The discussion of toddler beds at the grandparents house mystifies me. I have a pack and play which GD used and now GS uses at my house. As soon as GD ( who just turned 4) started sleeping in a “ big girl bed “ at home , she started sleeping in a regular bed at my house ( with me). No toddler bed. When they travel , they get a room with 2 queen beds and she likes to sleep alone in one of them
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In grandparent news, GS turned one recently. He was standing briefly and would take a step or two. Last evening, D sent a video and he took several steps! Officially walking.
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My GD had her first day of kindergarten yesterday. From all reports, she had a good day. August seems way too early for school to start, but she does get a fair amount of time off (Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Winter Break). GD is going to a charter school where the kids wear uniforms (red/navy polo shirts, khaki pants/skorts or a navy polo dress). I love buying clothes for her so I did get a very cute navy polo dress (no logos).
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We spent last week in a beach house with our three sons, two DILs and 5 grands. We had such a good time. The middle three are girls who are7, 6 and 4.5. The two boys are 9 yrs old and 10 months old.
My oh my……..who on earth ever said little girls play quietly and have tea parties? LOL. It was rowdy!
We had such a great time, as I’m sure you can imagine.
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My daughter’s maternity leave is over, and she went back to work yesterday (she was off for 4 months). Things went smoothly as she had been taking my granddaughter to her daycare twice a week since the end of June, so everyone could get used to the routine. I have visited the daycare a few times and it is a great place. They were on a waitlist there before they even became pregnant (waitlists to get into the highest rated centers here are a year +)
I’m very proud of her for choosing to continue the career that she’s worked so hard for (no shade to SAHM’s - I became one when my youngest was born and have been one ever since). She did some soul-searching while on leave and dipped her toe into a couple of local SAHM “groups” and didn’t feel like that was a good fit for her at this time in her life. I’m lucky to live close by and to be able to help if they need a backup daycare option.
They plan to have at least one more baby - sooner rather than later, so it will be interesting to see if she changes her mind with more than one (I’m betting not).
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My birthday is next week and my 10 month old grandson is taking me to a Chicago Cubs game for my birthday. I am so looking forward to that! (He is letting his mom and grandpa go, too!)
Work has been very stressful for the past year and I have had very little time off, just a day here and there and a week shortly after this grandson was born. So, I get 10 days off now to spend with the little guy and we get to see a ballgame on my birthday. It should be fun!
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With grandparents thinking about needed items at their home, or for travel with a baby…
Instead of a typical ‘highchair’ for travel - these cloth ones with straps to work with regular chairs and very portable!
Can find a couple on Amazon, by typing in “portable high chair cloth”. I saw first on a Facebook ad.
@CollegeNerd67 : I went back to work three months after both of my kids were born. There were definitely some days that were very difficult, but overall – now that they’re 41 and 36 years old – I have no regrets and am very happy I continued working.
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My D’s family is taking the train into NYC for the grands’ first MLB game, and it’s Kpop Demon Hunters jersey day. They love baseball and KDH (and trains and subways) so it’s pretty darn perfect.
I feel a little bad that we condemned them to Mets fandom, but what can you do?
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Addendum to my last post – they got to experience a walk off-- perfect first baseball experience! (Also LGM)
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Anyone have a recommendation for a balance bike for 3 year old?
My grandkids ride WOOM bikes. They are fabulous. I wish they were around when my own kids were learning to ride.
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My daughter was able to find balance bikes on Facebook marketplace and one she even got free. One of them converted to a peddle bike and the other did not. The 4 year old is already riding with pedals and never training wheels. The 2 1/2 year old wants pedals but the balance bike they have for him doesn’t convert.
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Can’t go wrong with a Woom. They are not cheap… but solidly made. Pedals can be removed converting the bike into a balance bike.
Just to add, my D has had very good luck getting all her bikes for her kids on FB marketplace and Buy Nothing. She can’t afford the good bikes, but has succeeded in scrounging them up for cheap or free. It does help that she lives in an area where most people are more affluent than her.
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That’s the way to go. Woom bikes are made like tanks so perfectly suited for buying second (or third or fourth…) hand.
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I would definitely try to find a balance bike used. I was glad I didn’t pay much for the one I bought D at a resale shop … she never had any interest at all in riding it. Once she got bigger, she was happy to ride a regular bike. Zero interest in the balance bike, though.
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D1 and SIL live in the smallest house in their affluent area. D1 is finding great things for GD on FB marketplace around her. She is currently looking for a set of tiny skis and I know she eventually wants a balance bike too.
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My sister has gotten a ton of stuff from other “grandmas,” who also have grandkids. Her house looks like a daycare, in the best way. My brother and SisIL frequent thrift shops and have gotten untold bargains there, including “little tykes” cars and similar. They have these items at their home as well as the grandkids’ home (both of which have space to store these items). The thrift shops really are just trying to get the items to move and get a few $$$ if they can. They also often have a free box or corner and allow the older grandD to pick ONE item from the free area. My brother and SisIL COULD buy whatever they or their grandkids need but love bargain hunting, especially at the thrift shops.
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@showmom858 your D should also check and see if her neighborhood has a Buy Nothing group. My neighborhood and the adjacent one are pretty affluent but the BN groups are very active and people give away a lot of great stuff.
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