toddler

T is for Treats & Tantrums

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T is also for toddler and I know that tantrums come with the territory… However with the arrival of a new baby into the house too we are currently trying to distinguish the norm versus the extra ones thrown in for good measure with the recent changes.

I’ve said in recent posts how great Josh has been directly with Max but coming up to his arrival and since the tantrum level has really taken hold. It was something we didn’t really experience up until then so we got a good run, I know!


With the tantrums are also coming a lot of treats and the two don’t marry well. If he’s having tantrums he shouldn’t really be getting treats but again with the new arrival there have been pressies for Josh too and then with his birthday in the middle it has felt like a never ending party and now we have Christmas around the corner too. 

What he constitutes as ‘treats’ has also got up a notch. A fruit pouch or juicy orange used to suffice where now on occasion a biscuit is rejected for not being ‘treaty’ enough!!!!


Of course we are trying to handle these demands and these tantrums like grown adults and put into practice our good parenting skills but to be honest with sleep deprivation and our lives having gotten so much busier we can let things slip and give in more often than not. {most of the sleep deprivation is still coming from the toddler by the way but that is for another post}. 

Josh is a smart little guy, too smart at times and most definitely plays to our weaknesses both with tantrums and treats. It’s a vicious cycle. We’ve given him a bit of slack but his time is running out so hard ball is just around the corner… I’m not sure how that’s going to go and we may just fold at the first hurdle but I’m hoping we don’t because it’s time to get some balance back even if that is a little less as a family of four!

To be continued.. 😉

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Pregnancy Update: 38 Weeks

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A day late post due to a tricky few days.. well weeks but I’ll get to that!

This could be my last post as the next will be on my due date and I have to admit I’d be happy to have bubs in arms at that stage. I’ve mentioned before they this pregnancy has been quite different to my last-lots of pesky symptoms etc-on my last pregnancy I was one of those annoying joyful people, bouncing around until D Day. This time not so much, moaning and waddling are now more my forte! 

I have now been on leave for almost 2 weeks but we have also had a tricky 2 weeks with Josh. He talks about his ‘baby brudda’ a lot but increasingly over the last little while we have seen tantrums increase, his already unpredictable sleep get worse and a clinginess and anger we have never seen before with only glimmers of his old self showing through. 

I must admit I’m a little broken by it, I can take the sleepless nights-sure more of those are to come soon but seeing him so upset unable to articulate it when he is usually so vocal breaks my heart. I know it will all be ok, eventually but right now with hormones flooding ahead of baby’s arrival I am emotional mess!

Back to the facts… 

How far along? 38 weeks 

Total weight gain: 3 stone-about the same as Josh but hope I can lose it like last time!!

Maternity clothes? Staple wardrobe these days are leggings and comfy tops!

Stretch marks? I have small lines each side of the bump which I ain’t to happy about. Using a new oil to help hopefully.  


Sleep: Not so bad, as expected-with the exception of above, along with toilet visits! 

Best moment this week: My baby brunch with my pals.. A small get together which was just lovely. 

Miss anything? Not being huge and Josh being ok. 

Food cravings: Naughty things!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Queasiness is there daily with a good dose of indigestion. 

Gender: Boy, I hope

Labour signs: A few braxton hicks but nothing major. Happy to wait until next week but then happy to say hello baby!

Symptoms: Back/Pevic pain when walking. 

Belly button in or out? Out with a ring around it.

Wedding rings on or off: Still on.

Happy or moody most of the time: Better now I’m finished work but emotional as per above. 

Looking forward to: Pedi with my pregnant pal tomorrow and holding my baby boy in my arms soon and becoming a family of 4. 

Dodie Update!

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It’s been 3 weeks since ‘dodie went to the fairies’ so I think we are home and dry. 


You will have seen updates on my social media accounts that we gave Josh’s dodie to the fairy tree in Marlay Park a few weeks ago in exchange for a pressie-‘Zeg’ from Blaze and the monster machines was his request and so that’s what the ‘fairies’ managed to get him! 

