PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

[amc80]

Quick question for all of you: are your toddlers really particular about things? Like hands getting dirty, toys being a certain way, food being cut a certain way, etc.? I know that toddlers can be that way, just trying to figure out if my kid is a little OCD. She doesn't like it when her cups leak, she doesn't like getting her hands dirty, she likes her doll a certain way in the stroller...you get the idea. I try to encourage her to get her hands a little dirty when she eats, not worry about milk that leaks from a cup, but I'm worried that she's inherited our bad OCD genes.

Certain things. He doesn't like his hands dirty (refuses to finger paint). He also wants all doors to be closed. But that could just be because he likes to shut them? I don't know. Other than that, no. He's a tornado.

 

[monkeyprincess]

amc, Ev only weighs maybe 23 pounds and the cat is like 19 pounds, so there was no way it was happening. My fat cat, bless his heart, puts up with a lot of crap from Ev. He tolerates rough patting and hugging and getting laid on top of by him. The other cat wised up pretty fast that it was best to leave the room as soon as Ev comes in. He could literally spend a half hour saying "hi kitty" over and over to the cats. That was his first word/phrase.

NEL, yes, my kid is one of the funniest people I know, which sounds ridiculous because he is only 15 months old, but I swear he has such a good sense of humor and loves to make us laugh. I've known a few kids who are very particular like Katie, and I'm sure she just knows what she likes. Ev is all boy, and he is actually pretty gross and not very particular most of the time. I wish he was more into being clean and orderly to be honest.

Pupp, hi! How are things going with you and your boys?

JGator, the Mirror Me book is not one I would have found very interesting, but it turned out to be one of his favorites. Does K like to be read to or look at books with you? Ev could do it for hours, but he is always rushing to turn the page, so I have to speed read and abbreviate the books. That's funny you mentioned him seeming advanced because we just had his 15-month well baby appointment this morning, and based on the questions they were asking to guage his development, I was feeling kind of bad like he wasn't very advanced. But I agree with what LC said, there is a wide range of what is normal and when kids start doing certain things. I have a feeling K is storing up a lot of skills in that little head and body of hers and is going to blow you away one of these days. It's hard not to compare to other kids though, isn't it?!

Freke, A's hair is cute, but I can understand the unmanageable part. We cut Ev's hair shortly after his first birthday, and he is definitely in need of another probably this weekend. His hair is fine and wispy, but it was getting unruly and long, and he started to be mistaken for a "pretty girl." Once DH heard that a couple times in one weekend, to the hair salon we went

AFU, we had the 15 month appointment this morning, and holy cow! He freaked the heck out. I think it is because he has had to go to the doctor so many times between having surgery to remove his dermoid cyst and having to be monitored for his scoliosis, but once the nurse walked in, it was over. I felt like I had a workout after wrestling with him the whole time. Poor kid. The doctor and nurse all told me the 18 month appointment tends to be the worst, but after that, they can be reasoned with a bit better. I sure hope so!

 

[amc80]

MP- do we have the same kid and the same cats? B does the same thing to our bigger cat. I've even seen him pulling him, by the tail, across the kitchen. Poor cat. The other cat is a bit...smarter...and runs away. So B's favorite new thing is to chase the kitty everywhere. He also meows to them, which comes out as a super high pitched, really annoying noise. Our cats are super talkative so the "conversations" can go on for a while.

Oh, and B hated his 15 month appointment. He doesn't mind the doctor but he starts screaming as soon as he sees the nurse.

 

[lliang_chi]

MP, hooray for Ev's 15 month appt, but aw poor bub for freaking out. Ethan also freaked out @ his 15 and 18M appointments. We have his 2yr appt next month, so we'll see how that goes. We're also doing the dentist for the first time next week. I'll keep you posted on that too. My guess is it's not going to go well. So funny about Ev and the kitties. He sounds like a riot. Ethan also LOVES LOVES LOVES reading too. My mom loves it because he doesn't see her too often and it's one of the few things she can always get him to climb in her lap to do with her. Ethan tries singing a lot now too. Jingle Bells, Row Row Row Your Boat, Twinkle Twinkle, ABCs (which has the same tune as Twinkle Twinkle), Wheels on the Bus, etc. It's ADORABLE!

