shape
carat
color
clarity

PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

pavelover

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
May 6, 2007
Messages
731
Everyone is doing well, J Gator! What about you? Your daughter is so cute! How old is she? I don't want to mix up people but were we doing stuff around the same time? That's what I'm remembering...although my memory is horrible. Give me a quick update if you don't mind!
 

Dandi

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 9, 2006
Messages
6,652
Oh my goodness pavelover that is so exciting! Congratulations on your beautiful girl, and your impending rose gold pretties!
 

JGator

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 27, 2010
Messages
1,422
Pave, hi, we posted on the TTC 6+ at the same time. I believe your twins are a little younger than K. She will be 2.5 this week. I am currently in a limbo situation as I am 13 weeks pregnant but waiting on an amnio which I will have in 2 weeks to know if this baby has Trisomy 13 or not. I was pregnant with twins and lost one between 8-10 weeks so we are hopeful that the possible Trisomy 13 from our CVS result is just a mixup with DNA from the twin who passed away. How far along are you with your baby girl? You are a brave super mamma of 4! Do you have 3 boys now?? So, will this be your first girl??
 

pavelover

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
May 6, 2007
Messages
731
Oh JGator I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Must be a very stressful time for you! I will keep you in my thoughts. I hope the wait for amino flies by and the results aww great. Yes I have 3 boys and this will be my first girl. And my last, haha. 4 is my limit!
Thanks for writing back. I'll be reading along with you all.
 

monkeyprincess

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
2,873
Hi Pave, great to see you check in, and thanks for the congratulations on the twins! I'll take any advice you have to offer about going from 1 to 3! So very happy to hear you've got a little girl on the way very shortly. How exciting!

JGator, thinking about you a lot!

Hi to everyone else! Hope things are going well with everyone and their little ones. Nothing too new with us, except we took Ev to the dentist on Friday, and everything looked good, but she could tell from his top front teeth that he was a paci user. She was pretty relaxed about it and suggested we take it away at about three. Well, DH was more ambitious, so we took away Friday night. He's made it three nights without it, and didn't use it for his nap yesterday. He talks about it a lot and asks for it repeatedly, but then he seemed resigned to it and accepted it. I was so proud of him. It's hard not giving it to him knowing how attached he is and what a comfort it is to him, but so, so good.
 

JGator

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 27, 2010
Messages
1,422
MP, congrats on the paci. I've been talking to K about the paci fairy. One day she woke up and said she wanted to give her pacis to the paci fairy and other babies so I found a shoe box and she collected them all in the AM and put them in. At nap time, she asked about it, but was okay. At bedtime, she tore open the box and hasn't looked back other than to say no paci fairy yet! I was hopeful for a few hours!

Pave, yay for a girl after 3 boys!!!!
 

monkeyprincess

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
2,873
JGator, too funny. I know better than to be too cocky at this point or assume we've said goodbye to the paci forver. Even if it lasts, I'm sure there's a chance Ev will regress when the babies come. We didn't do anything too clever. We just reminded him that babies use pacificers and bottles, and he isn't using bottles anymore, and he shouldn't be using pacis anymore either because he's a big boy. We told him that his baby brother and sister are going to need pacis, but he's too big for them now. He wasn't really convinced I don't think, but he's at an age we can somewhat reason with him. We also told him that the dentist said he had such pretty teeth, but that it wasn't good for his teeth to use a paci anymore. That sort of seemed to resonate with him. By the way, the "big boy" argument doesn't work with the diaper/potty training issue. He always wants tell us what a big boy he is, except when it comes to that. If we say big boys don't use diapers, he is quick to tell us, that "Daddy is a big boy, but I'm just a little boy." A battle for another day!
 

Bella_mezzo

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
5,760
Pave-great to see you and congrats on #4!

