PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

[Pandora II]

Sha - I'm still feeding Daisy and she's nearly 17 months. She'll feed about 3 times from when she goes to bed to when she has breakfast (in bed) in the morning. We are co-sleeping though so I don't often wake up when she does and she doesn't wake up at all unless she can't get at 'em...

It's amazing how fast kids suddenly learn to do things - Daisy is now running like a child rather than a baby (the waddle has gone) and climbs up and down stairs standing up and often not holding on to anything. It's sooooo nice not to be constantly petrified that she's going to fall down them! We've been going to the park a lot recently and in the last two weeks she's gone from wanting to go on the swing for 20 seconds max to screaming when I tried to take her off after half an hour, so nice as I don't have to chase her so much.

Talking is really coming on, she now knows all the farm animal names and the noises they make and can do eyes, ears, hair, fingers etc with the exception of 'nose' which she refuses to accept and gets very annoyed if I correct... noses and eyes are both 'eyes' apparently. I can't wait for sentences, at the moment she talks away but only the odd word is understandable and she's very frustrated if I can't get what she's talking about...

The separation anxiety is almost gone - hooray - and at playgroup she runs off to play with the other kids with barely a backward glance. She's also discovered the painting table and really enjoys that, I've bought her some felt-tips and drawing pads for at home but haven't been brave enough to risk my lovely, newly painted F&B walls by getting her paints yet! It's a fun age for definite!

On the other hand, she's been a royal PITA the last ten days or so with sleeping. No naps during the day (as usual), then goes to bed around 9pm. 30 minutes later she's wide-awake and up again until we go to bed at 1am and then it's like the Commonwealth Games where she tears round the house, climbs into our bed, throws herself at us, rinse and repeat... then when she finally falls asleep at around 2.30am she wakes every hour till about 6 and then is out cold till 10am or so. Very exhausting.

I've even tried modified CIO in the evening - putting her back down everytime she stands up etc and last night I put her in her crib in her room and walked out and let her scream for 5 minutes. When I went back in she didn't stop screaming for nearly half an hour even though I was sitting there. She then fell asleep and so I waited another 10 minutes and crept out - I hadn't even got as far as sitting down in front of the TV before she walked in the sitting room door going 'Hi Hi' and sitting down with her toys.

This evening I finished putting her to bed at 10pm when I came in from my course and it's now nearly 1am and she's still asleep so I hope we may have just been in a phase. I did have a very firm talk with her this morning along the lines of mummy and daddy are happy for you to sleep with them in their bed but only if you give them some mummy daddy time in the evening and don't keep them awake all night - if you can't do that then you will have to go in your own room.'

Fingers crossed

 

[Sha]

thanks y'all! I think I'll try weaning her from the nightfeed next week. The past couple nights she's slept straight through from 8:30-5 am, so I *think" she can probably go till 6:30 without a feeding as well.

 

[ChinaCat]

Good luck Sha! Sounds like she's ready to me.

Fiery- Any update on the trip?

Hi ladies. Feel super behind. All is good with us, just toddling along.

O can now make the following sounds: monkey, lion/cat/anything that growls, cow, and zombies. Yes I said zombies. My DH plays this silly (but addicting) game on our I-pad called Plants vs Zombies. The zombies try to come into your house and they say "RRRRR, Brains!" If we say, O, how do the zombies go? He goes "rrrrrrrrr". It's freaking hysterical.

He can also say: Dad, dog (these sound alike but he will point to different things when asked, so hopefully he knows the difference), kitty, banana (ay-ay-ah). Of course you have to interpret, but he's getting there.

He also will do "milk", "eat", "more" and "all done" in sign language.

Baptism went great, O didn't cry and entertained the audience the whole time. My little Leo, loves the spotlight.

Other than that, no news. I feel like I can't catch up in my own life. Every week I intend on taking O to either a music or gym class and finally show up to the two mom's groups I've been invited to. Never been yet. How do people get everything done????

 

[Tacori E-ring]

So somehow in the last week or so T has dropped "mommy" for "mom" Makes me kinda sad. The "mama" to "mommy" wasn't as difficult. Fingers crossed I have awhile before I become "mother." *shiver* We are going to YGG Live today and I am really excited to see her reaction! PTing is going really well. No accidents since the playground incident on Tuesday. The only setback is she can't stay dry through the night. Maybe I need to limit her liquid in take an hour or two before bed b/c the girl is crazy about her milk. Also she told me she didn't like the color the painters were painting. I asked her what color I should have chose and she replied in a tone to suggest *I* I was so clueless "pink!" Her big girl room might have to be our next project.

