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July 2018 Moms
SmashJam
member
STM+ Check In, 4/30
SmashJam
member
Hey STM! We haven't had one of these in while and I was stalking other BMB threads and missed it!
How far along are you? What size is baby?
Age(s) of other kid(s)?
How are you feeling???
Rants/Raves
Questions?
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
How far along are you? What size is baby?
Age(s) of other kid(s)?
How are you feeling???
Rants/Raves
Questions?
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
Re: STM+ Check In, 4/30
DD is nearly 4, and DS is 2
Feeling good overall. Out of breath a lot, and still have food sensitivities. Bending over is so hard now.
DS has been in speech therapy and he's doing really well. He is also kicking butt at jigsaw puzzles! I just got some new ones from MIL's stash (24 pieces), and on his first time doing them he can identify and put together like 3-4 pieces before I am even done flipping them all. I am seriously blown away by him right now. He is so smart, I just need his speech to catch up.
Also I am proud of myself for doing the drive all the way to and from IL's this weekend without DH. Kids did great and so did I!
I want to volunteer in our college's ultrasound dept so I can see what position baby is in.
DD is in rec gymnastics and DS does mommy and me gymnastics. DD will switch to dance for the summer since she's been asking to do it again. DS...not sure yet, maybe swimming.
Age(s) of other kid(s)? 2.75? ( 3 in June lol)
How are you feeling??? Pretty ok still. I feel like I had worse symptoms at this point with my last two pregnancies, so the worst I have is occasional heartburn, some crampiness and BH when I'm hanging out in the car or haven't hydrated.
Rants/Raves: DS is a hot mess lately and there are days where I am like OMG WHO ARE YOU JUST GO AWAY. But then there are night times when we tell stories, which is something new we just started, and I tell him a story and then he tells me one. They started out like, "Once Upon A Time, there was a kid, the end," but now he's getting way better.
Questions? I don't know how to deal with challenging behavior. How do people redirect their 2.5-3 year olds? We don't spank, so that's not an option, but just looking for suggestions.
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play? I hope they both love baseball, but its a super short season here in Vermont. I am excited for them to play hockey, its pretty big here.
DS does mommy and me gymnastics also, and hoping to get some swim lessons in this summer the schedules are all just bad day.
@flockofmo@flockofmoosen3 nice job on the car ride! Can be so trying...I know DS on our trip to Indiana was a mess, but we were in the car for HOURS. How far away are the in-laws?
29+3...some type of squash?
Age(s) of other kid(s)?
19 months
How are you feeling???
There is never enough sleep, and after a weekend of lots of walking (mostly from shopping trips), cleaning and organizing around the house, and running around after my son, my body is hurting. I plan to call the chiropractor today and start trying to see her weekly or biweekly to get this pain under control, but with all of my other appointments plus work, I am having a hard time figuring out when I can see her. And my blood sugar has been going crazy so I am stressed about that.
Rants/Raves
We are making slow progress on the house. Bought/ordered the last of what we need from Ikea this weekend, aside from little things like diapers and new breastfeeding/pumping supplies. Putting the finishing touches on the playroom and getting all the toys and clutter out of our main living area feels great. Picked up paint samples to start figuring the nursery out. It's just hitting me that we only have 10 weeks or less to go, and still a lot to get in order. My son is so cute with his constant gibberish (is this normal 1.5 year old stuff?? it's like he has his own secret language he speaks to himself), and I love that he understands and communicates with us more and more. We got him a mini table and chairs from Ikea and he loves eating there, he actually ate dinner last night for once.
Questions?
We are interviewing a potential weekly babysitter on Wednesday. She's only around for the summer (college student) but she has a lot of experience and excellent references so I figure we can hire her for the summer and find someone new for the Fall since I wasn't having any luck finding anyone permanent who I really liked. My question is...for anyone who has hired a sitter, what types of questions have you asked them? And did you run a background check? Driving record? She is only 18, so I don't know if there is any point doing a background check, but her dad is a cop so my husband thinks that's good enough lol. I'd like to at least look into her driving record before letting her drive my son. Not sure how to go about that though.
