July Young Toddlers

[Bawstinn]

Thought I'd start us off for the new month!

Me: Maria, 38
Dad: David, 34
DD: Madeleine, 25 months on the 4th

Home from work again today. Three confirmed cases of hand, foot and mouth disease in her room. I found a small rash on the underside of her belly and a tiny, tiny sore on her tongue. Other than maybe being a tad bit on the cranky side, she seems to be OK. Temp stayed around 99 today so that is good.

David is having surgery in the morning to have one of the bolts removed from his ankle. Since he had the staph infection they want to make sure it isn't on the hardware. Was supposed to be the first one (only 30 minutes) but when they called today they said 10:15. Sigh, after missing 2 days of work to stay home with Madeleine I was hoping for close to a full day.

Challenges include not listening. Tried to do a bit of weeding and I couldn't get her to stay around me -- even the allure of the water table wasn't working today.

Any plans for the 4th? Our company shrotchanged us this year - we usually get 2 days for the 4th except when it falls on a Wednesday. One day this year. We are just going to a friends for a small cookout.

We are trying to plan for a short vacation - a weekend away. David isn't sure if he wants to go with us. :rolleyes: Claims it is because of all the work going on in the house. Only talking about a long weekend here. I was thinking Minneapolis. Since we are still spending $$ (or should I say bleeding) with the remodels we decided no real vacations this year.

How is everyone else doing?

[maryellenmd]

Me: 33
DH: 34 on Friday
DS: Christian, 2 years old on 6/23!

Hi everyone, thanks for getting us started, Maria. I have a super short work week here - taking Thursday off too. :) Gotta love a long weekend. The 4th is actually DH's birthday. We are planning to go to our town's parade in the morning and then lunch with some friends to celebrate. I don't think we'll do fireworks this year.

Things are going well here. We are having some tantrums though. I got this video out of the library that was recommended, 1-2-3 Magic on managing difficult behaviour. We have done some time outs, but he doesn't seem to understand them. (or maybe that's on purpose?)

He's been sitting with us at the dinner table on a big person's chair this past week, and that has made a big difference at meal time - less throwing of food. He doesn't sit still for too long, but meal time is much calmer than when he was in the high chair. Unbelievable.

Maria - hope the surgery goes well.

Have a great 4th!

[NewMrsG]

Happy July!

Me: Jori, 38
DH: 40
DD: Macy, 2 years

I was just skimming the June thread (how is it July already??) and see that we were among those having an Elmo-themed birthday. We had a fairly small party, although her grandparents (my IL's) decided to skip it, which put a bit of a damper on the day. It was otherwise really nice.

I haven't posted a picture in a while - my sweet kid:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d803b3127ccec4398348b5df00000020O08AaNHLRi5ctA e3nwo/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

For the most part I'm really enjoying this age - I think I wasn't a very good parent of an infant, but am better with a two-year-old. I really appreciate that I can have an actual conversation with her and don't have to guess what she wants or is trying to say. She's very verbal and I'm amazed at everything she knows and can say. She's just started playing pretend and is really displaying a sense of humor. She'll say something silly and then say "Macy kidding!". Very loving and sweet. When she wants to be. My mom's comment the second day into her recent visit: "She's a stubborn little thing, isn't she?" :rolleyes:

Our major challenge right now is tantrums as well. It's frustrating when we're all set to have a perfectly nice day or evening together and she misbehaves enough that we can't enjoy our time together. Macy's best friend is a little girl who lives at the end of our cul-de-sac. She and her parents are from India and the grandparents flew in from India a few days ago. They brought with them anklets similar to ones that Macy's friend wears. They stopped by the house to bring her the anklets and DH was trying to put them on Macy's leg and she had a meltdown "I no like! I no like!" I wasn't there at the time, but was mortified when DH called to tell me. Thankfully she's now wearing them, but how embarrassing.

Are you all finding that time outs help? We haven't tried them in awhile but maybe we should try again.

Macy has used the potty a couple of times, but doesn't really get it yet. Maria - it's amazing that Madeleine is doing so well.

