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Home PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

Date: 3/16/2010 2:08:45 PM
Author: snlee

Date: 3/16/2010 1:58:52 PM
Author: TravelingGal
snlee, is he capable of drinking out of a straw, or just doesn''t prefer to do it?
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I followed your tip of using your finger to help him learn to drink from the straw but it never worked. I can''t get him to suck. He just bites the straw. Any other ideas?
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snlee, what kind of straw are you using? The regular, free kind you get at restaurants, or a solid, more plastic kind? I should have specified...a cheap plastic straw doesn''t work well (for the reason you mentioned). I used the straws from the take and toss straw cups...those are hard plastic. Also it can take awhile, especially if he''s not thirsty. Since you have started to give him juice, try the technique again with it - I figure since it''s a treat, he will want it and find it more exciting than plain water.

I also changed Amelia over at 15 months or so. She did learn to drink from a straw first. The rest is a bit fuzzy in my memory but I believe she drank water from a munchkin straw cup first. Once she got that down, I just withheld milk from her until she took it from the munchkin cup. Same technique as Tacori. If it was the only way she could get it, she opted to take it. That did not take long at all...pretty much switched her in one day.
 
jas12-does Co like stickers? My niece and jake both love stickers right now so that''s what I''m hiding in the easter eggs. I fill eggs with coins for my big girls b/c they get plenty of candy from the grandparents.

tacori-i think Jake would love the soccer ball one. now if I can just find one in stock somewhere.
 
Oh stickers! I forgot about those. Maybe you should call Little Tikes and see if they discontinued it. Hope not b/c it is super cute. You could use a baby pool too. BTW I misspoke when I said I bought 100 balls. 100 balls come in the bag so I bought way more. I think maybe 500? I can''t remember now.
 
tacori- i just sent an email to little tikes, so fingers crossed. i read another review that said they ended up buying 700 extra balls to fill theirs.
 
MrsS, I kinda feel like I bought 1,000 but that seems crazy. I am sure it is one of the old threads. T''s is pretty full. You could get away with less balls. I got them at TRU and think they were around $25/250 balls....so maybe I do have 1,000....don''t pay more than $.10 a ball. At least you probably could always sell it on CL in a few years though my 5 year old neighbor loves it. Hopefully your girls will too.
 
tacori haha...DH is telling everyone that if it was up to him our 3rd would be born sometime next year. i just laugh. i am honestly happy with my two boys as it doesn''t see, to be too crazy yet. but i guess time will tell. has T been enjoying the sun?

qt how are the kids doing? hope you guys are all doing well!!

burk LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new AV!! so darn cute!! it''s good that T wants to use the potty, but yes it can be a pain when you are busy with K. hope your appt with the doc went well or at least got some good info on what to do about the food intolerance.

snlee sorry you''re not feeling well. hope you feel 100% soon! sorry have no advice on the bottle weaning, but maybe in time, D will be interested in drinking out of a straw and get the hang of it. i know when B was using sippy cups and saw use drinking from a straw, he wanted the straw. he would always point to it, this was when he was around 7 or 8 months. and when he was 10 months, he was drinking from straws only.

MG i really am super lucky that noah is such an easy baby to please, but even luckier that B loves to help out with him. last night B helped with noah''s bath and noah just laughed and cooed through the entire thing. noah loves it when B hangs out with him.

jas12 i got a bunch of easter stuff for B and we''re doing an easter egg hunt with a few friends and their kids. i''m in charge of the eggs. i''m putting stickers, healthier crackers and cookies and fruit snacks in them. and i''m doing little goodie bags for all the kids. sounds like you and Co had a very eventful day!!!
 
snlee: going through the same thing so I'll be interested to read the responses. I admit to not being that consistent and have not gone cold turkey on the bottle. A big reason is while C will drink out of the sippy, (straw, sippy, nuby, munckin, any version really), she does so in much smaller quantities. So if I give her 2oz of milk, it'll take her an hour to drink that (with me handing to her constantly)! (vs 5 mins for 4oz out of the bottle). The bottle is comfort for her too, she loves the bottle first thing in the morning and evening. So I think she loves the bottle more than the milk inside. I know I have to cut it out soon, but I don't think it'll be such an easy transition. Keep me posted!
 
