August 2005 toddlers

[Azure]

Here is the new thread for the new year.

Update on DS2. He is confident walking and has a very camp run. We have taken down the main stair-gates as he can cope well enough with walking up and down (the stairs have lots of spindles), and he worked out how to open the gates ages ago anyway. Not many words - a form of mummy, daddy, grandma and grandad but that's it. He is a lovely, happy child with a beautiful laugh. If he wants you to come with him he grabs your clothes and pulls you along. He loves playing with cars (lining them up) & trains (we have all the Thomas ones plus tracks from DS1) and his favourite toy is the big sit-in coupe car at his grandparents', although he can't move himself forwards in it yet, only backwards. He's never needed a haircut, although his curls are long when wet. He loves baths and the swimming pool. I just wish he would sleep later than 5am.

ds likes to 'hide' things then say 'gone'.......his favourite thing at the moment though is taking my hand and dragging me round the house. it was very cute about the first twenty times but i never get to sit down for more than 2 mins now! the tantrums are beginning here because i'm having to say no to things.........i have to walk away from him because he makes me laugh when he gets mad.

We had the mother of all tantrums the other day in the dentist, DS had appointment and DD was far from amused, screamed (no tears just pure rage) the place down cause i wouldnt let her press the button that turns the chair off!! DD is cracking me up just now, keep saying "oh mum" when she has done something that usualy requires me to fix! I get the uh-o or oh dee at things being chucked on the floor as well, or she decides she is all done and hurls the plate across the room so it is no longer in her way.

I had the day off work yesterday as the nanny was away and tried to take DS2 in for his MMR (at last). The baby clinic is Tuesday lunchtime only, which isn't convenient for work and I wanted to take him in myself as it's been a year since we've seen a health visitor. Anyway, got there and they had run out of vaccines - how rubbish is that? The nanny will have to take him after all as I don't want to delay it any longer. I'm now rather poorly with bad sinus pain and am off sick from work today and had to see the doctor myself earlier. As the nanny is away today as well it was DH's turn to take a day's holiday and look after the kids. I was not best pleased when he got dressed to go to work as I was going to home anyway - erm, I'm sick, so can't best look after the children. He has taken the day off now but I haven't exactly had a restful day - I had planned to spend it in bed (the bliss!). Anyway, enough of my winges.

Oh Azure, sinus pain ouch. Hope that passes soon.

LOL at everyone describing MY ds! It is so comical that they all develop so similarly! Tantrums a go go in our house, all very minor but ds seems to squeal if he's particularly tired and I just crack up! They are all very harmless and barely last 20 secs (so far...!) but I can see how much easier it would be to give in each time...then end up on supernanny in 5 years' time! That thought keeps my head in check!

Out of curiosity I began to write down the words ds says today, thinking he would have 30 at a push...74! I could hardly believe it. However I'm including oh oh and animal sounds (well, he thinks they're words!) so taking it to the extreme, but it made me realise how quickly he has changed and crikey- how much he really understands things. Dh due home tomorrow after 10 days away and I know he'll see a massive difference.

Thats such a good idea Bramblina - I'm going to give it ago tomorrow although I doubt he's even got as many as 20, let alone 30 or 74!!!!!!!!

birth announcement

Congratulations suzi!! I have added a comment to your other thread but couldn't not say anything on here!!

Bramblina we have followed your lead - dd1 and dd2 have been writing a list of the words ds can say - again, we thought he had about 20 but in fact we counted 47! Purely for my own satisfaction (I often read back through these threads) I am going to list them here:

Hello, Sula (dog), Cat, mummy, daddy, dd2, night-night, bye-bye, dd1, ow, wow, ear, rabbit, telly, computer (well, ta-ta), yum, nose, eye, oh-bum (bing bong, the noise the ferry makes), ferry, oh dee (oh dear), uh-oh, no, mm-hmm (ie yes), peepo, hot, mine, nana (banana), bath, light, puppy, yes, ferry, Davey (dh's friend), good girl (to the dog!), hiya, bear, grrr, lion, duck, quack, all done, all gone, flower, cow, OK

He is still in a cot at the moment but we are contemplating putting him into a bed. However we need to put stairgates up upstairs and fix his door (it doesn't shut properly atm). Another job to get around to!

Suzi 2 wow sounds like a dream!!! Congratulations!

DS' most impressive word - dangerous! well danerwous!

actually a list of ds words (have to admit I listed them after reading 50 words was the 'might even be able to' category and just about scraped 50) would be quite telling: beebies (for cbeebies), tweenies, doodledoo, justin oh and tea (he thinks cups are called tea because I am forever telling hime to be careful of my tea!)

I am very far from putting ds in a cot - we still often rock him to sleep aagh.

Well done and congrats Suzi

I have tried to do the word thing, and we are coming in about 40,most impressive was when DD was talking to her daddy down the phone and said "love you" highly heart melting. I tend to ask her if she wants this that etc and i get a response of Yeah or No with wild head shaking, maybe I will have to stop asking and see if she will talk more and just tell me.

