Consider the Lilies

My daughter will be turning 6 soon and would like her birthday party to be a spa party. She is inviting a few friends - among them, a 4 year old boy and of course her own brother who is 3. I'm really struggling with what type of activities to provide for the boys... Any ideas out there?

I am having a baby girl and looking for a name that will go well with her sisters and brother - Lily, Claire, and Nathan.

Every time we go to Target, my daughter finds the flimsy plasti-crap toy shopping cart and enjoys pushing it around the store. This has been going on for a year.... and I have so far not bought it for her because it is flimsy and overpriced.

Since her 3rd birthday is nearing, this is the item that came to mind when thinking about what she gravitates toward. I could get her a better quality shopping cart than that...but how long is it likely to hold her interest now that she is turning 3?

Does your child have a toy shopping cart? At what age did they lose interest in playing with it?

Back in January, my Dad went out of his way to help me and my husband when we really needed a bigger vehicle (expecting twins). He sold us his own minivan (immaculately maintained); he charged us less than the actual value of the vehicle, so that when we sold our small car, we could then buy his van and still have $2200 left over. It was a huge gift to us. He later admitted that he would have hung on to the minivan longer (he gets emotionally attached to his vehicles) if it hadn't been for wanting to help us out. He has a new van now, but still kind of misses his old van.

Once we got the van (which is primarily my car), my husband discovered that the driver's seat is very uncomfortable to him. We are intending to drive across the country to visit his family this Fall, but there's no way he can endure the trip unless we somehow fix the seat. He doesn't think the seat can be fixed (part of a larger drama of him hating on the van for reasons I don't fully understand).

I have been looking into having an auto interior shop modify the seat. Meanwhile, my husband is bent on selling the minivan and getting a different one - and has even found one through a co-worker.

The thought of selling it makes me ill... I don't want to hurt my Dad.... : (

If it comes to that, how could I ever smooth this over?

My husband doesn't see it as dissing my Dad; he feels that since we bought the van, it's none of his business what we do with it. But given the bigger picture - my Dad's generosity and purpose to bless us by giving us his 'baby' - this was *not* a typical sale situation. Selling it right away seems greedy and ungrateful.

I would appreciate your thoughts/perspectives.......

I'm in the mood for popcorn but want to make it somehow yummier.... I don't have M&Ms... What else would you combine with popcorn?

PQ - Are there any snacks that you don't share with/eat in front of with your kids? I can only eat trail mix when my daughter is napping, otherwise she eats all the M&Ms.

I just talked to a pharmacist who thought it was possible (but ultimately unknown) for a baby's cold symptoms to be somewhat alleviated by receiving sudafed/mucinex etc. via breastmilk.

Now I'm curious, has anyone noticed that their infant's cold symptoms somewhat improved when the nursing mother used cold medicines?

(I haven't noticed any benefit so far, but I have been taking the smallest doses.....)

Does anyone remember the name of the website that lets you look up medications to see if they are safe for use while breastfeeding? Toxicity something....?

I knew I should've bookmarked it.

My husband is sick with a cold but nonetheless is working a 12 hour shift.

I am going on 37 weeks pregnant (I also have a toddler daughter) and I am out of my mind with exhaustion.

(We are out of almost everything.)

I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and now b/g twins on the way. I was originally thinking of hanging on to the clothes my daughter has recently outgrown to pass on to her sister. But, I have a niece who could use the hand-me-downs now, and I don't have tons of storage space either. Maybe I shouldn't hang on to clothes for _2 years_ until my younger daughter grows into them....

If you have kids about 2 1/2 years apart, do you save clothing to hand down to the younger sibling? How much/which items do you tend to save? And does it significantly impact your clothing budget?

My 2 1/2 year old daughter has been potty trained during waking hours for several weeks now, but I always put a pad under her for nap time and in the car (in case she falls asleep). And she still wears a night diaper as well.

Occasionally she wakes up dry after her naps. And in the last few days, she has emphatically removed any pad that I tried to put down for nap or in the car. Since she is insistent that she doesn't need/want the pad, I have decided to follow her lead on this - but I braced myself for a mess to clean up. To my surprise, she has consistently awakened dry for the past few days.

Did your toddler transition themselves to 'no diaper/pad' for naps? Or did you do anything to aid in that transition? How soon after did your toddler also stay dry through the night? And was that also a natural transition or did you do anything to prompt it?

I recently bought a minivan to accommodate our growing family - we have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and twins due in May. I just found out that the AC only works in the front seats. The blower to the back seats blows only outside air. I planned on getting it fixed right away, but when I brought it in for a diagnosis/estimate, I learned that the repair would be $900!

My husband will actually have an extra paycheck this month (which only happens twice a year), but we had planned on using the money for tires and to pay down a credit card and a loan. There is no way we can do it all.

