charlottep

I found milton wipes handy - to quickly wipe down the loo seat or bath tub

Whippersnappers also do a free session at the rye oak centre in peckham rye. Kate - you've probably done so, but it's worth downloading the 'Let's Go' guides for dulwich and peckham, on the Southwark website. They contain a complete list of activities for babies and toddlers in the local area. The link is below (not sure how to attach a hyperlink so you may need to copy and paste into your browser). Sorry! http://www.southwark.gov.uk/YourServices/childrenandfamilies/activities/familyactivities.html

I have heard that merck have no intention of recommencing the manufacture of the single mumps vaccine as it doesn't make financial sense to them. From what I understand, they were the only manufacturer of the standalone mumps vaccine? Doesn't this make the single vaccine route non-viable?

Snowboarder - I remember crying over my dinner many times, just in anticipation of the disturbed nights sleep that I knew lay ahead of me! it is bloody hard work, but it will get better quicker than you think (my sister used to tell me that all the time which made me want to thump her, but she was right). To echo some of what's already been said, i think the following really helped me: 1. Good daytime nap routine, which is easier to establish, in my experience, when they're around 3/4 months old (my son had 45 mins in the morning, 1 hour after lunch and another 45 mins in the evening, once weaning was established, he slept for 2 hours after lunch and dropped the afternoon snooze). Good sleeping in the day definitely helps at night. 2. Strong sleep associations - I encouraged my son to use his muslin as a comfort blanket from about 3 months old - he also uses a dummy (not everyone's cup of tea i know), but just for naps. Now, where ever we are, i can hand him his dummy and muslin cloth and he knows it's time to sleep, either at nap time or bed time. A good bed time routine - with bath, story, gentle music also works wonders. 3. Blackout blind - this has made such a difference to my son - he used to wake up regularly at 5:30am, with the blackout blind he'll snooze through until 7/7:30. 4. We moved our son out of our room when he was about 4 months old (I know that's sooner than recommended, but I kept a monitor on my bedside table, even though he wasn't far away) and I think this also helped ensure he wasn't disturbed by us. I appreciate that the napping routine and sleep associations aren't easy to establish, I just found that by being consistent in the run up to nap time and bed time, it finally clicked with my son (probably took a couple of months in total). Good luck, C

When my son turned 12 months we went cold turkey straight onto cows milk and he didn't blink an eyelid. He had two 7oz bottles a day, one in the morning and one before bed. I think Pickle is right, at age one they need about a pint but you can include intake of yoghurt, milk on cereals/porridge, etc. I remember being a little worried/hesitant about making the transition, but it was absolutely fine for him and cows milk is much easier than mixing formula, so all good!

thank you for the helpful responses and goodbye morning nap, you've been a good friend and i'll miss you.

My boy has just turned 14 months and is resisting his morning nap - he used to sleep for 45 mins every morning at about 9:30 giving me some much needed time out, but now he's got no interest in napping in the a.m. and is happy to potter around until 12:30/1 p.m. when he has his 2 hour afternoon nap. Should i be persisting and trying to get him to nap in the morning, I'm just not sure whether this is a phase, or if he's testing his boundaries, or is this about the age when babies typically stop sleeping so much in the day?? Any insights would be very interesting, as I'm keen to keep his napping routine up for as long as possible! Thanks very much

I second GM's. My son has a crazy head of hair and needs a haircut pretty much every 3 months. Millie, does a lovely job and has lots of patience.

I work opposite City Thameslink and my journey varies depending on which train arrives at the platform first. I either take a brighton train to london bridge and switch platforms to catch the east dulwich train, or I take a sutton train and change at tulse hill, or I take a sevenoaks train and get off at denmark hill and catch a bus down the hill to east dulwich. You could also take the sevenoaks train to peckham rye and change to an east dulwich train from there. All these routes are pretty efficient and you can normally get a seat. My preferred route is the sevenoaks train to denmark hill and then the bus. It generally takes about 30 mins door to door, which isn't bad at all. My least preferred route is via tulse hill, the connections often don't work too well in my experience.

I went back to work part-time (four days a week) when my son was 8 months. Although I loved my maternity leave, I was definitely ready to get back to work and I managed to secure a great nanny share arrangement with a wonderful nanny and a like-minded family. On returning to work I was determined to strike a good balanace between work and home, but in reality I've found it a difficult challenge. As with many other part time mums, I found that I was managing exactly the same role as before my son was born, in four days (lots of late evenings), with 20% less pay - always feeling a step behind everyone else. When I started to regularly log in to the office on my Fridays at home, while my son was napping, I decided that I may as well return to work full time and take some pressure off. During the week I only see my boy for an hour a day, which is hard and I do miss him and think about him all the time. The thing that's really motivated me is the fact that he loves his nanny and both of his grannys who also share in his childcare, plus my husband also has some flexibility, is extremely supportive and takes away a lot of pressure. I do still feel as though I operate with an under current of guilt, but I remind myself that my mum had to go back to work when I was 10 weeks old and I still think that she's the greatest mum ever. If I had the choice, I would still work - I like the independence - but I'd do a strict 9-5 on a part time basis, I'm just not sure you can achieve that in the City! Good luck Belle, I'm sure you'll make the right decision.

We had takeout pizza and pasta last night - I grabbed a takeaway menu on my way home from the station. I was impressed, simple but v tasty - the way Italian food should be. REALLY great value for money too. It's called il Mirto (I think).