PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

[MustangGal]

TDM - I can''t believe he''ll be 1 already! The babies just keep getting older

. Swim wear might be a good addition, rash guards and trunks for A. I also got Kyle a fridge magnet set, Leap Frog makes a few different ones, we did the carwash, and also gave the alphabet one to a friend. Keeps him busy in the kitchen while I''m cooking (although it involves just throwing the magnets at this point). A set of balls might be good, we have a mini football, soccerball and basketball.

 

[mrssalvo]

tandogmom-check out tgals best toy thread. there are ton of great ideas perfect for toddlers. Jake got the little tikes basketball hoop for his 1st b-day and loves it. it grows with the kids so he'll get lots of years of play out of it. he also got a ride on car and still plays with that as well. i think both items are linked in tgals thread though.

here's the link: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-awesome-toy-thread.135390/

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Hey mamas. Just checking in. I am too behind to attempt to catch up. We had a great visit with my mom. Tessa was SO sad this morning (and confused) when she realized Grandma wasn''t here anymore. She kept asking for her. We had really warm weather so I posted some new pics on FB. I of course got sick when my mom was here but it was nice to have help since I wasn''t feeling 100%. Hope all the moms and tots had a great week!

 

[Burk]

Hello mommies!! I am so sorry to have dropped off the face of the earth...sleep has won out over PS time lately!

Things are going well around here. DH went back to work last Thursday and I was pretty nervous about being alone with both of them (K was a cluster feeding champ at that time

) but it''s actually gone quite smoothly. T has been an absolute dream for the most part (she has her 2 year-old moments of course). K had some serious latch issues in addition to wanting to cluster feed and was not productive with the shield

so we had a few rough days but seem to be doing better. He even had a 5 hour stretch last night (hence why I feel like I have enough energy to PS instead of nap while the two kiddos are napping!) I miss my PS mommy friends!

Gonna try and catch up a bit....

Dreamer~Welcome over!!

Diver~Thanks lady! I, too, have had terrible luck with Zumba and so wish I could take it with you as the instructor!!

mgal~Yay for Kyle!!

mrss~Thanks for thinking of us! I''m glad I''m not the only one that wasn''t so sure about how cute my kid was!

I do think he''s adorable now, but certainly was a bit worried in the beginning! Sounds like your brother''s game was a blast. I''m going to miss my little bro''s baseball games (he chose to play football in college),

Jas12~Good news on the positive u/s! Looking forward to hearing you got the "go ahead" for the home birth! Is it looking like the house will be completed by then? We''ve had more snow and temps in the teens again so no hole for us yet...I''m starting to get a bit anxious to get things going!! Have you listed your current house yet?

Tacori~Sounds like you had a great time with your mom!

lili~Glad you''re back! We were all worried!

to everyone else! I need to go move laundry before Miss T wakes from her nap! I hope to be around a little more from here on out!

 

[snlee]

Jas, great news on the u/s! That's wonderful!

MrsS, just reading about your trip makes me tired. Glad you had fun though. So cute about getting the baseball autographed!

Tacori, glad you and Tessa had fun with your mom!

Burk, QT, puffy, he! We miss you! I know you are all very busy though. Check in when you can and of course we'd love to see pictures!

D has started walking like a pro! He loves walking now! He's walking all over the place. No more slow frankenstein walk. It's exciting and so cute but so tiring. It's keeping me very busy! He's teething now too. I think his molars AND canines are all coming in at once. There's lots of bumps, swelling, and I can see a few white spots, and one purple spot. Oww! My poor little guy.

I had another u/s today! We saw our little blobby and the heartbeat! What a relief! HB was strong at 140. It measured 6w6d so my DD is 10/12/10, which is very close to D's DD so their birthdays will be close. With these measurements, I ovulated 3 days after we DTD. I'm thinking it's a girl since X sperm live longer. We don't have a strong preference for either. One of each would be great but also having another boy since we have lots of boy clothes already and I'm sure two boys would be best buds!

 

[puffy]

hey mommies!!! hope everyone''s doing well.