 

[Pandora II]

So somehow in the last week or so T has dropped "mommy" for "mom" Makes me kinda sad. The "mama" to "mommy" wasn't as difficult. Fingers crossed I have awhile before I become "mother." *shiver* We are going to YGG Live today and I am really excited to see her reaction! PTing is going really well. No accidents since the playground incident on Tuesday. The only setback is she can't stay dry through the night. Maybe I need to limit her liquid in take an hour or two before bed b/c the girl is crazy about her milk. Also she told me she didn't like the color the painters were painting. I asked her what color I should have chose and she replied in a tone to suggest *I* I was so clueless "pink!" Her big girl room might have to be our next project.

I'm not looking forward to that - I'm Mama at the moment, then Mummy. DH is Dada or Dadeee, but he wants to be called Dad - I've told him that little girls have Daddy's not Dads!

I still call my parents Mummy and Daddy, but do refer to my mother as 'my mother' when talking to others.

Glad the PTing is going well.

Lol on the paint - they grow up so fast these days. I'm sure I wouldn't have even noticed paint colours at that age!

 

[gingerB]

hello toddler mommies! just cruising through for a sneak peek at my future and to bend your ears for some advice.

A is now opening our cabinets. i started looking for safety latches and am totally confused. there are these magnet things? and catch things? and few reviews that are helpful. which ones do you recomend?

TIA!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Pandora, she was very curious about the painters. She kept saying hi to them and asking to watch them work. She may not like the color but I do! I think only pink, purple, and sparkles speak to her these days!

Ginger, I have the latch ones. The magnetic ones are cool sounding but I was worried I would lose the "key" and we needed SO many I didn't want to spend the money. Every single drawer and cabinet downstairs and in all out bathrooms is secured. She is a nosy kid

 

[Sabine]

Ginger what I've done with cabinets is move the really dangerous stuff into a few specific cabinets, and those ones luckily have knobs, and I use the ones that go on the outside over two knobs. We are renting and moving soon, so I really didn't want to install the latches, although I did buy some in case we had to.

But mainly I wanted to say that I was glad that we didn't do all the cabinets. Jacks opens them all, but now for the most part will now leave stuff alone when I tell him no. I didn't mind if he played with my silicone bakeware or tupperware or dishtowels, so he knows he's allowed in those ones, but when he starts pulling out the glass dishes I tell him no and move him to a different one.

 

[gingerB]

tacori - i had the same thoughts about needing a key. and it seemed just annoying in general to have to unlock a commonly used cabinet.

sabine - that's a great idea about keeping all the dangerous stuff in just a few cabinets. makes sense in teaching him about what no means also. will def put that to use!

 

[Pandora II]

I have the magnetic ones (and a bunch of spare keys in a drawer which so far I haven't needed). They're brilliant and totally childproof. I only use them on three cupboards - under the sink, under the bathroom sink and the booze cupboard. That covers all the chemicals and nasties and DH's whisky! I'll do another on the high bathroom cabinet when she's old enough to climb up there.

Otherwise cupboards at Daisy's level all contain boring things like saucepans which she can play with but doesn't want to.

One thing I did do was to use a piece of the mesh stuff that goes in radiator cabinets and fix it with rare-earth magnets over the shelves where the DVD and other TV stuff is.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Claire turns one on Saturday so it's not too much of a leap for me to make the transition over here.

I'm kind of just schlepping together her party. Part of me is wanting to make it low-stress and realize that it doesn't have to be this matchy-matchy extravaganza worthy of Martha Stewart, but the other part of me thinks it's going to be crap and I'd better start cleaning and buying things and turning my house into a magical wonderland.

DH said he was going to make a cake (??? -- the cakes he's made in the past have been cake mix box + icing tub) but finally I decided, no, we had to have a cutesy/fancy cake, so I called this local cake company yesterday, and this woman called back today and told me very condescendingly that they were all booked. "If you do use us in the future -- and of course we hope you will -- you should know that you have to call AT LEAST one week in advance" (um, Monday to Saturday is some kind of crazy stretch?). So this made me cry, which made me realize I really do want a pretty cake and I want to avoid the conflict that will occur when DH forgets his promise to make a cake and then makes one only because I complain, to my horror, because he knows nothing about baking . . . so anyway, yes, I ordered one (plus a smash cake for Claire). It won't be shaped like an animal or object, but that can be kind of creepy if you think about it anyway. Here, Claire, eat your favorite stuffed animal!

