London 3rd Trimester mums, what are you doing with yr toddler today - 30 degrees!

[titferbrains]

Am about to have a shower, but dd woke me at 6am so am already tired and haven't done or planned anything. Can't really stay in house as it gets very very hot during day. Am considering westfield but not sure that's a realistic option. Am so tired just want to lie around and moan quietly but DD will want to be in a playground soon unless I have some amazing suggestion.

London aquarium? is it cool in there?

thank god my 3 year old is by the seaside this week with his grandmother so i don't have to worry! Just wanted to say that I was walking down the South Bank yesterday by the aquarium and it's so packed with tourists I would really avoid it.

i don't live in london, but I remember going to westfield in boiling heat when heavily pregnant with DC2, taking DC1 with me... actually, it was bliss!! We sat in air conditioned M&S coffee shop for ages, me drinking icy cold drinks & DC1 eating cookies. BOth my kids love coffee shops now (I always treat them to something gooey, just so I can sit down with a cuppa for 30mins!!), guess other kids might find them slightly boring!!

Should have gone to Westfield. In the spirit of giving (in this case, the gift of a swim) I took DD to the clapham big dip. One of the biggest parenting errors I have ever made. Boiling hot, nowhere shady to sit. not enough seating. Germ soup masquerading as paddling pools. And a small child got off the bouncy castle and told me, off his own bat, that the pool was dirty. We did not go in the big pool. For some reason, they have put gravel down in the common areas so everywhere you look there are barefoot kids picking their way across hot sharp stones. The whole place was woefully understaffed, and I would have happily paid more if they had done something to keep the pools clean and provided a pleasant shaded area for feeding kids, bfing babies, getting respite from heat etc.

Am feeling absolutely wrecked now, DD is watching Peppa and I'm soaking my feet in a bucket of cold water. Hope we haven't given ourselves heat exhaustion with our avoidance of the pools!