[MysteryMama]

I'm starting to freak out just a little. The thing is, I have a 10mo chunky ds who is getting harder and harder to tote. He's probably 25lbs and I'm a weenie. And I'm already starting to have to pee all the time. And our only bathroom is upstairs... lots of steep stairs. We moved in this house near the end of my pregnancy with ds, and I can remember what a hard time I had making all those treks up and down the stairs at 9 months. How the heck am I going to do it again, but with a 12-13mo baby in tow??? Already I'm struggling.<br><br>
Anyone else out there facing similar problems?

 

[mom22girls]

Okay - the first thing that came to mind when I read your post was one of those stair lifts they have for people who cannot walk up stairs. I just pictured strapping a child in and meeting them at the top, <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> but I bet you'd like the ride too!!! I think diaper changes are the worst when you're prego...<br><br>
My hip pain has become really bad, and I do wonder if some day I'll wake up and just won't be able to do what I'm 'sposed to do...

 

[mama2walden&luna]

I don't have the same problem, but sort of similar. We live in a single story, but my 27 pound dd IS getting harder and harder to carry. She's 28 months, so it's not too difficult to convince her that she needs to walk. But anytime we are in a parking lot or near a street, I have to carry her because she will not hold my hand. It's at these times that I always have something else to carry as well, like shopping bags. So it's super hard to manage and she gets mad and squirms about being held when she wants to run.<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/dizzy.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Dizzy">: I worry about how it will be when I'm nine months!

 

[lyttlewon]

I have this problem with my 3 year old who is 40 lbs. However she can walk and climb. Hmm. Can you leave him downstairs while you pee?

 

[MysteryMama]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>mom22girls</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7904858"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Okay - the first thing that came to mind when I read your post was one of those stair lifts they have for people who cannot walk up stairs.</div>
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<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> I have actually thought about how nice it would be to have one of those! In my minds eye I see one just like the one that old lady has in one of the Gremlins movies...

 

[MysteryMama]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>lyttlewon</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7905235"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Can you leave him downstairs while you pee?</div>
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Well, yeah, I guess so. I am pretty fast at getting things done in there (as fast as any man if I skip the handwashing <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/redface.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Embarrassment"> ) But he's so very very high needs and he tends to freak out when I leave the room (unless he's really absorbed in what he's doing) so I normally just scoop him up and take him with me.<br><br>
But it's not JUST using the bathroom. Seems like all day long we are up and down those freaking stairs for some reason or another... naps, tidying up, putting clothes away, or just getting something I left up there.

 

[GinaRae]

I'm not in your DDC but saw the thread - I feel for you! I have the weakest bladder.<br><br>
I would suggest tucking a potty chair into some private corner of the house downstairs and using it just to urinate. They come with toilet seat lids, so you can get a child proof lock and/or cover the whole thing with a blanket or something. Empty it whenever you can during the day.<br><br>
It's just temporary and you're worth it! Use it just after the birth too.<br><br>
You can find them in drug stores, medical supply stores, Craigslist, yard sales, Freecycle, etc...

 

[josybear]

this is actually the whole reason we moved to our new house last fall. not the reason we tell people, of course... but between my bad knees and ds' clinginess i couldn't handle staying in that house any longer. it got to the point where i was about to go pee in the yard rather than trek back upstairs. and we lived on a busy street. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"><br>
one thing that helped (besides moving) was setting up a changing station downstairs. other than that... i feel for you. i hope you can find a livable solution.

 

[lyttlewon]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>jeannie81</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7905278"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Well, yeah, I guess so. I am pretty fast at getting things done in there (as fast as any man if I skip the handwashing <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/redface.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Embarrassment"> ) But he's so very very high needs and he tends to freak out when I leave the room (unless he's really absorbed in what he's doing) so I normally just scoop him up and take him with me.<br><br>
But it's not JUST using the bathroom. Seems like all day long we are up and down those freaking stairs for some reason or another... naps, tidying up, putting clothes away, or just getting something I left up there.</div>
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Oh yeah I hear you. FYI my stairs are like that and I fell down them carrying Marah Jade when she was about a year old. SO BE CAREFUL! I screwed up my back and whacked her head on the frame at the bottom. We have an old cape cod that had a door at the end of the stairs.

 

[GinaRae]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>jeannie81</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7905278"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">But it's not JUST using the bathroom. Seems like all day long we are up and down those freaking stairs for some reason or another... naps, tidying up, putting clothes away, or just getting something I left up there.</div>
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You most likely know this, but try to put things off at the bottom of the stairs until you can do several at the same time, you know?

