Parenting Check-in (January 11th)

[kh826]

Happy Monday!

Parenting Roster
healz413
Manada
kevinandjesse
foodislove
megd893
calsurb
andstilltrying
jazibel
kh826
karlamo
jgy
sherminator
mahler5
wittyandwaiting
kona
strings
mrsnorris
2mrsks (mrs&mrsk)
jennicole
amberreva
shemarie82
officerofthelaw
ionaerebor
firstcomeslove2013

*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: Talk to us about your pets/furbabies! Do you have any? Did you have them before you had kids, or did you add them to the family after your kid(dos) arrived? What are some challenges you have had with human kids and pet? What has surprised you most about the dynamic? Do you plan to add pets (whether you have any now or not) to your family in the future? Did you grow up with pets, and did that impact your decision about having pets and kids?

[kh826]

William is 19 months!

We had a good, relatively low key weekend. Lots of playing at home. We have been focusing a lot on motor skills, and he has definitely shown improvement/growth with stacking blocks, working with small pieces of toys, coloring and holding crayons the right way, etc. It's amazing how much of it seems to be intuitive, and he just knows what to do without us telling him. Some of it must be mimicking behaviors that he sees us doing, but I feel like some of it is just intuitive. Either way, it is so awesome to watch him learn and do new things. It is one of my favorite things currently. I often say to J that I could sit and watch him play for hours (he does really well with independent play -- especially now with his kitchen set, that keeps him busy for long stretches of time).

He has started repeating more and more in terms of longer phrases. He now says "I need help, please" or "I give Reese 1 treat, ok?" He also will babble with total gibberish for what seems like a long time and then take 1-2 real words onto the end "blah da bi do blah ti do me la blah Momma, ok?" HAHAHA.... so we often say "Can you tell us that again?" We must also say "what?" a lot, because he has started saying "what?" to us when we ask him to do certain things or try to get his attention.

We definitely feel like we need to do a better job of socializing him with other kids around his age. Don't get me wrong, he has little play dates on occasion, J takes him to story time at the library as well as open gym at a local play place. We also take him to the play places at the mall and other things like that. However, since he isn't in daycare he isn't interacting daily for long periods of time with kids his own age. We want to make sure that he plays well with others, learns to share, and learns certain social skills... so we really want to try to work on getting him more interactions with his peers. Some of this will be helped by adding baby #2 to the family, I suspect... anyway, J is hosting a small playtime at our house this morning with three other kiddos, and she is excited. I am excited too. I think it will be good for William and good for J. We are also looking into signing William up for a 6 week long class called "professional toddlers" that basically is a 90 min. mini preschool day for kids in William's age range, and the parents stay with the kids and do the activities with them. I am not sure right now is the best time to commit to this class with Dosey coming anytime now, but J really wants to sign up for this particular class, so we will see...

Current Challenges & Questions for BTDT Parents!
* So walking up the stairs at night has become a problem. About a month ago we transitioned from me carrying William up to bed to having him climb the stairs himself. A lot of this was precipitated by the fact that I was increasingly uncomfy carrying him due to my pregnant belly, but also we wanted to give him the independence and make sure he could manipulate stairs well (our stairs are usually blocked off by a baby gate during the day). Well, we have started struggling with stair safety a lot. He goofs around while climbing up the stairs. He turns around and starts laughing or throws his head back and giggles. I am right behind him the whole time, and I am constantly redirecting him about being safe on the stairs, etc., but it has now become a nightly occurrence. I really worry that he could fall, and at this point that he could also make me fall. Picking him up and carrying him mid-way is not really an option, as usually my hands are full with his puppy, his blanket, his milk cup, etc., plus with being 9 months pregnant, I am pretty sure I would lose my balance in the process. Anyway, has anyone else dealt with this issue? How did you reinforce stair safety for kiddos this age?

