Parenting Check In 5/9

[kona]

How is everyone doing this week? 

Let's hear the good, the bad and the ugly of parenting!

QOTW: Do you have any summer vacation plans this year? How do you deal with the challenges of traveling with LOs?

[2brides]

We are in crazy May. We just finished up G's school play, in which L stage managed and I volunteered. This week we have soccer, dance class, book fair (L is volunteering), and I am taking the kids to the talent show at school. Next weekend is the kids' laser tag birthday party, a friend spending the night, and soccer. The rest of the month is just as crazy!

G did an amazing job last night with homework. He'd forgotten to mention it to us until yesterday evening, so he and L stayed up till 8:30 finishing it. Though he was exhausted from a crazy busy weekend, he had a great attitude and got it done. C's allergies are killing him right now and he is a sniffly mess. He was so bummed yesterday - the team they played in soccer killed them and the ref didn't pay attention to a lot of the game resulting in bad calls.

QOTD: We are headed to New England for a week. We are going to do a few days in Portland and a few days in Boston. We had Southwest vouchers that needed to be used by June 30 and I found amazingly cheap flights. Now, I need to work on the rest of the logistics.

Traveling with the kids now is SO MUCH better than when they were little. I used to say that vacations, weren't vacations - they were trips.

We've traveled with them since 3m (those were the easy trips - except for hauling all the stuff!) But the trips from 12m-4y were tough. Kids were out of their element, we had to work around naps, we spent a lot times at playgrounds/kids' museums, and we had so.much.stuff. Now, the kids are interested in actual museums and can read the displays, no planning around naps/bedtimes, and the kids can entertain themselves which allows for us to have some downtime. And our big milestone this trip - this is the first trip in 10y, we haven't had to bring car seats/boosters! Whooo hooo!!!

[sdfonz619]

I feel like we are finally getting to a place where things don't feel so over whelming. Mila is starting to find her independence making it easier to multi task to get things done. Eating is going really well to. We have found that a combination of BLW, purees and mashes work best as there are some foods she prefers whole and others mashed or pureed. We've started making pureed mixes including protein and veggies together which, so far, is going over really well.

The only challenge we have run into is with BFing and biting, which seemed like it was related to teething until she bit me really hard this weekend, twice. I really, really, value being able to BF her so I hope we can work through whatever is making her do this. At this rate, if it continues, I'm not sure how much longer I will last.

Developmentally, she is surprising us with new milestones all the time. Currently, she is working on pulling herself up and is still figuring out this whole crawling this. She is extremely mobile though between turning over and sort of semi Army crawling her way to whatever it is that peaks her interest in than moment.

QOTW: No summer plans at the moment except that family will be coming out in July to stay with us for a couple of weeks. Since we are planning to move shortly after we are putting everything into organizing that. With her birthday in September we are thinking about scrapping a party and taking her to Disney instead. We haven't traveled anymore than a 2-3 hour road trip which went surprisingly well. I am nervous but also anxious to take her on a plane trip just to see how she does.

[kh826]

William is 23 months, Lucie is 3.5 months!

Latest William Stuff:
** He has been walking down the stairs holding onto just one mom's hand (he's been walking up the stairs for a long time, but we have been hesitant to let him walk down for a while -- especially b/c he likes to goof around on the stairs still..)
** We had to lower William's crib mattress to floor level last week b/c the little bugger almost climbed out. He is now totally jailed in. He physically can't get out unless he learns to scale the crib, which I highly doubt knowing that he is not the most coordinated or physically daring kiddo.
** Invitations to his Bday party are OUT! How is my baby boy almost 2?!?!?
** He still eats like a horse. Like seriously twice as much as I eat in a day. It's crazy.
** He is so excited for the "new houuuuuse" -- he talks about it constantly. I think he is most excited about the fish in the small pond outside. He is obsessed with all things sea life these days.
** Afternoon naps have been hit or miss. He seems to only be napping about 50% of the time lately. We still give him quiet time alone in his crib even if he doesn't nap. He is a mess in the afternoon/evening a lot of the time when he doesn't nap.

