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Anonymous says
Did anyone who wasn’t a yoga fan before end up liking prenatal yoga? I am a total yoga beginner, and am not very flexible. Plus I’ve been having a rough pregnancy, very exhausted and uncomfortable. My friend has been raving about prenatal yoga — should I check it out? I’m at 24 weeks now, if that matters. Thanks!
aelle says
I did! I found a lot of immediate pain relief in prenatal exercise, back pain in particular, when that wasn’t an incentive before pregnancy. I kept it up until I gave birth.
Cb says
I loved yoga before but found prenatal yoga really annoying? So maybe the opposite will be true for you. I’d give it a go, I found yoga in general during my pregnancy increasingly helpful in easing aches and pains. You might also try some sort of prenatal swim.
ElisaR says
it all depends on the teacher. If you hated yoga before it’s probably bc you didn’t have a good fit with the teacher. If pre-natal yoga was annoying to you, its probably bc you didn’t have a good fit with that teacher. (I’m a certified yoga teacher so obviously I have a bias here). I also found some pre-natal classes SUPER irritating but others I loved. Flexibility is NOT a prerequisite for yoga, you should go in with an open mind and see what you get out of it!
Anonanonanon says
I HATED yoga for years and years but after having my second baby and fracturing my pelvis and going through a lot of PT, I like it a lot more and even go a few times a week. I think I appreciate it more now that I’m more out-of-shape and really need to work on my posture and flexibility whereas before it felt like a waste of time. I really do feel better the rest of the day if I go in the morning (and I am NOT someone who gets endorphins from exercise)
I say give it a try and if you hate it, you can always leave.
Patty Mayonnaise says
It’s definitely worth checking out! And I agree 100% with comments above that it truly depends on the teacher. But it can be a great way to stretch safely and deal with common pregnancy discomforts plus prep for birth!
Spirograph says
+ a million that it depends on the teacher.
I liked prenatal yoga later in pregnancy, but I stuck with my regular yoga classes throughout, so obviously I just like it in general. :) Prenatal yoga class was a nice little supportive community of pregnant women, and my teacher was a doula in addition to teaching yoga, so she was a great resource. It’s worth a try, but definitely check it out before you financially commit to a lot of classes. If you hate it, maybe try a class with a different teacher before giving up. For me, there were a lot of physical and mental benefits especially in the 3rd tri, but a grating teacher cancels all of that out!
Anon says
There’s a series of prenatal yoga videos on amazon prime video that I really liked. They are only 20 minutes or so, so it’s an easy way to give it a shot if you don’t want to commit to a whole class. I’m not sure of the name of the series but the instructors name is Riki Jones.
Anonymous says
I think it’s worth a try, but I hated prenatal yoga. In general, I hate all yoga except hot yoga, as I need to be really warm and really distracted to be able to get outside my head, enjoy the experience, and get any relief. Prenatal yoga, to me, was more woo-woo-y than normal yoga too (hot yoga is a true workout to me, I don’t like yoga that’s all preachy about mindfulness, etc.). That said, I loved swimming while pregnant. Maybe try that if you’re having a rough time.
Long time lurker says
Yes ! Prenatal was what got me “into” yoga. I was a beginner too and it’s actually a great place to start because it’s not going to be very strenuous. I had a lot of stress during pregnancy and no way to unwind (no sweets due to gestational diabetes and of course no wine). Also I had sciatica and I think the stretching eased that. Yoga really helped me overall and I found myself looking forward to my class. Yoga classes are all about the teacher so try a few and find a teacher you like.
anon says
I loved my prenatal yoga class. I have a love/hate relationship with yoga in general and agree the teacher makes a huge difference. I wasn’t doing much yoga in the year before I got pregnant and I’m the least flexible person you’ll ever meet. But I loved prenatal yoga and even post natal yoga. I usually prefer more active exercise but wasn’t comfortable doing it pregnant so yoga was great for me.
Anonymous says
I’ve used (and reused) two and one gallon Ziplocs for this before. Especially when sharing a suitcase with kiddo to keep organized.
Newborn Docking says
Third time mom so not a newbie but in light of recent stories about the rock n play trying to move away from my reliance on it for daytime naps for a newborn. Or just a baby docking station! Where did you all put your baby down when you needed to? Especially those short naps in the early days between feeding every 2-3 hours? Do I need a dock a tot? She sleeps swaddled in her pack n play in our room at night.
IHeartBacon says
Our floor is carpeted so I just put a clean blanket on the floor and set baby down on the floor.
IHeartBacon says
Just realized you were asking about newborns (0-4 weeks?). I didn’t set my newborn down on the floor to nap. He napped in his bassinet. But I started setting him down on the floor at about 4 weeks whenever I needed to dock him for a few minutes.
Cb says
I had a sidecar sleeper but also had a moses basket on a stand that I could drag around the house with me. I’d bring it in the bathroom while I showered.
Pogo says
I used the Boppy newborn lounger, which has the same caveats/warnings about infant sleep. I never left baby unattended in it, but I would let him sleep in it next to me on the couch.
If I was going to leave him to sleep (while I showered for example), I put him in his crib or bassinet, swaddled.
AwayEmily says
+1 to this. Pack n play if I was going to be off doing things, but would often use the Boppy if I was going to be right next to him the whole time.
Anonymous says
This is how we used the Rock and Play. In naps right beside us. Never at night. When I was on mat leave, I held her during naps a lot.
AwayEmily says
We put a pack-n-play downstairs in a corner and would put him in there.
Lana Del Raygun says
I just put her in the pack n play she slept in at night. I don’t quite understand why you’d want something separate for daytime — is it just to have something closer to where you are in the day than the bedroom? (My apartment is tiny so it didn’t make a difference to me.)
OP says
All of these responses are so helpful! We haven’t put her in her crib yet bc we haven’t set up a monitor (low hanging fruit but I can’t drive due to c section, DH working a ton, and we have two other kids under 5…) Pack n play is currently set up far from kitchen so doesn’t work as well for things like washing dishes, etc. And generally I’ve found it’s nice to have somewhere to set her down to deal with older kids that feels more secure than just a lounger on the sofa (which my 2.5 year old will totally mess with?)
I think I might borrow a pack n play for our downstairs. She’s an awesome baby, but the amount of juggling required with three at home rather than one is definitely new to me! Aaand we probably need to set up a monitor too. Right now I am always with her but naps in a crib are a good goal.
