60 posts tagged “parenting”
Well, with some very helpful advice from our pediatrician, and a multi-fronted, concerted effort by Getalife and myself, it looks like we've been able to take a significant edge off the colic. Here's what we've done so far:
There are so many things I haven't taken care of yet, and I'm at week 32 of this pregnancy. I haven't cleaned out my office to make room for the nursery, I haven't sorted out ReRe's baby clothes to see what to keep and what we won't likely use again (e.g. sleepers that were cute in the store, and almost impossible to put on a squirmy infant), and I haven't made a clear plan for how I'm going to get ReRe fed, dressed and off to school in the first little while after our new baby arrives. If I don't start making plans, this baby is wearing boys clothes, whether s/he likes it or not, starting off in Pull-Ups, and sleeping with ReRe.
Frantically uprighting your son as he begins to choke on a Smartie and informing him that he should not eat smarties lying down, or he will choke. This was at the mall this morning.
(When I first began typing this, I spelled Manual 'Manuel').
I don't know about you, but one thing that has driven me crazy about kids' toys are the number of easily-breakable, cheaptastic made-in-China plastic toys that fall apart, and often become hazardous due to small, sharp parts, and only disappoint kids rather than entertain. The worst, as far as I'm concerned, are remote control cars. We've gone through at least 6 that have broken down, sometimes on the first day they arrived in our house. People just seem to love to buy these, but more often than not, they are not built for the wear and tear of a regular little boy. And the number of batteries they go through - we've had cars that need 6 AAs to run. Others that are rechargeable maintain only a minimal charge, and soon don't work at all. That is why I was so excited when I found the Discover Rig by Sprig Toys. First of all, it is made in Canada from recycled plastic and recovered wood chips, runs on kid-power, and is incredibly durable. They don't show it in the picture, but the truck comes with a T handle, so kids can push it from behind. When you push it along, it lights up and says "Jambo!", so on top of everything else, my son is learning Swahili. I'm over the freaking moon with this truck.
I picked it up at Wowy-Zowy Toys, but I just saw it on sale at Chapters today.
The second green toy I got for ReRe for Christmas was a tea set made in California from recycled milk jugs by a company called Green Toys. It was great to have at the hotel with his cousins, as a tea party is a great thing to do to occupy a group of kids for a little while. It is totally unbreakable, and easily washed up. They also have a gardening set and a sand castle set, and given how well these products are made, and that they are made from recycled plastic, I'm likely to pick those up as well.
Our morning routine usually starts with ReRe waking up, calling for either or both of us ("Mummydaddy!"), climbing out of his bed (CLUMP!clumpclumpclump), opening his door, closing it loudly (SLAM), walking across the landing to our room (clumpclumpclump) opening and closing our door loudly (SLAM) and crawling in with us ("Mummy, you awake?"). Well, this morning, it got as far as the first slam, and then a long pause, followed by some muffled crying. I was half awake, and was wondering why ReRe had stopped in the landing, and had started crying. I could hear him calling for us, but sounded much further away than outside our door, so after lying there for a moment or two, I got up to investigate. He wasn't outside our door. He wasn't even outside his room. Then I opened his door, and he wasn't in his room. He was still crying and calling for us, but I couldn't see him. Then I realized that the crying was coming from the closet. Instead of opening his bedroom door, he had opened the closet and closed the door behind him, and then couldn't get out. I opened the closet door, and reached inside, trying to find him in the dark. He was way in the back, behind some shoe boxes and bags of baby clothes. When I finally got him out, he was shaking, he was so scared. I picked him up and hugged him and took him back into our room, where he cuddled in between us and fell asleep for another half hour. I felt like crap for those few moments that I hesitated, thinking he was just whining for us to come get him out of bed, wondering if Getalife was going to get up instead of me to go help him. Next time, I won't second-guess him.
The transition from crib to bed has gone by with very little problem. ReRe can get himself up into bed, and down out of bed, all by himself, but he's only made his escape while we were trying to get him to sleep a couple of times, and both times, it was under Getalife's watch (once because Getalife had fallen asleep himself). I am definitely enjoying not having to get up and get him out of bed, and it is fun to have him come into our room and wake us up in the morning, since he doesn't get up that early. Unfortunately (see below) he's taken to carrying toys with him wherever he goes, and I woke up this morning with a small green car balancing on my face.