 

[MysteryMama]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>GinaRae</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7905287"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I would suggest tucking a potty chair into some private corner of the house downstairs and using it just to urinate.</div>
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I don't think it would work too well cause there is nowhere at all that is even slightly out of sight to put it, and I would just be too embarrassed if someone saw it! But maybe if it gets really really bad at the end I can just get some depends and pee on myself. Shoot, why not? I'm going to have to get used to changing diapers for two anyways... <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"><br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>josybear</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7905754"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">and we lived on a busy street. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"><br>
one thing that helped (besides moving) was setting up a changing station downstairs. other than that... i feel for you. i hope you can find a livable solution.</div>
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We live on a busy street! We're right on main st in an old town house. Probably you lived in something similar if there was only one bathroom and it was upstairs.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>lyttlewon</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7905816"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Oh yeah I hear you. FYI my stairs are like that and I fell down them carrying Marah Jade when she was about a year old. SO BE CAREFUL! I screwed up my back and whacked her head on the frame at the bottom. We have an old cape cod that had a door at the end of the stairs.</div>
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This is one of my fears. I try to be so careful and I haven't totally fell down the stairs yet, but I have stumbled a few times and once banged ds's head against the wall. Part of the problem is that my cats are trying to kill me. They seem to like to run underfoot when I'm trying to go up and down the stairs. And also they're hardwood so socks slip on them.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>GinaRae</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7905852"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">You most likely know this, but try to put things off at the bottom of the stairs until you can do several at the same time, you know?</div>
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I do. Like my clean laundry. It's sitting at the bottom of the steps right now just waiting for ds to wake up so I can take it up and get him all in one trip.

 

[lyttlewon]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>jeannie81</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7907134"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">This is one of my fears. I try to be so careful and I haven't totally fell down the stairs yet, but I have stumbled a few times and once banged ds's head against the wall. Part of the problem is that my cats are trying to kill me. They seem to like to run underfoot when I'm trying to go up and down the stairs. And also they're hardwood so socks slip on them.</div>
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It took me awhile but I figured out our one cat was trying to block/protect me on the stairs. She freaked out so much when we fell I was laying at the bottom and she kept yowling and grabbing my leg with her teeth. Ever since then if me or DD go on the stairs she comes running like she is going to break our fall or something.

 

[MysteryMama]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>lyttlewon</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7907993"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">It took me awhile but I figured out our one cat was trying to block/protect me on the stairs. She freaked out so much when we fell I was laying at the bottom and she kept yowling and grabbing my leg with her teeth. Ever since then if me or DD go on the stairs she comes running like she is going to break our fall or something.</div>
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Aww! That's sweet. Mine just like to race me up/down the stairs, I think. They lay at the top of the stairs alot, and when I'm a few steps down either one or both of them will dart down the steps real fast, often going between my legs and tripping me up. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/irked.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="irked">: They're getting better about it because I have started yelling and kicking at them when they do this. If they're sitting at the top of the stairs I just shoo them down ahead of me, but sometimes they come flying out of the nursery and sneak up on me. I know they probably are not actually trying to kill me, but it really is dangerous. One of these days they very well could cause me to take a nasty fall, pregnant, and with a baby in arms.

 

[simplehome]

How about a chamber pot of some kind? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/shy.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="innocent">

 

[pfamilygal]

No suggestions, but I am soooo there with you. I have a 13 month old who has no interest in learning to walk. At all.

 

[pfamilygal]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>jeannie81</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7903814"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I'm starting to freak out just a little. The thing is, I have a 10mo chunky ds who is getting harder and harder to tote. He's probably 25lbs and I'm a weenie. And I'm already starting to have to pee all the time. And our only bathroom is upstairs... lots of steep stairs. We moved in this house near the end of my pregnancy with ds, and I can remember what a hard time I had making all those treks up and down the stairs at 9 months. How the heck am I going to do it again, but with a 12-13mo baby in tow??? Already I'm struggling.<br><br>
Anyone else out there facing similar problems?</div>
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I might get <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/duck.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Duck">: for this, but I'd get a playpen and pop him in it when I went upstairs to pee. Put some special toys in it.<br><br>
Luke has separation anxiety big time right now and I just can't take him upstairs with me every time. Esp. if I'm going up to get laundry or something. But he does have a brother and sisters who are downstairs with him. Sometimes he sits at the bottom of the stairs and wails and other times he's just fine. I make the trips quick and he'll be okay. Once the new baby gets here you won't be able to carry both of them with you all the time anyway, so he might as well start to get accustomed to the idea.<br><br>
Hope that didn't sound calloused.<br><br>
With baby #5 on the way I've realized that babies are much hardier than we think and usually adapt surprisingly well.

 

[MysteryMama]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>pfamilygal</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7910617"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I might get <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/duck.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Duck">: for this, but I'd get a playpen and pop him in it when I went upstairs to pee. Put some special toys in it.<br><br>
Luke has separation anxiety big time right now and I just can't take him upstairs with me every time. Esp. if I'm going up to get laundry or something. But he does have a brother and sisters who are downstairs with him. Sometimes he sits at the bottom of the stairs and wails and other times he's just fine. I make the trips quick and he'll be okay. Once the new baby gets here you won't be able to carry both of them with you all the time anyway, so he might as well start to get accustomed to the idea.<br><br>
Hope that didn't sound calloused.<br><br>
With baby #5 on the way I've realized that babies are much hardier than we think and usually adapt surprisingly well.</div>
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Didn't sound calloused at all. It's not that I mind running up there to pee real quick without him or even that he may cry for just a min, it's just that often times he's busy playing really good and if he gets started crying then play time is over (which means my relax time is over) and most likely I'll end up having to hold him forever or play with him for quite a while. If I take him with me then usually when we come back downstairs I can set him back down to play and resume whatever book (or thread) I'm reading.