Trapped toddler parents: puddlesuits splashing towards spring

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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

@MonkeyPuddle thank you for that, I did a fasting thing once just to lose a bit of post baby weight and it was great, got down to a healthy bmi in about three months. So maybe I'll do it again. I think I ate between 10am and 7pm so a bigger window than you. You've inspired me to start again so thank you. I'm also aiming to do a bit of hula hooping today if the baby has a little sleep

Welcome along @BeHereNowx32

My latest project is a water wall. You know with pipes and guttering and funnels. I'm the ideas woman and H is the hands on one. Photos when it gets finished (started)

drumat1ck cannot believe the new baby is nearly here, I hope you enjoy your last weekend together, is DD excited about being a big sister?

pinkdaydreams sorry to hear they were being so inconsiderate. Maybe send DS into the garden today with some very exciting and loud toys and hope they enjoy the noise on return.

camomila it sounds like DS had a lovely birthday. Sometimes the simple ideas really are the best. I hope you enjoyed the cake.

beherenow34 sorry to hear you had an early morning, we were up at 5am so I feel your pain. I was really hoping DS would be in a good mood today despite the early start but it's not looking good so far...

Also forgot to say thank you for the kind words. We're all OK, just muddling through and waiting for more informationn to see what the full picture will be.

@drumst1ck how you feeling? The last bit of pregnancy is bittersweet I think, the sweet relief that not being pregnant brings from all the physical side effects but then also having to share the baby!

@Same4Walls you know we’re here as a sounding board should you want to.

@footprintsintheslow ah sounds fab! Fasting til 2 today, we see my mum on Sundays so will break fast with a bun at hers 😊

We’ve got the glorious weather tomorrow by the looks of the forecast.

Ds’s gymnastics class restarts this week, he bloody loves it. Can’t wait to tell him the night before!

Ooo @footprintsinthesnow, I like your idea of a water wall. I think that's something they would like to, might have to steal it for DH to do.

Did someone many threads ago make a volcano? DS is talking about lava lots so thought I might give it ago. What's the best way to do it?

Morning everyone, hope everyone is ok.

We had a 4am teething party here. Ds2 is being very grumpy and screams whenever I leave him.

Ds1 put 2 teddies down the toilet this morning, he is being very mischievous at the moment. So, off we went on our walk to the park and had a kick about with the football.

Hope everyone has a happy and peaceful Sunday.

Ds2 keeps waking from his nap and is acting all newborn and will only sleep on my shoulder so I'm sitting here with over a stone and a half on my shoulder, so I literally am a trapped toddler parent

Is anyone braving the shops this week?!

I've got returns but there's no chance I'm taking toddler in a pram as he screams when he's stationary, queues are a no no! Hoping to go to the library and museum this week as pre lockdown we were regulars so really have missed them whilst they've been closed.

Oh those propeller things are brilliant. Got a set of them last spring on a whim and they really paid off! The base unit thing broke though, I should look for another one.

We took DS2 to the park today and it was really nice. Lovely for it to be warmer again! I have also ordered stuff for the baby which DS2 is really unsure about!

@PinkDaydreams, definitely going to head to Clarks to get boys' feet measured. Hopefully go to the library over the next week or two. Crazy to think some of our youngest babies have never been to a library. My DS2, 16 months now has never been. Our library used to have a massive box of lego which DS1 loved but I bet they won't have that now.

The kids took some tiny pebbles in the bath with them, they were then finding them in the bubbles and putting them in empty bubble bath bottles. They loved doing it and kept them amused for ages.

@Motherofmonsters I made the volcano and I used plaster of paris bandages from
Amazon. I scrunched up newspaper to make the basic shape very roughly then layered over bandage. I used textured spray paint all over then added touches of green and then went to town on the fire bit with gold. I've added photos.
But if you look on YouTube you can make ones that erupt but I wanted something more long term. In hindsight mine is too big so beware of getting carried away and then having to live with the bloody thing.

Also H has incredibly started and finished the water wall. It looks great but actually some of it doesn't work that well so some tinkering will be needed.