Have you guys secured your TVs to the wall? My friend broke my heart yesterday by going into way too much detail about a mommy blog entry she read about a child dying when the TV fell on her. Panic! We will be mounting ours to the wall ASAP.

Also, I know that the INTJ in me will win out and I'll be able to get into vacation mode once we're on our way, but I keep worrying that Claire will be traumatized by our week-long absence next month. I just imagine that for a day or two she'll be OK, and then she'll be like, Wait!!! Are they not coming back? What is happening here? Argh.

 

[fieryred33143]

PG-we haven't mounted the TV to the wall yet. She hasn't shown interest in it but when we change our entertainment unit, we'll look into it. Have no advice on the week long trip. I'm going through the same in a few weeks. We're trying to figure out how to use Skype so that she can at least see me while I'm gone.

Re: babyproofing cabinets, it's awful that we haven't done this She doesn't have easy access to the kitchen or the bathroom which are the only two places where we have cabinets. When she is in the kitchen with us, I'll tell her don't touch and she stands right in front of the cabinets swinging her arms, looking up at me, and looking back at the cabinet. Then I'll say "go to the living room" and she runs off yelling at me

Any updates? It's been quiet in here!

Nothing new here. Sophia is going to be a ladybug for Halloween I wanted to dress her up as a monster...or a witch but the costumes are so thick and heavy! Not good in Florida heat.

She's still walking/running on her toes. It's the funniest thing. I'm going to ask her pedi if it's ok that she's walking that way. I suspect it is but still want to ask. She has added book, play, two, and zapatos (shoes...though she says papatos) to her vocab.

Oh and we have a crybaby Fake tears galore over here. We can't tell her anything without her "falling" to the ground to "cry."

Hope the kiddos are doing well

 

[Blenheim]

We have the magnetic cabinet locks. G has figured out how to open latched baby gates, and so I feel like regular cabinet locks would not be far behind. They're a bit of a PITA, but then again I kind of feel like most baby-proofing stuff is. They do the job really well though. It's also easy to switch them so that they don't lock, if I'm doing intense cooking during naptime or something.

TV Is wall-mounted.

We're over budget on baby stuff with the babyproofing and need for a couple new sippy cups (darn straws getting lost), and so I am going to try to craft a costume out of things we have around the house. G already has a tricorner hat (was DH's when he was little), and a skull-and-crossbones patch for his glasses, so we're probably going to put him in a striped shirt and cut some outgrown pants into jagged capris and call it a day. Pirate! They're having a party at daycare on Friday, so I should probably get on this. He's also been doing a lot of stuff with pumpkin and witch hat stickers at daycare this week, and he got to color in a pumpkin with crayon. I have some great artwork up in my cubicle right now.

Phoenix, I know it's not quite the same, but G spent a night away from us a week ago and he evidently behaved better than he does when he is with us and didn't seem to mind the change. He also ate. Like, actual food and not crayons. Amazing! I think we worry more than they do.

And a belated Thank You to those who gave me b-day gift suggestions. I ended up going to a small local toy store, and the clerk suggested craft supplies given that they have really limited space. So I got a kit for making paper-bag puppets (she looooves puppets) as well as a Tinkerbell water color book. Her mom said that she would "get us back" at G's next birthday for giving her daughter something messy, but the girl was happy at least. And grandma made a point to tell us how much she would love the puppet kit.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I really baby proofed but since I was a SAHM, it just made my life SOOO much easier. At one point we had 5 gates up! T is a tester, boundary pusher, dare devil so a few hours of baby proofing saved my sanity.

I got T's school pics back and they are so stinking cute. SOOO expensive, but so cute. She seriously looks like she is 5. Where did my baby go? We are getting excited for her party next week. She is going to LOVE all of the princess stuff I got her. She is so girlie.

A few days ago it was raining. I told her when I was taking her to school she wouldn't be able to play on the playground (her favorite part) and she got a little sad. Then she said "I have an idea! We can wear swimming suits!" Haha. I told if it was summer that would be a GREAT idea.

I am a test subject for a play therapy course at school. Basically we are taught how to conduct sessions and then we have to tape 30 min, weekly sessions. My first one is this week! Wish me luck!