* Do you folks give your toddlers milk whenever they ask for it? William is drinking organic 2% cow's milk (he was on whole milk from 12-18 months, and at 18 months we switched him to 2% at the recommendation of his pedi). We usually give him a sippy cup of milk in the morning when he gets up, and another sippy cup of milk at night right before bedtime. He probably consumes about 14-18 ounces of milk total a day, depending on whether or not he finishes both cups. Throughout the rest of the day we offer him water (which he usually happily drinks), but lately he has been asking for milk at random times throughout the day. Sometimes with meals and sometimes not. We usually try to give him water instead, but a few times he has lost it insisting he wants milk, so we will give in and give him another sippy of milk (or a 1/2 of one). My only hesitation is that he is a SUPER great eater. I mean, this kid is already like a garbage disposal. He sometimes eats more than me at meal times! Everything he eats is nutritious, and we aren't loading him up on carbs and sugar (75% of his diet is truly fruits and veggies, he has never had a cookie and his only taste of sweets really was his bday cake), but the kiddo is solid and he is 97th percentile for weight. I have struggled with weight my entire adult life, as has J, and it is super important to us that we eat healthily as a family and set our kids up to have a good relationship with healthy foods. OK, with all of that being said, is there such a thing as too much milk at this age? Should I be worried that it is empty calories that he doesn't need? Am I crazy for even thinking about this at this point? (Please be kind and don't judge me for asking this question - it really is something I think about in terms of making good nutritional choices for him.)

QOTW: We have one small dog named Reese (she is a Pomeranian Fox Terrier - about 9 lbs). We have had her for almost 7 yrs, so long before we had kids. She is skiddish and nervous a lot. We joke that she needs anxiety meds, but it might not be a joke anymore. We are considering talking to the vet about it. I think having William has stressed her out. He can be a little tornado, and while he is very gentle with her, she tends to run away from him and hide from him a lot. I worry that her quality of life has taken a hit since we had him. I am hoping as he gets older that improves, but who knows. And who knows what having another baby (who will grow into a toddler) will do to her. She is a sweet dog, but she has become a bit of a scaredy cat. We would love to get another dog when we move. We would like to have a medium sized dog. I do worry though that it would totally ruin Reese if we introduced another dog into the family, so we might not be able to do that. We will play it by ear and see how things go once we have another baby. J did not grow up with pets. I grew up with big dogs (usually 2 at a time throughout my childhood), but I was never really close to any of them. They never felt like "my dog" if that makes any sense. William is OBSESSED with dogs, and I would not be surprised if she starts asking for more dogs as he gets older... we will have to see....

[jgy]

kh826, is your Pedi concerned about W's weight?

G is also a HEAVY guy. Solid. High percentiles on the weight-for-age scale. He still drinks WCM and gets a lot of it. He may or may not have some with breakfast on the weekdays (almost always gets it on weekends). He gets 12oz/day at daycare, and always has some with dinner. Sometimes he will drink 2 entire sippy cups of it at dinner.

G is also a pretty great eater both in quantity and in quality.

I have ZERO concerns about this.

I feel that at this age, kids are still pretty darn good about self-regulating their diet. If he wants milk, he probably needs it. And either way, he's not going to push past the point of being full. So if his milk intake goes up a bit, he might not eat QUITE as much of some other things during the day. But that's okay. As long as you're not handing him sippy cups of chocolate milk 3 times a day (which I know you're not), he's still making good choices and he's showing some preferences. That's okay.

I know it's really hard to quiet concerns that you might have for your child based on your own experiences. But you kind of have to. You guys are doing everything right here - offering and encouraging intake of healthy foods. Limiting/eliminating unhealthy choices. Ensuring exercise and activity. W will be fine.

That's my $.02!

