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15mth old not talking/walking

Sammisunshine — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:09:14 GMT

Hi all,
My youngest of three is 15months and although he babbles he only has one functional word 'up' (with hands raised), sometimes he will say 'mama/dada' but this could be for either of us.
He is still cruising, will walk up to three steps between M&D, and walks with a walker by himself, but refuses to walk by himself.
My other two were walking/talking between 12 and 13 months. We are refusing to pick him up, we talk to him constantly, he has exposure to playschool/sesame st etc, we talk to him about picture books etc.
I guess I am seeking confirmation from other parents that this is still normal development?

toddler 3 years frequent infection lose weight cough abdominal pain

TomBelgium — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:00:36 GMT

Hi all,

our daughter is 3 years and three months. She never went to daycare and was never ill a lot the first two year and a half. Since september she is going to school (kindergarten). From 26th of September 2011, she almost have been sick the whole time.
26/09: infection of throat
==> 3 week schools
==> 1 week home, another infection of throat
==> 2 weeks school
==> bronchitis (one week home)
==> 3 week school
==> another throat infection
This was around somewhere around november. Blood work was done and they noticed she had not enought iron so we had to give a iron supplement daily. The next 4 weeks she was fine.
Beginning of december, she started coughing really bad with high fever==> another bronchitis. She had to take antibiotics. One week later (fever went away), the couhing wouldn't stop.
Doctor prescribed aerosol (Flixotide). We gave this for four weeks but things didn't get better. She also complained of some abdominal pain (once a day but there is really no pointing out where this is coming from. It is also very vague because one minute later the complaint is gone and she doesn't talk about it for the rest of the day)

In january we went to the pediatracian again since the coughing wouldn't stop. The we noticed that over the last months, she lost 1 lbs. However, she grew with 1 inch during that same time.
The ped ordered new blood work, a PH test, an X-ray and a test for cystic fibrosis. These were done on 13/01/2012
All results were fine (blood, RX, muco) except for the PH test which showed elevation during her coughing periods (which are really bad at night. Even leads to vomiting sometimes.). So he wrote a prescription for omeprazole.
Wonder by wonder, the coughin get better at night. But.....

Last monday she got high fever again. Back to the ped on thursday. Again some bronchitis. Back to aerosol. This weekend, she was fine again, not too much coughing, but yesterday, again fever came up in the morning 101.4. Yesterday back to the ped (we are getting overworried now), now her throat was red so she is fighting another infection (according the pediatrician).
The day before we had dinner with the family and also my brother and his wife got a sore throat now so she probably got it there.
Her fever didn't come back and she is playing all day so she doesn't seem sick.
The peditracian says it is just all a coïncidence and that she is probably building her resistance. Also it is winter here so it is a season for all these illnesses).
Her weight was also taken yesterday but this was the same the last three weeks. She stills complains once in two days of her belly but that's only a snapshot since one minute later she seemed to forget that she mentioned it. She eats good, has not problem with pooping or peeing, ... Still, this keeps us worry. The pediatrician always presses everywhere on her belly but doesn't find anything abnormal.

Anyway, a long story but we are just curious if there are any other people who experience this with their toddler?
We also are becoming very anxious and every day we are scared if the she looks funny that something else is showing up.
Also, we are very scared that there is another serious condition going on which the doc overlooked but can this be the case since so many tests were done already?

All comments are welcome. Thanks!!

19mth old that screams whenever food is coming

cbnbb — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:11:17 GMT

Hi, wondering if anyone had tips about how to calm our daughter down before meal times?

Irrespective of how hungry she is or what mood she is in, once she sees food being prepared or is put in her high chair she starts to scream in paniced tone (not scared or upset). If the food isn't served quickly she often gets so upset she can't calm herself down sufficiently to eat her food. This can happen anytime she sees other people eating also (even if she has recently finished).

She has reacted this way pretty much since birth (naturally) however suprised we haven't been able to calm her a little by now. We seem to be able to reason or lead by example about how to behave for other things, however patience is definitely not her virtue with eating

Ideas/tips much appreciated.

