alieh

We also always pay for a taxi home, even if we're not that late (9 or 10 pm). We don't drive so don't have this option. But either way, I think that is part of the cost of having an evening babysitter and very reasonable that you should expect it!

Also with early bedtimes you might need to go super early so as not to miss the window. If she's super grizzly or tired looking by 4-5 pm then that is a clue that she might have reached second wind wired state by 7. But you know her best so don't listen to me if it means you'll be starting your day at 4 am!

I would keep putting her down, as you've planned, especially if she is happy just not sleeping. When my son went through this transition we did a "split" lunch for a long time, and an early lunchtime nap. Even 11:30/12:00. Got out of the house early and had a busy morning to distract from grumpiness, then lunch/snack at 11:00 or 11:30 and then one nap. It can take a while for their bodies to adjust to one nap and for it to lengthen. There are some babies who seem to like a shorter nap and make up for it at night. The key for these nap transitions for many babies, in my experience, is super early bedtimes. We've had phases of lights out by 6:00 or even 5:30. Most times my son would still sleep until roughly the same time. Even if they end up awake at 6:00, they've had a good long night and are more able to get through the morning with no nap. The key is to avoid overtiredness at bedtime as, for us, that leads to bad nights, more tired in the morning, vicious cycle.

We have some really good ones that are inflatable and go under the fitted sheet. They are great for travelling, as he can sleep in any big bed in a hotel or whereever. There are some that are made to go into a special fitted sheet, but the ones we bought are just individual tubes that can go under any size fitted sheet, so better for hotels, etc. where the bed may be single, double, king, etc.

Yes, your numbers look about right. It is pretty scary! The problem is that even if you find a nanny that costs less than ?10/hour, it is the plus 40% in tax and NI that really hurts so even a ?1/hour "savings" doesn't help that much. Plus we found that in this area ?10/hour net was standard except for people with very little experience. The cost of two at a childminder will be a bit cheaper. It seemed that the cost of 2 at most of the nurseries in this area was not much different than a nanny.

Could he be a bit overtired at bedtime instead? Tears at bedtime plus 5:30 am starts usually indicate overtiredness for us. Mine both do better with lights out around 6:30. 2 hours at lunchtime sounds very normal for that age, so may not be that the nap is too long. You could try starting the bedtime routine earlier for a few days and see if that helps? Also the "gradual retreat" approach does work well at that age. Lying by the bed for a few days then moving to a chair by the door, then outside the door, etc. Sometimes they just get themselves into a habit and you just need to rejig the routine a bit to try to remind them that they're okay at bedtime. 18 months is also a very common time for sleep regressions, so could just be a bit of a hangover from that?

I said the same on one of those threads. I agree. I would be happy to get involved. I am working full time so would struggle to lead but if there is absolutely no one else able and willing I could perhaps manage!

I completely agree with this and that the free school policy seems utterly pointless and a drain of resources. If the council is funding the school then why not just manage it as well? Very odd. But then I'm not from the UK originally and where I grew up you just go to whatever is your closest school and if there are too many children they add temporary buildings or provide buses to another location. Never occurred to me to rank or rate the school, it was just my local school so I went! But saying that, to deal with the immediate problem of school places per James Barber's post above, is there appetite in the area to set up a "decent, co-ed, non-faith" free school while simultaneously vociferously lobbying against the concept of free schools?? I would be interested in supporting this type of initiative if so.

Just wanted to update this thread in case anyone comes across it in future. My research indicates that there are anti-malarials that can be taken whilst breastfeeding, especially older babies (though, as with anything related to medicines and breastfeeding, there is very little conclusive evidence).

Should be good for me!

Same here! My older son vomited once but other than that has the weird lethargy, mild fever and cough, not eating, back to napping in day...and it goes on and on and on. He's seeming almost 100% now but that is nearly 10 days later. I had one day of fever and sore throat but other than that just soooo tired.

It is showing at Peckham Plex. We went there last Sunday afternoon with our 3 year old and 1 year old (to see something else)and it was virtually empty and no one seemed bothered that the 3 year old asked very loud questions the whole time and the 1 year old rampaged up and down the aisles and ate popcorn off the floor. You need a ticket for the toddler but not for babies under 1.

Mine is calculated totally differently again. It is calculated ?3.86/hour (the amount of the subsidy) X 15 hrs/week X 12 weeks/term and subtract this from the full cost of 3 days/week.

