PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

[JGator]

AMC, that's a perfect costume for B.

Jfo, L is adorable as a strawberry! Love the smile!

Here's the other PS strawberry!

 

[monkeyprincess]

B looks so funny! And I love the matching little strawberries. So sweet! I'll play. Here's my little monkey. This was one of the only shots I got where he left his hood on, but he was much too busy watching the trick or treating antics to pose for pictures

 

[jfo]

JGator, K looks adorable in her strawberry costume! Looks like she still wasn't into wearing the hood? I was surprised that L kept the hood on as long as she did.

MP, Ev is sooo cute in his monkey outfit! We had bad weather where we live, so there weren't many trick or treaters to speak of unfortunately.

 

[Skippy123]

awww so many cute kiddos dressed up

 

[lliang_chi]

Adding Ethan in his monkey costume. I should have made his hood a little bit bigger, it was too small for his giant noggin.

 

[JGator]

MP, Ev is scrumptious in his monkey outfit. Love the pumpkins and your new house steps!

LC, Ethan is such a cutie. I love his rosy cheeks.

AFU, K had her party over the weekend. It was a success. She was very relaxed and mellow despite being surrounded by 11 other kids. She received a really nice toy ride in car and the kids pushed her around the house for an hour and she just relaxed and enjoyed the ride. Here are some pictures including one in an Indian outfit as Saturday was an Indian holiday - Diwali.

 

[jfo]

LC, Ethan looks adorable! Wow, did you make his costume?

Hooray for K's b-day party! Glad it was a success. K looks like she really was enjoying her new car. Love her Indian outfit too!

L woke up with a 103 fever yesterday morning. We battled it all day with ibuprofen/tylenol, but she was mostly lethargic/slept a lot with a few moments of normalness when her fever had dropped. She has a little bit of runny nose, but no other symptoms. We were afraid that it was an ear infection and possibly her tubes were blocked or something because there was no drainage and she has never had a high fever that wasn't attributed to an ear infection in the past. So we went to the pediatrician this morning and her ears are totally fine and the tubes look good. Since she has no other symptoms, the dr suggested ruling out a UTI. We are supposed to collect a sample and bring it back to the dr's office. I had to come into the office today, but DH took the day off, so he is the lucky person in charge of the urine collection...

 

[JGator]

Jfo, sorry to hear about L's fever. I had to look up how to collect urine on a baby. Good luck with that!! I hope they figure out what it is soon so they can treat her. K woke up screaming last night and was inconsolable so we took her to the doctor today, and they said it's probably teething as her ears, lungs, stomach, etc all look good. Apparently, her top left tooth should be coming in any day now. She only has one tooth now on the bottom so that will be odd if she gets the top one before the 2nd bottom one! We have to go back next week for her 1-year visit.

 

[dani13]

JFo- I could have written your post word for word about 6 wks ago. L had the same thing....an out of nowhere high fever and then a negative work up at the Peds office. Turns out that he developed a rash about 2 days later after the fevers disappeared, and he ended up having Roseola, which is a very common childhood illness. So, I would say, pay attention for any rash ( it may be so subtle that you hardly notice it, which was the case with L). Good luck!!

 

[monkeyprincess]

JGator, looks like K had a great time! She's so beautiful in her Indian holiday outfit. What do you think of that car? We were thinking of getting some sort of car type thing for him to ride in that we can push for Christmas now that we actually have space in the new house for that sort of thing.

Jfo, help L is feeling better. Poor little thing has had way more than her fair shar of illnesses.

LC, did you make his costume? What a super mom! He's such a darling little guy. I bet your are overseas right now. Again, I'm so sorry about the loss of your friend. Hope you are hanging in the there.

So, last night DH had to work late, and I had Ev to myself most of the evening. He had a good evening, and fell asleep at about 8 after his bottle, so I brought him up to his crib. A few minutes later he started crying hysterically, and it was pretty clear, he would not be falling back asleep, so I brought him downstairs again. DH came home and thought he needed another bottle, so we gave it to him, and after that, he was just screaming. We had to walk with him and run water for him to soothe him until he fell asleep, and then if we tried to move him, he would start screaming again. It was like he was really uncomfortable and didn't want to be touched, but he didn't want us to put him down either. I thought we were going to need to go to the ER because it seemed like something was seriously wrong, but then at about 11:30, he fell into a deep enough sleep for me to put him in his crib again, and he slept until about 5:30. has anyone ever experienced something like that? It was pretty scary. He dooen't have a fever or other visible sign of illness. He did burp a few times last night, so I'm wondering if he just had a stomach ache or maybe his millk allergy is creeping in again.

