Valentine week chatter

[shauni27]

morning, friends. How was everyone's weekend?

S and I both have a nasty cough--S has had his for about 2 weeks now, mine started this weekend. I also think he has conjunctivitis. Poor guy.

But despite that we still managed to have a pretty good weekend. S tried some new foods: french fries (mom of the year over here), corned beef and cabbage soup, pastini and eggs. Seemed to be a fan of all of them. I am having a hard time with meats and other textures--we tried buying some organic pureed meats and S hated them (which makes sense, that shit smelled SO BAD). How did you introduce meat to your babes? 

We tried some ground hamburger mixed into his sweet potatoes which he loved one day and hated the next. Same with really mushed up fish.

Any tricks would be great!

[oneslybookworm]

shauni27, no real advice on meats, G freaking LOVES puréed meats (which I find revolting). I’m trying to remember that “food before 1 is just for fun” and not stress it. He’ll eat eventually and grow to love and hate new things with time.

I’m cheesed Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day this year! Who the hell casts on V-Day?! Arg!!

Things are going well here. G had his first swim lesson this past weekend and absolutely loved it. He was like a little fish in the waters it was so cute!! We also managed to have dinner with our good friends who have a son 2 weeks younger than G, so they just sat around babbling at each other. So freaking cute, baby play dates are the best!

In other news, G is back at daycare, so we have about 72 hours before he’s sick again. Ugh. Poor kid! We’re house hunting as well, so that’s really exciting! I’m ready for a remodel project, so we’re looking for houses that need gutted. Can’t freaking wait! (I’m being 100% serious here)

[loira]

shauni27, No tips for meat. A still doesn't really like it. We've had success with meatballs and sausage, though. The fries are a win - now you know there will be something on the kids menu for him that he'll eat!

[pooh8402]

It took E a long time to get into meat. He didn't care for the pureed meat either. I think he was 10 months old before he actually swallowed a piece of meat without gagging (a very very tender piece of steak). We just gave him bites when we could, but he didn't eat it until he was ready. He had a thing about textures though. Baby led weaning didn't work with him because he gagged on anything more textured than store bought puree, until he was 10 months.

He still isn't really into meat much. He might take a couple bites, but that's it. He does not eat ground beef. *sigh*

[shauni27]

pooh8402, that makes me feel better. S just gags a lot. We gave him ground beef the second time and he acted like we put a lemon in his mouth. It was so funny.

oneslybookworm, I loved seeing the pictures of G swimming! Also, you CRAY GIRL. Moving already sucks, looking for a place to be gutted?! YOU ARE MY HERO, lol. I can't find the energy to put in a pony wall for our mudroom. lol.

[oneslybookworm]

Feb 12, 2018 11:17:40 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

oneslybookworm , I loved seeing the pictures of G swimming! Also, you CRAY GIRL. Moving already sucks, looking for a place to be gutted?! YOU ARE MY HERO, lol. I can't find the energy to put in a pony wall for our mudroom. lol.

We love staying busy and having projects.  The idea is that we'll carry both houses until the second is at a stage where it's not a total pit, then we'll sell our house we're in now.  We're not in a rush, still looking for that "perfect" house that has potential to be what we want.  The idea is to hopefully either retire early (if both of us are still working) or J SAH with G.  Not sure how it will play out, but that's one of the drivers.

[pooh8402]

Yea, so I get you. Don't worry about it! Offer it, but also remember there are lots of other sources of protein.

[scm1011]

shauni27, we never did pureed meats. We had luck starting with pulled meat (pork, chicken). C instantly loved them!

My weekend was blah. The in-laws visited all day Saturday (I find them draining) and then I had to spend all day yesterday seeing the world's worst musical (Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera) as a birthday gift to my mother. OMG. SO BAD. Very much looking forward to the long weekend coming up!

Cal moved to the toddler room today and I'm anxious to see how his day went. He's ready, but he SO tiny compared to the other toddlers! He also is going cold turkey without his bottles today since they're not allowed anymore. I'm sure that's going to be a disaster. Sorry daycare, lol.

[mpc]

Now that DD is picking up bits of food and feeding herself, I have been giving her small pieces of meat - chicken, ground beef, and salmon so far. She started that around 9 months. Before then she really didn't get any. I also spoon feed her stuff like cottage cheese and hummus, which have a decent amount of protein. (My DS didn't feed himself til several months later, and he's a pretty good eater still, so try not to get worried if everything isn't exactly on some timeline just yet. We did pureed meats with him, usually mixed with veggies.)

[loira]

Can I get some help from you guys? I need some stock answers (some quite polite, some less polite) for telling well-meaning people to leave my kid the hell alone.

