by Liz | All Things Kids
Somewhere in the vicinity of two and a half and three years old, a toddler comes to a momentous milestone. Gone are the days of blithely following along with conversations or a simple repartee of “What’s that?”. This new question will forever haunt your days with endless strings of queries that will lead from one topic to the next with reckless abandon. Never one to quell an inquisitive nature, you’ll forge dauntlessly forward with every good intention. And yet, as the 20th “Why, Mommy?” in as many seconds emanates from that tiny person in that little girl voice, you’ll want to scream in completely and utter frustration. You’ll find yourself curtly changing the subject, or automatically replying with a nonsense answer before your conscious mind even registers the inquiry.
I consider it a major victory that during our ride to daycare today, I was inundated with a string of at least eight whymommies before I replied with a simple “Lena…”. To which I was treated to the unexpected reply, “Me asking silly questions!” and a giggle. Progress!!
We have a few ground rules we try to follow in our house, namely:
1. A simple “why” doesn’t cut it, ask an actual question!
2. Quite frequently turn the question around on the child, let them puzzle out their own reasoning…sometimes with hilarious results! 3. Try incredibly hard not to dismiss the questions offhand, because sometimes you see the world from a whole new perspective because of a simple “Why, Mommy?”.
by Liz | All Things Kids
With our first child we were a bit strict about keeping a consistent routine and sleep schedule. We knew we were being a bit manic but with your first kid, there are so many unknowns and you want to feel control over something! While we may have been a bit over the top at times, it worked in our favor. Lena had always been an excellent sleeper and handles transition very well. We moved house, put her in a big girl bed and added a baby sister with almost no fuss. Who does that?!
With our second, things have naturally been a bit more chaotic. Naps aren’t always at the same times and more often than not, they’re taken on the run while life goes on with big sis. That said, we have a pretty good routine despite all the disruptions. So far, Maggie is doing great but she’s nowhere near as consistent a sleeper as her big sister. We are still struggling with night wakings that have no rhyme or reason. Two teeth and various winter sniffles have played a large role in this so we are holding out hope for some future changes.
I actually went back and read some of my old posts about teething, feeding and scheduling. Most of this still holds true! One big bonus is both girls go to bed by 7 pm. At least we still manage to get a little adult time before the day is through!
by Liz | All Things Kids
Or maybe just a morning!
We actually managed to get dressed upstairs today, only because the toddler had wet through her pull-up and we had to change out of pajamas. At least we managed to roll that into some straightening up of our rooms but mostly because we had to change all the linens. Dressed beds, exciting!
We even managed a few more chores while the babe took a short nap. Laundry time is a blast. Especially when soaking poop stained clothes. Fingers crossed the stains come out! It’s only the fourth, epic poop explosion of the week.
Next up was story time while I fed the babe. Pleas for TV went unrewarded. We don’t let her watch that much, I swear! Why does she ask constantly?!
Time to tease the babe! She doesn’t seem amused.
Little mommy had to mimic everything baby sis was doing…
…including tummy time.
During babe’s nap we decided to make cookies (after a clean up session, where did all these toys come from??), friends are visiting tomorrow!
Best part is eating the ingredients of course.
Lunch was a success until we had a disagreement over what type of crackers were on offer. Fortunately, that resolved without real tears.
Real tears erupted when I refused more crackers…off to bed!
Toddler down and baby up, is there room under there for me?
by Liz | All Things Kids, Chaos Hacks
We have officially reached the diaper blowout stage. No solid foods have been introduced yet so we are blessed with the over so lovely mustard poop that stains everything!
I’ve tossed a few outfits and lived with many a stain in my day but after a week of eruptions, even after upping the diaper size and liberally applying stain remover to no avail…something had to give. The consensus of online research seemed to say that an overnight soak in Oxiclean and a regular wash with your favorite detergent should do the trick.
We’ve had plenty of practice and I’d add a few tips. Try to rinse off as much debris as possible before soaking. Also, try to avoid letting the offending stain set in by soaking as soon as possible. I’ve gone as long as 24-36 hours before soaking so far and have still had success.
Here’s hoping we manage to preserve a few more outfits!
by Liz | All Things Kids
Just when you hit your stride and begin to see light in your exhaustion filled days. During your triumphant visit to the pediatrician to report a decent nights sleep you get the dreaded news…your baby has developed flat head! Good sleepers are prone to flat head, go figure.
The good news is that despite your inevitable incessant worrying, most cases resolve themselves on their own. It’s essentially a cosmetic problem and as the baby spends more time upright or on their belly, the head gradually returns to a more rounded shape. In many cases, the worry is more about the muscles on one side of the neck losing flexibility because of the tendency to turn a certain direction.
The bad news is that despite having myriad sources tell you this information, you’ll probably spend hours examining your baby’s head from every angle. You mean it’s not normal to take weekly pictures of the top of your child’s head? Hmm. How about obsessively using sleep positioners to angle her to sleep facing the opposite of her favored direction?
Let’s just say we are improving but we are not out of the woods yet!
by Liz | All Things Kids
Looking back, it’s almost impossible to remember life before one child, let alone two. Yet, I can vividly remember thinking…”What did I do with my time before having Lena?” I mean, really. How did I ever think I was busy?
I think you get the same sensation in triplicate when you have a second child. I can’t even fathom what a third must be like. It took is quite some time to come to terms with having a second child. Lena was our baby, out first. Life was pretty full and she seemed so small. Even after a year, the thought of her being a big sister seemed alien. Regardless of the fact that she was constantly mistaken for a three year old, she just seemed too tiny!
And then, the fateful day arrived and Maggie was born. Suddenly, Lena seems enormous! How did we ever think she was a baby? Did she grow six inches overnight?? Impossibly, inexplicably your love grew to encompass both children in an even more profound way. Every moment becomes that much more precious because you now know just how fleeting it all is. Your new parent woes seem trivial and yet some come to light with even more intensity than ever before.
Life is full of triumphs and frustrations made all the more poignant by a new level of exhaustion. Yet, the sweetest rewards are all the more intense for having been hard won. A day, a week, a month goes by in a series of blinding flashbulbs that quickly fade into obscurity.
Keep your cameras at the ready because you haven’t a hope of remembering a thing about this wild ride otherwise.
