PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

[monkeyprincess]

I know this has been discussed before, but does anybody have any shoe recommendations for early walkers? As of now, we've only tried Robeez mini shoez. They seem to work okay, but are a little hard to get on his feet. He is starting his daycare room transition this week, so he will be wearing shoes everyday now. Thanks!

 

[JGator]

MP, I would recommend PediPeds, Pedoodles, and See Kai Run. Those are the shoes K has tried so far. The soles are rubber and flexible.

Jfo, thanks for the tips on helping K with her cold. I used the Nose Frieda which she hated a few times and that seeme to help a lot. And, I've been squirting the saline drops in regularly too. I normally do that with every diaper change, but she's been getting extra drops lately. I also did just start up the humidifier again after your suggestion and I think that really helped her sleeping. How have L's ears been post-surgery?

Pupp, thanks for the advice too and reassurance on her walking.

AFU, we had 2 good nights in a row (knock on wood) - Friday night was horrible though but we won't go there. K woke up at 545 am today, and I planned to wait 5 mins before going in...she cried for only 3 mins! I also put her to bed an hour earlier than usual which I think may be a factor in her sleep issues. DH left yesterday for a 4 night work trip so I'm hoping K can keep this up for my own sanity! K started walking a lot more this weekend - she's gaining confidence which is great to see. So, K's new thing is rolling over and standing up while I'm trying to change her diaper. I think I remember reading the older toddlers were doing this several months ago. We went to an Open House at a Montessori on Saturday. I think they might be too strict/rigid, but DH was pretty happy with them other than their vacation schedule which is pretty much all of the public school days off including Spring Break week, a week in July, a week in December, etc. So, we'll keep looking - there is another preschool that sounds super nice that I want to check out, and we may go back to Montessori to observe a class before making a decision. Their program starts at 18-months so we have another 3 months to figure out what we want to do.

 

[amc80]

I know this has been discussed before, but does anybody have any shoe recommendations for early walkers? As of now, we've only tried Robeez mini shoez. They seem to work okay, but are a little hard to get on his feet. He is starting his daycare room transition this week, so he will be wearing shoes everyday now. Thanks!

We got the flex sole shoes from Stride Rite. I liked that they actually measure and fit him rather than me just guessing.

 

[jfo]

MP, we have L wearing Stride Rite shoes--specifically their Level 2 (early walker) shoes--I think they call them "SRT Soft Motion" and are specifically designed for children who have started walking/toddling, but may still be wobbly, etc. I think they go up to size 6. They have really cute designs and they are really easy to get on and off L's feet. She really likes them and are very interested in shoes, so she'll go find where we keep our shoes and bring her shoes over to me and ask me to put them on her. They're not cheap, but if you become a member, you get some some periodic discounts. They do have rubber soles so they can be used outdoors or indoors. At L's daycare, she's supposed to have outside shoes and inside shoes. Since it's so snowy outside where we live right now, none of her shoes are outside shoes yet aside from her snow boots, so it works out.

JGator, glad to hear that the Nose Frida and humidifer helped out. Hope that K is feeling better now. Also, hooray for a couple of good night's in a row! Crossing my fingers for you that this is the start of a good streak! L has not had a single ear infection since getting the ear tube surgery in October and she has had several colds since then, so knock on wood! The tubes have really worked out for her, which is SUCH a relief.

Can you share more about the montessori in terms of the strictness/rigidity? I don't have any experience with montessori's, so I'm curious. My SIL is considering switching my neice (who is almost 20 months old) from the daycare at the university they live by to the local montessori (they start accepting kids at 2 years old), but isn't sure if it's worth the change or not.

AFU, L is doing well. She is a little sponge these days, and I am constantly surprised by the amount of words she can say (or says in her way) and what she seems to understand and know. Her quest for independence is really starting to increase in terms of not letting me feed her hardly at all, and getting upset when I try to brush her teeth (i.e. she wants to do it all by herself). She's also started saying "no" while at the same time shaking her head no. Cute until she's saying "no" to everything. She's 15 months today.

