jennyh

All agreed as above! We've just potty trained our daughter. We found princess Polly's potty is a good one and for boys it called pirate pete's potty, or something similar. Has a button on it to cheer! I would also agree on what your treat will be (if you choose to use one) and take enough with you for first few days, also stickers and a chart of some sort (bought or homemade). My daughter responded really well to the stickers and chocolate button approach but was a little unsure about the potty itself, the book really helped her gain courage as she got involved in taking more about potties and being a big girl like Polly etc. Exciting big boy pants and easy elasticated shorts are a must but as above, being naked is easy until they get used to telling you in advance. Always leave the potty visible and if you go somewhere new then reinforce the fact you have the potty and where it is! My daughter did really well but when we started leaving the familiarity of the home it was a bit more complicated!

There was a lady around that time frantically looking for her white dog in Dulwich park, must be the same one...

We have that travel potty and its great but it's quite low down so can be a bit uncomfortable to use, especially on the sand as we found out a couple of weeks ago. I would take normal potty and some bags and wipes, pour the wee into a hole and bag the poo!

Another vote for Rocca in the village. Has a lovely atmosphere and they are brilliant with kids and very attentive and nothing is too much trouble. Lots of space and the restaurant is nicely decorated so has a slightly fancy feel whilst being very relaxed, and the food is brilliant. Have been frequently and often take ages but never feel like I'm in he way or need to give up the table!

Hey Pregnant with my second and looking for any recommendations for yoga classes, I went to a few when pregnant with my first but haven't done any other yoga or Pilates so needs to be beginner level! Just find my bones and ligaments really struggle with pregnancy and was almost always in pain last time around so hoping to get a bit more supple and comfortable this time! Thanks!

Hi all Looked at a lovely house near Penge east station but no idea what the area is like for amenities, primary schools, safety, feel etc. we've got a toddler and due another one this winter so trying to get clued up on how happy we would be in various areas around Dulwich. Any ideas let me know! Thanks

Search my previous posts as I had exactly the same thing and still do to some extent. My daughter is real fight or flight, she either goes nuts and screams at everything or ahe messes around being silly and playing up for hours after bedtime, its so hard. I'm pregnant too so really do appreciate how it changes your tolerance and ability to cope. It's incredibly stressful having a difficult bedtime. I spoke to a sleep expert who had some interesting insight, namely to do with not entertaining any conversation surrounding the things that cause most problems. My daughter hates bed and says 'no bed' all day regardless or any mention of bedtime! I was trying to reason with her or explain bed to her in the hope of assessing the issue but I was quickly reminded that by acknowledging it I am making it a problem and assigning it as a sort of 'personality issue'. This is my child, we know her problem is bed, they pick it up as an issue and it becomes them to some extent. So one piece of advice was to not entertain any discussion surrounding the bad bedtime behaviour. Try to keep your cool which is virtually impossible but again is important - any attention at this age is good, whether you are angry or happy, they get what they want by keeping you on your toes. Be boring, be stern and be consistent. I absolutely understand and struggle most days but feel a tiny bit more equipped, if you are local to east Dulwich I would happily meet for a coffee on a thurs or fri to share some stories and possible suggestions...the only thing is that it's advised you shouldn't discuss any issues in front of the toddler which makes it a bit trickier!!

In our experience the move to a bed showed our daughter that she could refuse to be in bed andas she's never been a great sleeper it just meant her bed became a play thing or a topic for regular battles between us. Naps gradually became a joke as she just fought them and was also capable of getting out of bed, playing, getting undressed, fetching toys etc. have tried pretty much everything as I would LOVE her to have a nap still, it's exhausting!

Ours was in a cotbed so we just took the sides off and converted it. She was around 2 I think, coincided with her refusing to get into the cot. Was a relatively straightforward process for us but it does have its obvious pitfalls! Just makes things more challenging but it depends on the child. As pickle said, had been very hard to get a daytime nap since but gotta do it at some point I guess!