Do you think we could get away with postponing the repair until next spring? We live in a northern state where summer is not that long and just about everything we need is within a 5 minute drive from our home. I am a SAHM and could plan to limit our outings / avoid going out during high heat indexes etc.

OTOH, I would probably constantly worry about the babies overheating whenever we did go out for the first few months.

In my shoes, what would you do?

Any tips on keeping newborns cool in the back seat without AC?

I recently set up a sand and water table for my 2 1/2 year old daughter. The first thing she did was make mud. lol Now she is not as thrilled with it because it is 'too messy' for her. I am thinking of alternating using just sand or just water.

Out of curiosity, what creative activities have you and your kids come up with to make the most of your sand/water table.

Were you able to nurse both babies in tandem right away? What were the logistics of keeping both babies latched?

If you were not able to nurse in tandem at first, at what point did that fall into place for you?

I would love to hear any nursing success stories/ nursing tips.

TIA!

I am 33 weeks along with twins and can no longer keep up with my 2 1/2 year old daughter if she decides to run from me. Today we had a play date at the soft-structure playground at the mall. When her friend decided to take off running away from the play area, my daughter followed her, and neither of them would stop and come back to me when I called them. (Unfortunately, being chased is a favorite game at this age.) Although they weren't heading for anything dangerous and nothing bad was likely to happen right at that time, it still got me panicking a little. What if she was heading for a street and wouldn't stop when I called her? I physically cannot catch her anymore.

I am just curious how other moms would handle this situation.

In the end, I waddled after them and eventually they came back of their own accord. My friend would've rounded them up if she hadn't been away in the restroom.

I sat my daughter down and explained how scary it is for me that she could possibly get hurt if she doesn't stop when I tell her, and how important it is for her not to run from me when I call her.

She is not defiant at all. Just... rather cat-like... she comes in her own timing. She was better after I talked to her, but I am sure this won't be the only time the issue crops up.

I have considered using one of those back pack leashes.... but I would hate to have it on her all the time... and if it wasn't already on when she decided to take off, then it would be too late for it to be useful anyway.

Any other ideas for keeping her safe and effectively getting through to her that she cannot run from me?

I am 31 weeks along with twins, and all is well with me and the babies. Does my risk of preterm labor go down since I've made it this far with no issues? (I will ask my OB on Thursday, but just wondered if any of you knew).

BQ: Did you have preterm labor/delivery? At what point in your pregnancy did it start?

I would like to do something like this for my 2 1/2 year old daughter who is soon to have a new baby brother and sister. I am looking for some creative ideas. When / how did you present the gift(s)?

I was thinking of having a few gifts from brother and sister pop up at different times -

We have a long car trip coming up - something new at that time would help ease the boredom of the trip. There's also an upcoming baby shower. I'm sure my daughter would appreciate having something special from Mom since everything else will be 'for the babies.' There's also the special time when she meets the babies.. and the times when she's feeling left out perhaps after they come home.

Does that sound reasonable or am I going overboard? I believe she will be excited to be a big sister and happy to be my 'helper.' But, I am also feeling a lot of turmoil at 'our special time' (so to speak) coming to an end and not being able to give her as much 1:1 attention. I know some new toys don't make up for that....

BQ: How did your 2ish toddler adjust to having a new brother/sister?

I would like to do something like this for my 2 1/2 year old daughter who is soon to have a new baby brother and sister. I am looking for some creative ideas. When / how did you present the gift(s)?

I was thinking of having a few gifts from brother and sister pop up at different times -

We have a long car trip coming up - something new at that time would help ease the boredom of the trip. There's also an upcoming baby shower. I'm sure my daughter would appreciate having something special from Mom since everything else will be 'for the babies.' There's also the special time when she meets the babies.. and the times when she's feeling left out perhaps after they come home.

Does that sound reasonable or am I going overboard? I believe she will be excited to be a big sister and happy to be my 'helper.' But, I am also feeling a lot of turmoil at 'our special time' (so to speak) coming to an end and not being able to give her as much 1:1 attention. I know some new toys don't make up for that....

BQ: How did your 2ish toddler adjust to having a new brother/sister?

My camera has a long lag time of 1-2 seconds between when you push the button and when the picture is actually taken.

I'd like to replace my camera and get one without the lag time, but what do I look for? What wording is used to indicate how 'fast' the camera is?

(My current camera is a Concord 4340z 4.0 Megapixels.)

I posted here since I know you all must take tons of picts of your kids....

My camera has a long lag time of 1-2 seconds between when you push the button and when the picture is actually taken.

I'd like to replace my camera and get one without the lag time, but what do I look for? What wording is used to indicate how 'fast' the camera is?

(My current camera is a Concord 4340z 4.0 Megapixels.)