Yes, we are thrilled to have our two boys (E is now 15 months and an amazing, stubborn, loving, joyful little boy who embraces life with everything he has--he is the kid who throws his head back and belly laughs, and flings his body on the floor in a massive sprawling tantrum, and bites you with the most loving, slobbery, painful kisses, and eats with both fists...) B is a great big brother and, though usually quieter than E, is no less strong willed, so life in our house is never dull:)

We are sort of trying for #3 (DH is also studying to retake the MCAT and E still sleeps in our room, so opportunities to TTC are rare:) and hope that will happen for us at some point in the next year or so.
 

JGator

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 27, 2010
Messages
1,422
MP, how is the paci free zone going? K is stil hooked with no sign of giving it up. I'm sure the dentist will not be happy when we take her next week.

Bella, how is DH's MCAT studying going? How are B and E? K's nanny took her MCAT a few weeks ago, and she will get the results next week, I think.

AFM, today is K's last day of 2 year old pre-school. We are so proud of her - she really has grown in maturity and verbal skills since she started in October. She is off the for the summer so I thought I would check in. Yesterday, she told us my name is not K... Middle Name, it's Princess "Last Name". I thought that was so funny and cute! We made a gift for her teacher that I found on pinterest last night with her footprints. I think it turned out pretty well except I would use cardboard rather than regular paper next time as the paper wrinkled up from the wet paint. I am in the clear for the pregnancy from our amnio results, and I am currently 19.5 weeks along and this baby is due right around K's 3rd birthday. We bought the first boy clothing yesterday so it's more real now! I really want to make sure she has a party. but I am not sure how we will arrange it with the due date being 6 days before her birthday. We'll figure something out.

img_8226.jpg

img_9839.jpg

classroom.jpg
 

NewEnglandLady

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
6,299
JGator, what an adorable art project--it turned out perfect! Again, I'm so excited for you, especially now that all of the uncertainty is over. Glad you're finally able to enjoy this pregnancy and start preparing for baby boy's arrival!

Just wanted to chime in on the birthday planning issue since Cora was born a week before Katie's 2nd birthday (via scheduled c-section). Like you, I was determined to have a birthday party for Katie despite knowing the time would be chaotic. It actually worked really well. We had the party at home the weekend after Katie's birthday. So I got home from the hospital on a Saturday an we had it the following Saturday. My plan was to have everything on hand before having Cora. So I ordered decorations (that would be easy to put up), the cake, outfits (Cora got a birthday outfit, too), presents, plates, cups, etc. a couple of months in advance. I even wrapped the gifts and filled out the cards before I left for the hospital. I also ordered food because I was not going to be able to cook--I think we just had pizza or something easy. Anyway, it turned out to be really nice because even though everybody was eager to see the new baby, Katie got a lot of attention and presents and it was nice to have a celebration for HER with a new attention-demanding baby in the house.

I will say that I strongly considered having the party elsewhere (not at home), so that the place we had it could take care of all the coordination, prep an clean-up. In the end, I'm glad we kept it at home because Cora ended up cluster feeding in the late afternoon/early evening, and I was glad I leave the party and nurse her in her "normal" quiet, comforting, familiar place.

As usual, I didn't mean to write a novel, but just wanted to share my experience. Not sure what we'll do for b-days in the future--right now sharing is easy, but at some point (when they have separate school friends), we'll likely have to figure something else out.

How is everybody's toddlers doing? Cora is 16 months and a full-blown toddler. She's either really happy or really angry. Eats twice as much as my 3-year-old, is constantly climbing on things (Katie wasn't really a climber, this is new to me), and is already saying a handful of words--maybe a dozen. This is also very new to me as Katie didn't consistently use a dozen words until she was >2. She's still a fantastic sleeper despite the fact that all 4 of her premolars are coming in. She's such a joy, I can't get enough of her. She and Katie play constantly...we haven't entered a "fighting" stage yet, thank goodness.
 

monkeyprincess

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
2,873
Cute pictures, JGator! Sounds like preschool was really good for K. And she's so cute as always! To answer your question, Ev gave up his paci that first night that we took it away, and he hasn't looked back. I never imagined it would be so easy, and had I known, I would've done it a lot sooner. And now his top two front teeth, which were slightly displaced by the paci are now right where they should be, giving him an even cuter smile :) Hopefully, if the new babies take to pacis, Ev won't regress and want it back, but we're just not going to give in because we know he absolutely doesn't need it. Maybe you'll be surprised by how well she does without it if you try again?

