Trapped Toddler Parents of Winter 2020/21 Support Thread - Puddlesuits at the ready!

[ReallySpicyCurry]

Are you the parent of a small child who doesn't yet sit still for more than five minutes? Do local lockdowns mean there are no baby and toddler groups for miles? Are you sick of walking the same three routes every day since March? Then come and join our support thread! I have started this after some of us had a good moan on a thread in AIBU ("To be worried about staying sane stuck inside all winter with a 2 year old?") because I thought it might be nice to share ideas/activities/general moans and concerns, over what is probably going to be a tricky winter for those of us with babies and toddlers.

Don't forget the answer to all your prayers though... The ever reliable puddlesuit. Puddlesuits are absolutely mandatory this year, and you are expected to wrestle your child into one and make them jump in puddles daily. If your child goes blue with cold, administer a swift dose of hot chocolate and hope your local Amazon delivery driver gets move on with your latest order of kinetic sand/playdough/ball pit/stickers. Failing all else, Peppa Pig is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, in October as in March.

Big loves and booze and snacks to those having shitty days.
We are in cluster feeding hell at the minute. I’ve had a good cry today as DS who’s 3.5 is clearly struggling with the adjustment to having a sibling. We’ve been having lots of cuddles and reading stories.
Have ordered a cement mixing tray. Fuck it. Guilt buying stuff now.
Got a pizza menu through the letter box the other day, have cut the pictures out and will set him up with a glue stick and get him to make a pizza poster on Thursday (he’s at nursery tomorrow) and we’ll make pizza for tea. God bless Asda ready roll pizza base.

@MonkeyPuddle you must be day 4 or 5 now? I think almost everyone has a weepy day around then. Lots of chocolate and drinks for you too.

(when DS2 was 4 or 5 days old he made a weird jerky movement and I called the maternity ward thinking he was having a fit....he was working out how to burp )

We had a nice day yesterday, went for a 2h walk with mum and DS2 round the park with a thermos of coffee and then DS1 and I finally got round to making quiche after he came back from school , he decorated the top with buscuit cutters and the scraps of ready-roll pastry (though DS1 did gave himself a tummy ache from eating 3 slices)

Hi all, fell off the thread for a bit as DC2 was born last Thursday, on her due date unbelievably! She was 9lb 2oz so turns out the scan was accurate! She’s been a bit jaundiced and tongue tied (had it cut on Monday) so it’s been a hard few days with feeding and need to make sure she’s making some good gains by her next weigh in. DS (2.5) is really acting up and I feel awful for him but also so exhausted. DH has 2 weeks off so I have another week before I’m on my own with them both - need to start storing up ideas now!

Slowly losing the will with a 20 month old!

Hi all, fell off the thread for a bit as DC2 was born last Thursday

Awww congratulations, take it easy and don't forget to scoff at any given opportunity!!

On a side note, this thread has lots of baby mascots, I think we're on 3 now.

Congratulations @FolkSongSweet and sorry to hear you've had such a tough time !

Congratulations @FolkSongSweet!

Totally get the new baby guilt. DS is nearly 6 months so needs less attention but I now feel like they're both not getting much attention when DD is at nursery. It doesn't help that DS is nosey and won't breastfeed or sleep well when DDs home

Well I've just tested positive so 14days isolation with DS and DD. Going to be a long couple of weeks.

Congratulations sweetfolk*

Well I've just tested positive so 14days isolation with DS and DD. Going to be a long couple of weeks.

We're here if you need us, just shout if you need one of us to send you a supermarket shops worth of and

@FolkSongSweet congratulations!

@MonkeyPuddle crying sounds like a totally normal and reasonable thing to do! It is such an adjustment for everyone, but it does get better.

Just had preschool phone to say they’re closed... that buggers up my plans for a toddler-free day (exciting things like a doctors appointment and going to the post office). Just hoping they don’t have to stay closed for the full two weeks - DS isn’t in on the same day as the child who has tested positive, but it’s likely that they’ll have too many staff self isolating to stay open.

