ILX Parenting 3: Back In (Potty) Training

also, how long do these terrible twos tantrums last? Ian is almost 21 months old but has done everything early: talking, walking, etc; downside is that he's doing his tantrums and fits now as well. Holy god, try to put a sun hat on the kid and prepare yourself for an hour of misery.

i heard they last until 4 or 5 :(:(:(

my niece did the terrible two from 3-4 y/o

ok pics time:

beeps covered in cake at 1st bday party:
http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/7453/birthday1sa6.jpg
beeps in snow:
http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/3093/snow7ve9.jpg

That face really says "PICK ME UP. NOW. COLD. STRANGE. MAAAMMAAAAAA!" Kekeke

Oliver is Two Years Old Today:

http://vassifer.blogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/10/playground_3.jpeg

fark
http://vassifer.blogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/10/playground_3.jpeg

http://vassifer.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/10/playground_3.jpeg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2322218201_79dc7eb39b_b.jpg

as always, the ilx posse does not disappoint, are there any cuter kids on the planet?? happy birthday, all! howie's cake was fab. it's too bad we don't all live closer so we could have a group partay. everyone could come dressed as charlie and/or lola (or marv or lotta or sizzles). I for one would be very happy to have lola's wardrobe as my own. and excuse me but her house decor should be completely and totally mine.

I gave ava peanut butter when she was about two, and I had that momentary fear that you get when you're about to drill a hole in the wall and you're only 99.9% sure there's not an electric line underneath. but we were raised on peanut butter so I was pretty sure it would be ok. the midwives have said wait till they're three for nuts, but ava isn't a huge fan of meaty things and when she went off hummous for a while I was worried she wasn't getting enough protein. I know so many younguns with serious allergies, and I don't remember knowing anybody with them when I was growing up. I feel for the kids - ava's pal sofia can't be within 2 feet of an egg or any milk products or she breaks out in awful hives. thank heavens for claudio at our cafe, who will happily make a soy babiccino for her when all the other kids are having their l'il fake frothy milk 'coffees'.

In the UK we're told honey and eggs are fine after 1yr. Nuts are OK after a year if there are no allergies in the family, but if there are then you are supposed to steer clear til they're 3 or 4 (I think). Howie's being tested for nut allergy (among others) so we haven't given him any yet.

I love Aidan's wrap, what kind is it? We've got an Ergo but Howie is kinda getting a bit big and wriggly for it.

Also I am gutted that we haven't had any snow this winter so haven't got any cute snow-baby pics :(

It's an 'ultimate baby wrap' Meg, but I don't think you can get it in the uk, it's $40 in the US, if you really wanted one I could sort out shipping for you. In theory it will take him until he's three, but if I don't put it on tight enough then I get backache after just a little while. He doesn't wriggle in it at all though.

Happy second birthday Oliver!

Re. allergies, I thought that it wasn't the first time that was the problem, but the second, but I can't find anything to back that up. I did find this though http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pediatrics-1429/Introducing-Peanut-Butter.htm

We gave the boys almond butter around 1 year, and peanuts around 14 months. Neither of us have any allergies, so we weren't too worried. At around 8 months, we tried eggs, and we THINK that may have been what caused Owen to throw up and get hives all over his body, so we held off for a while. Now, though, he can eat all kinds of stuff with eggs in, with no ill effects, but I don't think Tracy has tried to give them straight-up eggs again yet.

More pictures!

Ben in the stroller with his new lion friend:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2270/2325260803_b7ee86bdd8.jpg

Owen setting up for a Superman seat-grab:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2244/2305398549_4b3c8d56dd.jpg

Oh yeah - our new camera comes today, so hopefully the pictures will get fancier soon ;)

Ooh, the Pentax DSLRs look ace! I think Brapps of this parish have one and they've taken many adorable pix of their little 'un with it.

I can't believe how cheap this is on Amazon US and I'd recommend it for indoor kid photography (our 50/1.8 barely left the camera in about 9 months), but the last thing you want to hear after buying a DSLR is "spend more money". A 50/1.4 for £90 equivalent though!

Yeah, I don't think my wife will go for another 200 bucks (well, 180 with my 10% employee discount! ;P) right now, but I will keep it in mind. Judging from your photos, you are the expert!

Judging by your first efforts with the K200D on Flickr, you don't need any help from me! (Funny how I could tell from the first thumbnail that they were SLR shots).