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
None currently...though my mom is going to start taking him to a mommy and me gym type thing every week. I am pretty jealous that I can't take him myself. Apparently places only cater to SAHM's around me, and the weekend options are seriously limited. I want to do swim lessons in the Fall, and eventually I just want both my boys to try things they're interested in....though I am not going to allow football.
@SmashJam my son is younger than yours but I am still just taking the tact of distracting him with something positive when he's doing something negative. My husband tries the really stern "NO" approach and it breaks my heart because his little lip comes out and he starts crying. We also don't believe in spanking/physical discipline but I've read a lot about time outs not really being effective either. I think getting on their level and putting how they are feeling into words can help...so they know they're being understood. But I've never actually executed this.
27 weeks and then some
Age(s) of other kid(s)?
4
How are you feeling???
Beh- like I’m out of room already . I’m going through another good adversion spurt again—- nothing sounds good and I’m just not hungry.
Rants/Raves
Questions? I’m questioning if DD has a sensory processing issue or if I’m just being a crazy mom
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
honestly whatever she wants- but I’ll encourage all activities until she decides she wants to do something with a stronger focus. So far she has done dance, gymnastics, swimming. Ice skating. Ice skating she likes but it was a hot mess so I just didn’t complete the lesson term- we did two lessons . I’ve considered a soccer team through our park district .
29+3 Acorn Squash
Age(s) of other kid(s)?
2yrs
How are you feeling???
Tired, so much body aching i need to find a chiropractor or something. Feeling huge too, my moms even saying it looks like i dropped (i just carry low). Insomnia kicks in after midnight.
Rants/Raves
Still having struggles with DH helping out even if i ask him on a specific task. Just so over it!
Questions?
Not right now.
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play? I have an to encourage him to do what he wants but I’ve started him off with swimming, gymnastics, and he loves instruments. To be honest football is the one sport I’m not to into once he’s older with all the head injuries and what not.
Regarding the discipline of a toddler, we have started doing time outs for about 5 mins. If DS doesn’t listen to something that he shouldn’t be doing he will sit in a spot without any toys. He will cry or whine for a bit but eventually he sits quietly. I do give him warnings before an official time out. Once time is up i go to him with a calm voice and tell him why he got a timeout. I ask him for a hug and kiss as his sorry. The doctor said 5 mins might be too long and would suggest a minute per year. But 2 mins doesn’t allow him to fully calm down. I do think it’s important to get to their eye level to talk through things. If DS won’t hold my hand to cross a street, yes i use a stern voice even if he cries. At least then he’s holding my hand and not running in the street. I use my stern voice more than DH but it’s what works for me.
How far along are you? What size is baby?
30 weeks - cabbage or cantaloupe
Age(s) of other kid(s)?
DS is 14.5 months
How are you feeling???
In a great mood today! Physically getting more tired and feel like I could sleep allllll the time. Nausea is also coming back.
Rants/Raves
I'm in full blown nesting mode and the house is getting a mini facelift. It feels so good to get so much stuff done! We moved DS into a new room and now I'm starting to work on the nursery. It's both calming and exciting.
Questions?
Not for now.
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
I'm hoping they will want to play soccer or some physical activity since both H and I are really active. We decided that as long as they choose some sort of extracurricular, we will be happy. It doesn't have to be a sport, maybe an instrument or art or language or science, whatever!
Age(s) of other kid(s)? DS is almost 3 (in one month! gaaaah!) and DD is 19 months.
How are you feeling??? Large. But other than that good.
Rants/Raves: Like everyone else, these kids have been quite a handful lately. On Saturday, DS threw a 30 minute tantrum first thing in the morning. Then a few hours later when we were getting ready to leave the house, DD threw one. These are two are dramatic. Full on throw themselves on the ground tantrums. Sigh. @SmashJam
- I think we all have the same question. Haha. Good to know our kids aren't the only ones. Any advice on dealing with "no" "i don't want to..." "i want..." I think that's all my kids know.
Questions? See above.
