Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

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Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

I’ve had this post written in my head for MONTHS. Since Alexis started walking full time at 11 months. And it was only now when a reader asked me to write it, did I actually consider putting it “on paper”.

For the past few months I’ve had unexplained joy inside of me. Waking up with Lexi and seeing how she has changed, what a wonderful little person she is becoming, how she is turning into a girl.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

It is amazing, the changes that babies go through the first year. Going from a fussing bundle that fits into daddy’s palm to a walking talking human being.

Everything changes:

  • their sleep patterns
  • their body
  • their understanding of the world
  • the way they play
  • the way they look at you
  • what they like and don’t like             .

To me the first year seemed like a rollercoaster ride. It was a mix of “I know what I am doing” and “I have no clue what I am doing“, “this is really easy” and “this is really scary“. To me a was a year of unexpected and learning, discovering and more learning, guessing, trying, succeeding and failing.

And I can say with all the certainty that I can muster that the second year (so far) has been nothing but wonderful. Wonderfully challenging, wonderfully easy, wonderfully funny, wonderfully joyous, wonderfully exhausting.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

I have said it about a million times, but I really believe Lexi didn’t like being a baby. When the walking started, the change in her was unbelievable. We are talking a 180 in her attitude and happiness. I am already starting to forget the times when she’d fuss because she was bored not being able to move, or frustrated, or just plain old whatever. Toys never really did it for her. Of course, she had some favorites and played with them eagerly, but not enough to leave her to her own devices for a few minutes consistently.

And then she started walking. And everything changed.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

Hindsight being 20/20, I now get why she so eagerly jumped on the walking wagon before she was able to walk independently. Walking is what she’s been waiting for her whole life. Literally.

Remember how I said that the second she learned to pull up and take steps while holding onto our hands, there was no holding her back? That was the drive to walk, the need to move.

So what exactly HAS changed in becoming a toddler?

First and foremost,

SLEEP

Not being a good sleeper or being able to consistently self-soothe at 10 months, Lexi went to napping about 1.5 hrs at a time and nighttime sleep improved as well. Later she would regress at every developmental milestone, but that is completely expected. The big thing is she’d go right back to normal (for us) sleeping after she ‘s done with whatever she is working on.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

GENERAL HAPPINESS

There is nothing better than seeing your daughter, who tends to be a very serious lady, smile ear to ear while running to an invisible destination. She’s never been happier. All she needs is to be free to run, not walk, wherever she pleases.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

EATING

Obviously, as activity increased her interest in food and intake have increased as well. It’s always nice to have a baby who eats well.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

HUMOR

This really isn’t 100% connected with walking, but she does some hilarious things. Places clothing on her head, walks backwards, bounces, dances, plays chases with us, plays hide and seek, climbs up our bodies, runs happily towards us when she sees us.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

{In the picture above, she’s following the directions of a funny song we sing that tells her to walk walk walk then sit down}

CUTENESS LEVEL

This one has skyrocketed. The things that she does and how she does them are beyond cute. It is amazing to see to see this little person who can do so many adorable things.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

SNUGGLES AND AFFECTION

Alexis didn’t really snuggle much till she started walking. But now it’s adorable how she adjusts her body to fit mine when she snuggles in with me, put her head on my should, gives us kisses, wraps her arms tightly around our bodies.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

ACTIVITY LEVEL

She was never a SUPER active baby, she preferred curling up with me reading a book. Even when she figured out crawling, she didn’t speed crawl. She’d go fast occasionally to get somewhere, but otherwise it was paced pretty well. Everything changed with walking.

Lexi didn’t start walking, she started running. She never really stopped. Everything is go-go-go. We call her a wiggle worm because she will not sit still ( unless we’re reading her a book or she’s focused on something)

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

OUR PERSPECTIVE

Everyone always tells you “Oh just wait till they start walking! You’ll never sit down” Aside from the fact, that I have never found the “just you waits” to be true for us, we’re actually loving having Alexis walk.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

Besides being happier, which in turn makes us happy, it is SO much easier to just sit back in the playroom and have her run around, pick up toys, play, come over, read a book, go back,etc.  And then when we leave the playroom, and we get to stand back while she runs down the hallways pushing her stroller, drops that, picks up her pusher toy, runs back. She’s autonomous, she loves it, we love it.

