Oct 08 - It's all about weeeeee!!! Hopefully in potties but who knows!

[50ftQueenie]

Hello! It's me. I thought I'd start a thread which is VERY cheeky for someone who's not been around for AGES!

Hello everyone,

pepper your barn experience sounds horrific! Hopefully you'll never have to do it again.

pistachio I didn't think your ds looked overweight in your pics either. He just looks a chunky build which I'm actually jealous of as F has always been slight!

star is Q into dinosaurs then? I've always loved dinosaurs and was excited about F getting into them but he's not been that bothered so far. More into motorbikes and cars (now recognises most makes of cars) but T-Rexs and Triceratops are just 'dinosaurs' :(

Why doesn't your dh like daytrip journeys? My dh is the opposite and thinks nothing of stuffing us all in the car for hours.

Anyone recommend any nice resources for learning first words? F knows the alphabet so is probably ready to start learning simple words.

Pistachio I don't think T looks overweight in your photos at all. Q is chubby/solid as well (so heavy!) he's thinned out a bit but still has a toddler tummy when full of food or needs a poo :)

Cake - yes Q loves dinosaurs and trains. He enjoys motorbikes because dh rides one (just a small 125cc motorcycle for getting to work cheaply).
Q knows a lot of letter sounds and letters but only through asking us while reading books, looking at signs... Etc. In my professional opinion it's best to keep literacy learning very organic at this age. Q has picked up so much just through environmental print (seeing his name on his peg at the cm each day, he recognised his name quickly, he knows what our street sign says...etc stuff like that).

Btw pistachio little P is so adorable. Lovely photos :)

Cake dh doesn't think long journeys are "fair on Q". Dh is extremely precious about Q... More so than I am - so, very! -

Ksal how is nursery going for little DS? I loved the fake chocolate feeing fb photo :)

Yy star F's initially got to know most if the letters quite organically but I got fed up with hunting letters for him on packets and boxes etc at meals so bought him some number and letters placemats 2 weeks ago - which he's devoured! He constantly asks me to 'test' him with numbers, colours and letters so giving him some simple words to learn in that type of environment/format is pretty organic, imo.

Does Q particularly dislike the car or does your dh just assume he will? We tend to just time trips with nap time and they sleep for most of it and look out the window/chat/sing/ask non-stop questions for the rest of it.

Cake dh just thinks Q won't like it. I've driven far with Q on my own and he's absolutely fine- singing, chatting, looking at books and sleeping :) dh is just difficult with things like that. Silly, really!!

Some of the leapfrog toys might be fun for F? I have a bunch of preschool games on my iPhone, too

Pepper - Thank god you're home safely. The whole trip sounds hideous.

Pistachio - I don't think ds looks overweight in any of the pics I've seen of him. S has thinned out massively (and he was HUGELY fat as a baby) but still has chunky legs (a family trait unfortunately) and "screw-on" hands. He weighs around 15kg.

CSWS - That dinosaur place looks great. I can't believe how grown up your dd looks these days!

I'm really worried about dp . He's not been well for ages but is, I think, too scared to do anything about it. I think he may be diabetic, as he has a lot of the symptoms (skin rashes, pain in his legs, really thirsty, finding it difficult to shift weight even though he cycles to work, irritable - although this is poss because he feels crap.) I think I've persuaded him to go to the doc but only after quite a big disagreement because I'm fed up with him telling me he's fine when he clearly isn't. I keep trying to tell him that if it is diabetes we can start to manage it and he might actually start to feel better. CSWS - You managed to keep your gd under control through diet, didn't you?

cf - :( How worrying re: dp. I hope he goes to the dr. It is so difficult to get some men to the dr! My dh is the same. He doesn't want to "bother them"

You can definitely keep diabetes under control through diet and insulin as necessary (I know a few people with diabetes. 2 Children + 1 adult with type 1 and an adult with type 2). There are some people that I know who you could talk to as well if it's type 1 (if you're having difficulty with it). I am not the knowledgeable about it myself but I know that they all carefully manage their diets and have had some lifestyle changes as a result.