Am seriously considering a patio heater so baby and I can sit in the garden with DS - he won’t play on his own with me watching from the kitchen unfortunately. Maybe we need a fire pit for s’mores...

Congratulations @FolkSongSweet!

@Motherofmonsters you and me both. Well I've not tested positive, just isolating as a close contact. But yes. Fun times.

@WeSearchedHereWeSearchedThere
Honestly I'm thinking the same. We have a fire pit but it's small, rusty and very open and I'm not sure it would work with DD with just me around because it's a bit awkward. Also I have to light a fire in the house as it is every day and cba doing one up the back. Camping stove would be ok for yew but not heat.

Basically my garden is extremely long and up steps on a bit of a hill, our patio is the other end of the garden from the house. It's also not really a patio, it's a cement base where a workshop once stood, but anyway it's where we have seats and ride ons for DD and where I have my sheds and potting bench. So that's where we usually end up in the garden and it's actually miles away, like a good 200 foot from the house and the ground is really bumpy under foot as the whole place was a wreck when we moved in. So when we're up there we tend to want to stay up there

Tea not yew fgs autocorrect

Congratulations @FolkSongSweet !

and for everyone positive or isolating. I am feeling extremely fed up today, our mayor has closed all parks and public gardens (not in the U.K.), so even puddlejumping will be limited to local streets and our communal driveway. We can’t leave the local area so no woods, beach, mountain walks either, and no seeing friends even for socially distanced walks. I understand the logic but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be really tough.

Anyway, rant over. Yesterday we made hedgehog bread - brilliant idea, thank you.
Then we played at being hedgehogs hiding under dried leaves.Then made play dough hedgehogs with dried spaghetti. Drew some scribble hedgehogs. And finally read ‘Peace at Last’ (featuring a hedgehog) four times then DS passed out. Only the bread was my suggestion, the boy likes a theme more than me!

Congratulations @FolkSongSweet! What a chunky baby! I love a chunky baby.
Feeling what you are with the clingy older child. We’re doing 1-2-1 love bombing with DS when DD is asleep, five mins of musical statues, orchard games, doing drawing together. Also DP is taking him to the park for a good 1.5 hours each day to give him a run around.
And lots of telly and stories, things I can do from the comfort of the sofa.

Aww congratulations @FolkSongSweet!
Same exact age gap between my two. DD really was very miffed at me for the first couple of weeks. Now she’s really herself again but it was horrible. We got through with a combination of love bombing and gritted teeth!
Today we did more leaf prints and leaf collecting in the park so I could get the baby to sleep. Then we killed a good hour this afternoon playing ‘baby and toddler group’ mainly so I could show some attention to baby DS. We laid out a couple of blankets in the living room and lots of DD’s teddies came to baby group too. Of course they all needed nappy changes/feeds while there!
I’ve felt too tired for anything more interesting today. Really need this 4 month sleep regression/teething nonsense to fuck off so that I can get more than 40 minutes of sleep at a stretch.

@FolkSongSweet wonderful news, congratulations. Stick the tv on and go easy on yourself!

@Daisymaze what's happening with the 20month old?

@Motherofmonsters ffs what a nightmare how do you think you've caught that then?

@WeSearchedHereWeSearchedThere I'm considering having a shelter built. I looked at gazebos but for the money is it really worth it when they'll break after a few window days? I'd rather put the money towards something more sturdy although it would be a stretch for us. Beater sounds nice but for me it's more about the rain and wind.

We've been to the park for 6 hours today. I had my friends toddler too. Both toddlers are potty training so collectively we've had four accidents... 3 poos and 1 wee... the wee was me as the pelvic floor is shot this pregnancy. Plus the park toilets are closed for winter now which I didn't know until after I'd drank a litre flask!

I knew it was time to go home when all three of us needed changing and everyone had run out of spare clothes and wet wipes.

So great to be out after a strict lockdown here. I'm working tomorrow and swimming in the afternoon so no tuff spot action here I doubt. Too tired to think of anything now anyway.

Congratulations @FolkSongSweet! Agree with others it’s hard for the older sibling to begin with, but doesn’t last long. DS1 adores his baby brother now.