Lana Del Raygun says
Another pack n play sounds like a great solution to me! Especially with a bassinet insert (the kind that hangs inside, not the one that sits on top) — not having to bend all the way over into the bottom made a huge difference to me after my c-section.
Pogo says
I get wanting baby close by! That’s why I liked the boppy lounger – I could move it from room to room.
Anonymous says
We put her in her crib in her nursery for all daytime naps. When it came time to transition to the crib at night, it was no big deal. I’m not sure that was entirely the reason why, but our ped said it was helpful that she was already used to sleeping there.
Anonymous says
During the day, mine would only nap while being held. If I had to set her down to go to the bathroom, I put her (screaming) in the pack n’ play where she slept at night. Otherwise I was holding her or wearing her.
Anonymous says
We used a bouncer for that stage. Probably also not technically safe for napping, but protected from toddler siblings and easy to move around the house.
Anonanonanon says
It’s my understanding the issue with the rock n play was babies who were not buckled in and were old enough to roll over, and its use during night. I would be comfortable using it with a newborn who can’t roll in a situation where you are awake and close by.
If you’re uncomfortable though (which of course you have every right to be!) I would suggest getting another pack n play for your main floor. I think you’ll get a lot of use out of it down the road when they’re mobile and you need to contain them for a minute to grab something from upstairs, go to the bathroom, etc.
I do agree it sounds like getting a monitor from amazon prime will also help with some of your issues. I imagine with other small children around it’s hard to get the baby to sleep on the main floor.
Anonymous says
Yes, we had the cheapest pack and play that had the hanging/interior newborn insert on both our first and second floors during this stage. We ended up leaving the second one with my parents once we no longer needed it. They loan it out to friends on occasion, too, so it has gotten a lot of use.
HSAL says
We used it for night sleeping, but after reading that Consumer Reports article I wouldn’t ever do it with another kid. I’d still be comfortable using it for daytime sleep, but you could also try the Tiny Love 3in1 Rocker/Napper/Bouncer. It reclines almost (but not quite) flat so it might be a better option.
anon says
Arghhh, this is SO hard because I so wanted to use the rock n play with #2 arriving in a few weeks. #1 would not sleep in ANYTHING and we had to cosleep and it was so stressful. I appreciate the recommendations to not bedshare and to put them flat on their back, but I just don’t realistically see how a 2 day old baby could sleep in a crib or a bassinet with a thin hard mattress, but hopefully every baby is different.
Also the baby’s nursery is on the 3rd floor of our house, so if he slept there everytime, I’d be running up two flights of stairs if I’m in the kitchen and that sounds exhausting as a new mom.
Trying to keep the baby perfectly safe while also preserving your sanity is so hard and it’s stressing me out.
Anon says
My LO slept great in a Chicco bassinet right next to our bed (I could literally reach in to rub his tummy without getting up). I was so bummed when he outgrew it and had to move to a crib.
Long time lurker says
I had that bassinet and it was awesome! I moved it to the living room often for naps so I could watch tv. (No stairs in our apt so ymmv)
AwayEmily says
You might get a baby who loves the crib! Our first screamed in protest whenever we tried to put her in the rock-n-play and zoned out immediately in the crib, so you never know.
Anonymous says
We put the Pack and Play right beside our bed for the first 4.5 months. I agree it would be hard to have them on a different floor!!! I was too anxious to even do a different room on the same floor. Our kiddo did great on the hanging pack and play newborn insert. IMO, it is softer than a crib mattress.
anon says
Our twins slept in the crib starting day 1 home from the hospital. We had the crib in our bedroom for the first three months, though. Hugs mama.
shortperson says
if my baby turned out to be like that i would overnight a snoo. i didnt buy one in advance and turned out my baby did not need it but would buy if needed in heartbeat.
Anonymous says
Some babies sleep fine in a bassinet from day 1. Our first did. Huuuuge shock to us when #2 did not!!
Anon says
She slept in a bassinet at night until 3 months, then moved to her own room in a crib, but for daytime naps we either held her (or let her nap while being worn in a k’tan or lillebaby), let her nap in the swing (colicky, so often the only way to get her to nap), in the downstairs PNP bassinet (which she didn’t like) or, most often, in the little “portable lounger” that came with the super tricked out PNP my MIL bought us, which I think she liked because it was a little cushier, slightly reclined and was in the same room as I was because we constantly moved it around. We were handed down a RNP, but she never really liked it, I think because the sling part didn’t feel terribly stable to her. My view during those early days was that she could nap in whatever would get her to sleep and I would just keep her in my eyesight and frequently check on her (probably not feasible with multiple kiddos).
Boston Legal Eagle says
Both my kids had many naps in the Rock n Play when they were less than 3 months. We switched off between that and putting them in the pack n play bassinet (which they slept in at night) for naps. The RnP was super convenient because once baby fell asleep on you, you could just transfer them over there. We were right there and watching them when they napped in there (ok, maybe I napped a bit as well in the beginning).
I read the consumer reports and they’re disturbing, but I think using them for naps like this is probably fine still. Of course, if you’re not comfortable, then don’t. I’d recommend getting an extra pack n play with bassinet for naps when you don’t want to go all the way back to the nursery/your room.
anon says
I feel like my 2 year old could not be around the sleeping baby without wanting to wake him up etc. Not sure yet, as I do not yet have the baby but everyone that had more than one kid, did your newborn sleep while your toddler played etc? Wouldn’t the toddler bother the baby or be loud etc?
Anonymous says
They are…but my friends with two say their newborn learned to sleep right through it. It’s lije when you see a baby passed out in a crowded restaurant. My daughter slept through a wedding reception! Their brains just like shut down when they need sleep
Anonymous says
I only have one child but as a newborn he could sleep through walking by a jackhammer in the stroller. He napped frequently in a bouncer or swing until he was several months old and moving around more.
Boston Legal Eagle says
For the first 2-3 months, baby was able to sleep and nurse with toddler running around right near him. Now at closer to 6 months, he’s very distracted by sights and noises so we can’t do that anymore. DS1 slept at daycare with other kids around making noise, so hopefully that will be the same for no.2
NYCer says
My baby naps in the dock a tot, in her Snoo, or in the stroller if we’re out walking. I really, really like the dock a tot, but I think there are probably similar warnings about sleeping in it (that I am clearly not following). Note that I am always awake when she is in her dock a tot and it’s usually on our sofa.
