The babysteppers Chat thread

[BlackCatTryingToFly]

Please come in for tea and biscuits or and chat.

< puts kettle on >

< makes sofa comfy >

I could leave cake on most days too (although dMIL's cake did make me a bit cravey) but biscuits will be a struggle. Maybe if I remind myself they are low sugar it will be ok

How is dd getting on with her charts etc?

Is it sad that I look forward to Thursday swims and Friday soft plays? Both are for Toddler's benefit but I feel I have friends at those things. And at soft play I can let TS go running and the big kids look out for him in the equipment so I can actually have a tea or a juice and a cookie and adult conversation. It's wonderful.

Just had an email from my first friend in the UK that was my friend first -- someone I met here on my own, not through MrScout. Turns out she has a meeting in my town (she does things with schools) next week and wants to get together. YAY!!!! I haven't seen her in a few months so the thought is filling me with joy. My house is another story, but I might get around that by asking if she'd like to go to the nice cafe in town for lunch. I so need a chat with a "non mum friend" who knew me before Toddler (though she loves Toddler to pieces).

It's not sad at all Scout. Being a Mum can be a lonely job sometimes. Making friends in a new town is tricky. Our wee village can sometimes feel claustrophobic but at others makes life much easier as it is the same people everywhere so we HAVE to make friends, even though we often start with nothing in common except the dcs.

I wouldn't trade Toddler, and being a SAHM, for anything. But yes, it can be a bit lonely and/or boring sometimes.

carrots DD1 likes her charts (& the fact that she gets a present when they are full) but when she is at pre-school she is so busy playing that she doesn't want to stop for a wee. My concern atm isn't the accidents, but more the fact that she will only do one or two wees when she's there (8-5) The staff ask her loads of times & the stickers were supposed to be encouraging that, but it doesn't seem to be working as well this week as it did last week

scout on Monday's DD1 has a swimming lesson & all the mums/CM get to sit and have a natter - it's lovely!

You get more of these chats with other mums (and dads) once they dcs go out in the world more. I get them at the school gates, swimming, the stables etc.

bessie does dd1 drink much at nursery? I found that mine drank loads less at nursery than they did at home during the day with me. That may or may not account for her infrequent weeing at nursery.

Is she very thirsty when she leaves?

She is probably just finding it really exciting at nursery and doesn't want to leave what she is doing.

bessie, my sister toilet trained at 2.11-ish. We went to Florida (Disney) and were there for her 3rd birthday (I was 12 so remember this well). She would only going to the toilet in the hotel room. No where else. She would check out every toilet but would only actually pee in the hotel. We would be gone 12 hours a day. I was the same way in school -- I would rarely pee during the school day (or at work, for that matter).

Our swimming is parent & toddler, so I have to get in the water with Toddler. But we all chatter with our own kids, the other kids and the parents in the pool. Toddler loves being in the pool and I love being in there with him, watching him enjoy the feel of the water and trying new things (he started cannonballing at the start of the term and now, if we don't have jumping as part of our session he gets very cross because he loves it so).

hmmm... carrots both DH & I are very frequent pee-ers, so perhaps I am expecting her to go more often than she needs to. But when she has an accident at pre-school it usually involves putting her shoes on the radiator & coming home in wellies, so they must be pretty big!

I will just have to be happy that she is having such a good time there that she CBA to stop & go to the loo!

scout DD1 only started swimming without me last autumn, the first 3 sessions all the kids cried & wanted their mums to go in with them (we used to sit in the viewing room wondering what the hell we were doing) - although all said they enjoyed it afterwards but then at lesson 4 they ALL suddenly decided that actually it was fun without mum & loved it! It has really helped build her confidence too.

I keep forgetting to post this. We were talking last month I think about toy storage? this might give some ideas?

Hi all, DD has gone to nursery in "big girl pants" . I told the teachers and they were very good about it.

Morning all :)

Ds1 is 3.3yo, has been toilet trained for a year and still sometimes gets so distracted he doesn't want to/cba to stop and go to the toilet.

Feeling ok today. Despite sleeping on the couch 10.40 to 1am due to dh snoring, then at 1am ds2 woke me, ended up ibruprofening him (he's getting a top canine) and then went to bed. Struggled to get up but am feeling more positive than yesterday. And my headache has finally shifted.

Got such a busy day I don't think I'll have much time to clean! Got the surveyor coming any time now to arrange our new windows (I'm dreading the outlay but we lose so much heat from our windows I'm making myself think 'long-term' - on a windy night the living room window actually rattles and whistles ) Then at some point int he next half an hour my friend is supposed to be popping round with her youngest whilst both our eldest are at pre-school. The pick ds1 up, got to go to the shop as I'm out of milk and haven't got anything for tea. Then 'after 1pm' someone is coming to service the boiler and fix a leaking radiator valve. Was supposed to be going to the park with a friend but she is going to come here now while the boiler man is here instead.

I promise I will try to fit some bits in somewhere! You will be pleased to know the sink and sideboards are all clean and cluter free so I'm starting on the right foot :)

Hello everyone!

bessie that sounds like big wees then so she clearly can hang on a long time It does just sound like she is having a good time. Is she bored with the chart maybe. Can you shake it up somehow to make it exciting again? eg cut it into a shape, choose stickers for it etc?

