so until your child approaches an age where most nurseries are more set up) - you could advertise on the forum or there are several local FB groups and agencies you could try. Alternatively, you could try and find a childminder. Finally, although it's quite late in the day, you might have some luck with other nurseries - have you considered looking at nurseries closer to work than home for more options? Good luck with it all x