[kh826]

Thanks, jgy!
At his 18 month appointment, our pedi just mentioned he was 97th percentile for weight, that he was solid, and we should keep an eye on BMI as he gets older. Then she recommended that we switch to 2% milk, which we did.
I really don't think we have anything to be worried about at this point. He is a solid fella, but I wouldn't look at him and say he looks overweight at all. He is very active, and he is also very tall 98% for height.
I think I am projecting my own insecurities and experiences with weight onto him, which I don't want to do. I also just wanted a gut check to make sure that what we were doing was well aligned with his peers. Sometimes it helps to hear other parents say "oh yea, totally, we do that too!" ... Anyway, thanks for the positive feedback! He is WAY bigger than all of the other 19 month olds that we know (both in height and in weight), and I think that is just the way that he is built and that is fine. He has always been kind of a baby hulk compared to other kids his age that we know.

[jgy]

Jan 11, 2016 11:23:12 GMT -5 kh826 said:

Thanks, jgy !
At his 18 month appointment, our pedi just mentioned he was 97th percentile for weight, that he was solid, and we should keep an eye on BMI as he gets older. Then she recommended that we switch to 2% milk, which we did.
I really don't think we have anything to be worried about at this point. He is a solid fella, but I wouldn't look at him and say he looks overweight at all. He is very active, and he is also very tall 98% for height.
I think I am projecting my own insecurities and experiences with weight onto him, which I don't want to do. I also just wanted a gut check to make sure that what we were doing was well aligned with his peers. Sometimes it helps to hear other parents say "oh yea, totally, we do that too!" ... Anyway, thanks for the positive feedback! He is WAY bigger than all of the other 19 month olds that we know (both in height and in weight), and I think that is just the way that he is built and that is fine. He has always been kind of a baby hulk compared to other kids his age that we know.

See above, bolded.  This is why the #1 statistic that I look at with my kids is the "Weight to Length Ratio."  Of course your kid is high on the weight chart.  He's tall!!!!  

William is going to be just fine.  You guys are doing all the right things.  I do think that you're projecting a bit.  It's a really good thing to be conscious of potential issues, but at the same time if you look and look and look for something eventually you're going to see it.  I know it's hard, but try to relax and trust your good parenting and William's naturally good health.  

(I'm trying, REALLY HARD, to not get ragey at your Pedi right now)

[healz413]

Ellis is 20w6d and is done with her wonder week! Starting on Friday she became a happy baby again. It's so much fun. She's clearly learning new things and seems older than she did a week ago (more than a week older, that is).
The sleep regression seems to be easing (knock on wood). Most notably, she hasn't been waking on transfers from arms to pack n play at night for the last two nights. We are still having multiple wake ups but they're not as bad. For instance last night, E woke twice before 10pm but then only once in the middle of the night at 3. It totally makes sense that she would need an overnight feeding with a 7/7:30 bedtime. The night before she woke up at 1 and at 5:30. So we will see what happens. I'm trying to remember that this could just be a lull in the sleep regression.
manada is sick and has been since Friday. But she has to into work today.
They're coming to replace the heating pipes in our apartment today and tomorrow which is going to be a pain. I'm going to have to put the dog in a room alone, which she is going to hate. And we don't know if they're doing the whole apartment or just the bedrooms. I hope they come and get it over with, though. Our building is notorious for scheduling a repair and the notifying you after the fact that it has to be rescheduled.
QOTW: we have a 85 lb hound mix who is 6 years old. She is great with Ellis. She needs a fair amount of exercise that we find hard to get her so three days a week she goes with a dog walker and gets to go to the offleash park with a pack of dogs plus the van ride there and back. She definitely gets less attention now that the baby is here and I find it hard to fit all her needs into our schedule. I'm glad ellis will grow up with a dog but it's hard enough having a dog in an apsrmtment without adding a baby to the mix.
We also have an 11 yr old cat

[karlamo]

kh826, I would agree with jgy that I'm sure W is doing fine. To be honest I know nothing about weight issues so I guess it's best to defer to the Dr. and if they're keep an eye on things, then I wouldn't worry too much at this point.
R drinks milk all day long, we don't limit it. He drinks soy, almond and coconut milk which are all lower in calories compared to cows milk. Maybe you could introduce one of these as an alternative during the day when he's asking for more milk if it'll make you feel better.
I worry about the opposite with R; that he's not eating enough. I think it's the Italian in me:) I never would have guessed how mind consuming and worrisome feeding your kid is.

