August '05 mamas - we have toddlers...wow! - Page 3

[heldt123]

henho - How are you feeling today..any better?

kaitnbugsmom - sorry you had such a bad visit with the wic office. I know things vary from state to state, but up here the quality of the visits really depend upon the nurse that you get. Most of the time they move us in and out quickly with no problems and lots of encouragement, and other times we get a crank that wants to nitpick on everything. After mentioning to one lady that I was in school working on my 4 year degree, she told me that "Oh good, when you finish that you will be able to contribute something back to society." I almost walked out, but hubby was unemployed at that time and we really needed it.

eastkygal - Johnjon doesn't occupy himself for more than a minute or two. He either comes crying to mommy or goes to bug his brother. He is quite extroverted and needs someone nearby at all times (preferably paying attention to him).

How cold does it get in Ky? Up here in Minnesota I have to have quite a selection of outdoor wear--from total body snowsuits to windbreakers and sweats for fall/winter. I would say if it isn't too cold to have a nice windbreaker pants/hooded jacket. Those are great for cool days with a bit of a breeze. If it gets really chilly a jacket with loops to attach mittens is great (I hate unattached mittens--they ALWAYS get lost at my house.).

re: tantrums - I agree, it is so hard at this age because a lot of tantrums are because they can't express themselves well yet. Sometimes distraction works well for us--yes going outside is great here too. If I don't want him to have/or do what he wants and is screaming about, I just try to find a way to distract him. Whether it is moving to a new location or finding something different to play with. I've been giving into his screming most of the time just because we have two people in the house that can't stand screaming (one with sensitive ears and another just plain crabby), so we will probably have more problems later on than I want to think about dealing with, sigh.

[heldt123]

Ok, just noticed my post count! Golly, no wonder my house is such a mess!

+

[Kaitnbugsmom]

mine would explain why my office is a mess too huh?

or not. could just be my aversion to dealing with real life right now :

[K's Mom!]

Wow! One year olds! Unbelievable!

My little guy is also getting to be more himself now, ie: personality shining a bit. He has taken a break from the talking, walking coming maybe??? Both of my kids slowed down on their vocab whenever they were learning something new. Especially harder things.

About Tantrums. . . With my DD at this age, I just helped her to know what she was feeling (so she could express that later on) and then helped her do whatever she was wanting to do (if it was okay to be done, if not than I would explain why it wasn't okay) For example, if there was a tantrum over not being able to reach her juice on the table than I would say, Oh, are you frustrated you can't reach for your cup? It's hard to be frustrated, here momma will help you get it. Then when she got older (around 1.5 when she was using words much more fluently) I would tell her that I didn't understand her whining/ tantrum and that she needed to use her words (I did help to remind her what her words were) I believe that this taught her that I would not respond to whining and that words were the way to get what she wanted from me. This REALLY worked for her. We never had tantrums. Now, we'll see if this works for cheyne. Here's hoping. LOL!

Good luck!

I'll post pics of C's bday soon.

[jillmamma]

Michelle is still not quite walking, but is doing great with the push walker that her grandparents gave her for her birthday, and cruises everywhere. She has a few words..."duh" (duck), "cah" (car), "dada", "dah" (dog), "baba" (mama), and a variety of different cries to signal different needs. She is quite a firecracker lately too, screaming at the top of her lungs if she is not getting what she wants right then. She can entertain herself for several minutes (like 1/2 hour or so) at a time as long as she is fed, not too tired, and not wet/stinky. She is really into putting stuff into and taking it back out of containers lately, and wanting to play with whatever her big brother is playing (she plays with a lot of cars and trains lately ).

[Surfer Rosa]

11 loads of laundry later...

I've had some time to myself today, for the first time since early August, when we left for our trip, and of course, some of that time was spent on MDC catching up. Hope everyone had lovely birthdays with their babes!

Our road trip went so well! We all had a few moments of frustration, but it was 97% good times. E rolled with the changes in routine, sleep, food, etc so well-and over and over again, we were remined how lucky we are to have such an awesome little creature in our lives. We went through a part of the US I've never been to: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, South Dakota (we wanted to avoid it for political reasons, but selfish desires to see badlands and other such things overrode those intentions), Idaho, and Washington, up to British Columbia, and it was so beautiful. The US is so diverse. We spent a week or so in BC for a friend's wedding, then made the week-long journey back through Canada, though we'd both done this route before, so it wasn't quite so exciting as the journey out west. Now that we're back, E is having so much fun running through the house, which must seem enormous to her after a month in a camper van. The only downsides are that she seems a little anxious when we are not 2 feet away from her. When we left, she was sleeping on her own, from 8-8. It's only been a few nights that we've been back, but she is waking up 3-10 times a night...we are zonked (as is she!). We're hoping that as she readjusts, she'll go back to "normal". We were co-sleeping while away, out of necessity, but we are a bad bed combo: we are all active and light sleepers!