LOL at "screw on hands". That is such a cute description :)

Thanks Star. Of course it may not be diabetes but he's definitely not right at all. I think that should be the starting point though, and maybe some thyroid testing too. We'll see what the GP suggests. The annoying thing is that he's not been particularly well for ages and I've been bugging him to sort it out, yet he insists he's fine. He says he's going to call first thing, which is a step in the right direction.

Glad he's going to call. All that I do know about diabetes is that it's a "run don't walk" sort of problem to sort out. I hope it's not that, and that it can be easily sorted.

Q wet himself this evening. He was on the sofa and he said "I am doing a wee in my pants". And he did. arghhhh. He doesn't usually have accidents. Do any of yours do this? I said, "Oh no, that's sad. Where do we do a wee?" He said "the toilet or the potty. It's ok. Everyone has accidents sometimes. Mommy will clean it up"

We're back from Peppa Pig World. We had a fantastic time and I'd really recommend it. PPW itself is really good, great rides for dc of our dc's age and older and a brilliant soft play area, but I was also impressed with the whole park. The queues were quite long yesterday but it was a lot quieter after 3pm and today it was rainy so we practically had the place to ourselves. For those of you like us who live quite far away I'd also recommend booking the overnight deal at the Winchester Holiday Inn, the hotel was big and clean and only about 20mins drive from Paultons. Oh I J just loved it so much we didn't want to come home
CSWS- we might check out Knewbworth too as it would be an ok drive from here. I've been to see Robbie Williams there years ago but didn't realise it was child friendly too. Yay for a good nights sleep too, I saw your fb. Just think you may need to change your name to CanSleepWillSleep soon
Pepper- phew glad you survived.
CF-poor you with all that worry about dh. Glad he has agreed to see the doc. Why are men so funny about going to the drs? Dh is a real avoider of all things medical and would rather sit around being ill and groaning.
Anyway am about to slope off for a bath as I did the drive home so feel I've earned a bit of me time. Dh and ds are watching.......yes Peppa Pig.

That sounds fun, pp. How much was the trip with hotel? If you don't mind me being so bold as to ask . I think that would be a fun thing for us to do while we wait for our passports to come back with our ILR stamps from the home office (could take up to 6 months! ).

HP- I don't mind you asking at all as I am a bargain queen and love to share them. It was £115 for two day entry to the park, overnight in a good sized room with travel cot provided and breakfast- cereals, fresh fruit, cooked breakfast and pastries..of course we didn't eat all that but it was there We took a picnic yesterday as I'd read on another MN forum that food in the park wasn't great, and there were loads of places to sit and eat. We had bar food in the hotel last night which was a bit pricey and then we ate at the park today and it was quite overpriced for what it was, chips and soggy sandwiches type thing but for one meal it was fine. We certainly got our monies worth, stayed til it closed yesterday and then til 4pm today when ds was tripping over his feet with tiredness. I was thinking of you and Q today too as well cos he and ds seem to like smiliar things. Does he like trains/buses etc? If so have you tried the Transport Museum in Covent Garden?

HP- I also meant to say J has had a few accidents when he has been so engrossed in playing he has left it until too late. Judging by the amount of changes of clothes I do with the children at work this is really common among pre-school children and it always seems to be that they just wanted to play that little bit longer

Thanks pp! We should get the boys together again. Last time they were so tiny it was more for us :)

I will do the transport museum at some point this summer. I've always wanted to go in myself but Q would adore it!

Is that price per person I assume?

Sounds great!

:)

Thank you re: reassurance about accidents. I'm also glad to know it is typical at nursery. Q will be going mondays and tuesdays starting in September and I am SO anxious about him having accidents there (it says potty training required for the preschool room) just because it will be a totally new environment.

