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Oct
1
I was rambling to JB last night about how challenging Dylan is lately — a mostly good-natured baby for sure, but always wanting something, no longer content to bounce in his chair or pound on the exersaucer for more than a few minutes at a time before making his fussy “HEHHH, HEHHH, HEHHHH” sound that makes my brain feel like someone’s slowly shoving pieces of it through a paper shredder — and how hard it is to deal with his nonstop needs for changes and meals and entertainment while Riley begs me to sit with him and read a book or build yet another towering stack of Legos and I kind of feel like I often end up shortchanging everyone. I get irritated with the baby, who yells to be fed but then acts like I’ve set him on fire when I get him situated in his chair and continues to bitch me out between each and every blessed bite; I get irritated with Riley, who seems to be in some sort of nonstop talking stage, talk talk talk talk talk talk talk oh god with the talking, and he’s even started with the “why?” thing (”Hey Mommy? Hey Mommy? Hey Mommy? Why’s that window?” Don’t bother trying to get the details, like why’s that window what? Open? Shut? Existing? See-through? Because forget it, ask for clarification and you get “Why’s that tiny ALLIGATOR? Hey! Where’s my yellow ball? Is the moon up? Where’s Daddy? Why’s that, why’s that, why’s that SANDWICH.” It’s like talking with someone who has taken a large portion of both methamphetamines and LSD) and having him chatter in my ear while I’m frowningly steering spoonfuls in Dylan’s mouth and Dylan’s whipping his head around to hear about the fucking window and arrrrgh, bananas on the wall again.
I went on to explain at great length about how I don’t wish for Dylan’s babyhood to go by more quickly, god no, he’s already eight months old and how did that happen (”Why’s that eight months old?”), it’s just that I am thinking that I am maybe not so great at multitasking this exact age combination of children and it’s just really haaaaaaaaaard sometiiiiiiiimes and that was about when JB said yeah, totally, um you know what I have to go to the bathroom. I suppose I should be glad he didn’t remind me that he can’t hear me when I whine and to use my words like a big girl.
The tough thing about parenting is that no matter how dreary it gets, no matter what fleetingly crappy stage you’re in, you pretty much just have to deal with it. I mean, you can complain, but it’s not like you have the option just to, like, bow out. This is also the very good thing about parenting.
In other news, I would like to dole out a dickpunch or two to the next know-it-all who gets condescending about current events in the economy and snottily reminds people not to panic, like they’ve got some Magic Eight Ball the rest of us don’t. Hey, I’m not exactly in a full-lather panic over here, but I have bills and career changes and savings and college educations and oh, our LIVES to consider and fuck it, I will stress out about this shit if I want to. Which I DON’T, but HELLO. See also: people pooh-poohing global warming because This Has All Happened Before and It’s Part of a Natural Cycle So What’s Everyone Worrying About.
Lastly, some random polling questions:
• Bedtime for baby: what time do you do it? Dylan’s been going down around 7:15-7:30, but I often have to fight to keep him up until then, despite a quick late-day nap. I’ve been afraid to put him down earlier because I don’t want him to get UP earlier, but maybe he wouldn’t?
• 3-year-olds: does yours eat? Like, actual food? Because what the hell, mine doesn’t.
• Are there any fitness-related websites that you particularly like?
• Facebook: am I the only one too stupid to figure it out?
Comments
111 Responses to “Grousing”
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When Eric was a baby he never had a set bedtime.
When Eric was 3 he ate nothing! He just started really eating a lot and he is 6 now.
I can’t really help you with the fitness sites. Sorry.
I was on Facebook for about a day then removed my profile. I did find some old friends though.
For our 9-month old’s bedtime, we follow his rhythms. He went to bed at 6:30 or so for a while. Lately it’s been around 8. His wake-up time has also moved from 6 a.m. on the dot to 7:15′ish. I read in a sleep book that putting babies to bed earlier does not mean they will wake up earlier. Only when they wake up, they will be more rested.
I just started using Facebook a little under a year ago, but am now a regular user. Let it search your email accounts to see who you know on there. Connect with them. If you aren’t feeling comfortable with it, wait for them to message you, post pictures, update their status, whatever. You’ll soon get the hang of it and find yourself much more in tune with their lives than in the pre-facebook days.
Regarding your earlier post about your older son’s fears, I just got a book called It’s a Boy, published a few months ago, that has a section on just that subject.
I personally found 1 and 3 to be the hardest age combo (which is essentially where you are). And if one of them is sick, God help us.
It gets better.
I went on a bitchfest about my twenty one month old this week, my five month old is the easy one (so far). The older one doesn’t really talk yet but I’m sure my level of frustration will be escalated when that happens. He’s just a destructive, defiant little shit. Who I love dearly.
Facebook appears to be more than it actually is. Basically it’s just a way to find people and then you post shit on their walls for everyone to see. Kind of like a blog, I guess but I keep my profile super hidden since I didn’t like those jackasses in high school and don’t feel like rekindling any old relationships. Guess I should delete the account.
My five month old goes down between 6:30 and 7:30 (depending on how long her last nap was). Then we wake her up and feed her at 11 and she sleeps through until 7 or 8 the next morning. My twenty one month old goes down at 7:30 unless he’s particularly bitchy that day and had a short nap, then we put him down earlier.
Fitness? What’s that? I actually ordered that 30 day shred you recommended from Netflix but haven’t had the balls to try it yet.
Oh lady I hear you. Theo’s in that stage now too and I’m all “Really? Why you be hatin’ on me boy?” Ugh. But yes, they grow up so quickly but at the same time. . .well, you know.
1).Theo goes down between 5:30-6:30 (depending if it’s a day care day) every night because he is so sleepy. Then is up between 6-7 a.m. after getting up once around 2:30-3:00. Not too shabby. Why don’t you try putting Dylan down earlier on a weekend, just to test it out, so if he gets up earlier JB will be around and no one as to go to work.
2). Don’t have a 3 year old yet so I have no idea. But rumor has it that most don’t.
3). No, but I should really poke around and find some.
4). I’ve tried looking for you on FB. C’mon! Drink the Kool Aid–it’s fun! :-)
Well if Cheeto’s, Macaroni (Roni n cheese) and pancakes are real food then HELL YEAH he eats. But that is it. Nothing else..Oh wait, this week he has decided he LOVES CEREAL. But only if it is covered in sugar or bright colors. Nothing taste better then Red 4 and Yellow 5 right?
I hear you about this stage… it’s HARD. Right now, I’m all whiny about feeding my almost eight-month old solid foods. Like it’s SO INCONVENIENT for me to feed her these tiny messy bites while simultaneously dealing with her three-year old brother. (Geez. Even I get sick of my own complaining sometimes.)
Anyway, re: the baby bedtime thing… I recommend trying to put him down earlier and see what happens - especially if you are having a hard time keeping him up. I discovered through extensive experimentation that my baby wakes up at the exact same time regardless of the time she goes to bed! Weird but true. At this point, she actually goes to bed at 6:00 pm (sometimes even a little bit earlier, SHEESH) and she wakes up between 6:00 and 6:30 am.
So, in the world’s longest comment, the bottom line is that it’s worth a try.
The eating thing…don’t worry about it too much. Just make sure that there is always a healthy option. If he’s actually hungry, he’ll eat. At this age they slow down in the growing department and don’t need as much food as before. They will also tend to not eat ANYTHING then go on an eating BINGE where you feel like he is eating you out of house and home. Typically, this is just before a growth spurt.
