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The way you micromanage your entire familys food intake sounds really weird. The diet of a sick child is of course a special case, but there is a healthy middle ground between raising your children on fast food and planning their daily fiber intake down to the gram. Seconding the worry about creating some serious food issues here.
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Jun 9, 2013 19:22
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Alright, Cs 4 months next Saturday (oh god how'd he get so big so fast?!  ). He's obviously now all about grabbing things and having toys... But what kind of toys should I get him? There barely are anything at stores for under 6 months. Even the educational stores don't have much for kiddos under 6 months. Or would 6+ month toys be okay? Total loss at this kind of stuff.Also, we have an exosaucer but when should we get a jumper type thing? Not the ones that hang on doors, of course, but the stand alone ones.
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Jun 9, 2013 19:23
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Sockmuppet posted:The way you micromanage your entire familys food intake sounds really weird. The diet of a sick child is of course a special case, but there is a healthy middle ground between raising your children on fast food and planning their daily fiber intake down to the gram. Seconding the worry about creating some serious food issues here. I agree. I mean, I can understand being careful with meals, but snacks should be a free for all, no asking "permission" for certain things or measuring their fiber intake down to the gram. Man, if I had four kids I'd be going out of my way to make everything as self serve as possible because to hell with that. My toddler is already a handful the second the fridge door opens, I can't even imagine if he could open it himself - times four. And yes, if you don't want your kids consuming it regularly, keep it out of the house. Soda, chips, cookies, sweet drinks - just don't buy them. Also keep in mind that no matter how stealthy you think you're being when giving out special snacks, kids will brag about it to their siblings to get the upper hand in a heartbeat. And yes, keep your special work snacks at work. (It reminds me of a "weekly treat" my family got as kids, a box of eclairs from Hannaford's. Problem was, they came in a box of five and there was four people in the family. Who was the lucky person who got to eat two that week? It was always a point of contention. XD)
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Jun 9, 2013 19:37
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Ironsolid, I second everything Finnoula says regarding high-caloric needs. Especially since it sounds like your budget is tight, even Fiber One bars by the case from Sams aren't a really economic way to add good calories in (and they're full of sugar besides). My cousin's child has special needs, and needs as many calories in small packages as possible. (She has issues with texture, and can't eat large amounts.) And she has a peanut allergy. So they do Sunbutter (sunflower seed butter), she drinks half-and-half instead of milk, or drinks Pediasure, a spoonful of milk powder gets hidden in lots of foods, and butter or olive oil get mixed into everything else. A small bowl of mashed potatoes gets bulked out with milk powder and butter, for instance. If you utilized strategies like this, then everyone would be eating "the same", even if your CP child's portion has been altered a bit. All of the posting so far has been solid advice, and I wholeheartedly agree with the tone and advice given. The 7 year old sounds like the odd man out. A household where there are different foods for each person is just a recipe for disaster. Feed everyone the same, as much as possible. I commend you heartily on your weight loss, and wanting to keep your family eating healthily, but really, everyone needs to be on the same playing field. It really does sound, despite your desire and efforts otherwise, that you are creating food issues for the kids. Try wiping it all away, and only having stuff in the house that everyone can have, all the time. No more restrictions. Don't want them going sugar bonkers? Just don't have sugary stuff regularly around if setting limits creates problems. I also agree with Sockmuppet about your micromanaging the food intake of the kids. I get that it comes from your own weight loss efforts (I lost 45lbs last summer), but you have to keep that calorie counting, fat gram counting, fiber intake counting stuff away from the kids.
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Jun 9, 2013 19:40
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Lullabee posted:Alright, Cs 4 months next Saturday (oh god how'd he get so big so fast?! Rattles are good. Most stores have baby toys 3+ months in the area near baby food, diapers, wipes, etc.
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Jun 9, 2013 19:52
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Ironsolid, as someone who went through abuse as a child I would feel wrong if I didn't say something. Extreme behavior such as eating entire jars of peanut butter - or multiple jars in one sitting - is something that you should bring up to a doctor or psychologist. That is a child who is acting out and extreme behaviors can be a sign of abuse. I highly encourage you need to sit down and examine yourself closely and honestly. Abuse isn't just about hitting or violence. If there is no "reason" for him to act this way that makes seeing a doctor just as important. In the meantime, I would track everything he eats over a few days and try to document what is going on. Remember, lying in a child is normal. Lying for a child going through abuse is more than just normal, it's a survival mechanism. Focusing on whether he's lying is not helpful and missing the point. His behavior is screaming for help, and you need a professional to help both of you get through this.
