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9/26/2012 6:12:22 PM

Unexpected parenting superpower number 142: the ability to identify fully chewed items and assess their danger level in the few seconds you're able to pry open a child's mouth.

9/29/2012 9:53:52 AM

Train those little boogers to hand whatever is in their mouth to you. Josh magically did this with our 15 month old vacuum cleaner and it's made life so much less stressful.

9/29/2012 10:37:15 AM

I've got James to where he'll at least open wide if not just pull it out and hand it to me.

Sadly, my cunning plan of "herd training" the boys doesn't work since David is just trying to get James to not give in to my request.

They're stubborn lil' stinkers. I don't have ANY idea where they get it from.

10/3/2012 12:38:49 AM

^^ haha did he do it the same way you train dogs to do it? I always think it's funny when the dog gives us a reproachful look after we've told her to "leave it" to whatever foreign object is in her mouth as she spits it out.

[Edited on October 3, 2012 at 8:01 AM. Reason : /]

10/3/2012 8:00:59 AM

I have a question for all the parents...

Shopping Cart Covers for babies/toddlers:
- are they worth buying, or are they just a gimmick?
- do they work well and fit most carts (esp. Harris Teeter, Target)?
- if worth buying, what brand would you recommend?

I'm expecting my first baby in March and can't decide whether to put one on the registry.

10/11/2012 6:47:41 PM

I think they are a hassle (got one, hated it...want to buy mine?) and figure since he's not in daycare he could use the extra exposure to germs.

10/11/2012 6:59:30 PM

If I don't get one as a gift but decide I want to try one, I might take you up on the offer if you still have it by the time I need it. What brand is yours?

10/11/2012 7:28:53 PM

I have 2 kids and 3 shopping cart covers.

I love them. I think that they're extremely easy to use. All of the cart covers I've owned (Eddie Bauer & Taggies) are easy to throw on using one hand and then plop the kid down with your other hand. It's primarily a matter of comfort for my little babies unsteadily sitting in the cart and later on chewing on the cart. I have to admit that I am biased because both of my kids have a primary immune deficiency and I like a barrier between my kid and all the nose pickers and butt scratchers of the world, but I also don't think that my little ones are terribly comfortable sitting, chewing, or bumping around in hard metal and plastic shopping carts.

That said, I don't think that they're important enough to really worry about or shop around for. Just buy a $20 cart cover at Target and be done with it. I don't think that an expensive vs. cheap one really makes much of a difference.

10/11/2012 9:48:09 PM

I mostly found ours to be extra crap to carry around. I think they got used two or three times on shopping carts that had been sitting out in the sun and in restaurants shortly after the boys started in high chairs. For us they had a lifespan of about a month.

10/11/2012 10:35:09 PM

We used one briefly for our first, got one as a gift for our second but I don't think we ever used it. I agree with Tim, it's just something else to carry around.

10/11/2012 11:24:52 PM

3^ we have the infantino cloud cart cover in the numbers print. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0040GJ0VU

10/12/2012 7:56:40 AM

16 mos seems early for full on toddler tantrums and hitting :-/ at least the biting seems to have stopped/slowed down. between this and acrobatic injuries, our hands are full. definitely will hold off for number 2.

10/24/2012 10:06:47 AM

Our experience has been that "The Terrible Twos" means the 2nd year of life rather than when they're 2.

When they're 2 they start responding to positive and negative reinforcement. My son is 18 months and he's an asshole. His favorite game is saying "NO" when you ask him if he wants something and then crying when you don't give it to him.

[Edited on October 24, 2012 at 1:39 PM. Reason : th]

10/24/2012 1:38:53 PM

Kids of all ages have tantrums or play the No! game. 2 is supposed to be something different. We're a month into two and so far most of their difficult behavior has been a result of an increased sense of curiousity (plus being able to reach higher) or ultimately attributable to molar teething.

The molar teething cannot feel good, especially while transitioning away from the pacifier.

10/25/2012 3:10:59 PM

i've seen some pacifiers at target made my tommee tippee that look like little tiny mouth guards (like for sports), designed for kids to chew on. kinda funny looking

10/25/2012 4:16:27 PM

Neither of my kids logged much pacifier time because I really hate them. I have some pretty crazy out there opinions of them that no one wants to hear. But we've completely skipped the pacifier battle with our two even though I wasn't able to entirely avoid my little ones being introduced to the little germ factories.

I told my husband that his one and only job at the birth of our daughter was to keep a pacifier out of her mouth. She was blue at birth and rushed off to the NICU, so I didn't get to see or hold her. The first images I saw of her were a video taken with my mother in law cramming a pacifier in her mouth because she was looking to nurse.