Anonymous says
Prompted by a comment yesterday: what age did you potty-train your toddlers? First time mom here and I feel like I hear everything from “18-24 months is the only possible time, otherwise it’s a power struggle” to “you’ll ruin your kids by doing it too early, better wait until 3.5 and they’ll train themselves!”
shortperson says
i waited until she asked at 27 months. daycare makes it a peer pressure thing. despite her interest she did not train herself. but daycare did a lot of the heavy lifting (i.e. cleaning)
AwayEmily says
My story exactly. At 27 months she said “I want to use the potty” and so we did the 3-day method the next weekend. Pee training was easy, poop took a lot longer (thank god for the advice and commiseration from people on here) and daycare was not super helpful because she trained about six months earlier than anyone else in the classroom so they didn’t have any systems set up. So it might be worth asking daycare when everyone else in the class is doing it.
Anonymous says
Currently in the thick of it with a 3.5 year old, although to your point, it’s fairly self-driven. We’ve been encouraging him, but not requiring anything. It’s been very low stress, but a lot of extra time in diapers compared to parents who get it over with at 2.
Anonymous says
Kid 1 started at 22/23 months, was fully daybtrained by her 2nd birthday and we night trained in 2 days at 2.5.
Kid 2 started at 2 and was fully day trained around 23/24 months. She’s almost 3 and has been sleeping innundsrwear only for the past 2 months but occasionally (1x/week, maybe less) has an accident. We’d like her to still be in pull-ups at night but she has none of it.
Anonymous says
Oh and fwiw I think the two camps are:
1. Do it early, it takes longer but no more diapers
2. Wait and deal with diapers much longer, potty train in 2 days
We are in the first camp but I totally see the appeal of the second.
Anonymous says
Camp 2. About two weeks before she turned 3. 6 months later, she still requests a diaper to poop, and we’re mostly waiting it out. *shrug*
HSAL says
With my first she started going on the potty sporadically when she was a little over 2. I got pregnant around that same time and was too exhausted to really encourage her much, and when we went to her 2 1/2 year well-baby, the doctor told us not to bother trying to fully train her before the babies were born because we’d just have to do it all over again. The month before she turned 3 we tried an underwear weekend, which was a disaster and scarred all of us, but then a few weeks later she just decided that she would start going on the potty all the time, and we were like “well okay then.” So she trained herself just before 3, but my hope with the twins is to get them done sooner than that so I can stop buying diapers. It’s just so kid-specific.
Anonymous says
3.5. We tried around 3 but frequent poop accidents did us in. In hindsight I think we probably could have done it a little earlier if we were more proactive about making our son try to poop after mealtimes, but it never occurred to us. He’s the opposite of constipated. I just wasn’t in any rush and didn’t see clear signs of readiness.
It is annoying how polemic authors are about this – it’s baby sleep 2.0.
AwayEmily says
Agreed on authors. Normal people don’t seem to have strong stands on this (like, nobody on here is saying YOU MUST DO IT EARLY) but authors are weirdly intense about the “right” period.
GCA says
Alas, a centrist, common-sense approach doesn’t sell books (unless you’re Emily Oster – Cribsheet is now out btw.)
FVNC says
Right around 2.5 with my daughter — basically followed the Oh Crap method over a long weekend and “let” daycare do the heavy lifting in terms of reinforcement. Timeline was driven in part by her new daycare — to move up to the 3s classroom, she needed to be diaper-less. Have not started with my 24 month old.
AnotherAnon says
N of 1 but a few weeks ago I attempted to potty train my 26 month old (montessori encouraged me that he was ready). He was trained to pee in two days, then we spent the next three weeks dealing with him withholding his poop, which led to really bad constipation. School finally said I should drop it and we’re back in training pants. We may try again in the summer. TBH, potty training was really good bonding time for us, and I realized he’s much smarter than I have been giving him credit for. All that to say, whatever you choose – try not to stress about it and if it doesn’t work, you can always try again later!
Anon says
I’m in the camp of wait until your child expresses interest (within reason…if my kid were 3 and clearly capable I might push). For my son that was 2.5, he never went back into diapers, had just one poop accident, and was trained within a week (we are over a year out now and there have been no regressions or issues of any kind). I also waited until he’d pooped in the toilet once so he didn’t develop a fear of that. We went cold turkey to underwear, with pull-ups for naps and very long car rides.
This is definitely kid/parent specific, but I’d seen doctor commentary that training much before age three could lead to lots of issues like limited bladder capacity and constipation, so I was swayed by that. Many parents will say that’s nonsense, but there are a LOT of parents complaining about constipation on this board and IRL so maybe there’s something to it.
lsw says
My son will be 3 in July and we are nowhere close to potty training. We have a potty and talk about it, but he is extremely uninterested. We offer for him to sit on it but he says no. So we talk about it, and it’s there, but we’re holding off. He’s EXTREMELY stubborn so pushing it seems like the worst possible thing we could do. Sometimes I despair but try to remind myself that he won’t be 8 and wearing diapers. But then I think about “We Need to Talk about Kevin” and despair again, haha.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Just had to comment on your last sentence – that movie was so good, but it terrifies me as a parent.
lsw says
Right??
shortperson says
the book is terrifying in a different way. reading the book and picturing tilda swinton . . . obv i think about it a lot.
Spirograph says
N=3 and I have concluded the “best” way to potty train (like so many other things) just depends on your kid. For kids #1 and 2 our daycare peer pressured groups of kids in the 2s class. It was very effective for one, not as much for the other, but in both cases we really let daycare do the heavy lifting.
Kid #1: 30 months. We put potty seat in the bathroom for a few months before and encouraged him to sit on it before bath time, but no real effort on our part until daycare got involved. We did what I think is the Oh Crap method? (no pants, hang out at home and try every 15-30 minutes for a weekend) the weekend before he was supposed to show up at daycare wearing underwear, and everything was so easy! He was daytime trained with very few accidents in a week, nighttime trained in less than a month. (I subsequently learned this was just luck, not a fool-proof method)
Kid #2: Was interested before 2, and in the daycare batch right around 24 months. We handled everything exactly the same, with less-good results. It took a couple months with infrequent waking accidents for another 6 months, and regular naptime accidents for a year+. She is 4 and still not nighttime trained.
Kid #3: In progress, new daycare is less supportive and no peer pressure. With 2 other kids, it was too hard to do an oh crap weekend. After a months of optional potty before bath, kiddo started asking to go at other times, so we figured it was worth a try. We’ve been at it for a month or two, kiddo is now 32 months and seems to have turned a corner in the last week or two. No waking accidents so far this week!