CnB

Underweight 28month old.

nas1980 — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:09:43 GMT

Hi, My son just got into his 28th month last week. Weighed him today and his weight was only 10.5 kilograms. I know this is not the right weight for a 28month old. I am feeding him well and also he loves to have normal milk though he is still breastfed twice or 3 times a day. He is active, intelligent and a lovely boy otherwise but I am concerned about his weight. Is there something that needs to be done in this regard? I am thinking of taking him to his regular GP but then again as I said he seems active and healthy otherwise. Just seems like a skinny boy overall. Please suggest.

Anyone for Speech Therapy?

mysweetboy — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:26:44 GMT

Hi, I have just started Speech Therapy with my, just turned 2 year old Son. I would like to hear from anyone else who has had a child in speech therapy and how things have progressed.

My child said a few words about 6 months ago, and then stopped and has not said anything since. He still babbles in his baby voice, but no distinctive words. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I would like to hear from anyone regarding either enquiry. Thanks.

Child Safety Engineering

engineer22 — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:08:57 GMT

I am a mechanical engineering student currently tasked with working on a year long design project. I'm very interested in safety design and would greatly appreciate any input parents might have concerning problems you would love to see solved or possibly any improvements you would like to see made to existing child safety technologies. Thanks for your time and I hope I can be of help.

Frank

youtube for toddler viewing?

ether — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:13:27 GMT

hi, my 2 year old LOVES youtube. Any suggestions about how this could backfire??

there are tons of videos to keep them entertained on there and can actually teach them...

like this series....teaches about numbers and shapes and stuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_-lz2BI2Co

and this one my son thinks is hilarious...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4HaDhqc_Js

I know there's nothing wrong with these videos, but I worry as he gets older he'll want more and more web content...and it might be hard to filter the stuff he shouldn't see...

thoughts?
et

13 month old waking every night between 3 and 4am!!

blakey1273 — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:27:28 GMT

Ever since our 13 month old turned one he's gotten into this "habit" of waking every night between 3 and 4am screaming at the top of his lungs and not wanting to go back to sleep unless he's with us.....

Is anyone else going through the same thing and have you resolved the issues?

The 'V' Word

Yummy Mummy — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:46:15 GMT

I am having troubles getting my son to eat his vegetables. He will be 3 next month and I feel like he should be eating them by now!!!

Okay, so it's my fault, I know. As a baby, my son ate enough vegetables to feed an African village. But as he got older he suddenly realised he could refuse things and it's be tough ever since. So we ended up resorting to hiding veges in meals. He currently only eats Bolognaise, quiches, sausages, nuggets, chips (homemade) and corn on the cob. As you can imagine, dinner time if very boring and unadventurous for him, just the way he likes it.

This week though, we have decided to try and be tougher, so each day this week we have all sat at the dinner table to eat the same meal. My partner and I normally eat quite spicy food, or elaborate meals so they aren't really kid friendly. But we compromised this week and have gone back to basics in the name of vegetables.

Monday we had meat balls, homemade baked carrot and potato chips, and corn on cob. He flatly refused to even try the meat balls. Ate a couple of potato chips and the corn.

Tuesday we had sausages, mashed potato, brocolli. He ate sausages for dinner. Wouldn't even try the mash or broc. Tried bribes, tried getting firm, tried being casual. Nothing is working.

Any ideas on how I can get him to eat ....or at least just even try and bit. It seems an impossible task. I can't disguise them forever now can I?

Please give me some tips

C-Mac — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:29:32 GMT

Please please I need tips on helping my 18 month old in learning how not to do certain things. Before I start I do want to just preface this by saying I am completely aware that at this age it is a normal exploration stage and I am also not talking about your everyday oops you shouldnt do that kind of activity but more the poterntially dangerous kind such as touching a hot oven, extreme climbing, running on a road, not holding hands etc etc.