Many congratulations Suzi. I'm impressed at all the words your LOs are saying. DS2 can more-or-less say Mama, Dada, Ready Steady Goooo, Goal, yes (well, more like yeah), something that approximates grandma and grandad - and that's about it. Hmmm, 9 maximum. He also has the attention span of a gnat when looking at a book - he'll spend ages choosing one he wants to hear read to him, snuggling up on the sofa, getting all ready, then get bored after 5 seconds, flick through all the pages and get down to choose another one. His brother loved books at this age - and still does. DS2 just likes being out & about and active.

It was half-term for DS1 last week. The first weekend we spent at my parents (boy, does DS2 love his grandparents - practically ignored DH and me the whole time we were there). Last weekend we went to Brighton, which was lovely - throwing stones in the sea, going around the Pavilion (DS2 thankfully asleep at this stage), on the pier. I have to say that 2 nights in a hotel with as all in one room was more than enough - I know why we have villas or apartments normally, we really need the space.

Forgot to say, DS2 finally got his MMR last week, which I'm relieved about. He still needs the other new one then (bad mum, I can't even remember what it's for).

Congratulations Suzi2 and what a lovely name. How is everything a week on? Are you bfing exclusively? I always breastfed DD three times a day and bottlfed the rest as ds was so demanding at 14 months - still crawling and banging into everything! I gave up bfing altogether at 6 weeks with DD which made things a lot easier to try to get them into a similar routine and to give me some rest during the day.

I don't know if it is a girl thing or a second child thing making me far more relaxed but DD started sleeping from 7pm until 7am at around two and a half months as opposed to DS's ten months. She is now almost 4 months old and for the past two days has been waking quite a bit at night which I reckon is due to teething as she is constantly trying to put anything into her mouth.

On the word front, DS is hardly saying anything. When should we get concerned by if they are not saying too much? He makes plenty of sounds but no recognisable words.

What is everyone doing about potty training? Some friends have told me to start at around 18 months but DS is showing absolutely no signs of telling me when he is doing anything in his nappy so he would seem like a fairly pointless mission.

Great to hear all your news. They are such adorable little people at this age, aren't they?

Azure I love brighton its one of my favourite places - its good when you have a nice hol but not too luxurious cos then you are glad to get home!

Tigerlion - Dont worry about the talking I think I read its normal for some children not to have many words yet, my friends ds is about 8 weeks older than mine he was walking well before 1 I think but still hasnt really said any words. Ds has only just got the hang of walking in the last week or so. He was the last to walk in the group of friends of his age but its looking like he is already catching up

Well Sleepytime has turned into a real struggle! A few weeks ago he would have a bottle downstairs after dinner, have a bath, get dressed and then have stories in a chair by his cot then I would hold him against me for a mo pop him in his bed and he would curl up and sleep nicely. Not anymore. He wants up up (i think that means he wants to go downstairs) all the time, he shoves away his stories and cries when I put him in his cot. I spend ages in the dark cuddling him in his chair putting him in his cot and repeating a couple of times before he finally stays asleep in his cot. I dont want him crying to sleep but I am pretty sure this is not a good way to get an 18 mo to sleep! What are the rest of you doing on the bedtime routine front?

Azure my DS is like your DS2 with books, he is now 7 and still when you read a story he is upside down round about looking as though nothing is going in, however if you challenge him and say your not listening he can tell me everything I have read word for word, its very frustrating though reading to someones bum or feet

Tigorlion I did the same with dd when it came to feeding, i found it impossible to fully bf while getting out for the school runs and doing homework etc, i also managed 6 weeks before going for the dragging bottle washing and making saga!
Dont worry about ds words, although dd has quite a few she still garbles quite a bit so a lot of the time i semi make the words for her repeating what i think she says though i doubt any of my guessing is right.

She is driving me mad just now by saying "Oh Barney" all day long she seems to think anything slightly purple is barney, piglet has even been branded with the name

DD seems to have got really good just now at bedtime, she has her bath and while ds is in his she has some milk and a cuddle then they both have a story in the sitting room and round about 8 they both head to bed she waves to ds night night and just goes to her cot with out a cheep, if she is very tired though she is asleep during the milk that depends on how her nap went, she tends to fall asleep in her highchair after lunch so i lift her though and she has an hour, if she falls asleep after 3 i can only let her have half an hour or she is up till all hours

I'm so in awe of those of you with a newborn / baby as well as a toddler. With regard to potty training I am not even thinking of it until well after 2 years. I read that most children do not have the physical ability to stop a wee or poo happening in time to get to a potty before then - "potty trained" before then is really reading the signs when a wee or poo is about to happen and getting the child to a toilet in time (as my mum admitted after proudly saying that we were all potty trained at some young age). With DS1 we tried when he was about 2.3 with no success and abandoned it until he was 2.7 and he got it first time - it was a painless transition. I don't see the point of rushing it, especially if it causes a lot of stress and grief, and am particularly sceptical of people suggesting starting at this age (sorry to dismiss your friends' advice, Tigerlion - maybe they had more success than me).