 

[puffy]

hi mommies!! it's been awhile. just checking in to see how everyone's doing.

we just got back from disneyland and it was a great success, except for when it rained almost the entire day and night that i had the tickets for the halloween party. but B had a blast anyways. he loved trick or treating, but what kid doesn't. N was happy as can be taking in the sights and being able to walk around. being by myself with the 2 of them wasn't as bad as i thought it would have been, but it was no walk in the park either. this will definitely be the last time i take a trip on my own with the 2 of them.

hopefully i'll be able to check in again later and catch up. i've got a ton to do when the kids nap later.

hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

 

[PenelopeJane]

Real quick--Tacori, oh my gosh, T does look 5! Love that new avi. Gorgeous

Don't have much time to catch up...we just got back from our first field trip to the petting farm! It was great. They got to milk a cow, go on a hay & train ride, pet piglets, chicken, goats, ride a horse and pick a pumpkin ... exhausting but so much fun! I might post pictures later.

 

[lili]

Tacori--
Great picture of T.
She does look like she's in Kindergarten.

Puffy--
Wow....handling 2 kids by yourself at Disney while preggo.
You are amazing.
Anyway, just want to say congrats and hope that your next u/s confirms this past u/s.
When are you due? April?

 

[janinegirly]

Tacori--
Great picture of T.
She does look like she's in Kindergarten.

Puffy--
Wow....handling 2 kids by yourself at Disney while preggo.
You are amazing.
Anyway, just want to say congrats and hope that your next u/s confirms this past u/s.
When are you due? April?

Wait, Puffy is preggers again?? Did I miss something! I can't keep up with Puffy's BFP's or bling, lol! Seriously--big (belated) congrats to you and I think you are officially supermom now!

 

[PenelopeJane]

I had forgotten that Puffy was pregnant too...especially since her posts are always upbeat and lovely with her 2 boys and busy traveling with them. If I was preggo with 2 under 3 years old, my posts would be go something like

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP, I need a vacation...((ripping hair out, crying from exhaustion))" and so on and so forth.

All that to say, I agree with Janine--Puffy you ARE super mom!

 

[puffy]

you guys are too funny!!

janine, thanks!! no definitely not a supermom but more like dealing with the hand life has dealt me. haha!! i'm loving it with my boys, it is seriously an adventure everyday!

PJ, oh believe me, there are days where i feel like that!! like today only cause both the boys are terribly sick and clingy and my back is starting to ache so i can't carry them too much...and all the whining, well you get it.

lili, i'm so glad to see you!! hope all is well with you guys!! thanks about the u/s, but i'm starting to have doubts, so we'll see in a month or so.

 

[PenelopeJane]

Puffy, you still make it look easy. When are you due??

So, Axel is officially swimming now! The last few times we went, he would sit on the step and kinda just walk into the pool to us and be vertical in the water...not sinking, but not really going anywhere. But yesterday he sat on the step and watched P jump into the pool about 10 times and then decided to get out of the pool, stand on the edge and belly flop into the water and swam to the steps himself! He can't pop his head above water and take a breath so we need to be there of course, but it was so exciting! Our little guppy. Also loves chasing lizards and ants--will get down onto the ground on his belly to examine closely while trying to catch them. Such a boy.

 

[fieryred33143]

PJ-that's so exciting about Axel!!

Hope everyone had a great halloween! FI and I went to two halloween parties on Saturday. My mom was visiting so we were able to stay out late. That was fun. On Sunday, we took Sophia ToTing not really expecting her to get candy, we just wanted her to be around other kids in her costume. She had a meltdown after about 20 minutes mainly because she wanted to run in the grass in circles which doesn't really work when your goal is to walk straight. She had a small bag that a few people put candy in. I let her get a couple of licks of a lollipop and gave the rest of the candy to our friend's son. It was fun though.

When do they drop naps completely? She's not there yet but there have been a few days last week where she just wouldn't nap at all. I'm hoping it's just some random/weird phase she's going through and not that she's ready to stop napping. It wouldn't surprise me since she went down to one nap at 11 months

 

[taovandel]

Hi ladies!

I've (and I guess Evan! haha) officially graduated from the newborn thread (even though I'll be back there again come March/April).

And I definitely have a toddler now. He's walking more and more everyday and getting into everything...sarcastic woohoo!

I don't have much to post right now...but I know the questions and stories will be coming soon!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Hi Tao!

 

[PenelopeJane]

hAPPY BIRTHDAY TO E!

Firey- I think S is going through a phase. P dropped her naps at what would be considered fairly early at 2.5 y/o. She was in a toddler bed at that point and it was impossible to MAKE her. She wasn't allowed out of her room and no tv or toys, and she never napped. Just had quiet time. After that experience, I think I will keep Axel in a crib as long as possible...maybe 3 or as long as he'll let me! Glad S had some fun on halloween! What was her costume? We went to Sea World's Spooktacular which was really great. Not very crowded, a separate designated area that was very big, lots of characters and candy everywhere. We also went to pick up a pizza at our local downtown pizza place that night. Unfortunately for us, the street that it's on was all closed down to host a big halloween event. Took us an hour to get in and out...only upside was that P got to go through some candy booths on our walk to.