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Jun 9, 2013 20:11
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My healthy and proportionate 16-month-old can eat 3-4 pieces of fruit a day, for the record. Half a banana?! edit: I'd also be curious if he's eating an entire jar of peanut butter at once, or if it's over a period of time and you don't notice it. Ben Davis fucked around with this message at 20:16 on Jun 9, 2013 |
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Jun 9, 2013 20:13
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Lullabee posted:Alright, Cs 4 months next Saturday (oh god how'd he get so big so fast?! Vivian is almost 7 months now and I remember having the same problem at 4 months. She was bored of rattles (they are fun again now that she can pass them from hand to hand and actually rattle them) and everything said 6 months. I bought her a little ball kind of thing that was easy for her to hold to help her learn gripping. We also got the jumperoo thing around 5 months and she loved it. She only did about 5 mins at a time at first but now she can go much longer. At 4 months she also liked toys with lights and sound, even if I had to help her play with them. Now she has fun pushing the buttons herself. There's probably nothing wrong with getting 6 mo toys, you just might have to help him interact with them until he's a few weeks older (which happens FAST).
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Jun 9, 2013 20:48
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Lullabee posted:Alright, Cs 4 months next Saturday (oh god how'd he get so big so fast?! Our jumper is for 6 months and up, and you're not supposed to put them in it until their toes touch the ground when they're in it (we put a book underneath to get him started, now don't need it at 6.5 months). For toys, lots of good stuff here: http://www.manhattantoy.com/ Our son loved the Winkel and REALLY loves the Skwish.
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Jun 9, 2013 21:14
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My guy was in PT then, and the toys that really got him to interact were this http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Spin-Sing-Alphabet-Zoo/dp/B000NRX5XE and this horrible vtech farm toy. Both only require a flailing arm to play with 
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Jun 9, 2013 22:34
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Papercut posted:Our jumper is for 6 months and up, and you're not supposed to put them in it until their toes touch the ground when they're in it (we put a book underneath to get him started, now don't need it at 6.5 months). Thanks for the suggestion, we actually have a store that sells that line in stores so we can check them out before buying. Thank you to everyone for the suggestions on the toys and jumper. I was thinking 5 - 5 1/2 months for the jumper cause he's pretty content with the exosaucer. Now to search second hand shops for one, cause I cannot afford a $160 for one..
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Jun 9, 2013 23:36
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Sockmuppet posted:The way you micromanage your entire familys food intake sounds really weird. The diet of a sick child is of course a special case, but there is a healthy middle ground between raising your children on fast food and planning their daily fiber intake down to the gram. Seconding the worry about creating some serious food issues here. You're taking me saying they get 15 grams a day too literally. I try to make sure they have their daily supplemental needs met by adding nuts or oats to food I make and buying multi grain bread.. I do not count anyone's calories, fat intake or anything of the sort. This would take way too much mental effort, and it's not something I'm capable of. If I were calorie counting, I wouldn't allow my son to eat two to three plates of food in a sitting. My oldest daughter sometimes wants healthy alternatives to rice and potatoes, so we allow that through salads with homemade dressings with toasted nuts and sliced fruits. And actually, I didn't even calorie count myself when I lost weight. I went on a mostly carb free diet for 9 months combined with a LOT of exercise. The only micromanaging of food I do in this house is with raw meats and fruit. After I do my shopping I portion everything into equal amounts for dinners for the next week or so and making sure our fruit lasts for the week. If I had more room in the house to store more fruit, I would happily buy more. I cook vegetables by the bunch, or frozen bag full. I don't measure anything unless I'm baking, because we all know where guessing how much flour you need can go! Anyways! I went and picked up about 500 of those ice pops today. I showed the 3 youngest (oldest is on vacation) and told them there are two types. We have the bigger boxes, which they're allowed whenever they want, and the smaller boxes, which they're allowed one a day. I explained to them that the bigger boxes were healthier for them, and the smaller boxes (jolly rancher/chocolate) were treats for after dinner if we eat all of our food. I also went into the kitchen with them both, and we went through the refrigerator and I showed them all the fresh vegetables we have for them to eat. An hour later, I saw Damien coming out of the kitchen with a 1 lb carrot in his hand. The ate the entire drat thing! After he ate the carrot, I gave him a hi five and commended him for eating a carrot instead of sneaking something else. He was very proud of himself, and daddy was VERY proud of him. Afterwards, I told him I loved him and I didn't want him to grow up to be like daddy. He asked what I meant and I told him that I spent a summer gorging myself on treats and ended up being a fat kid