When I argued to have an episiotomy having been pushing for hours and told 'I don't know why baby isn't coming out' I then had to hold babies crowning head between contractions whilst a new midwife came as mine 'didn't like cutting' :-)

I did the same... Turned up saying she's in pants and hoping for the best but like srisky says, the first accident and she was put straight into pull-ups.

Hey, great thanks! Only thing is it needs to fit in the car easily with all our other rubbish! Could you send me a link to it so I can check sizes?

http://news.sky.com/story/1119013/royal-baby-its-a-boy-for-kate-and-william It's a boy!

My husband went to nandos for a last supper whilst leaving me labouring alone in hospital! Was gone over an hour!

Hello, Going away on thurs morning and looking to borrow a bed guard to fit a single bed if anyone is happy to lend in exchange for wine!? Jenny

I will watch this with interest as mine goes to the same nursery. We started potty training recently too and she was in pull ups last week (3 days in total) but I just had the impression they treated them as nappies with the same regular changes. When I asked about potty trips they said they had taken her once or twice a day but otherwise didn't really ask her, preferring to wait for her to tell them herself. That is fine but it is hard to make progress and get to that stage when they don't seem to be actively encouraging her to toilet train... She had 4 nappy free days at home and only had one poo accident which I gather was because she couldn't find the potty. If she can see it or knows where to find it or asks me for it then its generally successful, my worry with nursery is that they can't see the potties and will play etc rather than focus on whether they need the toilet. Happy to consider their opinion and will also be asking them how best to proceed as it seems a little difficult to go nappy free when its such a different experience in nursery.

Just to ask another opinion on this, in process of potty training my 27 month old and she is doing ok and I don't think she has any major emotional issues except for getting annoyed with me asking her all the time! I thought she would need to go all the time but it seems she only wees every 3 hours or so...is that normal for this age!??? Or is she holding it in? Doesn't seem in pain when she does go and it is always a full wee and usually quite yellow in colour. Is she just able to hold it a long time?

Oh god I dread that day. Invaded our cupboards last year.

Exactly, just do what comes naturally and easiest. There is plenty of time to try and rotate habits etc a s frankly they seem to change their mind all the time so each day you get through without crying yourself is pretty good going!!!

Thanks everyone. I've tried various bedtimes, if she naps then sometimes it's not until 9ish, often not asleep till 9.30-10 in extreme cases...has its own problems as end up with a tired girl the next day. If she doesn't nap then usually into her room for books at 7pm as its such a long day and she's exhausted (albeit wired!) I would love to just give into it and enjoy the cuddles but can't help feeling its not sustainable and I dont want her to find it really upsetting when I can't do it any longer (particularly when new baby comes). I've been going in and stroking her to sleep which is nice time when shes calmed and not crying. but the result is that when she wakes in the night it is a constant chorus of 'mummmyyyyyyy' - 11-12.30 last night and first thing this morning, husband unable to do anything to settle her. Also my husband needs to be able to put her to bed sometimes plus it would be nice to occasionally have her gran do it, with work alone I am often not back I time, let alone I actually manage any sort if social life ;) On the nap front - can I do a quick poll of who dropped nap at what age??? She has refused nap last two days, not sure how I feel about it as I do think she needs it but not much I can do! I think I'm going to consult Nicola at child sleep solutions as I feel that it is her feelings around bedtime that I need to understand, if she does need more cuddles from me etc, if its something she is scared of. I really want to do whatever it takes for her sake a much as mine, is so upsetting feeling she hates bed so much that she fears it at all waking moments!!!!

She sometimes naps and sometimes doesn't. On days when she doesn't nap it's generally easier to get her to sleep as she's knackered but then she wakes during the evening and can't get into a deep sleep and is very upset at being awake! When she does nap she isn't tired until very late so isn't ready for bed! I must say I find it very hard to fit a nap in these days as she prob isn't tired enough till 2ish which is too late, even with a short nap she would still stay up until 9-10! Congrats to you too buggie, I'm intrigued by your findings - could you explain any further ? I would love to understand more from her perspective...how do I reduce the adrenalin??? A big dose of piriton???