She is also a peanut - 31" (30th percentile) and 24 lbs (16th percentile) at her two-year check.

We are heading to Tanglewood tomorrow to see James Taylor - something I've wanted to do since I moved to Boston 10 years ago. I'm a bit nervous that it's not going to go well. We're going with friends of ours and bringing our kids. The concert starts at 7 pm and we figured on a two hour or so drive out. When I called the other day I was told that the concert was completely sold out (18,000 seats) and because it's a ways off the interstate it's a very narrow road for the last piece of the trip and it's going to take a lot more time to get there. The guy on the phone suggested we be there when the gates open at 4:00. So now we're leaving at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon. So a long day. She loves music and loves being outside and has a great time with our friends' kids, so I'm just hoping it's a fun evening.

A totally random question - when your kids get scrapes or cuts, do you put anything on them? We've been using neosporin but my mom thinks we should be using hydrogen peroxide. I have very bad memories of how much that stuff stung. Just curious to hear what you all do.

Have a great holiday everyone!

[maryellenmd]

Macy is so cute. So, I couldn't resist posting a photo too. Here's Christian at Chuck E Cheese last week. :D

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x82/mei1974/DSCN1998-1.jpg

[lbd]

Cuts (and scrapes, splinters, etc) - we wash with soap and water if we can, an alcohol swab if we can't (hurts worse than hydrogen peroxide but sometimes necessary), then cover with neosporin and a bandaid. The hydrogen peroxide (or alcohol or soap/water) is only going to clean out the wound, whereas the neosporin will treat/prevent infection. I had to take a splinter out of the bottom of Ben's foot the other day -- horrible! He calms down pretty quickly once it's over but man, he hates the tweezers. Can't really blame him, right?

Hope everyone had a good Fourth. We had fireworks on the lake Thursday night and they went really well. They shoot them from the beach at the far end of the lake so we boat over and anchor mid-lake. Ben was not only awake until we got home at almost 10:30 but was fascinated by the fireworks. Didn't seem spooked by the noises or get bored, just kept oohing and ahing along with the rest of us. He also kept trying to jump out of the boat :rolleyes: which was not as fun for those of us trying to keep him in. Luckily, his lifejacket has a strap that's pretty easy to keep hold of and pass off between adults as he moves around the boat.

We don't do timeouts often, thank goodness, but they seem fairly effective when we do. He stays in the chair and will often start agreeing to do (or not do!) whatever the offending behavior was.

Maria, how'd the surgery go?

[amcleod]

Hey everyone!
Me: ann, 37
DH, Gary, 37 (for two more months)
DS: michael, 2 years on June 20

Seems like everyone had a great weekend. Gary's parents came down and I was worried because his dad needs to get both his knees replaced and therefore he cannot walk much. Living in the city, we walk everywhere, so I was not sure how it was all gonna go. Turned out pretty well.

They flew into BWI airport (just south of Baltimore) so we decided to go to the Baltimore Aquarium since the flight got in at 10am. Michael loved the fish. And...I bought him this bear "backpack" that really is a (for lack of a better word) leash (the bear's tail is the leash). I never thought I would put my child on a leash but I knew we would need one b/c he always wants to walk and he doesn't want to hold hands. Anyway...he LOVED the backpack (been wearing it all day every day) and the leash worked great! My FIL used a wheelchair so that worked well too. At night, we came to the roof of my office building to watch the fireworks on the National Mall. Michael was funny, at first he cried and said, "I scared! I scared!" but by the end he loved it and for the rest of the weekend he was saying "Boom! Firework!"

Rest of the weekend was low-key, we went out for breakfast, to the park, here and there, and just drove b/c of my FIL.

Otherwise...not much progress on potty training except he will tell us most of the time when he has pooped. He's wearing pull-ups b/c at school they teach him to pull down his pants and sit on the potty and to pull them back up so he's wearing pull ups. And seems to be thrilled b/c they have cars on them.

And I've lost 6.2 pounds so far on WW! Pretty good considering I still haven't started exercising again. I have to start - it is just deciding when to do it - and making Gary go along with whatever impact it has on his schedule.