Pookey sorry bedtime has got into a struggle. DS2 is far, far better at going to sleep than DS1, and I think it's because we were too soft on DS1 by holding him until he fell asleep before gingerly putting him in his cot - if he woke up it was back to square one. With DS2 we just pop him in his cot after a short sit on the sofa in his room (usually with him finishing his milk) and he gets himself to sleep - done out of necessity in order to do DS1's bedtime routine next.

DD is breastfeeding... all the time! And giving me just a few hours sleep a day. But at least this time around I'm not in as much shock lol. DS is throwing the BIGGEST temper tantrums. He's not jealous of DD or missing me as such, just that he's had his own way and a lot of fuss from grandparents etc lately. He also isn't talking tigerlion, and even his babbling seems to be getting worse! I think that he's frustrated that he can't talk and that's part of the problem. He used to chatter away to us, but now just says "uh" and then throws a wobbly in 2 seconds if we don't understand what "uh" means!

I'll be leaving potty training until 2+. Would like to do it at age 2 ish as it's the summer and think that he could just run around in pants and not wet trousers etc. But I'm not convinced he'll be ready. He's starting to get the idea when his nappy needs done but still throws a strop if you suggest changing him!

I got a thing throught the post on potty training from boots the other day, saying that you should try and get them used to a potty at 18months just by letting the sit on it not to try and actually get them to use it. One of the suggestions was bathtime while you are getting the bath ready and sometimes the sound of runing water will make them wee!!! I didnt train ds until he was about 2y4m, i started because we were in swimming one day and he said oh i need the toilet, so he was obviously ready. we had a couple of accidents for a week when he was at his childminders and playing got in the way, with in a month he was dry day and night. There is a saying is there not if someone is very uptight " they were potty trained too young!"??

Suzi2 lovely to hear from you Sounds like everything is going ok. My ds is def more difficult after he has had his 2 days of being looked after by nanny (grandmother) while I am at work - she just carries him around all the time and lets him do things like sit on tables, have cbeebies on all day etc then he expects me to do the same! needless to say he worships her and all sorts of randoms get the honor of being called Nanny from models in magazines to proper littl old ladies in stories - I really dont understand how both can look like his grandmother lol

Wow Josey your DD sounds really sweet - ds has done the falling asleep in his highchair thing but only once! It sounds like you have a lovely bedtime routine.

Azure I guess things will be different when baby no 2 is around and I will have to be less fussy with DS. With your older son did his routine stay the same until he went into a bed?

I have been restricting ds CBeebies viewing and that seems to have helped a little along with an earlier nap and as a result he has been settling a little more easily. Still got to work on things though.

Suzi when I said everything sounds ok I meant that you seem to be coping really well and taking things in your stride. How is your ds about the breastfeeding? I am a bit apprehensive about that as Ds was still feeding when i first became pregnant.

DS was still feeding when I became pg too. He seems fine about it, except that mummy is busy, holding a baby, can't lift him or cuddle him etc. Finding it pretty tying... but hopefully it'll get better. I sit on the floor to feed dd when ds is about so I don't need to lift him onto the sofa etc.

Gosh sounds uncomfy but I guess it also helps your ds to feel less left out if you are on his level while he is playing etc.

Congratulations Suzi, how amazing, another little baby. I still struggle not to view ds as my little baby. Haven't they all grown up so quickly.

Ds dosn't have many words or sounds at all, when I did the list last week, he only had 12. I'm just trying hard to remember the phrase 'early walker, late talker'

But the main development atm is ds' temper. If he's not getting his own way, or if he can't open/close/reach for something, he scretches and gets that really pinched up look on his face. Now this must happen about 50 times a day, and it is soooooooo stressful listening to him. You can't win, if he can't do something and you try to help that makes it worse!

DSs lack of talking is actually really worrying me now! I'm not sure he has any words other than mummy and daddy. We had thought that he had said some other things but they weren't repeated very often. And lately he just says "uh" and "ma" to everything... he seems to be going backwards! He's full of tempers and tantrums at the moment which is breaking my heart as I'm used to just cuddling him and hate having to do discipline! I think part f the tantrums (which seem to be every few minutes for no real reason) are because he's struggling to communicate with us now. And every time I say NO or NOT NOW that sets one off... please tell me this is the terrible twos and that the terrible twos aren't worse than this?

suzi, really don't worry about the talking thing - a lot of children don't say a word until they are 2, and your HV will not worry about it unless he is still not saying anything at 2.5-3 - like walking, "normal" is a huge age range and any point on it is fine! I'm sorry if my list worried you, it was purely for my own benefit (as I suspected, I have already lost the paper that dd1 wrote it down on )

Ds is sooo funny. I have had a heavy cold this week and at first when I blew my nose he would yell with fright/surprise and I would say, "it's OK, just mummy blowing her nose!". So now when I blow my nose he says "OK, nose!" - LOL! He loves going for walks now, and today has taken me by the hand several times to his wellies so that I will take him out to the pond to look at the frogs ... awwww