I hate facebook, I feel like I’m a million years old when I use it! As for fitness I like buddyslim.com
My boys are only 18 months apart in age, so I was dealing with a toddler wanting to feed himself and an infant who wanted to feed himself too, none of that mama spooning carrots to him. I was so happy he got many teeth early and solid foods were able to be given, as his little fists would jam as many green beans in as he could, but he’d be quiet at least! I miss the days when he was more dependent on me, but then again, no I don’t! Bipolar much?
My oldest is now 3 and his eating is still pretty steady. Right now he’ll eat anything that will stay on his fork, otherwise he gets fussy. Also, banana’s and apples are his favorite foods by far. Neither of my boys eat cookies or candy, nor do they ask for them, so if fruit is their dessert/treat, I’m happy to please them!
My little one, who is 20 months old, is in bed between 7-8pm every night. He’s getting his 2year molars, so he’s snotty as heck and usually gets up at 11pm for his nightly fuss-attack and snot removal, but otherwise he’s great. It’s the 3 year old that we’ve been fighting to get to sleep, he’ll fight us until 9pm, then at 3 am crawl in with us, which is getting damn old! Last 3 nights he’s been in his own bed until 6am, so I’m praying to the Lord this is a new step in the right direction.
Fitness? What’s that? Really, I’m studying for my state high school biology teaching certification, so my free time that I should use on fitness is being dedicated to re-learning all I can about biology and educational methods! After I get the license I’ll start back with the yoga and treadmill! I swear!
Facebook is pretty easy, but I don’t have a blog, so that’s coming from someone who is an admin. assistant and is constantly on the computer all day. I don’t play with the flowers or the other wacky stuff like that, but I really enjoy connecting with lost classmates and cousins who are on the east coast or overseas, versus here in Idaho.
My daughter is 16 now, and when I read your 1st paragraph, I laughed SO HARD. For a long time. I don’t know if you meant it to be funny, or if its just your incredible writing that lets it be anything to anyone. Anyway, I hope that you make it to where I am, where you can look back at these times (Riley sounds exactly like my daughter was at that age)and laugh. Or maybe it’s just dealing with 16-year-old issues that make this sound funny. Hoping not to sound insensitive.
Fitness websites:
www.videofitness.com-site has a forum and reviews of exercise videos/DVDs
www.cathe.com-site of one of my favorite video instructors
I found with my son that bedtime didn’t affect his wake-up time. In fact, often when he went to sleep earlier he slept better and woke up happier. He’s mostly an 8pm-7am kid now (15 months), but up until last month he would often be dragging by 6:30 or 7pm. Also, I’ve noticed (my first kid, so I’m learning here) that there’s a delicate “line” where he gets really tired and then has a Second Wind, which might as well be called “Fucking Hell” where he gets all wound up and over-tired and insane. For whatever that’s worth.
Our 5 week old goes to bed around 10:30 every night. I’m not sure how you guys get your kids to sleep so early. This kid would definitely not go for it. He won’t even take a real nap during the day, though sometimes he’ll give me an hour’s respite if he’s in his swing.
My kids, 4 and 2, are in bed and asleep by 8:00. Clean up at 7:00. Showers and baths follow, STRAIGHT to bed. If we finish early, I get a bonus glass of wine.
My 4 year old just started to eat yesterday.
(Fruit Snacks, and Soy Milk have kept him alive until now)
Facebook took some getting used to, but I think I finally have it. Until next week when they totally change it, again.
Oh and fitness related websites? LOL I better find me one, I could sure use it.
Ash has slept at 7pm since he was two months old (he’s now a year). If he goes to bed later, he still wakes up at the same time. I’ve been told it tends to not matter when babies go to bed, they’ll wake up around the same time.
It never really hurts to try, right?
Oh my hell the whining. From an 8 month old. I totally hear your pain. Quite literally.
My 8 month old has been going to bed at around 8 or 8:30pm. He stays home with his daddy so his second nap is 3ish to 5ish. If not for this late nap, I doubt he’d be able to make it until 8:30! He’s up around 7am like clockwork.
I love Facebook for the gaming (wordscraper and twirl are addictive) and for reconnecting with old friends. I think it’s much easier than Myspace but still not intuitive by any means. We need an over 30 social networking site that’s made for the generation that DIDN’T grow up glued to a computer.
• If he sleeps, he sleeps. If you’re going to adjust his bedtime, I would try it out for more than a few days…I’m not an expert, just trust your mom-gut :)
• My 2.5 yo has eating spurts. Give him a cheeseburger and he’ll make it disappear. Give him a fun pasta dish and he won’t touch it. Go figure!!
• I just checked out The Biggest Loser website today, and I actually enjoyed the tips.
• The format of Facebook is definitely different, but once you get used to it…it’s really easy to understand. Stick with it, and tinker around.
Yes, three is very hard! Questions gallor and independence all at the same time.
8 months, still going down very early (7:00ish) and sleeping pretty late 6:30-7:00.
Facebook, I’m too old to learn. I thought it was only for people in college and younger!
I’m lucky, my 3 year old eats like crazy and always has … and it’s real grown-up food.
All I can answer for you is the question about Facebook. I. Don’t. Get. It. At all. I prefer MySpace (as lame as people think it is). I find it much easier to navigate. Facebook makes me feel stupid! I can’t even figure out how to post more than one photo! Grrr!
When my Emmett was a baby he went to sleep at 7:30pm and got up at 7:30am.
Try putting him down 15 minutes earlier each day for a couple days (so like a 30 minute change total) and see how it changes his AM wake up time. A lot of kids can go to bed earlier with no problems at all and sleep to their natural “body clock” wake up time. It may make no difference at all and he may be a little more bearable during the day as a result.
If you have any sleep questions let me know. It is what I do for a living (no joke.).
TWO NAPS. My daughter had two naps. One a couple of hours after she got up and then another one around 2ish. God I miss those 2 naps although I’m grateful that she’s 2 and still naps for a couple of hours every afternoon. No matter what time I put her down for the night she ALWAYS gets up at 8:05. Like every day- she’s a freak of nature.
sorry you’re having a crappy time at the moment.
I’m guilty, I’m one of the don’t panic people, but not because I have a magic eight ball, because what the fuck can anyone do about it? Anyway….
Eating: 4 year old has always been a good eater; 2 year old, meet Riley’s double, possibly worse.
On sleeping: when Owen goes down earlier than normal he wakes up earlier, when August goes down earlier he wakes up earlier. Maybe it’s age? no clue, sorry that’s no help.
Facebook: I don’t get fancy with it, but dude it’s your turn on scrabble!
that was supposed to be: when August goes down earlier he wakes up at the SAME TIME…sorry about that
Dude. Fitness Fixation. You won’t regret it.
www.fitnessfixation.com
Funniest, most bad-ass fitness shit on the internet, no lie. Bonus: CUSSING!
Facebook is totally confusing at first. And I almost gave up, but I figured it pretty quickly after my inital “feeling way too old to social network” week.
And I totally just sent you a fake plant for you to care for on Facebook.
* When I discovered I was having trouble keeping my then-10-month-old up until 7, I started putting him down at 6 or 6:30. He still wakes up at the same time (6 or 6:30, as it happens.) And he’s more cheerful.