JG, glad you were able to try some other food with K. And the new teeth would definitely explain why she's had such a rough time with overnight sleeps. Honestly teething was the WORST! Hugs mama, I'm sending you some sleep dust for you and your sweetie pie.

Freke, A has lovely curls. Glad the bed transition went OK.

Pupp great to see you. Hoping things are going well with you and your boys

NEL, Ethan is particular with anything stringy on his hand like noodles, slices of onions, melted cheese. But anytihng else he's super gross. He's particular about his toys but it's only valid for one/some # of play sessions. E.g. if he's playing with his blocks and animals and if I move something "NOOOOOOOO!" until I move it back. But he likes lining things up, like blocks, animals, etc.

 

[pancake]

A flurry of activity on this thread in the last 48 hours!

NEL and LC - TT has gone really well, thanks! We basically just went cold turkey (nappy off but no undies) after Christmas and would just watch her like a hawk. When she started peeing we would scoot her over to the potty (which we keep in the room). For the first couple of days she just seemed to pee wherever, whenever, and we rarely caught any in the potty as it was so fast! But whenever she did get any in the potty we would make a big song and dance of it and she would get a "special sticker" on her wee and poo chart.

Abruptly on the 3rd morning she just started saying, "Wee time!" or "Toilet?" and since then we've only had 2 wee accidents and 1 poo accidents, and none in the last week or so. She went back to daycare on Monday (just a half day) and I worried about how she'd go in undies and shorts but she was fine - no accidents. For naps she's still in a nappy but we usually get her to try and do a wee before she goes down and 80% of the time she wakes up dry. Overnight, she wets heavily if we let her chat on waking but if we get her up as SOON as she wakes up then she will often have a dry or dryish nappy and will wee in the toilet. It will be a while before she's trained for sleeps because she's still in a cot with the side up, so there seems little point in trying to get her in undies at sleep times.

Since training she is definitely holding her wee for longer now. Before she got the hang of it she probably weed every 60-90 minutes? But since consistently going to the potty she's only doing 3-4 a day. No issues with poos, she just sits on the potty when she needs to go.

At home she's still mostly a nudie from the waist down (granted, we're in a heatwave at the moment and we have temps of >105F all week so she's mostly completely nude!) but we've introduced undies for the car, daycare, etc.

I suspect it's much easier to train now (before 2) than in about 6 months time. Less of a battle of wills.

 

[FrekeChild]

Freke- Her hair is SO cute! We've gotten B many haircuts. His hair isn't baby hair- it's adult hair. It's not fine and whispy- it's thick and plentiful. I just took him for a cut yesterday, actually. He was sobbing. But he sat really still, so that is the upside.

And thank you for the description of the bed. We are a few months away from having to move B to a bed and it really freaks me out.

No problem! I can take a picture too if you would like?

 

[amc80]

Freke- Her hair is SO cute! We've gotten B many haircuts. His hair isn't baby hair- it's adult hair. It's not fine and whispy- it's thick and plentiful. I just took him for a cut yesterday, actually. He was sobbing. But he sat really still, so that is the upside.

And thank you for the description of the bed. We are a few months away from having to move B to a bed and it really freaks me out.

No problem! I can take a picture too if you would like?

That would be great. I think the plan is to put B in the queen bed in the guest room. It is fairly high off the ground so I'm very interested.

 

[JGator]

Pancake, how exciting about S being potty trained. I hope I am so fortunate when it's time for K to learn.

LC, thanks for the sleep dust! It worked. Keep it coming!!!!

MP, K loves books. She does turn the pages quickly too so I have to read fast. She has a basket with books in it, and she'll dump the whole thing over and go through most of them page by page on her own, but she also likes it when I read to her. She doesn't really interact though when I ask her where things are on the page - sometimes she will point to the wrong thing or mostly ignore me. We have a book with mirrors on each page with animals (her face is in the middle of each animal) called Who Loves You Baby that she loves. Sorry to hear Ev's 15 month appt was tough - thanks for the heads up though!