B''s been sick all weekend with a horrible cold..poor kid keeps coughing then can''t get back to sleep, his nose is red and dry from wiping it so much. and worse of all, he has been super clingy and refuses to do anything without me. so it''s been a crazy weekend here.

noah''s been a total dream...sleeping through everything. and when he is awake, he is happy just looking around, for now. he''s still been STTN, so i am very lucky. but during the weekend, noah was STTN and i was up every 2 hours checking on B.

hopefully i''ll be back to check in later. take care mommies!!

 

[jas]

Hi Mommies! Briefly dropping in…about 75% unpacked. Boys have learned from this and are unpacking all cabinets, drawers, and boxes within reach. Everytime I turn around, things are on the floor again. Sheesh. Such monkeys.

They have learned the very important “Uh oh” They do need to work on their application, though. “Uh oh” for them means anything that is not supposed to happen, whether they caused it or not. One will dump everything out of the dresser and then say, “uh oh.” My patience is being tested, as well as my ability to correct behaviors consistently and calmly.

I am in the mood for biscotti and will be making some later this week. Uh oh.

Jas12, I am so happy about your U/S results...sounds like they were as good as could be! Hooray!
Hey Burk!

to all my other PS mommies. I''m having ice cream. I can''t seem to shake the sweets cravings. Fortunately, the babies are big and picking them up is like weight training. Really stinky weight training.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Hahahaha! Jas, Amelia has the "uh-oh" down to a fine art. The milder it sounds, the more devastating the incident, as a rule of thumb. A quiet, short little Uh-oh means full scale destruction.

Since DH takes her to work with him a lot, there are a lot of senior government officials here who say it too. You know, when things go badly wrong with your running of a country, nothing sums it up quite like a toddler-style uh-oh. I''m waiting for one of them to say it at a press conference on tv.

 

[janinegirly]

burk: welcome back mommy of 2! Sounds like things are going great--hope the transition to having DH back to work is going smoothly. T sounds like she''s being a dream so far, she obviously loves being a big sister.

snlee: yay for the peanut''s heartbeat, that is the best!! You must be so happy, it''ll be really interesting having 2 with b''days right next to each other!! I''m saying girl for you .

tacori: glad to hear your mom''s visit went so well! Love the pics on FB, she is getting so big..I can''t believe how much changes from 18mos-2yrs, they really are little ladies now!! And those shoes, eek, need to find them!

jas: uh oh has made it''s way into C''s vocab too. Sounds more like "oh oh" though.

C is doing well and just so cute I can''t take it sometimes--I love this stage. Of course nothing comes for free and there are tantrums and she sure is demanding at times and says "no" pretty liberally. Toothbrushing is the most challenging-I know Tgal gives great tips, but they don''t work for me. She shakes her head as fast as she can and I can''t get in there. I hold her head and she screams and it''s not an easy scream to hear! Urgh, will keep working at it. Still working on weaning off bottles--I haven''t tried too hard admittedly.
Anyway, she is talking more and starting to copy. I notice her running around the house and looking behind doors, under tables talking to herself and then says "nooo" as if she''s looking for something she can''t find it. This must be something I do! And when we''re out she makes the cheese face (just like Tacori''s T) and looks at people and says "hi hi hi" , it''s so funny! Looking forward to spring, summer (heck anything is better than rain or snow) when I can actually let her play and enjoy the outdoors--so jealous of you cali mommies!

 

[Jas12]

janine--i love this stage too--they are challenging, but oh so adorable. It''s like they still look like babies but have full personalities. I feel like i am talking to an adult sometimes. Have you tried singing to C while teeth brushing? Sometimes this works well as a distraction for Co. He mostly wants to eat the paste so if i get real close to him and sing a brushing song (i just make them up) he kinda freezes to watch me and i can get in there.

jas-hope that last 25% of unpacking goes well!

Burk--so great that T has been easy breezy. I hope i fare as well as you. Hoping the latch issues dissapear and you continue to get some 5 hours stretches!!! We miss you, but def. nap instead of PS girl!!

