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My toddler is just starting to grasp the concept of “look with your eyes and not with your hands.” Prior to that, if he wanted to look at something on the counter and I picked him up, his hands immediately darted out for the most dangerous or hot object present. Now that he has a little bit more self-control, I am considering getting him a “learning tower” so that he can see what’s happening in the kitchen or “help” me with what I’m doing. I like how this particular version has a safety bar and adjustable height and isn’t hideous. This version by KidzWerks is $135 at Amazon and is eligible for Prime. Child’s Standing TowerThis post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
I love the idea of these but they’re so expensive, even secondhand. We just do a chair (with one of us standing next to her).
High Chair Rec
Jul 19, 2019 8:54 am
High chair recs? Thoughts on the Stokke Tripp Trapp specifically? From what I’ve read, I like that it is ergonomically correct (adjustable foot rest for kiddo) and that it can be used for many, many years. Not sure if it is worth the price, so I’d love to hear the hive’s thoughts.
Anon
Jul 19, 2019 9:57 am
Can i just say that if swifter made hand and knee pads I’d have the cleanest floor in town due to my now crawling twins
We had one of these and used it pretty regularly until my kids were tall enough to just use a stool. It was great! They loved helping dad make pancakes, scrambling eggs, etc. We usually stayed away from the hot stove. We had plenty of room to store it, though.
AIMS
Jul 19, 2019 10:28 am
How do you handle drop-off classes and after school programs? My daughter is now at the age where the stuff she can do doesn’t have to involve a caregiver/parent staying with her throughout. Obviously, we aren’t just going to leave her at every random place but how much due diligence do you do before signing up for a class or after school thing? I don’t do the online mom groups so I don’t have a neighborhood resource where I can just post a random query (and I’m not signing up for FB for this). And, in any event, it doesn’t necessarily help – there’s a new place that just opened up that has a twice a week class I’d like my daughter to attend but it’s new and no one knows much about it. I’ve visited and it seems nice but their website has a ton of assumption of risk disclaimers and the lawyer in me is super nervous (I was nervous before, this just made it explicit). I think this is pretty normal and I just need to get over it. But curious how others handle it. Thoughts?
Anon
Jul 19, 2019 10:29 am
My DD is officially 18 months old and still not walking independently. I wasn’t worried for a long time (there are lots of late walkers in the family, she seems normal verbally and socially, she was late to stand supported, pull up, cruise, etc. but eventually did all those things) but 18 months seems to be the point at which – rather suddenly – everybody goes from “it’s fine, she’s just on her own timeline” to “there must be something wrong.” We’re seeing a pediatric neurologist next week and my mind keeps going to worst case scenarios. Can anyone reassure me that you know a kid who walked this late and turned out to be fine? Everything on the internet about “late walkers” is for kids who walked around 15-16 months, which is not exactly comforting.
rosie
Jul 19, 2019 11:15 am
I just called my dentist office & there is a recording that picks up and says “this extension is not valid, if you want to try another extension, press star.” I did that and pressed 0 and got to the receptionist. I mentioned it to the receptionist, and he said “oh yeah, you just press 0, it tells you to do that if you listen to the whole recording.” That’s weird, right? The office is small (I think 1 dr), so why they even need this is my first question. But also every other medical practice that has a recording pick up says the practice’s name in the recording and says how to get to reception pretty early in the message.
Anonymous
Jul 19, 2019 12:20 pm
Daycare help! We have two kids. One is 3 and one is 9 months. They are at the same daycare, which we have loved. However, they informed us that the 3 year old will not be moving to their preschool room in the fall because the room if “full and since he is the youngest in his cohort, he has to stay back. They think he’s be able to move up before next fall, but they’ve already moved that from December, to January, to February, so I don’t have a lot of hope.
We would be totally fine with it – he is on the younger side and we love his current teachers (who they assured us would stay ion his room), but there are two complications: this daycare works in cohorts and he’s been with his cohort for two years. All of his cohort will move except him and he will see them multiple times per day. Additionally, we just got offered a preschool spot at another daycare (within minutes of this one/our house). We did not get an infant spot (we actually forgot we were on the waitlist, so were not even in the running for an infant spot), so if we took the preschool spot, we’d have two dropoffs for the foreseeable future.