10/25/2012 4:49:39 PM

I gave up on worrying about potential germ factories (and consider us fortunate to be able to not worry abou tit). There's no way to effectively stop the boys from shoving stuff in their mouths.

Best I've been able to do is make sure they keep sharp things away from their heads.

10/25/2012 6:17:00 PM

Neither of our children took pacifiers either, even with us trying. I kind of wish they had. But I'm glad I don't have to break them of it either.

10/26/2012 11:07:17 AM

Quote :

"I told my husband that his one and only job at the birth of our daughter was to keep a pacifier out of her mouth. She was blue at birth and rushed off to the NICU, so I didn't get to see or hold her. The first images I saw of her were a video taken with my mother in law cramming a pacifier in her mouth because she was looking to nurse."

See this sort of thing is why I'm really apprehensive to tell anyone I'm in the hospital until after everything is said and done. I have heard SO MANY stories from friends of family members or friends pulling stunts in the hospital. Plus I just don't like the idea of a bunch of people hanging around a hospital waiting room waiting to pounce upon me and the baby as soon as I pop her out.

10/26/2012 11:16:41 AM

we were against pacifiers before parker was born. nicu gave her one bc she would cry a lot & wasn't hungry or something idk. that's all kinda fuzzy to me now. anyway, we continued to use them bc they calm her down (she's a hysterical/dramatic kind of baby & VERY VERY loud) & it's much easier to wash a pacifier than a tiny infant fist that won't open, & you can toss a pacifier but they'll have their thumbs for forever. to each their own though.

10/26/2012 11:32:17 AM

we were debating the pacifier until we talked to the pediatrician... he gave his kids them and they turned out fine, and we would rather have her put the pacifier in her mouth than her hands all the time.

10/26/2012 11:46:06 AM

The only time pacifiers really bother me is when you see school-aged kids still using them. When I worked in a toy store you would see that a lot and it really bothered me. That can't be good at all for their teeth at that age.

10/26/2012 11:48:25 AM

we refused pacifiers in the hospital except during his hearing test. when he was colicky/refluxy (i hear ya on hysterical and very very loud 73...) we tried to give him a paci but he would never take it. i have one photo of him using his wub-a-nub, and he used it for all of 5 minutes. it was breast, bottle, thumb, or nothing at all. he's a thumb sucker, but only when he's sleepy so i'm not anticipating getting him to stop will be that big of a deal. no cries in the middle of the night b/c he lost his paci...his thumb is right there. i'm also not super anal about washing his hands or using antibacterial wipes. only time he's been sick was HFMD.

10/26/2012 4:04:46 PM

I'm not anal about washing things, but what I had in mind was the dark lint that Parker gets stuck all in her hands somehow. It's yucky

10/26/2012 5:52:21 PM

i was speaking in general terms of dirty paci v dirty hands in mouth...not directed to you specifically.

10/26/2012 7:31:51 PM

Any alternates for a bulb syringe for a stopped up kid that can't blow his nose yet? I doubt he'd like the Neti pot much better.

12/6/2012 10:27:44 AM

Have you tried little noses?

12/6/2012 11:57:23 AM

I just picked some up! A mom on my fb suggested it...fingers crossed
Also got vapor rub and a vapor plug in since our humidifier can't take vapor steam

12/6/2012 2:50:49 PM

Yeah, little noses or just make some saline solution. For fuck's sake boil the water before you use it (and let it cool of course. ).

12/6/2012 3:52:57 PM

THIS


saline drops never did it for parker. only this spray.

and THIS



it's gross but it's magical

[Edited on December 6, 2012 at 4:31 PM. Reason : ]

12/6/2012 4:30:26 PM

i had a friend suggest that particular sucker on my status earlier this am...she took it down b/c she was sad she grossed other people out i have another friend that used it as well and swore by it, so i get it, but i can't get past the grossness factor.

12/6/2012 4:46:13 PM

i wasn't really wild about using it, but after she got so stopped up that she couldn't breathe through her nose at all, but still wanted a pacifier to soothe herself (and was completely belligerent otherwise), i gave in. one of the best baby products i've purchased. it's amazing how much you can get out of them. it doesn't get into your mouth.

chris's grandma used to just suck it out with her mouth, directly. now that is

seriously though, i'd give it a shot. the simply saline for babies works way better than drops imo. i think bc it can get further up in their little sinuses. also cranking the shower to as hot as it'll go & closing the door, putting a towel at the bottom of the door, & just standing in there w/ the kid works pretty well. we'll seal up the hall bathroom & turn on the shower while we bathe her in her tub on the counter.

12/6/2012 4:55:19 PM

Both of my kids love the Johnson and Johnson's vapor bath.