ETA: However, we've made no progress on potty training. At least at home. He "tries" using the potty like 4 or 5 times a day at school, but doesn't actually go. At home, he refuses to use it. I will catch him about to go number two and he runs away from me, so I won't make him sit on the potty. He is being very defiant about it, so I guess now is not the time to push it, but seriously, it's driving DH and I crazy! We can reason with him and talk about, so I know he understands, but he just will not use it.

NEL, wow, 16 months already? Where does the time go? Sounds like you arre having so much fun with your two girls.

Hope everyone else is doing well!
 

Bella_mezzo

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
5,760
NEL-OMG, the "really happy or really angry" is so E right now! He is a super happy, chill, independant dude...until he is not, and then he is like some demon child all red faced screaming, legs kicking, elbows flailing, headbutting...

E has about a dozen words, and can pretty easily make himself understood. They are not all easily understood, and his first response to almost any question is "no", but he says cheese, no, yes, thank you, dog, eat, up, down, all done, stinky, mama, daddy, B's name, shoe, mouth, head, and few more. He will also repeat any word, my personal favorite being "gurkey" for "turkey":)

Sleeping is still not great here, and many nights it is awful. He goes to bed great, falls asleep on his own, totally fine. The issue starts around midnight/1am when he wakes up. On a normal night he nurses at 1 and at 4:30 and goes right back to sleep after each, on a bad night (which seem to be increasing frequent) he wakes up pissed ,off, doesn't want to nurse, just wants to throw a full on tantrum while half asleep that goes on forever (We have tried letting him cry--it will go on for hours, we have tried shushing, pick-up put down, bringing him to bed with us...he doesn't want any of it. no nursing, no sleeping with us, no sleeping in his crib, no cuddling, nothing....he is really, really angry and wants you to know that. it is very hard. DH is studying to retake the MCAT and I a m swamped at work, we both need sleep too and lately we've been getting about 3 hours a night. We are considering having a third baby and right now I just want to do it ASAP so that we can get through the morning sickness/no sleeping years as fast as possible...
 

NewEnglandLady

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
6,299
MP, K recently found an old paci of hers (who knows where, she just suddenly had one) and I was a little scared when I saw it. K missed hers the first day when we (er, the paci fairy) took it away, but then she never asked for it again. So I was worried when she found one that she might really cling to it. But she didn't even suck on it...she chewed on it for a few minutes and then gave it to Cora. Cora has never liked pacis, but I think chewing on the paci made Cora's teeth feel better, so now we just leave it out. K has no interest in it.

And K's teeth were also slightly displaced due to the paci usage and now they've corrected themselves. I was surprised at how quickly that happened.

Lots of luck with the potty training. I'm the worst at giving advice--I basically waited until Katie asked to stop wearing a diaper. At 3 years and a few months, she asked if she could stop wearing a diaper and wear big girl underwear instead. I said "you can, but you have to keep them dry. No peeing or pooping in the underwear." The first day she didn't quite get it, but then on the second day something clicked and she hasn't had an accident since (it's been a month). She's woken up dry in the mornings for the past year or so, so I don't even put her in a diaper at night. I always thought a diaper was easier, but K can hold it for hours at a time, so even if we're in the middle of doing something and she has to go, it's not like I have to rush to a bathroom. All of this to say that I'd probably just hold off on pushing anything until he's emotionally ready. I feel like once they're ready, it's not bad at all.