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play? My DS is just younger than the cutoff date for sports here. So we have to wait until next year. My DH and I talked yesterday about the best age to start introducing piano. So that will probably be next year too. I want them to be exposed to both sports and music. I only had sports. I wish I had music.
@zande2016 - In Texas, you can order someone else's record if you have the appropriate reasons. I order them for work (legal purposes though). Maybe look into your state to see if you fit any of the criteria.
30 weeks, zucchini
Age(s) of other kid(s)?
3 in July
How are you feeling???
Large, uncomfortable, extra cranky. Can’t get very comfortable at night already, despite my man made pillow cocoon and snoogle.
Rants/Raves
I need to clean but DS is a little sick, extra clingy, and won’t entertain himself lately. Not sleeping well either. Thankfully DH is handling most night wakes, but then again that just means all 3 of us will be cranky the next day.
Questions?
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
Whatever theyre interested in! DH on the other hand is shamelessly pushing basketball on DS. He wants to be able to coach his games when he gets older and I’m sure is secretly hoping he could live vicariously through him in his future NBA career. I was more into arts as a kid, but I’ll learn sports if I have to
How far along are you? What size is baby?
29w6d
Age(s) of other kid(s)?
DS will be 3 is June and DD is 15
How are you feeling???
Tired, we are so busy on the weekends that I just need an extra day to sleep. And +1 @wildtot with the insomnia....never had that with my others but I find myself just laying in bed for hours now in the middle of the night. I also started seeing a chiropractor a few weeks ago which is helping immensely
Rants/Raves
DS keeps waking up calling for one of us in his sleep every night. And I'm hoping to convince my doctor that I don't need a second 3 hour glucose test this week.
Questions?
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
DD dances (we tried soccer and tball and cheerleading) DS can do whatever he wants, as long as it's not hockey because that's too expensive and too much of a commitment! We will stick to watching hockey!
Age(s) of other kid(s)? will be 2 next month!
How are you feeling??? Really sore. I made it into the office for the first time in 3 weeks... Already exhausted and I've barely been here an hour. I was crap with water yesterday (busy day running around) and tried to catch up too late and was up peeing every hour, but DH said he was waking up every hour too so who knows what's going on. Also getting a little anxious...way too much to do and no time to do it
Rants/Raves I'm too sore/tired/cranky to deal with my in-laws... or my husband... or my coworkers... I'm starting to see why women used to go into confinement...
Questions? Any tips to transitioning to a toddler bed? I'm not looking forward to this transition... on the one hand if she drops her pacifier through the side of the crib she could get it herself...but I totally think my kid is going to be one of those that plays with anything and everything in her room when she should be sleeping...
@SmashJam we're trying to figure this out too... We typically do a count to 3 and then were doing a tap on the diaper, but she just laughs so that doesn't work. Mostly we've been trying to just ignore the tantrums and (after ensuring she can't harm herself) just walk away so she doesn't get positive reinforcement of the tantrum. Also try to reinforce cause and effect - if you don't put your jacket on you can't go outside. We try to head it off by doing the whole 2 choices thing... "do you want to go to bed or take a bath?" and doing a running commentary of "ok there's 1 cracker left" "last episode of doc and then bed"...mixed bag... I also try the squatting down so we're eye to eye and explaining things slowly, but not sure how much really gets through at 2...
@zande2016 no advice on the babysitter - DH still only lets MIL watch DD - but we have the same IKEA kids table and it's been AWESOME for getting DD to eat (esp with the dinning room covered in kitchen debris).
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
I'm also into anything she wants to try - I like how my parents handled extracurricular - I could try anything I wanted, but I had to commit to the whole season/sign up even if I didn't like it. I tried gymnastics, swimming, dance, karate, horseback riding, piano, singing, musical theater, art classes, cheerleading, skating - and got to be pretty well rounded. DD doesn't do anything formal yet outside of the stuff they try at daycare, we'll probably do dance first because she loves to dance - but I have a feeling she'll be like me and like freeform rather than choreography... She has been drawn to the piano/keyboard since day 1 and she'll probably get lessons from her godfather as soon as she gets a little bigger.
I will put my foot down on football though. Not happening, unless tackling stops being a thing.