My daughter as amazing as she is, is exhausting me and that makes it difficult to enjoy our time together. She is a very very strong willed child, I would almost go as far as to say she is almost physically stronger than me and while that might sound impossible I mean it in that if you try to cuddle/hold her back from doing something she wants to she will wildly thrash about, kick, punch, bite until you cant hold her anymore. She has the most full on squealing meltdown tantrums I have ever seen in my life. She is an adventurous child which I dont really want to hold her back from being but for example at the minute she is a climber. Now we have babyproofed our house as far as we can and beyond. All our cupboards have child locks (but she can break them and can also slide her hands in even with the lock - skinny minnie) I have taken to having to duct taped up my draws to stop her climbing on, have now had to put my dining table chairs away, have had to confiscate the high chair and now have caught her climbing on our entertainment unit which I cant physically put away short of gutting our whole house. She understands when you are asking her not to do something but will do it anyway. For example she will walk up to the oven (switched on) and put her hand near it and go "oh, hot!" and I will be like yes its hot - dont touch and then she will touch it anyway. She will go to do something she is not allowed to do and will actually look at you and go nooooo and then laughs and does it anyway. Even going out in public is a handful as she will not go in a pram (she will climb out of a moving pram) but doesnt want to hold my hand to walk alone and will literally sit in a carpark and have a meltdown because of it.

I do realise this is just her starting to assert her independence and like i said I am happy to ignore certain things but this dangerous stuff I feel like I dont know how to teach her that it is potentially dangerous to do these things. I have done the no, stop, I've tried loud noise eg uh uh! I've done ignoring bad behaviour,and overly praising good behaviour, I've done a smack when its really bad. Distraction does not work at all in this house. I've tried yelling. I've tried peacefully talking and explaining it to her. It does not matter at all, she will just carry on again and again. I uderstand she is so young but because of how adventurous and no fear, its just getting to me. It started at about 10 months and has no sign of abating at all. I spoke to some girls from my MG and they said oh yes we had that but we told our kids repeatedly for a few times and then they just got bored and stopped doing it, but that doesnt happen here. I am at the point where I dont want to go out because its just easier/more stress free to stay home. And at home I dont do anything except follow her around taking her away from things she shouldnt be doing, instead of actually enjoying being with her.

Please any advice or other suggestions. Or is it just something to wait through and "one day" she will just click?

Converting toddler from cot to bed

sab1974 — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:17:09 GMT

Hello, I have a 16 month old girl and we are due to have our second at the end of April. We are wanting to put our little one into a bed before bub arrives. She will be 19 months plus when bub arrives.

Does anyone have any ideas on how we should do this and what ideas there are out there to assist us in this transition.

She settles really well now when putting her in her cot and she drifts off herself but I don't know how to teach her this when she will be able to get out of her bed when she wants?????

Look forward to positive ideas.

Shelley

Ideas for "Dress Ups" Box

Irisgalaxy — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:23:43 GMT

With Winter limiting our journeys out the house I thought I'd put together a "dress ups" box for my almost 3 year old Son. I'm looking for ideas for what to put in it - what has been a surprise hit or used the most. I also have a baby girl, so looking for things that she will also one day play with. Thanks

Pushing and Hitting at Daycare

bebe — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 06:48:48 GMT

We have a boy who has just turned 2. He is constantly pushing and hitting other kids at daycare. The carers at the centre are at a loss... so are we. The behaviour is strange, he doesn't seem to do it out of aggression, frustration or attention. He does it with a smile on his face. When the carers explain to him that what he has done is wrong and try to discipline him he says 'yes' and will willingly and quite happily sit in timeout. As soon as they turn their backs he is at it again. He may do it 10 or more times in a day!
We experienced this same problem around the age of 12months, at a different daycare while we were living interstate... the behaviour stopped when we moved interstate 3 months ago and has only just begun again.
Generally he is a happy kid, with a good vocab and empathy.
The carers have become quite concerned because they don't know how to handle the situation and he is upsetting the other kids. We are at a loss too... whenever we bring up the topic with him he changes the subject and pretends to give us biscuits!
WHAT DO WE DO?

Washing Bath Toys

megs46a — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:05:03 GMT

Hi all. My little ones bath toys (ie - the squeezy ones - ducks and other animals) have a hideous green / black mould type stuff inside them. Obviously, unless I actually cut the toys in half, I cannot seem to get the stuff out. Have tried boiling hot water and soaking for days etc.

Any tips?

Every now and then when we squeeze a toy, a big bit of "stuff" comes flying out into the bath. ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww - really disgusting, so i have hidden them and we use other toys, but she constantly wants her animals to play with in the bath.

What do you all do? Is it a case of throw them out and replace every 6-12 months? Or is there magical cure for cleaning out the inside of bath toys?

