Monday, August 17, 2009

Lots-o-stuff

Help - My friend T-Mommy is in need of some Donor Advice. I know that some of you reading have experience in that area. Can you help her out.

Questions/Opinions/What would you do: Scenario a 17 month old and a Newborn - The consensus seems to be, I need a dble stroller - what kind have you liked or would buy? Do I leave my 17 month old in a crib and when I am ready for the newborn to go in a crib (we put MT in his own room around 7 months) transition MT to a bed? So possibly leaving MT in his crib for another yr at ~26 months before placing Armadillo in the crib? Do I need 2 cribs? I do not have any extra bedrooms so Armadillo will be bunking with us until I feel like I can put 2 children in the same bedroom or we move ..... again .. Thoughts?

I had my OB appointment today and I was worried that things would not go so smoothly. It is no secret that My OB and Dr Wonderful do not seem to see eye to eye on some of my treatments. The thing is I love Dr Wonderful, I like 2 of the OB dr's really well and their office staff. I dislike alot of their nurses. The office just has a different feel to it. I am not sure if it's because they switched insurance companies or have too many patient to dr ratio. But I try my best to get through it all. because I do really like 2-3 of the 5 dr's there. That is 1/2 rate and I know it could be much worse, I have seen and read much worse.

But today went very smoothly. Exceeded all my expectations .. Granted it was with the 1 Dr i do favor the most. She was willing to listen, She did not scoff at me for not taking the 3 hr or talking to their office about it first, she read why the dr and I agreed to start me on Met, She didn't even yell at me for forgetting my sugars recordings and my pregnancy passport.

She calmed my nerves about the 2 or 3 root canals I am having tomorrow and assured me that it was best to take care of them now then later. It was a pretty low key appointment. Which I like. I do have to go and get a lab done to test my blood because I am still on lo.venox which is no big deal, I can do whenever for that.

Life in general, seems to be going ... And going well most days. Basically, I am learning to adjust. My husband is adjusting too so we are all making compromises and it's nice to not feel so out of control all the time.

MT is a grand ole 14 months. He has replaced walking with running. He went through a phase of semi-regression for a few weeks. Needing to be held, needing 2-3 naps a day not spaced out very well, not eating to eating everything in sight, forgetting the words he knew. It was weird and interesting and annoying all at the same time. He would just get frustrated and not help me figure it out. He would just say Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh all the time. But after 2 ish weeks of that - we seem back to a semi regular scheduled program Ish .... He is cutting the dreaded eye teeth and every day is a guessing game on if he will be crankypants or not ... Or take a morning nap or not ... Or eat or Not ... It seems that when "they" tell you that after that first yr - things will get more regular, they forget to include unless teething, or baby sicks, or new developments, or mom is pregnant .... ETC.

MT has learned some new tricks though in all that new growing and learning he is doing. He has added ThankYou to his vocab. It's more like dank guoo or dank dank but he says it after you help him or give him something he was trying to get.

Music is a MUST in our house, I turn on the upper lever music channel alot. We have one directed towards Toddlers and MT LOVES it. He will sit and play on the floor, run around, and dance for hours listening to the music. We just got a L.aurie Be.rkner CD (rocketship run). She by FAR is MT fav. One song counts down 5,4,3,2,1 and I was doing the numbers on my hand 2 weeks ago just for something to do, MT has caught on! He tries to count down with the song with his hands every time he hears it. Or if he wants to hear the song, He holds up 5 fingers and shakes his hand. He really is a sponge. I have since showed him how to do 5,4,3,2,1 and he is very proud and Happy when we do this together. It's amazing how their lil brains work all the time. The development is such an amazing process for me to watch. I love that I get to experience it.

16 comments:

Alex said...

I highly recommend the Phil & Teds stroller http://www.philandteds.com/sport_index.htm its fantastic!! Mine weren't as close together as your will be but its still useful now and they are almost 3, 5 and 7.5 years old. The add on bottom second seat can be removed if you aren't using it, but we usually leave it in in case one gets tired, or we need to put coats in it in winter, diaper bags, shopping purchases etc. Its not as wide as traditional double strollers so it can fit anywhere a regualr stroller can, and it fold down nice and compact.

LOVE IT!!!

Allison said...

definitely a double is needed :)

We got a bob jogger and love it but I know many who really really love their phil and teds. I would do ebay..you can buy brand new for much less...just do your research. that is where we got ours.

no 2nd crib is my vote. We transitioned our first out of the crib before his sister arrived at 25 months with no problems....so why can't you after new babe arrives. I bet it will go great!

can't believe you are getting sooo close..I love reading your posts and just find it all soooo inspiring!