NEL, thanks - I do get through it by telling myself she will someday sleep, and I will also get to sleep! Last night was a success though!

Pupp, thanks for chiming in. You are right. It is definitely a habit. She slept horribly pretty much from 4 months on, but got better when we were away visiting my in-laws for some reason - maybe the pack n play or time difference. It has been horrible since we got back home in early December. I think if I can get K down to 1 bottle at night, I will feel a lot better.

AFU, K only woke up once for a watered down bottle last night at around 415am and then she was up for the day at 730am. So, I'm super happy today. Not sure if it will be a consistent thing, but I am hopeful. She had white beans and carrots from a soup I made and almost an entire avocado for dinner last night. I will likely give her that again tonight to see if it had anything to do with it! For breakfast she had greek yogurt and fresh raspberries and was very interested in trying to feed herself with a spoon. Yesterday, she started signing More and Please regularly when she wants more of something to eat which I was so happy to see! Her nanny has been teaching her sign language for a while, but it seems to be clicking now.

 

[lliang_chi]

Pancake, sigh I wish it was warm enough to let Ethan go nakey for potty training. It's pretty cold, and we always have to crack a window/sliding door whenever we run the dryer (which is pretty much all the time w/cloth diapers and regular laundry). Maybe we'll do the waist down nakey-ness around April when it's a little bit warmer out. It might help with the poop. But we also have a dog and the thought of her consuming any of Ethan's poop makes me go

JGator, Hooray for K!!!! I'm so glad she had a good sleep last night. If she did it once, you know she can do it again. I think her dinner sounded delicious, so hopefully she'll eat it again. What a nice combo of lean protein, veggies and healthy fats. So glad she's into using spoons etc.

AFU: last night for the first time EVER, we had Family Dinner on a weekday. DH left work early enough to pick up Ethan so I was able to come home and straight away start making dinner (after walking the dog). It helped that we were eating quick to put together food like salmon and fried rice, but all the same it made me so happy to be able to do that. I'm making it a point to try to do Family Dinner as often as possible, definitely on the weekends and try to do it at least once a week. You'd think I could get my butt together on the wknds, but I've been in the bad habit of looking @ the clock and saying, "Eh, it's just 4PM, we don't eat till 8. I've got time." NO, LC, Ethan eats @ 6:30, so you need to get off your duff and start dinner.

Does anyone else do family dinner at home? How does it work for you?

 

[monkeyprincess]

JGator, yay, sounds like yesterday was a good day. We really do just let Ev eat almost everything we eat or a more mild kid-friendly version of it. Granted, he has several teeth, but we started doing that before he had a lot of teeth, and he will pretty much eat anything now. Here's to another great day of eating and sleeping!

LC, that's too bad you don't get to have family dinners that often. We pretty much eat dinner as a family every night, but that is because DH and I are both almost always home before 6:30. And now that I'm on a reduced billable hour requirement, I get home before 5 or 5:30 most evenings. DH does most of the cooking at our house, and we don't usually do anything to elaborate or gourmet, so that makes it easier to throw something together before Ev gets too hungry.

amc, I do think we have the same kid and cat. I can relate to all of that! Too funny. I do feel bad for the cats because life has certainly changed for them. We are working really hard on getting to be gentle, and we always say "nice kitty" and show him how to pet them. So now he always yells "ni ni ni" when he pets them, but he still doesn't quite get the gentle part.

 

[Kunzite]

pancake, I think you've inspired me to do the same with E in a few months. Right now he's very stubborn and has a lot of tantrums, but I can only imagine he'll be worse after 2! He's a great communicator though so hopefully we'll be successful.

Jgator, just popping in to say yippy to a good night! I hope you have many more. E just stopped having a bottle at night about a month ago. He reached rock bottom (awake at night for 3+ hours) so we moved M back into our room and just let him cry. It worked on the first night which just shows that we were the problem

NEL, O is the same way and his OT just has us try to push him with things. It helps that the twins aren't like that so we can do things with them and then he'll join sometimes. It's especially helpful that they love to make messes because he suddenly wants to make a mess with them! I asked her point blank at what point does it turn from being a quirk to being a problem and she said when it starts to interfere with daily life (she worded it much better than that but you get the idea).