Thank you! I ended up going in this evening and asking her about it calmly, didn't get much response and she did the usual thing of wanting to get out, want stuff, but she did stay in bed and I just stroked her until she closed her eyes. A vast improvement on yesterday but still takes a lot of time from me! I love the idea of the reward chart and am definitely going to do that,equally your other comments are very helpful. I try to be calm but the pregnancy hormones drive me wild and i'm so tired that her games just tip me over the edge! Fortunately she reasons well and understands well, she knows that if her toys keep her awake I will take them away (doesn't often work) and she knows that if she is a big girl and goes to bed then we will do something fun in the morning when the sunshine comes up. But she just gets hysterical because she is just so wired and knackered and so talks over me when I am trying to discuss things with her, she knows that I am trying to get her to listen and looks at me like she is trying to wind me up! I do a lot of 'Bess, Listen, Look at mummy, shush, bess....listen!!!! until I get her attention, then its gone again! I have had a good think about it and decided that I will start trying to give her dinner a little earlier as she has a lot of fruit and I wonder if she gets a sugar rush plus I know that she gets a lot of energy from her dinner as i can see an immediate effect. I will then get her into her bedroom to pick her books and pyjamas etc (which I already try to do but usually unsuccessfully) and perhaps sit in her room and try to talk about her day etc for 10 mins before bath. Think she needs a bit more happy time in her room because at the moment she sees it as the evil place where she has to go to bed. Likewise she sees the bath as bad because it means the end of playing and the start of bedtime routine. Its so exhausting!!!!! She used to play for 90 minutes in her bed each night putting her toys to sleep (she is a pro at putting dolly and teddy to bed!) and that was a pain because she was knackered in the morning after her late night but at least she was quiet and didn't need me! :)

Hi everyone Sure this is completely common to everyone so hoping for some good advice... My daughter is 26 months. We managed to get her to sleep independently quite early on but she has always had her moments during developmental leaps and illness etc. For the last 6 months it has been increasingly difficult to get her to go to bed with any sense of calm or hope of a speedy sleep, she is currently screeching her head off in her room but if I go in then she just makes demands 'want wipes' 'teddy wants a drink' 'bess hurt' etc, she throws things out of bed and then calls me despite being able to get out of bed herself to fetch them. She is in that awful manipulative age where she 'WANTS' everything and frankly is quite unpleasant at times. My question is really how do I manage this?? I am not comfortable leaving her to scream as I once did because she really remembers it now and understands much more that she has been left. But I don't see how I go to her without confirming that she is getting what she wants by screaming. last night I gave up and went in and she ended up lying on my lap for 20 minutes calming down before conking out. I am on my own tonight as husband is out, I have work to do and I need to cook dinner and I have a feeling she could go on for an hour at least. I can't seem to get her calm before bed, she bounces around like a lunatic. Seems to make no difference how busy we have been during the day, how calm she has been in the hour before bed, how nice and long her bath is or how much of a nice quiet rub she has before pyjamas. She just hates going to bed. Ive tried letting her choose new sheets and helping me make the bed which worked for one night. In the morning she wakes up saying 'no bed' and when we come in the front door throughout the day she says 'no bed'...she just fights and fights and fights it. We do 3 books and she sometimes sits down to read them, otherwise she just plays around me. Sometimes I am convinced she is over-tired, other times I think she prob has too much energy but nothing I have tried seems to make it any better! I'm expecting another baby in December and moving house in a couple of months which I am sure will rock the boat. I just cant be going backwards and having her wrap me around her little finger so much. PLEASE help!!!!! And I know its probably just a 'phase' but need some solution for the hear and now! Anyone got a magic answer!? Thanks Jenny

Going this weekend, can't wait!

Exactly with you on this, my 26 month old is so bossy and rude. When I tell her to ask for something nicely I get a sarcastic teenager style 'pleeeease' complete with moody face. She stomps around ordering us about and telling us off for everything! I'm just trying reiterate that she has to say things nicely or she won't get a response, not to be rude and attempting to teach her once she has made a decision she can't change it a million times. Goes hand in hand with the bossing we find, it's our fault she changes her mind apparent, that she's picked the wrong apple etc etc!