HP It was the total price for all of us, not per person The Transport Museum is great for a bargain too as tickets last for a year. Let me know if you do go over the summer and J and I could meet you.

As for Nursery I know it's easy to say but please don't worry. At our Nursery accidents are par for the course, if that is even the right phrase??- sounds right in my head. We ask parents to provide a set of spare clothes, everything top, trousers, pants, socks which they leave on their pegs. At the start of term there are generally a few more accidents because of the excitement over playing or nervousness of using the toilets. We let the children use the toilets as and when they need to without asking, the only exception is group/carpet time. Staff are also very eagle eyed and good at spotting a jiggler. We never get cross over accidents, just say the similar to what you said to Q today "never mind, next time try to get to the toilet in time. We do wees in the toilet" etc. And if we know that a child is struggling and has wet a few days in a row we'll encourage them to go regularly. It's all so simple when you are the teacher, only wish motherhood was as easy

That sounds like good value pp. Don't suppose you know if the hotel has adjoining rooms too do you, or 2/3 bed suites?! If dh can ever manage to spare some time for us instead of his work then I'd like us all to go, and making a weekend of it would be great.

Did you come to see Robbie the time they had all those traffic jams and loads of people didn't make it in in time? We could hear it (faintly) from our back garden!

Can you go on the stuff at the transport museum, or just look? Ds1 would love it if he could climb in/on stuff, but be very frustrated and tantrummy if he could only look.

Fingers crossed for your dh seeing the gp and him finding a cause for his symptoms cf. Yes I did manage to control mine with diet both times, but it was very hard and restrictive. He would prob want a combination of tablets and diet, but is very unlikely to need insulin injections if that's what he's worried about. And at this stage in life it would be type 2, not type 1.

Can I just ask, do the rest of the dc from this thread get stroppy and hit/kick you if they don't get their own way or get told off? I don't remember dd hitting us like this, but ds really knows how to get a strop on. The other day he crossed the room to come and hit me because I told him not to do something.

Emma has little accidents every now and then, mainly when she's having too much fun to go to the toilet - usually just a tiny bit in her knickers then she legs it to the loo. Sometimes she'll have a day where she'll do it a few times, i think it must be fairly normal although i worry about it too.

she's been a pleasure the last few days... it is so nice to have the reassurance that she's not completely a horror :). She's being a bit mean to Orin, stealing his toys etc... its so sad because he thinks she's the best thing since sliced bread, poor innocent that he is :(. I'm sure she'll improve in time

Orin seems to be doing really well at nursery - he's turned into such a happy chap in the last month or so and is sleeping through most nights... only problem is he wakes up wet a lot he's already on size 4+ nappies.... Emma was in 5s when she potty trained!

"screw on hands" is a phrase i use too! Orin has them... so cute

CSWS- Yes I was at that Robbie concert. We went on the train and walked there and back from Stevenage station (I think), it was fine on the way but a little more difficult traipsing through a field in pitch dark on the way out.

I'm not sure about adjoining rooms but apparently they have only been open a year so it might be possible as it's very modern.

The children can go on lots at the Transport Museum, it's really child friendly.
There are tube simulators to drive, a tube to sit in, an old style steam tube train to get in, two modern buses which they can sit in the drivers seat on, an old trolley bus to climb up and then a small play area with wooden vehicles, taxi etc to play on and in.

DS can be very stroppy and his favourite thing is to cross his arms and shout 'noooo' quite rudely. He does sometimes hit, he actually slapped me in the face today in mid tantrum over going to the toilet. Both dh and I get really cross when he does hit and won't accept it. We use the corner when he has hit/been stroppy or rude/repeatedly refused to do as told, which is an adaptation of the naughty step. I have no idea if this is a good way of parenting but it does work with ds. He has to sit there for 2 mins (which really is about 30seconds normally as he is mostly immediately sorry and I figure he has no real concept of time) and we tell him why he is there, then we go and get him and tell him why he was there and he will say sorry. I've also used the corner when we are out and about, in the middle of BHS once, again I'm not sure if this the right thing to do but it is like my crutch to lean on.