I think Cora will be tougher because I doubt she'll want to wait as long as Katie did--I feel like the fact that Katie had been physically ready for potty training for so long made it much easier once she wanted to do it. Cora will probably want to potty train (because Katie won't be wearing diapers) before she's really ready.

Bella, I can't believe you all are still going through MCAT testing, you must be so tired...physically and emotionally. I'm so sorry about the lack of sleep. What's worse is that there is no way to soothe him during those middle-of-the-night tantrums. Do you think it could be caused by tooth pain? I know that dreams/possible nightmares start around this age, but if he's having these meltdowns every night, I doubt that's the culprit. As you know, everything is temporarily, even when you're in the middle of it and it feels like this phase will never end. I can completely understand wanting to get it all over with at once. I truly believe that things work out the way they are supposed to, but that being said the first year is just really tough. Even with an easy baby, there are so many transitions (food transitions, nap/sleep transitions, developmental advances, etc.) that it makes you wonder how you get through it all. Toddlers have their own challenges, but once you can start communicating and reasoning with them, I feel like things get easier. I know there will be many tough phases ahead for us, but am always happy when I get through a rough spot.
 

JGator

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 27, 2010
Messages
1,422
NEL, thank you for the encouragement and excellent advice on K's 3rd birthday. I think you have great points. I have gone all out the last 2 parties at home, but ordering pizza is a great idea and that's pretty much what we have had to eat at all of K's friends' birthday parties this year. And, it's one of the few foods K actually eats also! I also was thinking of outsourcing it, but it would be more comfortable with an infant at our house. Also, didn't think about K needing the attention too after the baby was born. Thanks so much for replying.

Bella, I feel your pain. I was able to sleep through the night when K was 14.5 months though. So, you are a saint for going sleepless for so long. I am really terrified of sleep deprivation again with #2.

MP, sounds great with Ev and the paci transition. I hope we are so lucky. I would not push the potty training either. K is totally not interested. Our pedi said it will take longer if you start before they are really ready so worth holding off a bit. I can see how you would like that done before you have twins to take care of though. I think K's top front teeth stick out a bit too. Glad to hear that can correct itself.
 

gem_anemone

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 21, 2011
Messages
682
I just want to come out of lurking to say "hello all!" :wavey:. I posted more during pregnancy and when my 14 month old was a newborn. Things got hectic and I didn't have as much time to write a thoughtful post, but I'll make an attempt today. It's very nice to hear from the ladies that I was posting with then and see that their children are doing well.

NEL that is awesome advice about potty training. I will have to remember that when the time comes to just let the child lead the way!

Bella I'm sorry to hear about the sleeping issues! My son goes to bed around 7-8PM and was sleeping through the night probably 6 out of 7 days a week, but in the last couple of weeks he has been waking around midnight-1AM about every other day. I wonder if it is teething or separation anxiety. Also kudos to you still nursing. We finally gave it up at 13 months. It was hard for me to let go of that stage at first, but now I'm happy he doesn't need it any more. You may get more sleep if he is willing to wean! It didn't bother my son when we stopped nursing - in fact I think I was more sad about it than he was. I did have the flu twice and he was getting more supplementation after 10 months old. Then at 12 months when I stopped pumping at work my supply went down to almost nothing and my son really had to work to get milk. I think it annoyed him more than anything, so I knew it was time to be done.

JGator - sorry to read about the loss of your twin, but I am happy to see that your growing bean is healthy =) the rainbow butterfly art is so cute! So is your daughter. What a great idea.

MP good luck with the potty training!
 

Bella_mezzo

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
5,760
Hi Ladies, It is fun to catch-up:)

I stopped pumping around 9-10 months too. E pretty much only nurses at night (usually around 1am and 4:30am) and then when he wakes up in the morning. The morning nursing we could easily give up if we went straight to breakfast. The night nursings his is not at all willing to give up and I am ok with that for now...but I definitely need more sleep, so the night tantrums need to go:)

Yes, the saga of the MCAT...I despise this test with every fiber of my being. DH took it twice last year and go a low score the first time, and an even lower score the second time (he was in horrible pain with multiple herniated disks in his back and in retrospect should not have taken the test the second time). He applied to 30 schools, got interest from 4 schools, got an interview at one--his first choice school!--had a great interview but ultimately was not offered a spot. So, here we go again...I am beyond frustrated with this process, but know that this is what DH really wants. We are going through this application cycle and then will reevaluate other options if necessary. Financially and emotionally this process is really draining, and lack of sleep definitely makes it worse.