Well done kitten on the big girl pants! I hope it goes well for her and you Cats.

Chaotic that sounds like quite a day.

Mine didn't do official swimming lessons until they were in P1 at school but we always took them swimming before that. Obviously that meant we went in with them. Dd has finished swimming lessons now and ds has got to the stage where he can go in himself and get himself changed at either end so all I do is watch from the viewing gallery and chat to the mums and chaffeur. We do still swim together when we are on holidays or if we go for a fun swim though and it is great fun now they can swim through our legs and race us and similar.

I am frozen with fear today. I can't seem to get anything done, as I am so terrified, as I go back to the stables for the first time since my fall.

I was too badly injured to get straight back on as I usually would do, so it has grown and grown in my mind and I have thought about it far too much now.

I know if I don't do it today I will probably never ever do it again. I have done this all my life so I would be incredibly not to do it anymore.

My stomach is churning and I keep running to the loo (tmi - sorry).

I am hoping that once I am on I will be fine.

Please send me all your bravery vibes!

Good luck carrots. I have a book and the title is "Feel the fear and Do it anyway"

That is what I am trying to do. Thanks for the good wishes Cats. I will report back later.

Good luck carrots! Hopefully you're on the back of a horse by now and feeling much better.

Good luck carrots - just think of all the times you've stayed on!

Cats - "feel the fear" is an excellent book

We've only been doing the reward charts for a couple of weeks. She chooses the picture to go on them every day & chooses what stickers to stick on them. My next trick is going to be to get her to choose her "reward" (from a selection I have). If that doesn't work I may have to give up on the idea for a few weeks. And next time she needs shoes I will have to buy some Doodles (they can go in the washing machine!)

am now sitting eating lunch-cornflakes[sconfused] with slices banana and sunflowers seeds

DD did well at nursery and stayed dry but she has just had 1 little accident at home.

I still need to get lunch.

How'd you get on?

Yay for LittleCats accident-free-morning-at-nursery-in-big-girl-pants! I haven't thought of training Toddler yet but when I mentioned it to him the other day (that in a few months he'd be a big boy and use the toilet like Daddy) he told me "NO!" and offered me his bum for his nappy (I was in the middle of a change while we had a coversation about it).

Toddler had lunch at the pool (I took a picnic for him instead of just snacks) and he's up having a nap. I'm making some fresh rice to have with my leftover stirfry. I don't do leftover rice -- too much can go wrong with it.

Scout we have been trying to potty train her on and off since August last year (she is now 3.4) so I think we are really going to try and get her to do it this time, pants in the day and nappies for nighttime. DS was 3.5 when he "got it".

My second visitor of the day couldn't come as her husband had driven off with the youngest's car seat! So I've managed to get some bits done, although will have to hoover again as the plummers are making a bit of a mess :(

But my friend this morning did comment on how clean and tidy my kitchen was (yay!). I of course replied 'it's always like this you cheeky cow'

I can't wait for ds2 to toilet train properly. He has the odd wee and poo on there but isn't consist at all. But he hates nappies/nappy changes and kicks and screams and creates merry hell so the sooner the better imo!

Well done to kitten. That sounds like an excellent start.

to everyone for the positive vibes. They clearly helped because despite feeling physically sick at the start of the lesson I had a great time and had forgotten all about it by the end.

I rode my favourite horse as well who is really peaceful and steady so I felt much more confident. The 2 times I have fallen I have been riding a bigger more lively horse, who is lovely but a bit less predictable.

I have had a hot bath as we did a lot of work on our leg position so I am going to ache and now I am having a breather before the after school chaos reigns!

I was advised by our nursery to train ds straight onto the toilet (with a trainer seat) and it worked brilliantly. He was 3 and a bit so a bit older and more ready than dd had been when I tried to train her.

Little accidents continue for quite a while though I am afraid. The school have asked for outgrown clothes for P1-3 (roughly age 5-8) as dcs do still have mishaps now and again. (not meant to depress you just to reassure you that little mishaps are normal!)

Oh, that's good advice, carrots, about straight onto the loo. I had been thinking about doing that (and getting a spare seat to leave at the inlaws since we're there regularly) but wasn't sure. Toddler's birthday is during October half-term then we go back to my parents' then it's Christmas and we're at the inlaws for two weeks so I honestly thought, unless TS is keen and ready, of not even trying until January 2013. No point when for two months we're away more than home (and the excitement of the plane and then the upset of time zone changes isn't worth trying to keep up toilet training at the same time). After today's explosive pooey nappy in the pool (blurgh!) I wish I was done with diapers but I honestly don't see TS being ready yet so no point in pushing it and stressing us both out.

Once upon a time I was a nursery school teacher (I'm a trained/qualified teacher birth through 8th grade) and taught the Threes. With my group once one had an accident they all would within two weeks.

carrots, glad your ride went well.

The sunshine is so lovely and warm. I think we're going to go for a walk or to the playground when TS gets up.