Hope to hear from you all.

Travel concerns

trees8 — Sat, 15 May 2010 22:25:42 GMT

My son and I will be going on a trip in September...without dad!!! This will be our sons first plane trip. When we travel, he will be 2 and a half. One concern I have is that he will hate the plane...mainly the noise. He loves seeing planes in the sky, but I think it will be a different story once we are on there. I have a portable dvd player and will be teaching him to use earphones so hopefully that will help. The battery won't last the flight though so I'm not sure what I'll do if he hates the flight once it runs out!!!
The other concern I have is that I have to get connecting flights and will be changing at Melbourne airport (very busy, plus waiting between flights). I am terrified that I will lose him while checking in etc... I am not a fan of harnesses but would consider some sort of link from his wrist to mine. Where can you buy those types of links? I wouldn't mind getting an id band too... I have never been where I am going so it will all be new to me, which means I need to find where I'm going and make sure I don't lose my boy. I probably wouldn't worry so much if I wasn't going on my own, knew where I was going and if he wasn't at the age he will be. Has anyone else traveled for the first time with a 2 and a half year old, connecting flights etc... Maybe I'm overreacting and everything will be ok, but it doesn't stop me stressing about it now.

My 1 year old and swearing

katrina1807 — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 11:22:02 GMT

Hello,

My partner can't seem to stop swearing around our one year old and now that our son is starting to learn words I am beginning to panic. I keep reminding my partner not to swear but I am afraid that he will get upset with my nagging. I just don't understand why every sentence has to contain the F word! We have been to couples councelling and the psychologist said to my partner exactly what I have been saying to him - that swearing around our son is not healthy for him.

My partner has been swearing like this for years and years, he used to associate with people that talk the same way (thank god he doesnt now).

I am not sure what to do. Has anyone else been in this situation?

could he be gifted?

bensmum — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:20:53 GMT

my 2 1/2 year old son is extremely clever, im not blowing my own trumpet but i have been told by his dare care centre and by others who have worked with children that he might be gifted. im worried about giving him the label and i don't know where to start to help him achieve his best. he is already doing pre school related activities and can talk better than most 5 year olds. i want to stimulate him enough but i also want him to be a 2 year old.

are there any mums out there with 'gifted' kids that could give me some advise.

guess what??

shellbelle85 — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:21:08 GMT

hey everyone...

i just have to tell someone, since i cant tell anyone else yet, and you guys have had to listen to me complain a lil bit.. so i have just discovered that im pregnant! it's my second one and in case u cant tell im soo excited!im about 5 weeks by my calculations but have to book dr appt this week and get a dating scan etc asap.. i know its early days so im pacing myself but there it is.. the journey to having two kids begins......any sage advice??

TV or no TV?

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:41:10 GMT

Hi, I'm not a fan of TV for my 16 month old toddler, so he rarely watches any.

My problem is his closest playmate has a 60 inch telly running constantly in the lounge/play areas during their playdates. Every few minutes the kids stop playing & stare at the TV (usually on Nickleodon JR or other kiddie programmes).

My friend knows I'm not keen on TV for my tot, and I recently mentioned it again, in a lighthearted way, however the TV's still running whenever we go over for a playdate.

If the weather allows it I take the kids outside but, as her garden isn't fenced, most of their play is inside. As she shares a car, I usually visit her.

Her tot watches a few hours of telly or DVD's a day. I've not ever commented on it, as it's her choice to make for her child.

I don't feel it's fair to ask her to turn the TV off in her own house. At the same time, I feel frustrated as I love the kids spending time together, just dislike the constant TV.

Recently, my friend's asked me to play video games with her during the kids' playdate. I've said I'm not keen, as I'd prefer to chat with her and play with the kids, or enjoy watching them play during their time together, but it keeps coming on up.

I don't know how to seriously broach the topic of my dislike of this much screen time in front of the kids, further, without offending her.

Any advice would help.

Little ones' clothes

Loving little ones — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:11:16 GMT

Hi everyone, I am a mum to be and currently something interesting occurred to me.