* My 3-year-old eats a good variety, and will at least TRY anything, but the amount she eats seems microscopic to me. Like, a bite of granola and a sip of milk = breakfast. Two bites of soup and 1/8 of a roll = dinner. How does she live on that?
* I resisted Facebook for a LONG time, and now I’m moderately enjoying it. I can’t believe the people who’ve found me on there. Like J.D., from second grade. Whoa.
1. That whole first giganto paragraph sounds Exactly. Like. My. Life right now. Read it to hubby and it was like I was describing my exact day.
2. Bedtime: Approx 7 pm…. both kids (2.5 yrs and 8.5 months) And trust me, they are ready then. Awake around 6:30-7am. Letting them stay up later doesn’t make them sleep later. We tried.
3. Food: Daughter (2.5 yrs) mostly loooves PB&J. That’s her main food. She also eats most fruits, mac & cheese, pureed sweet potatoes (if the moon is aligned properly), waffles, lots of yogurt, grilled cheese, rice and french toast sticks. No meats, nothing with sauce and nothing with a funny texture That about sums it up.
My equally single/childless friend and I were talking recently about what motherhood is really like, and will anyone ever be honest about it because we both feel shitty about not really being sure if we want kids? I mentioned your blog to her because you seem to be the most “this is how it is” when it comes to, uh, how it is…yeah. Anyway, I sent her the link to this post and she responded “Oh my god that was thoroughly enjoyable.”
I don’t know what my point is. I hope things fall into place for you.
• Bedtime - Always had ours in bed before eight until they turned five.
• 3-year-olds: does yours eat? No, shove in what you can.
• Are there any fitness-related websites that you particularly like? Persian Kitty
• Facebook: am I the only one too stupid to figure it out? Face who?
Someone asked me today, “so when do you think housing prices will go back up?” Ummm…..?
No fitness websites, but I’m always interested in what Gina Kolata writes:
http://tinyurl.com/kolata
And I am totally scared of Facebook making me feel OLD.
Regarding the bedtime for Dylan…put him down at 6:30 p.m. Seriously. It works! He’ll sleep through until 7 (at least) just like always. It doesn’t make him wake up any earlier - I promise. I am a total devotee of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and learned it through there. Worked like a charm.
Thank you for being you, Linda. In my own little head, I often think that I’m the only one going through this kind of parental (and personal) self-doubt, and I only have an 8 month old. No toddler…yet. I too get irritated. Hot breakfasts and teas grow cold. Teeth go unbrushed. Pajamas stay on. House continues to be unkempt. Baby requires all my time and energy. It’s enough to make me cry every single day. And I still have a job to go to at night. Sitting there right now even.
Calvin goes to bed around 7:30 usually. Used to be 8:30, but this new time allows whichever parent is there to relax or get something done. Sanity saver for us.
I hardly have any time for any kind of physcial fitness nowadays, but I when I did I liked Self.com, Mayoclinic.com, and any random ones mentioned in magazines or web articles.
I have both Facebook and MySpace pages, but I prefer MS because FB has become clogged and difficult to navigate. I only have snippets of time to toodle around on either one anyway, so why waste my time accepting or rejecting the myriads of requests that bombard you on FB.
My just-about-3 year old eats anything and everything. BUT, I am too busy FUCKING PANICKING over too many things to be too elated about it:
(in no particular order)
-Current events (don’t TELL me not to fucking panic! I’m like Chicken Little over here…”OMG! We’re all GOING TO DIE!”)
-Um, I’m going to be having another baby soon…and dude, I REMEMBER YOUR FIRST SIX WEEKS WITH A SECOND BABY. Am afraid.
-How the HELL have I been paying HALF MY INCOME towards student loans for THREE YEARS NOW and STILL not made a dent in them? Dear god.
-Did I mention a second baby?
-With this economy, I’m going to be stuck in this damn state FOREVER. I am NOT A YANKEE; I do NOT BELONG HERE.
Also, I signed up for Facebook and have pretty much just looked at it since then going “Ok, uh, now what?…Durrr.”
Currently have no interest in fitness. Am pregnant. Pass the doughnuts.
I started using FB right after they changed the layout, so I don’t know what it was like before. I just heard a lot of people bitching about it. I do get irritated with all those damn plant/pet/karma/flair requests though. It’s fun to find people I knew in high school, but I wish it’d let you see their page without friending them.
Tori (19 mos.) goes to bed right around 8 and then Payton (3) goes down right after that. It usually takes him almost an hour to actually go to sleep. And during that hour he is getting up literally every minute or two. My hubs works 2nd shift, so I get to go through this routine every single night by myself and, quite frankly, it’s maddening. *I’m* exhausted by the time I get them both in bed for the night!
Our hombre goes to bed around 6:30pm, eats at 11:30ish, eats at 5 and is up around 7ish. I think daycare just cleans his clock.
I’m scared to get pregnant again for the main reason that it would mean that I’d have a baby and a toddler. Holy. CRAP.
Facebook makes my head hurt. Why the hell would I want to send a virtual cocktail?
When my daughter was 3, she lived on peanut butter and jelly with the crusts cut off, goldfish crackers, carrots, milk and juice.
I think our golden retriever got most of the pb&j, he gained like 15 lbs when my girl was a toddler.
I can only speak to the bedtime issue; we have no three year olds (although my very-picky-eater-husband may qualify), and I drank the Facebook kool-aid years ago.
Bedtime for my 10 month old used to be 8:30. He would wake up at 5:30. Then I read something on Ask Moxie about the magic of putting them down earlier.. and they sleep later. She caveated that all children are different, naturally, but why not try it?
So we did and WELL HELLS BELLS, it worked. The child now goes down between 7:15 and 7:30, and we often have to rouse him for his/our morning routine at 6:30.
Joe’s bedtime was usually around7pm but he always slept 12-14 hours, so some nights we would put him in at 9 or 10 and he would sleep until 10 the next morning.
Eating- he was always a good eater
I like Sparkpeople
I have to tell you Dylan sounds a lot like my son did, rarely content on his own. And dear god! he is no differnt now at 5!! It has become so much harder. He just cannot amuse himself for any amount of time, he is constinly calling my name or needing something. As I type this my blod pressure is rising casue he won’t stop asking me too look at him or his cars or his dog!! grrr!!
My sister called me this afternoon because her 2 year old said he wanted to talk to me…but of course, then “I don’t want that” as soon as she got me on the phone. So we took that opportunity to chat and I heard, “Mommy, look at that spider. Look at this monkey (which was actually a vampire). Look at this tiny cat.” So not as many “why’s”, but lots of “look ats”. Totally adorable trait in a nephew…but while his mom is very patient and sweet, she did mention his Dad would probably be happy to read him a book!
re “3-year-olds: does yours eat? Like, actual food? Because what the hell, mine doesn’t.”
I got nothin’. Just want to say I wish I had this behaviour myself occasionally.
Re fitness web sites. I’ve been a long time fan of Krista. http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/ (She’s been a long time proponent of women doing weight training, is a great example, has loads of high quality info and demonstrations.) A sort of pre-Jillian Jillian.