 

[JGator]

MP, I hope Ev is back to his usual self today. K acted like that on Sunday night - could it be teething? The 1 year molars typically come in around 15 months according to our pediatrician. We really like the car. It has a panel in the floor that you can remove so they can move it on their own with their feet at some point. We have friends with 22 month old twins, and they have one and it use it regularly too so I think she will use it for a while. This is the car she got - I'm sure you won't want pink though - http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-Princess-Coupe-Ride-On/dp/B0097GKTO0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1383664115&sr=8-4&keywords=little+tikes+car

AFU, K slept till 5am without waking up for the first time in forever! Possibly this was due to her having her flu shot yesterday - we'll see if we can get a repeat performance tonight!

 

[jfo]

Thanks, ladies! DH managed the urine sample and it came back negative for a UTI, so that was a good thing. Dani, I started googling high fever without any other symptoms and saw Roseola came up. How long did L have a fever for? How long did the rash last? Lila's fever stopped by mid-day yesterday and hasn't returned and she was much more herself and happy when I got home from work yesterday. I will definitely keep my eye out for a rash, but L was back to daycare today.

JGator, poor K (and you)! The teething is really bothersome for her. Did the doctor say anything about how to help ease any teething pain? One thing that I noticed is that the top teeth take longer to come in (and for you to notice them), so it may not be obvious to anyone when she has one top and one bottom tooth for sometime. By that time, maybe her other bottom tooth will have come in! We go back next week to the pediatrician for L's 1 year appointment too. It originally was scheduled for this morning, but I postponed it a week because L is still screams her head off at the doctor's office and two days in a row would be too much.

So one thing that slightly concerned me when the nurse called with the analysis results was that L's ketones were slightly elevated and that we need to push her to drink more fluid. I've noticed that recently, L has been drinking a few sips of water and then pushing it away or just refusing it entirely. She will drink most of her milk at her meals (we offer milk with meals each day, but water anytime), but she doesn't always finish her milk either. When she's with me, she gets lots of fresh fruits (grapes, blueberries, strawberries, mangoes, bananas, etc.) at each meal that she will eat as well as veggies like peas, carrots, green beans at least once a day, but often twice if it's the weekend, so I figure she gets some hydration from those foods. Anyone have any ideas as to how to encourage a 1 year old to drink more? She only drinks water and milk--I don't plan to offer her juice anytime soon.

Also, anyone's LO's having difficulty adjusting to the time change? We have been trying to push back her bed time, so she is going to bed as close to 7:30pm like she used to before the time change, but she's still waking up at her old time, which used to be 6am, and is now 5am. She won't go back to sleep and was a complete cranky pants this morning, assuming because she lost that extra hour of night sleep... I can tell she's still tired because although she's up and playing, she's shaking her head like she does when she's tired in the evening and trying to keep herself awake. I'm hoping that she's gotta figure it out after a few more days of this.

 

[jfo]

MP, sorry, I think you were posting the same time I was. I'm so sorry to hear that Ev was having issues last night! I wonder what was bothering him. Is he drinking cow's milk or formula that is cow's milk based? I hope he is feeling better today and there's not a repeat performance tonight!

JGator, I agree that the car is super cute and I love that it can adapt as your LO grows. I was thinking about getting her one of those, but DH really wanted to get L a wagon though for her birthday, so we got her one of those radio flyer red wagons. I initially thought she'd be a little too young for it, but she loves it. She wanted to climb in it when we gave it to her, so we placed her in there and she sat in it and "read" her books in there. She also loves it when DH pulls her around the house in it.

 

[JGator]

Jfo, I'm glad to hear L does not have a UTI. Does she like drinking out of a straw? I sometimes share water or vita coco coconut juice (from Costco) out of a straw with K and she will really drink a lot more that way. We have a few straw sippy cups too that she likes. I'm sure L is adorable in her wagon. K had a book with her in the car at the party when everyone was pushing her around the house. She was either reading it or chewing on it! The doctor only sugggested tylenol or advil before bedtime or cold teethers.

 

[LtypeI]

Hi all! I hope it's ok to join you here My little girl (L) is 2.5 years old and tons of fun, and we just started TTC #2. Call me L!