Anon says
My mother swears all of us were trained by 2, but among my friends, 2-3 seems to be more common these days. My daughter is 20 months and we just put the potty seats on the potty and have started practicing sitting on them, as she currently demands diaper changes as soon as she goes (and will remove said diaper if we don’t get to her or notice that’s the problem fast enough) and sometimes just because. I don’t think she’s ready for focused training yet, but I’m hopeful in a month or two we will get there (and then maybe she won’t be spending her days in zip up jammies she can’t undo so as to avoid daily use of the carpet cleaner). We’ve also started reading books about potties too. She’s not a huge fan of change, so definitely easing into it. She doesn’t go to daycare, so we have a fair amount of flexibility around timing and intensity.
Boston Legal Eagle says
With DS1, we did the Oh Crap method over Labor Day weekend when he was just under 2.5. He had been using the potty before bath for a while before that and he seemed ready. Plus I was about 7 months pregnant and wanted to at least start this process before baby came along. So so glad we did it then, as he’s had a lot of transitions lately and we wouldn’t have been able to devote a whole weekend to that now, I think. He’s now pretty much day trained, more or less for naps as well, but still wears a pull up at night. The Oh Crap book did recommend between 20-30 months, so that was a bit of a driving force for me, in addition to the new baby.
DS2 is just a baby but I have a feeling we won’t feel as rushed to get it done before 2.5 or even 3 as we won’t have a new baby to deal with, and he seems a little slower on the developmental milestones than big brother.
Anonymous says
age 3. Easy peasy on all three kids. Day and night trained at the same time. Took about two weeks. Daycare was supportive. Able to understand potty books and Daniel Tiger episodes about not waiting to go etc.
Amongst my friends, people who trained earlier seemed to struggle with night training. Those of us who trained later had to deal with diapers for longer but day/night trained at the same time and more quickly.
Anonymous says
We’re doing it in a few weeks she’ll be 25/26 months. She tells me every time she pees/pops and her pediatrician said right after two is a good age. I hope it works but I don’t feel pressure since she is just over two. We have a baby coming this summer so that’s the driving force (plus her seeming ready), but like I said if it doesn’t take then we’ll wait. I’m expecting pull ups for night time until her body is ready
Anonymous says
Our boy showed zero signs of readiness until about 34 months, and we didn’t push it. Around then he got a little interested and would poop on the potty sometimes voluntarily, so we started rewarding potty use with raisins. Only worked for poop; he had no idea when he needed to pee. At 35 mo we had a long weekend and thought heck with it, let’s try it. It was super duper easy and took just 2-3 days, with a few pee accidents over the next few weeks and then totally fine. For us it was the right choice to wait.
anon says
Kid had some interest from age 2 or so, but it waned. He used the potty in daycare, but not 100%. Bribes at home were of limited use. I was getting worried that I’d need intense work with a consultant to get him to wear underwear to kindergarten. Then one day, at age 5, he decided to wear underwear every day and has been totally fine during the day ever since.
I’m glad I didn’t force things earlier.
JTM says
My daughter started getting interested in the potty around 20mos; we did 3 day no pants weekend at 26mos and she was fully trained after that.
SC says
Well, with my son, we tried and failed around 2.5. We waited and tried and failed a little after 3. By 3.5, he had not trained himself, and it was a difficult, several-month process. He’s turning 4 next week and still has #1 accidents a couple times a week. My observation is that he doesn’t have much sense that he needs to go until it’s an emergency, and sometimes he doesn’t make it. He does have some sensory issues, which he’s in OT for, and those include proprioception and probably interoception.
Pretty Primadonna says
My DD started showing signs close to 17 months. We waited until she was about 22 months to do the Oh Crap! Potty Training Method over w long weekend. It took a couple of months (mostly because she would wait for nap time to go #2 in her PullUp), but by the time she was 2, she was fully trained.
Knope says
We just started potty-training our 25 month old last week. We are doing a very modified version of Oh Crap – we started pantsless for 2 days, which worked like a charm in making him aware of when he had to go pee and teaching him to hold it. But during the week he goes to nanny share and I didn’t want to keep him and his buddy cooped up all week, so he still wears a diaper for long outings to the playground and such. It’s been almost a full week and he is about 80% pee trained – still occasional accidents but he is getting better every day. He’s still waiting till naptime to go #2 in his diaper, though, so we will have to tackle that next.
I’m curious though – to those who say you tried and “failed,” at what point did you decide it was a failure? Was your kid just not able to hold it or realize they were peeing? Or was it more that they were putting up a fight about using the potty?
So Anon says
Next week is April break in New England. I took February break off of work to take my kids skiing, so I signed each kid up for a program next week. My youngest is doing a program through our local rec department, and my son is doing a program at a local farm (his sister is too young). I failed to realize that Monday is Patriot’s Day, so the local rec program only runs Tues-Friday. Argh! I am taking tomorrow off because our school district decided to add an extra day to April break this year.
I work from home on Mondays, so I could swing, kind-of, my daughter hanging around the house with me while I work. She is not the most independent, so it would not be a very productive day for me, which I desperately need.
My other option is to reach out to my ex. Our daughter was sick earlier this week, and he begrudgingly watched her for a day. She came down with a fever when she was with him over the weekend, but he didn’t notice the 100.2 fever and that she was a puddle. Instead, he said that she had been tantruming and was in a bad mood. When I say he begrudgingly watcher her on Tuesday, I mean that I texted him the night before and said, “If [Daughter] is still sick tomorrow, can you watch her for all or part of the day? I will not know whether she can go to school until between 7 and 7:30 when she wakes up.” He said yes. He texted at 6:45 asking how she was (I was in the shower). At 7:02, he texted that he was leaving for work. I panicked, woke her up, and had to call to ask him to please watch her because I had a meeting I couldn’t miss. He did, but after dropping her with the babysitter at 2 on Tuesday, he has not asked how she is, whether she is still sick, etc. UGH.
HSAL says
If it’s April break for everyone, could you hire a highschooler or someone to hang out with your daughter? My standards for care are a lot lower if I’m going to be in the house if something happens. Do you have a neighborhood fb group or friends with older kids? Or even care.com?
Anonymous says
+1 high schooler on break. Even middle schooler is probably fine if you’ll be home.
Cb says
Do you have a neighbour with a pre-teen or teen who would also be out of school? They might not be ready for proper babysitting but could entertain your daughter with minimal intervention from you.