Background: We went to a birthday party for one of A's daycare friends. The party was at this girl's house, and A does not go into other people's homes very often, my fault because I have no friends here. There were a bunch of new kids and new adults there. I think you guys know enough about A's personality to guess that she was overwhelmed and really unsure of how to behave. She prefers to observe before joining in - sometimes she doesn't join in at all, and this is totally fine with me. I encourage her, but don't push it because I was like this as a kid and I know it can take a long time to feel comfortable in a social situation where you're not sure of the "rules". Anyway, birthday girl's grandma was one of those women who think they're god's gift to children. Loud, exuberant, extrovert to the extreme. Grandma kept getting in A's face, trying to force her to dance, touching her shoulder in what I think she thought was a reassuring way, etc. etc. A was giving a ton of non-verbal cues that were not noticed. I then kept cheerfully repeating that A "just doesn't like a ton of people in her space." THEN, when it was clear that A was on the verge of a meltdown, I moved to the other side of the coffee table to put some space between us and all the people. A sat in my lap. We started a puzzle. This grandma came and fucking followed us and tried to sit next to A and read her a story and talk with me and I wanted to tell her to fuck off, but I couldn't because etiquette. I was as frozen as A because who the fuck does that? A had a full on meltdown, and birthday girl's mum very kindly let us go upstairs to get away from the party for a bit. We came down for cake and A played with some balloons and we made a quick exit on a good note.

[Mushe]

scm1011, good luck to C! I hope he has a great day.

oneslybookworm, you guys are amazingly handy! H is...not, and we can’t figure out how to make the time, so we even have a handyman coming to install our new Ring doorbell. 😂

[oneslybookworm]

Feb 12, 2018 11:48:46 GMT -5 Mushe said:

oneslybookworm , you guys are amazingly handy! H is...not, and we can’t figure out how to make the time, so we even have a handyman coming to install our new Ring doorbell. 😂

No shame!!!  Honestly, we'll likely hire out some of the work in the new house, because I don't have years waiting for it to be finished (and I absolutely hate hanging drywall).  I'm just really excited by the prospect of making it OURS, if that makes sense.  Taking the bones and just building from ground up something that we'll love.

[Mushe]

I’m so ready for an easy week! Last week was pretty busy, with H OOT for work, I had an overnight trip too, and some going away events for my boss. The babysitter made $$$.

I go in today for NIPT, and I’m so nervous. Ahhhh! I had another appointment last Friday, and everything looks great. 10w tomorrow based on my dating ultrasound.

I didn’t run all last week, with H gone, so I went Sat/Sun/today, and it feels so good to be back.

[scm1011]

Good luck today, Mushe! When do you plan to tell DS?

[shauni27]

Mushe, good luck today! You get the results back early next week?

loira, this sounds like a particular issue with just one woman who is crazy and overbearing. Her own daughter seemed to understand that you needed space, thank god. Super annoying, sorry, friend!

[scm1011]

I'm sorry, loira. That's tough. Seems like Grandma needed less cheery and more direct. "A is overwhelmed and needs some quiet time at the moment, do you mind giving us some space? We'll come find you when she's ready."

But really, c'mon Grandma. Take a hint. I think you handled it well and 99% of people would have responded like a normal person and backed off.

[pooh8402]

loira, I'm sorry that happened to A. I'm the same way, and I've never had a good response to people being in my face like that when I'm uncomfortable. I usually end up blurting something out that I think sounds polite in my head, but apparently comes out passive- aggressive and rude. DH says it's my tone. Well I'm deaf. I don't hear tone well.

[oneslybookworm]

Feb 12, 2018 12:38:11 GMT -5 @daylily said:

Feb 12, 2018 12:15:41 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

I'm sorry, loira . That's tough. Seems like Grandma needed less cheery and more direct. "A is overwhelmed and needs some quiet time at the moment, do you mind giving us some space? We'll come find you when she's ready."

But really, c'mon Grandma. Take a hint. I think you handled it well and 99% of people would have responded like a normal person and backed off.

oneslybookworm , I am actually pretty happy that Ash Wednesday is on Valentines Day because it bought me two extra days to get my act together for DS's classroom valentines, lol. He goes to a Catholic school and they postponed V Day to Friday. Phew. Thank heavens for Amazon Prime. 

I usually cook us a nice dinner on Valentine's Day and this year it's going to not happen.  I could wait until Friday, but then it's fish only Fridays, so...  Oh well, we'll make it work, just a bummer to fast on the day of Chocolate!

