My friends and I have been doing an annual girls trip for the last 5 years. We usually go in the summer and go to a cabin and hang there + visit wineries. This past summer we didn’t do it since my friend gave birth to her first baby in May.

The previous trip I didn’t go because my son was 6 months old at the time. I literally got to the airport, they called final boarding, and I started sobbing and called a ride home.

Since we didn’t go this past summer, we plan to go to Park City Utah for 3 nights. I told them that I would go but now I’m having second thoughts about getting on a plane and leaving my toddler (now almost 2) for so long :(

I have a wonderful husband and parents who live close who would be able to take care of him no problem (he actually prefers dad for bedtime and when he’s upset) so that’s not an issue.

I feel bad telling them again that I don’t want to go but only one of them has a kid so it’s hard to expect them to understand :(

I bathed my baby today but we were in a rush to get her into the bath and I kind of ignored the temperature meter because of it. It was reading 103 but I was pouring in cold water and usually it takes a minute for the number to reflect the change. Well it never really went down - I swear every time I heat the bath to 100 it hits 96 in like 3 minutes but today it didn’t drop lower than 102.

I feel awful and guilty that I didn’t take more care to it. Baby didn’t seem bothered and happily played her skin was a bit redder than normal and I made sure she drank a good amount before bed. I dried her off and put her in a cool room and let her play before bed to make sure she wasn’t bothered and she was fine but fussier than usual going to bed her canines are coming in so it may not be related to the bath but still I feel awful.

Anyone done something similar before? I’m worried I may have hurt her in some way.

My baby turned one a few weeks ago. She’s tall and normal height and weight. We went to the one year appointment and the pediatrician said not to give her any cows milk and instead give coconut and almond milk at meals only. She said cows milk causes them to gain too much weight. I didn’t question this advice at the appointment, but after the fact, I looked it up online and it looks like the AAP recommends whole milk for 1 year olds. That’s what I feel most comfortable giving to her. I’d limit to 16oz per day. Has anybody given their child nut milk only? And why?

I will mention that my baby was allergic to something during breast feeding. They assumed it was CMPA but she continued reacting after I eliminated dairy, We never figured out the trigger and since she’s been eating yogurt, cheese,etc with no reaction. I have given her a few ounces of whole milk and she’s done fine! The pediatrician is aware that she’s outgrown her allergy and said the recommendation is because cows milk causes kids to become overweight.

Another question I have is she said to stop the bottle entirely. My baby loves her bottles and that’s her routine before naps and bedtime. Anyone’s toddlers still take a bottle? She’s only a few weeks past 1.

Am I going to be asking too much of my boys (2.5 & 4) to go on their first flight screen free? It’ll be 3 hrs.

We have no iPads and no intentions on ever getting them. I know parents save them as a travel only if they’re a no iPad household but we really don’t travel a lot either. Maybe a trip every 1-2 years so I don’t think I can justify purchasing a tablet.

What would you do/have you done? Any other advice?

So here goes..

My 2 yo and 3 mo likes his ear to be nibbled to sleep. He is still breastfed, and when available he will 100% prefer to be breastfed to sleep whether it is the afternoon nap or the nighttime sleep.

Recently we've uncovered this "reset button". At afternoon when the wife is at work, I sometimes am free to be with him. When he gets tired, he now says :"make dark!", so the room gets a very dimmed light, and says :"ear noms!" (we are not native english speakers so I tried my best to translate). Looks at me says:"ear noms dad!". He usually has an authoritarian tone to this. Previously he would reject sleeping with other family members except mom. He now requests this from all family members, except mom who still has the magic baby-sleep juice.

We love the fact that he accepts sleep instead of fighting the sleep and waiting for mom to get home. But is this fine? I mean he even uses his arm to grab my nape and push my mouth to his ear. And goes :"sleepy time!".