I just found out I’m pregnant. I’m so excited because this is my first baby! I have a long way to go before my new little baby arrives. I am a fashion designer and I would love to make little cute garments for my baby. Since I want the sex of my baby to be a surprise, if I want to start designing for my baby, I probably would have to keep the designs sex neutral.

Please help me and give me some ideas of what garment styles and colours you think would be suitable for both boys and girls and what patterns and thread colours would be sex neutral.

I have been visiting baby clothing stores. Sections were divided into either baby pink or baby blue. Nothing is really sex neutral.

There are a lot of questions going on in my mind. For example, I wont mind dressing my baby boy (if the baby would be a boy) in a white T-shirt with a little cute pink patch on the chest or putting my little girl (if the baby would be a girl) in little t-shirt with blue owl at the front. I’m so curious about what sex neutral patterns, colours or symbol you would put your kids in.

Do you mind pink threads for the patch works on your baby boy’s jumpsuits? Do you mind a little car on your girl’s little shirt?

I am so excited and I can’t even sleep because there are so many question marks in my mind!!!!!!!

18mnth old not settling at night & waking lots.

Madeleines Mum — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:36:44 GMT

My daughter is 18 months and has decided she doesn't need a sleep at daycare anymore, but on the weekend will sleep for us for around 1 1/2 - 2 hours or so, and is now taking about an hour to settle at night. As I type this my hubby is sitting in her room with her trying to get her to sleep.
Any ideas, strategies, anything. We are both so tired she wakes so much at night with rolling wind in her tummy.

Toilet training no. 2's for a 2yr 8 months old

naomihill — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:36:42 GMT

Hi,

I have a little boy who will be 3 in febuary. He has been wee toilet trained since April, and is even trained dry over night. We have been very lucky at how quicly he picked up being dry.

I am having great problems with the poo training. When I put him on the toilet it ends in tears, and there is great resistance. I am sure he knows when he is doing it as he goes away to a quiet place and does it in his undies. I'm starting to get at my wits end of cleaning the mess and am looking for strategies to ecourage him to do poos in the potty/toilet NOT his undies.

Several times when we've been outside he's actually squatted on the lawn to do a poo (what a shock to see!) so I'm sure he knows when he needs to do it.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Naomi

how to dry up breastmilk supply?

shellbelle85 — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:25:52 GMT

hey all.. I havent breastfed my daughter for about 7.5 months now but i think i may need some answers.. when i weaned her i had heard of tablets you can take to dry up your milk but, never having done it before, decided to just let nature take its course. i reasoned that surely if she's not feeding anymore the milk will dry up by itself. is this correct, or is it necessary to take something? the reason i ask is that recently, during a routine boob health inspection, something told me to squeeze my nipple and when i did, milk came out. i have been trying to get pregnant and was wondering, if my milk never dried up properly, could this still be acting as a natural contraception? or is this a sign of me possibly being pregnant again? sorry for all the questions, but i need some insight!any one got any ideas? they'd be much appreciated, thats for sure!

My 32 month old won't sleep at night...

Melita — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:16:17 GMT

My 32mth old girl has always been a great sleeper at night until the past couple months.
We have our bedtime routine in place and she goes to bed around 7:30pm (sometimes earlier if she seems sleepy) but everynight she wakes crying around 11-12 and walks into our room sobbing. We cuddle her and try and put her back to bed, but she will not settle in her bed again, and after many attempts, always ends up in our bed. This is making our sleep so hard, because she tosses and turns all night long. She is well at the moment and not teething right now either.
We've tried soft music, different night lights, changing curtains, lying next to her in her bed, but nothing works.

I would LOVE any ideas on how we can try and get her to sleep in her bed all night again.

Thanks everyone

Severe separation anxiety at daycare

DaveB — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:17:32 GMT

Hi, Am hoping someone might be able to offer some advice. My wife and I both work full time, and until last week or 18 month old boy was being cared for at home by my mother-in-law every day. She has now had to leave for a few months, so we have started him (and his 4 yr old brother) at a daycare centre.

We did a couple of short practice sessions with us present, and it went fine. But basically since starting full time he has more or less cried non stop the whole time hes been there. The staff have said that usually they calm down by the 3rd day..and so its obviously an extreme case of separation anxiety. My biggest concern now is they might turn around and say they cant care for him...and we dont have any obvious alternative apart from quitting one of our jobs.

