PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

[TravelingGal]

lili, I actually DO have pics (amazing!) and will post them of FB, er...at some point!

Tacori, yes toddlers are darn funny. Even when they're not trying to be. Amelia cracks us up every day, but it's not really stuff I can retell, as it's just not REALLY funny, you know what I mean?

Burk, wow...Amelia is way way way not ready compared to T. She's never dry (although I'll have to check around naptime...she might be dry but I can't recall). I have no idea how to potty train this kid. She sees kids potty in school but isn't interested. She knows when she needs to go, but says she doesn't want to go on the potty. She denies pooping. And she's still a stealth pooper - like that old commercial, she never lets em see her sweat!

Re: Binky fixation, I'll be interested to see how it works! Totally made me laugh that T can rationalize like that!

Puffy, good to see you!

 

[Burk]

Tgal~Tayva still argues about having to go potty some times.....she doesn't want to take time away from whatever she's doing. That's how she was when she was still in diapers too so since I couldn't convince her to sit on the potty she just went in her diaper. One day in June I had enough.. the girl knew how to hold it and was able to control it but was just on her own agenda and I was done being on Tayva time so I just put her in underwear. She had one accident in her underwear and HATED it and that was that. She has had maybe 1 or 2 potty accidents since. Are you planning to go "all in" with naked or just underwear or are you doing pull-ups...do you have any idea at this point? I will say that pull-ups were no good for us-she felt equally free to pee/poop in them as she did in her diaper. Will they help at her school?

Oh, and re: binky. I know. It's actually annoying how smart she is sometimes...trying to convince me that she needs the binky more than a baby.....and since she only gets it in her crib for sleep she has also tried to convince me that it's okay for sleeping.

 

[janinegirly]

Do mommies have any suggestions for veggies for a 2 year old? C will eat if I distract her but she is getting sick of broccoli! And edamame wore off awhile ago...any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Burk]

Janine~We're pretty lucky in that Tayva will eat most veggies. She LOVES any veggie with "dip it" (aka Ranch). She loves salad with ranch dressing, carrots, cucumbers, ect. She will also eat pretty much all veggies cooked or steamed but her favorites are corn and green beans. Have you tried any fresh veggies with "dip it?" Most kids love anything they can dip.

 

[ChinaCat]

Janine- Have you tried adding it to mac & cheese, or chicken & rice, etc? O eats pretty much any veggie, but the texture of broccoli is a bit weird for him so I cut it up really small and add it to mac & cheese. Any time I give him something like that, I put veggies in it so he has to eat the veggies too.

Also, if you get desperate, there is a cookbook that Jessica Seinfeld wrote that shows you how to hide veggies in almost anything.

 

[Sabine]

When did you guys start letting your LO's dip things?

I was at a playdate today and we ended up at lunch at the mall food court, and there were 2 kids a few months older than Jacks who were given things like honey mustard containers to dip chicken in. I was amazed! I know if I tried to give Jacks an open container, he would stick his hand in it, then dump it all over the floor/himself! He still doesn't do well with plates/bowls etc. on his tray either, although he's getting better with using spoons and forks.

 

[fieryred33143]

Janine-Sophia is much younger but in order to get her daily veggies in, we usually make a smoothie with fresh fruit. We also mix it with mac-n-cheese which she will sometimes eat.

 

[janinegirly]

Thanks all! She actually will eat some veggies, I just need to be more creative! Tomatoes are a no though for some reason. Corn is a favorite, but I try to give her greens daily too. I should try carrots more and those dips you all mention (for cucumber etc). The few times I've tried dips she hasn't gone for it, but let me try again. I should do it and let her copy. Thanks!! I'll try to go back and catch up so I can make a less me-centric post..

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I used to soak cucumbers in Italian dressing or let her dip it. T loves peas. Corn is also a fav. She used to love salad but now I think the texture bothers her b/c she will gag. She does love ranch and ketchup. I believe she started getting dips around 2.5. Can't really remember, just when she seemed interested.