ETA: LC, we don't currently do family dinner. My DH gets home at 5:20 and the kids eat at 5:30 which is 1. Not enough time to cook unless I try to do it before he gets home (not happening, someone would end up in the ER) and 2. Way too early for us to eat! So we eat after the kids are asleep at 7:30. We'll try to go back to all eating together when we can all eat closer to 6:30 or so.

I know a lot of people on here are trying for #2 and I just have to say that I LOVE having these guys so close in age. We have tension every now and then but for the most part they're best friends, they seriously adore each other.

O is in an Early Pre-K program and E watches him every morning as the bus leaves

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Kunzite, that picture of E is so stinkin' cute. There are moments I think I'm crazy for having 2 kids within 2 years, but for the most part I'm really looking forward to the days when they play together...I just hope they have a close relationship. I never had siblings close in age and always wished I had.

LC, lately I've really been trying to have family dinners when possible. I'm so jealous of those who can do that often!

We mostly do family dinners on the weekend. I use to take weekends off from cooking, but now that it's my only time to cook, I tend to do most of my cooking on the weekends. We eat out 1 - 2x on the weekends (for lunch or dinner) and the other meals I make, including breakfasts.

Weekdays are much tougher. I get home at 6:15 and K eats at 6:30. I try to re-heat meals from the weekend (or meals I make after she goes to bed during the week), but that does not happen every night. I'd say half of the nights I throw together something for her, then cook D and I dinner after she goes to bed. Then there are nights like tonight where I do daycare pickup and D doesn't get home until late, so I make something for her and end up having a bowl of cereal.

I like for K to eat home-cooked meals as often as possible...and I like sitting down and eating the same thing with her. It just doesn't happen as often as I want.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Kunzite, what a sweet picture. I had hoped to have kids really close in age, but that is turning out not to be the plan for me. Hopefully soon!

Question for all of you. I was just looking over our print out from the doctors from yesterday's appointment, and Ev has really moved on the growth charts. He used to be tall and skinny, but now he is pretty average on both charts. Is it weird that my kid hasn't grown in height much at all since 9 months? He used to be in 80-90% for height up until about 9 months, and now he is around 50%. I believe he is 31.5 inches now, which isn't much taller than he was at 9 months. Also, his weight is steadily going up the charts. He was about 23.5 pounds yesterday, which is about 60% on the growth chart. He used to be more like 25%. I'm not surprised he is average now because DH and I both pretty average height and weight, but I'm just concerned about how he seems to be slowing in growth and speeding up in weight. He has a very healthy appetite, but I don't think we are overfeeding him. I think we are going to cut back on his milk consumption because he probably ends up having 30 oz. a day. The doctor suggested switching him to 2% milk from as well.

 

[mlk]

JGator, yay for a great night with K. Well done mama! Lets hope it continues!

MP I can't comment much on the weight gain but I would've thought if you and your DH were pretty average in height then Ev's height would level off at some stage. I have been looking into nutrition a lot lately and I'm not sure if it the same in the US or not but the lower fat milk often contains more sugar than full fat and that fat is actually supposed to be what our body needs and shouldn't be looked at as something bad. Maybe someone else can chime in on this?

NEL, I think two close in age, especially same sex siblings is wonderful, but thesis coming from an only child! A friend of mine will have a 15 month age gap and two others 17 month age gaps. Ut I think 2 years is just about perfect.

Kuzinite, such a cute picture of E. well done on your one night of CIO!

LC, while we done have a proper family dinner as L really doesn't eat much finger food, I normally give him his purée at 5.30 and then when DH and I have our dinner around 6.30 I put L in his high chair if he is in a good mood and give him some finger food to play with.