As of today, I am forcing myself to homeschool the children in a dank dungeon, because neither they nor I should be inflicted upon you good parents.

I took the boys to try out a structured playtime held at a local nursery school/religious center. The group is only about 8 kids aged 12-24 months and their parents once a week for an hour. The kids play in a HUGE (gym sized) carpeted room, have story time, music time, and a snack. I asked my mom to join me because DH couldn''t make it today.

Only four other kids there today. There were tons of toys, which was great. My boys lit up and together explored things. They were mostly interested in whatever the other kids were playing with, but waited their turn.

One other little boy who I will call Only Child tried to take a toy away from Jackson. Jackson was about to give it to him when Logan stepped in a pushed the other kid''s hand off the toy (not violent or angry or quickly, more like "correcting") but you''d better believe I jumped in an moved Logan. I know he as protecting his brother, but I didn''t know if it looked like my kid was being a bully. Only Child fussed. His mother, bless her, said, "Only Child, go give Logan a hug." So Only Child started towards Logan, who really didn''t want to be hugged. O.C''s mom looked at me and said, "Only Child is trying to hug your kid!" She gave me the stink eye. I cooed over Only Child about how sweet he was and went to grab Logan, who was trying to eat the balls in the ball pit.

Then it was music time. The teacher asked all the parents to bring the kids to the music mat and sit down with them. She started to sing and play instruments. Of course all the other kids were attentive and, well, sitting. Logan stood up, shook his head "no no no" and ran to play with the toys. Jackson followed. Only Child followed, but was coralled by his mother and went back to singing. Nothing would lure my wonder twins back to the music mat. My kids looked like the only 18 months old in the world who won''t sit down for a song. More stink eye.

Then snack time. Logan, who is in a hell of a phase right now, started a tantrum. STINKY STINKY STINK EYE again from some of the mommies. The teacher was passing out little plastic disposable cups of water. My kids do not drink out of cups yet. A few of the other mothers pulled out sippy cups from their bags, and I was relieved that it was ok to do that. I was NOT relieved to realize that I''d left the sippies out in the car and Logan was about to go full out screaming. I held up a cup for him and he LOST it. It turns out that he wanted to do it himself without me holding the cup. We were on a waterproof mat so I let him try the cup, knowing full well what would happen. He spilled most of it on the floor.

Guess what? More stink eye.

He was very proud of himself and went to throw the cup out in the garbage all by himself.

Then Jackson decided to explore the rest of the building, so I spent the rest of the time walking the two boys around the building and not sitting with them in the ball pit, which was now the Logan Memorial Drool Pit.

As we were putting coats on, one mother asked me if I had any more kids. "God, no," I said. I was smiling and joking. She looked at me and said, "Well, I didn''t know if you had older kids or not," and I realized she thought I was making fun of her. THIS is why I shouldn''t be allowed to speak in public.

My mother said very little other than that it''s good for them to go to class so they can learn these things.

That did not make me feel better.
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Right after that we all went to the grocery store and darn it all if they weren''t brilliant little angels helping me shop.
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At least the dude behind the meat counter thought they were really well behaved and smart boys.
You can sure bet that the other mothers were very interested in knowing if I was going to be signing the boys up for the rest of the term.
 
Yes, that was written in haste. Sorry about the errors.

How are you all?
 
Oh Jas, I''m sorry they kept giving you the stink eye! I promise I wouldn''t have if you showed up to my class
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. The only way for the boys to learn those thing is to experience them. I''m sure all their kids walked away from singing time etc. when they first started. I wouldn''t give up, try finding a different program, or just keep showing up to that one and ignore the stink eye.

If it helps, I know my 3 year old nephew wanders off at preschool all the time.
 
MG, you are so sweet. Thank you. It''s more funny than anything now...of course my kids are going to get the eye rolls from other parents. It''s my luck. I''m going to explore other classes, though, for my sake. Those mamas are a rough bunch. I need mamas who if I joke that I''m drunk by 9:15 in the morning think that''s funny, or, at a minimum, get that I''m probably not drunk. (I didn''t pull out that joke today, btw).
 
Jas, next time you go there, it will be someone else''s child who attracts the stink eye. So don''t worry!