We should just stay where we are, right?
Anonymous
Jul 19, 2019 12:59 pm
Experienced moms, I appreciate you letting me know if I’m totally crazy with this idea: I’m a first time mom with a 8 week old. My husband still somehow has 23 days of vacation (plus bank holidays) left this year that he can’t carry over, and I’m not going back to work until October. I’m likely jinxing myself, but at the moment, Baby and I seem to mostly have a routine down. However, I’m going a bit stir crazy just being at home most of the time. Due to an awesome combination of this being the first grandchild, having in laws close by and a wonderful husband, I’m getting out for both me time (e.g. a manicure) and date nights with my husband. However, I feel like we should take advantage of this time and maybe go on a trip somewhere? I don’t think anything major or involving an airplane, but just maybe something where I felt like I took full and complete advantage of this time off we’re never going to have again. Or is it insane to try and take a baby away from their crib, familiar surroundings, and being only 5 minutes from a target, the hospital and pediatrician, etc.? I’m in Charlotte, so was thinking maybe a few days in the mountains or possibly going to Charleston. I know I’d still be feeding the baby like eight times a day and it wouldn’t be remotely like a vacation I’m used to, but I also feel like sitting at home and watching Netflix and occasionally reading is slowly driving me mad.
Lana Del Raygun
Jul 19, 2019 1:38 pm
Guys, we have to hire non-family childcare for the first time and I’m nervous I’ll screw something up. Please cross your fingers for me and tell me everything you wish you had known when you were choosing your first childcare! It’s going to be two full days a week while my husband is at work. I’m looking at a part-time sitter/nanny, nanny-shares, and daycare, but it’s a high-demand market and at least one of the families who said they’re open to sharing a nanny are probably not vaccinated (!!), so it’s all still very up in the air (and we’re way behind, aahhhh).
CCLA - LA therapist recs?
Jul 19, 2019 2:03 pm
I’ll probably post again next week but trying now anyway – any recs for a therapist in the westside of Los Angeles? I definitely have some PPD from baby 2 that I’ve been sort of managing with zoloft from my OB, but am way behind on getting in to actually talk to someone and the options are overwhelming. OB’s office gave a list but since we’ve moved and they’re in another part of town, no one is conveniently located. TIA.
anon
Jul 19, 2019 3:29 pm
Hoping to get feedback from parents of school-age kids. I’m trying to decide what to do for my 9-year-old’s nonschool days this year. On paper, it looks like between DH & I, we could stay home to cover most of his days off. On the occasion that something comes up, he likely could go to a YMCA day camp. OR, we could spend more upfront and pay for him to attend his days off at the school-age program offered at his little sister’s daycare. It’s one drop off for us, and the cost isn’t outrageous. Coverage would be guaranteed, and we wouldn’t have to find any piecemeal options. It’s what we did last year, and I’d say the cost was worth it, even if we didn’t use every day of care offered. Also, meals are included — no packing lunches or breakfast. (Program requires a flat fee, rather than paying by the day.) The YMCA camp is in the opposite direction of daycare and our workplace, and it has stringent lunch packing requirements.
The only thing that has me hesitating even slightly is that he’s with this cohort of kids right now and has been complaining all summer about other kids, being bored, and not liking it. This is despite having good experiences the previous summer. Now, part of that is just his personality — but I also don’t want him to be miserable. I think part of the problem is that he was grouped with a younger set of kids who are not his usual school classmates. There were good reasons for this, but we haven’t been thrilled with the change.
Do we 1) roll the dice and hope that DH & I can take vacation to cover 75% of his days off, then find backup care for the rest; or 2) sending him to sister’s daycare, knowing that we’re paying more for convenience and it’s possible that he’s aging out of some of the activities? DH is leaning toward option 2, and I’m on the fence.
