PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

[JGator]

And, hot off the press - photo emailed from the nanny showing K in a swing at our playground with her head down since there are 2 other kids at the playground today.

 

[amc80]

And, hot off the press - photo emailed from the nanny showing K in a swing at our playground with her head down since there are 2 other kids at the playground today.

That is so cute, and sort of sad! Is she really that shy? B is the opposite- he insists on saying hi to every kid at the playground. And when we leave, he turns around and says a general "bye" to the park and everyone there.

B is finally getting used to his toddler bed. We have a gate on his door which keeps him in. If we remove it, he gets up in the middle of the night and comes to our room...so up it stays. DH usually removes it when he leaves for work at about 5am, and B comes into bed with me at 6 on the dot. But this morning he stayed in his bed sleeping until 7! Amazing. I was able to get out of bed and have 30 minutes of time to myself (while getting ready for work) before I went and got him up. It's also getting easier to get him to go to sleep. I have to lay in his bed with him for about 10 minutes, and that does the trick.

It's amazing how much of a boy he is. He's obsessed with cars (hot wheels/matchbox cars). We went to the children's museum on Sunday, and suddenly he pulled one of his cars out of his pocket. He also spends a lot of time putting things in other things. Like I will give him a box of crayons and he will spend 30 seconds coloring, and 10 minutes taking the crayons in and out of a box. Not sure if that's a boy thing or a toddler thing or just a B thing.

 

[lliang_chi]

AMC, I think it's a toddler thing liking to emptying things and fill it back up. My friends' daughter is the same way. Ethan likes DUMPING his toys (train tracks, legos) on the ground and will clean it up only when I tell/ask him to. However he'll very methodically remove his crayons from the box... actually maybe not I remember a time that he half tore the box open to get all the crayons out. Hm... I think my son is just the bull in china shop type. Glad to hear B's doing so well wiht his toddler bed! Hope it continues. We put Ethan on the futon in his room for naps, but he's still in his crib for bedtime. A few times he's slept on the futon for bedtime too, but that's usually only with MOTN wake ups and that's the only way he'll be consoled. Love that pic of B!

JGator, Definitely start negotiating with K as she grasps more of what you say. My newest trick with Ethan is, "If you want Mommy to stay in your room with you, you need to keep your eyes closed." I give him 5 chances, if he blows them, I leave (tantrum ensues). That usually makes him understand I mean business. After he calms down, he can politely ask me to come back and we try again. The second time he usually keeps his eyes shut and he falls asleep within 2 mins. I've done it for his nap (Sunday) and going to bed last night. Ethan's not so good with conditions on his food consumption. Wow, so proud of K for doing so well with the sleep training. Sounds like a really good plan to wean her off rocking and putting her down.

Mia, Ethan's pedi was concerned about his weight/height ratio at our last appt. But my friend who's a pedi wasn't at all. DH's theory is all of Ethan's excess weight is in his huge head (consistently 95th %ile).

MP, Sounds like you and Ev have been doing a good enough job with his bedtime ritual. Is he a staller? Ethan's the king of stalling bedtime. "I need juice. I need Nite Nite Quizas. I need more book." The only one I give into is his "I need go potty." Fortunately he hasn't figured out that I'll always acquiesce on that one and isn't taking advantage (knock wood). it's great that you're aware of Ev's spine issue so you can always bring it up to the pedi during his check ups.