She loves helping out and will do it without being asked. In fact on of her favorite signs is CLEAN UP. She tries to pick up her toys and books, though she gets distracted by each book and goes to page through and then bring each on of them to me to read. She still really really loves books and reads SO much.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

Yes, we have to move all the time and watch her all the time, but back when she was a baby, we couldn’t leave her alone either, so….

There is just NO DOWNSIDE TO THIS….

Or is there?

For us, there has been one downside. One I am willing to overlook, and one that none of the friends with Lexi-age babies that I asked have experienced yet, so it’s obviously VERY Lexi-specific at this moment.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

THE DOWNSIDE

Since she started walking, she REFUSES to be restrained. Period. If before she would not like being restrained, but dealt with it most of the time ( except for in her infant seat), now that she has more control over her body, I simply CANNOT put her into ANY “container”. She will tolerate a car seat for 20 minutes (and sometimes not), but carriers and strollers are completely OUT for the time being. She will not even sit in her favorite Smart Trike anymore.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

In a carrier, it gets dangerous because even if I manage to shove a protesting little girl into the backcarry position, she wiggles her arms out and tries to fall off the side of it while crying. In a stroller it’s the same story- first she takes her straps off by getting her arms out from under them, then she leans to the side trying to escape. So we’ve got two modes of transportation with her: walking and carrying in our arms while she kicks and tries to get down.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

If you let her walk, she’ll promptly go in the opposite direction of where you need to go. If you try to somehow carry her 26lbs while she kicks and cries, it only lasts a few minutes before your back gives out.

And that is the description of our last trip to Disney. We went without Andrew. I carried her through all the parks, occasionally leaving her to fuss in the stroller.

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

We have decided that until this stage is over, we are not going anywhere where we are not prepared to just let her lead the way (which is always the opposite way from where you need to go, have you noticed?) and take as much time as she needs.  I really hoped I’d be able to wear her till she was 2 or 3. No such luck.

High chairs have received the “container hate” as well. So it is REALLY challenging to get anything done. Because it’s such a dangerous time for toddlers (most babies get get between the age of 1 and 2), she has to be watched almost all the time. Because she does not stop moving and will not sit or be restrained, it is proving almost impossible to do anything around the house while she is awake, unless you’re willing to gate her off in one spot and leave her crying (which I am not). So we’re struggling to get work done, keep our house clean and cook whole foods ( Is anyone else, who cooks from scratch and eats lots of vegetables, having an issue with the fact that it takes forfreakingever to cut everything up, cook and then clean up after yourself all while watching a super active toddler?).  She constantly runs out of my sight, and strapping her into a high chair isn’t an option most of them time (won’t be restrained), so yeah we’re having a hell of a time with that 🙂 But if you let it all go, all the responsibilities, allow the house to go to shit, cook once a day and eat the same food all day, it’s a lot of fun!  At least she is HAPPY! 🙂

Good Bye Babyhood, Hello Toddler!

So there. That’s the downside. 

{Just curious: if anyone had the same issue when their baby started walking, at what age did it stop and they became ok with strollers/carriers again?}

 

45 COMMENTS

  1. My cousin had this issue with her son. He HATED the car seat and any sort of carrier/stroller. I’m not sure what she did about the stroller, but she turned him in the car seat so he’s facing forward. *He’s old enough* and she got a structured carrier that has him riding higher up on her back, so he can see everything. It has sides on it, so he can’t get out.

  2. I had the same problem with my son. One day we went shopping and he wanted to walk but kept running away from me. Finally I put him in the cart and explained that if he wanted to walk with mommy he had to stay with me and we would try again in a few minutes. I did that 3 times and he figured out that if he stayed by me or listened to my directions he could walk all by himself.
    I don’t know if that would help at all.

  3. We haven’t had that problem really. My kids are pretty easy going about that stuff. I do have a question, about discipline. I’ve baby proofed just about everything I can but there is some stuff that I can’t really do anything about. The DVD player, for example is in the living room on a stand. Avery is forever playing with the buttons and trying to crawl behind the TV and adjust the cords. I’ve tried redirecting but my children tend to be very strong willed. Garrett eventually grew out of it, but it was a long painful time for me. I was ready to throw the whole thing in the trash, just so they wouldn’t play with it anymore. Ha! Just looking for suggestions on stuff that they shouldn’t be playing with but are obsessed with touching. Thanks!