At the moment we have agreed to come in tomorrow and spend more time with him there, and maybe ease him in a bit more with 1/2 days off work etc...but I dont know how long it might take him.

Anyone been through similar thing?...he really is so distressed there...just runs to the gate and wants to leave all the time....not drinking etc

Dave B

Hard to put to bed and sleep waking

Mandy41 — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:57:00 GMT

My 13 month old son used to be a pretty good sleeper but since he has mastered the art of standing he wont settle at night and is also waking at around 3-4am like he is sleep walking and wont self settle. He used to sleep from 8pm to 6/7am most nights. Going down with little to no fuss. He started rocking on all fours and headbanging about 2 months ago which created a few issues but now it has progressed to standing in his cot crying out to avoid going to sleep (the battle often lasts for up to 2hrs) and then when i finally get him to sleep he then wakes himself at night at around 3/4am like he is sleep walking or moving in the cot and wont go back to sleep. We move him back down the cot but this then wakes him and it can take up to an hour to resettle him. He is also now waking at 6am.... has anyone got any ideas please??

My worst nightmare at day care

vick_heart — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:37:10 GMT

I'm trying to find a day care centre that can care for my 1 year old 2 days a week so I can work.
I tried one place but wasn't comfortable (while I was there observing, the carer handed me a 6 week old and asked me to put him to bed in the nursery!!!)

I've finally got a spot one day a week so far at a different place and felt quite good about it.
I left bub there for a few hours the first day and came back early to make payment. When I walked past the room, I saw my child completely inconsolable. I thought I would wait to see what they do ... and while I watched the carer looked over to her and said "stop that". Hmmm.... so I went in and saved her.

My biggest fear is that at day care my child will be upset and not comforted... and that is exactly what happened.

I haven't said anything to the centre because I don't want to be a pain/ over protective parent... but i feel sick about sending her back.

Thoughts?

22 month old - waking at night.

megs46a — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:43:22 GMT

Hello ... me again. I wrote a forum back in August and still have the same problem, so thought I would write again. My now 22 month old son wakes EVERY single night and screams and screams. Sometimes it's for 10 minutes, but most nights (like tonight) it's 1.30am and I am up for the third time. He has been crying now for 40 minutes and screaming out "Mummy". He can last for hours. My husband has resorted to closing our bedroom door and can now practically sleep through, but I just dont seem to be able to sleep when my little man is sooooooo distressed.

I have tried ignoring him and letting him cry, tried going in and leaving once he is settled and expanding the time each time (Controlled crying), tried sleeping in the room. Tried everything it seems. Our 3 year old daughter sleeps in the next room and is also affected as she comes to me quite upset and asks why her brother is crying and asks why I am not helping him.

Suggestions? What do I do?

Help needed with early toilet training

priceobrien — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:49:42 GMT

I never in my wildest imagination thought I'd be thinking about toilet training with a just-turned-one-year-old. The thing is, she seems not just "keen" or "interested" but adament to use the toilet. And I'm at a loss on how to proceed because everything I've read on toilet training is presuming a 2 or 3 year old who can walk and perhaps even pull their own pants down. My daughter is still crawling.

We have always enjoyed a bit of "nappy free time" at home but over the last several weeks a strong pattern has emerged - if she needs to go to the toilet, she immediately drops everything she is doing, or scrambles to get off my lap, and then crawls to our bathroom, where she does her business on the floor. On many occasions I have followed her in to find her clinging to the toilet seat in a standing position while weeing on the floor. She even points at the flush button when she is done, and loves it when I oblidge.

This whole situation intrigued me, so I started to pay more attention to it. I found that I could keep her out of nappies for the whole day without a single accident (so long as I didn't distract her when she was heading toward the bathroom!) And I realised that even with a nappy on, she was heading for the bathroom just to stand there and wet her nappy.

So under normal circumstances, I think this would simply indicate it's time for some toilet training. The thing is, I'm not really sure how to proceed with a baby who can't walk, let alone get up the toilet and back down safely. And I know this child's temperament - the odds of her using a different toilet to Mum and Dad (such as her own potty on the floor) is very very low. Perhaps I should just keep trying with one? I've tried sitting her up on the big toilet but she gets nervous once she is there and freezes, only to wee a few minutes later once she has relaxed and is back on the ground. She has used it a couple of times when I've sat up there with her (Not very comfortable!) If I use the toilet and she is in the bathroom, she wees too, even if she just went a little while ago. She is also insatiably curious about the toilet in general, and is always wanting to look into it, watch me empty her nappies into it, press the flush etc.