I want to see new pics of the babies...I mean toddlers!

here is E at 15 months

e_may_2015.jpeg
 

emeraldlover1

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
2,913
Hi Everyone, I have a question I hope you can help me with. My daughter will be 20 months on Monday. We are trying to decide what to do about pre-school. Given our location in NYC, the cost, and the competitiveness, we have been doing our research however I personally could use some advice. See, she will be 2 years in October. Do you think she is too young for pre school? Financially, I would like to send her next year however I want her to continue to develop. She seems to pick up things really fast (vocabulary and motor skills) but I'm on the fence.

I am paying our nanny full time for two kids regardless if she is in school. If I don't put her in school, can I accomplish the same things with her development by enrolling her in music and art classes?

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks!
 

Bella_mezzo

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
5,760
Hi Emerald,

I am in NYC too:) I would totally keep her with the nanny as long as your nanny is engaging and they can maybe have some "school time" while the baby is napping and/or she can do some classes. NYC is INSANE with the intense preschool drama. I would avoid that at all costs, but especially since she is turning 2 this year. She is still really little and can learn a lot at home and benefit from the nurturing environment, plus you won't have to deal with daycare/nursery germs with a little baby at home.

Even if you are going the private school route, you could still put her in preschool the year she turns 3 and have a year in preschool before you have to take the ERB and do preK/4s admission for private schools.

For public school, it totally doesn't matter.
 

NewEnglandLady

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
6,299
EmeraldLover, I'm not in NYC, but live in an area where most people send their toddlers to a preschool-type program, so I understand. Our 3-year-old was a late speaker, so I spoke with her speech therapist (and an occupational therapist) about the pros and cons of sending a 2-year-old to preschool because I feared it was too soon. They both told me:

1. At this age, learning should be done through play and discovery, so as long as they are getting that through daycare, a nanny or at home, they don't need to be in a class room setting
2. Parent/child classes are great tools for learning and socialization. I used to have Fridays off, so I rotated through music and art classes with the occasional swimming or gymnastics class. Katie was my very, very shy kid, so I used these classes to try to get her more comfortable with other kids. Now she's completely fine participating in a class of new children.
3. A drop-off class once a week for older toddlers (2+) is a great idea to get them used to being away from you (or a nanny) in a classroom setting. We have something called "playschool" in my area which is just a 1x per week 3 hour preschool-type class for 2 - 3 year olds. Because of Katie's delayed speech, we decided against the playschool, but we did enroll her in a drop-off ballet class, which is obviously different, but it's really helped with her understanding that it's something kids do without parents. And (now) she loves it.

Katie is a daycare kid, so she's used to me not being around during the week, but daycare is basically her second home, so doing these classes with her (I think) has really helped her prepare for school in a new setting with new kids. Her daycare has a good curriculum, so that makes me feel better about making sure she's engaged and learning.

Our younger child is also in daycare, but we plan to have her join the playschool 1x per week when she's 2. I will likely hold off on a full-fledged preschool until she's older than 3 (entry into the preschool we selected starts at 2.9 years, anyway). Just wanted to share my experience.
 

monkeyprincess

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
2,873
Funny (or something like that) story to share. Ev was so excited yesterday because they had a guy coming to visit the daycare who has a collection of bugs that he shows kids at school, etc. Ev even wanted to wear his shirt with bugs on it. So, DH picks Ev up last night, and the daily sheet they send home said, "I ate a bug today!" DH was like, what the heck? Did he eat one of the guy's bugs or eat one while playing outside or what? So he called my SIL (who owns and operates the center), and much to her dismay, she had found out the guy brought along a bag of BBQ-flavored food-grade grubs that he gave the kids. My SIL wasn't there and wasn't aware he would be doing that, and I guess the teachers didn't know any better to question it or thought it had been approved. But who the heck gives two year olds (and 3-5 year olds) bugs to eat? Ev told me he ate a centipede, and it was "yummy in his tummy" and "very crunchy." What can you do but laugh? I'm guessing the daycare is going to get a few calls over this one.