We went the long way around but it is pretty easy to find and worked well for the exchange. He had only been taking it in the car and night and stopped in the car a few weeks before and then I secretly and guiltily cut it on the Thursday night so he hadn’t taken it since then. 

It was getting to a stage where he was asking for it a lot and I really wanted him off it before baby number 2 arrived so we set the date and so far so good. I thought it was going to be a bit of nightmare but he has been pretty ok about it-he asked a couple of times but once we explained and reminded him he accepted it. The downfall was the settling at night, he was not kicking off but it took a LOT longer than normal. He is notoriously not the most amazing of sleepers but he was always usually pretty good at going down but this has changed in recent weeks. When he does wake at night (several times a week) it also takes him a little longer to settle too. It is getting better day by day and to be honest I am just thankful it is gone and pretty proud of him and us too!


I most certainly have no magic formula, we just got lucky I think!


Next up is toilet training. He was showing no signs and then suddenly he was but with lack of sleep and a few bugs making their way around our house we put it off for a few weeks-we bought pants, we bought the book and he does the odd wee on the toilet but we will pick a weekend soon that we don’t have much on and go for gold. This week is baby steps with pull ups so I will do another update soon with how this all goes-fingers crossed it is fairly seamless too!

Swimming Lessons 

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We started Josh in swimming lessons a few weeks ago at Swim Stars

When we were away in Sligo over Christmas we noticed Josh has got very ‘brave’ in the baby pool. We are both not very good swimmers so decided that it was probably best to get him some lessons for safety. 

We are off to Portugal in a couple of weeks and they have great kids pools but he doesn’t have much fear so will be keeping a vigilant eye on him making a leap for the adult pool, hence why we have also bought one of these..

Puddle Jumper
Back to the lesson , so the first week Ian got in with him and me the next. Both weeks Josh was happy to get in but not too happy on initial instruction. He liked some exercises but not others. Unfortunately the one that he usually likes to do, (hopping up on the side and jumping in) he refused to do. This is the one area that teaches them if they fall in to return to the side. 

I really enjoy doing a set activity with Josh at the weekends and whilst this one is taking a little longer for him to get the hang of, we will persevere and enjoy it for what it is if nothing else!

Change of Room

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We got the dreaded letter a few weeks back that is was time for Josh to move rooms. The room he was in he was really settled in this room, loved his teachers and was finding a good routine. Eek.

I’m not going to lie I dreaded it and as the day approached as the hour/half day/ full transition approached it was definitely playing on my mind. 

We went up to meet his new teachers the Friday before the ‘big change’ and they were lovely. We brought flowers for his old teachers and chocolates for the rest. It was time to move on. One of his old teachers was genuinely sad to see him go and that was actually lovely to see-real affection for your child. She is also moving class and they will meet again soon so that’s worked out well.

I under estimate my child, he is probably more resilient than me and crèche has definitely helped with that. He is the kid who visits the kitchen, the office and the baby room so another room change is nothing to him. For me it’s about him getting bigger & independent 😩. He now sleeps on mats, there are bigger boys than him and his sponge like quality for learning is incredible. We are so thankful for the crèche we chose and how invested they are in our little boy, it’s really great to see. He completed his first full week and all went well! Fingers crossed on our return from hols the transition is as smooth.. 

 

D is for Discipline

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Josh is 19 months and whilst he is still as cute as a button, gentle and all round munchkin he sure knows how to press our buttons.

I said in previous posts, he was a slow mover but my goodness he is a fast talker and in turn well clued in..

Most of these challenges he puts before us it is 1 nil to Josh however there have been a number of occasions where I have used his clued in nature to my advantage and come away triumphant! 

It is so hard to be the parent you hope to be sometimes when you are tired yourself and your patience is at an all time low but what I have learnt is that it is naive to think they are not smart enough to get it.. The key is to out smart them 😉

  
Photo source: http://www.someecards.com/