Trapped toddler parents of the fabled Winter 2020/2021. Puddle suits at the ready..hello Christmas!

[footprintsintheslow]

New thread as the other one is running out.

A place to find find and share ideas of how to get through these crazy times with lockdowns and babies and toddlers.

New members welcome.

[PinkDaydreams]

Morning all!
I put a fresh batch of water beads in to soak last night........well I have an ocean of them!!!! I forgot how little are actually needed 😂

[footprintsintheslow]

@PinkDaydreams oh really? I've never ever used them. What would you say is a good amount then?

[OverTheRainbow88]

My imagination is running dry... as is my gin store

[Postmanbear]

@PinkDaydreams what do you do with the water beads? Do they make a mess?
The biggest success here recently has been making our own wrapping paper. I bought 10m of plain brown paper from Sainsburys and we’ve done big sheets of it on the kitchen floor. Picture attached. Not for you if you like elegant presents!!

[PinkDaydreams]

With the water beads he likes scooping them into different sized cups and bowls and dropping them from a bit of a height so that they bounce. No not messy at all, I keep them in a tuppaware with a piece of kitchen roll in the bottom. I used a fifty pence size last night and honestly there are so many!! I forgot how much they grow.

@Postmanbear the Christmas paper is lovely! I've wrapped everything now but I will probably do that for next year and also birthday presents

[ReallySpicyCurry]

I can't believe we're on thread 2 already.

We've made all our own Christmas cards - bought a set of plain brown Kraft paper cards and envelopes, plus a ton of embellishments and glitter, and let DD loose with the glue stick.

We've also collected holly and made wreaths

Mud and Bloom box came for this month, complete with mung beans for sprouting.

Lots and lots and lots of walking in the woods.

Also I've discovered the joys of ICING PENS. Did everyone else know about these? They've taken our Christmas biscuits to a whole new level.

I'm doing a toy rotation today, it's going to be rainy so I'm glad I have a fresh batch of rotated puzzles to bring out again

[PinkDaydreams]

Toy rotation here too this morning!
Toddler has been replaced by the devil in the night I'm sure of it, he's being a right moany hole and it's going to be a very long day! Waterproofs on later I think for a splash in the puddles.

[Camomila]

Thanks for the new thread

It's pouring with rain here, so we've got all the toy trains set up in DS1 ones room away from the baby.

Might make myself another coffee then tackle the mountain of laundry.

[Lostthetastefordahlias]

Thanks to whoever recommended the bing wreath - we are doing that this week! Also noticed the Gruffalo website has some good printables - not Christmas themed but may be useful!

[Motherofmonsters]

Morning everyone,

Just checking in. Nothing to exciting happening in our house at the moment. Mostly just playing with all the boxes that are being delivered!

[Camomila]

Also I've discovered the joys of ICING PENS. Did everyone else know about these? They've taken our Christmas biscuits to a whole new level.

I did but I love baking. I'm getting freeze dried fruit powders to make colourful (but not too unhealthy) buttercream as my present from DH for Christmas...I'll report back on if they work well or not

[MonkeyPuddle]

Ah thanks for making thread two!!

[prettygirlincrimsonrose]

Thanks for the new thread. Icing pens sound like a lot of fun.

Spent a lot of yesterday in the park and introduced DS to the original Alice and Wonderland film.

Today I thought inside day but its tough getting him doing anything for very long. Finally got a tuff tray and had some success with foam shapes, water and the kitchen window and a One Snowy Night set up, and today with lots of tubs of dried things to mix up and 'cook' with, but it's all still pretty limited and then he inevitably asks to do something I'm trying to avoid (more screen time than I'd like, going to the waterfalls when I'd prefer not to). More generally it doesn't feel like he really plays as such. He's only just three and I've seen him absorbed for longer outside (all we need there is stones and a stream), so hopefully it'll get better.

Impressed by all the focused activities

[footprintsintheslow]

Tough day in our house. Christmas tree going up + one grumpy bastard husband = tears from me.

Got the tree up decorated in the end minus the husband who was ill/sulking upstairs. I just want things to be fun and joyful is that too much to ask?

Put the tuff spot away so at least that's one less bit of mess.

[Postmanbear]

@footprintsintheslow there’s something about putting up Christmas decorations that turns my DH into a grumpy arse too.
I hope things have improved or at the very least you’ve had a glass of wine!

Painful weekend here. It’s been raining the whole time. Forced them out for a walk both days anyway but everything is soaked through including the pram. I hate tier 3 and I hate winter!!

[DonkeyMcFluff]

I’m having a really hard time at the moment. I had a job and a nursery place lined up for Easter 2020,
both had to be cancelled because my mum and I are high risk. So I’m stuck at home with a toddler and his behaviour is unmanageable. I don’t want to be a SAHM, I’m supposed to be at work enjoying my life.