 

[puffy]

hi mamas!!

re veggies: B LOVES his veggies which is kinda weird. he actually prefers veggies and fruits to almost anything now. and he loves his salad with the dressing on the side..it has to be on the side or he will not eat it. carrot sticks with ranch or PB?

burk, hope the de-binkying goes ok. N totally went from trying to walk last few days, like at most he would do 10-15 steps, to full on walking today. and i am kinda sad about it. i want my baby back. but it is the cutest thing and i do love it.

tacori, such a character your T is!! B reminds me everyday what he wants on his birthday cake, what flavor he wants, the party hats he wants, and what he wants for his present. kids!!!

tgal,good luck with the PTing. do they help PT at school as well?

i'm going to try to be super mommy in a few weeks. i really wanted to take B to disneyland for the halloween festivities and the trick or treating with the characters. he keeps looking at pictures from last year and saying he wants to go back to see all 'his friends.' and it would be really fun anyways since i still love disneyland. well DH can't make it, so i'm going to attempt to bring the kids by myself. does that sound crazy? i keep telling myself that it's going to be fine, but i just keep thinking about how bad it might get. haha. it's only a 1 hour flight but i have no idea how i'm going to handle the 2 kids and the luggage and a stroller. YIKES, i think i might be in for it.

 

[Pandora II]

Hi all!

I'm so jealous that you all have Halloween - it's a really minor thing here ... I'll do a pumpkin lantern as I enjoy carving them but that's about it, and that's doing more than most people.

Tacori - please don't stop posting! Can we change the name of the thread to Toddlers 12 months + or something?

Janine - have you tried avocado or sweetcorn?

Sabine - I've let Daisy dip things from the start. I found putting her and whatever she was dipping in the bath (without water) and then hosing down the results was helpful till she got better fine motor control. Now she's pretty good at it.

One of my lifesavers are bowls that have a suction ring so they stick to surfaces and can't be tipped/thrown. D refuses to use anything other than adult cutlery so it's ridiculous watching her try to eat.

Puffy - Wow, 9 months is quite something! Just out of interest is he on the shorter side? Just interested as Daisy and Des were both earlyish walkers and are both on the small side whereas one of my friend's daughters didn't walk till she was 14 months - but she was very tall.

Jas - Huge congratulations on Kate - sorry about the hard delivery but glad you semi-got the birth you wanted!

Thanks all for the crayons advice - it's working!

D has been marginally less tantrum-prone this week - which may be because she's come down with a cold (second one so far) - but she gets more and more determined. She's still struggling to put tights on which results in serious rage, but she's mastered trousers... sometimes two pairs at the same time!

Today DH and I went to the supermarket in the car and when I went to put D in the carseat she insisted on climbing into the car and then into the seat all by herself - the result was she was so proud of herself that she forgot to whinge about being in the carseat for the first time ever... hooray!

Got a call from her consultant at the hospital with the latest results - not great, her haemoglobin which was low anyway at 11.5 has now dropped to 8 and her B12 is low as well. Luckily folate levels were normal. The consultant is going to talk to her GP and they'll call me to bring her in and get her started on paediatric iron and she'll need some B12 shots. I'm also waiting for the appointment with the paediatric nutritionist.

Food is a nightmare - she'll try everything but 90% is firmly rejected and even things she does like she won't eat much of. I'm really rationing the breast-milk to 'after lunch' etc so as to make her hungry before meals but it doesn't seem to make any difference. She had 4 spoonfuls of yoghurt this morning, wouldn't eat any lunch at all - despite going 'mmmmm' when she saw it (roast vegetable tart, figs, parma ham and salad), then for supper she had a piece of cheese the size of a postage stamp and 5 spoonfuls of scrambled egg (but not the toast). I offer snacks endlessly and they're all rejected - even ice-cream.