Since JGator asked here's some pics of Ethan. We took an art class @ the local park district and the field house has an indoor gym. Since Ethan's LOVES basketball (thank you March Madness watching husband), we got him a little kiddo "bah-ket-ball" for him to play with. The other shot is also for fun, DH drank some cans of beer one night and Ethan stacked them up the next morning. DH used to do the same in college (frat house) where they made a "beer-a-mid". Guess it runs in the family

 

[monkeyprincess]

JGator, ahh, poor little K. I do think that this is probably a phase, and with time, she will feel a little less intimidated. But I'm sure it's pretty hard to see it happen. Maybe when she's a little older, it would help if you enrolled her in some sort of daycare or preschool type setting. That's so great that bedtime is going better for you. And I agree our little ones are both of the strong-willed variety. Sure makes life interesting!

amc, YES, Ev is the same way. My MIL brought over some duplo sets for him yesterday, and he spent a half hour dumping them out of the box and putting them back in. He had no interest in trying to put them together. We have this little crayon holder from when I was a kid that I put his crayons in, and he will draw one line with each color and then demand to be able to put the crayon back in and get a new one. Over and over and over again. It's crazy how toddlers are such a mix of ADHD and crazy long attention spans for that kind of behavior.

LC, love the pictures. He's looking like such a little boy! You're right that our bedtime routine does seem to be working for now and he usually gets 11 hours of sleep a night so I really don't have much to complain about, other than the fact he has the ability to hold us hostage in the evening And I don't know, Ev's not so much a staller yet, it's more like he is stubborn and strong-willed and doesn't want to give into our demands. He pretty much goes between being the happiest, good-natured kid in the world to a complete PITA when he wants to be! And somehow, it makes me love him even more

Here's a couple recent pictures of him sitting at the table like a big boy at our in-laws and walking around in my shoes in his pajamas

 

[amc80]

It's crazy how toddlers are such a mix of ADHD and crazy long attention spans for that kind of behavior.

Yes! Most things hold his interest for 3.7 seconds. But if it has to do with containers/organizing? He can do it for a LONG time. The other day there were a few pairs of shoes in a pile downstairs- he organized them for us, on his own, without us asking. And he matched them all up correctly! That's something I could get used to. The only other thing that holds is attention is Frozen. Man, I'm so sick of that movie.

 

[mia1181]

Ah! More beautiful pics!!!

Just wanted to update you guys. O's doctor's appointment went really well. I have learned my lesson to leave the measuring to the pros!!! It was kind of funny because when the nurse measured O she got 31.5" but I could clearly see that the line she drew was way below her feet. So when the doc came in I had her redo it and her measurement looked absolutely perfect and was 30.5"!!! 1.5" taller than my measurement, and 50th percentile! She showed me how if her head was tilted even a little bit, the measurement could be way off. That must've been what happened for me because O actually stays pretty still for measurements. I can't believe it! I measured like 10 times!

O's iron level has gone up so I don't have to worry about anemia anymore either! It's all good!

 

[FrekeChild]

It's crazy how toddlers are such a mix of ADHD and crazy long attention spans for that kind of behavior.

Yes! Most things hold his interest for 3.7 seconds. But if it has to do with containers/organizing? He can do it for a LONG time. The other day there were a few pairs of shoes in a pile downstairs- he organized them for us, on his own, without us asking. And he matched them all up correctly! That's something I could get used to. The only other thing that holds is attention is Frozen. Man, I'm so sick of that movie.

OMG. Me too.

"LET IT GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

[NewEnglandLady]

No time for a proper post because work is INSANE. I can only catch up when I'm in meetings!

Mia, so glad O's appt. went well!

K is also an organizer. She likes to dump things out, but I'll see her playing with blocks, then 15 minutes later they'll be back in their bin, back on the shelf. K is also obsessed with getting my shoes out of my closet and wearing them around the house, but she always puts them back on the shoe rack. It's really cute.

Here are a couple of pictures--took them to the Picture People for father's day. Close-up of K shows the gap in her two front teeth due to her upper frenulum.

 

[JGator]

NEL, your girls are stunning! Beautiful! I love Katie's little gap!

 

[JGator]

Sorry, I forgot to comment on the other cuties here!!!!

AMC, B is so big and growing up way too fast. Love the expression. K likes taking things out and putting them back too.

LC, gorgeous photos of Ethan! He's a good staller. K just runs around, and my DH encourages her by chasing her! She's super excited by the time we grab her and get her into her sleep sack!