    • Oh, I’ve also heard a lot of people have luck with prepping veggies/grains in the beginning of the week. Cook grains/rice/beans all on one day at the beginning of the week and then they’re ready to go all week long. Maybe include cleaning and chopping veggies and storing them that way so all you have to do is mix it together when you’re ready to eat. Just something I heard recently. It’s hard getting stuff done with toddlers running around!

    • To be honest, I don’t believe there is a solution to your problem. I will be writing about babyproofing but my philosophy is that the best baby proofing is either watching your kid or removing the temptation. What else are you gonna do?
      Thankfully we got rid of our TV and attachments when I got pregnant so we don’t have the temptation, but there are plenty of others….

      I don’t think it’s always possible to tell a toddler they can’t do something, they still will, they don’t have the self control, so maybe move it into a different room that locks if you’re not willing to say good bye to your television?

  4. P’s walking brought on a whole new level of anxiety for me so it’s hard for me to judge the truth about that transition. I will tell ya though – same thing happened here, P refused strollers, forget carriers, and anything else that would stop her from walking on her on. She still does. We pretty much don’t ever bring the stroller with us ever anywhere unless we use it to push around our bags (yup). I know that a lot of people dread the 2 year old stage but I must tell you, it is my favorite. (this could be because my anxiety has leveled off when I got pregnant…) Peanut is now independent but listens and understands reasoning. She gets consequences and is much more self sufficient. I think the hardest and most frustrating thing to P was not being able to communicate and now that she’s using words (she did know sign language but apparently it was not enough for her), she’s a much happier camper.

  5. My son was like this, to cook or clean the kitchen I would put him in the high hair with various cups, bowls, spoons and put some water in a couple. He would literally sit for 45 min pouring and playing. He and the surroundings got soaked but it was worth it. I had a max amount of water I would give him just to be sure he didn’t drink too much.

  6. We haven’t really had the stroller/carrier challenges but I can definitely relate to not being able to do anything at home. It was, however, incredibly freeing once I let go of expectations of myself and my poor house. I think it gets easier once they are old enough to do crafts maybe? Hah, maybe I am just dreaming!

  7. Have you thought about including her in some of the stuff you do? — like have her pretend ‘vacuum’ while you do the real thing, or have her mix something in a bowl in the kitchen on the ground, while you cook.
    Also, to get her to ride in the stroller when you really need her to– try talking her through what you are doing, “mommy is going to push Lexi in the stroller on the road, cause it’s too busy to walk, then when we get on the sidewalk, you can walk again”
    She seems like a wonderfully active child, as most toddlers are– ready to explore the world.

    • I don’t have a walker yet and it’s goign to be some months stilll, but my nearly 14 month old has developed some trouble with certain transitions. If she’s doing an activity she loves, like being in a swing, she really doesn’t want to get out. We’ve started talking up what’s happening next and giving her multiple warnings before we transition. It has made a major difference. Before when we were only giving her one or no warnings she would tantrum when we transitioned from a fun activity to a boring one. Once we started doing a lot more talking about it she might let out a small protest fuss but then she is happy to go on to the next thing.

      So I heartily second the idea of explaining, in detail, what you need your toddler to do and why. It’s amazing how much they understand even at just a year.

  8. I don’t have any kids yet, so I can’t speak from experience of my own, but I used to have the same issues with one of the girls I used to nanny – she would NOT be restrained in anything, and would ignore my pleading to stay still (probably because I wasn’t mom!). I agree with Mona above – including Lexi in those activities might help get more things done. I found the girls I would nanny loved to vacuum, wipe down the counters and (sort of) wash the mirrors.

    Also, pre-cutting vegetables/pre-cooking grains is a lifesaver for me as a single girl who cooks all meals/works too much not to pre-prepare. Laying a damp paper towel over vegetables helps to keep them from drying out, and you can have Lexi place the vegetables in the containers after you’ve chopped everything. Then when you’re cooking, everything’s ready to go, and you can probably have her help add ingredients to bowls, stir, press the timer buttons on the oven (unless the stove is hot of course!), etc.

    Again – no kids/take with a grain of salt. But maybe it’ll help 🙂

  9. Just goes to show- there is no perfect situation. My son was/is the exact opposite. He’s three now and I think he’d still prefer to be a baby. He didn’t walk till 16 months and still prefers to be carried, loves his stroller & overall is easily settled with his toys for at least 30 minutes at a time. We’ve had to work really hard to encourage some independence, even refusing to do things for him because we know he can even though he doesn’t want to. Makes me laugh how different all children are.

