Parenting Check-in (October 19)

[kh826]

Good Morning Parents!

Here is our roster for this check-in:

Parenting
healz413
Manada
kevinandjesse
foodislove
megd893
calsurb
andstilltrying
jazibel
kh826
karlamo
jgy
sherminator
mahler5
wittyandwaiting
kona
strings
mrsnorris
2mrsks (mrs&mrsk)
jennicole
amberreva
shemarie82

*If you would like to be added to the list, just let us know!

So, tell us about your parenting experiences this past week? Any new milestones? Anything exciting in your house?

QOTW: If you could go back in time and give your pre-parenting self one piece of advice about parenting, what would it be?

[2brides]

Nothing really new. G is starting the dance troupe at school today. Can't wait to hear how it went! My dad's visit was this weekend and it was much better than anticpated. He had a really great time with the boys and they with him. I think he likes older kids vs babies/toddlers.

QOTW: Don't just have 1 thing...Know the signs of PPD. Get help if you need it. Don't stress yourself out pumping 1001x a day. Formula is fine. Your baby will sleep thrive. Sleep train earlier. 2y of a kid refusing to go to sleep in his bed is a long.time. Don't wish away the baby years no matter how tired you are.

[mahler5]

I feel like a bit of a crappy parent today as I haven't been feeling well and I let C watch way too much TV . We did other stuff too and briefly went to the park but I just don't feel like she is getting enough interaction with other kids and getting enough stimulation in her environment . She is getting better at playing by herself at least so that's good .

I still feel like most days it's better to not have her in daycare but today wasn't one of them . I worked late last night too which didn't help . But tomorrow is another day. She is really do much fun right now , except for the occasional chase down. She said "Hi Duckies" at the park about a hundred times. Most of the time in a very loud voice scaring the duckies.

QOTW-- definitely to get more sleep ( I.e. Rely on your partner more) in first few weeks after labor. I was a mess then.

[kona]

O is 14 months.

She is still teething up a storm. They are just coming fast and furious. I can't tell if she actually has a cold now, or just a runny nose from teething. She's been really snuggly the past few days which I love but is not really her normal. She's been talking a lot more. She says 'mama' (mostly for both of us still), 'bye bye' and 'hi' consistently and continues to sign up a storm.

I feel like I failed as a parent yesterday. The nap schedule is never consistent in the afternoon and I really wanted to run. So I went for a run with O (she will never sleep in the stroller) and then my mom showed up so she did not get an afternoon nap. Then she was up until 9:30 (bed time is at 7) with DW and I felt bad. I will have to do better today. My issue is I need to exercise for my sanity and there are not enough hours in the day.

QOTW: I'm not sure I have advice other than just know if you don't like this phase it will change.

[karlamo]

R is 20 months and L is 8 weeks.

Things are good over in our neck of the woods. I survived 3 days and 3 nights parenting alone. I feel like a bad a$$ mom for doing it. R has been cracking us up with his new material. He started saying "ok guys" to us. It's hysterical and gives me a glimpse of him as a teenager. He also has been trying to jump which he can't do but he'll count 2,2, go then he'll do this pathetic hop like he's jumping. I'm enrolling him in gymnastics and he'll start next week. He's going to love it. R continues to be in love with L by giving him his paci or telling me to nurse him. The other day he wanted to sleep in the crib with L. Which is sweet till R body slams him!

L is a our pork chop. He continues to be a go with the flow baby as long as he gets boobs and a nap when he wants them. He's still in our bed at night and honestly we love it. He's so snuggly and sleeps so well in our bed, only waking to eat then right back down. I know you're all laughing cause I said something like, "Moka will never be in our bed". Ha, but we get so much sleep this way and he's a good bed mate. We talked about transitioning him to the crib at 6 months. We learned with R that it's best to sleep train before they can stand up.

QOTW: Hmm, in reference to having 2 kids now, I'd say you're going to have moments when you're rocking it, and times when you feel your best is not good enough for them and you feel so much guilt that each one isn't getting enough attention. But hang in there. Try to take time during the day to sit with each one alone and let them know you're there for them.

[kh826]

William is 16 months.

We had a fun, but very busy weekend.
I mentioned in my pregnancy check-in that I spent A LOT of time chasing and lifting our very heavy, very fast toddler this weekend!
We went to a pumpkin days event at a local arboretum on Saturday and then we went to the Zoo (they have an annual Halloween event called Boo at the Zoo) on Sunday. William now wants to RUN everywhere. When we are in a public open space with crowds, this can be stressful. Everything was good, but I did more than my fair share of running/chasing/picking him up, and by the end of the weekend I was one totally exhausted and sore pregnant lady.
I hate that I am already feeling like pregnancy is slowing me down in the parenting department. I have a long way to go still! I think it was just a lot since it was two very demanding days back to back. Hopefully this isn't indicative of my new norm for the rest of pregnancy. I really want to try to keep up with William and give him as much attention and 1:1 play as I can manage between now and when baby comes, so it is important to me that I not slow down too quickly. Don't be a whimp, KH!!!

He is a total laugh a minute these days. He says some hysterical things on a daily basis that keep us laughing most of the time. He still loves to cuddle and snuggle, which we are trying to soak up as much as we can. He definitely has become more of a toddler, and his defiant behavior is becoming more evident. We are working on it, and we have seen some small positive changes, but it is definitely hard sometimes, and I can only imagine how much harder it will be once we have a newborn added into the mix. I know we will survive, but I am not going to lie and say that I am not a little bit terrified. Because I am.

This kiddo eats like he has a bottomless pit. We make a real effort to make sure that he is eating healthily (mostly veggies, fruits, whole grains & lean protein), but he eats quantities unlike any other young toddler I have ever seen. Sometimes at dinner he will eat everything on his plate and then start eyeing my plate if I am not done yet and say "More Mama!" His current favorites are broccoli, carrots, red grapes, mandarin oranges, blackberries, kiwi, butternut squash, cherry tomatoes and plain greek yogurt. We give him the occasional peanut butter sandwich, etc., and he eats pasta 1-2 times a week, etc., but we do our best to make most of his meals as full of whole foods as possible. If his current eating habits are any indication of what is to come for our family, he will be one of those boys who eats us out of house and home as an adolescent/teenager!

QOTW: I would tell myself not to stress so much about the little stuff. I would tell myself not to work during maternity leave. I would tell myself to enjoy every second with my family and try to live in the moment more from the very early days. I would tell myself not to push myself (and our newborn) too hard 2-3 weeks postpartum to try and accommodate other people. I hated our newborn photography experience that we did 8 days postpartum. I would tell myself not to spend the time/money on that and to just let J take the photos (she is a better photog in my opinion that what we paid for anyway). I would tell myself that formula is OK and that I am NOT a bad Mom for eventually giving into the fact that my body was just not producing a fraction of enough milk to feed my child.