MP, Ev looks like such a sweet boy in the photos. I Love the first one that is a close up. Very handsome! I forgot to mention we have signed up K for a co-op pre-school when she turns 2. The parents have to take turns being assistant teacher every 8th class, and also volunteer hours every semester to support the school. It's a 2-day per week class that runs from 930 to 1215 for the 2 year olds. It starts in September, but K can't join until her birthday so we are holding a spot by paying the tuition for the first 2 months. I think that will help her tremendously. And, it sounds like a great, close knit community that will be good for us to get involved with.

AFU, I work from home so I just spent the last 53 minutes listening to K cry for her nap! Uggh! Painful. I hope she sleeps now - she's been quiet for a few minutes! Naps have not been great this week since the nanny has been in charge. I don't think it's her because she is following our rules, but something about K or a regression. Last night, she went to the crib 2 minutes before I was planning to put her down after rocking for 13 minutes - I told her I am going to put you in the crib soon. She pointed to the crib, and I asked do you want to go now and she said Yes! I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!!!! So, small victories at night! Not so much during the day!

 

[Puppmom]

Jgator, N1 went through a painfully shy phase similar to K's. He would immediately get off any play equipment if another child got on, he would put his head down and fold his arms if another child spoke to him and forget about it if an adult tried to interact with him! He's still shy but will answer questions an adult asks him (although shyly) and gets on well with his peers. This morning when we arrived at daycare the kids were chanting his name. It was very cute!

 

[monarch64]

Oh wow, these kids are so cute! I checked this thread earlier today and was rewarded with a page full of great pics.

Today we took a tour of our friend the soap maker's factory. It was pretty cool and Alex was super interested. She didn't want to get out of the car for some reason when we got home so I let her hang out for a minute and then she didn't want to come in the house. She ALWAYS wants to be outside. She would just walk around the neighborhood and bother people all night if we let her, I think. I've been re-doing the loft to make it into a playroom for her recently, but she only wants to play up there for about 20 minutes then she's like "down stairs!" (I always said I'd never be one of those parents with toys and kid crap all over the house, and before I knew it our living room had been taken over by toys. No more--she is getting her own dedicated toy space now!)

A couple days ago I took her to Dairy Queen to get her an ice cream cone. She's never had one before and she didn't want to lick it, she wanted to try to eat it with her fingers. It was hilarious. We sat outside and she was really good; she never tried to get up and run around, maybe because she was so preoccupied with that melty ice cream. Tonight I gave her a little sherbet in a dish with a spoon but she didn't want anything to do with it. Kids are weird.

Sounds like everyone is doing great. Mia, glad you got the measurements straightened out and that his iron levels are up! LC, the beer can stack is too funny.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

JGator, thank you!! BTW, K interacted with another toddler while we were eating dinner at a restaurant this weekend. She even waved and said "hi", which was really sweet. The other toddler seemed shy, so I think that actually made K more at ease about interacting.

Monnie, cute pics!!! My in-laws took K out for an ice cream cone last week and she had no idea what to do with it, haha. They said she ate the bottom part of the cone (?) and then gave the rest back to them like "I'm done with this thing".

Y'all. I'm dying over here. K is TERRIFIED of her air conditioner! We live in New England. And we are seaside, which keeps temps from getting scorching hot in the summer. Thus, we don't have central air. To keep K's room cool, she has a window unit that we put in during the summer months.

I knew the air conditioner was going to be an issue. K is more OCD than a typical toddler. Especially about bedtime or things in her room. So we put the air conditioner in this weekend and turned it on. She was fine with it while we played in her room. I was encouraged. So I decided to try to leave it on during naptime. I put her in her crib and she wanted it off. I told her it was fine and she kept pointing to it and saying "NOO!". I left the room and she screamed bloody murder until I decided to shut it off in lieu of traumatizing her. Rinse and repeat at bedtime.

