Has anyone had experience with their grandchildren trying an allergy introduction plan. My daughter said her pediatrician suggested that she might want to try a program that introduces small amounts of allergens when she begins solids. She also said she might try certain ones near the emergency room in case they need it. My daughter has a long list of food allergies, her husband has allergies but I think his might be mainly environmental. I don’t know the name of the plan just that it was on shark tank.
It’s getting real here. D1 has her hospital bag packed and stationed by the front door. Infant car seat was installed in the second car over the weekend. Baby Boy is technically not due for another week, but labor could happen at any time now. D has had early labor starting and stopping on its own for couple of weeks now. Her sister (OB/GYN) was here over the weekend and d2 offered to strip d1’s membranes for her since d1 is already 3-4cm dilated and 60% effaced.
I’m starting to have some panic thoughts–I will have solo care of the toddler twins for 3 days since due to Covid protocols once Dad enters the hospital, he’s not allowed to leave and re-enter. So either he stays for 3 days until mom and new baby can leave or leaves and doesn’t go back until mom & baby are wheeled out to the parking lot. The twins are a handful and and watching them is exhausting. Not quite sure grandma is going to survive her twin single parenting experience.
D’s advice: No is a power word. Use it sparingly and only if the resultant tantrum is worth the fuss. Try thinking of getting them to do something as stand up comedy, you always respond with “yes and…”
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Just found out grandchild #4 is on the way. My son’s wife is having a boy due March 5th. They have 2 girls (1 & 3). We are very excited. They waited until after my other son’s engagement party so as not to steal their thunder.
I just started to watch my daughter’s baby (4 months old) 3-4 hours a day. She is a high school math teacher. Her husband works from home half-day and then drops him off with us on his way into the office.
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For those 3 days only, you are allowed to spoil them, bribe them, drug them with ice cream. Anything goes.
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Not as part of a formal plan, DD introduced her baby to peanut butter puffs (Bamba) at about 5 months, as the research shows that early introduction of peanut products results in less allergies than delaying introduction. Likewise eggs, etc. She did baby led feeding, so feeding was a very messy project! Now he is almost 3, and younger sis, 7 months, is also self-feeding peanut butter puffs, eggs, etc.
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D1 also did baby led feeding with GD. It was a bit messy in the beginning, especially with oatmeal, but now at 18 months she is actually quite neat with her eating. She was introduced to peanut butter and seafood very early on. She eats a lot of vegetable (grilled pepper, cauliflower, broccoli, string beans). She loves corns, sweet potato,.
@WayOutWestMom - I can’t watch GD by myself for more than few hours. D1 usually has her nanny over when I am on duty. I don’t know if I could handle 2 toddlers.
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A nanny/ babysitter is definitely needed now and occasionally in the future. IMHO
GD was also introduced to eggs and peanut butter in small amounts, but not as part of a particular plan. Now she loves PBJs and egg salad on mini Club crackers. That makes lunch time easier for me when we babysit 3X/wk. GD is lactose intolerant, just as her mom and I are, but has no known allergies.
SiL says he has various food allergies and is lactose intolerant, but he was never officially diagnosed and will often eat things that one would not expect if he were actually allergic, so I suspect it’s more of a preference.
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GD2 tested positive for COVID today. She turns 11 months tomorrow. Staffer at daycare was positive Monday. So much for our fun Labor Day weekend….
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Speedy recovery.
Hopefully it’s a just a mild case!!
@WayOutWestMom how old are the twins now? With my almost 5 yo, I say “that’s not on your journey today” instead of no. Works really well.
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GS2 was born 1 year ago yesterday. At the time the older two were GD (3) and GS1 (2). SIL decided to come home the evening of Sept 1 to give the kids their bath, the bedtime story, and bedtime routine. DD enjoyed her time with GS2 and own personal time to rest. Since GS2 was born just before midnight, she had 3 full days in the hospital and discharged on Friday afternoon, where SIL picked her up with the children. I had been with them over the weekend because I really thought she would potentially go into labor then - and my care of the older two children were needed. I went home, only to return hours later with DH. A friend who lived only a few townhouses away in same complex stayed with the children until DH and I arrived.
GD likes to be ‘in charge’ and she comes up with lots of ideas about what she wants to have happen. DD has really drilled into her that mom and dad are in charge, or mom is in charge. When I watched the kids recently - arriving Friday afternoon and putting them to bed on Saturday evening - I talked with GD on Friday and Saturday (not knowing about the ‘mom in charge’ discussions). On Friday when she would ask to do stuff I would say “tonight mom and dad are in charge, and when I am here alone with you then I am in charge”. On Saturday, when things came up, as soon as I asked her who was in charge, she totally stopped thinking about that activity and calmly moved on to other play. On Saturday she asked a few times to paint (after a long time gap in between), and not only did I not know the set up and where all the stuff was, I didn’t want a messy activity. Everything else we did - play do, etc.
