STM+ check-in 7/19

cait5413

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green?

How old are your other kids? 

Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : 

Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/

GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie?

cait5413

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green? 18 weeks; team green

How old are your other kids? 11.5 months

Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  DD's daycare teacher told me her last full day in the infant classroom is Friday and then they'll start transitioning her to the one-year-old room. Her birthday isn't until Aug 3. I need to ask some more questions because : 1. she is cruising, but not walking, and other kiddos in her class they have tried not to move until they were walking, although they did transition one little girl several months ago who is still not walking 2. In the ones room, they eat the food prepped at the center (which is fine) and drink whole milk and water--I want to make sure she'll still get her bottles until she actually turns one. As far as I know, they'd probably have to store them and heat them up in her old classroom for her, because none of the other kids will be getting bottles or food sent from home. So, I am not sure how that is going to work. She also needs shoes (I always just send her in socks at this point) because the ones go outside regularly. I tried to buy her some yesterday, but they didn't fit (they were Mary-Jane style and I think her feet are too chubby for them) and all the ones she already has are still too big. They also sleep on mats, not in a crib, so I need to send her with a blanket, which she has never slept with. I'm thinking about getting her a little toddler sleeping bag. Her teacher tells me the rooms are kind of cold, so she'll want something warm to nap with. I remember sleeping in a mat inside a pillowcase in kindergarten, but they didn't say pillowcase, they said blanket. Since I just found out today they are definitely transitioning her early, I am freaking out a bit! They also have nap time from 11:30 am-2:00 pm or something--one long nap only, on the mats. I am not so sure how that is going to go, but I guess she will adjust. 

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : Happy to see the little bean on DD's 1st birthday for our anatomy scan. I am much less "tuned-in" to this pregnancy and I'm really looking forward to seeing the baby and knowing for sure s/he is doing well in there.

Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/ Any recommended shoes or toddler sleeping bags? DD seems to have small but chubby feet. I probably need to take her to have her feet measured, but I am not sure where to take her! Do Rack Room shoes and places like that even measure feet? Maybe I need to see if we have a Stride Rite in town anywhere. 

GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie? Although I asked this question, it is hard for me to pick a favorite! I love Anastasia, Wall-E, Up, and Princess and the Frog. When I was little, I loved The Little Mermaid until Beauty and the Beast came along and that became my favorite.

missphil

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green?
18+4 (finding out the sex next week)

How old are your other kids? 
19 month old son 

Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  
Just realized I am really going to have no time to myself ever until the baby is older and the two kids can hopefully play together. Im a SAHM but also a painter- im going to have to put that on hold for a long while- oh well!!

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : 
I can't wait to meet the baby! I have been watching old videos of when my son was 6 months old with his chubby cheeks and I'm excited to have another like that!

Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/
Nausea is finally gone! Hurray!!
People say that each pregnancy is different but so far mine is very similar to my first, except for some of the foods I prefer.

GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie?
Either Aladdin or Mulan- does that show my age? 

flowerpower5838

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green? 18 weeks - team pink

How old are your other kids? 16 months

Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  Currently wondering how people afford full-time daycare for more than one kid. Thankful that my schedule compliments DH's and DS only goes twice a week. That's likely to change with a new baby though since there is no way I can work from home twice a week with a newborn AND a toddler.

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : I am really starting to get excited about this baby being a girl. I had NO intuition with DS and I really felt like this time around baby was a boy so obviously I should have known she was a girl lol. So the whole girl thing took a little bit for me to wrap my head around, but not that I have I am anxious to see DS be a big bro to a little sister.

Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/ My in-home daycare lady is on vacation next week and MIL is coming up so I don't have to take off work. I like her, but I am dreading having a house guest for a week.

GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie? I love Moana. Both parents are alive, no gratuitous love story, strong female lead....what's not to love?? 

failuretofly

@cait5413 did they give a reason why they want to transition her early? That seems like a LOT to compromise on, I would not be happy with that and definitely challenge them. Most 12 month olds aren't ready for 1 nap, nevermind younger! DS couldn't get by on 1 nap until he was closer to 16 months, and even still now he has 2 occasionally!
@missphil I've been watching videos of DS at 6ish months too! I am both terrified and SO excited about having another at that age!

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green?
19 weeks - find out today!
How old are your other kids? 
DS is 18 months
Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  I'm debating whether or not to move DS into the other bedroom we have, it's a bigger room and will suit a toddler bed better when the time comes, and honestly, the biggest factor is it only has 1 window, whereas his current one has 3 and I want to hang blackout drapes lol But his current room is also colder because of the 3 windows, so do I want a new baby in the colder room?  But baby will be in our room at first, probably for a couple of months, if not more. 

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : I run a fitness class and a few of my clients have newborns that they bring with them, and watching DS interact with them and be so gentle and curious makes me so excited to see him with his little sibling!

Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/
I got my two wraps I ordered last week and I have been practicing with DS, and they are so great. I can't wait to have a little squish in them! 
GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie?

