ILX Parenting 5: I'm a big kid now

Right now my son is showing a militaristic side (god, I hope it's a phase). He'll say shit that raises my hackles so badly. I'm pressed to come up with any good quotable examples, but you can imagine the kind of horrendous jingoism that can come out of the mouth of a 10 year old.

We live just outside of Annapolis, so there are often midshipmen out on the town in dress whites on the weekends. So if we're walking through Target or Whole Foods and he sees a mid he'll snap to attention and salute them. Also, for a while he would stand up and salute every time this commercial came on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEtZ5r0CIYI

My wife and I have told him to knock it off.

lol

I'm hoping for tennis or basketball since those are two sports I like to watch. Girls ice hockey is very popular around here though so who knows. Or she may end up like me and give up after multiple unsuccessful sports team tryouts and go on to letter in band and drama.

Track also acceptable.

CA: I don't know much about women's football, but I doubt it would be anywhere near as dangerous as men's football since a good amount of the danger is going to come from the higher body mass of boys/men (i.e. greater mass + speed/momentum = harder hits and higher risk of injury). That said, I wouldn't be rushing my daughter into football either. Her chances of being an athlete are probably not high anyway, which is fine, but I guess you never know. She's insanely tall so far, for example, like off-the-charts tall, and if that actually continues she might be basketball material.

Evie asked me the other day if when her dance class is over if she could play football instead.

Yes, track would be great, too. That's super fun to watch. xp

Let's sit our daughters down and make them watch that Frontline episode about brain damage in football.

my son getting really into hockey would be my great fear and major test of being a supportive parent

― joygoat, Wednesday, October 15, 2014 2:53 PM (47 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol Canada

In the last couple years I've had at least two canadian guys separately find out I'm from upper michigan and immediately ask DO YOU PLAY HOCKEY? They were both trying to get some adult league going and were confused and bummed out when I told them I don't even know how to ice skate.

up here it's just "skating". no need to differentiate from land skating, or the less popular vapor skating.

August's Foofa Halloween costume arrived and she freaked out. So I took her to Savers to see other costumes and she freaked out. Thinking this Halloween might be a bust. I miss the days of dressing my child...I had it for only 18 months, thought it would last five years.

we now have a tentatively walking child. goodbye safety, hopes, dreams, lack of worry

I'm worried about this Halloween too. The last two Halloweens, my little girl dressed up in a ladybug costume. About two months ago, she told me that she wanted to be a vampire and that she wanted me to dress up in a ladybug costume. I was cool with this idea, and checked in every once in a while to make sure she was still on board for that. "Hey Abby, what do you want to be for halloween?" And she came back with this idea every time. Seemed like she was committed. Then last week, mommy came up with the idea that I should be a unicorn. And Abby has glommed onto the idea with glee. But I'm sitting here like "What about our plans? Our plans!"

She still wants to be a vampire, but I'm really concerned about a last minute reversal.

The big kid is going as Freddy Krueger and we've already bought him a fedora and a sweater, so there's no backing out of that.

I would just like to say that parenting an 11 month old while both parents have food poisoning is very difficult.

Awww Life....

Jeff, yikes! Hope you can all hang in there.

My wife and I once got a bad stomach flu at the same time around when K was that age, and we actually called an ambulance because we were so lightheaded and weak that we felt like we couldn't take care of her. Was a bad flu but probably would have toughed it out in the pre-baby days. Speedy recovery, hang in there.

My wife is a genius. Baby hates cold crib and will only sleep in your bed? Throw a heating pad on low in there ten minutes before bedtime for a toasty sheet and the kiddo(s) will think they're still sleeping with you.

ding!

Ooh good tip! I have a friend who could use that idea. Ours likes a cool cot - we *think* the trick to sleeping through is to maintain a room temperature of 18-19C. It certainly worked again last night, but that's only the 10th time in his life.

FYI you can make a pretty decent emergency bib from half a plastic bag plus a muslin. Ahem.

The cycle of illness since Friday before last has gone:

1. Ivy got pink eye.
2. I got pink eye and a rotten cold.
3. I got ear infections.
4. Jeff got food poisoning or whatever the fuck it was.
5. I got food poisoning (I'm still taking meds for the pink eye and ear infections).
6. Ivy has pink eye again.

I want my mom. :(

Last Presidents' Day weekend we were all laid low with a case of norovirus. The toddler got it first, from about Friday through Sunday. Late Sunday night my wife and I both woke up with it, claiming separate bathrooms as our own territory. We were absolutely useless on Monday. I went to bed on the couch at like 10 o'clock on Monday morning and woke up late in the afternoon, with the sunlight shining in on a completely different part of the room. Basically, our ten year old was left to look after the now-recovered toddler and respond to me and my wife's feeble requests for water/more toilet paper/etc. He essentially sequestered himself in his bedroom and would only come out with a tshirt wrapped around his face. Poor guy didn't get it until that Thursday.

I would just like to say that parenting an 11 month old while both parents have food poisoning is very difficult.

― Jeff, Monday, October 20, 2014 5:46 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Carl and Jeff, I know 11 months is def harder than 2 years but PP and I feel you SO much on this. We both got food poisoning (McDonalds LOL) when Beatrice was 2 and I was 5-6 months pregnant with Henry. Not pretty.