I had no idea I'd have to be thinking about this stuff yet! Help!

Any ideas on where to go with this?

Controlled Comforting

Sherif82 — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:51:37 GMT

I'm trying the controlled comforting technique with my 13 month old baby since 3 days and i noticed that she became extremely attached to her mother during the day night and she explodes crying when her mother disappears for seconds.
Is it normal with this technique or shall i try another one?

Thanks

when is it time for my daughter to sleep in her own room

jpk10 — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:12:30 GMT

My daughter is 12 months old next week. She still sleeps in our room but in her own portacot. I like to have her close to me during the night. During the day its not so bad... She never sleeps with us, only ever in her own bed and she sleeps well, mostly through the night except for during teething. I understand i need to do whatever is best for us but does there come a point where it needs to stop? Has anyone else experienced this?

Young (newly single) mother of 1yr old needing help...

jennie13 — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:35:09 GMT

Hi,
my name is Jennie and I am 20yrs old. My son Connor has recently turned 1 in June and 2 months before his birthday my partner (his father) of 2 years was acting very strangely and decided to leave us without warning and no attempt to reconcile or be actively involved in Connors life. Im currently on centrelink payments and have just moved back in with my parents because the financial and emotional burdens become too much for me to juggle. My ex partner ignores my calls, treats me horribly, degrades me, insults me and doesnt help with Connor but despite that there has been a tiny glimmer of light when I got accepted to study at my local TAFE to become a nurse and also, I've put Connor into the most ideal daycare possible. So those things have made me happier but I constantly feel down. And every now and then, i question whether or not im a good mum. Connors dad has missed every "first" imaginable. First laugh, crawl, walk, birthday. And when I first taught Connor to kick a soccer ball I was freakishly giddy but that came tumbling down when I thought to myself.."shouldnt it be the dad out here laughing and teaching the boy soccer?" And that made me sad because me and my ex BOTH decided to have Connor and swore that he would never feel unwanted by his dad (as both mine and my ex's dads left us). But now..... its like i mask my sadness for Connor so he sees a happy mummy but deep down i am so hurt and so lost. And even though i have my parents and sisters and Connors Godmother i still feel lonely. Like no one understands my situation.
I just think i need maybe a single mums group? ... Im not sure if they exist or not
I live in the south Cairns area and if anyone has any advice about any part of my long life story here (lol) then please let me know. At this point i welcome any advice or simply someone to talk to with open arms.
If anyone took the time to even read this... i thankyou its not exactly fun reading about a young (pretty much) kid whos sad. So yeah, thankyou.

Jen

Great Education Music Song for Children

chairuby — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 17:49:47 GMT

Hi All,

Just for your reference, children around 1-3 years old are very active,
try to stimulate the brain by allow them to watch a slow interactive children musical such as
twinkle2 little star. Please watch the following video that i recently made, hope you all like it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X1NdRb0Jxs

18 month old waking early every morning!

Tam, Dusty&1 — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:25:51 GMT

My son has never been the greatest sleeper in the world, and we did a stint at Mitcham Private Hospital for a 4 night residential stay when he was 7 months old (due to hourly waking), but I thought things would have improved by now...!

He is 18 months and for the past 2 months has been waking every morning at 4.30am-5am. He will have a chat to himself and a play in his cot for a little while before the screaming begins. We have tried to re-settle, but to no avail. I don't think that he is actually ready to get up and face the world as he will be quite grizzly when I do get him up.

He goes to bed at 7pm and sleeps through until this time. He is a big eater during the day despite still being small (11kgs). He is big on routine during the day and has one nap a day at about 12-12.30pm for between 1-2.5 hours.

His room is pitch black and there are no noises to wake him. We have tried leaving him to scream/cry, giving him a bottle, giving him water, increasing the room temperature, but nothing seems to help.