I'm not quite sure how I'm going to approach this, but I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of trial and error involved in getting her on board with having the air conditioner on in her room while she sleeps. I wish she could tell me why it's scary. That would help. Late talking + neurotic toddler is not a great combo.

 

[JGator]

NEL, that's great that K interacted with another toddler over the weekend. Also, no ideas the A/C but good luck with that.

Monnie, cute pics of Alex. That's too funny about the ice cream cone. We have tried to offer K ice cream on a spoon a few times and she refuses to try it.

Pupp, thanks for chiming in on the shyness situation. You need to post some pics of your beautiful boys!

AFU, I think K may be walking funny - her left foot seems to turn in. The space between her left ankle and the the ground has an angle rather than being straight up/down when you watch her from behind. I am attaching a picture. Let me know if any of you have any experience with this. Sleep for naps was a little better over the weekend than during the week so we'll see how things go today. The new plan is to leave her in her crib for 2 hours in the afternoon without going in. We were doing 2 short naps as she wasn't sleeping very long, but I think the 1 nap will be better for her - she is already almost 20 months! Also, we now have a white noise app running where the white noise giraffe she has only goes for 45 mins. Yesterday, she cried for the first 25 mins, and then slept on/off for the next 30 mins and definitely slept straight through for the 2nd hour. I hope everyone had a great Fathers Day. Ours was low key at home.

 

[lliang_chi]

NEL, Oh no! Poor K! Would it help if you let her turn on the A/C? So great that K smiled and said "Hi" at dinner. Was the other kid younger than she is? Maybe she likes younger kids, could also explain how she's so good with C.

JGator, Hm, from your picture, it seems like both feet are turning in a little bit (pronated). I don't think it's a bad thing, some ppl just have variations in their step, I myself walk pronated/flat footed. Try to take a video of her walking in barefeet and bring it to your pediatrician. Hoping your naps go well this week. Sounds like she's really good once she pushes through her first 45 min fussies.

Monnie, How did A like the soap factory? Hope A likes her play room and you can reclaim your house back. We've never given Ethan an ice cream cone. Now I'm curious to experiment

AFU: Can I just say it's IMPOSSIBLE to do any DIY home stuff with a toddler. We spent this weekend regrouting our master shower. DH needed me to get E out of the house so he could work. So I took him to the zoo (met up with a friend & her family). We were gone a good 3 hrs, so DH was able to grind out a lot of the old grout. Then last night I stayed up until 1AM applying the new grout. Fortunately Ethan "slept in" till 6:15. I think his dinosaur PJs are lucky. Maybe I need to find some other lucky PJs.

ETA: Attaching pic, we took E to the "beach" this weekend too. I have issues calling the shores of Lake Michigan a reach beach. DH thinks I'm a beach brat. Well, I own it. I grew up in FL, so yeah.

 

[Puppmom]

Jgator, Nate has that with both feet. It's in his PT log as over or excessive pronation. We're in the "keep an eye on it" phase because he's a new walker and it's apparently common then. I don't know if K would be considered a new walker?? PT said this can be caused by a few things - hyper mobility at the ankle, muscle weakness, lack of walking experience (I forget what else). Apparently shoes with an arch *may* (our PT is skeptical) help but most toddler shoes don't have one since toddlers are still flat footed. Neither the PT nor pediatrician are worried because his gait she's positioning will supposedly evolve a lot over the next few years.

 

[amc80]

Jgator, Nate has that with both feet. It's in his PT log as over or excessive pronation. We're in the "keep an eye on it" phase because he's a new walker and it's apparently common then. I don't know if K would be considered a new walker?? PT said this can be caused by a few things - hyper mobility at the ankle, muscle weakness, lack of walking experience (I forget what else). Apparently shoes with an arch *may* (our PT is skeptical) help but most toddler shoes don't have one since toddlers are still flat footed. Neither the PT nor pediatrician are worried because his gait she's positioning will supposedly evolve a lot over the next few years.