 

[JGator]

Jfo, happy 15 month birthday to L! A few bullets on what we learned at Montessori:

*Classes are mixed ages. 18 months up to 3 (or potty trained), 3 -5/6 including Kindergarten, not sure after that, but this school had elementary kids in it.
*All kids have to take their own coats off and hang on hooks - older kids can help teach younger kids how to do this.
*The kids pick something they want to "work" on and take it to a desk or a mat that they roll out on the floor. The toy that they have is theirs until they put it back and no one else can take it or play with them. They have to roll the mat back up and put away afterwards.
*She said they do not have much biting in their classrooms as the kids learn quickly not to take something that is not theirs and to use their words rather than getting aggressive/frustrated which leads to biting. She seemed to think the biting was a huge differentiator at this age group in Montessori vs. other daycares.
*For naptime, they have to pull the sleeping cots out and make the beds with sheets and put them back after. The older kids help the younger ones pull the cots until they are strong enough!
*If they dump out the contents of something, they have to put the contents back. Ie, a small purse was one of the toys.
*They can't put anything in their mouths, but K was allowed to since she's only 15 months and she did!
*They have to set the table for lunch and also wash dishes. They use metal silverware and glass pitchers/glasses. They have to pour their own milk/water from a glass pitcher into their glass and use two hands to carry things without droppping/spilling.
*They seem to encourage potty training, the toilet is in the room in a separate area - no door and they said they change diapers standing up only and always put them on the potty. The only 3 years olds in the classroom are those that are not yet potty trained - they used a different word - I think toilet independence. There were 1 or 2 3-year olds in this class of 9 kids.
*Many of the toys have a set way of being played with. For example, a string with beads has a picture that you are supposed to copy and put the beads in order based on the color/example - I don't think it's right if the colors are not in the same order as the picture!
*They take their shoes on/off without help. Older children teach younger ones how.
*There are a lot of wooden, traditional looking toys. The classroom was nice and bright. They had their own playground behind the classroom for the 18 month - 3 year old class where the older kids do not play.
*They had Music, Spanish and PE once a week on the same day - Wednesday. I think they must rotate these teachers through their other campuses on the other days. This specific Montessori chain has a few schools in our area.

I think my DH liked that she will learn independence/discipline and stop throwing her food, but I'm worried that it's a bit young to be that independent. Maybe I just baby K too much. I went to Montessori myself for 2 years. I don't remember much though other that we had a hermit crab to take care of. I don't think we had mixed ages in our classes though as my sister is a year older, and she was not in my class. Also, on our way out they had a board showing famous people who went to Montessori including the founders of Google, Amazon, Ann Frank, etc. I think my DH liked that. But, they basically have all the major school holidays off which would mean our vacations would have to line up with these holidays, and I would prefer not to have to do that until K is in Kindergarten!

 

[Puppmom]

Jgator, we considered Montessori for N1 but the hours/location weren't ideal for us. Re: independence, N1s daycare has the kids set up for nap and clean up after lunch and play etc. and it's surprising what kids will do. It's amazing what a little peer pressure will do! Plus they love the indepence. I do like the idea that the older kids help the younger ones. The age range of kids in the class at the school we looked at was less than a year.

 

[jfo]

JGator, thanks for sharing those details about the Montessori. Wow, they really do foster independence, don't they? I think i was internally saying "wow" with each subsequent bullet point that I read. Being a FTM, I am like you in that my initial inclination is, but wait... how can my kid do that--she's just a baby! However, even what they do with L at daycare, I am surprised at how much she can do and the things they are teaching her to do (cleaning up, etc.)

Like puppmom said, it is amazing what kids are capable of learning and doing, and rather quickly too, especially with other kids showing them how. That said, I hear you on the schedule. L's daycare is not open during all the typical holidays, but also the ones that not all businesses close for, like MLK day, President's day, and Columbus Day, and they have an entire week off for 4th of July and also from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day. We have to plan ahead for those longer gaps in childcare, but we do know well in advance. The only thing that I never thought about since it hasn't happened in forever, is the daycare closing due to inclement weather, which is what has happened 3 times already this month (including today--DH was the lucky one who had to stay home today) and I'm pretty sure they will be closed again tomorrow. So we are literally caught scrambling to figure out what to do with childcare the day before, but that's the exception of course. So certainly, you have to consider how that works with your schedules too.

