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Archive through January 25, 2004

The TVClubHouse: Archives: 2004 January - Arpil: New Parents to be........Tips and advice for us (ARCHIVES): Archive through January 25, 2004 users admin

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Enbwife

Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - 7:56 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Kimmo - LOL about your MIL. We can all relate to stories like that. Especially the martyr part (ha ha)!! Danz - that card is adorable! Dylan is so handsome.

We installed the magnet locks on our kitchen cabinets that opens with a magnet "key". They are so cool and keeps Nate out - he had a major fascination with everything in the cupboards. As far as a tree goes, we have a small, fake tree on top of the TV that he can look at but can't reach - thought that would be the easy route this year. I get so tired of saying "no" to him all the time. Also, Nate likes to turn the TV on and off on the actual TV. It doesn't harm anything and he only does it once or twice at a time so we let him. Today I thought his favourite show was on so I turned on the TV and it wasn't on so he got all mad and went over to the TV and started changing the stations looking for it (ha ha). Hillarious. Anyway, this whole child-raising journey is very interesting and very fun. I'm at work right now and Neil is dropping Nate off in 1/2 hour. I'm so excited!

Enbwife

Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - 7:57 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Oh yes, I probably won't be here again today so just wanted to wish all of you and your families a wonderful day tomorrow and a very happy and healthy new year. It's been really great to come here and read all the stories and relate, laugh and learn. Thank you everyone. :)

Kimmo

Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - 10:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lisa, I hope Nate's feeling better and has a Merry Christmas! When he was younger, Rowan turned the TV on and off, too. Now we only watch it when we're getting ready for daycare ("Dragon Tales") or the nightly showing of "Blue's Clues," so now he's used to the idea that normally, it's off. Also, I guess he has other toys now with buttons that make things go on and off, so he doesn't "need" to play with the TV.

We had to pick up Rowan early from daycare yesterday with a fever of 101 :( I have had a bad head cold since Saturday which totally laid me out all weekend, I hope this isn't the same for him. It also seems like I never got a "in" to get Rowan a flu shot, with cold after cold.

I'm afraid this might be the flu, as this weekend I had chills, fatigue and fever-- But the incredibly runny/stuffy nose threw me off, that is normally not a flu thing. I normally take oscillococcinum within the first 6 to 12 hours of having flu symptoms....But my DH used it all! Ugh. Anyway, I'm watching Rowan closely.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and New Year!

Here's a picture from our first Christmas-- Rowan was just a week old....



Danzdol

Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - 1:47 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
how yummy!!!!!! sooo cute and peaceful.....

ENB- I have to look into those magnet keys.....

Kimmo- Dylan had about 100 2 weeks ago. IT ranged from 99-101 and it finally went away. We gave him Tylenol and kept him very warm. IT was not the flu. He also had the runny nose bit, so don't worry. Hopefully it's not the flu.

Have a great holiday everyone!!!!!!!!

Enbwife

Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 9:20 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Hope it's not the flu Kimmo. Took Nate in for the first 1/2 of the flu shot on Sunday. Went very well. He's been so happy since he got over his sickness last week. Christmas day was such a blast. He was ripping into his presents in the morning, played hockey with his dad in the basement while I ran on the treadmill and had a great time at my parents house. He went to sleep there too which was nice so we could stay late. He slept over at their place on Saturday night for the first time (we had a party here). It went so well, so we'll do it again. They all had a great time. Gotta work tomorrow then off to Sister's house for New Year's Eve. Fun, fun, fun!

Enbwife

Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 10:36 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Hey guys, anything new in the world of parenting? Things with us are good. Nate's doing well and has so many new words suddenly. New teeth too. He's been eating like a horse and I swear has shot up an inch or two. It's amazing the changes in him. We had a great New Year and had to return to work this week - very hard to get up early. We were all sleeping in until 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. Hope you're all doing well.

Cindori

Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 10:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I have something new . . . can anyone explain to me why my almost 3 year old has decided the state of her teeth interferes with some of her other activities? For example, "Dd, you need to go pick up your toys." "Momma, I can't, I have sharp teeth." She's given me the same response when I tell her to go potty. Whacko child.