Thanks! They have a bit of a reddish cast, but I can fix that in iPhoto/Photoshop with some curve-tweaking. I also need to look at the color settings in-camera. That lens looks pretty sweet. I'll have to see about saving up for that in the next few months. Looks like I'm on my way down the SLR money-hole.

Here are a couple of my first attempts. My boys like the taste of blocks.
Owen:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2015/2327596957_f9f6725dce.jpg

Ben:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2022/2327593501_ee984df9c5.jpg

After reading your comments, my wife thought it would be a good idea, so we got the lens! I'll be in China when it gets here, but hopefully I'll have some shots up in a couple weeks...

Yay! You can't beat a fast prime and the Pentax 50/1.4 should be a great lens for photographing increasingly-mobile kiddies.

No more night time feedings but we do have to get up about FIVE FUCKING times per night.
Can I just say: I am exhausted.

The doc at Kind & Gezin said I should wait half an hour. "Studies have shown babies can deal better with falling asleep this way." Yeah, riiiight, they are too tired to cry anymore.

currently weathering my sixth grader's first big crush. OMG he's really obsessed w/this girl, it'd be almost funny if it wasn't so painful and confusing for him. the last six months have been a period of rapid-fire change. still a kid last summer now he's totally concerned w/BEING COOL and generally acting like a teenager.

m1: "would you please clean yr room/get ready for school/get dressed etc"

m2: "STOP RUINING MY LIFE DAD"

Oh, Nate, it sounds rough! You seem to be at the docs all the time. But you know they will sleep in the end!

Also my Year 5 son has started sending txts to his friend (who is a girl). I see trouble ahead.

We had really ONE night where we let the boys cry for 45 minutes, and then the next night they started sleeping through the night, for the most part. It was a brutal night, but it was worth it.

Nath: how old is she? Could she still be hungry at night (growth spurt or something)? Personally I was not happy to stop night feeds until Howie was well established on solids (around 9 months). Then I knew that the wakings were just habit rather than hunger.

Though I should add that I'm not against sleep training per se, it worked for us when nothing else did! Just that I know a lot of babies go through a mega hunger/growth spurt around 4/5 months, which can cause them to want to feed loads at night (when your milk production is highest). Anyway I'm sure you know all this :)

Y'know, I can tell much better with Elisabeth when she's hungry and/or hungry. When I go to her (in the middle of the night) and give her a pacifier she falls back asleep immediately. I'm pretty sure it's not hunger. She's been off night time feedings for three nights now. I think I could have stopped earlier but I was sort of... I felt like I had to be sure? Anyway I think the main problem is that I got her used to the pacifier as a way to fall asleep. As a result she now NEEDS it. I'll gently ferberize and see how it goes. Gently as in two minutes. And maybe when I'm ready two minutes? I find it all very funny in a way: the doctor said she had a study which showed 30 minutes (ferberizing) was ACE but then you have others who claim that if you ferberize for ten minutes or more the stress hormones (or whatever) skyrocket which prove they are right in thinking that kids can't handle it. Christ, for every opinion there's a study that proves theyare right. hah.

I'll be starting solids at 5,5 months. Not earlier. Maybe a bit later. But I think 5,5 is ideal cause at 6 months she'll be going to the creche for two half days a week. I don't want to introduce two new things at once. And maybe if by six months she can handle only a solid meal (sans mommy milk), I don't need to go to the creche for a feeding (which I can easily do as it's only a two minute walk away).

hungry and/or sleepy, I mean. :-)

it really is worth getting a 50mm:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/2332346245_c1f2bde90e.jpg

What a fat little guppie!! Oh I can't wait to meet him.

ah! Monday - lunch or post-work?

That pic sells a fast prime better than any of my recommendations!

Oh my God. He is honestly one of the cutest babies I've ever seen. Baby lust not helped by these adorable kids people!

aw, we want aidan back in the hood, we miss him! (and you guys too, natch). so just finish up that mac-n-cheesefest and buy some extra luggage to shove all those amazing yankee baby clothes bargains in and get back already.

as I type ava and mike are in your house, drinking your beer, leaving pizza delivery boxes strewn about and preparing toffee and rhubarb for constant papping with the new camera upon your return.

hey parents of ILX.

Can anyone recommend a safe baby gate that can be used at the top AND bottom of stairs?

I think most of the ones we looked at work at top and bottom -- you just need one that can open whichever way you need, I guess. We went for one like this as it doesn't have a bar to trip over.