Tacori--love the park pics, looks nice and warm there. I am looking fwd to the spring! Glad you had a nice visit with your mom, despite the sickness

Snlee--yay for a good u/s.!!! I ovulated about 5 days after DH and I DTD and concieved too. It was the first month we decided to really try but it was the week before a wedding i had to bake 150 cupcakes for and we DTD and then i got so busy and many days went by and i thought, "oh, well, i missed ovulation time, we''ll try next month". But obviously there were some super swimmers so i wonder if that theory is true & we''ll have girls?! Are you going to find out ?
....
I need opinions on baby names!!! Eeek. I keep thinking we have lots of time. But really, just over 3 mos to go now, i better think about it. I think we are pretty set on Emmett for a boy, but we are all over the map for girls.
So far, this is the short list for girls. In no particular order

Mira (it was my girl name last pregnancy-pronounced Meer-ah. Ppl seemed to either totally love it, or turn their nose up at it and say it was old fashioned. I know this cuz many ppl asked what our girl name was after we had Co and gave honest reactions.)
Katrine (my grandma''s name and sister''s middle name--we would call her Kate or Kat . I really like Kate on it''s own as well)
Lauren (just one of those solid, classic names i''ve always liked since i was a teen)
Olivia (i have really loved this name for years, but it''s uber popular right now and i really don''t like that. My sis thinks this is a bad reason not to use it b/c any name we choose has the potential to be super popular, but i dunno)
Lucia (pronunced Lew-see-ah, i like luci for short, but since there are 3 ways to pronounce this name, that deters me. I think she would be annoyed by that.)
Whitney (family name on DH''s side, i think it''s really cute for a kid, but also kinda snobby sounding

)

Anyone care to weigh in with honest opinions --i won''t be offended

 

[TravelingGal]

I gotsta catch up here, so I''ll work backwards for now.

Jas, my vote goes to Mira. I love that name. Second vote goes to Katrine. In fact, Mira Katrine sounds lovely.

As someone who named their kid a name with 2 pronunciations, and opted for the less common one, I would say choose a name where there is no question on how it''s pronounced, or choose the more common pronunciation. Most would pronounce Mira meer-ah vs My-rah...at least I think so?

 

[E B]

Date: 2/23/2010 12:29:13 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Jas, my vote goes to Mira. I love that name. Second vote goes to Katrine. In fact, Mira Katrine sounds lovely.

I completely agree. Mira Katrine is beautiful!

(Back to lurking...

)

 

[sasa]

Jas12, sorry to hear about the kidney, but I''m glad the brain-cyst is gone...my vote goes to Olivia, I always love that name.

Tacori, glad you guys had a great time with your mom...sorry Tessa was sad...

Burk, sorry to hear K isn''t latching on well, hope it will get better soon

snlee, how exciting! isn''t seeing the heart beat amazing.

puffy, sorry to hear B is sick, hope he get better soon.

Nothing new here, counting down to the days when bedrest is over...I feel like I''m under house arrest.

 

[lovelylulu]

jas - I love the name katrine and the nn kate. mira is lovely and doesn''t suffer from being too popular. olivia is a beautiful name and I love liv as a nn, but understand popularity concerns.

I think that all your choices go great with co''s name (not sure if that was a consideration of yours).

we''re too trying to find a name. so. very. tough. might be seeking some advice shortly

 

[Jas12]

Tgal, --Mira Katrine was the name i had printed on my cookie birth announcements last pregnancy (i made cookie pkg labels for both boy/girl and applied them after the birth)...thanks for coming out of lurker land.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 2/23/2010 12:58:07 PM
Author: Jas12
Tgal, --Mira Katrine was the name i had printed on my cookie birth announcements last pregnancy (i made cookie pkg labels for both boy/girl and applied them after the birth)...thanks for coming out of lurker land.

Well, there ya go. It''s been cookie pkg labels. The oracle has spoken.

 

[snlee]

PUFFY, sorry to hear B is sick. Hope he feels better soon! So glad Noah is being a dream baby!

JAS, D loves to say uh oh too, even when he does thing on purpose. It''s so cute!

JANINE, I second jas12''s suggestion of singing while brushing their teeth. We made up a song too, something very simple like "it''s time to... brush your teeth, brush your teeth, brush your teeth!" Sometimes it helps to let him play with the toothbrush too. He''ll put it in his mouth then I''ll try to move it around and he''ll help me brush his teeth. If he really fights it, we don''t brush his teeth. Pedi said not to fight with them over brushing their teeth at this age. It''s okay not to. When they are 18+ months, give them a toothbrush while you brush and they''ll imitate you. D loves to imitate us too and repeat lots of words. Can''t believe we''ll have 18 month olds soon!!!