My wife is a genius. Baby hates cold crib and will only sleep in your bed? Throw a heating pad on low in there ten minutes before bedtime for a toasty sheet and the kiddo(s) will think they're still sleeping with you.

― 💪😈⚠️ (DJP), Monday, October 20, 2014 9:21 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is def genius

I don't know if 11 months would be harder than two years.

In my most Pinterest mothering moment to date, I made a bag out of leftover crib skirt fabric (I know right?) and filled it with rice. Four minutes in the microwave and it will warm the crib up while we get Ivy ready for bed. I still think that was pretty clever but now I'm like oh duh right heating pad.

Don't worry, when the apocalypse comes and there's no electricity you can still wrap your rice baby in a damp towel and set it on a wood stove or next to some hot coals and it will still work.

Whereas Dan's heating pad will just melt.

The cycle of illness since Friday before last has gone:

1. Ivy got pink eye.
2. I got pink eye and a rotten cold.
3. I got ear infections.
4. Jeff got food poisoning or whatever the fuck it was.
5. I got food poisoning (I'm still taking meds for the pink eye and ear infections).
6. Ivy has pink eye again.

I want my mom. :(

― carl agatha, Tuesday, October 21, 2014 12:10 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

7. Ivy's original pink eye never resolved, and she was diagnosed with pink eye, ear infections, and sinusitis that she's "had for a long time." (Oh my god the guilt..._
8. Jeff was diagnosed with a middle and an outer ear infection yesterday.

I'm thinking we need to pull a Velveteen Rabbit and burn everything and move, possibly to a new planet.

Daycare called me to tell me that K is "not herself," although not running a fever or throwing up or anything, so can I pick her up? I thought that was kind of weird, like am I supposed to pick her up whenever she has a bad day? Anyway my MIL can pick her up, luckily.

My girl has had a very minor cold for about a week. Like, sneezes maybe once every couple hours. Blows her nose about the same. Only problem is that in the middle of the night her post-nasal drip gets real bad and she starts coughing and gags on it and pukes. Nothing we can go to the doctor for and any over-the-counter stuff that we feel comfortable giving her doesn't have much of an effect. We layered towels over her pillows and sheets so if she does puke, it doesn't mean a midnight laundry crisis for us. Again.

How about sleeping sitting up?

We prop her up. She rolls down to a more comfortable position while we're sleeping though.

Yeah. That sucks. I'm actually having the same problem, minus the barfing, myself these days. It's gross. Poor kid.

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/turn-your-princess-obsessed-toddler-into-a-feminist-in-eight-easy-steps/?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone

BTW, K actually turned out to be sick, the daycare lady is on point. She also called us later that evening to see how she was doing.

Aw. Is she okay?

4 days of antibiotics and 6 days of fever later, yes

Oof.

Blimey. Are you OK?

I have erected an elaborate cage through my living room made out of various dog kennel barriers to keep my sanity while michael explores the exciting world of "electrical cords and things that can murder him"

It looks like I am either raising chickens or keeping prisoners in here.

Blimey. Are you OK?

― Madchen, Tuesday, October 28, 2014 10:57 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm on kind of a sleep-deprived buzz the last day or two

have erected an elaborate cage through my living room made out of various dog kennel barriers to keep my sanity while michael explores the exciting world of "electrical cords and things that can murder him"

Sometimes I like to think about who probably has/had to say "don't touch that" more often -- parent living in the rainforest or parent in modern apartment

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/41/e3/89/41e3897f537d054a43d527473905b0a2.jpg

Bottom half of this is very much otm

it's all otm imo!

Really happy to be out of that phase. Will this child survive if I leave her in the room watching Fresh Beat Band for 3 minutes so I can take the trash out?

I let K watch sesame street alone for 10+ minutes at a time while I shower, shave and dress. Don't tell child protective services.

J has basically no screen time but we are wondering if showing him a video will allow us to cut his hair, it's super long everywhere (which is fine, he looks good with long hair!) but his bangs are covering up his eyes and he won't let us cut them.

Here's my advice: it's a slippery slope. It lets you do a lot of things, but it's a slippery slope. I was a no screen time parent once too, and now I'd say she averages 1-1.5 hrs per day.

hey y'all do any of you have links or info about the inadvisability of TV exposure for very young children (our grandchild is almost 3 months and is spending what might be considered as too much time in front of a big TV)? I feel like I've seen articles and such advising that TV be introduced later on.

never too early to tell the parents they're doing something wrong ;) but really, my wife just wants to send the mom a link or something.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises no screen time under age 2. I'm sure if you google that you can find it, as well as a host of other reasons not to put your baby in front of a screen at all. Some of these I find questionable, but if you want support you can find it. My guess is that the AAP errs on the side of caution, knowing that it's a slippery slope as I mentioned above, even though probably 20-30 minutes a day of videos does no harm. Although we failed to make it to age 2 before the first vid, we still have pushed our own parents not to use the screen as a crutch, particularly my MIL who just doesn't understand saying "no" and thus sometimes lets her watch hours of videos. At least now K is in full-time preschool with lots of stimulation and zero screen.

I will also say that I have noticed a big difference based on the KIND of screen time -- for example, disney movies seem to result in extremely shitty moods and bad behavior, but sesame street does not. Also using ipad apps for too long gets her very worked up, but a baby einstein video on youtube tends to soothe her.