Emerald, I agree with what the others have said. I wouldn't feel rushed to get her into a formal preschool setting just yet. But I do think some level of socialization or organized classes wouldn't hurt. My son is 2.5 and goes to daycare, where there are a lot of organized activities (Spanish, music, dancing, kung fu lessons) and he gets a bit of preschool as well each day. I think all of these little things are good for him, but he also gets to spend a majority of the day playing and being a kid.

Bella, E is super cute! Sorry you're having some frustrations with sleeping. Like NEL said, everything is a stage and this too shall pass, but when you're in the middle of it, it is so not fun. I think it was around 15 months or so before Ev consistently slept through the night every night (or at least the vast majority of nights). DH and I had to take turns sleeping on the floor in his room when he woke up in the middle of hte night because we didn't want him to get in the habit of thinking he could get out of bed. Eventually, we were able to talk to him through the monitor to get him to go to sleep on his own, but it was a long process. I'm so hoping my next babies are a little easier to deal with, but I'm not holding my breath and am trying to mentally prepare to re-enter the world of no sleep.
 

emeraldlover1

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
2,913
Wow. Thank you for all the info. This did make me feel better. Right now we have her enrolled in a neighborhood playgroup which happens to be across the street from our house. It is every weekday except Wednesday. She truly loves it and I believe it has had a great deal of influence on her development. It is ending next week for the summer. It seems like this will continue to be a good solution for at least the next half of year.

Our next dilemma will be where to send her. We most likely will be sending her to private school as the public schools in our neighborhood aren't the best. That at least buys us some time this summer to figure out which neighborhood and school we want to send her to and how we will get her to and from. While all the preschools are $$ I'd like to keep her in relatively the same location with the same kids if I can. I am starting to see why people move out of the city.

Our nanny takes her to our neighborhood park daily so she is interacting with other kids so it looks like this summer I need to find some activities to enroll her in. I love the idea of a drop off activity. Great idea!

Thanks!!!
 

NewEnglandLady

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
6,299
EmeraldLover, I'm no help there because I'm in a similar situation. We are going the private route through kindergarten and then are undecided from there, which means potentially switching friends. What's worse is that I feel like I'm making the decision for both kids given how competitive preschools are in the area (sibling of child already accepted has a much better chance of getting in). The one advantage is that I think many kids will be switching about the same time--some going public and some going private. There is a social dynamic among the moms, too, so that can be tough (feeling like an outsider). I do have a lot of mom friends whose kids are in various schools, so that makes me feel a little better. And several of them have second kids the same age as my second, so I feel like no matter which school we choose, our kids will know at least one or two kids in the new school. I'm rambling, just trying to say that all of this is a bit tougher to navigate than I expected.
 

amc80

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
5,765
Wow, I haven't posted on here in forever. Let's see, since Tucker was born, we've moved two states away, I started a new job, and we bought a house. We moved in last week (my company put me us in temporary housing for the past month) and I'm surrounded by boxes. DH is still in our old place because he couldn't give his notice until we closed on the house. So I'm basically a single parent of an almost 3 year old and a 5 month old. They started at their new day care today. The company in working for is actually the parent company of the day care, so it's sort of nice to know the ins and outs (and pull a bit of weight, ha).

(Cross posting so I'm talking about both the boys.)

