Valentine's Week

[cornpop]

Any fun plans?

[cornpop]

I'm on maternity leave part 2 this week and next.

I had a ton of errands I wanted to get done today...and then it snowed. But a ton, but it seems unnecessary to take N out in it. New bras, glasses and birthday party supplies will have to wait.

E is at preschool. N is playing by herself. And I'm sitting on the couch. Having a kid that plays by themselves is revolutionary.

[polson]

Feb 11, 2019 9:42:32 GMT -6 cornpop said:

I'm on maternity leave part 2 this week and next.

I had a ton of errands I wanted to get done today...and then it snowed. But a ton, but it seems unnecessary to take N out in it. New bras, glasses and birthday party supplies will have to wait.

E is at preschool. N is playing by herself. And I'm sitting on the couch. Having a kid that plays by themselves is revolutionary.

revolutionary indeed! the 3 year old still needs constant stimulation from us. it’s amazing how much of a difference there is between the two.

eta i hope you get some down time during your leave!

[polson]

i got all my cleaning done this weekend so i am just taking it easy today. i started knitting again and picked up a sweater i started nearly 10 (!) years ago. i am trying to take more “personal” time for hobbies. reading in the morning before everyone gets up and knitting at night after the kids go to bed. it is doing wonders for my mental health.

[clementine]

No Valentine’s plans for us. H is out of town for work this week, so L will be my valentine. I’m feeling crappy today. Not really sick but maybe pre-sick? Possibly just tired because L had some uncharacteristic wake ups last night which required extensive butt-patting. I brought cookies to work this morning and ate 5 before I even put them out for everyone. It’s going to be a long day.

[clementine]

Feb 11, 2019 10:08:46 GMT -6 polson said:

i got all my cleaning done this weekend so i am just taking it easy today. i started knitting again and picked up a sweater i started nearly 10 (!) years ago. i am trying to take more “personal” time for hobbies. reading in the morning before everyone gets up and knitting at night after the kids go to bed. it is doing wonders for my mental health.

Glad you’re finding you-time! I need to do the same. Reading is my thing, but by the time I settle down to read at night, I end up just wanting to sleep. I have a long list of books I want to read, but I can’t decide on one so I just end up messing around on my phone until I can’t keep my eyes open.

[leatherpants]

No valentines plans but I might run away to the circus today. The oldest is just not listening and whining non stop. And B is just whining and grunting and crying and whining all day long.

And our second car froze to death so we all had to get up early to drive SO to work so naps are fucked and everyone is tired and grumpy. AND! Bedtime will be fucked too because we have to go get him.

And then we get to do it tomorrow in more frigid temperatures.

[mintyblueair]

Ugh, I'm sorry leatherpants. I hate it when our schedules get thrown off like that.

[mintyblueair]

MH and I had a high tea date yesterday, so that was our valentine's celebration. I have small gifts for the kids for the actual day.

N has been showing signs of needing to drop her morning nap (I know, it's insanely early) so we're trying one nap today. She stayed up until noon perfectly happy, so I'm hoping for a good nap now. Then we'll see how bedtime goes.

It's been too cold to go outside, so we're trapped in, as usual. Thankfully my toddler has been good at amusing himself (thank you Nespresso pods and Melissa and doug coffee maker!!).

[clementine]

Daycare is trying to push L to one nap. I don’t think he’s ready. His naps are 30-45 min at daycare, much shorter than at home. They said he had a hard time going down for his morning nap last Wednesday and Thursday, but at home Friday-Sunday he took 2 naps each day, 1.5-2 hours each, going down at the same time, falling asleep independently with barely a fuss. He wouldn’t go down for his morning nap at daycare today, but then slept for 1.5 hours in the afternoon. I know daycare is different though. Most of the other kids in his room are a bit older and on one nap, except a few much younger ones that just sleep whenever. So I’m sure it is tough for him to go down for a nap when everyone else is up playing. I can’t decide if they really think he’s ready for one nap or if it would just be more convenient for them if he was. I do remember another mom telling me they pushed her son to one nap as soon as he turned one.

I would really prefer to keep 2 naps for now and I might suggest they push his morning nap a little later to see if that will help. But if they are adamant about it, do you would I still be able to do 2 naps at home 3 days a week? Or if he’s doing one nap 4 days a week there, would we have to do it at home too?

