August randoms

john5111

Im struggling with coming up with a 1st bday gift for my LO. He is our second boy so I feel like we have every boy toy under the sun and tons of clothes.  He always gets everything used (passed down from his big bro) I just want to get him one new thing for his bday.  I know hell never know but still want to get him something. Any ideas? Im running out of ideas as his bday is next week.

LDSJM123

Water table, sand box, swing, bubble machine, little people farm?  

M is officially pacifier and bottle free. I wanted to get it done sooner than later. But, I hate how "big" this makes her seem now. 

adough27

@john5111 - that wooden toy that comes with a hammer and you hit the nails (I am blanking on the formal name), teepee, little people anything, a push toy (popper or little car)

@LDSJM123 that is awesome! It makes me sad to think of a bottle free household.

We are officially on our last box of formula and C is mainly drinking whole milk. So yay to more money in our budget to put towards other things!!! 

HoneyBear40

I'm having a terrible case of working mom blues today. S is running a fever so that means no daycare for her. I had it worked out to work from home but MIL moved her schedule around (she works with FIL - they own their own business) and called this morning to say she could watch her. It's super helpful but now I'm getting texts that S walked 4 steps by herself between furniture. That would be her first attempt I'm aware of besides 1 small step last night....and I'm missing it. I should be the one there to watch her, I should be the one taking care of her while she doesn't feel good. UGH.

kmurdock925

@honeybear40 - Some days are definitely harder than others but missing things like that is tough.  I guess be fortunate she did it with your mom instead of at daycare so it was at least with family? 

I may be getting ahead of myself- but what is everyone's plans/thoughts on switching to big kid beds.  I know they say between 18 months and 3.  I'm sure that largely depends on each kid's temperament and family situation (siblings on the way, etc) but I'm weighing the options of doing a toddler bed or going right to a twin or double.  My husband made our crib and it doesn't convert to a toddler bed (he wants to build another one, haha) and he is starting to think out plans for her next bed already.

babycakesday

@john5111 We got J a teepee and she loves sitting under it and crawling out from the other sides. Plus she can use it as a reading corner when older. 

J is officially off formula, but I cannot get her to drink milk from anything other than a bottle. I've tries all types of bottles. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

@kmurdock925 We've been thinking about the bed situation because we're trying for number 2. I've seen some floor toddler beds and I like that idea. She probably won't make the switch though until closer to 2 years. I just can't imagine her staying in it any time soon. 

LDSJM123

I didn't switch my oldest out of her crib, until she was potty training at 28 months. That said, she was never a climber, so it wasn't an issue. Someone gave me a toddler bed frame for her, so she went into that, because it fit her crib mattress. Had I of needed to buy something, I would have went right into a twin/full. All that said, we'll see if M starts escaping from her crib. If she does, we'll transition sooner. But if she doesn't, we'll keep her in it until she potty trains or my husbands sister needs it. (FIL built the crib as a family heirloom. Not sure yet if each family gets their own or if we are passing it around.) I'd guess that we'll put her crib mattress on the floor initially (see below) and then once she outgrows it going to a twin/full. 

kmurdock925

That is super cute on the floor with the simple frame!  Super close to the ground for if they roll out.  Hubs is thinking some super elaborate castle bed thing with lofts and maybe a slide.  I'm like holy cow...and even thinking that may encourage sleep time turning into play time...while I encourage is enthusiasm and don't want to kill it...also thinking it may be a disastrous idea.

HoneyBear40

@kmurdock925 Can your DH please come make me a new bed? I want a castle & a slide

holly142

DD1 climbed out of her crib head first at 18 months and I barely caught her. We switched her to a full mattress on the ground. She stopped sleeping through the night and constantly came out of her room. I'm keeping DD2 in her crib as long as possible as long as she's safe and not trying to dive out. 

kburg15

I love those floor beds! Such a good idea and way cuter than I pictured! We've also been thinking about transitioning beds in the next year since we'll be trying for #2 soon (TW I had an early miscarriage last week). I'm debating waiting until he climbs out vs if we get pregnant again, wanting to move him before a sibling would arrive. I'd likely move him to our other guest room (aka storage room) at the same time. 

shaylalr

The house frame bed is what I want my husband build for Elise! I have been pinning it like crazy for months. We will move Elise out before we have #2, which will hopefully be in 2018 sometime. 