afterwards. He had a bit of a laugh from the story, which was kind of the point. I wanted him to have some sort of extreme emotion from the story so he would remember it, so I made it a funny story. Even though I'm 160 pounds lighter, I still have a belly. I'm sorry to everyone who thought I was micromanaging their food intake, some of my words probably didn't come off as true to my nature as they should have. The reason I have been watching the family's fiber intake is our youngest needs a large amount of fiber to pass his bowels, so two years ago, I started making sure everyone got their fiber, which is much easier than making sure just he got his fiber. With my previous statement about making sure EVERYONE gets something, it almost sounds like making sure everyone gets the same things will be tremendously easier than just making sure he gets it. This should help take a load of stress off of my shoulders as well as mom's. One of the things I can definitely say about Damien is for a while he was lying about getting into things, for the most part, he comes clean without any hesitation now. After reading many of these comments, I think I understand WHY he does this. His mother and I split up for about a year and she had someone else coming around, he was a raging alcoholic and met the blunt end of my wraith once for hitting mom. I think it's time to re think my strategies of dealing with him sneaking food and start using a more reassuring approach, rather than disciplinary approach. Love you goons, thanks for not holding back. Ironsolid fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Jun 10, 2013 |
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Jun 10, 2013 02:19
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Ironsolid posted:An hour later, I saw Damien coming out of the kitchen with a 1 lb carrot in his hand. The ate the entire drat thing! After he ate the carrot, I gave him a hi five and commended him for eating a carrot instead of sneaking something else. He was very proud of himself, and daddy was VERY proud of him. Afterwards, I told him I loved him and I didn't want him to grow up to be like daddy. I think this interaction is something worth giving more thought to, especially what messages about food and love you may be unintentionally sending. The way you describe this makes it sound like your kiddo may be getting the message that your love and acceptance is conditional; specifically that it's dependent on him eating certain foods (and he's making sure you see it, and not seeing him eat junk food). There's a book that I highly recommend, "Unconditional Parenting" by Alfie Kohn. It might give you some insight about kids' internal motivation - it was a real eye-opener for me.
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Jun 10, 2013 21:48
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My 8 month old is coughing a lot when he wakes up at night. It's not the fake coughing (we get a lot of that during the day), but it seems like it's dry throat coughing. He is a breastfed baby and does still nurse during the night (once or twice.) Should I be bothered/ concerned by the coughing or just let it go?
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Jun 11, 2013 13:13
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I would mention it to your doctor, especially if you think it's affecting his breathing. It could be asthma - one of the symptoms is coughing at night. It could also be sensitivity to dust or something in the room. It's not rush-to-urgent-care kind of thing unless the baby is struggling to breathe, but it is worth a call to the doctor.
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Jun 11, 2013 18:34
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So our sitter is leaving to take a teaching job in another state. Luckily she gave us more than 2 week's notice, but we are struggling to find someone. Daycares have a wait list and my wife isn't cool with them anyway. Our daughter turned 1 on Sunday. Anyone here do Au Pair? We signed up for care.com but not much luck in our area. People want $50 an hour to babysit, I do too.
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Jun 11, 2013 21:53
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Capslock Holmes posted:So our sitter is leaving to take a teaching job in another state. Luckily she gave us more than 2 week's notice, but we are struggling to find someone. Daycares have a wait list and my wife isn't cool with them anyway. Our daughter turned 1 on Sunday. Anyone here do Au Pair? We signed up for care.com but not much luck in our area. People want $50 an hour to babysit, I do too. Why isn't your wife cool with daycares? My son has been to daycare since he was 1 and we've had positive experiences. There are some bad ones out there to be sure (I've heard some stories...), but there are bad sitters too. I would look into it as an option! Being on a waiting list can't hurt as a plan B
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Jun 11, 2013 21:59
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rectal cushion posted:Why isn't your wife cool with daycares? My son has been to daycare since he was 1 and we've had positive experiences. There are some bad ones out there to be sure (I've heard some stories...), but there are bad sitters too. I would look into it as an option! Being on a waiting list can't hurt as a plan B I think it's because she hears the horror stories, mainly that one about a year ago down in Jackson, MS, and our coworkers who have kids in daycare always seem to be sick. I'm kind of either way about it, and agree that being on a waitlist as plan B isn't a terrible idea. We don't really have any friends who live here with kids our daughter's age and think it would be a good way for her to socialize with kids her age.