P.S. I’m picturing you hiking the Great Wall while JB feeds Little D banana. Who’s turn is it to go to the bathroom now? Yours. :)
I also can only comment on the bedtime, but sleep begets sleep. Put him to bed earlier, and he will sleep longer. You don’t have to do it in 15 minute increments. Put him down at 6 and see what happens. When my daughter was 8 months old, I had to switch her from 6:30 to 5:30 and that helped a lot. She always slept until 7 or a little after. She is 14 months now and she is always asleep by 7 and gets up at 8. As a mom, I learned to NEVER complain about anything because my munchkin sleeps so damn well.
Also, your blog rocks my world. You always let us know how OK it is to be honest–especially with ourselves.
My five month old goes to bed between 6 to 6:30. I too tried to keep her up a little later but she is just too exhausted. And she wakes up anywhere between 6-7am.
I’m jealous of all the other people whose babies wake up at the same time each morning. I wish! I never know exactly when she’ll wake up. I also am not sure how long she’s awake in her crib before I get her as sometimes she talks to herself but other times lays there quietly and tries to eat her sleep sack.
• Bedtime for baby: My son is only 5 months and he goes to bed at 6:00…but I have the same problem with getting him to actually make it to 6:00. With my daughter, we were religiously putting her down at 7:00 and it was generally a fight with her as well from what I remember.
• 3-year-olds: Again mine is younger, like 2.5, but the only thing the kid will eat is oatmeal. She has some 3 year olds in her class and those moms tell me they are going through the same thing. You’re not alone. :)
• Facebook: Laughing my ass off about this because I sent my sister an e-mail about this a few weeks ago! I have since figured it out (for the most part) and have been addicted since. I’m so nosy…must see what those people from high school look like now! haha
I spend way too much time on Facebook - you asked on your other page what applications were good. I hardly use any anymore, ’cause I just got sick of…pretending. But my favourite is Nations, which is really similar to www.nationstates.net where you build your own country by answering questions. It’s a little funny and pretty fun.
Bedtimes: I have an 8-month-old too, and she also goes down around 7:30-7:45. Lately she too, has been starting to freak about 7pm, so? Guess I’m reading answers along with you…
Facebook: The new format is AWFUL. I mean, I know the good people of the internet complain about any new format, but this one really does suck. Since they started this I haven’t been able to do anything with my account.
SO… No help at all, apparently! But misery, it loves company. :)
My baby goes down about 7:30. My first went down at 6 as an infant and was up at 6. My four year old doesnt eat a damn thing. He drinks juice to sustain himself and thats about it.
Re: baby bedtimes, at about 3 months someone suggested that we put the twins to bed no later than 6-6:30. So we did, and what do you know — they started sleeping better than ever, and were happier too. This, combined with not keeping them awake more than 2-2.5 hours at a time improved our lives greatly. Even now, at 14 months, they’re asleep by 7 at the latest. 5:30 on meltdown nights.
DH and I were talking about this tonight (over bedtime bottles at 6:30), wondering how EFFING hard it must be to have a toddler and then an infant. We’re got lucky and had our two at the same time, and we’re happy to be done. Because we can’t even imagine how to effectively manage an infant with toddlers! Many of the moms in the moms group I went to when my girls were born are expecting baby #2 now. Boggles my mind. You’re doing great — you’re rational, you get up every day and you do your best. That’s an A+ in my book!
We sucked at bed times with our first so I wont even offer advice here. My 3 year old still wont go to sleep until 9pm.
My 3 yr old: breakfast is hit or miss. Lunch is the big meal of the day and dinner is minimal at best. We can definitely tell when he hits a growth spurt because he will eat like mad and then nothing. I just keep offering stuff he likes and does not like and hope for the best.
No to the fitness stuff. I am still trying to lose pregnancy fat without killing my milk supply.
I love facebook and find it a lot easier then my space (HATED IT) and Twitter which I do not get AT ALL.
My now 16 mo year old goes to bed btw 7 and 7:30. My 3 yr old doesn’t eat shit, except, well, shit (choc milk, ice cream, chips), so since I don’t serve that junk, she mostly eats a few bites for many meals, and then eats whatever isn’t nailed down for one meal. Then, repeat the cycle. She seems to be growing, so it mustn’t be too bad I suppose. It seems to help when I let her “help” me cook the meal. And I offer choices (oatmeal or cereal?) and sometimes that helps too. I don’t do facebook. And I like fitday.com to track meals and exercise.
www.sparkpeople.com. Has lots of resources, videos, articles, forums, calorie and fitness trackers, and best of all, it’s FREE. Which is good. I heart sparkpeople.com. I have lost 24 lbs since April, and going strong.
We put the three littles (ages 16 months and 3 years old and 3 years old) down at 6:45/7:00. They wake up in the 6:00/6:30 range.
We have two 3-year-olds, and sometimes they eat like little horses and sometimes they eat nothing, and I don’t know what the hell so I just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t seem too bony or listless, and if they’re not bony or listless I give them a daily multivitamin and try not to think about it.
Facebook is like Twitter, but more complicated. Like, you know how EVERYONE is CONSTANTLY saying, “But what IS Twitter? I don’t GET IT,” and then as soon as they’re on it for awhile it’s not an issue because the Meaning of Twitter, such as it is, sinks in? Facebook is the same but it takes longer to sink in. And even then, there is periodically something that will make you think, “Whuh?” And that is because Facebook is MOSTLY for single young people.
Oh, Facebook. I cannot STAND the animal petting requests and the whole sea garden thing set me off to the point where I updated my status saying so, and in the process, totally pissed off my sister in law, who was apparently the SOURCE of all of the sea gardening.
Our nearly 4 year old had a 6-6.30pm bedtime up until about 4 and a half then after that point we moved it to 7.00pm. Sometimes that varies depending on what else is going on but generally it remains the same. What doesn’t change too much is the time he wakes because of it. No matter what time we put him to bed, 5.30am is the standard “I’m wide awake” moment. Sometimes if he is PARTICULARLY worn out he might stay asleep till 6.15am tops but not often.
Food at 3 was a NIGHTMARE for us until we employed some tough love techniques. We were spending much energy and time trying to coerce the wee man into eating. Dinner times were long drawn out events equally fraught with pleading and frustration. UNTIL, we decided that if dinner was refused, we took it away and told him to hope down from the table. If he came back looking for food we would reoffer the same meal. If he refused we took it away again but the options didn’t change. A kid will not starve themselves. Eventually he would figure out that that was the only meal going and eat the whole lot. The other thing we did was make sure he didn’t drink anything but water inbetween meals and only snacked at proper snack times other wise the sugary/milky drinks filled him up, as did the snacks and dinner wasn’t quite so appealing. We also don’t ask him what he wants for dinner except on Sunday Games night where we all have something special for tea. Giving him the choice never works because they don’t really get that making the choice means we expect they will stick to it so it’s not necessarily a true reflection of what they actually want to eat and is bound to change on presentation of selected item.
Facebook? I spend a reasonable amount of time on there because I have friends overseas and I find it really easy to see what they are up to and get quick snippets of their lives without having to go to multiple sites like Flicker or Twitter.
SO ENVIOUS of all the commenters with sleep-through-the-nighters. My 6 month old girl goes down for a nap at 6:30-ish, up by 7:30, eat, play, bath and bed by 8:30. THEN she is up at 10:30/11:00 to eat, and more often than not, around 2:00 too. In the AM. Then she is up for the day between 6:30/7:30. She is a sweet, good-natured girlie, but this twice a night waking to eat or fuss is a little…trying.
