radnrach

Along the same vein, does anybody who cycles back (in my case from Old Street) via London Bridge have any suitable alternatives since the closure of Weston Street? I've been walking down Thomas Street, but it's taking me at least 10 minutes longer than it normally does. I've also tried going over Southwark Bridge instead, and that delays me, too!

I am having this same problem. My 23 month old knows what he wants, and he definitely just wants to suck the toothpaste off. The only way I have EVER been able to brush his teeth is by literally holding him down (head and arms) and forcing my way in while he's screaming. None of the lovely ideas I've heard have worked. I just don't know what to do. I don't want him to associate brushing his teeth with having a fit.. I want him to learn how to cooperate. But this kid will not do it. He squeezes his mouth shut, and thrashes away. Any tips?

Thanks Bea, sounds promising!

Has this group started? If so - can someone send me the details? My husband is looking for a group for dads and toddlers, etc.

I'm sure this has been asked before, but can't find the thread. Are there any daddy groups out there? My husband looks after our son a lot in the day, and our 19 month old is getting to the stage where he wants to go hang out and play with other toddlers. I think sometimes the normal clubs can be quite daunting with all the mummies and distinct lack of men. Is there anything out there? Either in East Dulwich or Peckham Rye area? Thanks in advance.

All types of food! My little one hasn't taken food from a spoon in months... So I've kind of perfected the whole 'finger food' thing. Anabel Karmel's recipe book is really handy to get ideas from. Some he likes are: Loaded potato skins (tuna/sweetcorn or something veggie) breaded fish/chicken - She actually recommended using cornflakes as a coating, and this is really quick/easy/helpful and weirdly tasty. cut up veggies he can eat himself (cooked/raw carrots, cucumber) corn-on-the-cob is a massive favourite. cream cheese sandwiches Any type of cooked beans (he can just pick them up and eat them himself) all types of cheese cut up (mozarella, cheddar) breadsticks - huge winner toast with egg on it (I let the egg soak in a little bit and give it to him) Crepes - I've found if I make these, it can be good for when we're on the go. Just roll some cream cheese/peanut butter/jam on them and then cut them up and give him for lunch if you're somewhere you can't properly feed him. Hope some of this helps... But like sophiechrisophy says, he'll basically eat anything we eat so sometimes we just make a little extra in the evening (minus salt/sugar) and give him that the next day for lunch.

I'm in the same(ish) situation. My son's 13 months and is still bfing right before he goes to bed in the eve. I've started giving him cow's milk during the day, just sort of ad hoc, and he loves it. But I'm wondering if this is the right way to go about it... Or if I should give it to him at a certain time so he can have the whole lot in one go. In terms of the 'vessel' I've given it to him in a sippy cup (a see through one) and he loves it from there. it's one of the no-spill sippy cups with handles. And how much should he be drinking...?

I have it! It was a great help in times of need.. thank you! Let me know if you can pick it up, or if you'd like it dropped off. :)

It was one of my fave things to do with my baby the whole first year after he was born (he's now 13 months). I miss it a lot since I've been back to work - I might book a Thursday off just for the occasion :)

Since being back at work, I've noticed I have horrendous under-the-eye shadows and bags. No matter what I do, I look stupendously tired. I know it's because I AM tired, but juggling it all is really taking it's toll on my face. Does anyone have any make-up suggestions, or general ideas to help with this problem? I know it's pretty shallow, but I would really prefer not to look like I've been dragged through the crapper on a daily basis.

What I've been doing recently (because I have the same problem!) is putting a vest/babygro and light blanket on him. And then before I go to bed, I sneak in and re-cover (he always throws/kicks it off) and then put a heavier blanket on, too. I do always worry he's going to kick them off again, but he seems to be nice and toasty in the mornings.

'A Case of you' by Joni Mitchell. I used to sing it to my squeeker when I was trying to get him to sleep when he was a newborn, and it would make me cry my eyes out. Everytime I hear it now, it makes me pretty teary. Phew.

Apparently he's filming in Heygate Estate, which I don't really class as Peckham. More like Walworth, I would think (?)

I was wondering if any of you other ED cyclists could help me out. I cycle from ED to Old Street for work, and try to take as many quiet routes as possible. This usually means cutting through a lot of Burgess park (I aim for Southwark bridge due to London Bridge being a bit manic). Since the park is closed for a good while for regeneration, does anyone have tips of other ways to get to Southwark Bridge? Or even if you use London Bridge, any tips for avoiding the main roads? I would be grateful for any suggestions - at the moment I keep ending up going at least a mile out of my way for no good reason!

In a couple weeks time, my hubs and I are taking our 11-month-old to the States, where a lot of my family live. We're flying to New Jersey then changing and flying to Denver. So it'll be a 7 hour flight then a 4 hour flight with a layover in between. It is also a daytime flight there. I'm already aware that this is going to be a bit of a nightmare trip. He loves to crawl and get around, so having to sit still (on our laps!) all day is not going to be easy. The good thing is, both of my parents will be on the flight with us, and are willing to help out as much as possible. Has anybody had experience with long flights and babies? If so, what advice do you have? I'm looking for practical and emotional advice, really! Haha. Thank you in advance!