JAS12, I agree, Mira Katrine sounds lovely. I also love Olivia.

BOBO, 3 more weeks? Are you doing any work from home? What are you doing with your time? I know how rough bedrest can be. Hang in there!!! Hugs!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 2/23/2010 1:10:21 PM
Author: snlee
PUFFY, sorry to hear B is sick. Hope he feels better soon! So glad Noah is being a dream baby!

JAS, D loves to say uh oh too, even when he does thing on purpose. It''s so cute!

JANINE, I second jas12''s suggestion of singing while brushing their teeth. We made up a song too, something very simple like ''it''s time to... brush your teeth, brush your teeth, brush your teeth!'' Sometimes it helps to let him play with the toothbrush too. He''ll put it in his mouth then I''ll try to move it around and he''ll help me brush his teeth. If he really fights it, we don''t brush his teeth. Pedi said not to fight with them over brushing their teeth at this age. It''s okay not to. When they are 18+ months, give them a toothbrush while you brush and they''ll imitate you. D loves to imitate us too and repeat lots of words. Can''t believe we''ll have 18 month olds soon!!!

JAS12, I agree, Mira Katrine sounds lovely. I also love Olivia.

BOBO, 3 more weeks? Are you doing any work from home? What are you doing with your time? I know how rough bedrest can be. Hang in there!!! Hugs!

Singing doesn''t work with Amelia. Hopefully it will work for you Janine, as my methods weren''t fun to start. Now Amelia will just get her teeth brushed, but she doesn''t love it. Strange that her mouth goes WIDE open for flossing still! Amelia tries to imitate me when it comes to brushing, but she does a crap job so I still need to brush her teeth. She likes brushing her own teeth but doesn''t want me to brush them.

 

[snlee]

TGal, when did you start flossing Amelia''s teeth? I haven''t started that yet.

 

[sbde]

dreamer: thanks for the feeding info! i will need to start monitoring intake once we go full force on whole milk (not 100% sure when that will happen though!)

mustanggal: thanks for the info as well. kyle must look so adorable waddling around. J started walking on his bday and hasn''t really looked back since then. i think J may be getting a premolar too because he is NOT a happy camper right now.

snlee: thanks for the welcome. yay for D walking! and how exciting are those u/s! even a blobby heartbeat moved me to tears each time

jas12: glad to hear that the u/s confirming that baby looks well and the cyst is no long there! i love the name mira - it''s beautiful and is actually quite popular in south asia where there is a movie star named meera and of course i''m sure you''ve heard of the movie director mira nair

mrssalvo: yay for awesome weather!

burk: so glad things are going well with you! i will be religiously following your posts along with puffy, qtie and the other 2nd time mammas just to get tips on what is working for you guys.


hi to everyone else who i missed

so as i mentioned to mgal - i have a feeling my little monkey is getting a premolar because he has been uber cranky and has not been eating well for 2 days now. any experience with this? i''m most concerned about his appetite, since he has always been such a chowhound. should i wait a day or 2 longer before calling a dr. and seeing if it is something more than just teething?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Burk, hope the latch issues resolve themselves. Such a bummer. Newborns aren''t usually the cutest. I mean, that''s a tough journey so it is understandable that they are puffy, wrinkly, sleepy, etc. You guys are models so obviously ALL your children will have your model genes

snlee, how exciting you got your due date! Yay to D walking full time. I do miss the wobbly walk though.

Puffy, hope B is feeling better. I hate cold & flu season!

Jas, 75% unpacked is pretty good! T always takes out whatever I put away. I have surrendered to the toy mess. I cannot even imagine her times 2! I loved the "uh oh" phase but it was annoying when she would say it BEFORE she dropped something.

Now she says "whoopsie."

MrsM, that is so funny. How is A doing?

Janine, they are see kai run and they are on sale for $30. Totally worth it IMHO. The leather is so soft. She does look like a little lady. I think it is scary the sayings and actions they pick up. She gives her dolls time-outs now.

Jas12, Sunday was beyond beautiful. It got colder again. Not too bad considering. I love Emmett. I like Mira and Lucia. I am relieved the baby''s brain looks good! That is amazing news!