When my daughter was a baby she went to bed at 6:30 for a while. And she slept through until 6 or 7 the next morning.
As far as what she ate when she was three - carbs, carbs, carbs. She would’ve eaten Cheerios for breakfast, lunch and dinner if she had it her way.
I feel old on Facebook.
Oh and as for facebook, I think maybe you are too smart for it! lol It is for us simple minded ones lol and I am addicted!
I put my kid to sleep whenever she was acting like she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. For awhile that was 5:30 in the evening. Sometimes it was 6 or 6:30 too. Regardless, she still slept until 7ish in the morning, her normal time to wake up. Actually, sometimes she woke up earlier if she went to bed too late. Now she’s on a normal 8 bedtime… but I say go with the flow and put him down whenever he needs to!
Bedtime! After fighting the early bedtime forever I have finally caved and started putting my eight month old to bed sometime between 6:15-6:45. She’s trying to get eighty teeth at once now so the wailing period takes a bit of time but she is definitely asleep before seven and girlfriend sleeps longer now. Like until 7:15. Babies make no sense at all.
Bedtime for 19mo for awhile now has been 6:30 - 7, and he sleeps for 12 hours (!)
He is the one that does not eat. Goldfish (they don’t have them here in AU, shit!) Crackers or grapes for the moment, and chicken nuggets & fries. Not one vegetable has hit his stomach since he was 6mo and eating jarred food.
Facebook - reconnect with old friends, say HI once and then just read their status updates, see pics of their life that you know nothing about, but still addictive anyway.
No fitness websites, sorry.
3, almost 4 yo son Still in the WHY stage, but more like “why are we stopping, why can’t we go, why does that guy have a baby in his belly, what is wrong with that lady’s head, why is daddy a better driver than you, etc etc etc.” FUN!
this book is what saved my sanity with all 3 kids:
http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0345486455/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222921738&sr=8-1
key learnings for me: putting them to bed earlier may in fact help, they sleep better when they’re not overtired. AND, watch for their tired signals, and get them to bed before they get frantic, either for nap or bedtime.
3 kids later… still working on the food though. Just read the sneaky chef… and while I admire her ingenuity, I don’t want to resort to quite that much trickery. still…. maybe I’ll try some of it just to see what she’s smoking…
who said that facebook is just the digital version of the inside of a locker? teen toys. I don’t get it either.
Re: bedtime, for us it totally works the opposite way you’d expect- the earlier we put the baby down to sleep, the later he gets up. Bedtime at 7? Up at 6. Asleep at 5:30? Don’t hear from him until 7:30. I have no idea why it works, but it does. I doubt Dylan would wake up earlier, if at all, if you put him down by 6:30.
And yeah, I hear you on the kid noise and energy. I really wish babies came with a “wait 5 minutes” button.
1- Don’t ask. Right now it is not the time I would prefer, but I am working on it.
2- I am fairly certain that 3 is officially known as the Demon Spawn From Hell age. You can’t get them to do ANYTHING. I can tell you that 4 seems to be better though.
3- Um, no. But! I have plans to buy The DVD this weekend. You know which one I am refering to!!
4- Again with the no. I despise Facebook. I don’t think it’s fun. At all.
This is off-topic, but I don’t have Twitter.
This message board
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=720732
is on the BBC airing of “My Fake Baby” and it looks like the first dozen or so pages are kind of a … GROUP LIVEBLOG. I read a bit of it and it’s pretty funny (I think).
Did you catch that Harry and his mom are both fine? I didn’t, at first. Not that it’s not still sad, but in more of a “I get why they moved halfway across the world” kind of way.
Facebook is wonky….decidedly addictive and ridiculously ill-designed…yet I can’t quit it! fuck.
We have a 7 month old who goes down sometime between 6:30-7:30pm…depending on that illusive late-day nap….which happens….sometimes. What I seem to have noticed though, is that he still *usually* wakes up at the same time - 6:15am (on the dot) to babble about the problems of the world and wage war on his blankets. Babies are weird….I too have noticed, as of late, that he’s ALOT more demanding….to quote the eloquent Sundry (and Patrick Swayze)…”No one puts baby in a corner”. Not sure what to do about that either. Fuck.
No suggestions for a fitness website…but I really enjoy almost ALL of the links on Elastic Waist. Sometimes they are about pop culture, sometimes food, sometimes about being overweight…sometimes they are just interesting.
Have a good one!
3 year olds eat nothing. I think all my kids ate crackers and mashed potatoes until they were 5. 1 & 3 are hard; 2 & $ are hard, too–in different ways. Some things are easier, but there are always new things to challenge you. I relate completely to your “whine”–I was in that exact place 8 years ago.
I am no help on the feeding/bedtime issues since I do not have children, and I never got into Facebook–sorry.
BUT I happen to love the Runner’s World website: www.runnersworld.com
They offer workout advice (speed workouts, race training, plyometrics, etc.), and even if you don’t run, the “Mammoth Core” workouts will leave your abs ripped and strong. Whenever I am feeling like a wuss and can’t get my butt out the door to run, I go to the Motivation portion and it gives me the extra push I need.
1) I have a 10 month old and sleep has gotten better at our house. She used to take a late evening nap (around 5:30 or 6:00) and then wouldn’t go to be around 9:00 or 9:30 and then wake up around 6:00 or 6:30. She has since cut out the late evening nap (on her own) and will start getting sleepy anywhere from 7:00 to 8:30. We follow her cues as for when to put her down and no matter when it is - she sleeps until 8:00! HEAVEN. So my advice would be to just follow Dylan’s cues - it may result in him sleeping later for you!
2) No 3 year old here - so no advice, just sympathy!
3) I recently signed up on sparkpeople.com. It’s free and easy, lots of resources - and you get points for stuff! I like it and think that you might too.
4) It took me a while to get the hang of facebook too. I’m not overly impressed but it does give me something to do if I’m bored at work so I keep up with it. Hopefully you’ll find your way soon!
I had the same problem around 8 months with bedtime. I finally started putting my son down around 7 but he didn’t get up any earlier. It was good because then I had some time with my then 3 yr old who was also an incessant talker. BTW, the 3 yr old is turning 7 tomorrow. Still talks. ALOT. And the questions are getting more complicated.
When my kid was a baby, he napped late (3-6ish) so I’d put him to bed around 8:30. When he gave up naps, I moved bedtime to 7:30. He is now 3, doesn’t nap and goes down between 7:30 and 8. He sleeps til about 7 or 7:30 most days. Seems now that no matter what time he goes to bed, he gets up about at the same time. Try an earlier bedtime and see what happens.
And no, he doesn’t eat. At least, he doesn’t eat much besides PB&J sandwiches. It’s killing me. I really need to get some vegetable matter into this kid.
Wow! This is the first time that I have commented here and I just have to say Amen sista! I love reading your blog and your writing is always spot on. I have never seen so many people reply with kids as close as my two. I have a 3yr old and a 21 mth old. Seriously Sundry, I think you should create a message board or something where we can all rant to our hearts content lol.
I hate mealtimes, I hate the why’s and I hate bedtime. Does that sum it up?
I am kidding tho it’s wonderful. Most of the time :)
This post cracked me up! I just recently likened a day with my 3 year old to hanging out with someone on an acid trip - the highs, the lows! One second it’s curling up on the ground with gushing tears that seem to dry instantaneously as he swings into mad laughter! It’s a lot to keep up with.
