January randoms

[loira]

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season.

I am having a hard time believing that my "wee little morsel", as I referred to her when I announced her birth here, is going to turn 4 in a couple of weeks. In a way I think I'm more emotional about it than when she turned 1. I was ready to leave the baby stages behind, but 4 seems like the bridge between little-kid-preschooler and big-kid-elementary. She's now into chapter books, but we still read Sandra Boynton. She can write her name but still loves to scribble random colours instead of drawing pictures. She's very perceptive and tells me she doesn't want to grow up because it will mean I'm an old lady... but she also loves to talk about butts and farts. It's a fantastic combination and I'm not ready for it to end.

Happy birthday to all the other already and soon to be 4 year old TTC Grads babies.

[pandora89]

Happy Birthday to A, loira! I cant believe she is going to be 4 already. Wow.

[shauni27]

Wow, loira, it is amazing that she is almost 4! I have been feeling a similar way to you with regards to S turning 3.

We had a terrible start to the new year--after surviving the move and the holidays, S got the worst cold and then has been having these awful tantrums in the middle of the night and when we try to do nap time. I know part of it is acting out because of all the changes and everything, but boy this weekend was rough. I was SO READY to come back to work today and felt really guilty though about just wanting to not be with him. How can a kid go from being so wonderful and silly and happy and sweet to a demon who makes me cry? Ugh.

[cactuscookie]

I'm having feelings about E turning 1 in 2.5 weeks. Logically, I know babies are hard and life will get easier as she grows up. But...those hugs where I pick her up and hug her entire body at once because she's so small...those are my favorite. And the baby talk is so fun and cute. She hasn't taken a first step yet or had a first word, so she's hitting those milestones later than H did, but she seems really smart and coordinated it other ways.

H is a lot of your A, loira - bridging those stages. Right now, I'm not feeling too nostalgic about her getting older though. She's only recently hit a new stage of maturity where I can relate to her as a real person (somewhat), and it's so fun - and so much easier.

[loira]

Jan 6, 2020 9:02:25 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Wow, loira, it is amazing that she is almost 4! I have been feeling a similar way to you with regards to S turning 3.

We had a terrible start to the new year--after surviving the move and the holidays, S got the worst cold and then has been having these awful tantrums in the middle of the night and when we try to do nap time. I know part of it is acting out because of all the changes and everything, but boy this weekend was rough. I was SO READY to come back to work today and felt really guilty though about just wanting to not be with him. How can a kid go from being so wonderful and silly and happy and sweet to a demon who makes me cry? Ugh.

A was like that for about 2 months around 3.5. It's like she was desperate to be more independent, but incredibly frustrated she couldn't do certain things. She was having massive tantrums every single day and I swear, it was like my sweet kid turned into the exorcist child. It got so bad on a camping trip that we had to put her in the car to calm down, because she was throwing herself against the walls of the tent and I was afraid she was going to damage it. Then, like a switch flipped, she stopped having them. This was also around the time she figured out zippers, her car seat clips, her bike helmet etc. Hang in there!

[G22]

Happy birthday to A loira!! 4 is definitely a fun and frustrating stage!

Z turned 4 in October. Hes no longer a baby and I realized I need to stop referring to him as a toddler now. Hes so smart (frustratingly so sometimes!) and acts like hes 13 already in terms of his attitude. But then when he wants to be, he is the sweetest thing ever especially with his sister. He has my personality to a T, so sometimes I feel like I'm arguing with myself 🤦‍♀️

Baby Z is 2.5 months old and changing so fast. I love her little smiles! She is an easier baby than her brother, but somehow we still ended up cosleeping just like before. She sleeps for much longer sessions at night when she next to me vs the bassinet, so I gave in and did it again. It's hard to say no to 4-5 hour stretches of sleep this early on!

[vmars]

I am having DS2 next week! Ack! He’s been breech this entire pregnancy and when I went to MFM they said his head was measuring 42 weeks and he was 7lbs11oz at 36.5 weeks. We decided not to do an ECV and just do a repeat csection on 1/17.

I have been on maternity leave since 12/20 but this is the first day DS is back in school. We changed his bus stop and now I can pick him right down the street from which is a game changer. It’s nice to get some time to myself but I spent the first day on the phone trying to get some stuff tied up.

[thoseareradishes]

Happy birthday A! loira

Poor E had way too much holiday and had several epic meltdowns last week while family was visiting. I'm so glad to be back to our normal schedule, she's already calming down. Her speech is really taking off and she finds herself quite amusing. Our health insurance changed and they are no longer covering her speech therapy, which really sucks because we aren't going to stop now that she's doing so well with her teacher.