[polson]

clementine i guess i would keep doing the two at home if he is going down easy for the morning one - playing catch up maybe? does it seem to be interfering with night sleep? i know every kid is different but that just seems so early to drop to one. they are also constantly going through regressions so things may be different in a week or two.

[Leaf 🌱]

clementine DD1 dropped to one nap super early and it was bc both naps were getting so short. I see where they’re coming from. I don’t think it hurts to try. Both girls have napped differently at daycare than at home and been fine with the changes in schedule.

Is anyone else still waiting on their first period? I am feeling veryyyy crappy and am nervous. I bought those flex things that get advertised on Facebook all the time. FX they keep me from leaking nonstop

[leatherpants]

I agree with Leaf 🌱, clementine. I don’t think there is any harm in trying two naps at home and if daycare can get one good one, then you are still doing well I think.

DS1 dropped to one nap early (11 mo) and once we got through the transition bit, he became such a damn good sleeper. Like he still naps somedays at almost 5. He owed me though. Personally I can’t wait u til B drops to one nap. It made life so much easier. So that might be clouding my judgement a bit Clem. I think two naps at home with her is totally fine though.

[polson]

it’s been snowing all morning. we have done approximately 1,285 activities. only 8 hrs until bedtime😑

[clementine]

Thanks for the nap input, polson Leaf 🌱 leatherpants! I’m anxious to see how he did today, but I may be a bit more open to trialing one nap.

[cornpop]

We did our Valentine's today. My gosh they're crappy quality now! I'm making my H pick up candy to add to them because right now they look so cheap.

We also have Ns first birthday invites ready to go now.

Both girls are playing on their own right now. I'm afraid to breathe the wrong way and disrupt them.

[mintyblueair]

Feb 12, 2019 12:41:21 GMT -6 clementine said:

Thanks for the nap input, polson Leaf 🌱 leatherpants! I’m anxious to see how he did today, but I may be a bit more open to trialing one nap.

It's easy enough to go back to 2 if that seems to be better for him, so trying one for a few days couldn't hurt!

My trial of one nap yesterday was ok... She was perfectly happy staying up till noon, but she only slept 1.5 hours so was in bed at 6pm, woke up at 6:30am. I found that I am not ready to spend 5 straight hours with her though lol, so we're back to 2 today. This morning she took 30 minutes to fall asleep and only slept 20, but I was glad to get the hour break. Bedtime will probably be 7 ish and my fingers are crossed that she'll be ready by then!

It's such a balancing act. I probably overthink it, but I really like having a schedule and knowing what to expect in terms of sleep.

[sunshinedaisies]

Knowing when to transition to one nap is so hard. We definitely waited too long with DS1. Most days L only naps once because he either refuses his morning nap or his afternoon one. But there is no consistency to which one and he’s also been sick so I feel like that’s playing into it.

Speaking of which, my kid is so miserable. We took him to the doctor today because his cough has gotten so bad. They diagnosed him with RSV and basically said that sucks, it’s a bad one, good luck and it should go away in 2-4 weeks. Awesome. I’m over this winter. Everyone in my house has been sick for the last month. Ugh.

[clementine]

mintyblueair I overthink everything so I feel you there. Also with the schedule. I do so much better with a routine, set times, a plan. No schedule newborn days were rough for me. Hope bedtime goes well tonight!

I’m so sorry @sunshinedaises. Hope your DS and the rest of your family feels better soon. This winter has been the worst with sickness.

[Leaf 🌱]

I found out I defintiely can’t get lasik until 3-6 months after DD2 weans. I am more than a little annoyed by this tbh.

I did ask my HR to chance my FSA account so the max for their daycare is taken out. It’ll be SO NICE to get that taken out in pre-tax money. Thank goodness we’ll only have 18mos of them both in full time care.

[woodenshoes]

We have no plans for Valentine's day. H's birthday is the day after and my birthday is the following week, so everything is all clustered together. H and I will probably have a date night sometime in the next week to celebrate everything. I will get the boys a little something for Valnetine's day.

clementine, I think daycare is going to start pushing L towards 1 nap a day soon too. We got a letter from daycare with all the changes they start making when the little ones turn 1. One of the first things noted is that they start taking naps on the nap mats rather than in the crib and they will be working on getting him to take a nap at the daycare wide nap time, which is after lunch. I am taking this as they are going to try to cut his morning nap, because they are trying to get him ready to transition to the next room sometime between 12-18 months. He still takes two good naps at home, so I don't know how that adjustment will go. He gets super fussy about 2-3 hours after he wakes up in the morning, so around 9:00 ish. I don't know how he will make it about 6 hours. I know daycare is equipped to handle, so I guess we will go from there. I will keep him on nap schedule he is currently on when he is at home, but will adjust as he shows signs that he is ready.