The one I bought was totally crap.Also as we have old staircases it never fits. :-( So the cheap option: running after her the entire time.

I had a GREAT night: woke up every hour because Liesje was crying. *sigh* I am beginning to consider "crying it out" cause if it's not Liesje, it'll be me. ;-)

I don't know nothing bout baby gates, all I know is that I had dinner with Aidan last night and there is nothing funnier IN THIS WORLD than that one and his da getting up to something. Although I don't think A likes my laugh.

Aw, yay for Aidan living it up stateside.

This is somewhat embarrassing given all the proper cameras/photography on this thread lately, but:

Grumpy with pear
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3076/2345776606_57a4759bd7.jpg?v=0

Thoughtful on bus
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3095/2344948771_16a308cd51.jpg?v=0

From above
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2345776664_132a97783f.jpg?v=0

Having a point

Er, I mean
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2351/2345776744_0f5d1a93c7.jpg?v=0

I'll include Beeps in this as well, but based on our pictures, Archel, I'm worried that our babies are fascists.

Haha, I know! Only this morning we were remarking on the strange irony of babies starting out looking like Winston Churchill, but growing to resemble (in Alice's case anyway) Hitler.

We didn't have a stairgate for child no.2 - we got so blase about child no.2! And she has the worst 'safety sense'. Twice I've had to save her from drowning.

Aww, these babies are all growing up!

I had a horrible migraine attack last night (nauseousness and near vomiting incl) so I couldn't get up as much as previous nights. She fell back asleep. Didn't put her off so it seems: during the day she was chipper as ever. I guess I'll have to let her cry a little bit. She has to learn to fall asleep on her own.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3061/2336715701_d86198a84e.jpg

Everyone is sick again. Even though Ophelia is taking Bactrim (for impending urine checkup), she has a slight fever and seems to have bronchitis like my husband. ARGH! When will it STOOOOOOP! :-)

David, when did you do the 45 min crying it out experience?

i never noticed how blue alice's eyes are. like a blue crystal or something. beautiful.

nath, didnt liesje have much darker hair?

i have this horrible feeling we completely messed the sleep thing up with beeps without realizing it.

she has slept through the night since she was 5 wks but heres the thing i realized: we rock her to sleep EVERY NIGHT. Do we need to cut this out? Is it going to cause problems later on. Ive only seen her fall asleep in the crib a few times.

Megan is six months old and I still have to rock her to sleep. She just gets crazy if I try putting her in her crib to fall asleep on her own, and I'm too much of a wimp to let her cry it out for any extended period of time.

stevie - I think we did it around 6-7 months, but that time is a total blur. We did it a bit early out of necessity, though - twins require extreme measures. I think if we only had one kid, we would have waited a few more months. And it's not like they ALWAYS sleep through the night. Teething wakes them up from time to time, and now-and-then they will just wake themselves up (bad dream?). BTW, that is one cute picture - what a sweet little Tintin 'do!

More pictures (loving the new camera...)

Owen, right before doing a face-plant onto the grass (dig the mischievous face):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2404/2339348612_4bb33795bd.jpg

Ben:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3271/2339323542_39d7c80220.jpg

Owen:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2345/2339321700_6ac7da211d.jpg

beautiful blue peepers on alice and liesje! but I wouldn't like to meet grumpy alice in a dark alley behind a fruit stand, she looks like she's gonna bean somebody with that pear and she doesn't mean to miss, ha.

crying it out never worked for ava and she hasn't slept a whole night through in months and months, but lulu is so different. she has her wake-up-shouty moments occasionally but soothes herself back to sleep. she doesn't cry, though, it's more like a few protest shouts that turn into chatting and giggling and then she sacks out again. if it was crying the way ava does I'd crack in a heartbeat and we'd be shopping for a kingsize bed to accommodate the whole fam.

ben and owen are looking like full-on boys now, so cute!

lulu was having a bad time with her teeth a couple of weeks ago and could only fall asleep if I rocked her - good god the tiny brick house that she is nearly put my back out. but it's so wonderful when they fall asleep on your neck, I love that. I'm sure I've said before that I'm very much in the whatever-it-takes camp when it comes to getting the babes (and as a result yourself) some good shuteye - give me lovely rocking and co-sleeping any day of the week over hours of crazy yelling. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority on that front, I know a midwife or 10 who would so not agree. I can't see it causing major trouble down the line though if we ever went out, I suspect we'd arrive home to find ava and the babysitter sitting on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn watching the midnight movie.