Cb says
Or arrange a swap with another working parent – offer to cover the next teacher workday.
Anonanonanon says
I personally would do everything I could to avoid the ex route (just based on my own experience). And yes, we have a long history of a fever-ridden kiddo getting dropped off on Sunday evening for my husband and I to figure out who will be taking off work to watch him/take him to the doctor now that he’s sick. I think it’s a product of dad taking him to indoor play places etc. Sigh.
Anyway, how old is the youngest? I know you really need a productive day, but if you can telework and maybe let kiddo watch all the tv she wants and eat all the popsicles she wants it might be the way to go. You might also have to wake up before she does to knock out an hour of work (I’m a fan of using that time to type up emails and pre-schedule them to go out at 8AM so) and then put her to bed early and knock some out in the evening. Easier said than done, I know, but I’d save the favor from the ex (yes, it shouldn’t be a favor and that’s not fair, but it is what it is) for a day you 100% cannot miss.
Other strategies I’ve used are “have an indoor picnic!” aka “pack” the kid a lunch and have them sit on a blanket on the floor and eat it. Maybe with a Daniel Tiger episode or something about a picnic. Could you set up a TV in her room and let her watch a show in there for some “quiet time”? Sometimes the feeling they’re getting to do something they wouldn’t normally get to do goes a long way.
Sorry you’re in this poopy situation :(
FVNC says
Agree with the above posters. Thankfully (??) you’ve got a couple days to sort out backup care, and if that’s less stressful than trying to deal with an unreasonable ex, I’d go with that option. In addition to high schoolers, what about former daycare teachers (if your kids went to daycare)?
In a similar situation, where I had to work and husband was traveling, I signed up for a care . com account and sent out over twenty direct messages to sitters who met my criteria. I found a backup sitter for that day, and several others who are now in our regular sitter rotation. Stressful for sure, but forced me to deal with the backup care situation. Good luck!
Anonanonanon says
Everyone made a really good point about school being out-of-session. Definitely look for a high-schooler or someone to be a mother’s helper so you can try to shut yourself in a room and get some work done but still be on-hand if something happens.
I used the bambino app for the first time recently and GREATLY prefer it to care.com!
Pogo says
Don’t know about your office, but at mine attendance is light on Patriot’s Day between people running the marathon, watching the marathon, watching the Sox, or just wanting an excuse to day drink. You could probably get away with working from home w/ kiddos if you use the TV liberally and enforce “quiet rest time” in the afternoon for a couple hours. I’m not expecting much email traffic, except from Europe. But who knows it’s that time of year when every other Monday is some Easter-related holiday for them too!
Boston Legal Eagle says
Literally half my team is off next Monday due to school vacation/daycare closing. Ugh, is it just an MA thing to have all schools match up school vacations weeks? Not looking forward to dealing with this when my kids are in school, especially as this time and February tend to be somewhat busy seasons for me.
Anon says
Yes, I believe in MA almost all schools close for February break the week of President’s Day and for April break the week of Patriot’s Day. I tend to think it’s actually easier this way – things are very quiet those weeks and it’s easier to be off. Kind of like between Christmas and New Year’s, although that’s a more universal shutdown.
Pogo says
Yep. Though I’m in an area with a lot of NH commuters, and they stagger by a week.
What I love is the lack of traffic on these weeks because everyone is staying home with their kids!
Annie says
Does anyone have recommendations for a fridge to keep in my office for pump parts and milk when I go back to work? There’s a communal fridge on our floor so I don’t need extra space for lunch etc. but I do want to make sure two days worth of milk bottles would fit in case I forget to bring it home one day. Thanks!
HSAL says
Unless you’re looking at one of those desktop ones that holds soda cans, I think any minifridge would be fine. Mine is 1.7 cubic feet with a tiny freezer section that fits a couple frozen meals, and it could easily hold several days’ worth of milk.
anon says
I just used an insulated lunch tote with ice packs. I kept it right on top of my desk so I didn’t forget to take it home. It fit parts plus around 6 standard pumping bottles.
Mommy3 says
That is what i did for 2 of my children. I used to bring 2 insulated lunch bags one is slightly bigger (pumping parts and bottles), and one is for my snack/lunch. It was a lot of bags to carry but was well worth it :-) Our office refrigerator was rarely cleaned, food was often forgotten, and I did not even want to touch the handle!
anon says
Has anyone ever rented any baby stuff from BabyQuip?
Anonymous says
Yes! It was very smooth, although I find them to be more expensive than other companies. But it’s all independent by city, so my experience =\= your experience.
Anon says
I’m just getting caught up on yesterday’s comments. When I read the comments from people who have older grandparents that can’t keep up physically with the toddlers, it made me wonder if you have ever considered using harnesses/leashes/back packs with tails for the little ones when they go on outings with the grands. I personally have never understood why people have such a negative visceral reaction to them. They keep children safe. I get that people make comparisons to dogs, but to me, the reasons we use a leash on a dog and the reason we would use it on a toddler are the same. Both are unpredictable, fast, and one misstep could lead to very serious injury. One of my friends has 3 kiddos and one is a serious runner that has had a few close calls. She can get out of her stroller herself. She can wiggle out of the best hand grip and the alternative to the leash is arm bruises from trying to keep her from killing herself. I know the topic can cause a $h!t storm on certain blogs but I’m hoping we can be kind and practical here. Even if you don’t use it yourself, it could be a good tool for the grandparents who want to take the kid on an outing.
Lana Del Raygun says
I was leashed as a child and that’s why I’m here instead of living feral and eating pigeons after escaping my parents in an airport, lol. And I think they’re different from dog leashes in that dog leashes are also often for other people’s safety, so there’s more a tone of “keeping this creature under control” whereas for children it’s more straightforwardly a safety harness for the child, like buckling them into a stroller.
Pogo says
your first sentence made me laugh out loud! Thank you for that Lana!
Lyssa says
We never really felt the need to use them (both kids are pretty good about staying with us), but I also never understood the reaction to them. They seem like a great alternative to trying to hold hands with a wiggly toddler for an extended period, and they would allow the kid more freedom, too.
lsw says
We haven’t used one yet but have definitely considered it. If we had a baby in addition to my toddler I am 99% sure we would have had one by now. My son is huge, fast, strong, and a runner. And we live in a city with notoriously terrible drivers so I live in constant fear he’s going to dart into the street.