JGator- I have no idea about the pronation but would definitely bring it up with your ped. Puppmom- do you know when toddlers generally get arches? I have crazy high arches (as in my foot print is the ball and the heal and no line in between) and I've noticed that B already has arches. He is my only source of reference, though, so I don't know what's normal...

 

[Puppmom]

ANC, our PT said they're flat footed for the first couple of years so 2ish I guess? She said they look for normal arches at 5. So maybe depending on some factors they develop earlier vs later but some time between 2 and 5? I just made a Father's Day project with the kids involving foot prints and Nolan's (he's almost 4) seem to have the same shape as Nate's (he's 16 mos).

 

[NewEnglandLady]

JGator, I was going to chime in with the same info on lack of arches/pronation. I've noticed K's feet becoming less pronated as her feet grow and arches develop. Always good to be aware so you can keep an eye on it.

LC, I like the idea of giving K more control over the A/C and letting her turn it on/off. Also, I was talking with a coworker and she said "my kid hated the air conditioner until it was really hot one day and then she WANTED the cool air on". Ha, I'm probably creating more anxiety by trying to get in front of the issue!

DIY and kids don't mix. Last year I had a new year's resolution to paint 10 rooms in our house by our TTC timeline in May/June. My plan was to work weekends only. After K went to bed. And I was to be in bed myself by 11. K is in bed at 7:30, so I basically painted from 8pm - 10:30pm two nights a week. That's 5 hours/week. Say 20 weeks? I thought 100 hours would be enough to get most of it done. I painted EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND and only got 5 rooms done, so we hired painters for the other 5 rooms (and it literally took them 4 days. I wanted to cry). So now my mantra is to be patient and know that projects will take longer OR we just need to hire people to do the work.

 

[Kunzite]

JGator, I just wanted to add my voice to the choir re: shyness. O was also painfully shy (wanted to leave the playground if another kid came over, even had a few panic attacks in public when I didn't pick him up fast enough) and he's come out of his shell so much since he turned 3. I think it was just a combination of age and starting school part time. Now he only has periods of shyness. He'll say hi to random people walking by (and if they don't say hi back he looks at me and say, oh well ). The progress he's made over the last 6 months is astonishing, and it was all on his own we learned a long time ago that we can't push him if he's not comfortable. As for the flat feet, I'd be inclined to have your pedi double check. Some amount is to be expected but even before 2 it can be too flat. Miles has been in orthotics for flat feet from the time he started walking so I'd want a professional opinion.

NEL, I want to agree with your last post. K sounds very similar to O and we learned that pushing an issue never got results. He just needed more time to get comfortable with new ideas and situations than most kids. I would just keep turning it on during the time she's okay with it and just make it a nonissue.

Monarch, your picture made me giggle because I have tons of similar ones! O's favorite thing to do these days is to "drive" the car. It works out well for us because we can use it to get him out of the house while the twins nap!!

Hi to everyone else! I wish I could properly catch up but I don't have much spare time these days.

My babies turned 2 a few weeks ago!!!

 

[FrekeChild]

Just a helpful hint I got from my physical therapist - when they climb a lot, it strengthens their hips, which helps pull those arches up and develop them. A has some arches developing already, but I was told that you should start to notice them at 2.

Let me tell you though, at 2.5, I can barely convince her to STOP climbing. On the couch, on the beds, on the jungle gym, on the dogs, etc. So I'm pretty sure that her arches will develop just fine!

 

[lliang_chi]

Kunzite, you have such gorgeous boys! How's E doing with EI? I can't believe they're TWO! So adorable that O loves to "drive." I also do things to trick Ethan to cooperate. But hey, ends justify the means, riht? Did O buckle himself in on his own? I can just see him climbing in, then go "Wait, buckle up for safety" and then start pretending.

