Toddler Advice Thread #2

[saltandvinegarcrisps]

So my 18 month old was waking 3/4 x at night for milk. Advice from health visitor was to reduce the milk & replace with water. We’ve done this to the point that it’s 99% water. Baby is still waking and wanting it, finishing the however much is in the bottle.
Any advice on next steps? I’m thinking reducing the volume little by little? Not sure how to get to the point where baby is not waking for it. Have tried to settle in other ways but baby gets distressed, don’t want to ‘cry it out’. Baby falls asleep initially on his own, without a bottle. It’s just a problem with the waking for a bottle.

Can you not just leave a non spill cup next to his bed so he can have a drink at night? If it's just water then it's not that much of a big deal to wake up for a drink in the night? My son is 3 and I'll leave him a cup of water next to his bed, sometimes he has drank it my morning and sometimes he's not touched it. Also would say don't rush through when they wake, give them 5 / 10 mins to go back to sleep? I didn't do cry it out but did 'pick up put down' when my baby was 6 months old and he has slept through since... will still occasionally come into my bed or shout for me in the night but that's totallly normal.

 

[Megatron1298]

My 2.5 year old hadn’t napped the last two days, I’ve been accepting of it and implemented quiet time instead which actually worked yesterday and he sat on some cushions and looked at some books and played quietly… BUT he is waking at 12am really upset and having to sleep with us which I cbf with as my sleep is crap enough with the baby… will his body adjust or perhaps a sign he’s not ready to drop the nap yet. He’s sleeping around 7pm to 6/7am

 

[al255]

We’ve moved bedtime to 8pm and tbh he does go to sleep a lot better now but I miss the 7pm bedtime had more me time. When his dad puts him to bed he lies on the floor next to him and then falls asleep so I end up having to go in and wake him up then by the time it’s all done it’s gone 9pm and I wanna go to bed

Awww! I don’t mind the 8pm bedtimes now corrie is on from 8pm I close her door at 7:50pm and quickly tidy up or whatever I need to do before it starts. Sometimes it can be 8:15pm though

 

[Jellybean093]

Hahah it was just my mother in law was taking my son twice a week at one point! And it makes him sick

Oh yes! How has that been? Is she still feeding him McDonald’s every time she has him?
I don’t know why I buy it. No one bloody eats it 🫠

 

[strawberrysunshine_x]

We gave my elder son a tub of icecream and a spoon and that helped for a while. And then by the time he was 4 he liked going to the big fancy barbers with his dad and getting the full works and treated like a big boy. It appears he just didnt like women cutting his hair He loves it now.

The other, he’s 2, and he will not cooperate at all and does not respond to ice cream, haribo, iPads or other form of bribery (incorruptible!) so needs whatever works as simply, safely and quickly as possible. We use clippers and just crop it short all over using a vacuum to catch the hairs as he hates those. Thinks they’re spiders. He likes holding the vacuum which helps. We tell him well in advance what we’re going to do. Then remind him up to the moment. Then again in the shop, the chair. Ask him what he’d like for his hair. Show him the clippers. Let him hold the clippers. And then go for it. If there’s any flapping I hold him in a big hug with my hands over his ears or hold his hands which seems to keep him calmer as he can’t see and he feels like I’m protecting him from the evil clippers. We cut what we can, when we can get to it. No fancy hairstyles here. Barber or husband usually does the deed. Other times I’ve managed to set him in front of me watching TV, stroking his head and then clipping and cutting in small quick batches as I stroke. Sometimes he can’t tell I’m doing it. Then we tell him thank you and show him in the mirror and make a lot of fuss over how good he looks. How cool he is. What a big boy he is. How brave he was etc. So he LOVES it when it’s cut and styled and will show it off and immediately stops yelling once it’s done. He also frequently talks to me about having his hair cut or pretends to cut mine so he knows what happens and why but it’s just as soon as he sits in that chair he forgets I give him maybe another 6 months and he’ll be like his brother I think. I’ve spoken to so many hair dressers and barbers about it over the years and they all say the same, some kids love it, some don’t. You just got to do what works for you.

Another idea is letting them see their friends, relatives or siblings have their hair cut or to help cut their hair. They LOVE that.

The other option is just let it grow until school which saves all the stress but I unfortunately I do know lots of parents who did this but are now struggling with much older children (5,6yo) who won’t cut their hair still and it’s now compulsory at our school. It’s almost like a baptism of fire. Sometimes you just need to do it until they get used to it.

My kids used to all scream blue murder getting their nappies changed or putting their clothes on too so maybe I’m just used to it?

