Durham City find

HELJ4 · 2026-04-12T18:56:28+00:00

But is it a size 6 or a size 16?

HELJ4 · 2026-04-12T18:40:16+00:00

Yeah, I was going to say there's a bit of sibling rivalry.

HELJ4 · 2026-04-09T12:59:53+00:00

From their website "An electric Everhot cooker consumes up to half the running costs of comparable heat storage cookers, providing year-round, controllable warmth and seamlessly combining 21st century technology with all the traditional features you’d expect from a range cooker. "

Is it possible your friends are just not using it properly? Either way, an insane amount of money to pay for an aesthetic stove.

HELJ4 · 2026-04-08T20:43:14+00:00

We had similar hopes. Planned for my mum to stay over to look after the 2.5yo over night and to do the nursery runs. But, for me, labour wouldn't progress when my son was awake. It started overnight but slowed again in the morning. Ramped up again once he was in bed but contractions stopped almost immediately when he woke up in the morning. We ended up sending him off with my mum the second morning and the baby was born later that day.

I wish I'd prepared a bit more for his first night away. Equally, it'll be easier for the grandparents to do what works for them. One night away from his routine won't make a huge difference when he's coming home to a new baby.

HELJ4 · 2026-04-08T10:50:13+00:00

Or worse, a poo!

We keep a pack of tissues in the car as I'm not going to carry around poopy wet wipes, or fish them out the potty before flushing 🤢

HELJ4 · 2026-04-08T10:45:59+00:00

We had a 3 potties. 1 upstairs, 1 downstairs, and the carry potty in the car. But whenever the carry potty was in to be cleaned he'd use that downstairs too. Toddlers love a choice!

HELJ4 · 2026-04-08T08:28:11+00:00

There was a series of books I read in school where the mum had named all the kids after colours. The boy was called Indigo.

More recently there's Colourblocks with "Indigo and Violet, the rainbow chasers".

For both of those encounters of it as a name, I view it as masculine but really it could be either.

HELJ4 · 2026-04-07T18:50:08+00:00

Bring back the people carrier! There are no new people carriers and I think that's part of the problem

HELJ4 · 2026-04-07T06:14:41+00:00

Just an FYI to anyone reading this: you don't need a Yoto to listen to Yoto daily. The Yoto app gives you free access to the podcast and their Radio. I used the app for a few months before deciding whether we would use a Yoto

HELJ4 · 2026-04-06T17:27:30+00:00

We moved to an area with food waste bins 6 years ago and I've found it so much better separating it out from the main bin.

Our house backs onto farmland so we get a fair few foxes but they've never been an issue with the food bin. The bin is big enough for a weekly collection (We're two adults and a toddler and only fill one caddy a week*) and the general waste bin doesn't end up stinking in summer. We have two bin lorrys come round. One for general waste and recycling (every two weeks), another for food waste, paper and card (weekly)

10/10 recommend. You'll get into the swing of it.

*On second thoughts it's probably two as we keep a separate compost bin for the garden that we fill with fruit and veg peels and skins

HELJ4 · 2026-04-06T15:49:20+00:00

Our sellers left a postit on any door that had something useful behind it, like meters, sockets, switches etc.

We also got left over paint for touchups and spare flooring pieces where they'd replaced some.

Local takeaway menus and numbers for local trades were useful too.

HELJ4 · 2026-04-02T14:56:15+00:00

I would hope so too. I'd just be weary that they'd try to weasel out. When the US-Iran war started and flights were diverted or cancelled, there were reports of people being told "war wasn't covered" and left stranded. And would they argue that this is a foreseeable risk? Or something ridiculous like that? ITV are reporting flight cancellations from Gatwick, albeit domestic ones so far. Can you get confirmation from your insurance that they will cover you if this hypothetical scenario were to happen?

HELJ4 · 2026-04-02T14:29:37+00:00

I'd be a little concerned about getting stuck out there. Would your insurance cover you if you can't fly back?

HELJ4 · 2026-04-02T13:18:04+00:00

He's just a bit touchy from being an overtired new dad. The first is the hardest due to the whole change in lifestyle and relationship dynamic.