 

[lliang_chi]

JFo, So great that L is learning so much. it's so fun seeing their little brains working. And yes, E's getting to a point that he's doing so much stuff by himself. He'll push around his little stool (that we keep in the bathroom) so he can reach things from the table and counter tops. He can climb into his chair now too.

MP, have to admit all our shoes are hand-me-downs. I bought 1 pair of new shoes for E, a pair of sheepskin boots and he REFUSES to wear them.

JGator, How's K's sleep going these past few days? I'm hoping she's making good progress. Sounds like was last week too. The progress is always so slow but lo and behold one day you're amazed that she's doing it and you miss having your sweet baby.

AFU: Ethan had his first dentist appt last week. Dentist said everything looks good and he's likely teething his last molars. Which is probably why he's waking up crying MOTN again. Ugh! I thought teething was finally behind us! We've been giving him applesauce with ibuprofen in it for the past week, which gets us until 5:30AM. Then he wakes up and wants out. I'll hold him for 10-15 mins on his rocking chair then he's hungry and wants to eat.

 

[JGator]

Pupp, thanks for your input. I'm sure that peer pressure will be a positive thing for K.

Jfo, I think K gets babied by our nanny somewhat, and it would be good for her to get out with other kids. I'm sure K' s capable of so much more than I give her credit for. I figured out that all of the pre-schools that also have a private elementary school attached are going to have the holiday closing issues for us. So, we'll have to weigh the pros/cons of that. And, yeah, we have been shielded from the snow days with K's nanny - she hasn't missed a day for illness or snow in the year we have had her.

LC, I'm so happy to hear Ethan got a good check up at the dentist. K's sleep has improved finally! I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but so far so good.

AFU, K slept through the night for 3 nights in a row! Today, she got up around 7am without any crying at all over night. At 7, I held her in her chair thinking she would wake up for the day any minute, but she slept for another hour with me holding her. I hope I didn't reinforce any negative behaviors by holding her for an hour, but she always wakes up around 7am, and I thought she was just slow getting going for the day. Wish us luck for another great night of sleep for K and me!

 

[lliang_chi]

JGator, So happy that K's been sleeping well for you! I really hope it's a new trend for her. So she slept through in her crib with no bottles and no wake ups?!? FANTASTIC MAMA!!!! Is your DH back from his trip? I'd say to keep K's routine as much as possible, even when your DH gets back. Don't want to rock this wonderful sleep-filled boat And definitely have the nanny encourage K to do things on her own. Stuff like putting toys away, taking cups/bowls/plates to the sink etc. Ethan's daycare taught him that since they literally have 12 kids running around and the teacher can't clean up after each and every one of them. So we just carry this over to home and have Ethan clean up his toys, put his dirty dishes away and put his dirty clothes in the hamper. He feels so proud of himself when he does it too. It helps that we make a big deal about it cheering him on and applauding.

 

[JGator]

LC, I've been keeping a sleep log. It's been 9 days since she had a MOTN bottle and 3 nights of sleeping through the night!!! I tried to have K help me put her mega blocks in the bag last night, and she kept dumping them out over and over again. I zipped the bag to put an end to it, and she cried. So, that was the end of us cleaning up. She also dumped a bag of goldfish crackers on the floor while she had her dinner last night, and she laughed while I was on all 4s cleaning them up. How can I get her to help clean up -she's a mess making tornado? My DH gets home on Thursday night - he has been gone since Sunday, and he was also gone a few nights last week. I am going to keep up the routine. I think when he's here we tend to put her to bed later as he's a night owl and also likes to go out to eat which gets us home late, and when it's just me I want to put her to bed earlier for my own sanity! She went to bed about 10 mins earlier than usual last night, and almost an hour early the night before.