Also, she's taken to telling me that she can't go potty in the downstairs bathroom because there's a "goat" in there. Now, I've looked, and there's no goat. I'm all for a good imagination, but isn't that just . . . odd?

Wargod

Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 11:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Any excuse is a good excuse when you don't want to do something, Cindori, lol. Dakota's is her ankle hurts. She's been doing it for about a year. I've looked at her ankle, I've even had the doctor look at it when we went in for something else and there's nothing wrong. But, everytime you tell her to do something she doesn't want to do, her ankle hurts.

As for the goat, there's no telling where kids get some of the odd notions that pass through there heads. My step father passed away three years ago from a heart attack. My oldest neice was about 16 months old then and she has no memories of Grandpa. She is convinced, though, that he died on a roller coaster at Disneyland. Nothing we tell her sinks in. Grandpa hated Disneyland and the whole time me and sis were growing up absolutely refused to go with us when mom would take us, but she just knows this is what happened. As for your daughter, is there something special about the upstairs bathroom that maybe she likes and the goat is just an excuse to be able to go upstairs? Or she may have had a dream that's just stuck with her. Kids at this age are so much fun because they say the oddest things.

Enbwife, Nate's going to be a tall kid like Caleb. Whenever Caleb starts eating like that, I know it's time to go buy new clothes, LOL. Is he super skinny too?

Cindori

Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 12:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ok, I have another issue - at least this one is actually an issue!

You may have heard that I had to leave town rather suddenly due to a death in the family. I left dh and dd at home during that time. My oh-so-lovely husband, being helpful and all, allowed our nearly three year old to sleep in our bed because she won't go to bed easily for him. Now that I'm home she goes to bed just fine, but she won't STAY there. I have to get up three or four times a night to take her back to bed and I'm exhausted!

I know that I have to keep taking her back to bed because if I give in it will just make the problem worse, but any ideas on how to get her not to get out of her bed in the first place?

Kimmo

Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 12:14 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lisa, it sounds like you had a fun holiday season! I loved it when Rowan started popping out with all the new words circa 12-18 months :)

Now Rowan's determined to get into real sentences. A favorite is "Daddy flew a kite at the beach" (though that sentence commemorates an event from October)! So cute. Also loves those pithy sentences, like "Don't" and "Stop it"! Sigh. And he's way into counting (counts to 20, but always skips 15 for some reason)...

Rowan's 2nd birthday was 12/16, his big present was a wooden car garage for all his Hot Wheels. The big Christmas presents were a tricycle, a xylophone, an easel and a collapsible tunnel for hiding. But the big hit is Play Doh-- Now we have to play with it every night! And he is a Mega Blocks addict, sometimes we don't even put them away so we can keep building and making dolls hop around the structures.

Snow/ice storms for the past two weeks have had me and Rowan homebound since Christmas Eve. I got to go to work for half a day yesterday, then the daycare closed (again) at 1, so I've been on a very extended holiday vacation!

Rowan had his 2-year checkup yesterday, and everything's fine. Only his last 2 molars need to come through and he'll have a full set of choppers (which he grinds when he gets revved up, a habit DH hates but the doctor says is normal).

I think we did have the flu, as DH got a flu shot and did not get as sick as Rowan and I did. But at the checkup, I had Rowan FINALLY get a shot because I read a state press release saying that the worst of the flu season is still to come. They don't have enough shots to do the follow-up shot at my clinic, but our laissez faire doctor said that should be good enough.

I was thinking of starting to post recipes that have been "winners" for Rowan, but will do that later. Hope everyone is doing well!

Enbwife

Monday, January 12, 2004 - 11:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Cindori - I laughed out loud at your daughter and the goat in the toilet! Ha ha! My sleep "bible" says that sleep issues need to be dealt with consistently and persistently immediately. You're doing the right thing taking her back to bed every time she gets up. If you give in you're right, she'll be in your bed every night. One show I watched said to take her back to bed and don't speak much or show any emotion. Just do it quickly and matter of fact so that she doesn't keep getting up to see you and for the attention. This method is supposed to eventually make her realize that there's no point in getting up since she's not going to get any attention...