Bobo, my mom loved when I told her she was asking for her. I think she feels left out living so far away. Sorry you are on bedrest

sbde, T goes for days eating very little. I figure she has fat reserves

I would only get worry if she looked like she was losing weight, acted sick, fever, change of sleep habits, otherwise I think it is just party of toddler territory.

I am so tired. Trying to fight the nap urge and get my butt to the gym when T wakes up. T is starting to act sassy during time-outs. She will get up and run after me, or dance around, giggle, etc so I just put her back on the chair but it gets REALLY, REALLY frustrating! She is still loving school and talks about other kids too. My favorite is Issac b/c she can''t really pronounce his name and it sounds like "ice cream." Thanks for all the compliments on my new pictures. I am pretty smitten with my little girl

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 2/23/2010 1:23:46 PM
Author: snlee
TGal, when did you start flossing Amelia''s teeth? I haven''t started that yet.

Hm...I want to say several months ago. I''m guessing September, possibly even before then. I did it because I was seeing a chiropractor (well, actually my mom was but he''s a friend of a friend and did some adjustments on me too). He was telling me his son had 8 cavities by 3 years of age (probably was there during age 2) and it cost $2000 to fill all of them. I decided then and there to start flossing so she''d get used to it. I''ll admit, I don''t do the best job, but she likes it. I use those little "bow" flossers.

 

[janinegirly]

Tgal: OMG, I can''t believe you floss Amelia''s teeth, you''re good!

I''ll try the singing, but doubt it''ll work. I''ve done silly noises and faces to make her laugh, but then she sees the toothbrush and shakes her head or puts it way up to avoid incoming brush. I''ve bought 3 brushes, she ends up with all of them. I''ve shown her how I brush my teeth and she tries to take my brush away so that doesn''t work (don''t want her putting mine in her mouth!). I then tried letting her brush my teeth with her brush (it doesn''t really make much contact) while I try to do hers..she manages to jerk her head away each time while still trying to brush mine. Then I went for the towel swipe over teeth as a last ditch effort-- which she used to let me do--but no more. I did resort to forcing her once or twice since I remember someone saying it was better than a cavity, but I think Snlee is right in that it''ll only make her hate it more. When I brought it up to the pedi, he said it''s not something that is easy to do so best approach is prevention by weaning her from the bottle which are most likely to cause caviities. So lots of different thoughts, but I will keep trying and do a singalong tonight!

 

[TravelingGal]

Janine, try the flossing, you never know. Amelia HATED back then getting her toothbrush. She''d see it coming and clamp down. She opened her mouth wide for the flossing and I really don''t understand why. Maybe it feels good to her? Plus I always let her have the "reward" of throwing the floss into the wastebasket. She seems to like it. Kids are so weird.

Flossing is MUCH easier than brushing for us. If I ever get around to it, I''ll post a video on FB.

 

[mrssalvo]

janine-Jake loves to brush his own teeth but does not do a good job. I'm a mean mommy b/c I pin his arms and brush his teeth despite his fighting me. I try to do it quickly but will hold him until I get them all done. Then I usually put a little toothpaste on his elmo brush and let him brush b/c he really does think that's fun. I haven't started flossing him yet but probably should. this is a good reminder.

tgal-2K for fillings...eek. glad we have dental insurance! my oldest just got her first cavity earlier this year. Lily is still cavity free and I make them brush 2x a day so hopefully it will stay that way. the dentist put a special coating on my oldests teeth that is should prevent any further cavities. pretty amazing what they can do now days to maintain good oral health.

 

[qtiekiki]

Quick drive by:

Jas12 - Glad the u/s showed that the cyst in the brain is gone. One kidney isn''t a big issue since we can live with one kidney.

snlee - Yay for a good u/s for you too. Maybe we can switch clothes if you have a girl. LOL.

janine - Do you let C watch you guys brush your teeth? We do, and now we just tell M that we are brushing her teeth, and she''ll open her mouth for us to brush the top and inside of the teeth and close her teeth for us to brush the front/outside. I also let her play with her toothbrush while we are brushing our teeth. She usually just chew and suck on it, but lately she had been moving is back and forth on the front with her teeth closed. Before she was willingly open her mouth, we have to make noises for her to copy, which leads her to open her mouth. Hope you find something that work for you.

