Trapped toddler parents:"Where else can you post tuff tray pictures and moan about your husband?"

[PinkDaydreams]

Following on from the previous thread. Thanks @footprintsintheslow for the thread title inspiration 😁

@Motherofmonsters

DD is asleep already, she was falling asleep at the dinner table, I'm going to be in for a rough night

Oh no, fingers crossed she sleeps through for you. DH has got into the annoying habit of letting son fall asleep on our bed whilst I'm cleaning and tidying downstairs. I then attempt to carry son into his bed but he wakes up and is grumpy then takes ages going back to sleep. DH says I'm moaning at him when I tell him not to let son fall asleep

Hello, can I join ?

I'm hoping I fit in here. I have 4DC 2 DDs and 2 DS, 19,11,9 and 13 months. I did not expect to be doing the toddler yrs again.

DS2 is at that toddler stage of doing everything he isnt meant to do and seems to enjoy it. I spend my life saying no and then him having a breakdown. I also had a hysterectomy 2 weeks ago today and not being able to pick him up is so tough.

DS sleeps in our bed and still has a bottle in the night or 2 😬😬 I really need to get on top of it and get him into his own cot but dreading it. Any advise welcome from anyone who's managed it recently.

@PinkDaydreams not a lot, no. There are some holes in the ceilings for lights that we need to buy and DH spent a few nights sanding down and oiling the kitchen worktops, but we're pretty happy with it. We're also just renting (housing market here is insane) so not planning on going crazy!

@fatisnotafeeling welcome, you fit right in I have a 15mo DS who's only just started sleeping in his own cot. For us it was actually his choice, I think he was too hot and uncomfortable sleeping next to DH who is a human radiator. I was a bit sad tbh! I've seen many methods if you don't want to go the "wait until he's ready" stage like let them fall asleep then transfer, move gradually towards crib, have crib right by the side of the bed...but I have no personal experience with those!

DS slept through again last night but woke up at 5am. He had a really long day at nursery because we're trying to get everything sorted in our new place, so he was not impressed with me when I picked him up...soon got over it though when we let him loose in the play area.

I have a question about breastfeeding toddlers. I still feed DS, and recently he's gone down from 4ish feeds plus loads at night to just 3 main feeds - waking up, just after nursery, and bedtime. However, he now feeds for bloody forever! It was 45 minutes this morning it frustrates me because I can't really do anything else in the meantime and especially in the morning there's loads to do. If I try to cut him short I get a meltdown. Has anyone else experienced this? Does it get better?

Hope everyone has a good evening - and that your DD sleeps through @Motherofmonsters! Crossing fingers...

@Motherofmonsters, hopefully she will have a good night and just sleep and not wake too early for you.

@PinkDaydreams, that's definitely not moaning! It's so hard to get them settled at night that you don't need extra obstacles.

@fatisnotafeeling, welcome . How are you feeling after your hysterectomy? I've had two Caesareans and know what it's like to feel immobile. Hope you feel better soon.

I have 2Ds, one is 3.8 and the other 18 months. I have both in bed with me at some point in the night some nights, once Ds2 is settled I just transfer him back into the cot. He is still having milk in a bottle in the night but he doesn't need it, just wakes looks around and says milk. I need to break the habit, perhaps water his milk down then replace just with water. That's what I did with DS1 and it worked eventually.

@squishymamma, how is your sickness going? Hope the morning sickness has now passed. I remember living on ready salted crisps at your stage. Good luck with all the sorting out at making your home your own

Hi all. Not been active on the post for some time, sorry.

Hope everyone is keeping well?

We’ve been ok, I seem to have developed a bit of anxiety, it’s come out of nowhere and sideswiped me a bit if I’m honest. Not really wanting to leave the house too much, but we all go a bit caged hens if we stay in all day. And I’m meant to be back at work after maternity in a few weeks. No doubt they’re booking patients in to see me already (am a general practice nurse).

Dunno.

We made buns today this afternoon and ‘decorated’ them as pudding. Tied a couple of balloons on sting to the washing line and DS lobbed bean bags at them. Wrote the letters of his name on A4 sheets of paper and pegged them to the washing line for more bean bag lobbing.

Sorry, I’m even a bit of a fluster posting this, I’m not normally anxious, I’m usually really confident so I’m a bit off my feet with it.

Sorry to hear you've been struggling with anxiety @monkeypuzzle, I have been wondering if you were okay. Could finishing maternity leave he contributing to it. Sounds really hard.
Love the idea of chucking bean bags at the washing line.

Welcome @fatisnotafeeling, I swapped breastfeeding out at night for a cup of cow's milk. As it's in a cup she can only sip it so she only has a little bit before going back to sleep, could be something to try. I did some sleep training with DD as she was waking up loads and then falling asleep on me. I put her in the cot after the last feed and then she wasn't allowed out. I sing, rub her back, give her sips of drink and stay next to her but I don't pick her up again. I'm now working on not having to rub her so much.

@MonkeyPuddle ah, love are you ok? I've been wondering if you were ok too. Talk to us, we are here for you.

Understandable you might be anxious if you are due back to work. It's a lot to be thinking about and planning for with one thing and another to sort and prepare yourself for but one day at a time.

How are your DS and DD?