Kimmo - I have to get Nate's second shot at the end of the month - hopefully there's still some left.

This weekend has been weird. Nate woke up at 3am Friday night crying and saying "ma ma"... never happens so I went in right away and he had the worst diarreha I've ever seen - from head to toe. I had to change him, give him a sponge bath and change his sheets. He went back to sleep right away but has had diarreha on and off all weekend which has now resulted in a horrible diaper rash. Poor kid. He seems fine other than that... strange. I felt so sorry for him. :(

Kimmo

Monday, January 12, 2004 - 1:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lisa, how awful about the diarrhea. :( Did he eat anything differently, or maybe drink a lot of juice? Or maybe he does have an allergy like you had previously worried about. Rowan had a slightly different diarrhea incident last week:

We had just enjoyed breakfast and "Blue's Clues" and I took him in to change his diaper and get him dressed for the day...He took off the diaper and insisted on standing naked on the changing table. I thought, "Okay, I'll wait this out a few seconds....What's that dribbling sound?"

I stupidly just looked at his penis to see if he was peeing (which he wasn't)....Then Rowan got an anguished look on his face and my light bulb turned on-- He had dribbled diarrhea down his leg. Poor guy! Boy, did I feel like a moron.

I said, "Oh, that's diarrhea...That probably doesn't feel good, let's clean you off." He started crying and fighting me-- Probably totally embarrassed that it happened. I think that was the first time he ever messed himself like that.

After we got all cleaned up finally, I had to change him two more times after that in an hour or so span. It was just little bits, I think it was probably the ham we had eaten the previous night. It smelled/tasted fine but had been in the fridge for 3 days. Never again! If I feel like I have to check it as I did before making dinner with it, I am just throwing it away.

Also, he had been drinking lots of juice and foregoing milk in a cup (I think hoping this milk fast would make me go back to giving him milk "from Mommy's shirt," as he calls it). Though yogurt is supposed to "knit up" diarrhea and we eat that every day, I would have though the two would cancel each other out.

In a semi-related note, I ordered the PU Digital Flip N Flush potty seat last week-- You can go to epinions.com and see the reviews on it (search by "PU Digital"), it's just the type I wanted-- As close to being really on the toilet as you can get.

I think around 2/6 I'll still call the doctor and see about bringing Rowan in for a follow-up shot, even though the doctor said they might be out and Rowan wouldn't need it.

Enbwife

Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 12:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Interesting story Kimmmo - I'll have to check out the potty seat. I'm just starting to get my head around that. Nate was pointing at the toilet the other day after I had used it so I asked him if he wanted to go "pee pee on the potty", he nodded yes, so I took his diaper off, sat him right on the seat and he pushed hard and out came pee pee and poo poo.... I made such a big fuss over him he thought it was great. I think it's still early yet (17 mths) but know I should at least purchase one. I'll check it out now. Thanks.

Julieboo

Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 2:57 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
For diarrhea, use the BRAT diet: Bananas, Rice cereal, Applesauce (NOT APPLE JUICE), Toast (any type of bread will do.) I may be wrong, but I don't think yogurt will help diarrhea.

Kimmo

Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 3:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Sorry for my diarrhea story-- I thought I had killed the thread! I'm familiar with the BRAT regimen....I just thought of the yogurt thing because that is what our pediatrician mentioned once regarding that function, and Rowan eats it every day.

I think because I was at home so long with Rowan due to the inclement weather/daycare closures (2 weeks), he is having a really hard time seeing me leave at daycare (clinging, crying, wailing "Mommy"). But I know all I can do is be cheerful and walk away. :( The ladies tell me he is fine once I leave.