T is doing well. He has been sleeping through the night for a few weeks. We started him in solids right before that. He got the hang of it and now prefers it to the bottle. Apparently that's made the difference in his sleep as well. He's a tummy sleeper and rolls over from his back immediately. He really really wants to crawl and sort of does some form of an army crawl to move. He's a really happy baby as long as he's been held. Still hates the car seat and screams when we are in the car, so that's fun

Barrett is a great big brother. He loves Tucker and is always wanting to hold him or sing to him. He talks non stop and his new teacher was shocked to learn he is still only two. He's so big- solidly in 4T, size 10 shoe. We haven't measured him since his 2.5 year appointment but I'm guessing he's near 42". We still have the problem where people think he's 4 or 5 and expect him to act as such. One thing that's come up recently is he's been stuttering a bit. Dr Google tells me it's fairly common at this age, especially at the beginning of a sentence. He's had so much change lately so that could be part of it as well. He is still super picky with food, although he recently decided he likes salad of all things. The tricky part is it has to have dressing but not dressing he can see. Freaking toddlers.

We are still planning on a third. We will probably start trying next May/June (we have a cruise in May so it will be during or after that). Some days (most days) I think about how nice it would be to be done. No more newborns/pregnancy!! But I know we would regret it. Tucker being a good sleeper really helps with that as well.

image-2603275732.jpg
 

amc80

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
5,765
One more

image-662186498.jpg
 

NewEnglandLady

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
6,299
amc, so good to hear from you! Holy cow, I cannot believe that Tucker is 5 months!! I seriously thought he was 2 months or so. Sounds like despite how incredibly busy things have been, everything is going well. And at least now you can start getting into the "settling" stage now that you're in the house, have started to job, the boys are in daycare and (hopefully) husband is on his way. How long until he joins? How are you liking the house/your job? Maybe it's too early to tell!

Sounds like T is an easy baby and now that he's STTN, life will get easier. And it also sounds like B is adjusting well to being a big brother. Regarding B's stuttering--K's speech therapist said that it is very, very common at this age. She said that kids' brains work much faster than their mouths and they have a hard time organizing their thoughts, then slowing down to they can say what they are thinking. K would often try starting to say something and then freeze up because she couldn't form the words as fast as she was thinking. She'll still try to start a sentence a few times and I can see she's trying to get her brain around the words she's trying to say. Anyway, just sharing what our speech therapist said.

I think it's smart to have a timeline for a third and keep that in focus. DH still asks about a third (isn't pushing for one, really), but he also knows that mentally I can't get back into the "let's get pregnant and have another baby!" frame of mind. Cora is 17 months now and we are past all of those first year transitions. I mean, she was a super easy baby who STTN very early on--but the nap transitions, the feeding transitions, all the milestones from rolling to crawling to walking, plus the teething--it's just a lot of change in a short span of time. I'm so eager to be done with diapers and even naps so we can start taking family day trips and weekend trips. I feel like I'm past the point of wanting to start over. I still love seeing my friends' babies, but I think I'm just too tired to want to do it again. If we had agreed to have 3 before having Cora, I think I could have been more prepared mentally and not slipped into "this is it, I'm done" frame of mind. What's odd to me is that when K was 17 months, I was already pregnant with Cora and so eager to have another baby. Now that Cora is 17 months, I'm not in the same mental space at all.

Love the photos of the boys--B is just so big and Tucker is adorable!! Sharing a pic of the girls I took this weekend since I haven't posted pics in awhile.

k_and_c_4th_of_july.jpg
 

amc80

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
5,765
NEL- Thanks for the feedback regarding stuttering. It's nice to confirm my expert Dr. Google research. Poor B, he cried and cried when I dropped him off this morning. It was so sad. I called later and his teacher said he was upset for about 15 minutes, but was fine after that.

DH should be up here next week. YAY. It has been so hard without him. I'm the type who usually has all boxes unpacked within a day or two of moving...but it's impossible with two little kids to take care of. So, there are boxes everywhere and the type A person in me is going nuts. DH's cousin (who lives here) is coming over this weekend to help, so that will be nice.