@footprintsintheslow that water wall looks fantastic! My son loves any type of water play so I'll be giving that a try!

Beach yesterday which was lovely, although there were some crazy people out in the sea, it was a bit too cold for a dip!!

Ah amazing, thank you @footprintsinthesnow, I'll have a look for the bandages. I was thinking of something reusable to. The water wall looks fantastic to!

@footprintsintheslow, the water wall and volcano look amazing!

Morning, hope everyone is well today?

Boys are playing with play doh and I've got these boards out which have poppers, zips, buckles and ties on. They are a montessori toy but I actually saw them them on Blippi and you can get them on Amazon.

Sun is out so we will go for a walk in a bit and garden time.

@footprintsintheslow wow, that’s fab! Very creative. I like the idea of having things all ready set up, so the kids can just help themselves to play. 😆

@Same4Walls hope everything is ok. 5am is way too early!

@Chocolatetrifle that’s so good that you were just up and out! I didn’t bother getting dressed yesterday, but DD napped and I actually done loads of housework. Not like me!

We are going to a friend’s garden today. The kids can play and we can sit with a cuppa.

Morning all, that volcano and water wall are amazing @footprintsintheslow! I'll be looking into stuff for a water wall as DD is obsessed with anything water related.

No sign of baby here, I was due yesterday and I'm officially later than I was with my first which is frustrating! So sadly no fun activity ideas here as all I'm capable of at the moment is turning the TV on...pelvic pain has got me confined in as well. DD seems to sense something is going on, but she's only 18 months so doesn't really know what!

Hope everyone has a lovely day, weather doesn't look too bad here, if a bit cold.

@BeHereNowx32, hope you have a lovely time in your friend's garden.

@drumst1ck, so close now! Sit back and just turn that TV on! Keeping fingers crossed for you all goes well. It's hard the waiting bit now.

We had a lovely walk, its sunny but a bit fresh! Ds1 wanted to throw stones into a stream so picked up a stone, or so he thought, turns out it was a big chunk of dog poo. Yuk! Thank god for lots and lots of antibacterial gel and hand wipes!

@Chocolatetrifle I've noticed an increase in dog poo during lockdown, I'm having to wash the pram wheels alot more than I was pre lockdown, really annoys me when people don't pick up after their dogs!

Those crafty things look so fun!

DS2 is obsessed with doors and locks at the moment so I'm thinking of going to a hardware store once they open up and seeing if we can make him a busy board with all different kinds of those things on. Although slightly wondering whether it's a good idea to show him how they work :o

I got so excited today when I saw those propellers in Asda! Got it home, tried it out......it's shit! I'll be taking it back and hunting down a co op one!!

That water wall was really cheap to make.
The stacking cups were £3 and windmills £2 and funnels 2 for £1 in asda, the tubes were £1 and the the troughs to catch the water were £2.50in b and m.

We had a friend round today and they both loved it.

@PinkDaydreams, oh no! How disappointing the Asda propellers were no good.

Baker Ross do sealife stickers on Amazon, your DS might like them? I was having a look before and I noticed those.
We have recovered from the dog poo incident. Not a good way to start the day!

Just catching up on this thread - off to google for the propellor toys in a min! Amazing water wall footprints. Might try something similar but less impressive to attach on the wendy house.

How are you feeling now @OhToBeASeahorse? I hope you have had a better day. I was getting totally overwhelmed with a 2 yr old and a 7 month old a few weeks ago - the only thing that helped was DH taking some time off work so I could sleep. Things look so different when you’re not so exhausted - if this is an option for you I would highly recommend it even if it cuts down actual holidays. I hope the GP was useful if you did go to them.
Does anyone do much loose parts play or is that only on instagram? Tempted to get some Grapat wooden figures but not sure if they would be worth it?

@Lostthetastefordahlias, I have never heard of loose play! Had to have a look on Google. I guess we play with pom poms and feathers and stones outside etc but not so much what they show. We did have a little box full of old buttons, old watches, tie pins etc which DS1 loved and would look at for ages so I guess that would be classed as loose play but we threw it out after having a clear out! The small pieces made me nervous.

The large blocks and larger pieces online look good though.