I'm hoping by the end of this week he remembers going to school is normal. I'm kind of afraid I'm doing what my grandma said I might be doing-- Being so attentive that I make him feel like he can't do anything without me. Once he is back in the school routine, I'm going to stop staying in Rowan's room until he falls asleep (I know, that is totally wrong and I should never have done it), and once that dilemma is past....Ugh, onto potty training!

Danzdol

Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 7:28 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Oh man, I am not looking forward ro the daycare thing nor the potty training.

Yesterday, Dylan had the weirdest behavior.

He woke up at 10:30 crying visibly upset. I'm serious, he was mad. His pacifier was on the floor and he wanted to reach it. However when I gave it to him (him still being inside the crib) he crawled to it and slapped it away and stayed there sobbing and screaming really loud. He would not even come to me to pick him up so I just stood there quietly and watched.

FInally I said softly "up" and he stopped, pulled himself up and went with me. He then smiled and for 5 seconds was his regular morning self. He then pushed himself away and landed on the floor. He stood there crying again and would cry so hard that he would tighten his face as if he was pushing hard, walked up to the pacifier and hit it far again as he kept crying. He then went up to where he had thrown the pacifier again and threw it again. He did this like 6 times until I took it away. I just sat on the chair looking. Finally I carried him, changed him and then he played normal. When I carried him he was all wet (which he was not 3 minutes before when I carried him out of the crib because I checked).

I don't think that it was he peed on himself because the entire time up to the very end he was dry.

He just seemed mad. I can only imagine that maybe he was in so much pain because of the teething (his molars) that he did not want to see his pacifier because maybe it made him hurt more.

I hate not being able to communicate. He is still not saying a word so all he can do is cry I guess. He is not even saying Mama.

Kimmo

Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 4:13 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Oh, Danz...Maybe Dylan is just getting older and starting to realize that the pacifier is not going to comfort him the way it once did. So he throws it away in anger, then cries because he still has that attachment to it and wants to try it again (but it still doesn't work the way it did, so he gets mad again).

Some mornings I'll come into Rowan's room in the morning and find that he has thrown his blanket, soft books and toys around and out of the crib-- Like he woke up in the night while we were sleeping, got mad that no one was there to pick him up, and just threw stuff around in a tiff. Then when Rowan wakes up and sees me, he might point to a certain toy and ask for it (as if he wasn't the one who threw it on the floor!).

Then at night, if he is really cranky yet doesn't want to go to bed, he will prolong things by throwing a toy out of his crib, then crying and asking for it. Obviously I'm not going for that anymore!

OT: For bedtime, what really works for me is going, "Oh, look, I need to show you something," then pointing at his clock and telling him what "the clock says" ("It's bedtime").

Is it coming up on Dylan's 18-month checkup, to follow up on the communication issues, or did that already happen? Here's hoping for the best.

Danzdol

Friday, January 16, 2004 - 3:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I took him to get a hearing test which he passed with flying colors. My pediatrician has sent me to get him some neurological testing. Not sure what is involved in that but it's set for February 4th.

Sillycalimomma

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 9:06 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Danz-my daughter went through some mornings like that and they usually resulted in her being sick with an earache within a day or too. Or like you said, it may be the teeth. I swear they should add "Detective" onto the long list us mothers could claim to be. I felt like that was my main job until my daughter was about five! Just trying to figure out what all her little mood swings meant! I wouldn't worry too much about the not talking thing. Especially if you are a very attentive mother. Dylan knows how to communicate with you in other ways. My friends son did not talk using more than a word or two until he was almost three. Each child is different. From the few posts I have managed to read here and there that you have posted you seem to me that you are a great mother and love him a great deal. I am sure he feels very secure that his needs are always met and you understand him. I am glad that your doctors are checking into all possibilities while he is still young though!

Julieboo

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 9:58 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
While I wouldn't worry myself sick about the not talking thing, I would certainly check it out. Some boys don't talk til they are two and then they take off. However, the earlier you check it out the better. I would check into Early Intervention and have him evaluated. Althought the neuro. exam is a good start. My son didn't even say mama til he was 28 months. He's had speech threapy starting at age 2 and it helped tremendously. The earlier you start, the sooner you can nip it in the bud....