@LassoOfTruth I feel for you- I could have written your last sentence! Went out to buy bongela this afternoon but no idea if 4 month old DS is so bloody grumpy due to teeth or the fact he clearly did not get the memo about humans needing sleep.

A good day today after the horror show of apathy that was yesterday.

Today was officially Hedgehog Day.

We made

• hedgehog bread (along with everyone else on the thread recently)
• Hedgehog craft (Baker Ross autumn hedgehog decoration kit)
• Coloured in free hedgehog printables
• Stuck some googly eyes onto pinecone "hedgehogs", threw some fake autumn leaves and some kindling sticks from the log store into the tuff tray and played hedgehog hibernation
• did a sort of circle time with Autumn themed books and songs - "The hedgehog is very prickly" courtesy of a lovely lady called Dany Rosevear who records herself singing all the proper nursery songs on her YouTube channel, complete with guitar and dollies. She is basically the older hippy reception teacher everyone should have
• Made chicken and dumpling soup. DD spent about twenty minutes cutting scallions for me, and a very good job she did too.
• Fifteen minutes in the garden, just enough time to retrieve the toy trucks and to pick some dill. The weather is atrocious and DD just isn't having it, when she knows perfectly well there's a warm fire and her toys in the house.

All in all I'm happy with today. DD is currently in the bath with the trucks, giving them a wash- tomorrow I'm going to give the trucks and rice krispies in the tuff tray a try (good grief that alliteration) so I can do some cleaning

I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to know there are other people out there who swerve between Instagram worthy, early years framework compatible activities, and horror shows of apathy!

I think I’m going to have to try this hedgehog bread...

@footprintsintheslow you sound like superwoman to me, six hours in the park with two toddlers?!

@LassoOfTruth we like a bit of Baby Club here, DS likes to clap his baby brothers hands etc, we may have to copy your teddy bears baby club!

Today’s plan of action includes gluing and sticking cut up takeaway menu pictures. DS is very food motivated so he’ll love this (she says confidently!), making pizza for tea. I buy the ready roll out pizza base and we spend ages precision topping it with various different things, good for scissor and knife practice. We always eat pizza off a blanket in the sitting room. Exciting in itself.
We’re going to give DD her first bath today, DS is in charge of washing her feet and her toes, he is taking this role very seriously so far.

I think I might do a cut and stick collage as well today. Sadly our local takeaways don't do nice glossy leaflets, this month's Gardeners World mag is going to be sacrificed.

The wind and rain seem to have stopped at last (after three days) so we might actually get longer than ten minutes in the garden

Apart from that, it's trucks in rice krispies, and rice krispie bun making.

My mum has bought Christmas decoration kits from Home Bargains and is going to fire them through the door later.

I’d love to be able to send DS out into the garden for 10 mins sometimes, we’ve got a huge window I could watch him from but we rent our house and the owner hasn’t put a fence up so it’s entirely open to next door/the road and frankly I can’t be arsed to go out there with him at 10days post c section.
I’ve ordered some Christmas craft packs off baker Ross (thanks to whoever mentioned them), I’m not very crafty/imaginative so need sets.
DS has asked to do jigsaws, so jigsaws it is. He’s struggling with the transition of having a sibling and is being very ‘no’ to everything so I’m jumping on the fact he made a suggestion himself.

@footsprintinthesnow. I have no idea where I picked it up? I'm a SAHM so I don't particularly go anywhere.

DS is going loopy today so I think we need to go out and do laps of the garden. We have a trampoline but he refuses to use it which is a shame.

I haven't given him scissors yet so maybe it's something I should get him. Cutting up magazines sounds like a good activity.

I might brave the hedgehog bread, I haven't made bread before so should be interesting

@MonkeyPuddle I sympathise my toddler is finding the transition really hard.

Any tips for 1 year olds? Can't yet walk, just crawling everywhere. I am bored to tears and it takes ages to set anything up so not sure where to start!

Walks to our park (which include the obligatory pram nap) and back then playing in the front room, helping mummy make lunch/dinner aren't going to sustain me forever.