As far as food goes, I can rely pretty much on him eating beans. Beans and popsicles. I give him a daily vitamin and figure that between that and the “real fruit” popsicles he eats, he’s getting some nutritional value, right?
Lastly, I just recently got suckered into joining facebook and I’m desperately in need of a how-to guide…I’ve figured out how to poke someone and that’s about it.
My (almost) three year old eats eggos and oatmeal, with the occasional small bowl of macaroni or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That’s it. I give her a vitamin and hope that makes up for all the veggies she’s not getting.
And this age combo (my son will be one this month and my daughter will be three next month) is awful/awesome. Awesome because now they can finally play together (sort of), awful because of all you’ve mentioned. Constantly distracting each other, phantom attacks on the other one, never being able to give them equal treatment or time, etc.
My almost 3-yr-old survives on nothing but crackers, peanut butter, and yogurt. THAT IS ALL. Oh, and chips or Cheetos when he sees his daddy eating them.
Have you checked out Skwigg’s website? http://skwigg.com/ It is AWESOME, the only fitness website you will ever need. She’s done it all and gives practical advice about how to stay lean and eat well. She even posts food pictures, which… well, I LOVE food pictures. :B Her approach to healthy eating and daily kickass workouts makes it seem like actual FUN.
When my daughter was 3 she rarely wanted to eat anythign that wasn’t junk. I think its a phase. She’s now 4 and while she is still pretty picky, she has started expanding some of the foods she likes…try things that maybe he can dip. Like I can get her to eat carrots and celery as long as she has some Ranch. I still serve her what we’re having and if she doesn’t eat it, oh well. Eventually when he gets hungry enough, he’ll eat.
I don’t know if you mean fitness as in exercise only or just healthy type websites. I’m assuming you mean healthy. You must check out www.greenlitebytes.com . This is a “cooking” type blog from Roni a girl who lost over 60 pounds. She has a personal blog too (www.ronisweigh.com). Anyway, her recipes are easy and fun and healthy, not too complicated with too many weird things. She is at her goal weight now and has been maintaining for 1 year or so.
My son is 6 and while he doesn’t “why”, he talks CONSTANTLY and half the time I have no clue what he is going on about. Just endless chatter. ARGH.
My daughter is a month older than Dylan, and we usually start the bath/bedtime routine around 6:45ish. Later if she is in a particularly sunny mood, but usually right around that time. She’s been waking up around 6 every morning, so I don’t know what that would mean for Dylan.
I can’t figure out the NEW version of Facebook. I liked it better before they switched over.
my 3 ten-month-olds (eight months adjusted age, though) go to bed at 7. sometimes if they’re really cranky, they go to bed at 6:30. they get up at 7. or i should say, we get them up at 7. they may wake up earlier, but we don’t even go into their room until 7. it works out well, they’ve gotten good at entertaining themselves until we go in there.
I’m probably going to be really unpopular here but babies sound like dogs.
It doesn’t matter whether the dog goes to bed at midnight because we’re having a BBQ and sausages are being dropped left right and center or 9pm because I’m reading in bed kinda early, she’s always up at the same time.
And she’s going through a not-eating phase so half her breakfast is still in her bowl by dinner time (she used to devour the same amount in a minute and a half).
Does this mean I’m ready for parenthood :-)
You always crack me up and make me more light-hearted about my 8-month old’s trials. Not that he has too many - he’s like Dylan though, wants constant something (food, entertainment, nappy change, don’t-care-just-want-it-NOW). He is a great sleeper, though. Ever since two weeks went down at 10 and slept ’til 10. We started a bath-kick-bed routine at about 4months and he now sleeps at 7 and wakes up at about 7 (unless he’s spurting and then it’s 5. Jesus, kid). He also takes a nap (anywhere between 1/2hour and three hours) after lunch. But he’s a really lazy boy - just like me, he loves his sleep and rest.
For Riley, I just spotted an article in the NYtimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/15eat.html?_r=3&em=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin and thought of you - might be interesting to read but it doesn’t sound overly useful.
And FB - I don’t really do anything on there, I jut read everyone else’s updates. Those applications sure pee me the hell off, though. I just wish I could put a ban on them.
I think how you are describing Riley is how my mother described me at that age. And she likes me now. She says that I did claim a few times “you’re not listening to me”, so perfect the art of the interested expression.
For fitness I have just joined http://teambeachbody.com/findoutmore which I love. If you go to “play the game” you can see how it works.
I am liking FB more now that more of my friends are on it. I didn’t really see the point for a long time. It has occurred to me that I have become far too lazy to actually call folks and find out how their triathlon went this weekend. Instead I just read about it on FB.
Hmm… Baby’s bedtime. Same as yours. He is 6 months old, and will nap 2 times, sometimes 3 if I try hard enough a day. Otherwise we go for a walk to calm everyone down for 20 minutes, and that seems to work almost as good. I don’t think they get up any earlier if you put them down earlier, in fact, I think “they” say that babies will sleep better if put down earlier.
My 3 year doesn’t eat either. I have recently (yesterday) purchased some protein powder to start putting in her milkshakes (that she has once a day, which I have also just recently started).
Working out. Jillian Michaels is kicking. my. ass. everyday. I purchased the 30 day shred after so many of you have talked it up. Good Lord I hurt. I am only on day 4 and have yet to sit down on a toilet seat without wincing since starting.
Facebook. It takes time. I have been on it for a while now, and with all the new wacky changes I am finding it difficult and somewhat confusing. Blech.
Our lives are sometimes eerily similar.
My 7 month-old goes to bed between 6 and 7, which is the natural time she gets sleepy. I worried too that she’d wake up crazy early, but usually she sleeps until 6am (which in my house is on the late side, sadly!).
I’ve handled the eating thing with my 2 year-old by exposing him at each meal to a food that he’s not likely to eat (like broccoli), just in the off chance that he will. Sometimes it works and he eats it, most of the time he doesn’t, but at least it’s in front of him.
I have a two year old who doesn’t eat ANY meat product whatsoever.
He will, however, eat quesadillas, made with a simple tortilla and some shredded fiesta cheese. Also hits: pizza, applesauce, pre-packaged peanut butter crackers, and honey nut cheerios.
It might be boring, but at least I don’t ever have to pay for a meal in a restaurant, since I know he’ll never actually EAT it.
The constant talking and kids (and hubby) vying for attention doesn’t stop - just stop by my house at dinner time.
With regard to the eating questions……having had three boys, I can definitively say……everyone’s different! Boy #1 did and does try everything at least once. He would enthusiastically eat two-star phad thai at age three. To this day, when he comes home from school in Pullman (WSU - the black hole of decent food - except cheese and ice cream) he has to hit certain local restaurants for Indian, Thai, Persian, sushi or he’s unfulfilled. And during the holidays, there is the required trip to Ikea for Lutefisk.
Boy #2, used to be fairly adventureous - drank de-caf mochas and lutefisk (not at the same time, PLEEZE), and was even particular about where his mocha came from….”Starbucks, gack, Mommy.” Now at 17 he is less adventurous, but is slowly expanding, again.