(I''m assuming there will be a next time, because that really wasn''t so bad, with hindsight...)

Sorry you had a rough day!
 
Thanks Mrs. M...I guess I'm just trying to figure out what is "normal" 18 month behavior and what is not.

As I was changing Logan's diaper, Jackson figured out the doorknobs to the master bathroom. He apparently likes my hair cream. He put it in his own hair. He looks ridiculous. What I love is that somehow he thought to bring it in the shower with him before styling his hair. There are blobs of cream everywhere.

It inspired me to make my first chocolate cream pie from scratch today (9 egg yolks! 11 ounces of chocolate! 1 stick of butter!) as my meditation.

ETA -- I bake/cook when they nap. Otherwise it's easy to assume I'm in the kitchen instead of teaching my children to drink out of cups. :)
 
jas, hugs.

thanks for the bottle weaning advice. I guess I need to be more consistent and eventually make the switch cold turkey and without milk until he drinks it from a cup. TGal, we are using the take and toss straw cups. I''ll try again with juice.
 
Jas, sounds NORMAL! Don''t worry! T NEVER would do circle time at classes like that. Luckily the teacher said it was about *them* so if she wanted to play, let her play. Good advice if you ask me! Now that she is in preschool WITHOUT mommy I guess she is a perfect angel and does sit still when she is suppose to. Sometimes I think they save their worst for us. Moms are so lucky.
 
Tacori Tessa will thrive in daycare. It is good for kids to be in different environments sometimes I think, and to meet new people. And she will be better off in the long run with a mom who feel fulfilled! I don't think 3 half days and two full is much time in daycare at all. I think once you start and you see how she is doing well you will feel differently. She sounds like a curious little monkey and a social child too. I think she will like the novelty. When do you hear from your programs if you are in or not?

Jas OK, too funny story. Either the other moms are uptight or you are imagining things
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Perchance a little of both? And are you trying to get pg or was this month a tee hee hee oops?

Sorry I cannot even attempt to catch up
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Here is something funny. Hunter is average sized and wears size 3 diapers in the day time. But at night he wears... drumroll please... size 5 diapers!
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He was peeing and enough to fill the diapers at night and then pooping in the morning made the whole thing a wet poopy mess 4 mornings in a row. We finally realized we needed to switch up last night. The boy can really pee!
 
DD - hee, let''s go with "creative remembering" there was some stink eye, but honestly, I''m pretty sure this mama was just in perma-stink eye mode. Seemed like she was either in a bad mood or I rubbed her the wrong way. As for the pg thing...definite oopsie. My cycle is pretty fubar this month due to my going off the pill (for other reasons, mostly that I was an enormous emotional PITA and I''m like that with all pc pills) so who knows. Thanks for the support! HOORAY for size 5 diapers at night! What a kid you''ve got there!
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Tacori -- Girl, that''s kinda my take on it. They are 18 months old. The other mommies and the instructor seemed ok with it. Ol'' Stink Eye may have a stink eye condition. The boys just don''t have impulse control, and cool toys versus singing? Toys win out. I''m just glad that I''m not alone in this!

Snlee -- thanks! Good luck with the straws today. I''ll be thinking of you!

Off to practice sitting with my children. Then I''m going to teach them how to do differential equations.
 
I forgot to fill you guys in on the daycare. The building is only a year old (My MIL LOVED that. She hates old stuff). The woman has capacity for 55 children but since she just opened 10 months ago she only has 15. I think this has its pros and cons. Pros, she gets more adult attention. They are super flexible b/c they want my business. Cons, not that many kids to play with. I think this could NOT take the place of her preschool but could be an addition. They have a smart board (which really impressed my mom b/c she said they are super expensive) and the director is VERY into education. She likes all the kids to read before they go off to school. She also seems attached to the kids. Cuddles them, has nicknames, etc...She only issues 9 month contracts which is rare from what I hear. She said I could add the month of June as a bonus month so I don''t have to pay for july/august.

DD, hopefully I will hear soon. This has been such a long process. My kid is extremely social and I just realized she is super affectionate. She LOVES to hug all her friends goodbye. T used to wear a size bigger diaper b/c that girl could PEE during the night. They make special nighttime diapers which are thicker. She is in a 5.