As for stairs, I'm not sure of JGY house, but it was/is essential for R to learn how to climb the stairs with having a new baby. Of all the things to do to get ready for a new baby, this has to rank #1 for me. First of all, I couldn't lift him for 4 weeks PP so he needed to know how to do stairs or I had to rely on my wife. Secondly, too many times I've had to carry both kids up and down at the same time. Probably not the safest thing to do. Now having said all that, I don't do anything special with R for the stairs. I just keep reinforcing stair safety. He always holds my hand going up and down, unless I'm alone with him, then I let him go up on his own with me behind him. R likes to look back and I have to tell him eyes front. He's overly confident on them and I'm not! Does J let him go up/down on his own when she's home with him? That might be a good time to practice especially since she will be the one home with 2 kids. Stairs scare me:/

[kh826]

karlamo - Regarding the stairs, I absolutely agree that William needs to be able to safely navigate them on his own (with our oversight obviously), which is the other reason that we stopped carrying him (at least when going up the stairs) about 4 weeks ago. He does fine with it in terms of ability, but he is a goofy little bugger, and he has taken to think that climbing the stairs is a game. He gets silly and looks back or tilts him head back and laughs about halfway up. Stairs scare me too, which is why I want to correct this behavior ASAP (especially before we are transporting 2 kids up/down at once).

I reinforce every night on the way up to bed that he needs to be safe on the stairs and I redirect him whenever he looks back or starts being silly on the stairs. I try to stay calm, but unfortunately this continues to be an issue every night. I think I probably need to just keep doing what I am doing and be consistent and hope that this is a phase, but I was hoping someone might have some experience with this and perhaps a technique that worked for them.

Usually the only other time of day that William is going upstairs is naptime in the afternoon. J has been having him "walk up the stairs like a big boy" instead of carrying him for several weeks, but I don't think this is as much of an issue for her as it is for me for a couple of reasons. #1 - I think William is more tired when I am taking him up to bed at night, and more likely to be overly silly. #2 - I think I am more cautious and worry more, so I probably make a bigger deal out of it than J does. #3 - William and J just have a different dynamic, and I am wondering if William is purposely trying to push my buttons. I will bring this up to J tonight and see what her thoughts are... I am often not there (at least 5 days a week anyway) when she takes him up for nap, so I don't get to witness how he is on the stairs with her first hand.

[kona]

O is 17 months.

I am home from work early as our nanny called out sick (her dtg had pink eye). I guess we should be considered lucky as she has been with us for a year and this is the first sick call we have had. Still it's a disruption to the schedule.

We attempted to work on O's napping this weekend and it went horribly. Today I did nap and she did fall asleep after 30 minutes of talking/playing with a little help from me. The true test will be how long she sleeps. She is doing so much better with sleep. We actually had another couple over for dinner on Friday night. I was afraid it would be a disaster but she went down for M and stayed asleep long after they left. It was really nice to feel like adults again.

O is talking more. I made her a mei tai doll baby carrier which she was only marginally interested in. That made me sad but maybe once her sibling arrives she will want to baby wear like her moms.

QOTW: We have a 70# black lab. He is 8 and we have owned him for 7 years. We had a dog prior to that as well. I used to walk him when I got home from work nearly every day. There are definite challenges having a kiddo and a dog with high energy. We are trying to find the balance. It's easier in the summer when we can walk a lot more. We did try taking him to a play group but the only one we trust is a 30 minute drive. So that means O spends 2 hours a day in the car the day we send him. We are working on more consistent walks regardless of the weather and using the treadmill when it's really bad.
I don't know if we will get another dog once he passes. I think it will depend on how our family looks at that point. I'm glad that O will grow up with a dog but I also feel strongly that it's not ok to just leave the dog home alone all the time.