I really hope that they can come up with some solutions - part of me thinks that she may feel that sitting still to eat is a waste of time that could be spent on more exciting things. If we put her in the highchair she goes crazy, she's a bit better if we put her in her little chair at the coffee table, but what she'd rather do is hang round my legs and be fed under the table - like a dog basically (maybe it's the leash??? )

However she's crazy active and looks very healthy - if she's like this when seriously anaemic, gawd help me when she's not!

 

[Blenheim]

We are in the new house and we now have internet. (Somebody asked earlier, forget who - we just bought a house about two weeks ago and were about to move in when I posted before.) It's chaos over here. Boxes everywhere, DH drove over a nail and so we had to drop his car off at the shop tonight, one of the puppies has a bad stomach bug and is currently at the emergency vet with DH, the other puppy somehow got out of the backyard in the chaos but a neighbor spotted her and brought her back. I also have a stomach bug but not quite as dramatic.

George is doing amazingly well. If anything, his sleep seems to be better over here now that he finally has his own room. (Yay!)

Pandora - George also insists on using adult utensils. He sees the suction cup plates and bowls as a game though, and pries them off then throws them. If we give him an adult, very breakable plate, he'll leave that on the table. MIL keeps buying new toddler utensils and plates thinking that the new purchase will be the one that he'll take to, but I don't think any of them are going to work as they are clearly all toddler utensils and not the much cooler adult ones that everyone else is using.

Sabine - We give George dips and he likes them. Sometimes he'll just stick his hand in the dip and then lick it off his hand though... We've started doing baths every night after dinner anyway so I've loosened up some about the mess.

Tacori - don't leave!!

DD - Going back to a conversation we were having a little while ago, you have a great point that none of those second kid hurdles are going away. As far as the "daycare is expensive" one goes, it's not so much that daycare is expensive as it is that we have some financial goals that we want to hit before we are paying for daycare for two. Plus I may be in line for a promotion at work and I'd like to see if that goes through before making any big announcements. So maybe next spring or summer?

 

[puffy]

pandora, yeah my little N is quite the walking machine. but nope, he's actually over 100% for height. he's a pretty tall kid, taller than B was at his age. B also walked earlyish at 10 months and he was just about the same height as N is now.

 

[mela lu]

Heidi Ho!
I haven't posted in ages!!! I'm not going to try to catch up too much, but wanted to pop in with some news
We had our 19 week u/s, and it's another boy for us!!! Even though I wanted a girl (both times) I'm still young and DH is open to having a third, so we'll just try again in a couple years
Baby looks super healthy and due date is still mid-Feb - around Valentine's Day <3
We're calling the baby "Valentine" in utero. So cute. He looks a lot like Romeo from what we can tell. Awww.

Romy's had some great improvements after spending 2 weeks in Vancouver with my friend and her 20 month old. He STUDIED her and completely modeled his behaviour after her. Ever since then, he's been self feeding 80% of the time (thank GOD!) and he's far more independant at play. Ironically, he started napping there too. 1.5 hrs in the aftenoon. Again, thank God as I was starting to loose it.

Now that we're both napping and fighting less over meals (PS. we "dip-dip" everything!!!!!! Tzatziki, humus, Ranch, ketchup - whatever!) I find the dip-dip keeps him interested and probably feels more like "play" than work. hah. I

Sooo....that's what's new with me. I'm kind of here now and again, but find it really hard to spend time on the computer when I'm so pooped at the "end" of the day (Romeo's bedtime).

I McMiss you all and think about you all often Hope you're all happy and healthy and foine!

 

[jas]

Aw, Mela...congrats. What a lovely update!

everyone!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Puffy, it cracks me up how strong her opinions are. She is such a small person I forget she has a huge personality. Princess party it is!

Pandora and Blen, don't worry I am not planning on leaving! I haven't been a great PSer since I went back to school. It's difficult to keep up sometimes but I don't think this thread moves too fast where we need another split. I love hearing about your little ones.

mela, congrats! How nice Romeo will have a brother!

 

[PenelopeJane]

Congratulations Mela....i'd love to have 2 boys someday!

Tacori, glad you're sticking around! Have you started Co-planning T's party?

