Trapped toddler parents: puddlesuits splashing towards spring

[WeSearchedHereWeSearchedThere]

All guardians of toddlers welcome, we offer ideas, activities, and a shoulder to lean on when it all gets too much. We’ve conquered winter, next stop spring!

Continuing from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4105179-trapped-toddler-parents-of-the-fabled-winter-2020-2021-puddle-suits-at-the-ready-hello-christmas?pg=1

Hello @Lostthetastefordahlias! Tbh it’s just the baby being bigger (16 weeks now) and DS getting more used to her that’s made it all easier. She can go longer between feeds now and we’ve got into a kind of routine with her naps that works. DS does some crafts/drawing for her first post-breakfast nap, second nap is in the sling and we always go to the park which DS loves, third nap DS will either nap too or have quiet time in his room, and if she does a last nap then I let DS have 30-45 mins of TV before dinner. When she’s awake I can usually manage to keep them both entertained. She’s a lot more chilled than DS was and loves her play mat or bouncer while I play with DS, and I can read stories to them both.

DS is also dropping his naps which is tough but means he’s going to bed earlier too so swings and roundabouts! He’s 2 months off 3 so I think we’ve done well to last this long.

So nice to get a bit of spring weather this week!

(Should say baby only naps on me still which we now need to work on...!)

@FolkSongSweet im the same, baby is 20 weeks and toddler is 2.5, baby only naps in the sling and trying to look after the toddler is so tricky now she is a bit bigger and wakes up more easily. Just dont know how to get her in the sling

Does anyone know how you return them when they malfunction? I can't find the paperwork...

My eye rubbing, yawning tired baby will not go to sleep. Ive got to DS's bedtime to after this, luckily he's happy waiting for me

FolkSongSweet that sounds like a great routine! My toddler has dropped her nap and we are still very much working on quiet time in her room grits teeth.
Thanks jobby I will try that then, minus the food colouring!
Hope you got them both settled motherof monsters!
@OhToBeASeahorse Wesearchedherewesearchedthere recommended a zoom call with a sling consultant upthread which footprints found useful - have screenshotted the info, in case thats something you might be interested in.

@Motherofmonsters

Does anyone know how you return them when they malfunction? I can't find the paperwork...

My eye rubbing, yawning tired baby will not go to sleep. Ive got to DS's bedtime to after this, luckily he's happy waiting for me

If I knew I would have done this so many times.

My lovley lie in was a precursor to a truly cruddy day. It started with him hitting me in the head with the biggest piece of a grimms rainbow (why the fuck are wooden toys coveted they bloody hurt!)

Then he refused to eat his dinner or tea. (I'm partially blaming teeth and partially blaming him being so stubborn)

Next no toy was good enough and all he wanted was the batteries out of the tv remote and he cried real frustrated tears when I refused

He then trashed 2 books during quiet time.

And finally the toad woke up 8 times last night!

Can you still exchange them as faulty if they are over a year old...

I have another one up for trade if we have any masochists on the group?
DD is starting to learn how to roll so I want her out of the swaddle (which she sleeps beautifully in) and into a sleeping bag (which she does not) and she woke herself up a billion times last night. Gave in at 4am and swaddled her.
DS is at his dads til this evening, had plans to take DD on a nice walk to make her nap this morning but I might just rub some amphetamine/coffee/red bull concoction directly into my eyeballs.

Sorry you had a rubbish day @same4walls, hopefully today is going better. I certainly hope you can return them as DD is 15months.

She settled long enough for me to put DS to bed and tidy up, I then got stuck in her room until 1am where I totally lost it. I shouted like really shouted at her and had to put her in the cot and walk away. I then absolutely sobbed to DH and she fell asleep after 2 mins but woke up after 10 mins. It was enough for me to reset and start again. Managed a couple hours in my own bed and that's it. I can't wait for these teeth to come through. Definitely was not a super mummy last night

@Motherofmonsters

Sorry you had a rubbish day *@same4walls*, hopefully today is going better. I certainly hope you can return them as DD is 15months.

She settled long enough for me to put DS to bed and tidy up, I then got stuck in her room until 1am where I totally lost it. I shouted like really shouted at her and had to put her in the cot and walk away. I then absolutely sobbed to DH and she fell asleep after 2 mins but woke up after 10 mins. It was enough for me to reset and start again. Managed a couple hours in my own bed and that's it. I can't wait for these teeth to come through. Definitely was not a super mummy last night

Oh lovely I sympathised with every word of that post. I've done the shouting and walking away several times too and it leaves you feeling 10 million times more shit but sometimes there's no other solution. We're all human though so no point pretending to be perfect. I'm just hoping all the lovely things we do will outweigh the times I'm the worlds worst mummy.

