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.

Just a quick one, I've seen this morning in Sainsbury's and thought of this thread, fleece lined green puddle suits half price, £7.

@OhToBeASeahorse I’m not sure what to do apart from give him lots of attention and boundaries, keep the routine as much as I can. It’s hard isn’t it.

@Lelophants pop a big towel down on the floor and some tupperwares with a bit of water in, washing up liquid and let them splash some toys about.
Bunch of random crap collected from round the house and popped into a basket.
Story time under a blanket/in your bed.
Day time bath.
Pans and wooden spoons (bonus if you don’t like your neighbours!)

I don’t do stuff that takes ages to set up as it’s soul destroying when they won’t play with it.
We had jigsaws this morning and DS has spent an hour playing with a bag of orzo and his diggers and helicopter.

Congratulations @FolkSongSweet!

[Lelophants] Do you have any older DC? DS2s favourite activity is playing (bashing/biting under close supervision) with DS1s toys when he's at school.
If not, I'm sure an assortment of your stuff is probably just as fun (eg, wooden spoon, spatula, maybe a note book to rip etc)

I know what you mean though, we do loops of the park but he sleeps through it so it feels like he hasn't done anything.

[quote MonkeyPuddle]@Lelophants pop a big towel down on the floor and some tupperwares with a bit of water in, washing up liquid and let them splash some toys about.
Bunch of random crap collected from round the house and popped into a basket.
Story time under a blanket/in your bed.
Day time bath.
Pans and wooden spoons (bonus if you don’t like your neighbours!)

I don’t do stuff that takes ages to set up as it’s soul destroying when they won’t play with it.
We had jigsaws this morning and DS has spent an hour playing with a bag of orzo and his diggers and helicopter.[/quote]
Thank you! These little things help.

@Camomila

Congratulations *@FolkSongSweet*!

[Lelophants] Do you have any older DC? DS2s favourite activity is playing (bashing/biting under close supervision) with DS1s toys when he's at school.
If not, I'm sure an assortment of your stuff is probably just as fun (eg, wooden spoon, spatula, maybe a note book to rip etc)

I know what you mean though, we do loops of the park but he sleeps through it so it feels like he hasn't done anything.

I dont, so this is all new. Hopefully it'll help when he can run around a bit. Glad to know it's not just me.

@MonkeyPuddle @OhToBeASeahorse my daughter found it very difficult to transition to having a new sibling. Lots of tantrums, sleep regression and hitting. We just kept the routine, made time for 1:1 stuff as best we could and gritted our teeth. It was so much better by a month and now 3.5 months in she loves her sister. It's so hard though!

I hope so. We are 5 weeks in and seem to be getting worse not better

I've defrosted the freezer with a hairdryer and used it as a learning opportunity to teach DD about things melting (playing with chunks of ice kept her nicely occupied)

We've been in the garden for an hour, planting kale. We have made rice krispie buns. We've had lunch. DD washed her toys in the sink while I cleaned the bathroom. We've spent ages playing shop.

It isn't even 2pm yet!

Today has mostly been them fighting to sit on me, it's exhausting.

DS is struggling with DD being so much more mobile. I need DD to walk so she doesn't want to just climb on me constantly. I'm very touched out today.

We've played outside with the mud kitchen and chased after bubbles for our fresh air and made the hedgehog bread. (Not that they look like they should). DS is now burying his toy cars in kinetic sand and DD is still climbing on me.

It isn't even 2pm yet!

Oh I totally feel like this today.

We went on a very very long walk, 2 hours each way and found 2 new parks to play at. We've also trashed the nursery, trashed the living room and screamed because he doesnt understand the concept of glass (he's headbutted the door panels several times today assuming he could juat crawl through them).

He's now finally napping and somehow its still not even 4pm!

I need DD to walk so she doesn't want to just climb on me constantly. I'm very touched out today.

Mind if I join you on the frustrated how the fuck are you still not walking for the love of god stop touching me bench? I promise to sit at the other end and keep my hands to myself.