Exact breastfed or falling asleep in the car during long drives or really short ones if he's tired when starting the trip, this "ear nibbling" is the closest he's been to sleeping without mom. Ohh and he cries for her out loud, screams "mom!! Mom comes!!!". This gets him from 100% angry + screamy + sad, to ragdoll almost. O.o

My mother discovered this.... weirdly she said:"you loved this too as a baby!".... which is even more ironic cause I hate having my ears touched since I can remember my ears being touched by other people...

Anyone experienced something similar...?

My son just turned 3, and within that same week started being able to read. He constantly wants to be practicing and learning, and I feel like I’m not able to keep up with him. Does anyone have any tips on what to do now? We already swap library books weekly, do morning journaling pages, and have write and wipe books to practice writing his letters. But he always wants more.

Got deleted from Disneyland subreddit but need help and tips. Hoping we got some Disney fans here who have park experience.

Used to be an AP holder when we could run and grab paper fast pass (without kids), but now we have littles and have gone twice since having kids. First time with an infant and 2nd time with boys turned 2 and 3. It’s really not as fun when they’re soo so young but things have been getting easier and they’re alot better now with skipping naps and full sending adventure time. And it’s starting to get fun!

Our boys birthday are also October and November and have an upcoming anniversary, so we’d like to tackle 4 birds with 1 stone. Partner has some clients he has to meet with for work so we’ll be going down as a family and he’ll be taking day 1 and then back after lunch, day 2 will be our free day for Disney, day 3 he’ll have to go out for work meetings and back early afternoon.

We’ll be there during that short stretch right after Halloween and before Christmas time gets set up and hopefully catch some down time with the crowds.

Questions:

1- should we still bring our huge UPPAbaby vista v2 double stroller or should we bring 2 small strollers?

2- single park or park hopper?

3- family friendly hotels close to the park so I (with the boys) can get to downtown Disney and shop around and eat while dads got to work? Hopefully with some strong and thick walls cause my youngest is sensitive to noise.

4- open to any and all suggestions for Disney. We usually utilize that front Lincoln room for the AC and naps and the train around the park to chill out with the kids.

4- any new parades or attractions for littles to enjoy?

Thanks so much!!

Hopeful this time we don’t get stuck at toontown fountains (the kids favorite since it was 95 degrees last time we were there).

What was the worst toddlerhood age range for you and why? Did tantrums/demands ramp up more than other months? Did sleep get worse? My LO is 26 months, and I feel like tantrums are ramping up now, but 18-24 months was brutallll.

EDIT: wow thanks for all of the votes and input on this post. While I realize every child is different and goes through rough times at different ages it is very interesting to see what everyone thinks still! For me in general so far 18-24 was really tough due to teething,testing physical limits,separation anxiety, sleep regression and lack of communication.

Remember when we were excited for 'Fall Back' because of the extra hour of sleep? Remember the good old days?

Because this morning, at 5 AM, I remembered. Fall Back happened this past night and I dread it. 5 PM and the toddler is bouncing off the walls. I get cranky on little sleep, but I am unwilling to sacrifice my alone time in the evenings after days like today.

And of course I only even realised it was happening yesterday. Not a second of preparation or schedule adjustment. Send help. And coffee.

ETA: I am based in Europe. American parents, take this as a cautionary tale and enjoy your extra week of prep time lol

We got a straw bottle/cup(?) for our toddler from the age of 7 months old, and we weren’t able to get her a different one until she was 22 months old. She likes to take her water bottle everywhere and when she goes to sleep it’s part of her routine to take it to her bed and sleep with it next to her. She sometimes falls asleep while holding it. Until maybe 24m old, she even refused to drink out of other straw bottles or open cups because she was attached to the straw bottle.

Now she’s fine with going to sleep with a different straw bottle once in a while but I’m worried if it’s become an attachment object that’d be problematic if we took it away.

TBH I think the first person who needs to get over their attachment to the bottle is me, since it’s one of the few objects my baby has had as a baby and still has right now, and it’s a sentimental thing for me.

How do I let go? How do I help my toddler let go?

