I recently met Faisal Laljee, a local resident and the co-founder of kidsitter.co.uk who are positioning themselves as the "Uber" of babysitters. They provide local trusted and thoroughly vetted babysitters across the whole of London, having started off in Islington to great success. The beauty of the service is that they can now send you a babysitter in as little as 2 hours!

Founded by London Business School and Harvard alumni, KidSitter has a mission to connect parents with trusted and vetted babysitters. As such, KidSitter uses a thorough 5-step vetting process to ensure they work with only the very best babysitters, most of who are nannies, childminders, nurses and teachers. According to George Chan, the co-founder, “For every 10 babysitters who wish to work with us, only 1 will meet our criteria”. 
The idea for KidSitter was born when George, found himself disappointed with the lack of short-notice childcare options available for babysitting his 5-year old. “Parents can count on KidSitter to provide them with the peace of mind, that someone trustworthy and qualified is looking after their child while they enjoy a night out or run their errands”, adds George. After working together on the idea for over 6 months, the founders launched KidSitter in Islington last October and prompted by demand, have now increased their service to all of London. “We can send you a trusted babysitter in as little as 2 hours, across most of London, and our price is still only £12 per hour with no joining fees, booking fees or added extras”, said Faisal. 
Over 95% of parents who have used KidSitter have given a 5-star rating to their experience, with feedback such as:
“Reliable and wonderful service for families looking for someone trustworthy and competent to take care of their child.” 
“KidSitter provides an amazing service - they do everything they can to provide families with high quality babysitters”
All KidSitter babysitters have passed a comprehensive 5-step vetting process. They are all DBS checked, paediatric first-aid certified, reference checked and interviewed in-person. Bookings can be made securely online at http://KidSitter.co.uk in 3 easy steps. 

Kidsitters sounds like a great option for childcare. They will try to accommodate language and cultural preferences where possible, and as the business is still young and growing they are really focused on solving the childcare problem for us parents. I like that the business has been created out of the problem faced by a parent - they obviously understand the issues as well as what parents look for in a good babysitter.  

www.kidsitter.co.uk

Reform Social on Mandeville Place (the bottom of Marylebone High St) are hosting a Mummy Morning this Thursday (24th March) from 11am to 1pm. There will be complimentary tea and coffee along with arts and crafts for the kids. It is suitable for all ages. 

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​Asia House Fair 2016
 
Event date: Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 March 2016, with opening night preview on Thursday 3 March from 17.00 to 20.30. Free entry, all welcome.
Location: Asia House, 63 New Cavendish St, London, W1G 7LP
Opening times:

• Thursday 3 March: 17.00 – 20.30
• Friday 4 March: 11:00 – 19:00
• Saturday 5 March: 11:00 – 18:00
• Sunday 6 March: 11:00 – 17:00

 
Website: http://asiahouse.org/events/asia-house-fair/   
Contact: enquiries@asiahouse.co.uk or call (0)20 7307 5454
 
The hugely popular Asia House Fair returns for its eighth year in 2016, taking place at Asia House from Thursday 3 March until Sunday 6 March.
 
Stallholders will be selling unique handicrafts, textiles, jewellery, homeware, clothes, accessories, gifts, art and food from across the Asian region at Asia House’s London headquarters, just north of Oxford Street.
 
The building will be transformed into a bustling colourful bazaar giving shoppers the chance to buy unique and unusual gifts that are not ordinarily found on the high street. Visitors will be introduced to an array of the best and most exquisite items in fashion, jewellery, home accessories, food and art inspired by traditional craftsmanship from Turkey to Japan.
 
Original and ethically-sourced items on sale this year include jewellery with natural stones from Kazakhstan; vintage kimonos from Japan; woollens from the Indian Himalayas; traditional Sri-Lankan Lace; hand embroidered textiles and jewellery from Pakistan; hand-woven throws and scarves; vintage indigo textiles; clutches and totes handmade from traditional Dhurrie textile; traditional Uzbek and Turkoman robes, and many more unique pieces from the Asian region.
 
This year, the Asia House Fair will host an Asian art and embroidery exhibition in the Asia House Gallery from privately owned art dealership Art Rickshaw.
 
There will also be a pop-up Asian street food café from Friday through to Sunday.
 