Pancake, well done S for toilet training so well. I bet the warmer weather must help with nakey time. Hope you are both coping with the heat wave

Amc, so funny about B and the cats. L is a bit of a tornado too although he is not walking yet. We went to the beach with my MG yesterday and it was just a disaster as he would not stay and play with the other babies, put dirt all in my lunch and then rubbed dirt all through his eyes! In the middle of posting he has just tore up DH's book!

Hi Pupp, how are your boys going?

Freke, A is such a pretty girl and what lovely curls. Hopefully she doesn't lose them when you give her a trim.

Monarch, A looks like such a little character and is just beautiful.

AFM we are dealing with more teeth and all the joy that brings. So far L's sleep hasn't been effected but he is not eating much and has been projectile vomiting at least once a day for the last 5 or so. I really thought we had got over this stage but teething just seems to bring back his reflux or something. He can now stand for 30 seconds or so without holding onto anything and is trying to get to standing from the ground by himself. Not sure how long it will be until he takes a step but I can only imagine what he will be getting into once he can!

Has anyone else had an issue with lumps and finger food. Anything with lumps L will either refuse it completely or will find the lump and spit it out. Finger food he will suck on, bite off a piece and play with it in his mouth but then spit it out. So basically we are only on smooth purees. Oh and he will not eat my homemade purees only ones which come out of a pouch. Fussy boy I have!

Here is a pic of the cheeky boy and what he has been up to!

 

[monarch64]

LC, I totally forgot to answer you last week about how Alex gets along with Daisy. The dog is very good about letting Alex climb over her, sit on her, pat her head, and hug her. But there are times when she's just had enough of being "loved" and just gets up and walks away. Having watched them interact nearly every day for the past several months, I am 99% confident that there will never be a problem, but that 1% of uncertainty means that I never leave them alone together. If I need to run upstairs or do something in another room I crate Daisy.

Family dinners--we usually do Sundays. I like summer better because I like to use fresh produce from the garden, but winter is ok too because we make soups or something in the crock pot often, things that don't require a lot of time and skill to put together. I have been letting Alex practice sitting in a regular dining chair, which she thinks is like the most fun ever. She is *almost* tall enough to get by without a booster.

When are kids supposed to start using their own utensils instead of eating with hands? Alex has also been practicing with spoons and forks (the kiddie kind), and also with tea spoons (the long handled kind you use in iced tea). Someone gave us several of those for her 1st birthday and said that the long handles provide more leverage and make it easier for little hands. She doesn't do very well at all with any of these things. I guess I should be asking at what age are they coordinated enough to not make a giant mess? Ha.

I can't resist posting this pic I took of her today. Today's hair ribbons stayed in for a record 3 hours!

 

[lliang_chi]

Monnie, aw sweet. Yes Quizas definitely gets tired of Ethan attention. And she has a habit of always coming up and licking the heck out of him when we come home from daycare, or first thing in the mornign or after his nap. Y'know when he's LEAST tolerant, so it inevitable ends with yelling and tears. "NNOOOOOO! Quizas!" He's started to tell her "Walk away" because that's what the daycare teachers tell kiddos when they want them to stop doing something. Maybe I should train that command for Quizas, lol.
Ethan started using utensils at 14 or 15 months. At daycare they all use it so the peer pressure has him using it more. When he eats with us, he'll use his spoons/forks more too, but he does default to his hands a lot. And he still makes big messes, but it depends on what he's eating. Yogurt, for sure, but apple sauce, pasta and cereal he's pretty neat.

MLK, I think it's not unusual for kiddos to be particular about food texture. I say, keep trying and it'll click one day. It's nice that you do family dinner together. I'm sorry about the teething. I remember reading that teething can also cause easy vomiting etc. I know Ethan used to puke a few times when he was teething too (if he worked himself up too much). Now that he's got all his teeth in, we haven't had much of that so far (knock on wood).