Puffy, yaaay for N walking! P took her first wobbly steps at 8.5 and officially walked (everywhere by herself) at 9 months...I think she was on the average size. Axel was at 10 months just like B! Sounds like the boys are doing well. They're lucky to have a mom that likes to travel alone with 2 kids to Disney...seriously! Have the best time and soak it all in!!

Blen, glad to hear the transition went well for G...let's hope it continues.

Janine, dip it is! Did it work out for C??

Axel has had the runs for a few days and that brought on a diaper rash that won't go away so we went to the doctor today. Not a yeast infection like I had thought, but bad enough that he was given ointment for his bum that they use on burn patients. Also given a probiotic for his tummy. He's in good spirits and acting normal...eating, drinking and sleeping well, thankfully cause we have a lot to do this weekend. DH's cousin's b-day, SIL in town and hopefully some relaxing at the end of it all!

 

[puffy]

mela, congrats!! i have 2 boys and honestly i wouldn't have it any other way now just because i see how close they are getting. i see my little N loving his older brother more and more every day and mr. affectionate B giving N all the kisses and hugs in the world and every time he does, N just loves it. he'll sometimes wrap his arms around B, but i'm thinking it's more coincidence than anything else.

PJ, poor little man. it sounds like he's doing well, but his poor little booty! OUCH!! hope it heals quickly.

tacori, a princess party for the princess!! it is just way too funny that almost 3 year old kids have such an opinion about their birthday party.

hope everyone is having a good weekend! i am pooped. it was a long day. it was a beautiful day here so i took the kids to the aquarium and the park. they loved it and went to bed a little bit early. so i'm going to pop in a movie and enjoy some ice cream. take care mommies!!

 

[miraclesrule]

Woot, woot...I graduated to the next thread. VedaBug turned 1!! Yippee. We need a Gramma thread.

 

[miraclesrule]

I'm catching up on this thread and everyone's stories and pictures. I cannot believe how adorable the kids are on PS. Not just how physically cute they are...but their unique and adorable incredibly personalities. We should start a random "Out of the Mouth of Babes" type thing where we could post some of the funny, cute, random, charming, etc...things the kids do and/or say.

 

[Pandora II]

Wow, that is some cake!

Any pics of the birthday girl???

 

[Blenheim]

Mela - Congrats! As much as I would like a daughter, I think it would be great for George to have a little brother so that they can do boy things together. It should be so much fun for Romeo when they're old enough to really play.

Miracle - Aw, what an awesome cake! Congrats on moving up to the toddler thread.

As for me - We were kind of lax about following FAM rules this month and I've felt kind of bummed today that AF is showing up right now. Maybe that's a sign that we should move up our #2 timeline? Decisions, decisions.

 

[taovandel]

Move it up--Move it up!!!

 

[pavelover]

Hi I haven't been here forever- and all of your kids are sooo cute and so big since I've last seen them!
Tyler loves green peas- it seems so strange cause many people do not care for them. I use the frozen C&W I believe and they are very sweet and quite good.

 

[pavelover]

Hi Tacori! It will take me forever to say hi to everyone as I havent been here for a bit but I just had to say your daughter is so cute and she's sure not a baby anymore!

 

[pavelover]

Blenheim
I hope its ok to ask you this as I havent been here for a while- Have a 21 m.o. and baby no 2 decision is one of the things that brought me back here- that and the cute kids here! Im having pangs for no2 but also am scared cause of the work and the fact that dh works alot. What was your original timeline if you don't mind me asking?