 

[lliang_chi]

JGator, for teaching Ethan to clean up, I put my hand over his and had picked up blocks and dropped them into the baskets. I did this a few times and he got the hang of it. He could of course fuss and cry because he doesn't want to clean up. A few times he cried and tried to squirm away the entire time. But once we cleaned it up, I gave him a huge hug and praised him for being SO HELPFUL and how can Mommy do anything without him!!! Once we did that a few times and he got better about cleaning up. Sometimes he just refuses to listen and will run away or try to do something else. If we're not on a schedule I'll just have him clean up it later. If we are on a schedule, I'll tell him, "Okay, we can change diaper first or clean up. Which do you want?" Then he'll usually clean up because he hates getting his diaper changed.
For cleaning up food, it's an all-business rule for me. If food is *deliberately* thrown on the floor, we're DONE. Everything gets put away, no talking, no emotions, he's out of the high chair and I ignore him until I'm done cleaning up. And at K's young age, food on the floor thing is pretty standard, especially as she's exploring eating food. As they get older it's less cleaning up except if it's something really messy (Ethan likes shredded cheese) or when he's feeling especially spiteful. So if it were me, if K's doing it "maliciously" then I'd b all business. But if she's exploring or just eating messily, then I'd let it go.

 

[Puppmom]

Jgator, I hope this trend continues! Here's to many sleep filled nights!

 

[amc80]

Not reading too much into it but B just went pee in the potty All was great until he got excited and jumped up, mid pee.

 

[monarch64]

Hey moms! This is just a quick post to talk about a sleep issue that happened over the weekend and how I (hopefully) solved it:

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday night Alex was HATING going to bed at night (not as much for naps but 50% hating that as well). She just kept refusing to adhere to her usual routine of one of us putting her in her crib, lying down, and going to sleep. Instead she was fussing and then straight up screaming even after we'd come back into her room and quickly comfort her. We thought it was teething (she's been cutting 4 incisors the past 10 days) so we'd give her Tylenol and still she wasn't ok. Everything else was normal, no changes in routine, no changes in food, no changes in diaper or potty contents. I thought we might be having a separation issue because the only way she was comforted would be to fall asleep in our arms. So, she wanted to sleep, but it seemed like as soon as we'd put her in the crib she'd wake up and start freaking out again.

Last night, I went into her room for the 3rd round of screaming and didn't turn on the light like I usually do. I went to pick her up and noticed flashes of light (static electricity) all over her crib mattress. I quickly deduced (finally) that she was wearing fleece pajamas, had a fleece blanket in the crib, a fleecy plush toy in there, and the room was so dry that she must have been feeling and/or seeing all these electrical currents happening! Argh! It was so late (and the room was really warm) and I was so tired that I stripped off her pj's and took out the fleece blanket and toy and replaced with a cotton A&A blanket. I rocked her to sleep in my arms and she was ok after that but slept an extra 1.5 hrs this morning. After I gave her breakfast, I filled up the humidifier we usually keep in our room and put it in her room and shut the door, figuring this MUST be the issue--all the dry, cold weather causing static electricity in the house has been keeping her from getting to sleep. NOT shockingly (horrible pun, forgive me), we put her down tonight and she hasn't made a peep. What a freaky experience for all of us. I only break out the humidifier when someone is sick with a cold or something and had had it in our room recently because I'd had one. I am going to pick up another tomorrow so both of our bedrooms are covered. I feel like a total idiot for not figuring it out right away...but on the other hand I feel like I did figure it out finally and feel good about that. Poor baby. Poor parents. I blame the polar vortex, and polyester.

 

[JGator]

LC, thanks for the tips. I will try them with K. I do think she's exploring cause and effect and likes the sound of stuff hitting the floor. But, I will definitely use your tips on having her help clean up her toys.

AMC, congratulations on B using the potty! That's great.

Monnie, thanks for your post. I have had the humidifer in K's room the last several nights that she has STTN because she has a cold, but I think I will keep it going after she is better based on your suggestion. It can't hurt - particularly in this cold, dry weather.