It’s a personal choice though, wouldn’t judge anyone for their choices on this. Kids are not straightforward x

Hahaha that msg about changing their nappies whilst screaming . Kids are so funny aren’t they.
i don’t really like him with it too long. But we don’t like it too short either . His dad is bald so he cant really go for a dad and lad at the barbers .
he hates me tickling the back of his neck and around his ears he is so sensitive. I just feel like my neigbours must think I’m killin him cos that’s what it sounds like
He doesn’t like either scissors or clippers
I think I’ll just persevere. He’ll get used to it I’m sure . I talk him through it tell him he’s a good boy. I’m nearly done. He looks great ( I told him this time he needs nice hair for his Christening coming up). I dread it so much when it comes to it

i take him to the barbers cos I just don’t trust myself to do a good enough job with his hair, like honestly I’d ruin it I’m shite at stuff like that

I’ve never cut hair before in my life but I’m surprisingly good at it. I couldn’t do anyone else’s. Just my sons haha

 

[Definitelyme]

My little one turns 3 in a few months and absolutely every nursery we’ve contacted has turned us away as they have no vacancies. I feel absolutely gutted that he’s going to miss out on nursery!

None of mine have ever gone to anything before their preschool year at school, and they have certainly not missed out. I guess by his age his preschool year will be next year? So he will get a year then

Take a plastic cup in case you get caught and she really needs to go- smaller than a potty, but does require careful positioning

So potty training is going well, better than expected. Big girl knickers are on, I’ve got stickers for her chart and she went to the potty but cos she had pj pants on she went oh no cos I couldn’t get them down in time, but she understood it! So I’ve just left her in knickers now. Any other advice? I think she will get the hang of it..

We are going to the zoo on Friday but what do I do about her needing a wee etc? I don’t want her to have an accident at the zoo (wee or poo) BUT the toilets are few and far between. I’m still going to use a nappy for naptime and bedtime and just concentrate on daytime /awake time dryness first x

Take a plastic cup in case you get caught and she really needs to go- smaller than a potty, but does require careful positioning
Night time dryness is hormonal, and so the time between day and night dryness can be vastly different.

 

[BlueRose]

Bless her. Is she old enough to know how to blow her nose? My friend got her kid to blow their nose and she tested the contents of the tissue and got a positive like that. Best of luck anyway and hopefully she'll escape it.

Sadly no. She got a normal temperature and is chasing her dad about. We did the test as my friend freaked out (she thinks a lot of my daughter) She does daily tests also due to her work had negative when visiting us we(hubby & I) did a test negative before seeing her.

 

[strawberrysunshine_x]

Hello fellow mamas. I don’t know if I’m asking or help or just need some words of encouragement. My daughter is 3 and a couple of months, been potty trained a few months with accidents only very rarely.

We moved house about a month ago and now we’ve also just moved her from the nursery she went to for 2 years to a preschool as she got an early place. So lots of change in a short space of time and she’s quite unsettled.

She’s usually great at home with using the toilet, and we haven’t used potty’s for ages. But she had 2 accidents yesterday in preschool and had to come home. They expect them to be able to go into the bathroom themselves and she’s a bit scared I think. The toilets are the little small ones so she won’t have a problem getting on but she’s just not used to going on her own. Once she gets very anxious about things it’s hard to get her past it.

We both work full time so her not being able to stay the full day is going to be a major problem for us as we’ve no family to help or anything so of course now we’re stressed which she’s probably picking up on. Any advice on what I could do to help her settle? I’ve just dropped her in this morning and feel like I can’t just assume that’s her in for the day (well until 3pm)

My Little one isn’t potty trained yet but I would assume that they’d help at nursery? Is this a common thing in nurseries ?? They help at my sons nursery? Can you not ask them to support her ? Surely they should accommodate her and make her feel better ?? Sorry you’re going through a bad time. How was she when you dropped her off ? Does she like going.

ETA he is in a pre school

 

[Megatron1298]

Anyone on here got any tips for a medicine refuser

I've posted on here before but my daughter really does not like taking medicine, even Calpol. She used to be fab, would let you give it to her, or would take it herself. But now she flat out refuses and if we try to make her take it, she just vomits. She's been saying for the last night or two that her ear is sore. She's recently had a cold so we were thinking maybe an ear infection? But she just refuses to take Calpol, yet is in so much pain as she just whines and cries all day. It's breaking my heart. I can try and hide it in juices and things during the day, but she could really do with a dose just before bed, but she just won't take it. When she sees the syringe she just starts gagging and making herself sick. Will it get better?

My kid was good with medicine until he had some awful antibiotics that made him spew. Not we have to disguise medication in a concoction of yoghurt and peanut butter not so helpful in the middle of the night we have to opt to wrestling to get it in those times (2 years old)

 

[quinzel]

Does he sleep ok at night if he naps? My 3 year old daughter would be up til midnight if she had a nap now so I would absolutely put a stop to that. It’s not being pushy, and at 3 I think it’s pretty normal for them to not nap.