  10. My daughter is the same with walking. She was never content sitting and playing with toys. As soon as she pulled herself up to stand (6 months), she preferred to be vertical. Walked along furniture, crawled to something and used it to stand. And when she started walking (9.5 months), there was no stopping her and she was a different baby!
    Fortunately we don’t have the ‘container hate’ you speak of with Lexi. I mean, there are definitely times at the store when she’d prefer to be out and running. I explain that I need to get the things on my list first and then once we’re done, she can walk around. I try not to let her “rule the roost” but also let her explore and investigate.

  11. Awesome post. Lexi is such a beautiful toddler. My little one is not walking yet and still loves to be carried in a sling or the beco gemini. This is super helpful to know what to expect when she starts walking. I don’t think it will be long. I’m curious about your toddler breastfeeding experience. Does Lexi hold still long enough to breastfeed? We are down to morning/evenings and weekends on-demand, because I work full time. I am finding that I love breastfeeding now more than ever.

  12. I always thought it was easier when my kids started walking too. Especially my twins because then I finally had free arms and we could just hold hands out and about. I’m surprised none of her baby friends hate being restrained…it’s pretty typical once they’re mobile. I cook from scratch with tons of veggies too and what I do it make a weekly meal plan and prep all veggies ahead of time (usually Sunday night after kids are in bed), that way they’re ready to just be tossed in. Love the picture of Alexis brushing her teeth! So cute!

    • Some of them are slowly starting to protest about now. With Lexi it was like “NO!” immediately. She’s incredibly strong willed (oh boy teenage years….), so it was like it wasn’t an option lol

      Ah, I want to do the prep for the week ahead, but I don’t have time Sunday night 🙂 lol

      • Well, then you can pick a different night! Lol 🙂 I stay up really late so I do it once the storm calms. My husband is gone most of the time as he is a surgeon so I’m typically bored once it quiets down so I try to get everything finished before a fresh new week begins.

  13. My son is almost 3 and still doesn’t like being contained. I can make deals with him (at disney- sit in the stroller until we are out of the crowd) because he talks and understands these sorts of things now. But his second year was tough to go anywhere that wasn’t toddler friendly. We didnt go to a single Christmas party when he was 18 months old bc it was miserable for us! We also didnt go out to eat at all. I kind of laugh at myself now because the first 9 months I didn’t understand why people didnt want to take their kids everywhere with them. Now I totally get it!! I just didnt feel comfortable leaving him for dinner with my husband or pedicures with my mom until he was about 2.5!

    I am not one for crying at all, but I did strap his butt into the stroller at Disney bc he is big (28lbs at 12 months) and he would generally stop screaming within a few minutes. I figured there were tons of other screaming kids and he would get over himself as soon as he opened his eyes. It worked since its hard to be unhappy there 🙂 I also tried to use stroller time as snack or water time since I could lure him a little (unless he wanted to nurse).

  14. Just FYI seems to be a typo here: (most babies get get between the age of 1 and 2)….can’t figure out what it’s supposed to say. 🙂

    I’m surprised none of your friends with kids her age are experiencing the same thing. It’s incredibly common. In fact, I’d say out of our friends, there are only one or two that will remain in the stroller. My daughter and all the others just want to be out running around. However, she is also very good at listening, so I can still take her out. I do like to take her to places like the zoo or kid’s museum where she can control the pace and destination though. Letting her have that control means that she listens much more easily when I need her to do so. Like a previous commentor said, it was pretty much, “we are going this way, let’s go!” If she didn’t listen, she would get picked up. Because she didn’t like that, she quickly learned that if she wanted to walk she needed to go the same way we were or where I was asking her to go.

  15. My daughter was very very similar about not wanting to be contained. I’d say 12-18 months was the worst. I didn’t go ANYWHERE with her unless I could be in and out in less than 20 min. That was the length of time she’d sit in the stroller with a snack. After that it was screaming and total freaking out.

    After 18 months it slowly started to get better. She’s 2.5 now and still doesn’t love her stroller but she’ll sit for a little longer if I talk to her, tell her what’s next, etc. I also have some special toys that are just for the stroller which really helps. This may be something for you when Lexi is older. Hopefully she’ll sit a little as she gets older, but as you know, with toddlers, there’s just no guarantee!