A question about food prices in the US: we found fresh foods to be a lot more expensive that in Canada, and packaged foods a lot cheaper, at least in the areas we were in. Is this true for most of the US? It would be almost impossible for us to maintain our mostly organic/mostly fresh foods lifestyle if we lived there. Just wondering!

Chasmyn, your post rang true for me-well said!
I can't believe how much has changed in the last little while. When we left for our trip out west, E was a baby, and she is most definitely a toddler now! Thinned out, talking (or trying to talk) all the time, experimenting and interacting with objects, sounds, and people constantly, voicing frustration when unable to communicate something, complete with stamping feet, head shaking, and mouth saying no-no-no, following instructions, doing anything for a laugh, dancing (we call it the "honky hump"), pushing chairs, strollers, carts, and running after cats, other kids, and well, anything that happens to catch her eye. The baby hugs and kisses kill me too-E does that thing too where she leans in and closes her eyes, and kind of hums and "kisses" (aka slobbers) you. Only she could get away with such sloppy love!
Her current big love is for dogs, from real ones to plush ones to those plastic dogs they have in grocery stores with coin slots in their heads for donations to the CNIB (for you Americans that's the Canadian National Institute for the Blind). She will also follow other kids anywhere. On our way back, E ran right up to a little boy and grabbed his hand, and walked around with him for about 10 minutes, while his mother and I followed behind, taking pictures and awwing. E kept hugging him and leaning into him, and he let her (he was probably 4 or so). They kept making each other laugh, and it was probably the cutest thing I've seen.
Words seem to have taken a backseat lately, as E develops other abilities, but she is using some words reliably-dog (doh), duck (duh), mama, dada, hi, bye, up, ball/balloon/book (all sound the same), toe, that, this, there, baby, and a host of seemingly wordlike gibberish that is fun to hear (doidle-oidel, leedle-deedle, etc.) She follows instructions and we've been playing the "take this to mommy/daddy/take this out/put it back" game with her. She looks so pleased with herself when she does something like put the laundry in (and then takes it out, and puts it back…) the hamper. Okay, we kind of applaud when she does it, too.
What about food? What are your babes toddlers eating these days? E has had most things, and doesn't seem to have any sensitivites/allergies, except for bananas. She hasn't had egg whites, honey, any nuts or seeds (except for flax and sesame), sweets (except for the wine gum my huband left on the dashboard , or processed foods. She seems to love all fruit and veg, cheese, bread, chick peas, dairy foods, but I feel like she gets the same thing over and over again. I made some baby chili (very light seasoning) which she loved. Any recipes you'd care to share?
I think I've reached my quota for post-length. Thanks for those of you that read this to the end!
Today was the first day of school, and it's my first September not in school/teaching in a very long time. It's strange not to be there, but I know that being with E is where I need to be right now.
Good night, sleep tight, hope you’re enjoying the end of summer!

PS. I got AF today-kind of sucky, but I have to remind myself that it's been almost 2 years since I've had a period, so it's not so bad, right? Is anyone thinking about when to have the next baby? I swear there’s a correlation between thinking about trying for another, and AF coming…

[chasmyn]

Originally Posted by New Mama

Kitty,

Chasmyn, Henry LOVES "Goodnight Gorilla" too. I think it's his favorite. Have you noticed how there's a balloon on just about every page? And that the zookeeper's name is Joe? (Yes, we read that one a LOT.)

Yeah. He just loves to look at all of the pages. It's interesting to hear how DH reads it as opposed to how I read it, too - very different interpretations. Kiernen's favourite page seems to be the one where Mrs. Joe is looking around with the "what?" expression. I've no idea why, but he always really studies that page. And of course the page with the whole line of all of the animals

[chasmyn]

Originally Posted by hopefulfaith

I'm listening, too. Adam is doing the same thing here and there - and he's recently found his Loud Voice and begun screeching when he's angry/frustrated/mad/sad, etc. I'd love to hear suggestions.

Me too! I wonder if we ought to start a separate thread? Kiernen is the same - everything is from zero to cry - he evn brings on the tears! He is so very much a Leo - all of the drama and all of the needing of the attention. He has been very sensitive lately and needing me to be RIGHT NEXT TO HIM ALL OF THE TIME. I cannot do dishes, cook, clean, laundry, pee...He has to be in my arms if I am up and I have to be right by him paying attention to him and what he is doing if I am down. Any attempted interaction with above activities or laptop results in needing to read his books....ALL DAY LONG.