Lucie Highlights:
** She has been super vocal lately. She squeals and squeaks like crazy - it is adorable.
** Next ortho appointment is next Monday, and we are really hoping to be able to start weaning her from the harness after that.
** She has been doing a lot better with her head control, but she is definitely still "floppy"
** She has been sleeping through the night pretty much every night for the last week. 6 nights out of 7, and the one where she didn't sleep through the night her wakeup was at 4:45am, so it was allllllmost through the night.
** She continues to be the spit up queen. Sooooo much spit up. Sooooo much laundry.

Overall, they are super awesome kids. We definitely have 1-2 days/nights a week that feel like complete and utter chaos (mostly due to toddlerhood wreaking havoc with William's usual demeanor), but then we also have moments that don't feel like that, so it all evens out. When he wants to, William is awesome with independent play. He also is very sweet to Lucie when he wants to be. The problem is it is just very unpredictable, so we never know when we might be able to keep a watchful eye from the kitchen into the playroom and pack a few boxes, or whether we won't be able to turn our backs for a second...

QOTW: NO TRAVEL this Summer. We are buying a house - that is enough. HAHA. I will hopefully be taking a week off in August and we will have a staycation at our new house and maybe do a couple of day trips and just enjoy life in our new house. We have yet to travel with 2 kids. Traveling with 1 wasn't too bad, but 2 will probably be a lot more hectic. We might not actually travel anywhere far/overnight until we go to Boston for Thanksgiving... we shall see...

[karlamo]

I haven't checked in, in forever.

Life is good. We are moving so that's new. My wife got a new job which is a huge promotion at a fancy company. We will be 30 min from my family instead of the 1 hour 45 min drive that we are doing now. We were never planning on staying in our current house long term but we also weren't planning on moving in less than 2 years.

So we are listing our house in 2 weeks. We have put a lot of work into it in the two years we've lived here but it looks like we will be getting our money back and then some. It was a hard decision to make and not one we took lightly. But the fact is when we pictured our future, the thought of being so, so close to family and raising our boys in our new town, along with this really awesome job opportunity, we knew we had to take it now. So we did.

I'm feeling some what mellow about the move. I guess that comes with buying/selling three times in 7 years! If our house sells, great and if not then it's an awesome house and we hang out in it till it sells. My wife can commute to her new job.

QOTW: HAHAHA...who the hell knows at this point.
We travel a ton with our kids. It's hard work like 2brides said but my wife and I have never not travelled. Since my wife is changing jobs we are no longer going to Hawaii as that was her work trip. So now I'm cooking up a plan to go to London to visit friends of ours who moved there for work. We'll see how this plays out with moving.

[mahler5]

C is 2.

Today she really wanted to wear undies to school so I went with it. I brought some extra pairs and told her teachers they were welcome to put her back in pull ups but since she has been doing pretty well they kept her in underwear all day. They said she did really well, but did have a few accidents and pooped in her pants too, which is very normal. But they said they want to keep her in panties because she did great. I'm glad they are so pro potty training. I guess it's their job but I know for us (especially my wife) it can be easier to keep her in pull-ups. Plus, the baby is going to be here in 5 weeks or less so we might as well be doing this now and hope it sticks soon. She did tell us she needed to poop when she got home so that was great! She pooped in potty like a rockstar but then pooped in her undies 5 minutes later. Whoops. She told us right away so wasn't big deal just a little messier than a regular diaper change. But my wife sort of freaks out about it. She has a strong gag reflex, but sometimes I'm like, really? What's the big deal? I don't mind dealing with it though.

Her teachers also said today that she has been interacting with the other kids more, so that's cool!

I'm feeling guilty for not working much now but keeping C in daycare 3 days a week. It's nice though because I have so much to do and I can usually take a 1-2 hour break and just rest. Plus, I think it's helping for potty training. We have to figure out what to do after baby comes. I will definitely plan to switch her to two days (they don't do half days so don't want to pay for 3 full days) after we get in routine with baby. I don't plan on working during week until baby is older. I'll probably just do a couple 4 hour shifts a week.