    As for the food thing, do you have a crock pot? You could dump the veggies in there with some seasonings and let it cook. You still have to chop and clean up, but at least the cooking is done for you. I did that yesterday with peppers, onions, carrots and some Mexican type seasonings. We had veggie quesadillas for dinner. It worked so well and I really didn’t do much!

  16. My oldest (almost 3) also hates strollers, carriers, shopping carts. Honestly, we just stayed close to home for a long time because he was too young to really reason with when he was Lexi’s age. We went on walks around the neighborhood and practiced staying right with mommy, holding my hand or the stroller. Eventually he just got it, and now we go out and he walks right next to me. But that took time. It was hard for me at first because we used to be on the go a lot and we had to slow down.

    As for around the house, I don’t know if she’s old enough, but have you looked into a learning tower? We do a lot of stuff from there in the kitchen because the boys are free to come and go as they like so they don’t feel contained. When I’m cooking or preparing food or whatever, I give them stuff to do like play with dry beans or break apart broccoli for me. Sometimes they just play with play doh or color. It’s been sort of cool because they both love to help with stuff around the house now and I’m pretty sure it’s because I’ve always included them (because I had no choice).

  17. Toddlers are waaaay more fun than babies. Enjoy it while you can – she’ll hit the “pick me up like a baby” phase soon enough – not so awesome when the “baby” is 38 pounds…

    FWIW, in all of your descriptions, Lexi seems like a totally normal, typical kid. Nothing you’re describing as “the only kid doing x,y,z” is outside the realm of blessedly normal 🙂

  18. I am thankful I don’t have a severe container hate baby! Amalia certainly has a level of container hate, but she will tolerate the high chair for meals, the stroller for actively walking (god forbid I stop and then she MUST GET OUT) and the boba while shopping. Otherwise, she freaks!

  19. sorry, if you have covered it in the post, and I did not get it, but why can’t you leave Lexi in her playroom for a periods of time? does she not like being there alone ?

    I let my baby roam around living/family room on her own, while I do quick cooking/prep. I also do all my cooking and preparing and I found that I can definitely leave her alone to play for longer time increments now that she is a toddler (almost 17 mo). The space is reasonably baby proof (outlets covered, no cords, drawers locked, etc) and then with practice she learned the items she is not supposed to touch. I still keep an eye on her, but I can chop at the same time because I do not have to physically be there to supervise her every move, as she is reasonably safe. She does come into the kitchen and plays with bowls and other non-dangerous items, she knows her designated draws (most others are either locked or too high) and can be quite happy this way for an while. This does not work EVERY day,sometimes she is more cranky than others, but I think it is important to leave them to play on their own to develop the ability to entertain themselves. Granted, we probably do not have as much space to baby proof as you do, but that is why there are baby gates :)… I def. use them for stairs and bedrooms, etc. I also know that even if she wonders off out of sight, she can only go into certain rooms and since those are baby proof as well, I can just call her and she will come back.

    Best of luck with your toddler – she looks adorable!

    • There’s no cut and dry answer to your question. Yes some says she’ll definitely play mostly on her own, go to the playroom, then lock herself there and I have to come rescue her lol.
      I have a monitor for the playroom so it’s nice.
      But for the past week (teething, runny nose and grandma leaving) she has been more interested in bringing me books to read while I try to cook (and I’m not going to refuse smth like this), asking to be picked up, nursing a lot, etc.

      I think a lot of people forget the fact that every baby is different.
      Remember that container hate? It extends to locked gates hahaha. She’s fine if she has room to roam. But not if she’s locked in one room for a while.

      Aside from all that, right at this moment she’s very physical. She doesn’t play with toys at all. She’s running around, exploring, climbing, it’s movement every second of the day. She only sits down to read which is nice. But when needy she wants to be sitting in mommy’s lap specifically lol
      So needless to say very little cooking is getting done. I only have the opportunity to cook for Lexi.

  20. I think my other comment got eaten.
    Are you not ever going to tell her No? I imagine that will be hard for her once she gets to the real world.
    What if it’s something that will harm her and it’s NOT something that you can just move.

    • “no” at one is almost meaningless. Redirection is what is effective at this age.

      Sure you can train a baby to respond automatically to “no” but there isn’t any real meaning to it until they at older.