[thoseareradishes]

I'm so frustrated with E's nap and bedtime stalling. She yells hugs hugs hugs to get me to come back in the room, and it sucks because I know it's just a stall tactic. So I try to set boundaries but she loses her shit and who can sleep after yelling like a crazed hyena for 30 minutes? Last night I finally went back in after she was screaming her head off for like 45 minutes, I'm not sure she would have ever calmed down.

Telling her I will check on her in 5 minutes usually helps, but not always.

She also does it in the middle of the night, although that's usually just calling for me, getting a hug then going back to sleep. She gets up once a night to pee, which I'm perfectly fine with, but will often wake 1-2 more times for "hugs".

Part of it this week is H is back to work and she misses him. I finally had to very firmly tell her no more yelling today for nap, and she finally fell asleep. We've talked about no yelling at bedtime, everyone needs to rest, blah blah, and she was good about it for a couple of nights. Now she's back to yelling. I don't know what to do. She's not ready to drop nap, and she goes to bed around 8pm (although with all the stalling and yelling, she's usually not asleep until 8:30 or 9). She's been waking up earlier most mornings which sucks because she hasn't consistently gotten up before 7 since she was a newborn.

[shauni27]

thoseareradishes, solidarity sister. S is doing this too--every night "i no feel good. i sleep with you?" over and over. "i need medicine. i no feel good." "MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAA! MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Literally for 2 hours a night. I try to go in and calm him down and then tell him I will be back in a few minutes and it is not working like it used to.

And he does it in the middle of the night, too.

So sorry you are going through this. It sucks.

[Chrysanthemum]

Hey girls! I haven’t posted a lot lately, but still keep up with the board.

thoseareradishes, shauni27 it must be the age, C turned 3 last week and sleep has been a thing for the last couple of months. Even down to waking up in the middle of the night just for us to put his blankies back on. We’ve had some success with bribing him with raisins for breakfast if he doesn’t wake up mommy and daddy in the middle of the night. Kid loves raisins and it seems to be helping.

I’m scheduled for the c-section for baby #2 in a month, so I’m in the peak of 3rd tri discomfort. We don’t know sex yet and have zero names that we agree on so far. Any suggestions?

[loira]

A experienced a lot of sleep disruption just after turning 3. I was starting to lose my mind. Stalling at bedtime, calling me in the middle of the night for a drink of water when she knew perfectly well there was a cup within arm's reach. After a couple of months of this nonsense I resorted to bribery with a "morning treat" of a chocolate chip or handful of raisins if she didn't wake us up in the night. That worked for quite a while, until her currency changed, and now the rule is no stalling or getting up in the night for anything other than to pee or she can't watch a morning show. Although sometimes in a fit of pique she'll say she doesn't care about her show, and then I'm left with no tricks.

Obviously the rules aren't enforced for things like nightmares or waking up sick.

[shauni27]

Chrysanthemum, exciting! My favorite names are: Theo, Henry, George, Calvin, Sylvia, Hannah, Molly, Tess, Sarah. I also really like Catherine lately, too.

[thoseareradishes]

This is the second day in a row she skipped nap, so that's fun. I usually shower during her nap so we're going to have to try to enforce some quiet time in her room. I ordered an ok to wake clock, so we'll see if that helps.

Chrysanthemum, I can't believe you are due already! I like the names Henry and Hannah.

[knx9211]

Jan 13, 2020 8:10:04 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Chrysanthemum, exciting! My favorite names are: Theo, Henry, George, Calvin, Sylvia, Hannah, Molly, Tess, Sarah. I also really like Catherine lately, too.

That is because Catherine is the best name ever 😉

Except that my C won’t sleep. Send help.

[knx9211]

Jan 10, 2020 19:36:00 GMT -5 Chrysanthemum said:

We don’t know sex yet and have zero names that we agree on so far. Any suggestions?

So exciting!! I’m going to give you my favs that I couldn’t or wasn’t allowed to use so I can live vicariously through you.

We have a Patrick (his name is actually James. P is his middle name). Our other boy names were William and Peter. Middle name George because DH would not be a sport and agree to it for a first name.

We just had a Catherine but the other names on our short list were Elizabeth and Rosalind. I liked Rosamund but it was vetoed. Other names I couldn’t get DH to agree to were Caroline and Isla. There’s a little girl in P’s music class named Helena and I love that name now.

[Chrysanthemum]

Thanks for the help, ladies! I added a few names to the list to run by H. He and I have different taste in names, so we’ll see. In my perfect world, the name would be bilingual (English/Spanish) too, but we didn’t end up meeting that criteria with C so it’s not a dealbreaker.

thoseareradishes sorry to hear the no nap strike continues, those days make me cry!