Beauty and the Beast, hands down. But I love ALL disney, and most animated movies in general!

anewadventure

@cait5413  as far as the bottles go, i know it seems important but it'll just be like a week and a half til her birthday, right? 12 months is sort of this arbitrary milestone anyway. if they will accomodate you then great but if not, maybe it's not such a big deal. however it would have been nice for them to tell you earlier (i think they did mention this a few weeks ago, right?) because jumping straight to cows milk without a transition period between the two can be tough on her stomach and her digestion. did you ever get a straight answer as to why they insist on moving her early, before she is walking? just a space thing / room management? i think the nap schedule and the sleeping on mats will be a bigger change for her than anything else. 

as for shoes, i am a die hard stride right fan. they have been steadily closing their brick and mortar locations this past year. if you don't have one near you, they have a shoe measurement tool online. i'm a bit of a nut so i actually went on ebay and bought a children's brannock device (the official foot-measuring devices we've all used in stores) which incorporates a width measurement. it's really nice to have. i've found that kids shoe brands are really inconsistent in their sizing and widths so that's why people tend to latch onto one brand and stick with it, it just makes shopping easier. i only buy stride rite on big sales, other sites, or zulily but they hold up great and i've had no problems. for her age, i'd look for their lines that are rounded at the soles. i will find an example. pretty sure they are called "soft motion" line. 
https://www.striderite.com/en/walking-101-2/?prefn1=littleKidShoeSize&icid=soft-motion-4-nav&prefv1=4#prefn1=littleKidShoeSize&prefn2=sizeType&prefv1=4&prefv2=Girl

failuretofly

@cait5413 ALSO about shoes, DS has a pair of Jack & Lily mini mocs  and they are seriously the best shoes ever. I will probably be sticking with that brand for a while because the quality is great and they are minimalist to allow for natural foot development. I found a pair at Marshall's for $15!

cait5413

@kvacmak my guess is they need the infant space for a new baby, but no, no explanation. 
@anewadventure yes, her teacher did mention they were talking about transitioning her at the end of the month a few weeks ago, but I'm still a little annoyed no one told ME. (And what is the end of the month? That could have been July 31, which would have been only a few days before her birthday.) The administration is really not my favorite. I like her teachers, but the communication with the administration sucks. Why is there not an automated email that says, "Baby is turning one! We will be moving her to X room on X date. She will need these supplies..." or anything? Everything I hear is from her teacher--her teacher just told me the other day that they will supply the sippy cups but DD will need a blanket, kind of off-hand. And they decide on a Wednesday they are starting the transition the following Monday? I'm just annoyed (and emotional about her turning one!) I also do want her on formula til she hits one, even though I know it is fairly arbitrary. I don't even know how much milk they give them during the day. She's fine with a sippy cup of water, but I don't want them pumping a ton of milk into her right away when she's never had it. I don't even know if she will drink it! She will drink cold water, but formula has to be at least somewhat warm for her to drink it, generally. 

Thanks for the shoe recs, @anewadventure and @kvacmak! I am going to take DD to the children's shoe store nearby (Called Shoe Choo Train) to have her measured and see what they have in stock. If they don't have anything I like, I'll order something online, but at least I'll know approximately what size! 

cait5413

@kvacmak as for the windows, our house is on a zone A/C and heat system, so there is one controller for the side of the house our bedroom is on, one controller for the upstairs, and one for the side of the house DD's room is on. That controller handles DD's room, the guest room, the new baby's room, and most of the living room. I didn't want to heat all of that all winter just for DD, so we got an electric tower heater for her room with a thermostat. We could keep it 70-72 degrees in there without heating such a huge portion of the house all night. Maybe something like that would help keep the baby's room toasty? We got ours at Sam's Club and it was not very expensive. I know some space heaters are fire hazards, but this one had some good safety features and worked well for us.

Kirss

@missphil I had an Aladdin  room growing up!

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green? 17wk. Still unsure, we find out Monday! 
How old are your other kids? 4.5 going on 16 
Current challenges/concrns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  I can't play as much with DD, either her jumping and me catching or just having the energy to keep up with her.  I really hope she understands  
Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : DD is finally asking questions about the baby, and what it's doing in my belly. 
Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/ Oh holy lighting crotch. Oy vey. 
GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie? Lion King, Inside Out. 

tmk0325

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green? Team Green unless we accidentally see something on the anatomy scan next week. I'm 18w5d

How old are your other kids? The twins will be 13 months on Sunday!

Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  Oh man, they are so close to walking. Also, we completely transitioned to whole milk at the beginning of July and I've been dealing with some pretty gross poops. We were formula people before this so never this bad! 

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : We just finished Leap 7 and I feel like this was the biggest developmental one so far. It's so cool to see how they process new things. 

Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/ Swamp crotch full swing here. Sorry if its TMI, but I feel like theres a lot going on down there lately! Also... I felt the baby move for the first time last night. Like physically kick! I actually teared up. 

GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie? I was a cinderella fan growing up. More current Finding Nemo. I honestly haven't seen many animated movies in the last like 15 years!

sjis

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green?

16w 3d, team blue

How old are your other kids? 

DD is 3.5 years

Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  

DD is so active now and constantly on the go. I don't know how I'll keep up once DS is born...the thought of sleep deprivation is giving me anxiety.

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : 

DD is always kissing my belly and saying I love you baby! Makes me so happy

GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie?

I love spirited away!

ilikestars089

How far along are you? 19+3, boy!

How old are your other kids? DS is 21 months.

Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  Right right now my son has croup for the first time and it's terrible watching him cough and struggle. it also doesn't help that I've had morning sickness and croup for the last 3 days also. 

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : i totally thought this baby was a girl so when we found out we were team blue again I was really surprised. I'm excited for DS to have a little brother close in age and I'm also happy that we already have sooooo many gender neutral and boyish clothes that we don't need to buy a thing. 

Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/ ugh just that I hope this croup gets out of our household ASAP. Not fun! 

GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie? currently: I love Moana! The rest of my life Little Mermaid was my jam. When I was 4 I thought I was Ariel. 

@cait5413 - that's so frustrating that the school can make such a big decision for your family. I can relate; it was really hard for me to send my son to the bigger baby room and we struggled with many of those same issues. 

threatlevelmidnight

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green?
We find out August 8th!!

How old are your other kids? 
My son, Ezra is 19 months

Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  
lately I've been thinking about how when it was just my first baby, I was able to soak in the snuggles all day every day after he was born. I am nervous about dividing my time up between a nursing newborn who needs me, and also a jealous toddler who needs me. I don't want to miss out on my newborn snuggles, but don't want to ignore DS. 

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : 
Excited to see DS with a sibling. I always wanted a sibling close in age with me, but was an only child for 12 years. So praying they will have a special friendship. 

Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/
any storage/space saving tips for 2 in a two bedroom apartment? lol it's going to be tight!

GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie?
probably Lion King

cait5413

@alyssaleighw could you enroll DS in a mother's day out or pre-school a couple mornings a week? That would give you some one-on-one time with the babe without DS getting jealous and he can get some interaction with kiddos his age and get some energy out without just running circles around you with a newborn! As for space saving, will your DS still be in a crib? Maybe the baby can just use a pack n play or bassinet to take up less room than a second crib? You also might want to look into the back to school sales, depending upon what kind of storage you've got. A lot of stores put their storage baskets/crates/bookshelves on sale for college students setting up dorm rooms--maybe some of that would be helpful if you need more storage options!

failuretofly

@alyssaleighw like @cait5413 mentioned, a lot of my friends who had 2 kept their older kiddo in daycare 1/2 or 1 day per week just to get some one-on-one baby time with the newborn and all have said it was the best decision they ever made. I personally plan on doing this with DS also, plus it's good for them to get the social interaction!

threatlevelmidnight

@cait5413 @kvacmak daycare isn't an option, but I have several friends who are more than willing to take him out on play dates. Just wish I could be with them both all the time lol. 

Marley629

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green?
Team blue, 19 weeks tomo 

How old are your other kids? 
DS1 is 3.5 (he will be 4 in sept) 

Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?  
I'm really worried how DS1 is going to adjust initially. He doesn't handle transitions well and even though he's excited about having a little brother I know he doesn't truly understand what that means and that it's a permanent change 

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM : 
Just looking forward to seeing them together

Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/
Initially LO will be in our room and ideally DS will actually hopefully sleep in his own bed in his own room - but we will eventually transition LO into a shared room with DS...im a little worried about how this will work given the 4 year age difference. 

GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie?
i love so many...I think little mermaid would be one of my absolute favorites 

mrsorigami

How far along are you? Boy/Girl/ Team Green?  19 weeks since saturday-team green at the moment, until we find out next week, if we decide to.

How old are your other kids?  4 yo DD

Current challenges/concerns about being a STM or questions about things your children are going through now?    DD is talking back a lot lately, yelling, getting frustrated easily.  Up to this point she has been a very chill and easy baby/toddler/preschooler.  Now she is definitely testing the waters.  I also have been pretty sick (HG mom), so haven't been able to give her my full attention lately.  Hopefully things will change soon and she will do okay adjusting to the new baby in December.  I think once the baby is here I will be able to focus on her a lot more than I have been-as crazy as all that sounds.  Being sick has been terrible.  I have felt miserable for so long- I feel like a zombie sometimes and that I haven't been able to give DH or DD very much attention during this pregnancy.  I have a lot of guilt about it, but thankful DH is understanding.

Current joys/successes/or happy thoughts about being a STM :   Feeling the baby move-this one is a little different than last time, it seems new again!

Rants/Raves/Randoms/Questions/  Random but velveeta microwave shells and cheese cups have been staying down.  I would never normally eat these...but I have to do what I can right now.

GTKY: What is your favorite animated movie?  probably My Neighbor Totoro