      That is why baby proofing is a “thing”.

      • Actually, I disagree. They understand the meaning of “no” at 1. The key is consistancy and being patient/positive but firm… at least from what I have learned. It takes a lot of time and repetition, but they do learn even at age 1 that certain things are not allowed and will not do them. It is always easier to remove the temptation or danger, but if it is not possible or practical, teaching them the meaning of NO is appropriate and possible at age 1. I do not have a particularly calm child, but she was perfectly trainable at age 1 to not do certain things, AS LONG as it was not everything. You obviously can not say NO all the time.

        NOTE: this is NOT a comment on whether Elena does or does not say “no” to Lexi, I have no idea of their day-to-day interactions, this is just a responce to Cristy.

        • I think what Cristy meant by that is that at age 1, they don’t have the self control necessary to NOT do something they want to. Of course in some case they will follow the instructions not to do something, but they don’t understand it the same way older children do. I do agree that redirection is best. If Lexi REALLY wants to do something she KNOWS she is not allowed to do, she will be sneaky about and do it regardless while watching for my reaction. SO it’s best to tell her why she can’t do it and then redirect.
          Other times, a simple “sweetie, you shouldn’t touch this, it’s hot” type of phrase with a look of warning on your face is sufficient for her. But if she is determined, no NO will keep her away from it at this age. So i take her out of the situation. We havent had any issues though, or meltdowns connected with dangerous things she wanted to do. She is pretty much ok with whatever as long as she is having fun with me and I am around her.

          Also, I do not believe in just saying NO. Or the whole “because I said so” thing, it drives me nuts. I always try to phrase things in a way that lets her know what would happen and why she shouldn’t be doing it, rather than telling her she isn’t allowed to do something. I don’t want her to grow up as a blind rule follower, I want her to think for herself ( even though it will be difficult for us as parents once she CAN think for herself and starts challenging us lol).

          There is a word in Russian that I use in place of the word No that I feel works better from that standpoint: NEL’ZYA. Literally it means “You should not or you must not”. it’s short and it gets the point across. It’s not a “no don’t do it because i said so”, but it is “no you shouldn’t do it”, followed by the explanation ( when I have the time to give it or she is looking for one).

          I am sure you do something similar in your household.

  21. Really enjoyed this post…my 8 month old is DYING to walk and we spend a large amount of every day holding her hands as she walks from place to place.

    That is an adorable little sundress Alexis is wearing in the ‘cleaning up’ picture, may I ask where it is from?

    I believe you said in an earlier post you let Lexi climb the stairs if one of you were right behind her, does she do that walking now? (Wondering for the future)

  22. My son was very similar. People kept telling me “just wait until he can walk!”. I could NOT wait! He haaaaaated crawling and wanted to walk so badly. Once he walked, he was so much happier. As for the stroller thing, I mostly wore him in the beginning, but he didn’t want that anymore once he could walk. He never really liked the stroller, until now. He just turned 20 months and all of a sudden he likes the stroller! We went to Disney a couple weekends ago and he stayed in it about 80% of the time, which is huge for us. I think he is finally enjoying being chauffeured around lol.

    He is not so great in the cart at stores, so I try to go when I know he is hungry and I feed him his snacks. I also got a Little People case for my iphone so he can play with it in the store and not have to worry about it being broken.

    I was not going to let him have tv until older, but we have a pretty long commute to work everyday, so I gave in a I let him watch yo gabba gabba on the way. It helps 🙂

    • Oh good to know he finally liked the stroller… there is hoooope 🙂

      Funny about no tv till older. I’ve shown Lexi some “select” home videos and slow animal videos on the iphone and she is now obssessed so I have to hide my iphone, otherwise she’d spend the whole night on it.

      Just FYI, if you wanted to have him watch something more beneficial than yo gabba gabba, I know sesame street is better than anything else out there (from the brain development standpoint), or like discover channel animal videos, or even home videos of him (this helps them establish sense of self). Just something I’ve read…

  23. Hasn’t your mom been there for months? That should help with being able to get things done! My mom was here visiting for the week a couple of weeks ago and oh my gosh it was So nice! My house was the cleanest it’s been in Forever, she was always taking the kids to do things and I couldn’t imagine how much easier it was having an extra set of hands around! My husband is gone till usually 7 every night if not later so it’s usually just me doing most of it.

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