MP, if you and your DH are average height then I wouldn't be too concerned with the length drop. As far as the weight, it doesn't seem like your pedi is alarmed just yet. Maybe just tweak his diet (2% milk, etc) and at his 18M the pedi will re-evaluate. If you feel like he's getting a healthy balance and I'd just go with your gut. So wonderful that you have family dinner together every night. It's something I'll definitely strive for if/when we get on a decent schedule (that is DH coming home before 7PM)

NEL, yes your weekday schedule sounds exactly like our schedule. I get home with Ethan when I pick him up from daycare and heat up whatever I made the night before. Then when he's in bed, I make dinner for me and J. Lather rinse repeat. If J doesn't eat with us at all, I'll just snack. But if there's no leftovers for J when he gets home, I feel a little guilty so I make something for him. Unless I'm mad/annoyed with him then I let him fend for himself.

Kunzite Aw, sounds like having the boys so close in age is good for all of them. Does O ever feel "left out" because his brothers are twins? Sis and I used to really exclude my brother a lot when we were in grade school. I feel really bad about it now, but he was "mean" and "beat us up." So cute that they're so close and play so well together. If it were up to me, I'd love to have our 2nd 2-2.5 yrs after Ethan's birthday, but alas, not in the cards for us. Ethan turns 2 next month.

 

[pancake]

Question for all of you. I was just looking over our print out from the doctors from yesterday's appointment, and Ev has really moved on the growth charts. He used to be tall and skinny, but now he is pretty average on both charts. Is it weird that my kid hasn't grown in height much at all since 9 months? He used to be in 80-90% for height up until about 9 months, and now he is around 50%. I believe he is 31.5 inches now, which isn't much taller than he was at 9 months. Also, his weight is steadily going up the charts. He was about 23.5 pounds yesterday, which is about 60% on the growth chart. He used to be more like 25%. I'm not surprised he is average now because DH and I both pretty average height and weight, but I'm just concerned about how he seems to be slowing in growth and speeding up in weight. He has a very healthy appetite, but I don't think we are overfeeding him. I think we are going to cut back on his milk consumption because he probably ends up having 30 oz. a day. The doctor suggested switching him to 2% milk from as well.

Hey MP, I'm a paed endocrinologist and growth is something that we deal with a lot. Growth over the first year to two years sees children largely settling at their genetic potential, assuming that nutrition is adequate and there are no significant medical issues. If he was tall compared to what your and DH's heights suggest he "should be", then the pattern is probably just a matter of him coming back to what his genes dictate.

Weight on the 60th when height is on the 50th is not an issue, but if there is a consistent trend of crossing weight centiles upwards, then it's worth revisiting the diet just in case. Remember also that measuring length supine (which is how babies are measured until they can stand) is notoriously unreliable.

Overall, it's a longitudinal thing so I don't think you need to worry about it too much. Just see what the pattern is over the next couple of months.

30oz of milk is definitely too much at this age though so I think cutting back on that is a good idea. 20oz would be plenty, less would also be fine.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Thanks Pancake, I was hoping you'd weigh in. Dh is right at 6 feet, and my brother and dad are just over 6 feet, so I'm guessing that's about where he'll end up except he might end up a bit shorter due to his hemivertebrae. I'm just over 5'6 so not that tall. Anyway, he was kicking and screaming the last couple times they measured him, so I'm guessing a few of those aren't accurate. We cut out on one of his sippys of milk yesterday, so that is a start. We don't give him juice, and he only sips on water. I worry he won't get enough to drink if we cut back milk too much. Oh and he just started walking a month ago and pretty much moves non-stop do hopefully more activity will help. But I'm definitely going to watch it to make sure he doesn't continue the trend!

 

[pancake]

Don't worry for a second about his fluid intake - if he needs more he'll drink more. Kids don't let themselves get consistently hungry or thirsty, primitive drives are too strong!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Don't worry for a second about his fluid intake - if he needs more he'll drink more. Kids don't let themselves get consistently hungry or thirsty, primitive drives are too strong!

Of course you're right! So silly to worry about.

 

[Kunzite]

NEL, I worry about how close they'll each be too, especially since there is an odd number of them! Like right now, E & O are super close and it makes me feel bad for M. I'm sure it will change a million times over the years (and it's out of my hands!).