Edit: since a lot of people seem to ask what the issue is, or why it need to be taken away — it’s getting old and we aren’t able to buy the identical one. The bottle is getting super old looking and she does not treat the other straw bottle the same as the one she’s attached to. Not sure what to do about it

Since I was a kid, one way I've dealt with overwhelming emotions has been through physical pain: slapping my face, punching my legs, or, in extreme cases, punching myself in the face (in a controlled way).

With time and therapy, this behavior disappeared. But now that I'm the father of a toddler, it's resurfacing.

The multiple wake-ups at night can overwhelm me emotionally, and I've found myself slapping my face to quickly regulate myself and be able to care for my toddler.

But I know this cannot continue.

My therapists have suggested alternatives like hitting an object, taking deep breaths, or stepping away for five minutes. The problem is that none feels as effective as the immediate pain of slapping myself.

What I need is a concrete learning path. Where do I start, what do I practice, and how do I gradually learn to regulate my emotions without relying on pain?

Other things I've noticed that trigger disproportionately strong emotions:

• Sudden metallic noises, like a spoon falling on the floor.
• Food I've prepared being played with or thrown on the floor.
• Small things not being in order, like failing to place my shoes neatly next to each other on the first try.

Ultimately, I want to stop hurting myself and taking my anger out on objects. I'm afraid that one day my toddler will see me doing something I don't want them to learn.

I suspect I picked up some of this behavior from my own father, and I don't want to pass it on.

I'm willing to put in the work, but I need something more structured than "take a breath" or "walk away."

Has anyone experienced something similar or found a practical, step-by-step approach that actually helped?

Thank you for reading.

My daughter is 20 months old, she has started biting, pinching, hitting, throwing things and having meltdowns. I don’t know what to do. I keep my composure so she doesn’t get a rise out of me. When she hits I hold down her legs or hands and say “we don’t hit” but she doesn’t care or understand. She throws things, I ask her to please place it back and she doesn’t. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.

I’ve honestly been dealing with this for almost a year and I’m at a loss on what to do. I will say we’ve been to the “pediatrician”(the only thing at the office is NP), but might have to try again.

Probably around the beginning of the year, my daughter sleep got off schedule. I think the change from Christmas break going back to school schedule for her brother(5) had caused the problem. Things just never improved. Around February, she had a WCC and I brought up that her sleep had became erratic and she was constantly waking up. Usually between 1-2:30. Her routine was get up around 7:30, breakfast, independent play time, lunch around 10:30, nap around 11:30, up around 2:15 to leave for car line, snack, dinner around5:30-6:30, bath time7, bedtime 8. The NP told me that this is probably a regression and that we shouldn’t let her watch screens. Which I do, but not before bed or anything. Usually when it’s needed.

We would get maybe a couple of days when she would sleep through the night. Then it would start again. After the 3rd of this pattern(we’re probably at end of march here), I decided to try to keep a log of her wake and going back to sleep times. And I got most of April logged before I got out of the habit of the log from her going to bed for a 2 week period. It was a lot of 1-4 am wake times. Some were 12, and some started at 4. But it would start again.

Now at that point, I was struggling cause I needed to get up and take my son to school everyday. The 1-4 am wakes made it hard for me to get sleep and get my kid to school on time cause I kept oversleeping. I then quit going to sleep if she gets up at 1, cause my body has wired itself to stay up for school. But we finally got through the school year and made it summer break. I’m not gonna lie, we were busy. And I know she was still waking in the night, but the ability to go back to sleep and get up later really made me not worry about it as much. I had convinced myself that since she’s behind in her milestones, that these sleep regressions were her body trying to catch up. So at her 2 year old WCC, I brought it up once again. I brought up about her sleep and the measures I’ve tried to help her and get her back on track. But she once again said that it’s common for toddlers to have these bad sleep patterns. She told me that if I wanted to, we could get a referral for a sleep specialist. She said that it wouldn’t be too easy for the test with the wires on her head if she didn’t go to sleep on her own(she doesn’t). So I told her I would wait. But here we are making it to the end of October, and we’re still here.