So, my point is I can't decide if it would make more sense to switch her to a pre-school type setting where they do 2-3 half days and save a little cash. But, I also may want to go back more fulltime in the next year or two. I would hate to switch her and then need to switch her back! And I definitely don't want to switch her until she is used to the new baby. I just wish I knew what I wanted to do now but o just don't know how I am going to feel or what opportunities will be available.

QOTW-- I really wish we had done another vacation before baby #2 comes. We have only had C on one flight and only done 2 long car trips. I'm hoping to travel with the 2 of them but won't feel very comfortable for awhile I'm sure.

[kh826]

karlamo - how exciting! Congratulations on your wife's new job opportunity, and moving closer to family is so great! I hope that you sell your current house quickly and find your new dream house in your new town. Buying and selling is SO stressful, but also super exciting! So many of us are moving in this group!!!

[karlamo]

Thanks kh826. My loan guy tells me it's a sellers market, but that means on both ends:(

[kh826]

May 10, 2016 10:18:09 GMT -5 karlamo said:

Thanks kh826 . My loan guy tells me it's a sellers market, but that means on both ends:(

YEP! When you are buying and selling, you typically only "get a great deal" on one end.... I find that it all comes out in the wash. We are investing money into our new house right away (painting, replacing fixtures -- small stuff, but it adds up!) so for us we are still spending significantly more than we are making regardless. BUT we are also doubling our square footage and moving from a city location to a suburban neighborhood in a highly ranked school district. So, its apples and oranges for us. It's all about building the life we want for us, and not necessarily about the investment (although our appraisal on our new home tells us we will have instant equity, which is awesome!)...

[karlamo]

kh826, Yeah, we made a killing on the first house we sold. This time around, it'll be a modest profit. The problem is the area where we are moving to is $$$$, like high $400's for a fixer upper:(

I'm not looking forward to renovating after JUST doing it.

[kona]

O is 21 months.

We are seeing her assert her opinions more and more. Just this week she will put up a fight about sitting in her chair to eat. She wants to sit in a regular chair. We have a keekaroo chair with the support seat still in there. I'm thinking of getting the comfort seat to see if that will improve her opinion. I realize that it may not. I just hate that she won't sit still and eat if not strapped in. I also realize that is probably more for me than her.

She did awesome at swim class today. She finally started participating and having fun in the water.

She is sleeping a bit better as her cough improves. It would be so awesome if she could figure out how to fall asleep on her own before #2 shows up.

QOTW: We don't really have summer vacation plans. We cancelled the plans we had for July once we realized that we are due in August. We just have the trip to Great Wolf Logde planned next month. I agree that it's not really a vacation since the work of caring O doesn't go away and it's a lot of work to plan/organize etc. for a trip. I haven't told my mom that we are going though because I'm afraid she will come with us...isn't that awful. In my defense she has just hopped along on our vacations in the past.

[Stringy]

May 10, 2016 11:13:57 GMT -5 karlamo said:

kh826 , Yeah, we made a killing on the first house we sold. This time around, it'll be a modest profit. The problem is the area where we are moving to is $$$$, like high $400's for a fixer upper:(

I'm not looking forward to renovating after JUST doing it.

what direction are you headed?

[karlamo]

May 11, 2016 20:53:58 GMT -5 Stringy said:

May 10, 2016 11:13:57 GMT -5 karlamo said:

kh826 , Yeah, we made a killing on the first house we sold. This time around, it'll be a modest profit. The problem is the area where we are moving to is $$$$, like high $400's for a fixer upper:(

I'm not looking forward to renovating after JUST doing it.

what direction are you headed?

Packing up and headin' West..... Well, as soon as my house sells.

[Stringy]

May 12, 2016 18:23:02 GMT -5 karlamo said:

May 11, 2016 20:53:58 GMT -5 Stringy said:

what direction are you headed?

Packing up and headin' West..... Well, as soon as my house sells.

Out of the area? Or maybe near me haha.

[karlamo]

May 12, 2016 19:48:02 GMT -5 Stringy said:

May 12, 2016 18:23:02 GMT -5 karlamo said:

Packing up and headin' West..... Well, as soon as my house sells.

Out of the area? Or maybe near me haha.

Sent you a pm.