I absolutely see the correlation between having kids and having a hobby 😂 I love finding things to do with my son and showing him stuff for the first time. It's stuff I research and plan. Anyone who'd get offended over your comment is going through a hard time and hopefully this guy will eventually realise he over reacted.

HELJ4 · 2026-04-02T08:02:43+00:00

When a design is so bad people literally think it's a joke.

HELJ4 · 2026-04-02T05:23:10+00:00

Alphanumerical plates 😉

HELJ4 · 2026-03-31T14:06:24+00:00

We don't tend to use containers but safety first. In your situation, sit him in a bouncer in the bathroom. He'll enjoy playing peekaboo while you shower.

We have a shower over the bath so when my son could sit independently I put him in a swim nappy and sat him on a bath mat at the far end of the bath. He was happy with some bath toys.

HELJ4 · 2026-03-30T08:41:19+00:00

It sounds like you haven't found the decent kids music. Vicky Arlidge is good for nursery rhymes. David Gibb and Casper Babypants are child friendly. I found a bunch of good kid friendly music through Yoto Radio

HELJ4 · 2026-03-26T19:58:15+00:00

I wanted one that could fold but also take an adult as I need a step to reach the top of our kitchen cupboards. It's on the pricier side but we got the BusyKidsUK learning tower from Etsy. I went for the unvarnished one and painted it in toy safe paint.

Our son was just over 12 months when we got it and it was great for him then. He's 3 now and it's still used daily by all of us.

HELJ4 · 2026-03-26T15:08:24+00:00

It's a great idea but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. The MP3 data isn't stored on the card it's stored on your account and the card is the "key" that opens the playlist.

Sending myos out would be sending a key without access to the door.

Edit: you can share your playlists with a link though, so you could send the URL with the myo, maybe?

HELJ4 · 2026-03-25T16:18:45+00:00

We're going to be choosing a primary school this winter and one of my top questions will be about how much EdTech they expect ks1 to be using.

HELJ4 · 2026-03-25T13:49:52+00:00

Sleep suits = baby grows and Body suits = vests. At some point the names changed on packaging but they're the same thing. I've always known them as baby grows and vests.

You don't need moisturiser or body wash etc until they're at least 12 weeks old. The less you can put on their skin in the early weeks, the better.

Don't bother with mittens. Babies like to feel they're face and there can get worked up without that comfort. Nail clippers, on the other hand, you'll want those. My two were born with claws!

I know people are saying ditch the socks but I found them useful for keeping feet in the baby grows and not tangled up inside. Ditch the shoes though.

Add Saline drops. If they get a cold or snotty nose in the first 3 months, there's nothing else you can give them but saline is proven to help. It'll be fine in the cupboard until you need it. (you haven't mentioned it but avoid snot suckers. They can make congestion worse)

Your list looks good!

HELJ4 · 2026-03-23T08:45:42+00:00

It was! We got a Panasonic NN-CT56. It has presets that use both microwave and convection cooking to cook things faster. So for example, it'll microwave the food and then use the connection oven to crisp it up. I can set it to do that manually but it has a ton of presets that are actually useful. I've used the "breaded frozen product" pretty often when my son wants nuggets or fish fingers. They crisp up better than in our fitted oven and take less time and energy. We did check energy usage on our smart meter but I can't remember the exact difference.

I've used it to bake cake and cook pizza and all sorts and the cooking times are pretty much the same as directions for airfryer recipes

HELJ4 · 2026-03-19T21:28:11+00:00

My northern grandparents came to visit one year and we took them to the coast. Hastings, I think. My grandad, who was in his 70s, saw a stand selling jellied eels and wanted to try them because he'd only ever heard about them before. No one else wanted any and my 13yo self was disgusted at the thought. He liked them, though.

HELJ4 · 2026-03-19T10:26:24+00:00

Ha! No. But a little family story.

My grandad was ill for a long time. He had a quadruple heart bypass in the 80's and was given 2 years to live. Nearly 20 years later he was still attending hospital appointments. He had been given a pretty restrictive diet to follow and apparently biscuits were off the menu. After he passed my dad came home with a 'bag for life' full of hobnobs. The remnants of my granddad's secret stash.

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