AFU, today is K's 15 month birthday. She woke up once last night and let our a brief cry, and it stopped within seconds so I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief! She woke up at 745am today so 4 nights in a row!!! Woo hoo. I really cannot remember the last time I slept so well - probably pre-pregnancy which is 2 years ago!!! I still wake up once around 2/3am because my body is so used to it, but it's great to just look at the clock and fall back asleep. I want to say a HUGE "THANK YOU!!!" to all of you for your advice especially Pancake as I think I just needed a place to start and the weaning off the MOTN bottle and getting K more protein calories during the day seems to have been the secret to turning this around. I still rock her to sleep which I know I need to address (after she gets over her cold), but I really cannot complain if she continues to STTN!!! I hope I am not jinxing myself or celebrating too soon.

 

[jfo]

Hooray, JGator!!!! Great job for doing what you need to do to help K STTN! I'm just so thrilled for you that you're finally getting good sleep and I'm sure all of you, including K, are better for it. Happy 15th month birthday to K!

LC, I enjoy reading your tips too on how to get L to clean up. Right now, she will help clean up for maybe a minute and then will turn around and dump things out again. I'm sure it's just her age--just like JGator's K, I feel like L is just a tornado going through the room. Her attention span is so short these days unless we're reading a book. That's so cute that E is doing some problem solving--hmm, if I push this stool over there, I can get to that!

amc, wow, awesome job, B!! Did you put him on the potty and he happened to go, or did he give you some sort of sign that he had to go, and you got him on the potty in time? This potty training topic is fascinating for me... At this point, L doesn't seem to care if she has poop in her diaper about 95% of the time, but occasionally, she seems uncomfortable, or she tells us, by saying "poo poo". From a #1 perspective, I haven't noticed her having a dry diaper every 2 hours, so clearly she's not ready yet, but I'm going to be watchful for signs.

Monarch, thanks for your post! L wears fleece pajamas and has a fleece sleep sack that I can hear crackle when I put it on her before bed. Fortunately, I've been running the humidifier in L's room for literally weeks now because she seems to have a constant runny nose and cough, and I know that our house is really dry otherwise. I can really feel it when I wake up in the morning because we don't have a humidifier running in our room and I wake up with a dry mouth. Good job on figuring out the issue!

 

[amc80]

amc, wow, awesome job, B!! Did you put him on the potty and he happened to go, or did he give you some sort of sign that he had to go, and you got him on the potty in time? This potty training topic is fascinating for me... At this point, L doesn't seem to care if she has poop in her diaper about 95% of the time, but occasionally, she seems uncomfortable, or she tells us, by saying "poo poo". From a #1 perspective, I haven't noticed her having a dry diaper every 2 hours, so clearly she's not ready yet, but I'm going to be watchful for signs.

Oh, it was random for sure. What usually happens is I put him in the bath and then afterwards it's a race to get a diaper on him before he pees wherever he feels like (you know, typical boy). So I figured his bladder was full before the bath. I stripped him down and asked him to sit on the potty, which he did. While I was getting his medicine ready at the counter I looked over and sure enough, he was peeing. I made a huge deal out of it and danced, and he was really excited, so hopefully he will make the connection. He has been telling us when he poops but had been saying it a lot, even when he wasn't poopy. I finally figured out that he uses that to tell us when he peed as well. So he's very aware of his bodily functions, I just hope it translates into easy potty training.

 

[lliang_chi]

AMC, Hooray for B's first pee in the potty! The same thing happened with Ethan then I made up a sticker chart and got stickers from Target for him. He still hasn't pooped yet, and every now and then he'll decide not to pee in the potty. I find asking before bath was always a sure thing, and sometimes after waking up.

JFO, yes, Ethan was very much a tornado too, but I really think daycare helped teach him how to clean up etc. Heck, I'm not complaining! I just do what I can to reinforce it. And if L loves books, then maybe ask her to help you put books away when she's done reading them.

JGator, Hooray for K's great progress. I'm honestly SUPER pumped for you and so proud of K too! I'm sure you are also. And do'nt feel like you need to take EVERYTHING on at once. You got her to kick the MOTN bottle habit, and now she's putting herself back to sleep. Pat yourself on the back and enjoy your snoozes. Just know that teething/sickness can disrupt it but have faith she'll go back to STTN.