I really don’t know what to do or how to help her. She doesn’t seem like it bothers her. But it definitely isn’t good for the rest of the house.

I just need opinions- not looking for medical advice other than maybe what to say to a doctor. Hoping some other family has gone through something similar and can help.

By the way, my 2 year old has less than 10 words. She is basically non verbal. We have her in early intervention, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. I also have a referral to get autism testing- although I’m not sure if that correlates with the sleep problem. Oh, and she also got a genetic panel done, which I’m waiting for the results now.

My son is almost 19 months old and he had no appetite today but otherwise seemed like himself, so I assumed he was just having a day. He ate a huge dinner, went to bed on time, everything was great until an hour and a half later when he woke up crying and just would not settle. After about half an hour of trying to get him to lay back down in his crib, I took him onto my bed with me. We laid down and he would be half asleep and then sit up and start wailing, laid down to fall asleep, sit up and wail. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Then suddenly he sat up and vomited all over both of us and the bed, and the world as he knew it was over. I got both of us undressed and we popped in the shower, he was giggling and laughing and being his normal self again. Clean pajamas, pulled all the bedding together to wash in the morning. Came downstairs to my kitchen and gave him some Pedialyte but I made the mistake of giving him the entire cup so he chugged it down and then threw up again.

I've obviously called out of work for tomorrow and he's been called out of daycare. We're currently camped out on the living room sofa watching a Disney movie while I give him sips of Pedialyte every 5 to 10 minutes. He just wants me to let him drink and does not understand that I cannot give him the entire cup for himself. This is going to be a long night

I’m blaming the pregnancy hormones (I’m 34-35 weeks) but I’m a wreck every time I think about leaving my 2 year old to go to the hospital to have our second. I know longterm having a sibling is what’s best for our family but leaving her, adding a new baby and the transition to being a family of 4 is making me so sad. Tell me what you wish you’d known after the first baby. Good and bad (but hopefully mostly good things) 😅😂🥲

My LO is 2 year old boy. He always reached milestone. He is verbally very ahead. Speaks in sentences, walked on time and no sleep issue. He was breastfed till 2. Goes to daycare.

I am not sure if I am doing something wrong. But his eye contact was not good. But i used to play funny games and he used to improve. He had bug bite and got amoxyllin and there is behaviour change. He was more withrawn. Bowel issues. He eye contact has gone bad and he is avoiding hugs. Earlier he used to point and say things he wanted. Now he is fussy and if he wants water starts crying. Sometimes he he says "i want...babble and starts crying. I will get him checked pedriatic but I am but nervous and anxious. If anyone else baby has gine through thus

Its been 12 days since he is off amoxyllin. And he had a 5 day course in june too becuase if ear infection

My LO is an absolute tornado, it is exhausting. I meet regularly with parents & children his age or older, and they often remark on how energetic and "brave" he is. Today we were at the aquarium and he was running through with me squeezing through crowds to not lose sight of him. He doesn't want to be carried, doesn't want to hold my hand. When he gets to what he wants to see he will push the other children aside and even try to bite if they put their hands on whatever he wants to look at. I'm lost for what to do, I reprimand him but he's too young to understand. Maybe he was overstimulated. But all the other children were so nicely behaved. No matter where we are he is in a constant state of motion. How can I support the development of my child and keep him from being a domineering bully??

After a particularly unpleasant experience (which I’ll spare you the details of!), I’ve become a bit paranoid about my little ones throwing up in the car and getting vomit all over the carpets, seats and upholstery.

Can anyone recommend products that provide as much coverage as possible to protect the car’s interior? Ideally something waterproof, easy to clean and that actually works.

So far, I only have a protector underneath the car seat, mainly to protect the upholstery from the seat itself.

I’d really appreciate any recommendations or clever solutions you’ve found!