[karlamo]

The boys are great. Growing and growing.

R is still doing his thing. We started swim class yesterday and he loved it. It's his second session but man what a difference. He is following directions in the water which is good. I really wanted him to know how to swim by now, so I need to really be pushing him and taking him to the pool more often. Lately he has been really helpful around the house and he LOVES it. I'll ask him to do stuff for me, like bring me something or give L a toy and he does. I never would have guessed that he would be capable of being a helper at his age but he is. It's awesome. He thinks it's cool being asked to do something too.
I bought the book Love and Logic and will be putting this into practice. R is at the age where he doesn't get discipline but he needs it. Some of his behaviors can't go on any longer without being addressed. I don't want to wait too long to fix them and then deal with a bratty kid.
L rolled over for the first time last Thursday. He is so cute when he does it. He gets stuck on his side like a bug and will move his legs and arms. He's so darn cute.

QOTW: Funny this got asked this week because we were just talking about it at work this morning. We have 2 cats that we had before kids. They were the loves of our lives before kids, after kids, they've fallen in ranks. Honestly it's hard taking care of them plus 2 kids. Cats are suppose to be independent except mine. My one cat bites my ankle in order to get more treats and I comply cause I don't want to be bit! He is a treat whore. But I've figured out a solution to my problem, I taught R how to give him treats. R thinks it's the best thing ever to feed him and my cat reaps the benefits of a toddler who dumps the whole treat bag out.
One thing I can't stand about kids and pets is that people constantly ask if we will get a puppy because you know boys need a dog. I'll say this here but if you ask me IRL I will deny it, I hate dogs. I'm not a dog person AT all. So if we were ever to get another pet it would be a cat. But 2 cats are good enough for me.

[jgy]

kh826, karlamo, it totally pains me to have to admit this, but the reason why G is a prince on the stairs is because he fell down them. And I mean a dramatic, take your breath away, who-the-hell-is-screaming-oh-wait-that's-me, kind of a fall. He was right within my reach/grasp and then he wasn't. It was AWFUL. I still feel sick to my stomach thinking about it.

The only bright side is that he has NEVER messed around on the stairs. And if you've been around long enough (as you two have), you know that totally goes against his sassy nature. So I guess the kid CAN learn.

Anyway, there's nothing helpful in there for you but thought I'd mention it anyway in case anyone out there was feeling like a crappy parent today. There's my gift to you ... as long as you haven't let your kid tumble down an entire flight of stairs, well, then you're doing better than this lady!

[jgy]

Well aside from the extra-long family visit having its tough moments over the holidays, they were generally a pretty great time for us and I felt like the boys grew so much. It was really fun. And then the last week was a ROUGH re-entry into more normal family life.

Big G is as sassy and defiant as ever, but he's also growing by leaps and bounds with his imaginative play. It's pretty hilarious and oh the stories he tells! I think one of my favorite things right now is that he constantly talks about his Aunt (Bug-Bug), and how she lives on an airplane. Because she always has to fly to come visit us, he thinks that's where she actually lives. Every time a plane goes overhead he asks if BugBug is on it.

Last week was G's first week of full days in the Preschool room. I was REALLY nervous because he's been so bonded to one of his Toddler teachers, but he just did wonderfully. In fact, drop-off has been easier now than it used to be. He seems more engaged in what the room of kids might be doing, and more eager to join in. Plus he's back with some of his besties, so I think he's much happier. But while drop-off has been easier, pick-up has been a complete nightmare. Most evenings when I finally get the brood home, I'm either spitting mad and yelling, or consciously no longer talking to G in an effort to save my sanity. One evening last week I actually had to physically sit on G while putting little g into his carseat, to keep him from running out the front door of the DC. I got some snotty looks from other parents and I swear to god if any of them had said ANYTHING (not that it would happen here in passive-aggressive MN), I would have thrown my shoes at them and told them to go ahead and walk in them.