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Jun 11, 2013 22:02
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Capslock Holmes posted:I think it's because she hears the horror stories, mainly that one about a year ago down in Jackson, MS, and our coworkers who have kids in daycare always seem to be sick. I'm kind of either way about it, and agree that being on a waitlist as plan B isn't a terrible idea. We don't really have any friends who live here with kids our daughter's age and think it would be a good way for her to socialize with kids her age. Yeah, it's definitely a good idea to check out the place before placing a kid there. I heard a story of a private in-home daycare that ended up being closed down the same day because they didn't have an escape route in case of fire, yikes! The always being sick thing is unfortunately true for the first couple of months or so. My son (and my husband and I) were sick A LOT. But now he seems to have caught it all and isn't sick often any more.
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Jun 11, 2013 22:05
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To sell daycare as a potential positive rather that just something that might not be negative, a lot of the reason we signed Nathan up for daycare was so that he'd get to interact with other kids a lot more. He loves being around other kids, and a lot of his significant milestones have come with watching someone slightly older than him do something like walking, so it can also be an opportunity for some peer-to-peer learning. Plus it's always just felt odd to me that people are such social animals but can spend all but a small fraction of their first couple years around no one but their direct family. Anyway, all the daycares that we looked into let us drop in and do a tour of the place first, and see all their facilities and classrooms. I guess the horrible ones would have to be able to cover things up somehow, but wandering through in the middle of the day seems like a decent way to get an idea what goes on.
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Jun 11, 2013 23:19
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Hi, I have a 1 month old baby, and she is mostly an angel, but one thing that is a problem is that she hates napping. From midday until night-time she stays awake, with maybe a half-an-hour sleep here and there. I know she should be sleeping most of the time. She sleeps great at night and in the morning. What is the best way of persuading her to nap? I think she is getting pretty overtired during the day.
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Jun 11, 2013 23:29
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DwemerCog posted:What is the best way of persuading her to nap? I think she is getting pretty overtired during the day. If you are up for it, carrying her in a baby carrier will likely lull her to sleep. You might be stuck carrying her around during the nap, though. I use a Seven Sling.
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Jun 11, 2013 23:33
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What can I do about heat rashes on my 4 months old neck area? It's not hot at all - 82 right now - but because of his big head and no neck, unless he's in his exosaucer, his heads touching one area. It's especially bad when he sleeps. I'd try a fan, but if I do that, dude gets cold and quick. I'm at a total loss. Edit: I think it might be a combo of heat and drool. Dude drools like a dog lately. I clean him up every time I see it, but his skin still seems irritated. Lullabee fucked around with this message at 00:01 on Jun 12, 2013 |
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Jun 11, 2013 23:41
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I have two boys: a two- and a four-year old. Anyone have any advice on getting them to go outside in the backyard and play? They both just want to watch whatever is on Sprout, and I'd like them to go run around. Sometimes I can go out with them. But othertimes I'm either worn out from work or need to make dinner. Thoughts?
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Jun 12, 2013 01:41
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Do they have interesting things to do out there or is it just an empty yard? For real though, turn the tv off and send them out. Put out some snacks and water that are accessible too.
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Jun 12, 2013 01:44
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Chickalicious posted:Do they have interesting things to do out there or is it just an empty yard? For real though, turn the tv off and send them out. Put out some snacks and water that are accessible too. They have a giant goddamn pirateship to play on, but ignore it in preference for the TV. Seriously, look at this loving thing my wife thought was a great idea:  (The skulls and banner are from a Cowboy-themed birthday party two weeks ago.) They have a sandbox, numerous random toys to play with, bikes to ride, all sorts of things. But they insist on watching TV.
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Jun 12, 2013 01:56
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Say no?
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Jun 12, 2013 01:57
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Oxford Comma posted:They have a sandbox, numerous random toys to play with, bikes to ride, all sorts of things. But they insist on watching TV. Then turn it off.