Freke, interesting what you say about arches and climbing. Ethan's a veritable monkey so hopefully he'll be just fine. I have flat-flat-super-flat feet, so maybe I didn't climb a whole lot as a toddler.

 

[JGator]

LC, you are right. Both feet are turning in. She has only been walking about 6 months since she was 14 months old so maybe that's part of the problem. I will take your advice and video her for her next pedi appt which is not until she turns 2 in October, but you never know, we could go back for another reason before then. Beautiful picture of Ethan at the "beach". I also grew up in FL, and you may have guessed from my username where I went to school.

Pupp, I remember a long time ago thinking K had really thick/fat feet, and the pediatrician said they would flatten out when she started walking which she didn't start until she was 14 months old. They still look fat, but not that fat, and she definitely doesn't have arches yet!

NEL, thanks for chiming in. K's feet are still pretty small - she's in a 6.5 now so hopefully she will grow out of it like your K.

Kunzite, your boys are absolutely GORGEOUS!! Do M and E both have piercing blue eyes? Thanks for the glimmer of hope for K turning 3 and not being so shy. K will be starting pre-school 2 days/week for a couple of hours when she turns 2. We have summer play dates with the entire pre-school and also smaller ones with her class. We'll be attending the first one next Friday so that will be good for her also.

Freke, K is a late climber in my opinion. She has figured out recently how to climb on our ottoman. She needs help getting on the couch. She also can get into/out of some toddler chairs she has now. So, that's a great point about climbing helping!

AFU, K had one nap today that lasted for almost 3 hours! She did cry for the first 20 mins or so and off and on after that, but the last hour was solid sleep or we would have picked her up at the 2-hour point. I think/hope we'll get the naps sorted out in the next week.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Kunzite, nice to see you drop in. I was wondering how you were all doing. The boys are as cute as ever! Happy belated birthday to the twins.

Jgator, I agree with others that I'd watch the feet and definitely talk to your doctor. I had a foot that kind of turned in when I was little, so I apparently had to wear a brace for awhile, but you'd never know today that there was any concern. As for the flat thing, I do think that has a lot to do with genetics. I have very flat feet as does my dad and one of my other siblings. I don't think any amount of climbing or special shoes is going to change that because I was apparently was a crazy climber as a kid. DH, on the other hand, has really high arches. So, who knows what Ev will end up with.

NEL, that's so great that K is progressing so well and feeling more confident!

LC, agreed with you on the house projects. We moved to our new house like 8 months ago, and we have yet to tackle a lot of things we want to do because it's just so hard to find the time to do it, and we'd much rather spend our weekends playing with Ev. He's only this little once, so I'd rather let the projects wait. But I know you are probably gearing up to move at some point, so you don't have much of a choice. You'll work it out.

Mia, what a relief on the measurement. There is so much variability in it that I'm slowly learning not to get all freaked out about any given measurement.

Monarch, Ev loves to pretend drive as well. Every time we go on a road trip, DH and I take turns using the restroom while the other one sits up front and let's Ev "drive."

AFU, Ev has been really funny lately. This weekend, DH was outside hosing something off, so I opened the window and Ev and I yelled down to him. DH decided to spray us with water through the screen, and I yelled, "[DH's name], thanks a lot, you got my face all wet!" (I had just fixed up and put makeup on). Anyway, a few minutes when DH came in, Ev marches up to him and shakes his finger and said "[DH's name], all wet!" All wet!" Also, this morning, Ev was playing with my phone, and I grabbed it from him surreptitiously while he was distracted. When DH was getting ready to leave with him, Ev started looking all over and feeling his pockets and said, "Oh uh, where MY phone go?"

 

[JGator]

LC, here's another Indian outfit for you with some bangles (at her feet)! The nanny dressed K and did her hair today - I don't think I would have come up with that hair style on my own!

MP, wow, Ev is so verbal. That's awesome that he's speaking in sentences. I think I have high arches and DH does not. DH also has wide feet, but I don't think K does. So, I'm sure genetics play a part in the feet.