So M is doing a lot better after the steroid shot yesterday. She still has some coughs, but they sound much better.

 

[jas]

The uh-oh of today -- the boys got into the baking supplies (they''ve outsmarted the bungees on the cabinets). Confectioners sugar, Crisco, and sprinkles. Everywhere. Of course I let out a mighty "S***" when DH comes out of his office and said, "Uh, hon, I''m on a business call." So I win both wife and mother of the year awards. Thank you.

I''m seriously having foot-in-mouth disease a lot these days. Nothing I say is coming out right. Does that shut me up, though? Nah. Call me Ms. Miscommunication. Miss Jackson if you''re nasty.

MrsM -- thank you for the Uh oh scale. Good to know.

I am imagining many government officials "uh oh"ing all over the office. Too funny!

Janine -- my boys are anti-oral hygiene as well. I''m so glad you brought this topic up! LOL at the "hide and seek."

Jas12 -- I love Mira, and agree that Mira Katrine is gorgeous!

Pre-printed labels? Love that too.

Bobo -- how many more days of bedrest, hon?

Snlee -- hey woman!

TGal -- rock on for flossing. I''m super impressed.

sbde -- are you comfortable giving him some Tylenol? We gave some to our boys pre-molar and it was like night and day within a few minutes.

Tacori -- Whoopsie? Awesome. I''m going to start saying that. I was on a "oopsie poopsie" stretch for awhile there. The pics are indeed phenomenal and I''m sorry your mom''s visit had to end so soon. Sounds like T. is finding new ways to be a spitfire.

QT -- so glad that M is getting better!!

 

[MustangGal]

Tacori – beautiful pics at the park!

Burk – sleep is much more important than us, especially with two of them!

Snlee – woohoo for little bean u/s, it’ll be fun to have 2 with b-days close, my sisters seemed to enjoy their joint b-day parties when they were younger.

Puffy – sorry B is sick, I hope he doesn’t give it to Noah!

Jas – congrats on 75% unpacked, if only the boys will stop “helping” you it might get to 100% soon.

Janine – tooth brushing, yeah, I know I *should* be doing that more, but I just keep forgetting when I put him down. It sounds like it’s not much fun

Jas12 – I like Mira also. The street behind my house is Lucia, and after 6 years I still can’t figure out how it should be pronounced.

Bobo – sorry about the bedrest, I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes much smoother.

Sbde – can you see or feel the tooth? You could try seeing if there’s anything there before you call the pedi. Kyle has been a bit clingy and cranky, but he also got shots last week so I just thought that was the problem until I noticed the tooth.

Tgal – I can’t even imagine flossing! At this point Kyle’s teeth are about a mile apart anyway. Anyone else’s LO have a huge gap between their front teeth? I’m hoping it isn’t an indication of braces in our future…

QT – glad to hear M is doing better, poor thing!

Kyle woke up at 4:30 this morning. Ugh. Yesterday was 5:30am, and I discovered that the amount of time it takes him to drink a bottle is enough time for me to take a quick shower and run some mouse through my hair. Not fun

 

[puffy]

janine awwww, C sounds too cute!! it is the best when they start to copy everything you do.

burk hope you guys are doing well!! hope the latch issues get better.

tacori are you feeling better? did you get to the gym?

jas heeee, your boys sounds adorable!

jas12 i love the name mira also!

bobo how are you feeling? how much longer on bedrest?

snlee how are you feeling?

qt how are things going with you and the kids?

sbde B was a really good eater up until almost 1 then he stopped eating everything..just ate what he felt like eating. there were days where all he would have is his milk. it was just a stage though, so hopefully things with you LO will get better soon.

MG YIKES....430?? that is rough! hope he''ll sleep in later tomorrow.

B isn''t doing much better. who knew that i would be up in the middle of the night with my toddler and not my 2 month old?? crazy!! but he''s been a trooper.

 

[qtiekiki]

puffy
Hope B feels better soon. I feel your pain about waking up in the middle of the night. We took M to the pedi yesterday b/c of fever and coughing,and turns out she has croup. So she''s been waking up couple times a night due to her coughs and being congested, and then J is still waking up to nurse. I''ve been getting an hour stretch of sleep throughout night.