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Jun 12, 2013 01:57
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Yeah, don't think we've not tried that. It just leads to them complaining. Should I tell them tough? How do other parents handle TV?
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Jun 12, 2013 02:00
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Oxford Comma posted:Should I tell them tough? Yeah, definitely. Be consistent and don't give in to their complaining, it'll only make it worse. You could also try set tv time-- set an hour or two or whatever you're comfortable with (keyword there is you, not them) and that's all the time they get. That pirate ship if fuckin sweet. Maybe they need some inspiration re: how to play outside?
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Jun 12, 2013 02:13
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Capslock Holmes posted:Yeah, definitely. Be consistent and don't give in to their complaining, it'll only make it worse. Yes. I would agree with setting a TV time and sticking to it. There will be whining as they adjust to the new schedule but TOO BAD. That pirate ship is awesome.
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Jun 12, 2013 02:19
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My 2.5 year old loves walking around the neighborhood, sidewalk chalk, and especially kicking around a mini soccer ball. We just walk around and I ask her to tell me about what she sees half the time.
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Jun 12, 2013 02:23
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dreamcatcherkwe posted:Yes. I would agree with setting a TV time and sticking to it. There will be whining as they adjust to the new schedule but TOO BAD. That pirate ship is awesome. The pirate ship *is* awesome and the kids absolutely ignore it. It really only gets used about 3-4 times a year when we have other kids over.
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Jun 12, 2013 02:32
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Oxford Comma posted:The pirate ship *is* awesome and the kids absolutely ignore it. It really only gets used about 3-4 times a year when we have other kids over. Have you gone in the pirate ship and played pretend with them? Sometimes that's all that's needed to set the ball in motion.
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Jun 12, 2013 02:48
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I only got to watch one or two shows at that age. I watched one episode of Duck Tales in the afternoon and Looney Tunes with my dad before bed. When I got a little older I was still pretty restricted on how much tv I was allowed to watch in a day and I did whine and complain. The funny thing is now that I'm an adult, I hardly ever watch tv.
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Jun 12, 2013 02:50
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Oxford Comma posted:Yeah, don't think we've not tried that. It just leads to them complaining. Should I tell them tough? How do other parents handle TV? Is there not a single thing you have to set limits with them on or say no about? Do it like that. Kids whine to get their way. Sometimes you have to put your big boy pants on and just say no.
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Jun 12, 2013 02:54
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I'm not sure how it worked when I was that young, but when I was a little older than that, there was a pretty consistent theme of "It's nice out, play outside." Sometimes we'd come and beg to play inside, but basically, if it wasn't horrible weather, we were to spend a good amount of the day outside. It's not like my parents yelled at us or anything, they were just matter-of-fact about it. "Can we play inside?" "Not now." "Aww but we want to." "That's too bad, it's a nice day." I'm sure there were days where we'd mope around near the door for a while, but we'd usually give up after a few minutes because moping is more boring than just giving up and playing an outside game. v v
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Jun 12, 2013 03:04
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My kid is 2 1/2 and we only record one "kid" show on the DVR - Looney Tunes. I also record the new Looney Tunes show, but that's actually a pretty adult show, not as engaging for a toddler as the original. I put it on if we don't have the other version, but I enjoy it more than he does. I only turn it on if my kid has been especially awesome, or if we need to kill a little time between outside activities or before his dad gets home from work. It's a rare treat, and I make sure he understands it's because he has been a good boy. Otherwise, the TV is tuned to a music channel or Pandora and the kid is looking through a book or playing with toys. Or he's outside in the backyard.
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Jun 12, 2013 03:13
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Subliterate young Gus came to me while I was doing something else and said "Can I have a lemon ice from the freezer?" It had been a long hot outdoors day, "sure." He says "I'll get it myself!". So, I congratulated myself on my independant and self-sufficient child, and went about my business. Went to check up on him half an hour later, and it turns out he had eaten an entire can of concentrated frozen lemonade with a spoon. Upon reflection, I'm not sure there is even anything wrong with that. But still.
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Jun 12, 2013 04:11
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Our one year old loves yo gabba gabba and has since she was little little. I feel guilty letting her watch it so much but when I have to do dishes or clean it's a really easy way to keep her occupied. Probably need to start taking mental notes on how much TV she's actually watching.
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Jun 12, 2013 04:45
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