The mind boggles at how this could be so inconsistent and confusing. We are struggling to understand the same and having to have a very akward conversation with the nursery my son attends (which we absolutely love!) as the subsidy is not calculated the way we expected (and the way the policy lays out) which means - unless it changes - we can't afford to send him.

I think if you have a downstairs toilet it would be fairly easy to just use the loo with a seat cover. However without a toilet nearby we've found we need the potty closer at hand. Especially as we have a baby as well so not easy to rush upstairs at a moment's notice. We have the Beaba potty and it has been very good for our son. Lots of room for his willy to aim down at the front!

Thank you all! Very helpful.

Does anyone have any experience of being able to keep breastfeeding an older baby (13 months old at the time) after being away from baby for a week? Right now I am feeding morning and bedtime (plus one or two feeds overnight....ahem). I have a week long work trip at the end of March and would like to keep the morning and bedtime feeds (very happy to ditch the night feeds!) after this trip if I can. If I take my pump with me is it likely I will be able to keep the supply up by pumping twice a day? The work trip is to Zanzibar so it is clearly imperative that I attend :). It wouldn't be a disaster if that was the end of BFing, but I would like to keep up if I can.

I really want to support this, just not sure how! Will add support on the Facebook page. This is one of the only free afternoon activities in the area that I find is great both for babies and toddlers/pre-schoolers. The activity calendar is weighted in favour of morning activities and things that are better for babies and younger toddlers. Perhaps it would be reasonable to have a small charge for it, similar to other programmes (i.e. Salvation Army in Camberwell), on a pay-what-you-can basis (suggested maybe ?1 or ?2 max) but certainly not on the scale of ?6 or whatever the number was that would cover all of the operating costs. Would more people use it if it opened earlier? I know there was a long period where we didn't go because my son napped during the whole time. Now that he has dropped his nap, we have started going again. If it opened 11-4 maybe the incremental costs would be outweighed by increase in use? Could we look into the option of complementing staff with volunteers as well? I think there is an awareness issue as the inside bit of the 1:00 club has a lovely area for babies with mats, etc. but I don't think that many people know about it. Not sure but very keen to help keep it operating if I can!

I bought this one at a car boot sale and it is really good. The sing along microphones are quite good fun and you can turn off the microphone feature if the "singing" gets a bit much! http://www.mothercare.com/ELC-Sing-Along-CD-Player/dp/B005FM2SSK

My son is a bit like this and we have similarly just tried to encourage him to say firmly "No, I don't like that." We also talk about the fact that hitting is not okay, but will also talk to him about whether [the person prone to hitting] is trying not to hit, trying to learn that it's not okay, making improvements, etc so that he learns not to be afraid of that person forever and to think of things from their perspective too. The whole idea of labelling the behaviour as not okay, but not labelling the person as "bad", etc., etc. My son seems to be doing well in his current nursery environment as they seem very quick to act on any aggressive behaviour and it is generally a very calm and quiet atmosphere. He did get bitten quite badly, which he still talks about months later, but he also seemed to feel that the teachers' response was fair and that the child in question has been trying to stop hitting and biting lately.

I find it fits very well and is easy to take on and off. I don't fold mine for the car but do take it on and off most days as I find it annoying to have it on the buggy in the pulled up position when I don't need it.

Clever! With that arrangement on the Maclaren I would definitely recommend the Kaiser one. Enjoyed equally by my 9 month old and my large 3 year old and I often leave them out in the garden for naps, even in the winter!

Yes, we have that Kaiser one and I love it on our Bugaboo and jogging stroller but think it was too long for the Maclaren? Not 100% sure as we don't use Maclaren much but worth measuring first.

There are soya based infant formulas that we've used for the occasional bottle when I am out. My son completely rejected the taste of the hypoallergenic formulas but does happily drink the soy formula on the occasions that I can't BF. It was very easy to find in most grocery stores and chemists.

I CANNOT stop humming/singing the songs we've been working on. Really nice to have something to look forward to on Monday mornings! Ruth, can I encourage you to come along to try it once if you're keen? I was very skeptical that I would be able to do any singing with my 3 year old and 9 month old in situ. But they seem almost stunned into good behaviour that Mum is doing something fun for herself! And the cafe in the church is good value so you can maybe bribe him with a treat after we sing? If it goes terribly wrong we won't judge you if you have to leave halfway through!