OK, I've rambled, have a great week everyone!

[Bawstinn]

I just have a quick question - has anyone switched from whole milk? I *thought* it was whole milk until the age of 2 but at her appointment the doctor never said anything about switching to 2%.

Madeleine drinks a lot of milk but she really hasn't gained any weight since Christmas (maybe 1.5 pounds at best) so it isn't like I am worried about her topping the charts for weight. Curious as to what others are doing.

[amcleod]

We have switched...the doctor didn't say anything about it but it was on the "well child visit" flyer that they handed out at his 2 yr appt, so I did it. (they hand out a flyer at every regular appt that says what behaviors to watch for, development milestones for the age, etc.)

Michael still gets whole milk at daycare so I figure it is a good mix!

[Bawstinn]

:o I didn't read the flyer.

She'll get whole mailk at daycare until she switched to the Toddler Room which they tell me will be August. I may wait until then ...

[lbd]

Ben still gets whole milk and will for the foreseeable future. Remember though, he's a peanut - only 22.? lbs at 25 months. For almost a year he's been getting whole milk with whole milk powder added, essentially double power milk. I have just started reducing the amt of powder I add by half so he's getting about 1.5 concentration. I asked the pediatrician about switching at 2 years and she said to phase out the powder but keep him on whole. She said the switch to low-fat at age 2 is really only important for kids who are obese or heading in that direction, for regular- and under-weight kids it's fine to stay on whole.

[Kerri]

Finally, checking in...

Me: 32
DH: 32
DS: James, 22 months
DS2: Andy, 4 weeks!


We are adjusting. I keep saying that my only goal is to survive and we are doing that. Andy is going through his fussy period, but from what I can tell, everything is normal and nowhere as tough as things were with James.

James is doing pretty well. He had some problems loving the baby too much if you know what I mean. Poor Andy: getting poked while sleeping in his swing, getting rolled on during diaper changers, and getting hit in the head with a tractor while nursing, not quite the welcome he was expecting. James has had a few jealous moments while nursing, but it isn't bad. I try to have a "special snack", a "special activity" and a show on during these times. James has really gotten really good about playing by himself. It is quite amazing. I am happy to see how much quality time I still get to spend with James. Things are tough with the new baby, but doable.

The downfall: James does seem to have had a personality change. He is fearful and shy, when he used to be "Hello world"!! And it seems like he has hit his terrible twos all of a sudden. Not sure if these changes are due to the new baby, the age, or the fact that his cousins were here visiting. The last couple of days have been better, but still, it makes me wonder what the REAL terrible twos will be like.

I think there was another thread where some of us were talking about different baby carriers, so I wanted to pass along to the other expectant moms...although honeygirl has already had her baby...I have had some trouble with the wrap, and had the best luck with the ring sling. The ergo with infant insert is touch and go. I think Andy just likes to be cradled, where James liked to be held upright. I had some good luck with the wrap today, and happy I got it, but still, very happy I had the ring sling. Also, I got the sit and stand delux, and also very happy with that as well.

Here are my boys:

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o79/wirrek/July2008/2008_07060017.jpg

and just James:

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o79/wirrek/July2008/2008_07060032.jpg

[maryellenmd]

Maria - we switched to 2% milk after we saw the pediatrician. She recommended it, actually.

[TLee4]

Hi all. I'll check in too.

Me: Terri, 36
DH: Dan, 39
Joey: turned 2 in June
John-Paul: will be 1 Aug 2nd

We are doing well and having a nice summer. We survived a cross-country flight in June, which went great. The portable DVD player was the biggest help with Joey. They both did fine on both flights, which was quite a relief! We also had a fun 4th of July trip to Door County, WI. Joey was all about being "outside". He "drove tractor" and "drove boat".

We aren't having a ton of discipline stuff. The latest is this whining/crying thing that drives me nuts. He'll do this "fake crying" and he'll say "Joey cry". :rolleyes: I ask him to stop, and then warn him about time-out. Then I give him time-out. It is very effective. When I take him out I ask him to say "no more crying" which he does. And he stops it! (This scenario occurs when he wants something he is not getting, such as telling mommy to move out of her chair so he can sit on it. And he doesn't want to sit on the identical empty chair next to me!) Mostly he is a happy guy and so fun to be around!