Not really! It's at least 8.30pm until he goes to sleep, which after a long day at work can be quite difficult

 

[strawberrysunshine_x]

Anyone else’s child crying st the fire works

 

[WhatABore]

Me again.
So little miss slept fine last night, a bit restless but didn't wake or cry and her temp was normal when she went to bed.
Got her up this morning and she was roasting to touch but her room was reading 26 degrees even with the fan on, and her ear temp was normal so I didn't think too much of it.
Anyway, she's been completely off colour all morning, just laying on the sofa, drifting in and out of sleep since about 10.30am. Drank her milk at 7am but not touched a drop of fluid since, no matter what I offer her. Refuses Calpol and I'm not sure if I want to pin her down and force her! She's extremely hot to touch, almost like a radiator but her skin is goosepimply at times? In ear temp varies from 38.4 to 39.4 but as she's sleeping on her side it's hard to tell if its accurate.
I know people will tell me to get off Tattle and get medical advice but I can't get through to 111 or my doctors. We've been to A&E 3 times already this year for temperatures so I feel like I'll just get laughed at again and told it's just a bug, let it run its course. Hubby is at work and can't leave. Feel like a shit mum because this literally happens every few weeks

I would say to keep trying 111. Especially with a temp that high.

my 4yo had a temperature for the past 3 days now at 38.5. She was literally radiating heat.

If you can get some calpol into her, it should bring her temperature down a little bit.
As she's really sleepy though, I'd definitely keep trying 111. If you can't get through then I would maybe go to AandE .

I cant remember how old she is?
Is she old enough to ask if she's in pain or anything?

 

[Stopthebus]

Can anyone give me any advice on thumbsucking? I’ve tried everything , she is 3 and she just won’t stop. I asked her why and she says “it makes me sleepy, it makes me relaxed etc”. She tends to do it when tired and in her sleep.
She never had a dummy as a baby or sucked her thumb, it’s literally started since we found out we were having another baby. It’s been going on about a year now. But she never seems bothered by the new baby and loves him to bits and we always split our attention with her , she’s never said a bad word about him, she adores him!
Is this just something she will grow out of? She says another child at her childminder does it too but this child is much younger so could be copying. I’m worried that she will ruin her teeth in the long term. I’ve tried:
-talking to her
-showing her videos
-ignoring it
-the nasty tasting nail varnish stuff
-bribery lol
-a teething necklace
-other people talking to her about it
Any other ideas would be appreciated!

 

[strawberrysunshine_x]

So she says. The teacher said she’s great and exploring etc



Tbh I’m a teacher and feel like it shouldn’t be my child that struggles with this. I know there’s no sense in that!

Maybe it’s just the adjustment. hopefully it won’t last forever

 

[WhatABore]

Wondering if anyone has any advice regarding potty training again. Our son is really good at going to the potty when he has nothing on the lower half in the house, but as soon as we try him with pants it's like he forgets and always has accidents. Yesterday I tried to take him out of the house and we were changed twice before we even got out the front door lol.

My daughter always struggled with pants. Up to not that long ago and she's 4.
I can't remember how we managed with pants. I think it was just reminding them to go pee every so often and eventually they got used to having pants on and not think it was a nappy.

 

[Snippysnips]

Has anyone gotten their toddler toys above the age limit? My neice is obsessed with unicorns an I've seen one from vtech, says its for age 5 plus an she's only going be 2 in January, was thinking of it for her xmas

I think it might be because it has hair clips but she wouldn't be getting those anyway, just the wand an unicorn

 

[Megatron1298]

After the 4yo slept for almost 24 hours yesterday, she was happy sitting yo and playing, I even had to tell her to calm down at one point because she was laughing so loud.
And then overnight just feels like we're back to square one.
She's difficult to wake, temp back up to 40 and heart rate back up in the 160s

aw the poor thing. Is it just a wait and see with antibiotics now? How are you doing?

 

[Megatron1298]

yeah he’s been a really good sleeper until recently and never gave it much thought until recently with him starting to climb out! His cot turns into a toddler bed so might just get a small bed guard to try at first see how he gets on with that

Exactly what I’m going to do, if it doesn’t work out I am going to put the cot sides back up. But at least I will be able to lie with him in the toddler bed (hopefully, should check those weight limits )

 

[Jellybean093]

We tried the hey duggee this morning and it worked! Hope the novelty doesn’t wear off too soon Thank you!


Solidarity does help a bit!

You are not alone x

 

[strawberrysunshine_x]

Oh yes! How has that been? Is she still feeding him McDonald’s every time she has him?
I don’t know why I buy it. No one bloody eats it 🫠

She hasn’t had him for a few weeks now ! So he hasn’t had it thank god!!!