I love this little Man with all of my heart and soul AND. I need some space! I am so tired of reading these books over and over again. The only break is if we go outside, then he wants me to hold his hand and walk him whererever - which is fine, and we do that. But inside is all Mommy and books all the time.

The good thing is it sure motivates me to get out - we go to parks and for walks, whatever

[Kaitnbugsmom]

what are the kids eating? Em pretty much eats the same things the rest of us eat, grain cereals, air popped popcorn, baked seasoned chicken, {I put paprika, soul food and other seasonings on my chicken and she handles it fine} liver & onions, salads, baked potatoes, etc. She even had a tiny bit of bell pepper for the first time yesterday! Bug was eating one and being a good sister, shared with Em. Then told us about it. But she's alright so just a small lecture on food safety and so forth to the well meaning mini. Oh, and scrambled eggs, which are her latest obsession in life...

[quelindo]

Originally Posted by chasmyn

Kiernen's favourite page seems to be the one where Mrs. Joe is looking around with the "what?" expression. I've no idea why, but he always really studies that page. And of course the page with the whole line of all of the animals

Henry has a favorite page in just about every book we own. And some of them are not ones I would ever in a million years think would be a favorite, like the "Goodnight stars, goodnight air" page in "Goodnight Moon." His favorite in "Goodnight, Gorilla" is the first one, where the gorilla is taking Joe's keys.

[Mama Poot]

Wow....DH was just commenting yesterday on how much Paddy is growing- on all levels. He's 30.5 inches tall and can reach the knobs on the stove He mumbles all day long in his own secret language we have yet to translate, says daddy, mama, light ( iiiiight! ) and Addy ( were working on the P ) I look at his little 5 week old brother and think "wow Paddy used to be this small" I wish they could stay little forever!

[Anguschick1]

Hello all! Happy Birthday to my little man! Happy Birthday August!

This time last year I wasn't even aware that I was in labor...by 4:20, he was here!

It's been an awe-inspiring year, dh and I were talking about it last night and as difficult as the adjustment to two has been, ds2 has just fit seemlessly into our lives and hearts. He's entering into that second year of tantrums because he can't communicate well. It's hard, but he's mostly a very happy go-lucky kind of guy, so we'll get through it.

Kitty

Henhao

to anyone else who needs some extra

[henhao]

Heldt and angus,, Thanks!! I am feeling better! yahoo! I am pretty sure I was anemic.


Anyone else doing Waldorf? I saw one person is -- ekygal, was it? -- and wonder how soon you can start? I planned to start at 2 and didn't know you could start sooner.

[chasmyn]

it's here!!! he is really and truly a toddler now!!!

Kiernen is walking!!!! Like, really intentionally walking!!! Holy oh my goddess, he is a toddler for real and for true!!!

He has been taking 3-5 steps here and there for the past couple of weeks, but not real intentional walking....until today. He pointedly walked to me twice, and we even got it on camera!!! Then he has been walking across the kitchen, across the living room, walking!!!

Oh. My. Goodness.

!!!

As for food, Kiernen eats what I eat and then some, because I am on a fairly - no, seriously - restricted diet for gut healing. He really likes chicken and ground meat, apples, bananas, cashew butter, chicken stock (homemade), squash (not pureed) like magda, zucchini, yellow - all of the summer squashes. He'll eat asparagus, salad, spinach, whatever veggies we're eating. I recently introduced him to Pirate's Booty but I don't want to make that a habit - he doesn't seem to like dry foods much - he rejects the apple cinnamon teddies and any attempt at O's.

Did I menbtion he is walking?

!!!

[ktmama]

The funniest thing that happened recently was at a coffee shop (OK, it was Starbucks) last week. I was sitting in a comfy chair with A, feeding her a banana. She loves to do this and look around and smile at all the people coming in to get their coffee. She noticed an older man sitting by us and starting giving him her best – the full-on smile, the head-tilt and the WINK! Well, it was kind of a repeated blinking. He looked at me and said, “Is your baby winking at me?” I had to admit that she was, but I have NO idea where she learned it!

She’s crawling up and down all the stairs and gets really upset if you try to carry her up the stairs. We have two carpeted steps in between our kitchen and dining room and she has used these to practice all her moves over the months. She’s currently practicing walking down the stairs while holding onto the wall. She can already walk up the stairs using this method.