When DDs were young, and they asked for something in the store, I would just say “not today”.
Always avoided using no.
The twins are almost 22 months. I use the “maybe later” line with all the time.
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I try hard to phrase things with GD to avoid saying no (20 months). She often sees through it, but I’m usually successful in redirecting her with minimal drama. She’s a daredevil, so there are times the no slips out … like when I am cleaning off the dog’s paws after she’s been out in the rain, and I look over to see GD with a blanket over her head, walking off the edge of the couch.
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A neighbor used ‘danger’ with her children rather than no so they’d know there was a difference between “no, you can’t have an ice cream” and DANGER (stop, don’t run in the street).
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GD was standing too close to her mom while mom was cooking. DD told GD she needs to step back, and “hot”. DD was pouring the noodle water off in the sink and due to GD rushing toward her mom, some cooking water got splashed on GD – no signs of burn, but it was hot enough that GD learned to listen in the galley kitchen that when mom says “step back” and “hot” she follows instructions immediately. Now GD also instructs her younger brother (14 months younger than her).
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Finally get 2 1/2 year old GS back after doing the 2 week at dad’s one week home, 2 weeks with dad, one week home, two weeks with dad summer thing the mediation required. Next summer it will start in June and not run so late! Now he will only be gone every other weekend. This has been so hard on my daughter who had never been away from him more than 2 days at a time. She ended up having to take a leave from work and do intensive outpatient therapy for a month because of depression/anxiety over all this.Last time GS did not want to go with his dad at all. He is speech delayed and this inconsistency has not helped. His dad will not say who is keeping him while he works and will not allow my daughter to talk to him. (They forgot to put communication requirements in the court order). When he came back from his last visit Dad brought him back soaking wet (he put a non potty trained child in a pull up for a 2 hour car ride) with 102 temp. He was sick the entire week we had him and couldn’t go to day care. He got better the day before we had to take him back to his dad’s for the last 2 weeks! This is all a huge mess but I will be glad to get him back home with us!
So sorry you are all living through this with your DD and GS with such hardships - emotional strain, physical care less than optimal, and all that you described. I am sure you are well documenting, and hope the communication requirement can be put in as soon as it can. One day at a time, one step at a time. At hand off time, very little information about the GS was probably shared - including any knowledge of GS’s fever or any other cues going on with the lad. May have said something like “everything was fine”.
I recently heard and watched a EWTN (Catholic TV) a PhD therapist/educator that works with a large school in Michigan run by the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. I don’t remember the gal’s name (and can’t find the episodes on EWTN - I also searched a bit on YouTube). She had a break down of children 0 - 5, 5 - 10, and 10 - 15 years of age. I learned quite a bit about the 0 - 5 during that half hour episode. She gave some good situations; where a child may be hitting - and they say “put your feelings in your words, not in your hands”. And times when a child has a melt down “your feelings just got bigger than you did”. Very age appropriate listening to the child/watching the child’s behavior and gently working with the child so the child can resolve their feelings at their stage in life.
Tom Monaghan (formerly of Domino’s Pizza, and now Chancellor of Ave Maria University in Florida) contributed towards the land and I am sure a big donator in the facilities that the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist school in Michigan. There were 4 sisters that founded this order more than 25 years ago, and I have seen two of the foundresses on various EWTN programs.
One of my undergraduate degrees was in Psychology, and I am always interested in information like this. My 3 grandchildren are 4, 3 and 1.
Our 3 yr old GS1 has speech issues (and his mom had speech issues along some other family members on my side of the family), and one day he bit both his sister and his baby brother (GS2). About a week after this happened, on the phone with my DD I talked about GS1 maybe not being able to verbalize - because he normally is not an aggressive child. DD and SIL both spoke to me about how they made sure GS1 knew how wrong it was, immediate age appropriate punishment. Suspect DD is talking more with GD and GS1 about feelings and how to talk about them.
GD got mouth hand foot virus this past Wednesday. Anyone’s GK had the virus? She had very high fever on Wed, but it has been under control since then. She has some red blisters, but is still eating and sleeping. I am just wondering when we should expect the upswing. I jutât hate to think she may be in pain. I have FaceTime time a few times and she seemed to be in fairly good spirit. Today she was completely naked because D1 said they wanted to air blisters on her butt.