@kburg15 I'm so sorry to hear that!!  I hope you are doing alright. 

FTM53

We bought a convertible crib, it goes from crib to toddler, to a full bed. He's not walking yet, so we're in no hurry to transition him. 

@kmurdock925 your hubs should just build her an indoor playground - check out cedarworks.com. I so want one of those. 

@kburg15 Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear that. How are you doing? 

babycakesday

@kburg15 I'm so sorry! Sending you good vibes. 

LDSJM123

Sending you a big hug @kburg15

Can we talk about poop? How often is your little one doing it? M is going 3-4 times a day. And they're big. She's still nursing 3x a day so I'm sure that's contributing to to the softer texture, but is this much poo normal?!  It's not diarrhea so I'm not terribly concerned. But it is making her constantly on the verge of diaper rash. 

john5111

We didnt switch to a bed until almost 2.5...he never climbed out.  I thought it was a bigger deal than it really was we went with a full size bed bc I know hell be big and didnt want to waste money on a toddler bed.  He slept like  champ from day 1 just need to get them excited.  Like people said unless you need the crib i wouldnt switch them till they climb out.

kmurdock925

@ftm53 - those are so cool!

I'm loving all of these house beds...this gives me something new to look at on pinterest now that the big bday is over!!!

@kburg15 - so, so sorry

@LDSJM123 - 2 is usually our average but the other day she  had 4 MASSIVE poops...we were also at the state fair the day before so I contribute that to the massive amounts of crazy food and fruit that she ate.

babycakesday

@LDSJM123 J has like 3 or 4 a day. And same with the diaper rash being on the verge. I've just being using baseline as a preventative. The two times it has turned into diaper rash then I use the diaper cream. 

LDSJM123

Ohhh! The Vaseline is a great idea. Thank you! 

shaylalr

Elise always poops 3 times a day. Right after each meal. It is pretty much clockwork! They are normal and she doesn't get any rashes! I have been putting her on a potty sometimes which helps with rashes. It's so regular I kinda know when to put her on it. 

babycakesday

@LDSJM123 I'm glad you understood that baseline was Vaseline. Dumb auto correct. 

FTM53

AJ goes about 3 times a day. He's also almost always on the verge of rash. Yesterday I started letting him go diaperless for an hour or so to help and im also beginning to put him on the potty if he starts going or I know he needs to (he always pees within 5 min of drinking his 8oz bottle)

FTM53

So...got the new info for AJs new class (he moves up Aug 14). They sit in little chairs at little tables for meals and sleep on little cots...I'm SO not ready for that. My baby is really not a baby anymore. He's truly becoming a toddler!! 

babycakesday

Any one who is still cloth diapering, do your diapers ever smell? I haven't had a problem with them all year, but lately they just smell like urine even if I try to wash them every day. Any advice?

shaylalr

I am still cloth diapering. I had an issue with that too a couple months ago! I ended up washing them without soap and with hot water a couple times and then I did one load with1/4 of a cup of bleach and soap with hot water. I also switched soap after that and it helped a lot. I'm not sure if that's the best way, but that's what I did. 

FTM53

Not sure about cloth diapers, but with other laundry a cup or two of white vinegar will get rid of most smells. If not that doesn't work you could try a cup or two of baking soda in the wash. Just don't mix the two (creates bleach)

mnkenned

@john5111 - we got Rosie a little wagon and my mom is getting her a water table. I think she'll get a lot of use out of both! 

@kburg15 - I'm sorry   

@babycakesday - I had a lot of issues in the beginning and fluffloveuniversity.com was super helpful. I did a strip with grovia mighty bubbles and then would throw one in the wash occasionally. I also do a cup of bleach every month or so.

HoneyBear40

@kburg15 Sending hugs your way! So sorry!

[Deleted User]

Catching up..

@kburg15 I'm so sorry for your loss.

For a bed, we will likely start to transition to a floor bed first maybe in January or February. We hope to keep the new LO in our room until summer, so at that point we'd need the crib mattress back for him/her. I'll probably get a twin mattress after that.

E is pooping 2 or 3 times a day unless DH is home, then she only poops once. I'm very bitter about that lol.