@littlemiss. Come on over! I'm kinda glad someone else gets the frustration of it to. I feel like I'm going slowly insane. Fingers crossed they both walk soon. DS was well away before his first birthday, DD is in absolutely no hurry

No worries @Lelophants it’s really hard work! I think threads like these are really important to highlight we are only human and trying our best and that is enough.

I’m making myself satay away from social media at the minute as I know if I look at insta perfect parenting I’ll struggle even more.

@ElectricEels and @OhToBeASeahorse I do hope things get better soon, it’s intense this first part.

All my grand plans got waylaid today, DD and I had a 4 hour nap instead. DP was on chief 3 year old duty, they spent ages making and colouring in paper planes and then launching them into a wash basket which I thought was inspired.

Following for ideas! I have a 2.5 year old and a 9 week old and we need to stop watching so much TV... 2 year old is so boisterous all the time and it's so draining when I've been up with the baby in the night, but hopefully get some ideas to calm and focus him for bits of the day!

Ladies could I recommend prosecco, sleeping babies and the great British bake off on catch up as an antidote to the shite and general drudgery of day to day life.

Good god, we’re doing bloody brilliantly.

Another cheat day today, the park to feed squirrels and then the playground for about 1.5 hours. It's half hour walk there so takes a big chunk out of the day. Little one had such good fun and i had a sit on the bench with my thermal mug :)

@MonkeyPuddle your TV/Kallax set up is the same as mine, and you're sitting at the same end of the sofa it's quite uncanny actually

@Lelophants at one I remember mine going to a party and it was just cooked spaghetti in a tuff tray. The kids loved it. Dead cheap too. Also get on Pinterest and look up activities for 1 year olds.

How about a pile of autumn leaves and crap like that in a box?

What about getting a swing? Cheap on fb marketplace.

Today I worked from home this morning. I put dry leaves and scissors in tuff spot which she played with for a total of ten minutes. Took me about 1 minute to set up so still a slight gain I suppose.
She also enjoyed sticking and cutting with Lidl mags. She liked wrapping stuff up today too with sellotape. I think a tape dispenser will be a good idea and present wrapping tuff spot.

I'm going to try that shaving foam/flour mix this weekend I think. Anyone made that before?

Well we're currently lying on the sofa eating chocolate buttons. Not sure if I'm winning or losing parenting. Anyone else having a can't be bothered day

DH has tonsillitis so I was a nice wife and volunteered to go pick up his prescription for him...accidentally went to the wrong chemist so walked over an hour in the rain with the pushchair. DS2 liked the walk at least.

I rewarded myself with a giant cheese and ham toastie, cookie, and cappuccino from the cart by the train station on the way home though. DS2 shared my toastie (I took the ham out and he had some raspberries to balance out the unhealthiness) so I didn't need to make lunch and now he's having a nice time taking toys out of the cabinet and putting them back in again.

We started off well this morning, but have run out of steam. DH is home early today so I'm looking forward to sloping off for an hour's peace. He is out 12 hours a day so we don't really see him for most of the week.

I have the biggest Tesco shop of all time arriving tonight (at 11pm! No slots to be found) so in an effort to use up what's in the fridge, I made DD some egg noodles with just a bit of butter and cheese on them... Not something we'd usually have, and she isn't a big fan of lunch, but goodness me. I've had half an hour out of those noodles. I don't know which end of the play/eat spectrum they fall on, but she's munched and played and wiggly wormed her way through an enormous bowl

I run out of steam too. No support network apart from DH who works full-time. I think I'm finding it harder and more intense because there are no groups currently running (and activities organised etc.) Not much chance to re-energise, only saving grace is that dc still naps.

It's hard everything being shut! I usually go out every afternoon, either to groups or visiting.

DS is currently cleaning the outside patio with a mop, totally his idea. I'm just going with it

DS is currently cleaning the outside patio with a mop, totally his idea. I'm just going with it

DS1 is going through a phase where he asks to do the washing up. It's great