 

[dani13]

JFo, L had a fever on and off for about 2 days, then it suddenly went away. Day 3 or 4 he developed a subtle rash over his trunk, and I only saw it because I was changing him in the car in the bright sunlight and saw it then. Weird.
Hope she's doing better today!!

 

[mayerling]

Welcome, L!

N is fighting stomach flu at the moment. Has been pooping about 4 times a day for the past 10 days and his fever almost got to 104 on Saturday night.

 

[jfo]

Welcome, L! Please share more about your little L!

Dani, thanks for the info! I will definitely keep my eye out for a rash. It doesn't sounds like it bothered him too much, did it? I read that it shouldn't and that the fever is probably the most annoying part. How long did the rash last?

mayerling, I'm sorry to hear about N! I hope he can get over the stomach flu soon. That sounds miserable.

JGator, thanks for the ideas! You know, it's been a while since I had her try using the Zoli straw sippy cup. She initially liked it, then it became another sippy cup to chuck on the floor, so I temporarily retired it. I might try that again, especially if she sees me drinking from a straw too. Ha ha, that's too cute about K having a book in her car with her. I love that they are so into books at this age. Hmm, have you tried using tylenol or advil before bedtime?

 

[LtypeI]

Thanks for the welcome, mayerling and jfo!

jfo, that happened to my daughter a few months ago (random high fever). She had no other symptoms and was pretty cheerful otherwise (fevers usually make her super cranky), and the ped's office told us she was just working through something and to watch her closely. It lasted through a weekend, then the fever broke and nothing else happened. I was suspecting roseola but she never got a rash, so who knows.

My little one! Ahh, what mama doesn't love talking about her kids? Lilia is 2.5 now and is a complete mini-me, which I think is fun. She's starting preschool soon and can't wait, and is currently in an in-home daycare (I work full time outside of the home) with a family we just adore. She was born 8 weeks premature, so we kept her home for her first year of life and had some health bumps along the way, respiratory issues/frequent pneumonia etc, but she seems to be outgrowing all of that and is doing a lot better now. She's quite a chatterbox (I guess what 2.5 year-old isn't?), and it's so much fun knowing what's going on in her little head. We're nuts about her and she's a total daddy's girl. We only just started TTC#2, since we were enjoying her so much. It'll be interesting seeing how she handles it! She's around babies at daycare and she loves them and is pretty gentle with them - puts their pacifiers back in their mouths when they drop them, rocks their bouncy seats when they get upset, etc, but I suspect having one at home will be a different story. We'll see!

 

[JGator]

Welcome, L. Your little girl sounds so sweet. She will make a great big sister! So sorry to hear she was sick so much. I hope she stays healthy going forward.

Jfo, we pretty much give K Tylenol every night as preventative maintenance on teething. I did not do it the night she had the screaming fit though! She was horrible with wakeups again last night so I'm sure Monday night's sleep was due to her flu shot. K is getting up 45 minutes earlier than she used to with the time change. And, last night she went to bed late as we were out visiting friends so I think she's going to be exhausted today. I know I'm exhausted! And, I think I'm catching a cold so let's hope K doesn't get it.

 

[jfo]

L, I haven't noticed a rash yet, so I wonder if my L will also luck out. She seems to be feeling totally fine now, so I'm happy for that! Your L sounds like a lot of fun and I'm glad that she seems to be outgrowing all the health issues/concerns. I agree with JGator that she will be a wonderful big sister. Best wishes for TTC #2!

JGator, I'm sorry that K's still having multiple wakeups! Does it seem that she just needs that reassurance that you/daddy are there and can be patted back to sleep or do you think it's the teething? Is she still having difficulty taking a bottle and settling to sleep on her own at bedtime? Sorry for all the questions... I just feel for you and your exhaustion! And when you're exhausted, it's harder to fight off a cold. I hope you get over your cold quickly and that K doesn't get it!

AFU, L walked a few steps on her own last night and also this morning. She seems pretty excited by it, so I'm wondering how quickly we're going to have a full-on walker!

 

[JGator]

Jfo, it's been harder to pat her back to sleep so I've been picking her up a couple times and that sometimes leads to her wanting a bottle. Last night, I actually fed her 2 bottles in the middle of the night which she had gotten away from in the last several weeks. And, recently, when I try to bring her to bed with me after getting up several times, she cries so I basically have to rock her in the chair in her room or get lucky and pat her back to sleep. Tiring! And, DH cannot go to her overnight because she gets hysterical so it's all on me. So, I'm hoping this is just the teething, and it will go away soon.