After taking her first steps a week before her birthday, she began walking in earnest last Monday the 28th while Lily and I were baking cookies for her classroom birthday party. A just stood up and started walking around and around the kitchen island. I’ve seen her crawl once since then. She puts her hands up around her ears and shrieks and laughs while cruising all over the condo. The stroller has become like prison. The girl wants to walk everywhere. I’m taking advantage of it by having her walk to the potty when she has to go. Hopefully, this will evolve into her just going to the potty by herself, or at least initiating it.

Speaking of the potty, she’s having only one or two misses a day and staying dry all night. I handed her some tp the other day and she wiped her bottom! Now, that’s part of the routine. Amazing.

I’ve been frustrated by the lack of signing and trying to get her to communicate with me. Words are still limited to mama, dada, Lily, hi, dog, whasat?, fish and numnums. She’s also saying something that sounds like “look at” while pointing and I think she is saying “I did it!”. But she screams and whines a lot too. She has mastered the sign for “more” and I have seen “toilet” sporadically, but that’s it. So, I decided to teach her “yes” and “no” with the head shakes. That’s actually going really well. I use her books to point out obvious correct and incorrect questions. “Annabelle, is that a dog?” (pointing to a cat or cow). “Noooooo (shake the head), that’s not a dog!” When I ask her now if she wants more food, she will say yes or no with her head.

Papa taught her that lions growl and now, when you ask her “what’s the lion say?” (either in French or English), she says, “grrrrrrrroooowwwwwlllllll”. Last night at Lily’s Back to School Night A walked around L’s classroom with a book open to a picture of a lion growling away. Some of the other parents looked a bit scared.

She loves books too, but likes to read them herself. They are a fantastic teaching tool for me and I love sitting with her while she reads. She interacts with me by pointing and saying, “whasat?”.

Food - anything goes here except the dangerous stuff, dairy, juice and processed food, although she loves bread. I don't give it to her much at all though - maybe once a month. Her favorite food right now is what Lily calls numnums. Ground turkey, mushrooms, yellow squash and zuchini cooked up with some tomato sauce. Yum! She pretty much eats three meals a day and a snack in the afternoon with Lily. She eats what we have for dinner and has oatmeal with banana and berries for breakfast with an egg yolk too. Still nursing six or eight or ten times a day too. I have a sore on my left nipple that hurts like HE**, but I'm hanging in there. Pumping hurts as much as nursing, so I just keep nursing. Beware of walking and nursing! Rub, rub, rub...

Finally, she is on her way to swimming! Thanks to coaching by my sister Mary, we’ve been working on swimming this summer. In Mexico at the beginning of August, I put her under the water and let go of her and she came up by herself! Last week in our pool, G and I were doing the same thing back and forth, back and forth. Wow, I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself. A one year old swimming! Another day last week, I put her down to take off my cover up and she walked over to the shallow end of the pool, sat down, turned around, and lowered herself into the pool where she could touch. Then she took some steps and went under and came back up with just a little help.

So many changes this past month. My head is spinning! :

[chiro_kristin]

Wow.. a lot to read! My mom's visiting this week so I've been busy with her and also (finally) getting a few things done. Will try to post more later

Hugs to everybody, esp those feeling ill or down!

A few things to say... that tooth/reading thing certainly didn't apply to me... I got my first tooth at 6 months but was reading at 3 years.



About my siggie: I'm glad you think it's funny, but I'm serious. Deadly serious.

[skana]

I have a sore on my left nipple that hurts like HE**, but I'm hanging in there. Pumping hurts as much as nursing, so I just keep nursing.

Kate: careful about that and try to make sure it's healing. After I had a couple of plugged ducts, I was left with a milk blister on my nipple, which then turned into kind of a red blister, which the lactation consultant theorizes is how I got such a severe case of mastitis. Hope yours gets better soon because it does hurt like H***, as you said.

Enjoying all the updates. Griffin started back at school today (my little boy is in Grade 4!), and my neice and her boyfriend are visiting, so it's been kind of hectic, but hopefully I can write more in a few days.

[Kaitnbugsmom]

kristin, what's up?

[EStreetMama]

Mamas...Owen ate peacock poo at the zoo today!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am beyond mortified!!!!

It's a long story...have to work--more later. Good thoughts for the poo-eater, please.

[heldt123]

peacock poo! Sorry, I couldn't help but laugh. I'm sure he'll be fine. Almost sounds better than eatin' his own poo....oh my kids have never done that! : :

Boy, the kids love Nathan's pumkin! Everyone goes running to the backyard when we mention it!

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