It's so funny how we mentally prepare ourselves for something and then have a hard time changing. Had we said that we just wanted two, there's no way I'd even consider a third. Ugh, the thought of going through all that again sounds flat out horrible. I'm so jealous of those "OMG I love being pregnant" people. But, who knows...maybe #3 will be the easy pregnancy?

Great picture! I love their matching outfits. I need a girl to dress up.
 

NewEnglandLady

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
6,299
I can definitely understand why the boxes drive you nuts. We moved several times before buying our house 5 years ago. Each time, I would block the weekend and stay up until wee hours of the morning taking everything out of boxes, hanging pictures, curtains, etc. so it was all done by Monday morning. There is NO WAY I would be able to do that now, even if my DH were there (I used to kick him out for the weekend so I could stay focused). Eventually everything will come out of the boxes and then you can toss them and enjoy being in your home. Just have patience and know it will get done...that's how I have to approach all projects these days.

I had a tough time with pregnancy #2--just more sick, more sore, and more tired. Even post-baby, my diastasis (separated stomach muscles) is more pronounced. The thought of keeping up with the girls while being pregnant is overwhelming to me. That being said, most people tell you to think about the family you want to have down the road, not how tough the first years will be. So if you know you want 3, it's good to keep that in mind. And just enjoy your family as is for the time being--you have plenty of time before the next one. At some point, you can enjoy a summer when you're not pregnant or have an infant!

Congrats again on all the changes and it will be nice when the whole family is together again next week!
 

Bella_mezzo

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
5,760
Such cute kiddos!!! AMC-B looks like such a little man and I love those blue eyes on T:)

NEL-Your girls look adorable!!!! C really looks like K, right? Love the matching outfits.

B and E are great, but E has a HUGE personality. He has REALLY big feelings and right now our lives are full of tantrums (as well as belly laughs) but mostly tantrums.

DH and I very much want a third and are casually trying, but the effing MCAT is in August. Once that's done I will probably take Clomid again and see if it works. I am moderately terrified of being pregnant again (so sick, so miserable, so tired, and E is amazing, but kind of a terror right now so I can't imagine keeping up with him) but DH and I both always envisioned our family with at least 3 kids and this is the year to try and have a third as we would like to be past the newborn stage when DH starts med school...
 

Missy0483

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
844
I haven't posted here in a long time! I got busy with summer stuff and then time slipped away from me. Jenna is 17 months now. She's still working on walking, I truly believe she can do it, but she's stubborn and only does what she wants. When she does walk, she's really cautious and doesn't fall, she'll stop and drop down to her butt. So that's been easier for me lol. At her 15 month appt her pedi wanted her walking by 18 months and she was only cruising the furniture then, so she's made some progress. I'm not sure if they'll want to pursue some kind of PT or not. She has several words so I think she's good in that area. I found out on Saturday that I'm pregnant again :dance: My calculations show March 23 as a due date as I ovulated late so there may be an early ultrasound since my doctor goes by LMP and that is about 10 days off for me. It's really early still and this will be our last so no one in real life knows besides DH and I. I'm having all the emotions this time. I'm not ready for all the lasts. I love being pregnant so I'm really going to miss when it's all over. Jenna and baby will be about 25 months apart. A lot of people have told me that's a good age gap so I'm excited to see how she reacts. Anyway, I hope you all are doing well. I'm gonna go back and read to catch up.

11698738_10150566798814949_7672598389474788562_n.jpg
 

Bella_mezzo

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
5,760
MISSY--CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am running into a meeting, but just saw this!

Jenna is so adorable and getting so big! E is a running, talking, bossy fool, but my older son B has physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy for some minor delays and they have made a world of difference! He didn't start them until he was in school, but if we could have started them earlier I think that would have been even better. If you get to the point of thinking Jenna would benefit just know that they can be super helpful and fun for her:)
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top