Hi - you used to have to go to the council to get a clearance to go back to school if you had nits/lice. How long do you treat it for ? Does one wash kill them ? Maybe you just stay away for a coupla days ?

A girl from Caitlins playgoup had them earlier this year, but Cait didn't pick them up. And years ago, when I lived at home, my mum and two sisters got them, which made me think I had dirty hair, but hey, it saved my head from the evil stuff they used to use on nits.

A general question here - do you shampoo their hair at every bath ? Cait has a bath every day but I only shampoo prolly twice a week and special occasions. And when do you stop using baby shampoo ? Do you just use adult shampoo after that ? And I had an old playgroup mum in my ear the other week about sodium laurel sulphates and stuff that seems to be in every shampoo and bath product. Caitlin has this excema patch under one eye that i keep forgetting to put cream on and i sometimes think the shampoo or bubble bath makes that worse.

The bike we bought cait for her next birthday (december) made its appearance a few months early and she loves it ! She never got the hang of the trike and i thought she'd never ride a bike but she can and loves it ! yells out to the kids in the street 'look at me and my big bike'.

Just one downside to the bike was my mums attitude - last sunday she came out with something about cait being ungrateful for what she has. Apart from me thinking 'what have you ever given her?' i thought what a horrible thing to say, to criticise her only grandchild and have a go at my parenting in one go I thought was a bit much. Where's the venting page .... and dont mention the possibility of an elective caeser to her, thats just not how you have babies according to her. Nothing about supporting my decision (which isnt decided anyway) all I get is the tut tut from her.

And then, If I dont ring her for a week or so, I get the 'stranger' comment the next time - this coming from a woman who lives five minutes away, drives past the bottom of the street that runs off mine, at least twice a week and doesn't drop in. The woman who was almost dragged by her hair to a nutrimetics party i had here last week (my first party plan hosting ever, and polly last) and yet left to go to the shops before I picked cait up from Kinda ...

aaarrrgghhh ...

barb :-)