MP, O was like that. He would gain a lot of weight (to the point of looking chubby!) and then a few weeks later he would shoot up in height! It was like he couldn't do both at the same time Like pancake said, we've also had some really bad measurements in the past too.

mlk, O had sensory issues with food for quite awhile. He was still eating his fruits and veggies in a pouch until very recently. He slowly got over it, we just kept offering. As long as he doesn't have other sensory issues I don't think it's cause for alarm, just being picky!

Monnie, A-Dorable!

LC, O doesn't feel left out because him and E are like two peas in a pod! M is developmentally delayed so I don't think he has that twin connection with E that everyone likes to talk about. It's really like having 3 at different ages. O & E still adore M though, he just doesn't "get" playing with them.

 

[lliang_chi]

Kunzite, aw so cute that E & O are thick as thieves. And your boys are all so close in age, I'm sure they're going to have a tightly brotherly connection, not just the twin connection. Heart swell! I remember you said you take M to OT etc. How do you find it going? Is it helping him catch up to the "typical toddler"??

MP, I think Ethan does the same thing that Kunzite said O did, get chubby then shoot up, repeat. And your DH and family being 6ft sounds tall to me. Maybe Ev is going to end up a bit above average in height. I love everything Pancake had to say, and she definitely is the expert Sounds like Ev's getting a really balance diet, so go mama!

~LC

 

[amc80]

PM- 5'6" is about 2 inches above average for a woman, and I think the average man is somewhere around 5'10", so you are both above average. Don't sell yourself short. Heehee, like what I did there?

B was fussy all night. He would wake up about once an hour, whine a bit, and then go back to sleep. This morning DH said that he looked bigger so we measured him...and he's 35", and inch taller than at his 15 month appointment two months ago. I know he didn't grow an inch overnight, but it sure seems like that. Does anyone else have kid who seem to literally grow overnight?

Tonight is B's first "gymnastics" class. I'm excited, it will be so cute.

 

[monkeyprincess]

amc, thanks I feel so much taller now You know what I mean though. It's not like I'm 5'10" and DH is 6'4" or something. That's what I consider tall. Hopefully Ev is just storing up for a growth spurt. I don't particularly care if he ends up tall or short as an adult; I just want to make sure he is growing normally. And wow, B is a big kid! Ev would like such a shrimp compared to him and he's only a couple months younger. I read somewhere that kids really do sometimes grow overnight. You'll have to post pictures of the gymnastics!

Kunzite and LC, I hope that is what is happening with Ev and he's just storing away some fat for a growth spurt. He grew like a weed for awhile, but I just feel like he's been the same height for so long and hasn't needed to move out of his 12 month pants. But he does have a long torso like his dad, so that is probably part of the reason. I'm the opposite and have really long legs and a short torso

MLK, your son is so cute and looks like he is thriving after his early start. I checked and the 2% and whole milk had the exact same amount of sugar, but thanks for bringing that up just in case. We'll see if he notices a difference. The boy really likes his milk!

Monarch, the nurse we saw earlier this week said kids should start using utensils around 18 months. Not sure if that is the norm or what though. If so, we are way behind! I probably just need to stop worrying about the mess and let him go to town. I think they will work with him at daycare on that too though once he moves up to the next room later this month.

 

[Kunzite]

LC, M is in Early Intervention so they have an entire team of specialists that come out to see him: OT, PT, ST, Special Ed, Audiology, and an ASD specialist. So I feel good that he's being monitored on all fronts. His delay is language (not just speech but understanding language) so I'm eager for the ST to come out next week, I think it's been a month since she was out. Last time she was out she was starting to get more concerned, as is our pedi. He's now on the waitlist (7+ months!!) to see a developmental pediatrician and our ped's office is working with insurance to get him chromosome testing. So at this point we wait and see. Since he picks up visual cues we're going to push signing really hard while we wait.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Ah Kunzite, I'm sorry to hear of M's struggles. That must be so hard to see as a mom. Lots of thoughts and prayers headed your way that you able to find some answers and get him the help he needs as soon as possible. He's lucky to have such a proactive mom looking out for him.