Oh, definitely... that reminds me, cauliflower cheese a big fave (mild cheese), hummmous with steamed courgette mixed in (he loves that one!)

I've been recently using beans, my 8 month old really likes butter bean and butternut squash. I puree it most of the time, but the beans are also good for finger foods if he's ready. I tried couscous with him the other day, but all that ended up happening was having an amusing video of him spitting it out in disgust. I've also boiled eggs and he likes mushing those up and eating them, particularly the yoke. Hope that helps!

Hi there, Me and my 8 month old actually went last Tuesday. There are lots of toys all around the room, and when we were there (around 11am) there were about 10 other children there. Most were toddlers, and I quickly realised I am seriously not ready to deal with toddlers just yet! So me and the little one actually left early because I'm a little lame. But, there were a wide variety of toys to play with, and people seemed friendly. On Monday mornings, they have song and rhyme for about half an hour, which my little one absolutely loved - it's a little more structured and he loves to sing/dance/shake a rattle around :)

Pretty much the same as what you described; lack of appetite (solids), wanting to comfort suck a lot so he's breastfeeding much more, lip smacking (in a very weird way!), red cheeks, waking up more in the night.. one big symptom is he'll be happily playing and then you can tell he suddenly feels in pain because he'll look at you confused and start crying. He is also chewing everything in sight, particularly cloth toys. He also touches his ear quite a lot and tugs on it. I think the nerve hurts him there when his teeth are coming through. And lots and lots of drool. I've been using bonjela and giving him calpol at night so he can sleep a bit better, but to be honest, nothing helps much! Those teeth just have to come out! I hope your little one starts getting some relief soon.

I think it can be different for every baby. I was expecting the usual bottom 2 then top 2, but my 8 1/2 month old got his first tooth (bottom middle) at 7 1/2 months and then just last week got 3 more on the bottom (including eye tooth), 3 on the top (including his eye teeth) all in one big go. He's not a happy chappy! So he may well be getting more than one at a time, hence the many teething symptoms.

I didn't know about this, so have been wearing my normal (underwired) bras the whole 8 months I've been breastfeeding. Haven't had any problems, but maybe I've just been lucky!

Hi all, Just thought I would give a quick update on the situation - which has greatly improved! Thanks to Saffron for the lending of books which I have taken a few ideas from. He is now sleeping about 4 hours at a time, rather than waking up every hour or so. This means he's only waking up twice a night, and seriously - it feels amazing!! The two times he wakes he seems genuinely hungry/thirsty so I'm just breastfeeding him and then he goes back to sleep pretty well (last night it took about an hour, but I'm not complaining!) I've tried several things, I'm not sure if it's just one of them or all that have had an effect, but this is what I ended up doing: -Having the room quite warm. The weather has helped with this anyway, but he sleeps a lot better without a blanket on so he can thrash around to his heart's content -Playing quiet baby bedtime music pretty much throughout the night. We realised he was waking up at the slightest noise, and this has helped significantly. I think he's getting used to continuous noise and just wakes up and goes back to sleep. I'm not yet thinking about the fact we'll have to stop playing it eventually, but for now it's working. -Trying pantley's method of going to sleep off the breast (rather than breastfeeding to sleep). I'm unsure as to whether or not this is working, but I'm still trying at it. He just seems to eat until he's fast asleep, so everytime I pull him off he goes rooting again and starts crying till I give it back. And by the time he's stopped and I pull off eventually, he seems to be asleep anyway. But - it might be working, I'm unsure. -Getting him to sleep any way possible during the day. I've been taking naps with him, making sure he's sleeping in the pram, etc. The books said he needs to have good, long naps for him to be able to sleep well at night - so to begin with, we've just been getting him to sleep any way we can. Seems to be working! He's been napping up to 4 hours a day. -He seems to have started rolling over onto his stomach to sleep. This is a new thing and freaked me out a lot when he started doing it. But he seems to sleep better this way, so I haven't been rolling him back over. I figure he's 8 months old and has good enough head control/rolling over skills that this isn't too dangerous. I think this has stopped him from startling awake as often and makes him feel more cozy. It gave me panic attacks the first few nights, but I think I'm getting used to it... This all seems small, but has made such a huge difference to our lives! I'm not thinking this is the way it's going to be forever, but just the fact that his sleep at night has improved has helped me to no end! Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions.

Hi everyone! I have an 8 month old who eats 3 meals a day, but still breastfeeds a lot on demand. I'll be going back to work full time in September (when he's a year old), but will start going 1 day a week starting in June. My question is: How do you stop on demand breastfeeding? I want to get it down to one morning feed and one evening feed by the time I start work, but how do you do this? What does the little guy drink instead? Juice? Water? Formula? I've been so focused on breastfeeding him for as long as possible, that I have no idea what to do next! Your help is, as always, greatly appreciated :)

hahaha... .i just asked myself the same thing, snowboarder!

yes! i couldn't care less before and i'm sat here glued to the tube feeling rather weepy (also blaming hormones)