 

[amc80]

JGator- we do tylenol every night as well. I asked the doc and he said it was totally fine.

Last night was rough. B was grumpy yesterday and went to sleep early (um, on me on the couch). I put him in his crib and a while later he was crying. I went in there and he proceeded to barf all over. I picked him up and he then barfed all over me. Got everything cleaned up and got him calmed down...a while later he did it again. So yes, we went through three changes of PJs and three sets of sheets. I then had him sleep on me and we did that for half the night. This morning he seemed better. When I dropped him off at day care the teacher said "hey just to let you know, a couple of kids have had a stomach thing..." Yeah, thanks. The good news is she said it's a really fast bug so I'm hoping he's done with it. He's had a cough and that makes him barf sometimes so I figured that was it. Had I know it was an actual bug I probably would have kept him home. Oops.

All of this really added to the TTC mood.

 

[monkeyprincess]

amc, hope B feels better today. TTC#2 is a lot different than TTC#1 for many reasons. There's very little opportunity for spontaneity, and we've been interrupted countless times by a crying baby and other times have just had to fight through the various illnesses Ev brings home. With your track record though, I bet you'll be pregnant in no time and won't have to deal with all of the awkward situations we've encountered this time around!

JGator, you really do have a challenging sleeper on your hands.Does K spend much time alone with her dad during the day? If not, maybe you could try that to let them have some forced bonding time. Your poor DH is probably frustrated too that she has such a strong preference. Ev can still be a night-time challenge at times, and lately he has really been fighting sleep and staying up later than he should and ending up overtired and crabby before bed until he zonks out on the couch. We still haven't gotten to the point where we can put him in his crib awake (hanging head in shame). I'm either too big of a softy or too lazy to deal with it at this point. After a year, we still pretty much have no nap schedule either. He's a pretty adaptable kid fortunately.

Jfo, yay for walking! Keep that video camera rolling! Isn't it the cutest when they are proud of themselves for learning a new skill? Ev is still not walking on his own yet, but he has been trying to get himself into standing position in the middle of the room lately, which is pretty hilarious to watch. He sticks his butt in the air and then tries to slide up with his hands. The kid is still very lacking in balance, and I really think he's got to get that part figured out before walking is realistic. DH laughed at me the other day because he said I sound defensive every time somebody asks us if he's walking yet

 

[amc80]

amc, hope B feels better today. TTC#2 is a lot different than TTC#1 for many reasons. There's very little opportunity for spontaneity, and we've been interrupted countless times by a crying baby and other times have just had to fight through the various illnesses Ev brings home. With your track record though, I bet you'll be pregnant in no time and won't have to deal with all of the awkward situations we've encountered this time around!

This is so true! With #1 we were so motivated and excited. This time it's more like "well, I guess we better do it today." With #1 we weren't sleep deprived and it was all new and exciting. We've BD'd three days in a row and it feels like I've been running a marathon or something, ha. Don't know if it's funny or pathetic. Last night B started crying just as we started....DH's comment was "are you sure you want another?" I countered with an equally romantic "let's just get it done." Hahaha. We've both been so tired lately and DH is coming off of a cold, no way we would have been doing anything if we weren't TTC.

 

[LtypeI]

Thanks for the very warm welcome, ladies! Sorry everyone's kiddos are going through stuff. Teething sucks horribly. L is the slowest teether EVER (she started chewing and drooling at around 6 months but didn't cut her first tooth til 11 months...) and at 2.5 she FINALLY just cut the first of her two-year molars. I think a second is about to come through.

One friend suggested we try frozen grapes cut into quarters to help with teething (forgive me if this has been suggested before, I haven't caught up on this thread). That seemed to help a little. We also did Tylenol most nights she seemed really uncomfortable.

Oh, teeth...

 

[JGator]

MP, my DH has been home more lately as he usually travels for work, and they do spend time together during the day. She is fine with him during the day, but at night, she only wants me. I'm hoping it's just a phase, but it's been like this for a couple months now. We don't try every night though as my DH has likely gotten used to just sleeping at night now! It takes longer to calm her down after he goes in than for me to just go in to begin with! Don't feel bad about the naps and Ev being asleep when you put him down. I put K down asleep every night. She has a nap schedule with the nanny on week days, and she goes down for her without being asleep already, but she won't for me!