Enbwife

Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 7:33 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Perhaps Dylan had a bad dream or had an upset stomach? Who knows? I hate it when Nate's obviously upset about something and I have no idea what. One day recently he was crying so hard and pushing and going red in the face and screaming. It went on and on to the point that I was in tears too - then it finally dawned on me that he had gas for whatever reason and was in horrible pain. So I gave him gripewater which I haven't used for almost a year, and he was better within 1/2 hour. Don't you wish they could just tell us!!!

Kimmo - we ordered two potty seats off Ebay. Very cool.

Kimmo

Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 8:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
That's true, Silly, you can't always know what's going on. "Detective" work is a good word for what moms do! I don't think I've had to deal with nightmares yet-- When Rowan wakes up mad, I'm pretty sure it's because he's hungry, got too hot under the covers, or thinks I should still be lying on the floor!

Yes, ugh, why did I ever lie on the floor. What a disservice to me and my child. It was the stupidest thing ever and I will not do that to hypothetical baby #2!

Lisa, did you get colored potty seats? I just got the white, though leaned toward Dolphin Blue. :) I'm thinking of getting some for the grandparents' houses, too, but waiting to see how this works at home.

Enbwife

Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 7:24 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
You lied on his floor? Ha ha! The things we do when they're little... :)

We ordered blue seats so they would stand out and make it fun for him. My sis ordered white so it wouldn't stand out. We'll see how it works but I think it's a little early yet. I just want to be prepared.

Danzdol

Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 8:31 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Now Dylan has a new one. Everynight for the last week , after he goes to bed like at 9:30pm he sleeps and about 1-2 hours later waked up. First he coos and goes into crying. Our first thought is-his pacifier fell, or he is cold. So we run in there (remember he NEVER did this before) only to find him with his pacifier and warm as can be. He wants you to pick him up and he wants to play or simply to be held for a sec. We then put him down and he goes to sleep without a peep until about 10am.

Although it's not bad, it;s almost as if he is checking that we are still there and wants another hug or that reassurance....weird.

Yes, we are all detectives. My husband and I analyse everything. Maybe he is sick? MAybe this?Maybe that? IT's really bad.

HE has started to say "mah" when he sees me or wants something. I hope that is a trend that stays. :)

We are going to see the BArney show n February 8th!

It is a 90 minute show with a 20 minute intermission. I was thinking of taking a booster kind of seats like the ones you use for the dinner table. For one, I can strap him down and two , it might be easier for him to see.

I am not sure how he will reat or if he is still too little but since he loooooves Barney I figured it was worth a shot.

I have taken him to see him at the MY GYM's here and we had him for his first b-day last year and he was not interested so I am hoping that maybe now he is or maybe it's wishful thinking and I am going to get myself in trouble! yikes......

Kimmo

Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 11:21 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Danz, does Dylan nap during the day? Maybe he is waking as if his nap was over and expects the day to continue. Probably not since he goes right to bed after some cuddling....The times Rowan has woken after going to bed are when he's too hot/cold, didn't eat a good dinner, or a nap was skipped.

That's neat about Dylan saying "Mah"! That's how Rowan first started, then went on to "Mama" and "Mommy." It sounds like the start of something good.

I'm not sure about taking Rowan to a staged event, either....He loves watching DH juggle at home and there was a free juggling show at the library this Friday. I wondered about taking him but passed because it scheduled right at dinner time (I only read about it that morning)! He likes juggling for 10-20 minutes, but 90 minutes? Then what if we can't sit up front so he can see well, and I also wondered about bringing a booster seat.

Well, when we went to the fair this past summer, there was juggling and we rolled up to the front to watch that, and he did seem to watch.

I'd just bring snacks and hope he can see the show well! Rowan also likes Barney (although we don't watch it at home, they sometimes show it at daycare in the "free time" when everyone is being dropped off/picked up), but I noticed some mornings they have Barney concert footage on and he is not interested.

But a month or two ago one of the ladies at daycare had taken her 28-month old to a Dora concert and she apparently loved it.