Disneyland
Jul 19, 2019 3:53 pm
I’m planning a trip to Disneyland (Anaheim) with my elementary age kids. This will be their first (and likely only) trip there. I’m trying to decide between a 2 day pass and a 3 day pass and whether to get park hopper tickets versus one park per day tickets. We’ve already decided on a nearby non-Disney hotel so we won’t have magic mornings (but a 3 day pass would give us one day of early admission). I am planning to buy MaxPass each day. What would you do?
Anon
Jul 20, 2019 7:39 pm
I have a metal pole in the backyard that I’d like to wrap with a cushioned material in case a kid smacks into it. I am thinking of using a yoga mat. Anyone know how yoga mat material will hold up in the elements? The pole is exposed to rain and sun.
I love the idea of these but they’re so expensive, even secondhand. We just do a chair (with one of us standing next to her).
High chair recs? Thoughts on the Stokke Tripp Trapp specifically? From what I’ve read, I like that it is ergonomically correct (adjustable foot rest for kiddo) and that it can be used for many, many years. Not sure if it is worth the price, so I’d love to hear the hive’s thoughts.
Can i just say that if swifter made hand and knee pads I’d have the cleanest floor in town due to my now crawling twins
We had one of these and used it pretty regularly until my kids were tall enough to just use a stool. It was great! They loved helping dad make pancakes, scrambling eggs, etc. We usually stayed away from the hot stove. We had plenty of room to store it, though.
How do you handle drop-off classes and after school programs? My daughter is now at the age where the stuff she can do doesn’t have to involve a caregiver/parent staying with her throughout. Obviously, we aren’t just going to leave her at every random place but how much due diligence do you do before signing up for a class or after school thing? I don’t do the online mom groups so I don’t have a neighborhood resource where I can just post a random query (and I’m not signing up for FB for this). And, in any event, it doesn’t necessarily help – there’s a new place that just opened up that has a twice a week class I’d like my daughter to attend but it’s new and no one knows much about it. I’ve visited and it seems nice but their website has a ton of assumption of risk disclaimers and the lawyer in me is super nervous (I was nervous before, this just made it explicit). I think this is pretty normal and I just need to get over it. But curious how others handle it. Thoughts?
My DD is officially 18 months old and still not walking independently. I wasn’t worried for a long time (there are lots of late walkers in the family, she seems normal verbally and socially, she was late to stand supported, pull up, cruise, etc. but eventually did all those things) but 18 months seems to be the point at which – rather suddenly – everybody goes from “it’s fine, she’s just on her own timeline” to “there must be something wrong.” We’re seeing a pediatric neurologist next week and my mind keeps going to worst case scenarios. Can anyone reassure me that you know a kid who walked this late and turned out to be fine? Everything on the internet about “late walkers” is for kids who walked around 15-16 months, which is not exactly comforting.
I just called my dentist office & there is a recording that picks up and says “this extension is not valid, if you want to try another extension, press star.” I did that and pressed 0 and got to the receptionist. I mentioned it to the receptionist, and he said “oh yeah, you just press 0, it tells you to do that if you listen to the whole recording.” That’s weird, right? The office is small (I think 1 dr), so why they even need this is my first question. But also every other medical practice that has a recording pick up says the practice’s name in the recording and says how to get to reception pretty early in the message.
Daycare help! We have two kids. One is 3 and one is 9 months. They are at the same daycare, which we have loved. However, they informed us that the 3 year old will not be moving to their preschool room in the fall because the room if “full and since he is the youngest in his cohort, he has to stay back. They think he’s be able to move up before next fall, but they’ve already moved that from December, to January, to February, so I don’t have a lot of hope.
We would be totally fine with it – he is on the younger side and we love his current teachers (who they assured us would stay ion his room), but there are two complications: this daycare works in cohorts and he’s been with his cohort for two years. All of his cohort will move except him and he will see them multiple times per day. Additionally, we just got offered a preschool spot at another daycare (within minutes of this one/our house). We did not get an infant spot (we actually forgot we were on the waitlist, so were not even in the running for an infant spot), so if we took the preschool spot, we’d have two dropoffs for the foreseeable future.
We should just stay where we are, right?