Anonymous says
I have 3 and I my middle needed a leash. I didn’t get one and instead just refused to take her anywhere she couldn’t behave. I didn’t want to deal with it (leashes or not). Luckily she grew out of it in a couple months.
Anon says
I am the poster from yesterday. We have one, and occasionally use it, but it mostly results in my child sprinting and falling because she doesn’t understand it. And I can tell you that as an older sister, I used to yank my younger sister’s all the time to make her stumble if she was annoying me (siblings, ahhh – we really do love each other even if we were terrible to each other back then). To me, it’s not worth that process, and the other risks (carseat safety, not great driving, inability to lift the child in and out of the stroller, carseat, diaper changing (since they can’t get on the ground either), etc.) weigh against solo (inlaw) grandparent outings. They do get plenty of solo time at our house because we usually disappear upstairs or in another room to let them bond. When she’s out with me and my husband, we usually keep her strapped into the stroller (snugly enough that she can’t escape the 5 point harness) or in the lillebaby (and we are practicing hand-holding in confined indoor spaces with the hope that eventually we will be good in outdoor public spaces) or we carry her (and she typically doesn’t try to escape if we’re holding her, but not true for others). My parents are 10-20 years younger than my inlaws (who are in their 70s and 80s), and generally when they take her out they have a 2-1 strategy – two adults for the one child, and one of those adults is not mobility limited (e.g., my mom and either my dad or one of my mom’s more spry friends), and even my mom can lift her and hold her once she’s “caught.” In the case of my inlaws, both are mobility limited and neither can really lift (my MIL can’t walk more than 20 yards without huffing and puffing and needing to rest and my FIL is in his mid 80s, and while he can walk fast, one of his arms is essentially useless due to some torn ligaments – he can’t lift anything more than a water glass on that side). Once toddler is a little older and more self-sufficient maybe we’ll re-evaluate solo inlaw grandparent outings, but the driving certainly won’t be better then, so I don’t know.
rosie says
I am not anti-leash, but it seems like that wouldn’t even solve part of the problem you would need to address with your ILs, based on their physical limitations. But I have no experience with them so don’t know how much strength/stamina you need to have.
avocado says
I think the anti-leash reactions are mostly from non-parents. My kid was super independent and wanted to walk by herself without holding someone’s hand, and the leash allowed her to do that safely. Happy, safe kid with fewer battles? I see no downside to that.
The people who will judge you for using a leash are the same ones who will judge you for having a squirming, fussing toddler in a stroller or an unruly toddler breaking away and running all over the place, so there is no point in trying to avoid their judgment.
Anonymous says
Hmm I’ve been thinking about getting a leash for my toddler so that we can take him hiking more and have him be safe when he gets let out of the backpack. He is drawn like a magnet to rushing rivers on our hikes, and it’s a little unmanageable, especially with two older kids. This is pushing me towards getting one.
Anonymous says
I definitely used harnesses with my twins. I have three kids and two hands so they were necessary.
Anonymous says
The harness thing to me falls firmly in the camp of ‘this is an opinion or preference, not a moral judgement’. Toddler harness – opinion. Sleep training – opinion/ preference. Frequency of ice cream consumption – preference. Different families have different preferences and priorities, and that’s fine with me. (Things that I will definitely judge people for? Not using a car seat. Not vaccinating.)
Anon says
I first read that as not vacuuming, and couldn’t figure out why you cared how clean other people’s homes were.
Anonymous says
I used them in airports when my two were younger and I only got positive comments – mostly from older, grandmotherly type ladies!
Anonymous says
No, I don’t think that would be safe (for the grandparents). If the older person has strength and balance issues, and the toddler is strong and unpredictable, I think that could cause a fall. — SIGNED, someone with a very strong 3 year old
Anonymous says
Harnesses in no way solve the problem of my parents not being physically capable of taking care of two toddlers for a day.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
YMMV, but I used one of the desktop/soda can ones and it was good (although tight) for bottles and pump parts.
anon says
My spouse, who has 10 years sobriety, came home last night after drinking with a colleague. We have two kids.
I’m devastated.
Not sure what the point of this post is. Just needed to tell someone, I guess.
Anon says
Oh no, that is devastating. In-patient rehab? I know that’s not an option for everyone though.
Anonymous says
I’m so sorry! Alcoholism doesn’t go away, no matter how many years of sobriety. Get yourself and him to an AA meeting.
anon says
I am so sorry; that absolutely stinks. I think his reaction to the situation will tell you a lot.
Anon says
Been there, it sucks. I’m so sorry. Wish I had better advice – me threatening to leave him worked to get him sober in the first place; with his first relapse, I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and not immediately implement a divorce, but I’m not sure that was the right call because he’s subsequently slipped a couple of more times. It’s not yet gotten back to the place where he’s hospitalized with organ failure, but his lack of regard for his own health and his willful ignorance of the impact of his addiction on the family has resulted in a lot of anger and resentment.
I don’t know. He used to be incapacitated 40% of the time, which I why I threatened to leave … now it’s more like once every few months which I have, apparently, decided to tolerate for now.
Anon says
Leave. Just Leave Now. Don’t wait around until he’s incapacitated 100% of the time and you feel obligated to stay and take care of him.
Signed, My mom should have divorced by dad before Korsakoff’s struck and now she’s stuck.
So Anon says
I am so very sorry that this has been thrust upon you. It stinks. All the internet hugs. Do you have a therapist you can reach out to for support?
Anonanonanon says
Ugh I’m so sorry. If you can, I suggest getting to an al-anon meeting (for family members of those with alcohol addiction). It helped me feel less guilty about my anger towards my father to hear that everyone else was just as angry with their loved one.
Anyway, I can’t imagine all the feelings you have right now, but I hope you know you’re entitled to every single one of them.
lsw says
I’m so sorry, and +1 to this second paragraph in particular. Hugs and don’t be afraid to ask for support from your friends and family.
ElisaR says
i’m so sorry. i’m the child of an alcoholic who has now been sober for 32 years. But I remember those days.
IHeartBacon says
I’m so sorry. Unfortunately, I have no advice or recs. Just sorry. Please feel free to vent here. I also like the suggestion to check out an al-anon meeting for family members. I didn’t know these existed.
Traveling with breastmilk says
Recommendations for storing breastmilk for air travel? I’m traveling for work for 3 days next week and would like to bring back the milk I pump. On the way back, I’ll have about 100 oz of milk to transport home. I need to buy more bottles or storage bags now anyway, so am wondering if anyone has any suggestions that make traveling with the milk easier. Thanks!