My husband is out at work all day and basically doesn’t give a shit that I’m struggling. If I express my feelings he just says “well I put him to bed every night so you get a break”, or “he’s getting better at playing by himself so it can’t be that hard for you”. As if that makes it ok. No fucking understanding of why I’m struggling with being trapped at home with a toddler every day and no concern about my feelings. I explained that I want to be at work not stuck at home, and he said “well do something about it then”. As if I can just forget about my health issues and fucking waltz into a job during a pandemic. I am literally on the verge of a breakdown and I want a divorce.

[Lostthetastefordahlias]

Sorry to hear that Donkey I am also stuck at home due to health issues and I sympathise - it is awful sometimes. Hope things improve for you.

[footprintsintheslow]

@DonkeyMcFluff that sounds bloody awful and I bet it feels never ending right now. Can you get any respite from anyone?

[MessAllOver]

Just joining. We had a wet and windy day at the seaside yesterday which was lovely... met granny and grandad for a walk and blew out all the cobwebs. There was a hairy moment when duly puddlesuited DS was swept over by a big wave, but he didn't seem to mind!

We're finishing our house renovations this week - I'm looking forward to having a tidy house again! Hoping that will inspire us to do some more Christmas crafts. We've done biscuits and Christmas-themed colouring in and read lots of Christmas books but not a lot more so far. Going to try to do Christmas-tree footprints today.

Our local garden centre has a Santa's grotto so we visited at the weekend - turns out DS is afraid of Santa, though, so that worked well .

@DonkeyMcFluff. I had a job and a nursery place lined up for Easter 2020, both had to be cancelled because my mum and I are high risk. So I’m stuck at home with a toddler and his behaviour is unmanageable.

That sounds really tough. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without part-time nursery for a DS, who is very high energy and needs an outlet for that. How old is your LO? I think the only real answer is to tire the little buggers out - on my days with DS, we always try to do a playground trip or walk in the morning so he's burnt off his energy and then have quieter afternoons. We've also moved the toddler slide inside to give him an outlet for his energy indoors. But it is tough . Can you get any help?

[DonkeyMcFluff]

Can you get any respite from anyone?
My mum used to help. We had formed a support bubble and I brought her to my house every other day so she could have a change of scenery and spend an hour with her GDC while I got on with other stuff. But lately she’s started taking stupid risks because it’s Christmas and she simply has to see people and give them presents. She’ll get vaccinated shortly and I told her it seems stupid to take risks now after being safe since Feb. I was angry because she’s been swanning around taking risks and then she came to my home and put me at risk too. So now she’s not speaking to me because I dared to be angry about her putting me at risk.

[TakeMeToYourLiar]

Can I join?

DS4 usually at nursery, but pulled him out as have a c section on 30th

So now we are sort of isolating.

My usual child entertainment is soft play, swimming, zoos or theme parks, so I'm feeling a bit out of my depth.

He needs a lot of exercise, but it's December and I'm 37 weeks pregnant

[JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff]

Is this thread for all toddler-owners or mostly focused on those at home with them? don't want to intrude!

I have DD1 nearly 6yo and twins who are 2y10m. I escaped back to work when they were 6mos old but still have the joy of weekends, bedtimes, night wakings etc etc.

Currently trying to figure out how to reduce the Mountain Of Chaos that is our living room, which has small fragments of every toy known to man, and potty train twins............

[JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff]

TakeMe my twins have a Scuttlebug which they ride endlessly round the dining room. Does it drive me insane? HELL YES. Does it burn off energy though...........? I'll take it.

[prettygirlincrimsonrose]

@JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff I only have three days a week with DS - I think everyone's welcome who has to cope with toddlers at least some of the time. We've just been through potty training (admittedly only the one). Tough at first but pretty much followed oh crap approach and it didn't take too long (although we're now dealing with DS's attempts to help empty the potty if we don't get there quick enough).

@footprintsintheslow so annoying, hope you at least got an apology for the grumpiness

@DonkeyMcFluff that sounds tough, and that's an appalling attitude from your husband. Does he give you any time to yourself at the weekends? And hopefully your mum will realise she's being a bit thoughtless with putting you at risk. Agree with trying to get outside if possible, but I know I struggle to do that when I'm tired, it's miserable weather and I'm worried about having to deal with difficult behaviour, so lots of sympathy. Any friends you could meet at the park maybe? Or someone to vent to a bit about his behaviour? But all of it does sound really tough

[LittleMissLockdown]

Morning all. Thanks for the new thread.

We had a hectic weekend but the small human is now offically a year old. We didn't have anyone round due to being in tier 3. Whilst it was lovley to just have us all at home celebrating it was a little anticlimactic. He seemed to enjoy himself though so I suppose that's all that matters.

I don’t want to be a SAHM, I’m supposed to be at work enjoying my life.

Just wanted to say this resonates so much with me. I was meant to go back to work in September and covid had other ideas. People say I should be grateful to be able to be at home but I think it's very different when it's not through choice.