I'm expecting our second son in a few months and would really like to get this sorted before he arrives! I'd be ecstatic if he could sleep until 6am!!

Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated. I'm hoping its just a phase and will grow out of it as I'm really getting sick of starting my day at 4.30am!

Thanks!
Tammy

Dentist and Fillings for 2.8yr old ??

soloflyer — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:47:52 GMT

Hi,

I've had to take my little girl to the dentist recently. Following which of course her tooth started to ache. They wanted to do a filling, saying the milk bottle was the most likely cause.

Is 2 yrs 8mths too young for a filling? She did very good for the cleaning part, but I cant imagine an injection and the rest ...

Buying clothes /toys/ nappies for bub over the Internet?

partyofthree — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:16:22 GMT

Does anyone buy clothes/toys/supplies through the Internet? Lately Ive been buying my makeup online and realised its so much more cheaper than in store. Anybody know any websites they can share?

How far away do you let your toddler walk from you?

vick_heart — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 19:29:24 GMT

The other day I was at the park with my daughter. She is very confident and was walking off. I thought I would see how far she would go as it was a huge open area of grass, visible and not many people around.

It turns out that she happily walked 35 - 40 metres away from me. I called out to her and she just turned around and grinned and continued on her merry way. I went and got her.

I wonder if I was being a neglectful mother allowing her to walk so far. Does anyone have any clues on how to teach her to stay close?

Your thoughts are apprecaited.

Help me help my unique 2 1/2 year old

mumface — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:41:07 GMT

I have always been amazed by my son, but he is my first. Everyone thinks their first is the smartest, greatest baby in the world

But now he is 2 1/2, and I see him around other kids his age, he is not the same. He is very controlled. He does not like to participate in classes I take him to, until he has been a few times, and he knows what is going on. He doesn't appear to like to let go and join in. He gets pushed out of the way by children half his age.

He is very sensitive, to noise especially. He cries the second anything is loud. In fact he seems to cry all day. Because he wants to do something, or he doesnt want to stop doing something, or because it might rain, or because it might not rain. Or because he wants this, no he doesnt want this, no he wants this. He cries when I take him somewhere new. He cries if someone different tries to talk to him or get him to do something. I can only descripe him as *intense*

He always wants to do things. Puzzles. Painting. Drawing. Writing. Reading. Its exhausting. Its like he is trying to drain everything out of my head.

He has hit all his milestones early, but not hugely. Everyone tells me his vocab etc is fantastic for his age, but I don't know. Its how he is! I have nothing to compare it to!

He also seems very sensitive to others peoples emotions, as well as his own. He is always talking about how he feels, or how other people are feeling. If i am sick he will sit next to me on the couch and stroke my hair.

So I KNOW deep down he is different, but HOW he is different I am unsure of, and how do I treat these differences. Do I need to address them? Nurture them? I am scared of what this will mean in terms of schooling as I dont feel like he will fit into a traditional schooling system.

Please help me understand and help my little boy!

Recommended child care centre

swirlgal_82 — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 22:06:58 GMT

Hi There,

any one knows good child care centre near blacktown NSW? I am looking for child care centre but don't have any idea which one should for my 2 years old daughter. Please recommend me if you know or experience with them. thanks

constantly niggles and trying to drop her day sleep

midnghtblue448 — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:36:44 GMT

Hi all

I'm new to this forum and am at my wits end. I've browsed thru the topics but I found nothing on these subjects.

My daughter is turnng 2 in September. She is already trying to drop her day sleep. She started to stop sleeping at daycare and now shes refusing to sleep at home too. I've tried everything and it doesn't work. I wonder what is the "supposed age" for them to drop their day sleep. She dropped her 2nd day sleep before 1 too. She usually goes to bed around 830pm and wakes up around 830am no issues with her sleeping thru the night at all.

The 2nd thing is she likes to pinch, feel, poke, run her fingers at the skin of my neck. I've tried telling her no. Explaining to her, doing it back to her(she hates it but it doesn't change) but it doesn't seem to work. Everytime she comes near me she has to put her fingers on my neck. It drives me insane. I think its a habit now and also a comfort thing for her. I try holding her hand or hugging her in a way her hands can't get to my neck but she cries and moves away and tries again.

Any help/advise would be appreciated.

Rach