London’s premier antenatal class provider Lulubaby are delighted to announce that from April 2016 their courses and classes will be available at the world-class central London-based private hospital, The Portland Hospital. These sound like exactly what I was looking for when I was pregnant, but could not find. 
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Lulubaby's classes are open to everyone, not just  those having their babies at The Portland. The classes at The Portland are perfect for women who work in the central London area and want to attend a class after work. They are also useful for local mums-to-be in the Marylebone,  St John’s Wood and Islington areas who will be able to meet new friends due at the same time for that much needed support during pregnancy and once their baby arrives. 
Lulubaby’s antenatal course consists of 6 evening classes run by many different healthcare professionals including a midwife, obstetrician, anaesthetist, paediatrician, GP, women’s health physiotherapist and lactation consultant.  Ladies receive up-to-date, evidence-based information which is balanced and unbiased. At least half of  Lulubaby’s classes focus on what happens after baby arrives – sleep, soothing and all the practicalities of managing birth and coping with a new-born. 
Partners are invited to most of the sessions and Lulubaby provide a detailed handbook for their clients to take home for reference.  They have a team of breastfeeding counsellors on hand to support once the baby has been born and they also provide paediatric first aid sessions and refresher classes for 2nd time mums.  They recently launched a maternity nurse and night nanny business, Lulunannies, to help provide their clients with top quality support at home once their baby has arrived.

The first Lulubaby at The Portland Hospital course is scheduled to start at the end of April 2016 for mums with babies due end May/ June. The cost is £525 per couple.  Lulubaby also recently launched their new service ‘Lulunannies’ - DBS checked maternity and night nannies on request.
visit www.lulubaby.co.uk for more info

As you may remember the plans to make Baker St and Gloucester Place 2-way traffic were presented last year. The general view from locals was that it was a terrible plan and the community made its voice heard. The council have now returned with a slightly amended plan and are looking for feedback again. (Marylebone Mum's own personal view is that this continues to be a terrible idea and wishes that the whole thing was scrapped, but that's just my personal thought!)

The second round of consultation started on 22nd February and will finish on 20th March 2016, during which time there will be two open sessions to view plans and ask questions:
 
·         27th February, 12.00 – 16.00 at St Cyprian’s Church, Glentworth Street, NW1 6AX and;
·         9th March, 13.00 – 19.00 at the Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes Hotel, 108 Baker Street, W1U 6LJ.

As with the previous consultation, full details of the revised proposals as well as a questionnaire to complete and give your views on the revised proposals, can be found at www.bakerstreettwoway.co.uk
 
Please do take the time during this second round of consultation to review the changes made to the design and feed back. 

The Royal Academy of Music Museum is now running kids events. They have just started a new series of events aimed at children between 3 and 5 years called 'Academy Tots'. The events are held in the Museum galleries and are 45 minutes long.

The next event is taking place on Tuesday 22nd March at 10am in the Museum. Inquisitive tots and parents are invited for this interactive session. You will discover instruments, sounds and explore music making as a group. Led by Open Academy Fellows and the Museum team; you are invited to bring your singing voices and listening ears!

Tickets are £5 Child, £3 Adult and can be bought online http://www.ram.ac.uk/whats-on/event/academy-tots-1 

Poco a Poco music classes are starting from April at the Marylebone Dance Studios. 

Karen, who runs the classes, is a local mum of two boys who is bringing up these new and exciting music classes to Marylebone from April 2016. Through the use of movement and the playing of percussion instruments, children will gain great confidence with their parents/carers in a variety of musical skills, developing a good sense of rhythm and pitch.

She has a fascinating background, "Before becoming a mum, I enjoyed a varied and interesting career in both playing and especially in teaching, my passion. From Head of Strings at Caterham School, going out to the British School, Abu Dhabi to help set up a new strings programme and working for the Menuhin Foundation in Bermuda my experiences have helped me to develop my teaching style and keep up with the latest methods and ideals. I look forward to meeting many families from the area over the next few months and engaging in fun music-making with you all!"

Classes start on Friday 15th April through to the Friday 1st July (10 classes) no classes on Friday 27th May or Friday 3rd June .

• For children of 2 years of age 'Andante' Fridays 9:45 - 10:15am.
• For children of 3 years of age 'Moderato' Fridays 10:30 - 11:00am.
• For children of 4 years of age 'Allegro' Fridays 11:10-11:40am.

All classes take place at the Marylebone Dance Studio, 12 Lisson Grove London NW1 6TS
www.pocoapocomusic.co.uk for more details.