 

[dani13]

Hi all

Happy New Year!!! How's everyone doing? I'm trying to check in and post more around here!!! Things are going great with us.
L has been walking since 11 months, he's talking a ton.... Just an amazing little boy!! He keeps us on our toes though, that's for sure!!
We signed him up for a music class starting this weekend, so looking forward to that. He loves music and loves to dance, so I think he will really enjoy it.

How are my fellow fall 2012 mamas!? MP, Rachel, JG, AMC....sorry if I'm missing others, I feel like my brain is fried right now. How are your kiddos? I see many of you are in the TTC camp already...that's great! We are def looking forward to having more children, but are not looking to try again until at least springtime. For now, we are just really enjoying our time with our little man, just the 3 of us!!!!

 

[JGator]

Dani, welcome back to PS! Glad to hear L is doing well. Let me know how the music class goes. I am looking into a class called Music Together for K which apparently is available all over the US.

Kunzite, that picture of E in the window is just precious! I can't believe the wait list is so long for a developmental pediatrician. I really hope something opens up soon for M. I'm glad to hear that the boys are so close. My sister and I are 18 months apart and we have always been super close.

AMC, wow B is so tall. We have friends who have 25 month old twins, and I think they are around 35 or 36 inches tall and they are in the 90% for height at 2 years old. They only weigh 25 or 26 lbs though so are low for weight. How did gymnastics go? I bet he will really excel at all things physical.

Monnie, I thought the long handled spoons were more for adults to feed kids and too difficult for kids to feed themselves with. I started giving K short spoons and sporks recently and she's able to feed herself stuff that can be stabbed or sticks to the spoon like yogurt - otherwise, it falls off before she gets it to her mouth. Our 2-year old friends are using sporks primarily and they also still use their hands sometimes. Love, love, love the pigtails as always!!!

MLK, sorry to hear about the projectile vomiting. K has only done that once when she had a stomach bug. I feel for you. I'm glad the teeth have not affected his sleep though. How many teeth does L have? K typically doesn't like anything lumpy, but she did eat eggs with tomatoes and spinach in them today. I think you just have to keep trying. Have you given him avocado or pear chunks - cut up small? Easily mashable by the gums? Those are things K has been eating for a while.

MP, we give K whole milk, but every doctor at our practice has different advice/recommendations. Our usual doctor told us to give K whole milk. One of the other doctors we saw told us that they used to recommend whole milk because they thought the fat helped with brain development, but they found out it doesn't. My DH heard that and said he wants to give her whole milk in case there is a chance it does impact brain development! I switched K from Yo Baby whole milk yogurt to Chobani greek yogurt recently because I noticed the protein is twice as high, and I think that's much more important for her (thinking sleeping!) than the fat content benefits!!! Don't worry about the movement on the chart for height/weight. I think they do slow down their weight gain - primarily due to the increased activity. And, they probably just go through growth spurts on height as well.

LC, great to hear about your family dinners. We usually don't do them on weekdays either even though I work from home as we just never seem to have the time. K usually eats first and we eat late after she's asleep. I do think she would benefit from seeing us eat with her though.

AFU, we had a great night last night - K only got up once at 1am for some rocking back to sleep and did not have a bottle at all overnight - HUGE progress. The night before she was up a lot (I think teething was a factor as she was whimpering) - I was exhausted, but I held steady and only gave her one bottle around 4am, and she was up for the day really early at 6am (probably because I didn't give her a bottle to get back to sleep). So, as of today, I'm optimistic again that she made it without a bottle all night and did not get up as often as usual last night. I can't remember when the last time was that she had no bottle overnight! She also had a huge breakfast this AM egg muffins with tomato, cheese, and spinach and greek yogurt. Thank you all for your advice and direction to focus on the the food as it definitely seems to have made a huge impact on her sleep! I'm really concentrating on protein. We have another trial gym class for K this weekend.

 

[amc80]

Jgator- yay for the progress!!

B had an awesome time at gymnastics. He was a little confused on the first round through the various apparatus (what IS the plural of that?), but figured it all out by the second round. At the end of class there was circle time with stretching and dancing. He obviously doesn't understand stretching, but he loves to dance.

Here is a pic. Such concentration

 

[amc80]

And another