Maternity Monday: MAMA Shirt Dress

I have an 8 month old baby who just got the flu. My 2.5 year old had it and now he has it. He had rsv a few months ago and it nearly broke me because he just will not sleep for a week straight and constsntly wants to be held and bounced all night long. I feel like it’s my job to soothe my sick baby and do not want to let him fuss or cry at all but I just cannot cope with a toddler and a job. My husband is so helpful and we take turns but the toddler is still recovering and we’re getting up with her too and it’s just been h*ll.

I don’t even know what I’m asking for. Any tips on helping the baby sleep? He does okay with colds but it’s these major illnesses which are probably awful for his tiny body where he won’t sleep at all. How do I get through this week?

Has anyone signed up for backup care service from White House Nannies? Do you recommend it or another service? We have no family in the area (DC) and need to figure out what to do when kid is too sick for daycare but we can’t take the day off work. Thanks!

What steps do you take before allowing a sitter to drive your kids around? My daughter’s former swim teacher had offered to babysit, and we thought she would be a good fit for picking up our kids from school/daycare a couple of times a week. She is in college, seems very responsible, and has a clean driving record. But…she is nineteen, and I woke up in the middle of the night worrying about this. The drive is maybe three miles on city streets. I’m trying to figure out if this anxiety is worth listening to or if I should relax and accept that this will be a huge help to our family.

How long is too long to keep a kid in a crib? My 2.5 year old loves her crib. She’s never attempted to climb out. All my friends had transitioned their kids to real beds by this age, but they all had second kids by now so there was a reason to move kid #1 out of the crib, because they needed a crib for kid #2. I get the vibe that my friends think I’m babying her to an absurd degree, but I just don’t see any reason to make the switch when she’s happy and safe with the crib (and all my friends moaned about the transition, which isn’t exactly encouraging me to do it). I figured I’d get her a big kid bed when she either asks for one or attempts to climb out of the crib, and based on how things are going so far I can see that being age 3 or even older.

Tips for encouraging my toddler to sleep during nap time? He will be 3 at the end of this month. For the poster above: he still sleeps/naps in his crib and seems happy (has never tried to climb out) so we’re leaving him there for the time being. When he skips nap he sleeps those extra 1.5-2 hours at night, so I don’t think he’s ready to give it up. During nap time lately he sings and talks. He naps at 12:30 at day care so I try to put him down then at home. He goes to bed between 8PM and 8:30, and wakes around 8AM, sometimes later. Is his bedtime too late? Advice would be appreciated.

I’ve been feeling a lot of mom guilt lately, wondering if I’m doing enough for my kids. I feel like I’m surrounded by these super-families who are in tons of activities, take frequent vacations, and are always just *doing* something.

Us, on the other hand? The kids are doing activities, but nothing that’s terribly intensive or requires long weekend tournaments (which all of us would hate). We go on *one* family vacation per year. Most of our weekends are spent chilling at home, doing something active as a family (hiking/biking/swimming/shooting baskets), or hanging out with our extended family members. If there’s a cool activity that we all want to do, we do it, but it doesn’t happen more than a few times a month. We just aren’t that go-go-go family and all of us get burned out when there’s constant activity in our lives. DH and I both work full time; by the weekend, we are just DONE and want to recoup our energy. We skip church to sleep, on a pretty regular basis.

I don’t know; it’s sad that this feels countercultural. I worry that my kids are going to be left out and/or left behind because they don’t have parents who are pushing them to be awesome athletes or meeting other parents through the constant stream of activities. To be fair, our kids have never shown much interest in sports, even though they’re active kids and have had lots of opportunities to dabble.

We’ve deliberately chosen this slower lifestyle, but I do wonder if our kids will be at a disadvantage in middle school/high school because they’re not cultivating a specific talent. Really, it’s being out of the information loop that concerns me the most; it seems like so much knowledge about the school is passed around very informally among the parents.

I’m going to DC for a week in April. Ideally I’d like to find some sort of care situation for my three year son. What’s the best way of going about this? Is there some sort of nanny service I can use? or drop in care that isn’t terrible? thank you!