I love all of the pics. Kerry, welcome to the 2-kid-club! :) I know what you mean about the "tough love" from big brother. I think these little guys will have no choice but to get tough. JP better get out of the way if Joey is coming in his car..or he gets run over!

Here are a couple of pics. I never thought that I'd consider a Playhut ballpit my home decor! (They LOVE it though).

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii91/tleexiv/Joeyballs.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii91/tleexiv/JPballs.jpg

[SooCookie]

Finally getting a chance to post!

Me: Michelle - 30
DH: 31
Kayla: turned 2 May 31st
DS: EDD - 9/14 (we have nicknamed him Wolfgang since everyone needs to know what his name will be! We have gotten some interesting looks.)

Kerri - glad to hear you are adjusting well to life with 2! I will be joining you in about 9 more weeks! God, it really scares the crap out of me...

Kayla is doing well, although this week, we have been back and forth the the doctor's office since what started out as what we thought was a simple bug bite on her ankle, escalated into a fever and nasty cough. Many x-rays and bloodwork later, she has croup, and it was just a coincidence that her ankle swelled up and she got a virus at the same time.

Accomplishments: Oh there are so many! Her vocabulary is just exploding and it is really neat to be able to understand what she is saying and that she can (somewhat!) communicate what she wants. For the most part, I love this age!

Challenges: Again, there are so many! ;) Our main issue right now is the throwing of toys, and having a major meltdown every night at bath time. I have considered dropping the baths to every other night, but then she wins, and I will not let that happen! :) Time outs have never really worked for her, as she always finds ways to occupy herself, even with nothing around, so we have been putting her in her room when she needs to be disciplined for something. But putting her in her room when she is naked and wet isn't really a solution, and I am just so lost as to what I should be doing to control. the situation.

Terri - we have that same exact ball pit! It was a birthday present for Kayla and by far is the most loved. Here is a pic:


Speaking of birthdays, her party went really well. It was My Friends Tigger and Pooh themed, so I got huge Tigger and Pooh head balloons that she just loved. I finally had to pop them when she was sleeping a few weeks ago since I had enough of them! Here is her "Super Sleuth" cake I made:

Editing: clearly I forgot how to post pictures. Sorry. I will post them when I get a chance to figure it out again.

[granolagirl]

Luke: almost 23 months

I must have missed it, but congratulations Kerri!! :)

We had a great 4th--Luke loved watching the parade. Lots of fire trucks, police cars, tractors and sorts of fun things. We invited our friends over, so he had buddies to hang out with. Lots of fun.

I hadn't really thought about the details of a birthday party yet, because I'm busy planning a bridal shower and I've got another shower and wedding to attend soon. Just today I was thinking of a theme. I think we are going to go with Curious George because he loves him so!

Whole Milk/2% Milk--not 2 yet, but I know our Ped said he transitions kids at 2 to 2% milk. Luke is a peanut, but I still expect our Ped to give the go ahead on 2%.

[amcleod]

Boy we are quiet this month, aren't we?! I'm procrastinating as usual so figured I'd say hi and post a little update.

This weekend, DH's niece (she's 30), hubby and 6-month old daughter came to visit. It was a full house that's for sure. Michael was so cute about the baby, though, he really liked her. And of course, it made me all mushy for another baby. We will probably start trying for another one at the end of the year.

Michael has become quite the singer. He sings the ABCs (not that he really knows what the ABCs are for, but he can sing the whole song), Baa-baa Blacksheep, Old MacDonald, Twinkle-Twinkle, and the Farmer in the Dell (without the Hi-Ho the Derry-o line). It is so cute because all of the sudden he will break into song.

I know this has come up before but honestly I dont' remember the answers and am lazy to try and find answers by doing a search...
In two weeks I am going to San Diego for my organization's annual meeting; Gary and Michael will follow a week and a half later and we will have a vacation. anyway, this is Michael's first plane ride and Gary will be alone.