We also use the timer a lot for him as many of his strops come from having to stop playing to go out/eat/go to bed, so will tell him we are putting the timer on and then give him a few minutes to play and then he usually comes happily. I stole the timer idea from my Mum who used it with my youngest brother who was a sod challenging. It works well with ds.....at the moment.

KSal - I struggled with both boys wetting through their nappies overnight. People recommended huggies super dry (the blue packet ones), which were better than others, but then I added a fleece wrap (meant for cloth nappies) over the top, and this helped further.

Yes we treat the hitting similarly pp. We use a step because we can put the stair gate on, without which he wouldn't stay there. He sometimes apologises straight away, but is often still screaming when the 2 mins is up .

It's a real battle of wills isn't it CSWS. Today with the face hitting it took about 10mins to resolve in full view of all at PPW. In the end I had to pretend to take back his new Peppa Pig toys to the shop in order to stop it all and Dh got him to the toilet on the promise that he would ask me to bring them back. Then I feel like an utterly crap parent as I hate using bribery like, taking away toys it sounds so pathetic, but I just get so angry that he has all these lovely things and won't go to the bloody toilet before we get in the car. Then of course when I've calmed down I remember that he is 2 and I am 34

I know what you mean, PP. We use "time out". Some people here in the UK seem to have an aversion to this phrase ... I think it's kinder than "naughty step", though I have absolutely nothing against the term, naughty step. I just tell Q that he needs some time away/time out from what he is doing to calm down/say sorry/be nicer...etc. It can be anywhere, just a bit removed from what we are doing.

cm uses the same strategy, so it's good for consistency (though she has only had to use it ever twice... and both times when I was there and she was completely taken aback by the behaviour from him as so "unusual" ).

I think it works. The timer also works quite well, but not always for us.

Q is also now picking up on "mommy/daddy/cm/whomever is sad". He'll go on and on and ON about it until he is reassured that you are "happy" again. He ran into the road when with DH (well, the cul de sac, but still) and Dh said "that makes daddy very sad when you run into the road" and put him in time out for a minute until Q said he was sorry and practiced stopping and waiting for a hand before going into the road with DH (he's usually good at this).

Later that night he was asking "is daddy sad? Is daddy sad when Q goes into the road with no hand?" We explained that yes, that does make us both sad, but it makes us happy that he holds a hand and listens to us. As he was going to bed, he was asking us "is mommy happy? Is daddy happy?"

We haven't really got a system for time out as it hasn't really been necessary (yet)! A couple of times I've put S in the hall to have a little think but we don't really have a proper spot for him. He did have time out at nursery the other day after he walloped someone though. And when I picked him up and nursery were telling me what had happened. He kept saying, "But you aren't sad, are you mummy?". So I had to explain that actually I was rather.

Dp phoned the doc but can't get an appointment until next Wednesday. Ridiculous.

HMM - Are you around? How are you doing?

We haven't really got a system for time-out/naughty corner either. F is generally easy to reason with and dissuade from a tantrum except when he's ill/teething when he'll sometimes melt-down completely over nothing at all, in which case time-out doesn't help. We've tried various forms of time-out for his worst behaviour (mainly hitting A) and tbh, nothing really works. He'll do it repeatedly (again, usually when he's teething like now) and then go for ages being really kind and gentle with her.

On the molars front, there's progress: 1 whole tooth one side and half the other. Nothing on top still.

star On the subject of accidents. and more . F's been terrible this week. Sooo many 'accidents', the most since he was potty-trained several months ago, he'll say he needs to go and then when i get him to the loo, he'll say all proudly "I weed in my pants" . He's even done it a couple of times with poo which he hardly did even in the first 2 weeks of being potty trained. dh and F had a bit of a tummy bug (but nothing major) so i'm hoping it's just that and he'll improve once he's recovered.

Next wed is a joke coconut but at least he's booked one.