I'm also going to put a vote in for the Simply Saline spray. With little noses nose drops, I have to fight the kids to use it. It wasn't easily introduced because of the weird sucking squirting sound it makes if you choose to spray it. With the Simply Saline, it's a quiet fine mist that I was able to gently introduce to them until they accepted it. My son likes to play with the spray misting me and them himself before I spray it into his nose.

I've heard lots of awesome things about the NoseFrida, but haven't tried it. My son likes the Graco Nasal Aspirator that's battery powered. It plays music while it sucks. I put him in a hot vapor bath and then suck snot with the aspirator in between splashing and playing. It's not awesome, but he liked it and it didn't freak him out.



[Edited on December 6, 2012 at 5:21 PM. Reason : ,]

12/6/2012 5:21:03 PM

OK. Double post, but I bought the NoseFrida a couple of hours ago and tried it with my sick babies. It is pretty awesome and the kids were perfectly OK with it.

12/6/2012 8:55:07 PM

Anyone have any good [medical] sources/articles related on giving lip balm to toddlers? Only stuff I could find was by companies that make lip balm.

1/4/2013 7:17:25 PM

I would use Vaseline or lansinoh at this point.

But take a look at this for more info on various products. It's the cosmetic database. http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

Hi btw. Miss you guys.

1/5/2013 8:36:44 AM

^^aquaphor?

1/7/2013 11:10:13 AM

You can use Lanolin or Vaseline. At least, those are the two products that they have had us use in the hospital with Silas post oral surgery to keep his lips moist.

1/7/2013 11:41:12 AM

Anybody have any recommendations on preschools? My wife and are thinking we want to put our son (currently 16 months) in preschool in the fall and know some schools have waiting lists and such, so we figured we'd better get started.

I appreciate any input you guys have...

1/14/2013 12:41:46 PM

I was really impressed by the Kids-R-Kids we toured for our soon-to-be Kindergartner's after-school care. We're moving our 2-year old to their daycare/preschool later this year.

Very high-tech, great rating, low teacher/kid ratios, but very expensive.

1/14/2013 2:30:57 PM

^^now I feel behind looking at 18 mos for the fall

1/14/2013 3:41:29 PM

Are there any couples inviting their parents to help taking care of babies? I have some conflicts with the in-laws from China.

1/14/2013 8:25:52 PM

I didn't invite my mom or MIL, but they offered to help out after our son was born. My MIL never came for a week like she said, but my mom came over a lot (she lives here--much easier to pop in) when I needed her so I could get extra sleep. It helped, but I think you gotta make it clear what you need/want and the family coming to help needs to absolutely 100% respect it or send em packing. There's no time for added drama with newborns.

1/14/2013 11:26:21 PM

I should post my issue earlier, now I regret for inviting them to come here. It's like a disaster to me. They occupy the house and want to get me out. The MIL keeps on blaming me for not working yet and wants to separate me and my wife and grab the baby.
You are right. There's no extra drama for the newborn. She's only 1.5 month old.
The MIL is my nightmare now, while FIL is relatively fine. They will stay in US for another 4 months. I wish they can leave earlier. They are overstaying.
Now I just try to ignore the MIL, though she keeps getting under my skin sometimes.

[Edited on January 14, 2013 at 11:42 PM. Reason : add another note]

1/14/2013 11:35:28 PM

How to deal with relation of my partner while her parents are here and the newborn is aside? This is an important issue. Although it has been 1.5 month after the delivery, my wife is still very impatient and bad-tempered. She likes to quarrel with me even in front of the baby and her parents. This is much worse than only we two are arguing. It could trigger a family war.
Now I just keep cool-headed and try to tolerate her.

1/15/2013 10:04:07 AM

Anyone have a kid that pukes for attention? What do you do? I try to clean him up and send him to bed, but during all that he is definitely getting some attention. He is 5.

1/29/2013 10:58:49 AM

Make him clean it up. Make him put his clothes in the wash, dress himself, and then hand him what he needs to clean up the floor.

Silas doesn't vomit for attention, but he does like to throw food in the floor and step on it. I make him clean it all up on his own.

1/29/2013 4:17:21 PM

<rant>
"No, mother, what our son has learned from the iPad are the skills needed to interact with the iPad. Swipe, touch, maybe even some hand-eye coordination? Sure. Words, colors, shapes, etc.? That's two parents busting their ass, not the fucking iPad."
</rant>

1/31/2013 10:18:22 PM

Hey Guys!

I have been away from this thread for a while, but I have an urgent question. My Son is not walking yet, but he is scooting around rather quickly by pushing his walker/stroller. One thing that my wife an I are concerned about is that he always walk with his right foot pointed out to this side like a club. He never has both of his feet parallel to his walking path.

Is this normal or could it be an issue?

2/3/2013 1:33:31 PM