OK so I'm here today seeking parenting advice from all you experienced moms out there!
I have a question pertaining to each child--help me out ladies!
First-Kellan-this one isn't a huge thing but he is not yet getting the concept of eating with a spoon. He's now 5 1/2 months, and I've been trying it periodically, not pushing it, with the rice cereal (and more recently oatmeal, which he is slightly more receptive to). He just keeps his mouth closed, sticks out his tongue, and doesn't let anything get in. I did offer a small amount of applesauce with the oatmeal this morning but that didn't help much--I don't want to do too much with the fruits until I start with the veggies. I'm wondering if he just isn't going to like cereal at all? It's not like he's really hurting in the weight department so I'm not necessarily concerned from a nutritional standpoint, but I just know that as he approaches 6 months he really should be getting the hang of eating from a spoon. Suggestions, ideas??
Second-Alex-Bedtime...my child does not like to sleep. She fights it with everything she has. The last 2 nights, I have had her in bed by around 8:15. We go through the normal bedtime routine, read books, lights low, etc. and she has not fallen asleep until 11:00 and 10:00!! She's at preschool playing hard all day, taking a pretty short nap, she eats a relatively healthy dinner without a lot of sugar--why isn't she tired?! She has her nights where we battle back and forth to keep her in her room--we're currently doing a smiley face/frownie face system where if she earns frownie faces because of her behavior at bedtime she loses snack privileges for the next day. Can't say it's working yet because she's gotten frownie faces every night, but she's definitely not liking losing the privileges the next day so I'm hoping it sinks in soon! She has always taken a long time to fall asleep, but 2-3 hours is a little excessive! The more tired she gets, the more difficult she becomes (coming out of her room, whining, asking me to sleep with her, etc.) I'm trying to implement the Supernanny technique-I just keep putting her back into her room, not engaging in conversation/negotiating, not making eye contact, ignoring her screams, tantrums, etc. She's been up late every night since I started this and I'm wondering if this is just a transition of some sort because I'm no longer responding to her stalling and procrastinating techniques. It's just frustrating because I basically do bedtime by myself with the kids a minimum of 6 nights per week, so even though she's great with Marlon that doesn't do much for me! Ideas?
Thanks for listening--at least both kids are napping great now so I'm enjoying the quiet. I will hopefully post more pictures tonight (depending on how bedtime goes!)
The One With the Toilet Seat
4 days ago
7 comments:
Hi Jenn--we didn't start Max on rice cereal until he was 6 months old (maybe a week or two shy of 6 months). We didn't have an issue with putting the food in, Max just pulled it all back out :) Maybe you could just give Kellan a spoon to play with instead of trying to feed him. He might not be ready to eat off a spoon yet--and that's ok! He might just need some time to get used to having this new thing put in his mouth. That's my "expert" advice :)
It sounds like you're doing the right thing with Alex--just keep putting her back and not getting caught up in her procrastination techniques. It sounds like she's just testing her limits with you and you just need to stay firm. It will probably get worse before it gets better, but it has to get better.
It also seems like she'll do anyting Marlon asks/tells her to do--probably because she doesn't get to see him that much during soccer season--so she wants to make him happy. Since you are with her the majority of the time she knows what buttons to push. What if you tried to just overly praise her for all the good things she's doing during her bedtime routine--maybe more praise about how well she got into bed, or how quickly she snuggled down into bed (or whatever) would make her want to do those things more--I always found that prasing my kids in school seemed to get them to continue doing the positive behaviors I wanted them to do--taking things away just made them more angry and continue with negative behavior. Hang in there!
Thanks for the advice Amy! I agree that Kellan may just need a little more time to get interested in the spoon feeding--this is one downside of day care--the feeling that your child is the only one not eating food...I need to just remind myself that every baby has their own timing! As for Alex, I agree that she behaves better for Marlon because he is not around as much. I think I just have been blessed with a very strong willed child, just as I was! She can be very logical one minute, saying she wants to be good and make me happy, then 5 minutes later she can be in full-on tantrum mode! Today she through a 20+ minute tantrum (no lie) leaving the mall and the entire ride home because I wouldn't let her get a blue gumball like her friend Jarrett had (she'd already had a pink one then decided she wanted blue like him). It was RIDICULOUS, but I will say she took a great 2 hour nap when it was all over with! Some day I'll look back on all this and laugh.
hey jenn!
for mia, she definitely didn't like the cereal (i started at 6 months too...), and i wasn't going to start on fruits either, but i did cave and put fruit in it (just stuck to the applesauce with the cereal for awhile before adding more fruit till some veggies were introduced) - because she just wasn't into it. the pediatrican calls it wallpaper paste :)
mr. kellan certainly doesn't look malnourished - he's doing great. maybe just put the fruit in and keep trying...he'll get it eventually.
sorry about alex!!! what a cutie-patutie but strong-willed one she is :) it is so funny how marlon can get her to do anything (i know you don't think so most of the time :)) i think i agree with the praise and rewards. nolan always seemed to do better with the positive rewards rather than emphasizing the negative...
keep doing what you're doing - i too, think it will get worse before it gets better!
we love you guys and miss you all!!!
You're welcome Jenn! Max was one of the only kids who went to daycare and wasn't eating solid foods (this goes for the other almost 4 month olds when we started!) Don't feel pressured that he doesn't want to eat cereal! He should still be getting most of is nourishment from his formula, so it's really ok if he doesn't want the cereal.
When we started Max at daycare we were one of the only families that didn't have him on cereal or other foods when he started going--don't push it with him--stay relaxed and let him lead the way. We would offer the cereal and if Max wanted it he wanted it and if he didn't he didn't--we'd try again the next day.
Hang in there with Alex! Just keep being consistent! That tantrum does not sound like a good time! We recently had a ride home from daycare were Max screamed the entire way home! His was due to teeth, but I feel your pain!
Hi, Jenn I am right there with you. Maybe we could just put the girls on the phone with each other until they fall asleep. I can say that we have had our ups and downs with this. Right now we are in a up time. For us the struggles only last for a few weeks and then one night she just goes to sleep. She must be so worn out from all the fighting from the previous weeks. The good thing is the that good nights seem to last longer than the bad nights ones. Now if I could just get her and Edie on the same schedule with this whole thing.
Hi Jenn -
Catherine didn't get interested in cereal/solid foods until closer to 7 months - always stuck her tongue out rather than take the food in. When she was ready, she was ready and ate well after that. I think as long as you keep offering he'll figure it out when he's ready. It's hard when the second does things differently than the first1
With bedtime, the only time we really had that issue was when we ended up having Ella drop her nap. If she napped she'd wouldn't fall asleep until after 9 or 9:30. I don't know if you have an option for her to nap every other day, but that might work. It's not crazy to drop the nap at this age, but it does change things! My nephew is a little night owl too and really just fights his sleep - exactly the way his dad does/did. Some of this stuff might just be genetic. She might end up being one of those really ambitious people who barely needs any sleep to function!
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