Right now, my thought is to get one of those straps where you can attach the car seat to the carry-on bag, and Michael will sit in the carseat on the plane. This way there's only one thing to pull. (I am shipping a stroller out there with my meeting materials for free :) )

So, the questions: would it be better not to use the carseat on the plane? (we need the carseat b/c we are renting a car for 10 days, and to rent a carseat is $9/day...I'd rather spend $90 on something else!). My thought on the carseat is that it will contain him and he is familiar with it, but on the otherhand, sitting in the carseat for 5+ hours is no fun at all. I guess they can play it by ear and gate-check the car seat...but I know that I need to ahve all this thought through b/c Gary won't do it, and I will not hear the end of it if the plane trip is hellacious!

I am looking into renting a crib (we are renting a house at the beach, not staying at a hotel). Or should I rent a toddler bed? I could also rent bedrails and put him in a regular bed. I am leaning toward the crib since he is still in a crib at home...and don't want to put him in a bed for fear that we come home and he doesn't want to go in the crib! Anyone have experience with this stuff?

Okay, I should get back to the grind. Hope everyone is well!

[lbd]

When we flew to CA last summer (at 15 mos) Ben sat in his carseat during the flights. As I recall, it's much safer for him in that seat than in the regular plane seat. I think it was pretty similar to the difference in a car -- it just fits him better. We did have to get a seatbelt extender from the flight attendants but that wasn't a big deal.

We were staying my ILs who borrowed a packnplay from someone so I can't really help with the bed issues. Are you going to Legoland?? My BIL lives in San Diego and although it's going to be ages before we get out to visit him and his wife again, that's definitely at the top of my list. We couldn't go last time we visited because it was pre-Ben and you need to be accompanying a kid to go in.

My question of the day: does anyone have a good source for toddler/preschool size bathrobes? Ben has long outgrown his little one and I haven't found any bigger ones in stores. There are tons of places online but none that I've heard of and I'm leery of getting one from a complete unknown. Any suggestions?

[TLee4]

Hi Ann and Lorien!
Ann, my thought is that as long as you have to drag the carseat along anyway, I'd definitely have him sit in it on the plane. And if you want another use for your $90 (give or take) ;) this would be great for transporting the car seat.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-3212687-5655013?ASIN=B000JJK9EY&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000JJK9EY|Go_Go_Kidz_TravelMate_Black_Orange&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B000JJK9EY&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

On our last trip, we alternated having Joey in bed with us (no fun) and we made him a little bed with couch cushions in the hotel that he liked pretty well.

Sorry Lorien, no help on the robes.

Terri

[Bawstinn]

Hello!

When we went to Denver last fall I purchased a small cot from One Step Ahead. I think it was $50 and it folds up into a bag. Madeleine slept just fine on it. She also sleeps on a cot at daycare though, so we didn't have a problem with her not wanting to be in her crib at night.

On the other hand, I have caught her jumping in ger crib and attempting to throw a leg over. I think the decision to move her to a toddler bed will need to be made soon.

The two of us are headed to Minneapolis the 2nd weekend of August to go to the zoo, Mall of America and whatever we can find for the 3rd day. David didn't want to go with us - I think he still isn't comfortable with traveling (although we are driving).

That's all I got, I guess :)

[Sarah428]

Me: Sarah (32)
DH: Brian (34)
DD: Ella (5 next week!)
DS: Owen (turned 2 in June)

Hi all! I can't remember that last time I was able to post but I have been lurking. All the pictures are so cute, I remember when they all were babies!

Terri - Joey & John Paul are so cute, I bet you have so much fun with those boys!

Maria - Enjoy your weekend get away.

Owen is a little copy cat around Ella but is starting to stand his ground and do what he wants instead of what she suggests. He loves being outside and it's a battle every night to come in for dinner.

Here are few recent pics, the 1st the morning of his birthday and the 2nd one was obviously before his first haircut:o

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d830b3127ccec4032c4f055800000050O08EaN2LFo2bA9 vPhY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8db39b3127ccec47175c1cc1d00000070O08EaN2LFo2bA9 vPhY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/