FTM53

AJ signed "more" for the first time today! 

austinjl

How exciting!!!!!!@ftm53.  Elijah pretty much does "all done" for everything he wants to communicate.....

HoneyBear40

@austinjl That's all I've been communicating too! I'm all done with this week
S has 4 molars coming in, strep throat, and guess who just got blotchy on her face? Yep. Dr said 1/400 chance that she'd get a rash from her vaccine 7-10 days after the shots. Today is day 7...it's too much of a coincidence to be anything else right?

FTM53

@HoneyBear40 OH, No!!! Poor baby (and poor mama). It Might be the vaccine, but If it's bumpy, you might want to get her checked for scarlet fever. It's caused by the same bacteria as strep

all the hugs to you and S

HoneyBear40

@FTM53 Thanks! I'll take a look at it again but it didn't seem bumpy this morning just blotchy. I'd like to fast forward a little and get her past this - I just hate how uncomfortable she is!

shaylalr

Well, it seems we have had a change of plans!! I was really excited about the rv so we told everyone what we were going to do. My inlaws asked us if we wanted to come live with them rent free!! This means we can pay off the loans even faster and not spend our savings fixing up an rv. Part of me is a little sad because I was actually excited for the adventure, but I know this will be better for us financially and we get along really well. Plus, their house is right behind my sister in laws! So basically I get to see one of my best friends all the time. 

FTM53

@shaylalr that is amazing!  Congrats!! Might I make a small suggestion (as someone who has lived with family before)?
Pay a small bit of rent (even $50/mo) 1) it will help with the increase in water, electric, etc AND it helps you keep a bit of your privacy and autonomy, because it makes you a roommate and not guests.
 Also, see if you can get a shelf in the pantry and in the fridge. That way you can have a dedicated place to keep Your family stuff (like you special cereal or the bananas you're saving for LO).
And then decide on divvying up household chores and timelines. Are you having dinner all together every night or will you be making and eating separately? If separately, who eats first?  What day will you need the washer/dryer for laundry? Will you be sharing the TV and if so, who has shows when? Will there be dedicated "quiet hours" for either them or LO to sleep? And split up cleaning of common areas kitchen/living/dining/family rooms, taking out the trash. I know it seems like a lot but these are little things that came up during the 3 years that DH and I lived with family. 

Good luck! That is so awesome 

mnkenned

My sister finally had her beautiful baby girl, but she's in the NICU on CPAP for meconium aspiration looks like another week at least. We are pitching in to get my sister a hotel room near the hospital, but wondering if you guys have any gift ideas for her and my brother-in-law to make this stressful time easier?

FTM53

@mnkenned congrats on being an auntie! So sorry to hear she's in the NUCU. The hotel idea sounds awesome! I'd also say easy snacks that they can eat in the hospital/while traveling to and from the hospital. And if there are other kids or pets watching/feeding them so mom and dad can spend lots of quality time with the new baby. A meal rotation/gift cards for restaurants near the hospital. Comfy clothes that mom can wear (warm slippers/socks). A nice tote bag for mom to carry pumping supplies. A journal that they can write down progress and any firsts that happen in the hospital. A CD of soothing music (proven to help NICU babies heal faster). Baby books that they can read to DD (especially if they can't really hold or touch her right now). 

Theyll be in my prayers 

shanparadise

@mnkenned As a former NICU mom, the gift of a hotel is going to be the greatest gift you can give. Thankfully we only lived 20 min away from ours, but the closer she can be to her LO, the better. A cute tote bag full of on the go snacks and drinks would be helpful, as you often lose track of time in the NICU and forget to eat. Give her a huge hug, the NICU is tough. But soon she will look back and it will just be a memory of people taking awesome care of her baby. 

FTM53

And we're walking!!!

shaylalr

Thank you for the advice!!! Mom doesn't cook and dad is always gone traveling. So I will be doing all of the cooking and cleaning for the household. She was already a mom and did her time, so I don't mind taking that over for her. I'll definitely bring up some of those things though!!

@mnkenned I will be praying for the little one! That is so amazing of you guys to provide a hotel room. You are an amazing aunt! I know if my daughter was in the hospital I wouldn't want to leave.