I started watching my friend's 6 week old yesterday. Wasn't as crazy/difficult as I had imagined, but let me say that I didn't go to the bathroom or eat anything until noon yesterday! (I was prepared and had breakfast prepped today.) Luckily my friend is only going back to work for 6 weeks. I'm taking it week by week and if it gets tumultuous then I will let her know. Both baby and A are taking naps right now so I get a small break!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Well, it is official. I have a 36 month old. I have shared that I am a bit emotional for her third birthday. Three just seems so much older than two. She doesn't look like a baby anymore. She doesn't act like one or even think like one. Makes me a bit sad. BUT, I am really enjoying her stories, made-up songs, and jokes. She has a HUGE personality and I love the way a three year old brain reasons. I shared before but she is obsessed with my diamond earrings. She WANTS them NOW. Of course I made the mistake of telling her she can have them when she is older...well, for her birthday she got a princess outfit that came with clip-on earrings. When she put them on she said "Look mom! I am older now!" Haha. Right now she is laying on the ground in her princess outfit singing "Happy Birthday to me." This is the first birthday where she really got into it which was cool to see.

Hope everyone is happy and healthy!

 

[janinegirly]

Quick drive by - I'm too far behind to catch up beyond this page!

Fiery-My DD is 2 and still naps, thank goodness! It's probably a phase.

PJ: how great about the swimming, I wish I'd been better about starting C with it, but now it is TOO cold!

Tao: welcome and happy birthday to E!

Tacori: I can't believe T is 3 either..I agree that it seems so much older than 2 and in photos she looks like a little lady! She is doing so great though and it makes me excited for those next phases--bring on the princess stuff! You threw an awesome party and you can tell by her face in all the photos!

Things are great with C, she is learning so fast! She is talking more and more and it means lots of laughs and beaming from mommy. Last night I heard her say in her crib "oh my GOODness, my blanket got off!"hahah, I'm always asking her if her blankets are still on b/c I 'm always worried she's kicked them off and is freezing! Her ability to retain information amazes me..we tell her things once and she remembers. She spells her name, can draw circles now ..and is now moving onto asking about punctuation (she loves to say "exclamation!"). What floored me is when she pulled out a book and read it from memory! Granted it was only one sentence per page, but we haven't read it that many times. When she enters pre school she probably will really move forward, but in the meantime, like Tacori, I am holding on to these early years and forget she is 2 and not my little baby anymore.

Hi everyone else!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Hey gals!

Thought I would pop in over here to share my good news -- we are expecting number two in July 2011!

I am a little shocked since we were one-hit-wonders this time around, and I have not wrapped my head around the fact that it is real yet, but we are really excited. Just wanted to share with my friends here in mom-town!

 

[gingerB]

congrats dd!!!

hi tao we miss you on the other side.

sorry for poking in prematurely, but i need some btdt advice. lately, it's been harder to keep A interested in mealtime. he's still hungry, because he still opens up his mouth in between fusses but kind of has mini fits beause he wants to get out of his chair. i don't want to get into the habit of chasing him around to feed him. meal time is in the chair at the table. period. but i don't want mealtime to becaome a fight either. he seems to want to feed himslef, because when we do fingerfoods he's happy as a clam, but obviously he's not good enought to feed himself a full meal yet. thoughts?

 

[Dreamer_D]

congrats dd!!!

hi tao we miss you on the other side.

sorry for poking in prematurely, but i need some btdt advice. lately, it's been harder to keep A interested in mealtime. he's still hungry, because he still opens up his mouth in between fusses but kind of has mini fits beause he wants to get out of his chair. i don't want to get into the habit of chasing him around to feed him. meal time is in the chair at the table. period. but i don't want mealtime to becaome a fight either. he seems to want to feed himslef, because when we do fingerfoods he's happy as a clam, but obviously he's not good enought to feed himself a full meal yet. thoughts?

When Hunter did this we just called an end to meal time! He ate in his chair and that was the end of that. If he is hungry, he will eat. That has been my experience. ETA before calling it a day though we also tried something where we gave him a spoon to "eat with" and he would try to feed himself and in between his own attempts we shoveled it in. If he is fussy because he is not hungry, we call it quits, but if it is because he wants to do it himself, try the spoon trick.