Little g is rocking on. He's growing and becoming sweeter and sweeter. I'm so thrilled to have him in our family, I sometimes want to burst. But unfortunately my magical unicorn sleeper is no longer. Now he's up 5-8 times per night and it's just about killing me. Please everyone, don't let me break my second kid for sleep the way I did my first!!!!

So little g also started daycare last week Monday (as mentioned above) and by Wednesday he already had the dreaded daycare disease. It seems mild, mostly a stuffy nose, but it's hanging around. Poor kiddo. But he seems to love it and the teachers have mentioned that he is "Muy feliz!!" They are right. As long as he's got a clean diaper, he's been fed, and there's stuff to watch ... well he's pretty easy. I'm still trucking along with BF and I couldn't be more grateful for how much better it's going with g than it did with G. 2 more months until we can start some solids and everything in me is cheering "We can DO THIS!" But we'll see. I had some not-so-great conversations with DC last week about them wanting me to send more milk, so it could all crumble in the blink of an eye.

QOTW: Seriously I could do a whole separate post about this. We have 1 dog and 1 dog-cat.

Our dog is a 95lb doberman who is almost 4 years old. He has serious territorial issues and some aggression towards humans. Ugh. We've had him since he was 12 weeks old and this is definitely NOT the vision that we entertained. He has some medical issues that greatly restrict his protein intake, so we had a very VERY hard time working with training him. At this point, we're not sure how much more progress we will be able to make and it's truly disheartening because it limits us greatly. We rarely have anyone over to the house because it's such a process to go through introductions, and frankly 1 person can't do it if either of the kids are also home. We don't go out much in part because we feel guilty about him having even more crate-time (he's crated while we are at work). In addition to his people aggression, he's also just plain naughty. If he doesn't get enough exercise (or even sometimes when he does) he does what we call "Trolling for trouble," where he walks the perimeter of a room systematically getting into anything he's not supposed to have and eating it. He will steal a pacifier right out of the baby's mouth and down that thing in 5 seconds. Bedtime is a total crap-shoot because we can't leave him alone downstairs but we also can't get him to just lay down on the floor upstairs while we read books. OMG I'm getting overwhelmed and sad again just writing this. This dog, who we do truly adore, completely rules our lives and it sucks. The one bright spot is that he's fantastic with our boys. He's patient, tolerant, and gentle. And he licks their feet.

He gets walked daily (usually I come home at lunch to do it, but now with pumping I can't so we're figuring that out) on the days that he doesn't go to play care. Twice a week he goes to play care and it's awesome, but expensive. Right now it's -4 out here, so I don't know what the plan is for exercise. I hate the winter.

Our dog-cat is awesome, and he's almost 6. We've had him since he was 16 weeks. I think he's had the largest adjustment since we added kids to the family. He just doesn't get the same attention that he used to, though he still gets a lot. He shows us his anger and dissatisfaction by pooping in obvious (non litter box) places. That sucks. But we do what we can to make sure knows that he's loved. And he's also fantastic with the boys. He lets G pick him up and carry him around, and wrestles with him some times without even the hint of a claw. The guy can't even walk across my shoulder without a claw coming out for stability, but with the boys? Not a chance. We're really lucky that way.

[karlamo]

Jan 11, 2016 14:19:29 GMT -5 jgy said:

kh826 , karlamo , it totally pains me to have to admit this, but the reason why G is a prince on the stairs is because he fell down them. And I mean a dramatic, take your breath away, who-the-hell-is-screaming-oh-wait-that's-me, kind of a fall. He was right within my reach/grasp and then he wasn't. It was AWFUL. I still feel sick to my stomach thinking about it.

The only bright side is that he has NEVER messed around on the stairs. And if you've been around long enough (as you two have), you know that totally goes against his sassy nature. So I guess the kid CAN learn.

Anyway, there's nothing helpful in there for you but thought I'd mention it anyway in case anyone out there was feeling like a crappy parent today. There's my gift to you ... as long as you haven't let your kid tumble down an entire flight of stairs, well, then you're doing better than this lady!