[loira]

Jan 13, 2020 21:30:04 GMT -5 Chrysanthemum said:

Thanks for the help, ladies! I added a few names to the list to run by H. He and I have different taste in names, so we’ll see. In my perfect world, the name would be bilingual (English/Spanish) too, but we didn’t end up meeting that criteria with C so it’s not a dealbreaker.

thoseareradishes sorry to hear the no nap strike continues, those days make me cry!

I was adamant that our child's name be multilingual. My own name is Irish, but I grew up speaking French, and I also speak Portuguese and Spanish. My teachers would always call me Catleen, and I'm Catalina or Queite (prpnounced "Kaitchee") to my Spanish and Portuguese speaking friends. I always wished I had a single version of my name that would bridge multiple languages.

We have an Anna, and it's perfect for several languages. The nerd in me loves that it's a palindrome. Other names on our list were: Gabriela & Luisa. Boys' names were Rafael, Xavier (though H refused to pronounce it the French way, so we probably never would have used it) and Dominic.

[starryfish]

Hey all! I have been MIA for a while....while we did IVF to try for #2. After our 2nd FET (3rd transfer total), I got a BFP and my HCG was 154 yesterday! I got for repeat tomorrow. So please send me good thoughts please!

[Mushe]

Hi guys! Excited to hear so many big kid grad stories. I feel like I’m only browsing here when I’m one handed rocking B to sleep, so I can’t post.

B is 18mo and doing so well! People ask me if she’s walking and I say no...just running. 😄 Except her expressive speech, I think she’s caught up. She does say some things, like hollering her brother’s name, but not a lot. She pulls things out when she wants them, like claiming my nephew’s hat and saying hat! so triumphantly.

DS turned 8 and is the best kid I could ask for, except for the picky eating. He’s wicked smart and so sweet.

We just got word that our San Diego spring break plans have been upended, because our AirBnB is for sale. Looking at maybe doing Vancouver instead, if anyone has recommendations or an alternative!

[loira]

Jan 14, 2020 22:16:01 GMT -5 Mushe said:

Hi guys! Excited to hear so many big kid grad stories. I feel like I’m only browsing here when I’m one handed rocking B to sleep, so I can’t post.

B is 18mo and doing so well! People ask me if she’s walking and I say no...just running. 😄 Except her expressive speech, I think she’s caught up. She does say some things, like hollering her brother’s name, but not a lot. She pulls things out when she wants them, like claiming my nephew’s hat and saying hat! so triumphantly.

DS turned 8 and is the best kid I could ask for, except for the picky eating. He’s wicked smart and so sweet.

We just got word that our San Diego spring break plans have been upended, because our AirBnB is for sale. Looking at maybe doing Vancouver instead, if anyone has recommendations or an alternative!

Vancouver Island because I live there!

[Mushe]

loira, that’s what I was thinking! Do you have a neighborhood recommendation for an AirBnB?

[starryfish]

second beta was 460 at 48 hours after first!!!

[loira]

Jan 15, 2020 11:47:50 GMT -5 Mushe said:

loira , that’s what I was thinking! Do you have a neighborhood recommendation for an AirBnB?

Victoria's a fairly small city, so I'd recommend: James Bay, Fernwood, anywhere downtown, Esquimalt (a short bus ride to downtown) or along the Gorge Waterway (also a short bus to downtown). If you rent a car it's pretty easy to get to the Butchart Gardens, which are right around the corner from me, as well as out to beaches like Island View. If you spend the whole week on the island, you could probably do a 2 day trip to Tofino.

If you're planning on spending most of your days in Vancouver and doing a short 1 night hop over to the island, I'd try to stay somewhere like Kitsilano in Vancouver. It's a nice neighbourhood with great restaurants and cute shops and a short bus ride would take you into downtown, over to the aquariam, or to the science centre.

pandora89 , and her family came here... 2 summers ago? We were at the same beach on the same day but missed each other, haha. Maybe she has some recs.

[kellikans]

Happy new year, everyone!

DH is OOT this whole week and I'm just trying to survive. I can't wait until Friday. Except that he's going OOT AGAIN next week.

DS will be 2 (!) in less than 2 months, so I've been busy planning his party. And DD is almost 7 months. I can't believe it. Time surely does fly!

DD is a terrible sleeper and she's gotten really clingy these last few weeks. It's been really difficult and frustrating since it makes it hard to do pretty much anything.

DS is learning so much. He surprises us every day with something else. It's so much fun to watch him grow.