Jas, no worries. I think it shows our kids are independent and go after what they want.
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Don''t they the mom judge you. When people judge it is usually based on their own issues/insecurities. You are a great mom with two adorable boys. Let the stink eye roll off your back.
 
tacori: the preschool sounds great, can I sign up? haha. One thing I will be curious to see is if T will get sick more often once in daycare. C will do full day PS at a daycare around age 2, and I''m just hoping it''s not going to mean constant sick days since kind of defeats the purpose for me. Your T is such a sweetie with the hugs and kisses meanwhile, she''s going to be a popular girl! I agree they leave the worst for us btw!

snlee: anymore attempts with the sippy cup?

jas: judgy moms are the worst. I see so many of them around the neighborhood though! I thought moms in the ''burbs would be very welcoming but they are actually cliquey and closed. Thankfully I''m at work most of the time so no time for the drama!! But then I miss all the leisurely time at home with C.

dd: i think they recommend sizing up for nighttime diapers? C has been in big ole o/night diapers for sometime now!

Things are good here, but I do have a question/concern about eating. C picks at her food. Breakfast is the best meal for her..she''ll eat eggs, oatmeal etc. Lunch she''ll eat ok..but starts picking at her food. Dinner, it''s morsels before she wants out of the highchair. I don''t think she''s really eating enough of the full meals. For awhile I was not worried--I knew it was more about getting her accustomed to solids, scheduled meals, but now at 18 mo''s, I think she should eat more. I''m not sure if it''s the high chair (she doesn''t last there) since she''s fine with snacks! It''s another reason I''m slow on weaning off the bottle because without milk I''m not sure what she''d be eating! I have taken away day bottles to see if that increased appetite, but she still ate little (and sipped ever so slowly on milk form sippy). Any tricks to get her to eat in larger quantities or stick it out during sit down meals longer? Maybe my cooking is really that bad?
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Janine, my pedi said not to worry when I expressed similar concerns at her 2 year appointment. He said if she gets ONE good meal a day than that was great. Some days I feel like she eats nothing. Some days she is a bottomless pit. As long as she is not acting sick or losing weight she is probably fine. She probably will get sick more. Oh well. I feel like she is picking up bugs at her half-day program. Part of life I guess. There is no way I can go to school w/o it so I guess it is a tradeoff.

ETA: Jas12, I was at the dollar store yesterday and they had bubbles in the shape of chicks.
 
jas, that story is too funny.

Tacori, that one meal a day thing is good to know. I long ago decided eating is a molehill and not a mountain, and that''s helped us. Janine, it sounds like she''s actually eating OK. She''s still getting the milk intake she needs, right?
 
DD - we have to do the same diaper thing with Kyle! He''s been wearing size 3 during the day with no issues, but at 9 months he could overflow a size 4 overnight. I swear he saves it all for when he''s sleeping
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. I''ve been doing size 5 Pampers overnights, and he can still overflow those once in a while.
 
Date: 3/18/2010 11:20:29 AM
Author: TravelingGal
jas, that story is too funny.


Tacori, that one meal a day thing is good to know. I long ago decided eating is a molehill and not a mountain, and that''s helped us. Janine, it sounds like she''s actually eating OK. She''s still getting the milk intake she needs, right?
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Yes she is..it just dropped the one day I tried to switch to sippy cup but still was 18 oz. One good meal is nice to hear though..and that it''s not uncommon!

Tacori: I think getting sick from daycare is common and a necessary trade off--I guess I''m just curious if toddlers have an easier time with it or if it''s all the same.
 
Date: 3/18/2010 11:24:37 AM
Author: MustangGal
DD - we have to do the same diaper thing with Kyle! He''s been wearing size 3 during the day with no issues, but at 9 months he could overflow a size 4 overnight. I swear he saves it all for when he''s sleeping
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. I''ve been doing size 5 Pampers overnights, and he can still overflow those once in a while.
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Wow DD and MG, that''s a lot of pee for sure!
 