 

[monkeyprincess]

JGator, great picture. I love her little outfits and accessories. And yes, I would say Ev is pretty verbal. But really, he doesn't say too many sentences. The "Uh oh, where ________ go" is the one he uses most often. He says it every time he loses something or DH or I walk out of the room. Most of the time, he just uses single words or strings 2-3 words together. He'll say "Thank you, mommy" or "Bye bye, daddy" or "I love/see/found you." I swear his vocubulary has quadrupled in just the past couple of months. Just wait, K will probably start doing the same thing. They seem to follow similar patterns

 

[FrekeChild]

A has started holding short conversations. And she definitely has a vivid imagination. I'll just let he be for a while, and she makes up some of the wildest stuff. These two bears had a whole argument about who was a bear and what their names were, and then they ended up being friends and giving each other hugs at the end. It's baffling how one day she just had a 4-5 word sentence here and there, and now you can actually hold a conversation with her.

And she knows so much stuff. If I ask her to find her toys, she goes and looks for them, but if she can't find it, "Mommy, I can't find it ANYWHERE!" with a huge sad face and exaggerated body language. And she's positively jubilant when she finds something, especially if it's something I have asked her if she knows where it is and I can't find it myself.

It's so crazy that I can tell her to go do something and she just does it now too! "Go put your books away." "Go clean up that mess." etc.

Other than that stuff, just whirlwinds of activity. She knows the alphabet almost by sight, for capital letters anyway, and things like which is her right and left, red means stop, green means go, stuff like that.

I love love love this age, and I don't want to see it go.

 

[Mannequin]

I love all the summery photos on here! Posting a recent one of Weston at our local park. Being home with him all day on summer vacation is both fun and difficult. I just started my third trimester and he's hard to keep up with sometimes! Being home so much with him is really making me appreciate the work that his daycare ladies did with him all school year. He (usually) wants to share and follow directions, and he has learned a lot of vocabulary to communicate what he needs to say. He is completely conversational now and is showing a really goofy sense of humor.

I am working on pulling together items for setting up his "big boy room" in a Disney Cars theme - his favorite! I want to attempt potty training soon too. Sometimes he seems really ready and other days we are far from being able to start. Any good recommendations on PT resources or books?

 

[monkeyprincess]

Does anybody have any suggestions for early morning wake-ups? For the past several months and until recently Ev was going to bed around 7:30 or 8 and waking up around 7 or so every morning. But in the past couple of weeks, he has been waking up just before 6 on good days, and on bad days, like today, he woke up crying his head off at 3 am and would not lay back. After about 7 minutes of that, we ended up bringing him into bed with us, and then nobody got restful sleep. I can't figure out what has changed, so I'm hoping it's just a phase. Other than that, he is doing great and soaking up words like a sponge. This morning when I took him into his room to change him out of his pajamas, he said "Where my xylophone go?" It had fallen behind his shelf, but it was hilarious because I've never heard him use that word before and have no idea how he learned it, and it was unmistakeable.

 

[mayerling]

Does anybody have any suggestions for early morning wake-ups? For the past several months and until recently Ev was going to bed around 7:30 or 8 and waking up around 7 or so every morning. But in the past couple of weeks, he has been waking up just before 6 on good days, and on bad days, like today, he woke up crying his head off at 3 am and would not lay back. After about 7 minutes of that, we ended up bringing him into bed with us, and then nobody got restful sleep. I can't figure out what has changed, so I'm hoping it's just a phase. Other than that, he is doing great and soaking up words like a sponge. This morning when I took him into his room to change him out of his pajamas, he said "Where my xylophone go?" It had fallen behind his shelf, but it was hilarious because I've never heard him use that word before and have no idea how he learned it, and it was unmistakeable.

Is the room dark? N spent a few weeks of waking up really early until I made the room really-really dark and then I had to drag him out of bed around 7:30.