Plus I keep telling myself it will be so much easier once they get a bit bigger and they can actually tell you what's wrong. Sometimes I feel like I'm playing a never ending game of charades, and I'm shockingly poor at it.

Oh @Motherofmonsters I felt that. Been there.

Do not beat yourself up. It’s fucking hard work when they won’t sleep. It’s not a reflection on you as a mother.

Solidarity

Sending everyone a hug who needs it this morning, sometimes it all becomes too much. We do not have to be supermum.

My Mum said to me that having kids is the hardest job I'd ever have (trained lawyer here) and she is right. They are my most difficult 'clients'.

Taking 3 year old for preschool jabs in a bit... dreading it...

@Chocolatetrifle

My Mum said to me that having kids is the hardest job I'd ever have (trained lawyer here) and she is right. They are my most difficult 'clients'.

Taking 3 year old for preschool jabs in a bit... dreading it...

Your mum sounds like my friend. She once said work was so much easier than caring for her small person because at least at work even if they didn't agree people listened to her and respect her authority. Whereas trying to reason with toddlers is like arguing with a tiny narcissistic dictator who always thinks they are right and doesn't know the meaning of the word compromise.

Good luck with the jabs.

For me the sleep is a killer. I can cope with anything if I've had a decent night.

DD will only sleep with me and us waking every 1hr-2hrs. This has been going in for 2 weeks and I'm so tired I could cry

Apologies for not being on here much the past few days, trying to cut back on my mumsnetting!

Can I ask, do you think flash cards are a naff present for one year old birthday present? I've got her a few other gifts too.

To the poster asking what I bought my son in the end, I found a range of books called stuck on books, it's a board book then figures that have a sucker on the back to stick on. They're good fun sticking onto the windows too!

Yesterday was lovely, spent majority of the day in the garden which tired out my son, big change in weather today though as it's freezing!

Thank you everyone, you've made me not feel so alone. I find sleep so frustrating, I thought DS was bad but DD is way worse. Her usual 2 hour blocks sound like heaven right now.

DS is playing camping, we've made a den on the sofa and he's 'making snacks' in the toy kitchen

I hope those with poor sleepers made it through the day!

DH is late home. I’m currently sitting in our bed, having somehow got both kids asleep. Don’t dare move in case one wakes, but my phone battery is low!

@WeSearchedHereWeSearchedThere

I hope those with poor sleepers made it through the day!

DH is late home. I’m currently sitting in our bed, having somehow got both kids asleep. Don’t dare move in case one wakes, but my phone battery is low!

It's been a very lonnnnnnnnnnnng day but thankfully it's nearly bedtime.

Fingers crossed your phone charge lasts until DH gets home but if not its a sacrifice worth making for 2 sleeping small people.

My day can be summed up in 3 words wobbly bottom lip honestly I feel like everything I've done today has resulted in DS crying or bieng on the verge of tears. This included a lengthy lecture whilst playing with building blocks about why he was feeling so miserable and how a nap would fix the problem... Did he nap... Did he fuck, daft wotsit just cried even more.

I love the washing machine and pegging socks idea! Will have to look for our pegs.

Nursery is open again and DS2 is actually tolerating me leaving :D going to increase from 90 mins to 2.5h tomorrow, hopefully it continues to go well. Last time it all fell apart once he realised I was always leaving and it wasn't just a one off. But he has bonded so much better with his new keyworker.

So done with today. Tooth abscess that I need to go private to have fixed, trying to get that done in the 5 weeks before my due date, pregnancy insomnia and massive panic attacks today. My mum was a lifesaver and took DD for the day as DH was snowed under with work but I'm so done with pregnancy now. Make it end.

Ladies for you light relief I present to you this magnificent item for sale on my local Facebook marketplace

What on earth? Why is it blue? more to the point, what is it?

Here’s the advert bit, bargain at £40

@Same4Walls, write today off, some days no matter how hard we try, we just can't do anything right. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

@PinkDaydreams, I'm a lover of flashcards and have some picture ones for my youngest plus usual numbers and phonics for 3 year old.

@BertieBotts, that's great nursery is going well so far.

@drumst1ck, that sounds incredibly painful you poor thing. Fingers crossed for a speedy appointment so you can get it sorted, late pregnancy is enough to contend with without that.

Uneventful day here, 3 year old was a star at his preschool jabs, didn't even cry. 14 month old is teething, enough said. Not really done anything inspiring, just got through the day.

Hope everyone has a decent night.

@MonkeyPuddle well there's my xmas shopping sorted!

Had DD awake twice already crying hysterically. I wish I knew what was wrong.