What if you're playing with them on your gigantic bed and they fall off and land like they were in an episode of Wipe Out? Does that make you a crappy parent? Asking for a friend;)

[jgy]

Thanks, karlamo!

[kh826]

jgy & karlamo - you are both awesome parents, and I refuse to let you think otherwise. Crap happens. We haven't had a fall yet, but we have had a few "near misses" ... I am sure it is only a matter of time.

[mahler5]

I left C at home all day with my mom and then in-laws while I did an all day training thing. That's the first time in awhile. I usually leave for work around 2:30, and get back after bedtime, so it doesn't seem as long.

She was fine of course. We are starting part time daycare in 3 weeks. I'm excited. I think it will be really good for the both of us.

kh826-- for awhile C was drinking close to 24 oz a day until probably a couple months ago. Our ped said to not go above that. The last month she has cut back considerably. She won't finish her morning milk generally. She will have close to 6 oz maybe before her nap. And at might it's probably 3- 4 oz. so probably 12-14 oz total. She is about 50% for weight and height and she eats really well. It sounds like William is really active and healthy, and like others said is tall, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Also, I'm really glad you brought up the stair thing.

We don't have stairs in our current house but probably will in our next house which hopefully we will be moved in to before baby number 2 comes. I am thinking if the stairs aren't carpeted I will need to put some sort of carpet on them so if C does fall she won't fall as hard hopefully. She usually does well on stairs and I will just walk behind or hold her hand but if i'm carrying another baby that is another story. And given that I fell while wearing C in a baby carrier when she was 6 weeks, and I fell hard, I am scared to have the same thing happen again. She was fine but it was really scary and involved an ER visit. So karlamo and jgy that should make you both feel better.

A lot of the houses here are walkout ranches, and have the main bedrooms on the main level, so I probably won't have to necessarily go up and down the stairs a lot. It's definitely something to think about when purchasing our next home!

Oh, and C has been sleeping better without the crib. We finally took it out of the room since she wasn't using it. It was sort of sad but definitely time.

[karlamo]

mahler5,and C has been sleeping better without the crib. We finally took it out of the room since she wasn't using it. It was sort of sad but definitely time.




*sniff* you're baby is all growns up.

[2brides]

No crazy milestones here. G decided while I was away to join the pre-swim team (winter practice for summer season.) That boy loves activities (he is doing 2 dance troupes, drama, swimming..and might play soccer in the spring. Holy moly. Two of these activities take place after school/during aftercare so it isn't a big deal timewise.) I got back from my mini vacation and L is sick. It was a great vacation and I had a blast.

kh826,we have a ton of stairs in our house (3 story townhouse)so the kids had to become adept at navigating them. The fooling around on the stairs is just his age. He will grow out of it once the novelty of doing the stairs solo wears off. I would try to be empty handed when you go up so you truly could catch him if he starts to fall (a pain, I know.) We only had 2 big falls on our stairs - 1 I was carrying one of the kids and I slipped and we both bumped down the stairs and then one of the kids took a header all the way down. Both were fine - though it was scary as he$$.

QOTD: We had a spring spaniel mix named Abbey that L came into the relationship with. My the time I came along, she was 6y and onery as all get out. She had anxiety so hated to be kenneled, but also hated for people to come into the house when we weren't there to take care of her. It really was limiting. By the time the kids came around she was 12y and blind and deaf. We had to keep the dog and kids separated at all times. It was awful. Just before the kids 2nd birthday we had to put her to sleep. We will never get another dog. It is just too limiting to have to go home to let them out/walk them/travel/etc.

We also have 2 cats that we got after we had been dating for a couple of years. One orange tabby and one solid black. They are now almost 14y old. One cat tolerates the kids petting him, the other only makes herself known at meal time or when L is working at her desk. she avoids the kids at all costs. L says no more pets after these cats die, but I am not sure that is 100% true.