Anonymous says
Milk Stork. They’ll pick up at your hotel and transport home.
Lana Del Raygun says
I find the Target Lansinoh knockoffs (probably also the Lansinoh but this is what I got) pack nicely if you lay them flat to freeze — much flatter than the Ameda bags, even when you put more in them than they’re marked for.
anon says
Milk Stork is great, but pricey, so I’d only do that if your employer will cover. Also, check to make sure they actually pick up at/near your hotel on the day/time you need it before you get too excited. Ask me how I know.
I would keep the milk fresh, not frozen, so you don’t have to worry about it defrosting and refreezing. If it’s cold enough to start with (some hotel mini fridges aren’t cold enough), it should stay cold if well packed. You can pack the bags in an insulated tote Styrofoam cooler with ice in Ziploc gallon bags. Discard ice at TSA and refill on the other side. I’ve found this to be easier than worrying about shipping, even with 100+ oz.
lsw says
Kiinde bags forever for me. They sit up and have screw on tops, so it made it really easy for tight situations like bathrooms or airport nursing pods. I always asked the hotel to freeze or refrigerate rather than use the in-room fridge.
Note that your pump is a medical device and doesn’t count towards carry-ons. You got this!
Anon says
Just got back from two days away from baby pumping. I pumped on the airplane in the bathroom (yuck but doable) on the way there, and in my seat on the way home (much nicer – was not seated near my male coworkers). Flight attendants gave me ice, which I put in a ziplock in a cooler (swapped out the other ice I had from the hotel on the way home). I like the Mommy’s Precious milk bags the best – super secure and never had an issue with leaking. https://www.amazon.com/Breastmilk-Breastfeeding-Container-Sterilized-Measurements/dp/B01M1528ZW/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3QZN28W2MKR80&keywords=mommy%27s+precious+breastmilk+bags&qid=1555005114&s=baby-products&sprefix=mommy%27s+prec%2Cbaby-products%2C128&sr=1-4 Good luck! Feels so good to take the milk home!
Pogo says
Based on recs here I bought the PackIt cooler bag – the whole thing freezes and will keep everything cool. I felt the best way to do it was the try and freeze everything, but that only worked on trips where I had access to a full fridge/freezer before my flight and I could lay all the bags out to freeze. One trip I recall I wasn’t able to do that, so I packed all the milk into the PackIt bag and asked the hotel to put it in their big freezer for me. They tagged it like when you check a bag with the concierge. It worked but I think there was more condensation from that method than the full freeze method (ie individually freeze each bag and freeze the outer bag). Still, no leaking or milk getting warm occurred.
You can take a freezer pack and liquid milk through TSA, no problem, but I always declare it to them and take out the individual blue freezer pack in the medela mini cooler to show them (I have my pump in a separate bag, with the mini cooler, for my on-the-go pump setup, and transfer to the big PackIt bag). Sometimes they will swab the outside of the freezer pack.
I did have one TSA lady tell me they’d have to test the outside of every bag if it was liquid (I had it all frozen and she just looked at it) but that was just her having a power trip – I messaged the TSA about it later. Technically the rule is “you may be subject to additional screening” but that doesn’t have to mean swabbing every bag.
Good luck!! And bring a hand pump and batter pack.
OP says
Thanks for the tips, all! I knew this was just the place to get all this priceless advice.
avocado says
Cross-posting from main page. I am headed to NYC for training in a few weeks.
1. The training venue is way downtown, near Battery Park. Should I stay downtown or stay somewhere else and take the subway? I am not terribly familiar with that part of the city. My evening plans consist primarily of eating and walking around. Was hoping to walk on the High Line, try out Los Tacos No. 1, and maybe visit Blue Ribbon Sushi if I can figure out how to do it without making the rest of my family angry for going without them.
2. What passes for business casual attire in NYC these days? I am thinking of skinny pants, Rothys, a nice tee, and either the Going Out Blazer or a long cardigan. I usually wear sheath dresses for business travel and just-barely-business-casual in the office, neither of which is appropriate for this occasion.
Anon says
I think ponte sheath dresses would be fine. A sheath dress made out of suiting material would probably be too formal though. The outfit you described sounds fine, but I might sub the tee for a blouse or something slightly more formal.
ElisaR says
your outfit sounds perfect. I personally would not stay downtown because its very residential after the working day ends (it used to be dead but now it’s residential). Are you comfortable taking the subway? it can get a little crazy at rush hour but it’s the only way I travel. If you stay near the 1 or ACE line on the west side you can get down to battery park.
ElisaR says
i guess your outfit appropriate-ness depends on your industry. In my old finance world, it would be too casual, but in my new finance world it’s perfect. (i know that sentence doesn’t really make sense….. but I changed jobs and have a different type of client these days but am still in finance)
Anonymous says
I don’t think you NEED to stay downtown. It is very easy to get there from almost any subway line, and there are more scenic areas, but it depends on how much you value being close to the training site. Your outfit sounds fine to me but I work in the theater industry so may be living in a different world. (The one and only time I visited our ad agency the receptionist was wearing a skin-tight blue leopard-print catsuit with a white fur hat. My coworkers are much less exciting).
anon says
Easter baskets! What is everyone doing? I’m feeling completely uninspired this year. I have a preschool girl and a boy in middle elementary. We have enough sidewalk chalk and bubbles for an entire daycare, so I’m trying to switch that up a bit.
Anonymous says
What do they like? My sons are getting baseballs and the toddler is getting a little baseball glove so he can stop stealing his older brother’s. It is all baseball, all the time at my house now that the weather is nice.
anon says
Ha–I literally just put bubbles and chalk on my Target list for this weekend!
For my preschoolers, I already have Play Doh (marketed in cute plastic Easter eggs), puzzles, and a book. I was thinking of adding stickers plus maybe a couple of things they need, like new socks and toothbrushes. They’re young enough that a new toothbrush is exciting, especially if I get ones with characters on them. :)
Anonymous says
Target has a bunch of small wooden puzzles/crafts in the dollar spot. I try to include a small lego set for my 2nd grader and a small animal toy for my preschooler. I also give each kid a notepad of some variety, stickers, writing utensil of some variety (mini markers, small pack of crayons, etc.). I try to do useful things too, like chapstick, hand sanitizer (though my 2nd grader recently dumped his entire hand sanitizer into a small bowl in his bedroom to make “soup” and it was a huge mess), mini toothpaste, etc.