 

[pavelover]

Hi Blen
I don't have any tips so much as to say we had two moves in the past few months- one to a temporary house in the Philippines from U.S. and then to our permanent house a month later. I was concerned that it would be tough on Tyler but he didnt really seem phased by either move. I know every child is different but it wasn't too bad.
I tried to bring many of his favorites in our carry ons/packed bags so he would have access to the familiar. the rest of our belongings came in 2 months time. I tried to do the same bedtime routine like you said. So maybe clearly pack suitcases or boxes with his favs so you are not ripping through boxes looking for his favorites.
I tried to do the same bedtime routine like you said. I had been doing cry it out at home (in the U>S>)for the night time sleep- and he was sleeping on his own or if he awoke would go back to sleep in a few minutes time.when I moved, I gave him a couple of weeks leway(Sp?) where I would go to him, bf and comfort him because I was worried that he would be freaked out in a new place. After that time he started going back to sleep on his own with me going to him. During the day, he did not seem concered with new surroundings as much as excited.
Hope that was hlepful.

 

[fieryred33143]

Good morning ladies

I hope everyone's weekend was fun! Sucks that it's Monday.

All of you ladies talking about #2 is scaring me. I am so not there and won't be for a while.

Miracle-that cake is fabulous! Wow Veda is 1 already. Time flies. Happy Birthday to her!
Mela-congrats again on a boy! I can't wait to hear the name choices!!
PJ-hope Axel's rash cleared up and that he's feeling better.
Blen-congrats on making the move into your house!

Pandora-the leash comment cracked me up! I feel your pain. Sophia will barely eat at the table. She rather I feed her in between playing and doing her own thing which can take hours. I have to reheat her food 3-4 times since she won't eat cold food either

Everything here is well. Lots of scrapes and bruises with the walking. I'm starting to count words because I'll be asked at the 15 month appointment and I have no idea what she says (with meaning...she repeats a lot of stuff but doesn't know what it means). So far she knows agua (water), leche (milk), hello, hola, bye, night-night, bird, stop, and the usual names (mama, papa, etc.). I think she knows how to say yes but I'm not sure. I'll ask her if she wants something and she says "des" while nodding so I'm guessing des = yes. I'm trying to teach her thank you but that's one that she just repeats without really getting it (she says "an you" but only after we say it.) There are some words I'm surprised she doesn't know yet like up and down since we say it a million times.

In two weeks will be my first international trip away from her We both have skype so we need to figure out how to use it. Anyone know how?

 

[ChinaCat]

HI Fiery!!!!!

That is a lot of words to me! O sort of says dog, kitty, dada, up. But not really, I mean, you have to interpret, if you know what I mean? He does the sign language for everything and he knows what I am saying- like if I say, where's O's chair? He'll go sit in his chair. Or if I ask him where the dog is, or if he wants milk, etc., he goes and looks for it. But the words are a bit jumbled.

As far as skype- let me know if you can't figure it out, I can ask DH. I think you sign up, and then you each have a "number" or an aol screen name and then you "call" each other. How long will you be gone?

Hi Pavelover! Nice to "see" you again! How is Tyler doing?

AFM- O went from a sweet, independent baby to a screeching, needy creature! WTF? My nanny asked if I was pregnant, cause I guess babies can react that way. I am NOT, btw! He is just really clingy, and if I am trying to do anything in the kitchen, just stands at my feet and SCREECHES to be picked up. Argh! I can deal with the clinginess, but the screeching is putting me at my wit's end. Plus of course the refusal to take afternoon naps for me (but he does for the nanny) and the sudden refusal to feed himself. It was a lovely weekend. On the other hand, in between bouts of crazy child, he is still so freaking funny. We got his first haircut this weekend. Momma does NOT like. It went fine, they were really sweet and he didn't really cry. But I HATE it. I loved his long hair, and he had this one little curl behind his ear. I know it will grow, but he just looks like such a grown kid now and not a baby. I know it needed it, but we won't be cutting it again for awhile.

I tell you, sweet easy O made me think #2 was possible. Screech monkey O is putting the kibosh on those thoughts! Maybe that's his evil plan?

 

[Burk]

Miracles~That cake is so stinking cute. I hope it tasted equally as good!

China~probably just a phase and, while annoying right now, he'll probably be over it soon. Good luck in the mean time!

HI to everyone else!! I just wanted to pop in and say operation no more binky was a success!!! She absolutely bought into the Binky Fairy and we have been binky-free since Friday night!!!