[loira]

Ugh, sorry pooh8402. Those people probably deserve a bit of bluntness. I actually told A in the car on the way home that she was free to tell grownups she didn't know to "go away, please". I know it's a bit rude, but honestly, some people just can't take a hint. shauni27, I wish it were just this lady. This is not the first time we've encountered someone like this, and I doubt it will be the last. There are a lot of people out there who simply don't understand that not all kids want to be jollied up. You can have fun even if you're just watching, and that "forced fun" is actually a bit traumatic.

I feel like the Caesar Milan of parents. My kid is fine, but I need to train everyone else because they're just causing these situations to become worse.

[loira]

Feb 12, 2018 12:28:45 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

I'm sorry loira . People are so obnoxious. My kid is similar. He is social, but he needs a few minutes. Our daycare providers tell the kids to leave him alone when he arrives because otherwise they all run up to greet him and he gets overwhelmed. I was shocked the teachers were so perceptive because this is totally something I would have needed as a kid too. They have a good read on him. I wish my MIL would understand this. DS often cries when he sees her because she just can't grasp the fact that he needs a few minutes to observe first. Maybe respond with something like "DD needs a few minutes to warm up. She'll join in when she's ready." and then try to move away from the offending party.

Interesting that you mention teachers, because I feel like all the teachers and daycare professionals I've encountered also totally understand that A needs time and space. I've never had an issue with an educator. Even ones at the toddler drop-in program who are really loud and outgoing seem to get that my kid won't like them at first, and they just say hi to her and leave her alone. Maybe it's all the experience of being around lots of different kids with different personalities. Anyway, yay teachers!

[shauni27]

@daylily, we puree most of his foods our buy the organic pouches which are so good!

[Mushe]

scm1011, we’ll tell him if the NIPT results are good. I figure that’s a better indicator than the NT scan. I’m sooooo nervous it won’t look good.

shauni27, I’m hoping! I waited until now, although their marketing materials say as early as 9w, because I’ve heard too many stories like yours, where you had to retest.

[Mushe]

Lol, icedcoffee! DS got like that with puffs. He was a maniac, and wouldn’t stop with a small serving. Those things are stupid expensive, so no. We just stopped buying them.

[thoseareradishes]

I thought maybe E was ready for a two nap schedule so we tried it for a few days last week, but she got too overtired. The problem is she ends up taking her 3rd nap around 4:30 and fusses about it, and is grumpy when she gets up. Oh well - we'll get there.

shauni27, I gave E some pureed chicken and she did not like it, and the cat ended up licking it off her hand (opps). I haven't tried anything else yet. I figure she gets plenty of iron from her formula so I'm not worried about it.

loira, I think scm1011 's suggestion is good. I think some people just won't get the hint though and you'll have to leave the area, unfortunately. E has trouble when first in a new situation with lots of people; we have to isolate her from other kids/crowds due to her prematurity so she is used to just us in our quiet house. She lost her shit at Thanksgiving because it was so loud at my sister's house, and everyone was in her face. I flat out told everyone before Christmas to ignore her, stay out of her face and try to talk more quietly. They did and she was much happier. I'll have to remind them all with her birthday party coming up.

[thoseareradishes]

Feb 12, 2018 13:50:33 GMT -5 Mushe said:

Lol, icedcoffee ! DS got like that with puffs. He was a maniac, and wouldn’t stop with a small serving. Those things are stupid expensive, so no. We just stopped buying them.

Apparently E really likes bamba snacks (they are like peanut butter flavored corn puffs).  She likes them a lot better than puffs.  She was squealing at me to get her more today at lunch .

[mpc]

My aunt passed away this weekend. It was a heart attack. I was pretty shocked. I'll drive the 2.5 hours for the funeral on thursday and I'm really hoping we can find someone to watch the kids so H can come with me. We took them both to H's grandmothers funeral back in november, but this time it doesn't seem like as good an idea. The service is right before bedtime and it's a lot of driving in one day.

Of course this means I had to reschedule my OB appt thursday to next week, so I will try to remain calm and unstressed for another week til I get to see what's going on in there.

[Mushe]

Hugs, mpc. I’m sorry for your loss. I hope you can find a sitter for the kids, and keep your nerves calmed!

[Mushe]

This was SO annoying. I could have used a mobile phlebotomist, but didn’t want to be a snowflake, so I drove to the test site, and it’s basically med on demand. The workers were annoying millennials with excessive microblading, and then I had to take the sample back and drop it at FedEx. AND she somehow lost my directions sheet. Ugh.

[shauni27]

mpc, I am so sorry for your loss.

super annoying, Mushe

[thoseareradishes]

I'm so sorry mpc. I hope you can find a sitter.