Monnie, Holy discoveries. I would've never thought of it either. We keep a humidfier in E's room, but he's also across the way from our in-unit washer/dryer, so his room gets humidity whenever we run the dryer. And with cloth diapering that's pretty much every day.

AFU: Ethan's still teething, unfortuantely. Gah, I just want these stupid molars to come in already! It's been a week straight of early wake ups, poor guy.
Also I'm trying to plan a birthday celebration for his classmates. Since his birthday is smack-dab in the middle of the Olympics (Feb 17) I want to do an Olympics theme. I'm not going to go all crazy, since it'll likely just be for his school mates, but maybe cupcake-cones with orange/yellow frosting and gold medals. Fun!

 

[monarch64]

AMC, so awesome that B peed in the potty! It does sound like he's making the connection and I'm sure this does bode well for a smooth PT experience!

JGator, happy 15 month bday to K! Soooo relieved for you that she's doing better overnight these days. This thread (and every other pregnancy and parenting-related one) has certainly been valuable to me as well. I hope you can get some uninterrupted stints of sleep going forward, it sounds like you've come leaps and bounds so far.

Jfo, Alex is not great at helping to clean up, But she is FANTASTIC at bringing her empty sippy cups into the kitchen and putting them into the sink. Not only that, she likes to put other things, like my slippers, or, say, any random objects in there. Sometimes when I go in to fix lunch or just get myself some water I find surprises. We had to take away everything she can carry and climb up on and put it in the coat closet because she was bringing anything that could function as a climbing tool into the kitchen and trying to do kitchen things like she sees us do. Her toys downstairs now fit into reusable shopping bags instead of laundry baskets or tubs or crates. She will assist with picking up toys and putting them into the bags, but then she wants to carry the bags around and disperse the items pretty much everywhere.

LC, sorry E is still on the teething train. The Olympics-themed party sounds really cute! I've seen this blog pop up a time or two around the internet: http://spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/ and there are some great ideas and inspiration on it. Please post pics of the party you design!

I got Alex some Play-doh yesterday and we had lots of fun using it this morning AND this afternoon. I managed to snag a couple pics that turned out really well since she was occupied and still for more than 2 seconds at a time.

 

[monkeyprincess]

JGator, I'm so happy for you that K is starting to have good streaks now. Hopefully you have gotten over the hump and it will continue! Ev is getting over his cold and has has slept through the night pretty often again, but we still have a couple nights a week where he wakes up and is so restless and will not go back in his crib. I think we are probably enabling him, but DH is not willing to let him CIO yet. I do think that is what it is going to take at some point. I'm proud of you for working on this and making progress.

LC, poor little E. At least he's almost done with the teething. That's a great idea/theme for his party. I bet it would be easy to somewhat incorporate the Olympic rings or colors too. How is your little guy almost two? Reading about all the things he does makes me think we should probably start having higher expectations of what Ev can do. I do have him help put away his blocks and books sometimes, but like the others, he more often than not ends up dumping and pulling them back out. I really do think the teachers at daycare do a much better job than we do of teaching him those kind of things and about following routines, which kind of makes me feel like a bad parent....

Monarch, that is funny about A putting things in the sink and in the bags. We were so lucky that until recently Ev didn't show any interest in cupboards and drawers, but that all changed a couple weeks ago, and DH finally picked out locking mechanisms and started installing them just in time. One of the cupboards with baking utensils is still unlocked, and I keep finding Ev's toys and sippys in there.

Amc, that's great he is kind of figuring out the potty thing. Ev pretty much couldn't care less about having a dirty or wet diaper and doesn't show much awareness, so I'm pretty sure we are ages away from potty training. Or maybe that is just another thing where my expectations are too low of what he is capable of.

jfo, how's your little one doing? I'm like you in that I think I just assume since Ev is a "baby" I shouldn't expect too much of him. I've been thinking about that in a lot of areas with him. I kind of feel like I need to be fostering his independence and skills a bit more. Good food for thought. Hope all is well with you guys! Thanks for the tips on shoes. We might try to hit up Stride Rite this weekend. As amc mentioned, I really would like to get him measured properly because he fights me (even in his sleep) when I try to use the measuring guides online.