DS2 is so different from DS1 with regards to naps. DS1 fought naps from day 1...they always had to be on his terms. DS2 goes done for naps easily, so this is new territory for me.

[woodenshoes]

Since returning to school after Christmas break on January 7th, I have only worked 15 days. We have had 13 snow days since January 7th, for a total of 14 snow days this school year. The last three weeks students have only been at school 3 days. This winter has been crazy. I am so ready for it to be over. There was another snow day today. I took both the boys to daycare so I could get some paperwork for work accomplished today.

[clementine]

woodenshoes NAP MATS?! I cannot imagine trying to get a one year old to go down for a nap on a mat. L would be crawling all over the place. I hope your L’s nap transition goes well though. I know it has to happen sooner or later but it just seems so soon. Maybe because I’m in disbelief that our babies are approaching the one year mark. 😳

I can’t believe how many snow days you’ve had! I could go for a snow day or two, but that ma y is crazy. I know it really messes with your workload not being able to be at work and get your stuff done. Hopefully the weather gets its act together soon.

[clementine]

Feb 12, 2019 20:03:04 GMT -6 Leaf 🌱 said:

I found out I defintiely can’t get lasik until 3-6 months after DD2 weans. I am more than a little annoyed by this tbh.

I did ask my HR to chance my FSA account so the max for their daycare is taken out. It’ll be SO NICE to get that taken out in pre-tax money. Thank goodness we’ll only have 18mos of them both in full time care.

Did they give you a reason why? I want to get lasik eventually, but I wasn’t sure if I needed to wait until after kids since I thought there can be temporary vision changes with pregnancy? Am I making that up?

[snowmoon]

DS was a shit napper and I pushed him to one nap around 11 months and everything was well and dandy after that. He slept on a floor bed and had no issues staying on it for the most part. It might have been another story if he were in daycare with other littles to distract him.

[Leaf 🌱]

Feb 13, 2019 11:28:22 GMT -6 clementine said:

Feb 12, 2019 20:03:04 GMT -6 Leaf 🌱 said:

I found out I defintiely can’t get lasik until 3-6 months after DD2 weans. I am more than a little annoyed by this tbh.

I did ask my HR to chance my FSA account so the max for their daycare is taken out. It’ll be SO NICE to get that taken out in pre-tax money. Thank goodness we’ll only have 18mos of them both in full time care.

Did they give you a reason why? I want to get lasik eventually, but I wasn’t sure if I needed to wait until after kids since I thought there can be temporary vision changes with pregnancy? Am I making that up?

I called yesterday and the coordinator basically said the recommendation isn’t NECESSARY but that’s how long it’ll take for your hormones to regulate at their new normal. You risk having significant changes that could mess up your lasik results. I’m beyond disappointed. And guilty bc now I want to quit nursing more than ever LOL. I’m sure I’ll miss it when we’re done but pumping and having to buy more contacts is making me real tea grumpy.

[calendula]

woodenshoes, clementine, our daycare transitions to one nap on a mat in the next room, too, which is usually around 1 or when they start to walk. I don't feel quite ready for it but if I learned anything with my son, its that daycare providers are way better at sleep stuff than I am and I can trust their judgment. My plan in just to see how it goes and we can take it from there.

No plans for Valentines Day here. I was thinking I might make heart shaped pancakes for dinner tomorrow night. But I am also tempted to just do that for DS and then order sushi delivery for DH and I to eat on the couch after the kids go to bed. Hehe.

[polson]

woodenshoes ugh that many snow days sounds miserable! i had a hard time with the 2 i had i hope there aren’t many more in your future

sunshinedaisies i’m so sorry you’re dealing with rsv. i hope he feel better soon and that your house gets a break from the germs!

[polson]

yes to the magic of daycare providers and their abilities to get the little ones to sleep on mats. i had my doubts even with my 2 year old when we started but somehow they just kind of do what everyone else is doing? i would love to be a fly on the wall at daycare for a day

[ArielMermaid]

I have bloody nipples and my baby has teeth.

I quit.