Boy #3, was a challenge from day one. Did NOT breastfeed, his favorite veggie was peas, but would not eat any fruit that began with the letter “P” (peach, pears, pineapple). He could eat an entire batch of shepherd’s pie one week, but then eye it suspiciously two weeks later convinced I am trying to poison him. He actually accused me of that once when I subbed tuna salad for chicken salad in his sandwich. (He had been eating chix salad for a week before I told him it wasn’t tuna. He cried.) At 11, he has been getting better, slowly……..when all else fails, I feed him something that ends in the word “meatball.” Greek, Swedish, Italian, Persian……if it’s meatball, he’ll eat it.
Short answer….there is no short answer.
Good grief! I thought I was totally getting Facebook and then you all keep mentioning all these extra things that I didn’t know existed. I must be a complete Facebook Idiot, then.
As for kids: my little guy was going to sleep at 7:30 on the dot when he was Dylan’s age. I agree with the others that they don’t tend to get up earlier if you put them down when they fall asleep earlier. But, just in case, I would try it on the weekend.
Aaron is 20 months old and is some jerk hit the “terrible twos” switch a week ago. Now he’s hitting (and immediately saying “sy” — for “sorry”), he’s defiant, etc. and now you’re telling me he’ll stop eating?! Gah!
My 8 mo had been going to bed around 7-7:30, although, like you, I had been struggling to keep him up that long. Resisted earlier bedtime because he already wakes up between 6 & 6:30 (my other 2 would sleep till 8 or 9 at this age!). Last 2 nights I put him to bed ~6:30-6:40 & he slept till ~6:40 (with 2 night wakings - still not sleeping thru….but that’s another story!).
My 3yo boy eats chicken nuggets (either veggie or “real”) dipped in honey for 80% of his meals. He is a carb junkie. Doesn’t drink milk or eat cheese or like veggies or eat eggs or eat anything “mixed together”… only recently started eating hamburgers on a bun ie crabby patties, won’t eat sandwiches - other than the 2 times he ate PB & honey & loved it but then, no wait!, I actually don’t love it don’t make it again!…… you get the idea. I feel your pain. Also - for what it’s worth - I’m a registered dietitian eating crow for all the years I counseled moms with picky eaters & had NO IDEA what I was talking about!!!!!!!!
:)
Mine are 4 & 7 and I still get that feeling of being pulled apart that you’re describing, if I’m caring for them alone. Sometimes, of course, they play together joyfully in a way that makes me thrill to having two of them. But, at others, they’re playing some mental game of “who do you love best” measured in the size of apple slices that is craze inducing.
As you’ve said, nothing to do but deal. I suspect though, that another solution is that you need more adults around — perhaps invite a friend over when you’re alone, sans husband? Our situation is certainly being aggravated by spousal business.
(My kids don’t eat anything. I don’t get facebook, either, but then, I am a million years old. I don’t get text messaging, either.)
My 18 m/o goes to bed @7-7:30 with a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. She then sleeps to 7-8am. My 4 y/o goes to her room @8pm but usually stays awake in her room, refusing to go to sleep and making all sorts of demands until 10-11pm. Then wakes up at 7:30-8am.
My 4 y/o eats almost nothing. I actually got reamed out by her Dr at her last check up. Yesterday she ate an ego waffle, dry for breakfast. For lunch ate crackers and pretzel sticks. For dinner she had pizza crust and strawberry yogurt. My 18 m/o will eat anything, in copious amounts till she makes herself sick.
I just joined facebook so I am no help.
My 10 month old goes to bed at 8 (wakes up at 5:30 aah!)- but sometimes (like yesterday) he was tired at 6:30- and I fought to keep him awake because I didn’t want him to wake up EARLIER- so by the time bedtime rolled around at 8 he was all over-tired and we ended up having the first night in a while where he didn’t sleep through the night. UGH!
Fitness website: I LOVE MyYogaOnline.com. They have tons of yoga and pilates classes online and it’s only $9.99 a month. I cannot praise it enough. I alternate days between the SHRED (thanks to you) and pilates.
Facebook: Makes me feel old, and I am only 25. I cannot figure it out for the life of me.
We were awful at parenting our kids by the book at the younger ages and they turned out really well. (I now have 3 teenagers)
Bedtime until they were 4 was 7:30. Then it moved to 8. It never changed when they woke up.
They always ate what we were eating. At that time that meant a lot of pasta and rice because we were broke. Frozen veggies mixed in. The loved mac and cheese, corn, carrots, peas, chicken nuggets, potatoes and cheese. We never fixed special meals and they turned out very healthy.
Favorite exercise video for adults would be Denise Austin. I’ve heard that the shred is very good, but haven’t tried it.
No good at facebook whatsoever. My kids have given up on training me. They still laugh at me for it though.
I haven’t read all the comments so I’m sorry if this is repetitive but I would put him to bed when he’s tired. For my 9 month old it’s 6:30 at the latest and sometimes, if she misses her third nap, it’s 5:30. She never, ever wakes up earlier because I put her to bed earlier, she usually wakes up later. I know it is counter intuitive but I think sleep begets sleep. Once she starts to stay up later, I’m going to try to push through the third nap and get her to around 7:00.
My three year old likes green beans and has them once or twice a week, cheese sticks (only one kind) daily, turkey hot dogs (sometimes), Cheerios, bread (no crust), Healthy Choice Veg. Soup, The Water from the Green Beans, Water, Juice (rarity), “ice cream” (no sugar added frozen fruit pops), pancakes, grapes, apples, bananas. Sometimes. Sometimes he likes NOTHING. I try and balance it out over a week and not take it personally - I keep offering and offering and if he takes something one out of twenty times I consider myself lucky.
I like Erin Shea’s Lose the Buddha at ejshea.com.
I like Facebook, I love reading status updates and playing Scramble. I know lots of people don’t like the ‘new’ Facebook but for my needs it’s just fine.
i have a 20 month old and his bedtime has been between 6 and 6:30 since he was 6 months old and he sleeps until 7 or 7:30AM….if he goes to sleep later it will almost guarantee a 6AM or earlier (god help me) wake up. i have found that putting him down earlier has the exact opposite effect. he sleeps longer! it’s just one of those weird things.
and yeah, i’ve been sucked into facebook. kind of fun - but also weird who pops up from your past to “friend” you.
Hi, my name is Maria and I am a facebook addict.
I am personally responsible for sending hundreds (ok, maybe thousands) of virtual plants and karma. I have the ultimate Greater God status level for the Buffy The Vampire Slayer trivia game. I have played slot machine bandit over 8,000 times. I pimp fight (yes, I am also a gang member), I have a Mob, and I have 2 virtual houses that belong to a neighborhood and regularly do battle against other inferior pieces of cyber real estate. I am only slightly dismayed that my husband has more friends than I do, and rarely does a day go by that I don’t update my status letting the 76 friends I do have know exactly what is going on in my otherwise mediocre life.
Oh, my husband and I are also in constant battle over the Word Challenge throne…a battle that begins not long after we put our kids to bed.
In all seriousness, we have a lot of fun with it. It’s great connecting with people we haven’t talked to in ages, and also a great tool for keeping in touch with friends and family that are not close by to us in proximity. Don’t give up yet!
I know what you mean (times 3 boyz). I’m always shortchanging someone, always uttering the words: hang on, maybe later, not now, because I said so, no, ask daddy, etc.
Just joined the Facebook bandwagon. Climb on!
My vote is for the Sock Monkey for Dylan! I would buyit in a heart beat but my son is 20 mo and apparently to big for the costume.