Experienced moms, I appreciate you letting me know if I’m totally crazy with this idea: I’m a first time mom with a 8 week old. My husband still somehow has 23 days of vacation (plus bank holidays) left this year that he can’t carry over, and I’m not going back to work until October. I’m likely jinxing myself, but at the moment, Baby and I seem to mostly have a routine down. However, I’m going a bit stir crazy just being at home most of the time. Due to an awesome combination of this being the first grandchild, having in laws close by and a wonderful husband, I’m getting out for both me time (e.g. a manicure) and date nights with my husband. However, I feel like we should take advantage of this time and maybe go on a trip somewhere? I don’t think anything major or involving an airplane, but just maybe something where I felt like I took full and complete advantage of this time off we’re never going to have again. Or is it insane to try and take a baby away from their crib, familiar surroundings, and being only 5 minutes from a target, the hospital and pediatrician, etc.? I’m in Charlotte, so was thinking maybe a few days in the mountains or possibly going to Charleston. I know I’d still be feeding the baby like eight times a day and it wouldn’t be remotely like a vacation I’m used to, but I also feel like sitting at home and watching Netflix and occasionally reading is slowly driving me mad.
Guys, we have to hire non-family childcare for the first time and I’m nervous I’ll screw something up. Please cross your fingers for me and tell me everything you wish you had known when you were choosing your first childcare! It’s going to be two full days a week while my husband is at work. I’m looking at a part-time sitter/nanny, nanny-shares, and daycare, but it’s a high-demand market and at least one of the families who said they’re open to sharing a nanny are probably not vaccinated (!!), so it’s all still very up in the air (and we’re way behind, aahhhh).
I’ll probably post again next week but trying now anyway – any recs for a therapist in the westside of Los Angeles? I definitely have some PPD from baby 2 that I’ve been sort of managing with zoloft from my OB, but am way behind on getting in to actually talk to someone and the options are overwhelming. OB’s office gave a list but since we’ve moved and they’re in another part of town, no one is conveniently located. TIA.
Hoping to get feedback from parents of school-age kids. I’m trying to decide what to do for my 9-year-old’s nonschool days this year. On paper, it looks like between DH & I, we could stay home to cover most of his days off. On the occasion that something comes up, he likely could go to a YMCA day camp. OR, we could spend more upfront and pay for him to attend his days off at the school-age program offered at his little sister’s daycare. It’s one drop off for us, and the cost isn’t outrageous. Coverage would be guaranteed, and we wouldn’t have to find any piecemeal options. It’s what we did last year, and I’d say the cost was worth it, even if we didn’t use every day of care offered. Also, meals are included — no packing lunches or breakfast. (Program requires a flat fee, rather than paying by the day.) The YMCA camp is in the opposite direction of daycare and our workplace, and it has stringent lunch packing requirements.
The only thing that has me hesitating even slightly is that he’s with this cohort of kids right now and has been complaining all summer about other kids, being bored, and not liking it. This is despite having good experiences the previous summer. Now, part of that is just his personality — but I also don’t want him to be miserable. I think part of the problem is that he was grouped with a younger set of kids who are not his usual school classmates. There were good reasons for this, but we haven’t been thrilled with the change.
Do we 1) roll the dice and hope that DH & I can take vacation to cover 75% of his days off, then find backup care for the rest; or 2) sending him to sister’s daycare, knowing that we’re paying more for convenience and it’s possible that he’s aging out of some of the activities? DH is leaning toward option 2, and I’m on the fence.
I’m planning a trip to Disneyland (Anaheim) with my elementary age kids. This will be their first (and likely only) trip there. I’m trying to decide between a 2 day pass and a 3 day pass and whether to get park hopper tickets versus one park per day tickets. We’ve already decided on a nearby non-Disney hotel so we won’t have magic mornings (but a 3 day pass would give us one day of early admission). I am planning to buy MaxPass each day. What would you do?
I have a metal pole in the backyard that I’d like to wrap with a cushioned material in case a kid smacks into it. I am thinking of using a yoga mat. Anyone know how yoga mat material will hold up in the elements? The pole is exposed to rain and sun.