Pupp, fun to hear about how your boys are doing. It must be so fun having the two of them be little buddies. Sorry to hear N2 is dealing with some issues in the strength/motor skill area, but I'm hopeful that with the early intervention, he will catch up in no time. Funny about the "oh yeah" thing. Ev's daddy taught him to say "oh yeah" and "oh boy" somehow too. Makes me laugh every time.

Mayer, sounds like your little guy is a great little talker! That must be a lot of fun. I'm trying to work with Ev to get him to say a few more actual words. He "talks" constantly, but most of it is still indecipherable.

Hi to everyone else. I haven't been great about keeping up, so it was fun to read about what everyone's little ones are doing. I feel like I learn a lot more about raising kids on this thread than I do from my IRL friends!

AFU, the transition to the younger toddler room seems to be going really well. The one thing he still needs to work on is staying on his mat and taking a nap at the scheduled time. But he apparently is enjoying the structured meal time and playing with the bigger kids. He is starting to try to be "helpful" lately and bring things to us. He has figured out that we can't seem to live without our phones, so he is constantly finding them and bringing them to us all proud of himself. I htink that means I need to stop checking work email, etc. so much in the evening. He does this with the remotes too, but then he usually won't hand it over since he seems most happy if he can be holding two remotes in his hands at all times. He thinks it is hilarious to pretend to hand us something and then shake his head and say "no, no, no." He even laughs if we do it back to him. Probably not the best game to be playing! Oh, and the other day, I thought it was so cute that he threw my water bottle into the trash can (he hasn't quite figured out the recycling is behind the trash can in the drawer, but close enough). However, it was not so cute when I discovered he has also been throwing away his sippy cups. I saw one in there, and we seem to be missing a few, so I think I have an idea of where they went and who knows what else he has thrown away! I don't really want to have to put a safety lock on the garbage drawer because we have ones that require a magnetic key, and sometimes you just really want to throw something away fast without touching anything. But I don't think that is an option anymore.

 

[Puppmom]

I intended to post a full reply but it's been eaten. I have to just say Monnie, A is beautiful. I've always thought she was a cutie but my goodness...that profile! What a sweet face!

 

[FrekeChild]

Yay JGator! This is excellent news!

More pics please! Mine is getting too big, and I'm starting to miss the earlier toddler stages...

 

[lliang_chi]

Monkey, that's exactly WHY we have a toddler lock on our garbage cabinet. It can get annoying but we just put locks on all our bottom cupboards, and it's now a habit to grab the key. And I just wash the key with soap and water if I ever get it really yucky if/when I'm using it during cooking or whatever.
Ev sounds hilarious and like he's doing really well. I do have to consciously tell myself to have Ethan do things, but in general he's so proud of himself when he does things that it's pretty easy to just let him do something on his own, as long as it's not dangerous or reckless. And you are definitely NOT a bad parent, so you just stop that sort of thinking, missy!
I'm glad Ev is transitioning so well to the young toddler room. I'm sure he's going to be learning so many new things now

Monnie, how's A doing with the EC/PTing? Have you attempted anything. I'm curious because you're hte only person I know whose kiddo is doing it, so I really am curious. She's just adorable! I also want to give you a little warning about Playdoh. Don't let it get on carpets or rugs you care about. If it gets mushed in and dried out it's a PITA to remove. Ethan played with Playdoh on my nice Indian area rug and I ended up scrapping the dried Playdoh with a fork and vacuuming up the little bits. That being said, Ethan LOVES playing with Playdoh, but now we do it on the hard floor, not on any of my carpets.

AFU: 2nd molars are still kicking Ethan's butt. He's still be waking so we're just going to ride this out. Poor bug, he's no good at this teething business. SIL bought E a hat as one of his Christmas presents, and it's the only hat he'll let me put on him. Which is goo because we needed SOMETHING with these Polar Vortices we've been having.

 

[amc80]

LC and Monarch, love this pics!

Here is one of B proving that the naked man obsession starts quickly. I undressed him for his bath and he immediately got on his horse.

