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.

[busymum3kids]

Australian website with play ideas: tenminutesformama.com

[footprintsintheslow]

@Lostthetastefordahlias I love that scissor practice. Defo doing that.

Are we still using this thread or are we all on the new one

[WeSearchedHereWeSearchedThere]

I’ve made us a shiny new thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4169159-Trapped-toddler-parents-puddlesuits-splashing-towards-spring?watched=1

[Lostthetastefordahlias]

Just catching up on this thread as am awake, for once not with the toddler or baby, but with excitement about getting the vaccine tomorrow! Feels like a tiny step towards DD being able to socialise a bit and all our toddlers hopefully getting closer to normality!
Welcome KatieKat88. Thanks for your first post Chocolatetrifle it has inspired me to think about how to get more rest. And PinkDaydreams I have that bubble maker and I agree it is absolute rubbish
Going to try the counting hands from footprintsintheslow and maybe this lion scissor practice tomorrow.

[MonkeyPuddle]

Have been trying to sort childcare out for DD when I go back, one of my patients is a childminder, she can take her two days but not the third I need covering, so she’s have to go to nursery or I try and change my shift days. But my manager agrees to change slower than glaciers move. We’ll see.

[MonkeyPuddle]

I’m feeling fine @footprintsintheslow, pretty sure it’s not covid.

Hopefully getting my first dose of the vaccine next month before I go back to work in June after mat leave.

Definitely need a new thread, we’ve not just survived winter, we’ve bloody conquered it.

[BertieBotts]

We have also just received some fabulous news that nursery is opening again on Monday!

[KatieKat88]

Can I join in please? (Only 40 pages too late...) DD is 15 months, just walking well enough to need shoes so we can give it a go outside... and the shops are shut. Used one of the measuring gauges yesterday and it was like I was trying to torture her so god knows if I have an accurate size and now bloody Start Rite are stalking me on Mumsnet with their adverts just so I don't forget the experience in a hurry.

[BertieBotts]

Yes yes new thread please!

We survived the winter :) Now for a spring of trapped toddler antics :D

[Motherofmonsters]

Yes to a new thread!! This is keeping me sane.

[PinkDaydreams]

Park for a couple of hours this morning, reusable sticker book again (really gone down well!) trains, water beads, lots of stories. Only 3 more hours till bedtime
I notice we are nearly at the end of this thread, I'd love us all to carry on with a new one if that's ok?

[Motherofmonsters]

A cup of tea definitely tastes nicer after being out in the pouring rain! We found some massive puddles for jumping in so DS was happy enough.

DS is currently filling his Playmobil vehicles with kinetic sand. It's a good job it easily falls off. DD is finally walking, I keep catching her slowly zombie walking out the corner of my eye, it's a bit creepy

[footprintsintheslow]

@MonkeyPuddle how you feeling?

@WeSearchedHereWeSearchedThere you made me laugh a lot.

Why is it only 15:45? I've baked cookies, walked three miles and been to a new park. Got soaked on the way home so we killed a while with a long bath but it's still ages to bedtime.

[Motherofmonsters]

Oh no @wesearched what a nightmare. It's amazing what they can manage it a couple minutes

[WeSearchedHereWeSearchedThere]

DS1 would like to recommend an activity: first obtain your mummy’s full 1L water bottle. Take the top off and pour it on the sofa. Now you have a soggy sofa: the perfect cross between a trampoline and a puddle, which you can bounce on - whilst staying warm and watching paw patrol! If you’re fast you can set this up in the time it takes mummy to make herself a coffee in the kitchen.

Mummy does not recommend this activity...

[MonkeyPuddle]

How about one of the busy books? DS has a paw patrol one and he really enjoys playing with it, gets his imagination fired up.

We’ve had a nice day today, park and pancakes. I bought DS a box of 240 wooden dominos last week, he’s loving them, but fuck me, they get everywhere.

I’ve started coughing this evening so off to get tested tomorrow, feel fine mind you. Bit of a pain though as I had exciting plans to go to Asda tomorrow and buy some bibs for DD.

[footprintsintheslow]

Nosy Crow books have qr codes so you can hear them read aloud like the old tape books from years ago.

[PinkDaydreams]

Oh he's got a me reader, didn't realise that's what it was called! Might look at getting him another one of those

[PinkDaydreams]

I looked at the tonies box but went for the leapsfrog leapstory box thing which he loves!
He's been playing on the iPad cbeebies apps but I'm trying to minimise screentimw as it's been slowly creeping up during lockdown.
I'll Google the me readers in a min, thank you! And the gemstone kit sounds good as he loves kinetic sand

[Chocolatetrifle]

@PinkDaydreams
I second the Cbeebies app on a tablet, my 3 year old loves it, they have a few you can download now.

Not what you were thinking also but my 3 year old loves the National Geographic gemstone dig kit, it comes in it's own box with gems, kinetic sand and shapes you can make out of the sand. They sell them on Amazon and they do dinosaur dig kits also.

[MessAllOver]

Hi @PinkDaydreams. No idea whether it's what you're looking for but have you had a look at the me readers and books (there's the Eric Carle one, and Thomas and Peppa ones as well).

DS was given a toniebox by DH's parents for Christmas. He loves it but it doesn't sound like what you're looking for and it and the tonies are very pricey! The other one that some people have is the Yoto player.

[Motherofmonsters]

@pinkdaydreams not really a toy but DS has my old tablet and plays games on it. Cbeebies have a storytime app , it has stories that are either read to them or you can read them and then they have little activities they can do in the story.

[PinkDaydreams]

Pressed post too soon! I should have added that I was looking at the leapstart 3d but after a post on Mumsnet I haven't as alot of others didn't recommend them.

[PinkDaydreams]

Can anyone help with a toy idea please for DS. He's 3, loves books, he's got a leapfrog story box thing which he really enjoys playing with, I'm after something story related i think, he likes numbers, buttons and flashing lights, loves buses and trains.

[MonkeyPuddle]

@MessAllOver we’ve had that convo. I have access to torso sized clinical sharps bins at work so I’d do it that way.

Going to steal the counting hands @footprintsintheslow DS had just started trying to use his fingers to count

First mild day in a while here so we’re off to the park with DS’s scooter.