Getting the boat ready for Sturgeon fishing in Seaside in a week
I was over at my parents tonight and was talking with my mom about how old Sage was, and for some reason I was saying she was still 16 months, but then my mom told me, um no she is actually 18 months. Is she really a year and a half old at the end of this month? I guess so. When I think about the fact that I can't turn my back on her for a second, and the fact that she has already gotten a black eye and is running and climbing on everything, I suppose she his a Toddler.
So I need some help from all of you other mom's out there..... Toddler 101
1. How do you entertain a toddler? Jeramy got into the habit of taking her to Cabelas everyday to see all of the stuff, we take her to feed ducks, to the park, on playdates at Andrea's with baby Carter, play outside. Today I let her color with markers...I just shut my eyes and decided it was best if I didn't watch, and just cleaned her at the very end. Her whole house and backyard looks like Chuck E Cheese.
2. What do you feed a toddler? She still won't eat anything...I even froze everything, blended into popcycle and she spits it out. She won't eat any fruit or vegitable. She won't drink milk or juice, only water. So I got all the flavored water and she won't drink that and I have blended vegitables into hamburger etc...but she spits it out. I know she can't just eat twinkies and chili cheese frittos...lol
3. How do you do anything when a toddler is awake? I am trying to figure out how to cook, bathe, anything for a few minutes by myself when she is awake...I am slowly realizing that may never happen again...lol
All of my cousins and friends are laughing at me and saying..."uh huh...now you know what I was talking about"....I don't understand how people have more than 1 baby. All of my cousins have 3-4 kids close in age and I am in awe of how they do it...oh boy, we are in for qute the ride.
4 comments:
Oh man, it has been such a long time since I was there. I'm getting nervous about being there again. It is so much harder having one than two because you have to entertain them instead of having them entertain each other. It's going to be a lot harder with Ben than it was with Karissa and Amy.
Having a playroom saved us. I put up a baby gate in the doorway and let them play inside the room. I made sure it was safe and didn't leave them for long, but for those bathroom trips, etc. it helped.
Libraries have storytime for toddlers. The rest of the entertaining, I guess you'll have to ask Katy and Em, they are more experienced in that area recently. It's been so long for me, I've forgotten. I remember a lot of Wiggles on the TV, though. : )
Food: Have you tried dips? My friend's kids were picky eaters and she had a lot of luck letting them do ketchup, ranch, fruit dip, etc. She put little chunks on toothpicks and let them dip. It's an idea anyway. And there is always purees. Jerry Seinfeld's wife did a cookbook called, "Deceptively Delicious" where she sneaks in the good stuff. I haven't tried it, so if you do, let me know if its good.
I hope some of that helps. Sorry this is such a long comment. : ) Like I said, it's been a long time for me, so I'll be waiting to see the good advice you get so I can learn before Ben gets there. : )
How are you feeling?
That playhouse is really cool, by the way.
You'll find I think that the more you try, the harder it gets. Just relax and let things go. You're doing a great job stimulating your kid, she'll be fine. As far as food goes, i don't know. i think kids just eat what they know they need to eat, and if you force them to eat more, you're just teaching them out to over eat! Just don't give her the twinkies and the chili cheese fries, and sooner or later, she'll eat what she needs to eat. she won't let herself starve lol.
Entertaining, they do a pretty good job at this stage entertaining themselves! they don't need you anymore. In fact it gets to be a little sad at times lol. I mean they still "need" you, but they can stay happy playing with lots of stuff by themselves. Her playhouse, a few cute tv shows, and a sprinkler will keep her entertained for hours! I was never too worried about leaving Avery when I had to go to the bathroom or wash dishes because i have such a small house, no matter where I was at I could see her. She tended to follow me around and watch what i was doing, which is a great teaching tool too! Let her watch you do dishes, fold laundry, go potty. She'll learn how to do these things because she wants to be like momma.
Hope this helps. having kids isn't a science. I think we all just kind of learn as we go along! I have yet to find the perfect mother out there lol, but if you fidn her let me knwo so I can get some tips too! Hope you're feeling well. See you soon!
Just remember Mia that there isn't any such thing as a perfect mother. Em's right. We all learn as we go. I agree with Becky. Get a good gate and make a safe place somewhere in your house where you can "lock her up" while you go potty, shower etc. She'll be fine even if she want's you to think she's not doing fine. LOL. They can make you feel so guilty. Also, let her play by herself. It's important that they learn to do that. It's good you play with her alot but she needs to use her own imagination too. Read to her alot, color with her, take a walk, sing to her, cook with her and don't worry about the mess. Find a good Bible teaching church and take her to Sunday school. It would be good for you too. She would meet friends that she will have forever and you will too.If you need some help in that regard e-mail Paul. He would be glad to do some research for you and let you know which church he would recommend starting with. Just a few tips. You are doing great.
One more thing Mia. There is a great book out there by James Dobson called Dare to Discipline. I read it when Charlie was a toddler and it was amazing.
As far as the eating problem, I have apicky eater too. He's getting better because he really wants to be big and tall and I can use that. Just offer her things. Don't force her to eat them. Make her try like 1 pea or 1 piece of carrot or 1 green bean. If she spits it out that's ok. Just keep trying. I remember being worried when Danny was about her age that he would only eat p-nut butter sandwiches. His doctor said "what's wrong with that?" lol. He told me that was pretty nutricious and he must need something in it. He told me just to offer things to him all the time and eventually he would start tasting and eating. It worked.
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