 

[monarch64]

MonkeyPrincess, yeah, once they figure out the cabinets and drawers your kitchen is no longer your own. We find Alex in the one unlocked (mostly empty) cabinet a lot. It's funny, but instead of going to the trouble of locking all the drawers as well, we just removed all the contents and now she doesn't mess with them at all. It took me an entire month to stop opening drawers and looking for things! Hilarious about E throwing stuff away (well, not for you). Can you teach him recycling or something somewhat productive??? LOL He sounds like such a sweetie.

Puppmom, sorry your post disappeared, I always like reading yours! Thank you so much for the sweet compliment. It is an exceptional shot of her, and one of those that needs to be printed and framed. Those happen so infrequently that they are so much more special when they do. Mostly I get blurry pics or ones with her eyes half closed or with a really strange expression! I remember the nurse who wheeled me out to the car when we took Alex home from the hospital after she was born told me she had SO MANY pics of her grandchildren on her phone and she refused to erase the blurry ones. I don't know why but I've always remembered that and I always feel bad about deleting stuff that isn't exactly flattering! I honestly can't remember--do you post pics of your kiddos? If you have i don't think I've seen them, bet they are adorable.

LC, E is just the cutest, so solemn and serious looking in so many of his pics you post but SO engaged and interested and just a hint of "wow, life is FUN!" behind all of that! I love seeing his pics! VintageLover was also doing EC but she hasn't posted here forever. I wish she would because I want to hear about how it's working for them! So, Alex knows where the potty is, and I would say 40% of the time she comes and gets me to take her to the potty now. Maybe 25% of THAT time she actually goes after we get her situated, and she hasn't pooped in it for like 6 months now. She will hide from me (in a "I'm playing a game" way) when she poops in her diaper. We have only really made suggestions vs. putting her on the potty every time, so I guess you could call our version of EC "modified." It was always more about becoming familiar with body functions and the workings of those in conjunction with the potty for us. I think we will pick a weekend in March to do the 3-day potty training. All of our February weekends are full, and she'll be 21 months by Feb. 26. I think it's worth a really good try at that point. I will definitely keep everyone posted here and in Puppmom's potting training thread she started recently.

Glad E will wear his hat your sis got for him! Yes, the Polar Vortices ARE SUCKING!

AMC, oh my god, I LOVE him!!! That is just the most adorable thing ever. You live where it's warm, obviously! (CA, iirc?) What a sweetheart.

 

[amc80]

AMC, oh my god, I LOVE him!!! That is just the most adorable thing ever. You live where it's warm, obviously! (CA, iirc?) What a sweetheart.

Aww, thanks! We actually live in Reno so not particularly warm...just got snow yesterday. But it's always 67-69 degrees inside

B went pee on his potty again last night, woohoo! I'm going to start putting him on it when he wakes up as well.

 

[vintagelover229]

Just popping in to say a quick hello I love seeing all the pictures but this thread goes way to fast for me to keep up so I decided to bow out. I don't want to be *that* selfish poster who doesn't reply in kind to everyone's updates!


Amc-that is SUCH a cute picture on the horse! I love the leaf that you put there too


I've been doing EC (elimination communication) and little man (Richard) is just over 15 months now and has been going on the big potty (holding himself and all) for a few months now. We had a small potty but when he saw us on the big one he stopped wanting to use it. He's been on the potty since he was 3 months old. Figured since everyone seems to be pottying I'll share my progress potty pictures-I don't have any of him on the big one but I should take one since its pretty cute seeing him hold himself there!

For some reason I thought I had younger photos of him on the potty but I can't locate them right now Now he has a stool that he gets off the potty (still needs help on) on his own. I haven't really changed a poop diaper since he was around 4 months old. An odd one here and there but mostly once every few months.

 

[monarch64]

VL, thanks for posting! That's just amazing, and Richard is so cute! I think you should comment here whenever you want and don't worry about addressing everyone. I enjoy when people acknowledge me and comment directly to me but I certainly don't expect it and will not think someone is being selfish if they only have time to post about their own experiences.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Wow VL, way to go and way to go Richard!

What potty chairs are y'all using? Seeing and hearing about your successes makes me think we should at least have a potty chair to introduce him to.