HereWeGoAJen said...

That Phil and Ted stroller looks pretty awesome.

I'd vote that you can play it by ear with the crib. After the Armadillo arrives, whenever you feel that he's ready for a crib, see if MT is ready to move out.

Barb said...

YAY MT!

Mommy Shoes said...

Laurie Berkner is great. I highly recommend the "What do You think of that?" CD. We have it in the car and sing, sing, sing.

Lissa said...

Love Laurie Berkner - but after listening to her over and over for over 3 years - we grew pretty tired of her =] We now get to enjoy the regular music stations (usually the oldies)and they just love to dance to it.

I didn't do the double stroller thing - so no advice on that.

Hope things get better =]

seussgirl said...

Ha, I have the same questions, but modified. :) I guess I should have asked whether we need a triple stroller, but I didn't think we could handle that, so we're just doing a double. Although I've recently realized we don't know what to do with a carseat at this point. Hmmm....
And we're having the crib debate as well, because we've already bought 2 and don't really want to buy a 3rd! We're likely to use a pack-n-play for #3, or try to transition the boys to a mattress on a bed. My SIL recently transitioned her 18 month old to a double bed with side rails. So I guess it can be done!
Let me know if you find any other helpful tips for adjusting to a newborn and toddler! :)

Beth Kyle said...

I love that MT is learning to count. Zoe and I watch the Feist - Sesame Street Video '1 2 3 4' all the time on sesamestreet.org, although she isn't counting yet - she is just learning to clap.

T-Mommy said...

I am so glad everything went smoothly ay your OB appointment!

Regarding the crib issue, No second crib! I am sure MT will be ready to transition to his own big boy bed once Armadillo is ready to sleep in the crib.

I DO believe you need a double stroller though!

PS. Thank you so much for helping with my dilemma! ;)

christina(apronstrings) said...

We are so in the same boat--and I am glad that at least we are in this boat together! Mine kids will be 18 months apart.

So, I bought the uppababy vista stroller and am going to get the rumble seat. They are pricey-even used.

The phil and ted's one rocks--the vista--not the sport. Vista is better and it folds with the second seat on.

I dont' know about you--but the traditional stroller wasn't happening in this family. They aren't made for city streets-and i find the more urban/outdoorsy ones easier to manage-and they keep their value for resale-whichmakes the price less insane.

If I was giong to use a stroller more than twice or so a month-i would have gotten the phil and teds.

I do think you need two cribs. I am going to get another one from craigslist-i am going to get davinci portable crib-b/c it converts into a twin. The crib is smaller-but that is the only thing that makes it portable-and since room is tight with you guys.....

Sorry i don't have time to proof read!

Adriane said...

I have several strollers for the girls. I have a front/back Graco that I really love. It's super easy to maneuver around and we take it shopping. We have two umbrella strollers that we hook together, but that probably won't be best for kids of different sizes. Lastly, we LOVE the BOB ironman jogger. Love it!

That is crazy about him dancing to the music and holding up his hand to count. Baby genius!

Unknown said...

We like Laurie Berkner too!

So glad things are looking up for you!

lub said...

You have one smart cookie on your hands! I bought a second crib from IKEA but I agree- if room is an issue- you might play it by ear. We are fortunate to have the room so we went ahead. I am not sure what to do about the double stroller either. We used the bjorn so much with T that I am hoping that new baby likes it too and I can put him/ her in it while T is in her regular stroller. I am going to check out the ones recommended though and see what FJ thinks. Glad to hear about your positive OB experience. Good luck with the root canals!

Courtney said...

Yay for good appointments and for MT counting! How fun it is to watch them develop and put those noggins to work. :)

FattyPants said...

I've never had a double stroller, but when I was out and about I seen stroller that had a more traditional baby part in the front and a seat for a bigger kid in the back. Maybe that would be easy to manuver?

No help on the crib thing either, we don't have one...

Uh I'm just a barrell of help aren't I?

I'm glad things are going so well for you.

TeamWinks said...

Yes to the double stroller as well. However, a good front pack and a single stroller will work in a pinch.

We transitioned Braden well in advance to his sister's arrival to his big boy bed. Our pediatrician told us it would be best, so that he doesn't feel evicted from his crib by her. Instead, he would feel like a big kid graduating to a new bed. He was 19 months old at the time, but more than ready. They sell some great bed rails these days that connect the sides under the mattress. Bottom line, if you feel he's ready go for it. If not, don't. I think this is one of those trust your instincts moments.