Also, in my experience, an earlier bedtime does not mean an early wake up call. My son wakes up between 6-7 am no matter what time he goes down. I try to keep bedtime around 7ish for the sake of routine. However, his Father (my ex) will keep him up till 10 trying to get him to sleep in but “G” still wakes up around 6 or 7 am. Good Luck! :)
I am facebook’s bitch. For someone who resisted for so long, I’m now addicted to the “crackbook.” It does take a little time to get used to, but once you do, it can be a lot of fun with the games and wall posts and private messages. I love the security settings that will allow you to set your profile to “friends only,” meaning no one can actively search you out.
Oh, and all those garden requests? Click “ignore all invites” for the application OR for the person flooding you with ‘em. ;)
Re: lobster costume- you could plunk him in a large stock pot and don a chef’s hat to complete the look! Or, or… RILEY could be the chef!
Hi,
I have never posted here before but I have a three and a half year old and I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with her right now. She eats but very few things. She doesnt “wike” meat and she says that constantly, but lately if I allow her to have ketchup she will eat breaded fish sticks, meatballs, pasta with chicken in it. It seems like there is a age 3 stage where eating goes out the window and things they like one day are refused the next.
On the sleep front, she wont sleep without me. We are at the point now where I sneak out of bed with her to go back to our bed, and within an hour or so she is in bed with us. Help!!! I am still waiting for a good stretch of continuous sleep.
We have discovered that our son will eat almost anything if we cut it into fun shapes. He used to never touch a sandwich; now if we cut it into triangles and then make a big deal about it (”Look, TRIANGLE sandwiches!!) he eats it up. He still has days where he doesn’t eat much, but my mother reminds me that “No child in the presence of adequate nutrition has ever starved to death.” As long as you offer him an array of healthy choices, he’ll be fine.
On the infant bedtime, when my son was Dylan’s age, it didn’t matter what time we put him to bed, he woke up at the same time. Once we discovered that he’d get up at 7 regardless of when we put him down, evenings were a lot easier! Not every child is so accommodating, however. Good luck!
Colin is about to turn 2 and we JUST moved his bedtime back. He was going to bed at 6pm, EVERY night. And would sleep until 630, sometimes 7. But lately he started getting up at 430 (NOT COOL). So, now his bedtime is 730-8pm and he gets up at 6-630am.
Whatever you do, it will change, so don’t get too attached to the schedule.
Regarding the bombardment of questions; what I have found works, both as a “gob- stopper” and in a pedagogical way is to ask back; “Why do you think there is a alligator?”
“Do you think the moon is up?”
“Why don’t you tell me why there’s sandwich”.
In my case it worked by stumping him at first, but now after about 6 months of this (he will be 4 in december), we often have funny conversations as his imagination and conversations skills have evolved.
www.crossfit.com
I’ve been in and around the fitness industry for 25 years. Everything I’ve learned about what works and what doesn’t work regarding conditioning, strength training and nutrition tracks with the crossfit method.
I love the open source model (I hate the political stuff on the website, though).
I’ve made the most amazing progress in my fitness and body comp since I started doing crossfit. Warning, it’s serious and not for the weak of heart or spirit. There is suffering. But it works Look for a “fight gone bad” video on the site, that’s a good example of what we do.
Also, a great article entitled “What is Fitness” can be found here:
1) Go to www.crossfit.com
2) Click on “What is Crossfit” on the left side
3) The article can be downloaded from a column n the right side of the page
1. The 3yo and 2yo go to bed at 8:00. The 5mo goes to bed at 7:00. She sleeps until 7:00 a.m. I know, I’m lucky. Believe me, after Kid 1 and Kid 2, I earned this one.
2. No, the 3yo does not eat. Unless it’s hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, or pancakes. Try offering dips - ketchup, bbq, honey. The 3yo will eat anything if he can dip it in honey. Weird but true.
3. The 5mo isn’t weened yet, so I have made no real effort to diet/exercise, citing fear of loss of milk supply as the reason.
4. Just got sucked into Facebook 2 weeks ago. So I’m not one of those that cry over the loss of the old version. So far, I’m liking it, but still trying to figure it out.
Active.com is a great website for fitness and running. They have an email newsletter just for women that is full of great tips, nutrition advice, etc. that you can sign up for on their website. Plus, if you feel like training for a 5k or something like that, they have training schedules too.
Frederik’s comment reminds me of a wonderful short story James Thurber wrote titled “A moment with Mandy,” that documents a series of maddening conversations with a little girl who will not be defeated. It’s in his book Lanterns and Lances.
Dude, my view on the economy, or cluster fuck as I like to call it, is as follows: fuck it. I’m about to lose my 401K. I have no credit. My bank may or may not be completely out of money. But I have a couple hundred dollars in cash in case everything goes belly up, and a reserve of gas in case we run out. I have a gun, I have a scooter that gets 80 miles to the gallon, I have a good woman, and as of right now I still have a job. I can’t do a god damned thing about the economy, but I can say fuck it. I’ll survive no matter what happens because while most douchebags are glued to the evening propaganda to find out how scared they should be I’m out having fun and I know that no matter what happens I will at least be able to kill shit to eat and move around from place to place. I say if I’ve prepared for a zombie apocalypse then a little economic recession isn’t that big a deal.
Long time lurker, first time poster. Hi! In response to your question about bedtime, I have a baby who was born Feb. 8th, and we put her to bed anytime between 5:45 and 6:30. We tried keeping her up longer, but just decided the fight wasn’t worth it. We feed her when we go to bed, usually around 9:30, and she sleeps until 5:30 or 6am. She always takes an afternoon nap, but it seems to have no effect on when she wants to go to bed.
I have a question for you, too. How do you get Dylan to eat solid food? Maggie looooves anything she can feed herself, like sweet potato puffs and apples (yes, whole, raw apples, but she won’t eat apple sauce or drink apple juice), but anything on a spoon makes her ANGRY! Any tips for keeping mealtime from ending in tears for both of us would be so appreciated!
First, LOL I totally tell my kids that I can’t hear them when they’re whining. Oddly it works wonders!
Second, “dickpunch” {snort}
Third, try putting him to bed earlier once or twice and see if it works. Maybe he’s in a growth spurt and needs some extra zzzs.
What else did you ask? Oh facebook I think, my dh couldn’t figure it out for the longest time and then it just clicked. Give it another go. He was thrilled to find a bunch of friends that he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Neither of my daughters (7 and 11) eat much of anything. I used to stress out about it until my mom reminded me that I lived on Cheerios for about 10 years. I eat just fine now. It’s too much to stress out about what they will or won’t eat. And parenting is stressful enough!
Ergh, Facebook makes me feel old.
Seriously, I stumbled across your blog while searching “maternity pictures henna tattoo” b/c I’m doing (wait for it!) maternity pics for my best friend, who is getting a henna tattoo tomorrow night. ANYWAY, your writing style is great and I’m practically peeing my pants at work, I’m laughing so hard. I can totally relate. My 6 yr old daughter is still in the talk-all-the-time, ask-questions-always phase, and my 10 mo. old son sounds exactly like your little one. I am definitely a fan now.
My boy used to be falling asleep at about 7 PM, but now he can fight sleep until about 9 if I allow him to. And he’s still up bright and early at 6:30 every morning. And how he wakes up, with the crib-banging and primal noises? Totally. Distracted during feedings by EVERYTHING? Indeed. :) I feel your pain!