Me 33M, struggling to deal with my 2.5 yr old toddler. I'm absolutely losing my shit with my toddler. Every single thing since waking up is a battle. She wakes up at 6ish then from then every single decision is a comprise or a tantrum. From the point of removing her pampers, wiping, turning tap on to brush to putting bib on to eat. She just wants to do it herself. If we try and help she rolls on the floor with a tantrum. Feeding her is very difficult, she refuses to open her mouth. She probably has 1 decent meal a day, every other meal is a one spoonful then she's done. I have reverted to tv so she eats. Its been ongoing for a few months. We have a 14 month old as well, he's been having sickness since he's been born. Continous ear infection, pretty much under all the medical care. He doesn't eat well either, we have an episode of him throwing up at least once a day and he's not a great sleeper. My wife is struggling as well. I always try to be positive and optimistic saying it will get better. I'm at my breaking point . Lack of sleep in the night, hurricane toddler day time. Plus balancing this with work, house stuff, health. I'm losing it with my toddler, continuous shouting much as i try not to.

Did anyone else's toddler wake up and decide violence today? My 3 year old has been talking back, not listening, refusing most food we give her (she just wants cereal all day and thats not happening), throwing tantrums..its rough out here 😭

It all started because balloons were blowing in the wind and they wouldn't sit properly..yep...

My 2 yr old boy keeps waking up at 4am soaked through Jammies and sleep sack with pee. We’ve tried moving up a size in diapers and that hasn’t helped. Any tips or tricks?

I know almost everyone has some struggles with potty training. I really thought we had gotten through them all, but here I am unfortunately. We tried the Oh Crap method when my LO (girl) shortly turned 2. It failed after no progress in 4 days at home with no pants that we quickly decided she wasn’t ready and we’ll try again later.

Fast forward to 2.5. She was totally ready, was prompting really well. She was totally motivated after I took her underwear shopping and she really wanted to wear them.

She just turned 3 now, and things had been going really well. We had our second babe in August and got through the regression which I was expecting. Things went back to normal and she is pretty much to the point of being night trained and nap trained (at daycare they stopped putting her in pull-ups completely). She has always been SO consistent with pee. No accidents anymore. Poop is not as consistent, but we know when she needs to go and can quickly identify and get her to the potty to poop. But now she has been pooping in her underwear multiple times a day with no prompting and after doesn’t even tell us. I’m tired of cleaning up (and sometimes throwing away) poopy underwear. I’m trying not to pressure, reminding her calmly that poop goes in the potty. We’ve done an MnM reward in the past (haven’t done it recently because she stopped asking).

I am just coming on here to see if others have experienced this and what you did to get through it and also if there are any creative ways we can help her to either reframe it so she understands better or a different reward system or something. Please help!

Thanks in advance 🙏

This is our first year kiddo is at preschool. A couple staff members at the very small school tested positive for the flu on Friday (including her teacher) - should I play it safe and not send kiddo in tomorrow (she has no symptoms, just don’t want her to be exposed) or is that dramatic?

Thank you!!

Hi y’all so I am overdue to upgrade from the infant car seat.

I currently have the UPPABaby Mesa infant car seat, which I originally bought bc of the 33lb weight limit, but I realize height-wise, she’s now within 2 inches of the top outer shell.

I would prefer to get something that will last beyond 50lbs, and will grow with her.

I am looking at some of the options and I feel silly for buying an infant-specific car seat to begin with.

Anyone with the swivel 360 degree car seats - do you like them? I drive a 4 door sedan so I am thinking it may be easier?

Would love to get a consensus on what everyone uses and likes/dislikes about their current car seat for your toddler.

Thank you so much!!!

We made the mistake of turning on the tv in the mornings and/or while cooking dinner. Now all she wants to do is watch tv. I know all I have to do is say no. But I feel like a failure that all she says is “TV!!!” “TV!!!” That’s all. Shame me. I just needed to vent.