April 2019 Moms

STM+ Check in w/o 10/3

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Re: STM+ Check in w/o 10/3

  • Maybe I should put it in the UO thread.  I can't wait to get my minivan!!!!!!!!  Yay for minivans.
    Me: 31
    H: 36
    L & N twin girls: 3yo. Born at 30 weeks. 2 month NICU stay
    BFP Aug 2018: EDD April 2019
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  • I personally love a minivan and will definitely get one whenever my Prius goes!  My husband is the resistant one...
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  • Ugh, I just can't do a minivan.  My mom drove one through most of my childhood and teenage years and I always hated it.  I still have almost 2 years on my lease so I'm stuck with my 2 row small SUV for now, but afterwards I think I really want a Pathfinder.  It has 3 rows and appears to be pretty spacious, and the newer version seems to have gotten a little smaller.  I am not comfortable driving a massive SUV!
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  • @MRDCle and @blueberrymomma, I actually have a Radian for my son now, so getting another might not be a bad idea.  Are they able to do rear-facing with infants too?  I have a Graco infant seat for this new little one, but my sister will need one for my nephew that fits... I was thinking it might work best to have my son (forward facing) in the middle, and the rear-facing seats on either side.

    @HGRich, my son is 4 and most of my homeschooling involves pinning things on Pinterest also :lol:.

    @Piccola1988, I agree, I'm not comfortable driving bigger vehicles.  My husband bought a Ford 150 truck just recently, and I have yet to drive it because it's just so much bigger than my Prius!  I may have to start just to be able to fit three carseats across the back though.
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  • @kangstadt ugh that sounds brutal.  I would be so uncomfortable driving an F150!  Three across in a Prius sounds cramped, but am I remembering correctly that your son is 4?  He'll be ready for a booster seat soon, won't he?  That might help!
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  • @kangstadt they RF from 5lbs on!
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  • kangstadtkangstadt member
    edited October 2018
    @Piccola1988, I would like to keep him in the carseat as long as possible before switching to a booster.  I've seen some recommendations to keep them in a carseat until 6 (obviously depending on the seat's weight/height limits).  He's a small fry too so he'll probably hit height limits before weight.

    @MRDCle, I did see that article.  For some reason my sister thinks it's not accurate though, that the author doesn't really test it out or something?  I'm not sure.  She's uber paranoid when it comes to carseats and won't even let me install her kid's seat in my car myself.
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  • @kangstadt totally fair - I know they recommend keeping them in until they hit the limit if you can.  I'm a bad judge because I would have been in a car seat until I was 13 and my massive child will probably outgrow his before he's 4 at this rate (although the limits are getting really high - if they climb any higher they're going to want me back in a booster seat!).
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  • @Piccola1988, I think part of it is guilt because I switched him to forward facing right at 2, instead of waiting longer!  There are new recommendations that say you should keep them rear facing until 4 even also.
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  • @kangstadt my husband drives a F-150 (he will only drive Ford trucks, it’s a farm thing I guess lol). He just got it lifted and I hate buckling the kids in because I have to climb inside. He actually tried to convince me for a couple of years to get one too. I will say there’s plenty of room for 3 across but it’s not a practical mom mobile lol. On the topic of booster seats, we got DD a high back booster with a 5-point harness when she was 4. Graco Tranzitions. It’s pretty affordable and on the narrow side. And since it still has the 5-point I felt safer than with a seatbelt booster(it does transition into a seatbelt booster)

    Also PSA there were some Diono car seats on Zulily today for almost 50% off
  • @blueberrymomma, thanks for the heads up!  I haven't shopped Zulily before, are they reliable/decent service?
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  • @kangstadt and @HGRich I'm homeschooling too. DD is doing her kindergarten year this year.

    I agree on the Radian. I have my 2 nephews along with DD most days and we are 3 across in our very small car. 
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  • @wildcosmiclove, that's awesome!  I always like connecting with other homeschooling mamas and seeing how they structure their day.

    I just ordered a Radian from Zulily, I figure eventually we will need another one anyway for my DH's truck, so if any family members gift us one we will already have two and be set.
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  • Zulilly is solid. Takes a while to deliver sometimes but I've always been happy with my purchases - though I never buy clothing there because no returns and the sizing can be wonky.
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  • @MRDCle they recently changed their policy and a lot of items are returnable now. And the couple time I’ve gotten defective clothing they’ve refunded my money and give me extra store credit. The only thing I never order is pants 
    @kangstadt sometimes delivery takes longer, but usually larger items arrive in a more reasonable time frame (2-3weeks). 
  • @blueberrymomma ahhh!! I didn't know that! COOL!
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  • @kangstadt @HGRich @wildcosmiclove what age did you start with the homeschooling for your own kids? How structured was it at that point?
  • @lyse01 it's been ongoing and very informally structured for us.  Think about all the things you teach your one year old, two year old, etc.  That's already a form of homeschooling!  This year (DS is 4), I've tried to focus on having "morning time," or just ten to fifteen minutes a day when we specifically do a craft, a writing activity, reading activity, or "workbook," together.  There are some cool dry erase preschool books that my son likes, as well as math sticker books and rhyming/phonics activity books.  He really got into the math stickers one early I think because it didn't require any reading or writing.  He's just now starting to really copy down words if I write the letters above for him.

    Besides trying to do some structured school, I take him to various playdates and get-togethers with other homeschooling moms (look up Wild and Free if you're interested in nature/outdoor/unschooling learning!  There are chapters everywhere).  He does a rec center gym class that does sports like soccer and basketball once a week, as well as gymnastics.

    My mom used a very relaxed unschooling method with me, and that's what I'm hoping to accomplish as well.  I'm also interested in using nature as a sort of curriculum (Raising Little Shoots is a good example of this, it's has a weekly topic that you explore based on the season or other natural phenomenon going on during that time of year).
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  • @lyse01 We didn't use a curriculum or really do any formal work until this year. We are using Oak Meadow and it's very gentle, hands on, nature focused, and leaves her with so much time to play and explore.  We also started a forest school co-op that meets weekly & also have a day where she meets up with other kids at a local museum and then goes to an art class.

    For preschool we started having a circle time daily around two, but didn't do anything more formal. We read a lot, did various art projects, played games, and spent a lot of time outside. Honestly, even for Kindergarten I'm not pushing academics. Next year we will do a little more formal work for first grade.
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