@SmashJam DS has been really difficult lately too. He even tried to hit a little girl in play group the other day! We don’t spank, I try to ignore the tantrums and the whining but time outs have been more frequent. I’ll count to 3 and if I get to 3 and he’s still doing whatever he shouldn’t be, he sits in his timeout chair and we talk about what he did that was naughty until he calms down for 2 min. I set a timer on my phone, if he’s not listening the timer gets reset. Things like hitting or anything dangerous gets an instant timeout. Everything @gingerbride26 said is awesome too, I’ve noticed DS throws less tantrums when I literally give him a play by play of what’s happening so there aren’t any surprises.
@gingerbride26 regarding toddler bed transition- don’t do what I did and sit with her until she falls asleep! I had to basically sleep train him again at 2.5 to get him to stay in bed. A couple days of cries but it was soooo worth it. I keep the toys in his room to a minimum, but he doesn’t get up to play much. He says goodnight to all of his toys when the lights go off
+1 for no football in this house... I’m also biased against baseball, my brothers played in travel leagues and I spent basically every weekend during the season at their games. Never again.
@wildtot yea...we need to put the doors back up in the house...took them down 6 years ago to paint/replace and never did >_< She sleeps on a cot at daycare and absolutely loved the model bed at BRU and kept jumping in and yelling "NIGHT NIGHT"
@acunamatada thanks. I was hoping/planning to keep toys to a minimum or locked in the closet, but figured the "choke hazard" toys that we need to keep away from little brother should stay in there to make things easier...the other bedrooms besides the nursery in our house are all the same size, so it's going to be crazy empty in there until she gets bigger...
Age(s) of other kid(s)? DD is 2
How are you feeling??? I've got a cold that I'm battling, so I haven't been feeling great. DH took DD to his mom's house all morning yesterday so that I could go back to bed and rest.
Rants/Raves: I have a real struggle with patience, especially in the mornings (I'm not a morning person). Recently DD hasn't been wanting to put on a diaper or get dressed in the mornings and it's driving me bonkers and then putting me in a bad mood all day. I can't remember how I got her diaper on this morning (just that she was crying during it) and I ended up getting her clothes on by telling her that we weren't going to have time to eat breakfast if she didn't get dressed. We do spank occasionally, but I've been reading a lot about consequences and it seems that most of the time that works for her. An example was given about hitting at a playdate and the consequence is telling your child that he/she has to apologize, you have to leave, and there's no more going to playdates until the child stop hitting. I'm guessing that's measured through verbalization, so if it's a non-verbal kid that approach probably wouldn't work.
Our church group also swears by Daniel Tiger and the songs he sings. We recently started watching it and she likes it, but definitely isn't at the point where she applies the lessons to life situations.
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play? DD is in swim lessons and she also started dance through school about a month ago. She was crying so much last week though that they sent her back to class. She LOVES music, so I definitely plan to have her take piano lessons but probably not until age 5-6. DH wants her to try soccer once she's old enough, which I think is 3 around here.
Edited because math is hard.
The first night it took about an hour of the back and forth, the next night a little less, etc. and he was fully "trained" in about a week. It was exhausting the moment but totally worth it. He's 4 now and has been great about bedtime since.
Our pediatrician actually told us a couple weeks ago that she's large enough and old enough now that we don't need to offer her alternate foods or fight her to eat at meals. So, that makes me feel better about letting her choose in the morning to either play or get dressed to go eat. We are having a potty training weekend in May, so I'll hopefully be less forceful about timing when I'm trying to put panties on her versus a diaper.
She used to be great with me offering her 2 choices and picking, but recently has gotten more demanding of making her own choice out of everything. I had always heard that was something that happens closer to 3?!?
27 weeks + 6, size of lettuce
Age(s) of other kid(s)?
DS age 4
How are you feeling???
Frumpy. Sore. Tired.
Rants/Raves
My house has been a disaster since we moved DS into my my step son's room on the bottom bunk. THEIR room is now very clean but every other room in our small house has random clutter that needs to either be gone through, put in the attic, or both. Like @acunamatada said my son is also extra clingy lately and doesn't want to entertain himself so it's hard to get things done.