We've seen a distinct change in our little guy's emotional needs lately. Until recently, he wasn't that attached to any stuffed animals or toys. But ever since they had Take Your Teddy To School Day, he has had to have a toy or stuffed animal with him at all times. His favourites at the moment are, of course, Red Monkey for sleeping, but also a green car (who will get capitalized if it remains a favourite) and Red Teddy (making a comeback!), the two of whom must be carried with him everywhere. A couple days ago, he spontaneously decided that a handmade mouse from a friend of ours would join the roster. But I will tell you, this is getting exchausting. Whether we have just gotten into the car to go somewhere, or just gotten home from somewhere, so just started on a walk somewhere, or are on our way upstairs for bath and bed, ReRe will stop, take a sharp intake of breathe, and ask me "WHERE'S (fill in the selected toy)?!" like we had just left our post-apocolyptic bunker without our plague antidote. I try to not play this up, and usually he is content when I tell him that Mousie is downstairs and we'll see him after school, but this is getting a bit out of hand. This morning, while riffling through a basket of toys he hadn't played with in months, he found two little cars, and, after a sharp intake of breath (I wonder where he picked this up) he said, "MUMMY, TAKE CARS UPSTAIRS AND PUT ON YOUR BED NOW!" Gawd. I told him I'd do it later. And I did do it later, and returned Red Monkey and the green car to his room, just so that I would know exactly where they were when the inevitable sharp intake of breath occurs this afternoon.
And one last note: last Saturday night, I was getting ready for a night out with Getalife, and was trying on a polka-dot wrap dress that I haven't worn in years, and ReRe came into the room and said, "Oh, that's cute! Where you where that to?". I can't believe that he could distinguish, by what I was wearing, that I was going somewhere out of the ordinary.
What are some fun activities that you have planned for your kid(s) this summer?
I'm so glad you asked. Here's what we have planned for the rest of the summer:
Locally:
A visit to Springridge Strawberry Farm
More splash pad time at Lakefront Promenade Park
In Toronto:
Must make at least one day trip to Toronto Island
In BC:
Camping with the Cousins!!
Me: What do you want for breakfast, honey?
ReRe: O-meal.
Me: Ok, I'll make you some.
ReRe: And tea!
Me: ?
ReRe: Pease.
Me: Ok, honey. (Make oatmeal and tea, which is warm milk and honey). Here's your breakfast.
ReRe: (Chugs the milk, hears Daddy upstairs) Go see Daddy!
Me: Honey, eat your oatmeal.
ReRe: No. No yike it.
Me: Come on, honey, eat it.
ReRe: No Yike It! Go see Daddy!
Me: Honey, just one bite, and then you can go see Daddy.
ReRe: ...........Ok. One bite! (takes a big mouthful and runs for the stairs).
Daddy: (From the top of the stairs) Hey honey! Are you eating your breakfast?
ReRe: No! Mummy said "Come on honey" but I no yike it and Mummy said "Just one bite" so my UM!! and see Daddy now.
Uh, dude, I'm like, right here.
I don't know why I hadn't heard about this playground before, but in High Park there is a community-build playground called the Jamie Bell Adventure Playground that is truly amazing. Here is a picture:
For anyone thinking about making a trip to Toronto with kids, the playground, and the rest of High Park, is a must. ReRe liked it so much, we went on both Saturday and Sunday. It has areas for smaller and bigger kids, and very innovative, yet low-tech, activities to try. But if you are thinking of going by car, get there early. At 9am, there is no trouble finding parking. At 11am, the nearest parking lot is full. We've only taken advantage of a very small portion of High Park (including the small zoo) but we still have not made it to the splash pad or onto the trackless train ride.
We also made it to Afrofest again this year, but for us it is turning more into just an opportunity for a family picnic, rather than a chance to really listen to the music. It is very different from other music festivals, which is both good and bad. It is good in that it is free, there aren't all those barriers up to keep out the non-payers, there is a great children's area, and it is just so free-flowing and fun. On the other hand, there is no schedule published ahead of time, so you don't know when or where you will see certain performers, and it is getting busier and busier every year, so when we are with ReRe we tend to stay on the fringes. But it is still a wonderful place to go, and it's so much fun to see our little guy running and dancing to the beats.
And could we fit in any more free fun in one weekend? Hard to believe, but yes. This is going to sound strange, but Dixie Outlet Mall is a great place to go for free fun with a toddler, since they let you use their car strollers for free (other nearby malls charge $5) and they always seem to have coupons around for free stuff - like this weekend, you could get a free cup of coffee at Cinnabon (not for the toddler), and a free popcicle (ok for the toddler) at Sears. Posh, this mall is not, and no where near as chic as saying you spent the day at High Park, but on a rainy day, it is awesome.