Date: 3/18/2010 11:35:18 AM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 3/18/2010 11:24:37 AM
Author: MustangGal
DD - we have to do the same diaper thing with Kyle! He''s been wearing size 3 during the day with no issues, but at 9 months he could overflow a size 4 overnight. I swear he saves it all for when he''s sleeping
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. I''ve been doing size 5 Pampers overnights, and he can still overflow those once in a while.
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Wow DD and MG, that''s a lot of pee for sure!
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I know! Yet when we pick him up from daycare at 4pm, he usually has just had a diaper change. At 7:30pm when I put him to bed, most days that diaper is still dry. I''m dreading potty training
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Date: 3/18/2010 12:49:12 PM
Author: MustangGal

Date: 3/18/2010 11:35:18 AM
Author: TravelingGal


Date: 3/18/2010 11:24:37 AM
Author: MustangGal
DD - we have to do the same diaper thing with Kyle! He''s been wearing size 3 during the day with no issues, but at 9 months he could overflow a size 4 overnight. I swear he saves it all for when he''s sleeping
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. I''ve been doing size 5 Pampers overnights, and he can still overflow those once in a while.
Click to expand...
Wow DD and MG, that''s a lot of pee for sure!
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I know! Yet when we pick him up from daycare at 4pm, he usually has just had a diaper change. At 7:30pm when I put him to bed, most days that diaper is still dry. I''m dreading potty training
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I think it is because we started giving him about 4 oz of milk before bed. Since that started, the pee flows at night!

Sizing up makes sense... sizing up 2 sizes seems crazy! The diaper practially covers his whole body, he is not a big boy at all!

Eating: Hunter is a bottomless pit. But he is still really lean! We have no idea where he puts it. If he sees food he wants it NOW! And he is so far pretty indiscriminate though I am still working on cottage cheese
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(mixing it will baby food fruit puree seems to work!). I keep wondering if he will become pickier... did that happen for you all?
 
DD, T has become SO picky. I miss the good old days...
 
Date: 3/18/2010 3:49:04 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
DD, T has become SO picky. I miss the good old days...
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And oddly, my daughter is the reverse. Very picky early on, but now she''s getting a ton better. I guess it couldn''t have gotten much worse from where she was!
 
B is super picky now as well. he used to eat everything, but now he''s all about his fruits and veggies, no complaints. and he used to want to eat whatever was in my bowl, but now i''ll give him my bowl, and he''ll pick out only what he wants. he''s gotten so crazy that he actually prefers fresh fruit to cookies!! WEIRDO!!!
 
I am spitting nails this morning, but mostly at myself.

DH had friends over for dinner last night...and their 4-year-old, T. I will preface this by saying that I do not know what is normal developmentally for 4-year-old boys, so I will try to keep myself from calling T the Spawn of Evil.

T immediately came in the house, did not acknowledge me (who he doesn''t know at all) or DH (who he knows very well.) He climbed up on my COUNTERTOPS to grab the chips. His parents didn''t pull him off.

When playing in the playroom, he didn''t want to share with my kids. (I don''t fault a 4 year old that) His mother told him to share, though. He turned to her and said, "But they get to play with these toys all the time!" and his mother, who is a lawyer, started to argue with him like this was some sort of case. Then she gave up. (My attitude is that when your mommy says to do something, you do it...but I also know that kids will push when they are in public and T may have guessed that his parents wouldn''t discipline him in front of us.) When Jackson and Logan tried to sit next to him, he said he didn''t want them there because, "I was here first."

Charming, but not as charming as when he told me he liked his grandmother''s chocolate pie better than mine. I was like, "Uh, ok. I''ll eat it!" (I guess it would have been funnier/charming were it not for the other things.)

He eventually started playing with Jackson, some sort of weird roughhousing game. Jackson loved it. Logan hates roughhousing, so he sat on my lap. Jackson was laughing hysterically, so I didn''t think twice about it until I heard him screaming...

I ran to the playroom (so did T''s parents) and T was dragging J by the legs all around the floor. By the time I got there, Jackson was laughing again. T''s parents told T to be gentle but were SO PROUD of their kid for playing with little kids so nicely.

Problem is -- Jackson has huge bruises on his legs today. I feel terrible. I should have stepped in or supervised better. He''s not in pain today...I''m just feeling terrible.

I should have guessed something was up when Logan, who is Mister Social, wouldn''t play with T.

I already left word with DH (who is out working today) that I will not allow T to play with our boys unsupervised anymore. We''ll see how that goes over...

I blame myself. Ugh.
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