As a related RAVE I did get a lot done this weekend. I put away DS's size 4 clothes and took out SS's old size 5 stuff and moved DS's clothes into his new room, and rearranged SS's closet and drawers so both boys' clothes are in the room now. And we took down all DS's baby clothes from newborn to 9 months and I washed them all and went through and donated some stuff because we have so many clothes between DS's stuff, gifts, and things I've already bought.
Questions? DS's clingy behavior is due to him reacting to me being pregnant and knowing a baby is coming, at least that's my guess. How do I find the right balance between meeting his emotional needs during this time, but also discouraging annoying behavior (like literally clinging to me and constantly wanting a hug)? This is more rhetorical than anything else but if anyone has thoughts/experience/advice I'll take it.
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
I'll be open to anything. I wanted to get him started in soccer this spring but we totally flaked so hopefully we remember to sign him up for fall soccer.
Age(s) of other kid(s)? DS is 2 years and 8 months
How are you feeling??? I am freaking tired. I sleep poorly and just feel so much more exhausted lately. All I ever want to do is sleep. But I am also much more active than I was with DS, between workout classes and chasing after him, so maybe I am doing this to myself.
Rants/Raves: I freaking hate my MIL. She spent the whole weekend trying to shame me for not wanting to be a SAHM. I think being a SAHM is a great choice for a lot of people, but it is not for me. I do not appreciate her making me feel like a bad mom because I plan to send my kid to daycare. We also went to visit her and my BIL/SIL this weekend, and we spent so much time waiting on her because she was constantly late or not ready to leave when everyone else was.
Questions? Can I just not tell my MIL when the baby is born because I don't want to see her?
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play? DS is already in swimming and gymnastics. He loves both, but I hope he keeps up the swimming as that was my sport growing up too. I love swim meets, lol.
For anyone who is going to a 2 year doctor's appointment soon - be aware that they'll ask you about the number of words they're stringing together! We weren't expecting that and had to kind of guess. He then asked for examples. So now we've started counting words in her phrases!
@MichelleAG05 thanks for the heads up...ours is next month. She's really good about possessives - Mama Water versus Ashlynn Water. 2-3 word strings are the norm in our house but I'll have to pay attention more. If "uh-oh" counts then she's up to 4! lol "uh-oh. where bear go?" um you threw it across the room you little stinker!
30+5....a zucchini I think?
Age(s) of other kid(s)?
5 year old boy
How are you feeling???
Generally okay. Today SUPER tired. I cannot get it together.
Rants/Raves
None that I can think of
Questions?
How is it already May?! This pregnancy has flown by. I can't even believe it.
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
DS has played tball for the last 2 years and just started his first year of coach pitch baseball. He loves it so much! He has also done soccer, swimming, and basketball so far, and a ninja class at a local gymnastics place. He loves to move and REALLY loves sports so I don't mind. The only rule is he is only allowed to participate in one thing at a time (otherwise it gets too overwhelming...)
DS 11.8.12
Baby GIRL! due 7.4.18
Age(s) of other kid(s)? my daughter just turned 2.5
How are you feeling??? Stressed TF out, though the stress is mostly not pregnancy related. Prego wise I'm feeling pretty good, definitely have fat days and occasional acid reflux but I'm mostly good.
Rants/Raves: I'm just frustrated with all the work we've been doing on the house, everything is a mess, the workers stained my carpet with f-ing TAR, the room that will be the nursery is a disaster. I'm just so sick of not feeling a sense of calm in my own home.
Questions? Should I buy a cute Tula carrier? I have an old Ergo 360 that I liked but I want something new.
GTKY: What sport or extracurricular activity do you hope your children play/Do they already play?
I hope they just play and explore together and love each other.
@wildtot I think they don’t count because they’re phrases more than sentences. For example, DS wouldn’t put two words together on his own but he would say “shut up” to the dog, “what’s that” or “get up”. I think those were actually his only phrases at 2/2.5 lol. Though they’re technically two word phrases, he learned them as a phrase rather than making up the sentence on his own.