Hey everyone, I was offline for a few days. I hope everyone is doing well.. DS is now starting to say words - actual words, so yay!! He is 22 months and I was a bit concerned about him not being very great verbally till now (other than screaming at the top of his voice). Its so great to hear him say more than animal sounds now. For some reason he went straight to colours.. and he recognises them so well, am a proud mama.. we are a multi-lingual household so expected a bit of a delay but honestly was starting to get a bit worried for him..

@MonkeyPuddle I hear you.. I was so anxious when I went back to work, which is ironic coz am in mental health.. but it honestly got easier in a few weeks.. and then It was like I never left.. virtual hugs.. you will be great!! Take care..

Hi all, checking in. @squishymamma congrats on moving and welcome @fatisnotafeeling !

Twins still as cheeky as ever but less frenetic at bedtime. I think the penny is slooooowly dropping. They still took over an hour to go to sleep tonight but kept saying things like "we should not mess around" and "I'm.sensible Mummy!" So think maybe turning a corner.

We are looking to buy them a climbing frame this summer. Does anyone have one in their garden?

DS2 has turned into a newborn overnight waking and asking for milk every 2 hours it feels and drinking about 2 pints then got up at 5.30. Ds1 has asked for a fried egg for breakfast no idea where thrs idea has come from as he never eats fried eggs.

Sounds promising @johnnymcgrathsaysfuckoff. We have a climbing dome, DS really likes it and has got good at hanging upside down on it.

Right with you there @chocolatetrifle, I had to keep going to the fridge for top ups to. Must be something in the air

@Motherofmonsters, I need to stop giving him milk in the night as he definitely does not need it. Perhaps I will try to water it down tonight in the hope it will become less appealing and then stop wanting it just a sip or so of water. I know it will work eventually as Ds1 never wakes asking for a drink in the night now. Perhaps it's a growth spurt, he has a molar part way through and his gum looks very angry so could be that I guess.

Hope everyone has a nice day planned?

I saw a really good climbing frame advertised a couple of weeks ago, it was from Aldi I think @JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff and going for £80. It might still be online.

Aldi Lil Monkey Climb and Slide £89.

@JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff I bought the tp metal climbing frame with den last year and it's fab! Also bought the slide which can be attached or used seperately. I have the frame on the low setting at the minute but will prob make it higher next year. They've brought out a new version of it this year which I'm gutted wasn't available last year as it's got a cargo net and ball pool attached.

Welcome newcomers, it's nice to have you!

Bean bags, i completely forgot I have these! I'll be digging these out and plying that washing line game, thank you! I'm going to have a nosey at five minute mum and see what colour games there are as son has recently shown an interest in colours.

Library today I think, although we were there only the other day. Cloudy today and looks like it's going to pour down, I'm thankful for the cooler weather to be honest!

DS now has conjunctivitis in both eyes to add to his cold and hayfever 🤦🏻‍♀️ poor thing.

@PinkDaydreams oh no, conjunctivitis must be sore sore for him, poor DS. Hope he feels better soon.

I feel like a bad parent because of his hayfever, cold, snotty nose and now eyes. Realistically I know none of it's my fault but I still feel awful for him

@PinkDaydreams you are great parent, there's nothing we can do to stop them catching bugs, all we can do is make them feel better as well as we can. It's hard to see them poorly. Hopefully your DS will feel better soon .

Can I interest anyone in a whingey toddler who doesn't want to be put down or do anything? She also comes with a constant runny nose completely free.

Hope everyone had a good night. I was up a bit but don't feel to bad. I don't know what to do with DD this morning she keeps asking for things and then shouting no and crying when I try to give it to her...

Last night I watered down DS2'S milk and he woke about 3 times for a few little drinks but not as much if it was just milk so I'm going to persist with that and try to wean him off night time drinks because I was on the floor yesterday with tiredness and fed up of it.

We've been to a different park and playground this morning. It's cloudy but supposed to be really hot tomorrow I think.

@Motherofmonsters it's hard to know what they want sometimes at this age isn't it?

Hi didn't get chance to pop on yesterday so just catching up on everything.

@Chocolatetrifle the morning sickness has kind of gone now but the queasy feeling is still here, which is really frustrating. Managing to eat more now though which is nice. Thanks for asking! Glad to hear the watered down milk helped with DS2, it's so hard when they're constantly waking and then you have to be on it and alert the day after.

Nice to hear from you again @MonkeyPuddle, sorry to hear you've been struggling with anxiety. I go through periods of that too, and the transition from mat leave to work was just weird (also because we have mandatory home office so it was like suddenly I was home but DS wasn't and I had to be an adult...). Hope it gets better for you.

@Anurulz nice to see you again too! Good to hear DS is coming on with his speech! We're also a multilingual household and there's not really been any words here yet either (he's only 15 months though)...meanwhile my friends' babies are all saying words. Totally get that about worrying! DH keeps saying he'll just skip straight to real sentences - like one day he'll wake up like "mummy, I think I will have porridge today"

@PinkDaydreams totally get that feeling of being a bad parent, but you are a fantastic parent who cares so much about your DS! And you're doing everything you can to help him, he'll be back in good shape in no time

@Motherofmonsters your comment about the whingey toddler made me laugh because that's exactly how I felt today. DS is also exactly the same as your DD, except without words. Keeps gesturing to random stuff and babbling, expecting me to understand, then has a meltdown complete with faceplanting the floor because I don't understand...I guess some days are just like this?