AwayEmily says
The tradition in our family was that we would come down to empty baskets…then look for candy hidden all over our living room. It was SO FUN to have the place we hung out in all the time transformed into a magical candy wonderland (and even more fun when we’d find a rogue jelly bean a month later).
Anonymous says
Much better than finding a rogue hard boiled egg, which was more normal in my family
SC says
We’ll be on vacation with my parents for Easter. There will be lots of junk food available on this vacation (a cruise), so I kept the treats minimal. Kiddo is getting an Eric Carle book, The Lamb and the Butterfly, some small puzzles, and some train cars. Also, the “basket” is a sand bucket for the beach.
Emily S. says
DD #1 (almost 4) is getting 2 tubes of bathub paint, a Peppa Pig playset, crayons, an Easter coloring book and a Peeps lollipop (is anyone else as excited about those as I am?!) DD #2 (almost 2) is also getting crayons, same coloring book, same paint, same Peeps pop, but her toys are a new outfit for baby doll and play food for baby doll. DH is getting a couch coaster and candy. (8 years of marriage, I gave him a basket and he said, oh are we doing baskets? Last year he surprised me with a basket. I miss the running joke that he doesn’t get me a basket. But I like the candy.)
Artemis says
So, here’s another “what would you do?” job conundrum. I am an attorney currently working in local government, having escaped midlaw life after 10 years and when my 3rd kid was on the way. My local government job is not technically an attorney role, so I’ll call it akin to a “J.D.-preferred” gig in the private sector.
This job was just what I needed when I needed it, but I’ve been here about 4 years and I’m happy with what I’ve done, I’m bored, and I’m underpaid.
I’ve been looking for a new job in the private sector off and on for 2 years but nothing’s working out so far.
A new position has just opened up in my current local government in a different department, dealing even more directly with the courts and the legal system. It’s a promotion in title and responsibilities from where I am now, it only pays about $5k more max, but I keep all my benefits and I move from non-exempt to exempt, which in itself would be great (I have lots of time off, but I also hate not being able to work from home when I could, for example).
I’d eventually still like to move back into the private sector, and I feel like if I stay in my current role much longer the job hunt will only get worse. I feel like I have to force my career progression somehow at this point, even if it’s still in local government. I’m disappointed that I haven’t been able to find anything I really wanted, and at the pay increase I’ve been hoping for, but at least this could be a new challenge for a year or two while I keep looking.
Thoughts?
Anon says
It seems like a no-brainer to go for it.
Emily S. says
I’d go for it, if for peace of mind than nothing else. If you didn’t apply for the job, would you wonder, what if? At least if you apply, you’ll know. And, it sounds like the job (and the benefits) are appealing enough that it is not simply a placeholder, like, well, nothing else came along. Also, you might end up really liking it!
Anonanonanon says
FWIW, my experience as an exempt worker in local/state government did not lead to more flexibility on my end, just more flexibility on their end to ask for more hours. I actually left state government for this reason after my second child to go to the private sector. It’s technically more hours/stress, but WAY more money and WAY more flexibility.
Anon says
As a counterpoint, I also work in state government (not legal though) and non-exempt employees have to be butt in seat 8-5 every day, with a lunch break. Non-exempt employees are generally in the office ~8 hours day, but we have way more flexibility about when (8-4 is fine, as is 10-6), most of us work through lunch and spend less total time in the office, and it’s no big deal at all to leave for appointments, kid stuff, etc. We have liberal WFH policies so I’m basically never go in if the kids or I are at all under the weather. I wouldn’t go non-exempt if you tripled my salary, even though it would entail workinng roughly the same number of hours. Flexibility is everything to me, especially with kids.
IHeartBacon says
Go for it! Sometimes not getting exactly what you wanted turns out to be a wonderful stroke of luck.
Picnic Basket? says
Here’s a random one. We run around as a family a lot on weekends. We’re usually out doing fun stuff all morning and it’s way too tempting to stay out for lunch rather than go home and try to prepare something. I now have a dream of packing a huge picnic basket on the weekends, even if we’re just doing things like Target runs, so we can easily stop and eat lunch when everyone is hungry. Does anyone have recommendations for a picnic basket? If it has accessories, I’d want everything to be washable. Kids are 1.5 and 3.5, for what it’s worth, and then my husband and I. Thanks!
AwayEmily says
Wirecutter has picnic basket recommendations that look good.
anon says
while this sounds lovely and if you lived near me i would give you the picnic basket i bought for DH back in the day that we’ve used about two times. instead i’d recommend a large insulated tote bag, throw in a few ice packs and whatever food you want. much easier to carry while also dealing with kids and easier to store
HSAL says
Yeah, I think it’s an idea that is better in theory than practice. Get an insulated tote bag, ice packs, and just buy some cheap dishes/silverware from a thrift store that you don’t care about losing or breaking.
Although Amazon does have some cute ones…
Anonymous says
or just a backpack. Most lunch food can sit at room temp for a few hours.
Anonymous says
+1 we bought an insulated tote bag for labor with baby number 1 and we still use it all the time for any family lunches. Fits a few sandwiches plus snacks and drinks. We never do anything that requires plates or cutlery though.
IHeartBacon says
I LOVE this idea! It sounds like it would be such a nice treat to just stop at a park as you are driving around running errands to have a quick picnic. What about something this since it has wheels: https://www.amazon.com/Picnic-Ascot-Equipped-Cooler-Service/dp/B004ERHPP8/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=picnic+cooler+with+wheels&qid=1555010830&s=gateway&sr=8-4
OP says
Thank you, all! I agree, the insulated tote bag is probably the way to go. I know looking at this falls in to the category of a treat, but if it feels special, we might be more apt to do it and enjoy it. IHeartBacon – that looks like so much fun! It also looks like I’d have a hard time keeping up with the cleaning and maintenance but that’s pretty much what I mean. It looks adorable.
AnotherTwinMom says
I bought an insulated backpack years ago for all the picnics I was going to have. It includes a set of 4 plates, cups and cutlery. I only used it once, but something like that might be up your alley too.
Knope says
Made a total rookie mistake last night and gave my 2 year old, who is also the slowest eater in the world and has a thing about his food not being “broken” into pieces, a popsicle. Of course, the popsicle started melting and breaking off the stick before he was finished, which resulted in literally the most intense and longest tantrum he’s ever had. 1.5 hrs of wailing and crying “POPSICLE! MORE POPSICLE!!!!!”. Ugh.
What random things have caused your toddlers to melt down lately??