AFU, last night was better on the sleep front - she slept till 530am, and then had a small bottle and wouldn't sleep in her crib so I brought her to bed with me. She seemed really tired last night and fell asleep early when we were out running errands. Maybe the time change is finally catching up to her!

 

[jfo]

amc, yikes, poor B! Hopefully he is totally recovered and that these types of illnesses will come about far less often when he moves to the in-home daycare. Too funny about TTC and the “romantic” conversations. Funny how life changes after you have one, huh?

mp, ha ha, I totally can envision Ev trying to stand up on his own with his little butt in the air! L hasn’t even tried to do that yet and she will only attempt a few steps if we stand her up or if she happens to forget that she’s not holding on to something and then we ask her to walk to us or some enticing toy and she also has to be in “the mood”. Heh, I probably sound a little defensive when someone whose kid started walking at 9 months ask me whether L’s walking yet.

JGator, L was the same way in that if she was tired, not feeling well, whatever… she’d only want me. Well, I had some old college girlfriends visiting in town last weekend, and I went out with them both Friday and Saturday night, so DH was totally in charge of feeding her dinner, bathtime and bedtime. When she was sick on Sunday, she actually went to my DH for comfort! She snuggled up to him and napped on him off and on all day, and it was so unbelievably cute. It was like, it only took a few opportunities together where he was caring for her (versus playtime) that she was able to let herself be comforted by him. Glad to hear that she slept better last night and is starting to adjust to the time change.

 

[FrekeChild]

Hi guys!

Long time no see. Things have been pretty busy around here, because A keeps me on my toes! She's about to turn 2 in just over two weeks and I AM SO NOT READY FOR THAT. So I've been busy planning her party and trying to keep sane. (Superhero theme, she adores Iron Man.)

I don't even know what to say about milestones, but it seems like all of a sudden we have this little person running around telling us what to do, bossing the dogs around, and yelling out random stuff I've never heard her say before, but she very obviously knows.

Some of my favorite things she says: "Are you ok?", "Where does Kicky go?" (Where did Nicky go? Nicky is one of our dogs), when coming home, to the dogs, "Hi guys!", "Lets go!" when she wants to go to the park or just out for a walk, and the ultimate fave around here is probably "What are you doing?!"

She's developed an instant, very strong attachment to a bear given to her by our insurance agent, who she calls "Puppy" and takes with her EVERYWHERE. Poor thing has a t shirt that's no longer white...even though I've washed it several times.

She LOVES blackberries. Eats a ton of random stuff, and I never know what she will eat. She still has a night bottle, but that's almost all water and I've told her that by the time we go back to New Mexico for Christmas, we're not taking bottles with us.

We dressed her up as Yoda for Halloween and she won her pediatrician's costume contest for the under 2 category. She LOVED trick or treating, but got scared by a big skull that made scary noises when you walked past it.

Potty training is non existent, but she tells me when she has a dirty diaper, and makes sure to grab my hand to go change dirty and wet diapers. She loves to follow me into the bathroom but then looks at me like I'm crazy when I suggest sitting on the potty.

Ah, and she has all of her teeth except for those pesky two year molars, which I'm not excited about her getting in.

I have such a hard time figuring out what to get her for her birthday and Christmas since they are so close together. Right now I think we're going to get her a tricycle, a helmet, an older LeapPad, books, puzzles, maybe a small kitchen to keep her busy while I'm in the kitchen, coloring books, some other random stuff. I think her grandparents are going to get her some swim and dance lessons.

I tried catching up, but it seems futile! One of these days I'll make a concentrated effort!

 

[JGator]

Jfo, glad to hear that L warmed up to her daddy and you were able to have some fun with your girlfriends. I hope K does the same.

Freke, great to hear from you. It sounds like A has a sparkling personality. That's awesome that she was Yoda and won a contest! Would love to see a picture.

AFU, K had a horrible night last night - she was up from about 430-630am, I think. I let her cry for 5 minutes at one point, and when I went to check on her she was standing up in the crib with her hands and head above the top rail. We need to lower her crib to the bottom setting. Has anyone used the amber teething necklaces? Also, does anyone have any tricks for rinsing hair in the tub? K jumps up and about leaps out of the tub every time we try to rinse her hair. I'm thinking of ordering one of those visors on Amazon, but my DH doesn't want K to be a wimp.