Big virtual ZOOM Father’s Day celebration for us with the announcements that our family will be growing by not one, but two babies! DsIL 1&2 are expecting two weeks apart. These sweeties will be grandbabies #4 and 5. We currently have 3 granddaughters. Exciting times ahead!
Double congrats!!
@Silpat Can you tell us more about the lead problem in children’s toys? DGS is 9 months, and everything goes in his mouth! I read the CDC info, but basically says that lead is used in plastic, and you can’t test the toys yourself for it, and it can be found in imported toys. (Aren’t ALL toys imported from China and made of plastic? Just kidding, but not really!).
@my-3-sons : congratulations. How far along are they? When do people make announcement nowadays? Is it still 12 weeks? I would love to be a grandparent, so I read this every once in a while, living vicariously through you guys.
@anxiousmom , your best bet may be to look at the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s site and sign up for their recall emails. IIRC, you can specify the type of products for which you want notification.
Years ago, I learned that a significant amount of heparin imported from China was tainted, causing some hospital patients serious harm. Around the same time, there were news stories about melamine powder being used in pet products to save money; it killed some animals. Later, I read about the same powder being put in food for human consumption, from baby formula to candy, that was exported from China to Europe and to other Asian countries. Some items were also found in the US, mainly in small shops on the west coast. That’s when I started paying attention to reports of other safety issues, such as lead in paints and plastics.
Well known companies, such as Mattel, Fisher-Price, and Melissa & Doug, which have their toys manufactured in China, have been subject to recalls on items containing toxic levels of lead or barium. I no longer trust the toy sellers’ claims about safety inspections at manufacturing plants in the PRC.
For at least as long as our grandchild is at the stage to taste or chew everything, we won’t buy anything made in China. We may be kidding ourselves that things made in other countries are sure to be safe, but so far I haven’t seen any recalls on the things we’ve bought that were made in the US, Canada, UK, and various European and other Asian countries.
Anything that is meant to go in the mouth (bottles, pacifiers, teether toys, etc.) has been made in the US or UK. Furniture items have come from various countries including Taiwan, and have multiple safety certifications.
You mentioned plastic toys. Green Toys are plastic toys made in the US. Little Tikes still make some toys in the US, but not their smaller items with lights/sound. Step2 makes larger toys in the US such as play houses, slides, and toddler gym sets. TOMY Toomies toys are made in various Asian countries, not including the PRC. So far we’ve been happy with all of them.
Hope this helps.
How are your children handling work from home with the little ones home also? My D and SIL both are WFH; the baby was 9 months old when this all started and just turned one this week. My D is dealing, but I can hear the stress in her voice. She and her husband have a schedule where they swap off child care during the day; as my SIL is in sales, he works more during the 8:00-5:00 hours, whereas my daughter works about 4 hours during the day. She schedules her meetings when she doesn’t have the baby, but all her other work is done in the evening once the baby is asleep. This means it is not unusual for her to be working from 8:00-midnight or later many nights, and then up at 6:00 with the baby. Needless to say, she doesn’t get much downtime for pleasure activities or sleep; everything revolves around work or the baby.
At the baby’s one year check up, the pediatrician mentioned that they are seeing behavioral issues in children during COVID, including infants. While at the appointment, the baby, who in the past have been a delight, spent the time screaming. My daughter made the observation that they haven’t been out of the house, so the only human contact has only been with mom and dad. Now, they enter the doctor’s office, with lots of people and everyone is wearing mask; a scary site for a one year old! She also might have been cranky because she is a one year old!
Had I not been called back to work, or we didn’t live so far away, I would drive to give them some help. While I was a stay at home mom when my kids were little, we at least could go to the park, visits others and have date night. I can not imagine what it is like to be cooped up in a house all day, with no breaks at all with an infant and also have to work full time while raising a child. Hopefully it will be safe for daycare, preschools and schools to open in the fall for all these families.
I have been looking for toys to send to help keep the baby occupied, that also will help stimulate her mind. Of course as a one year old, she doesn’t need much, but grandma likes to send things 
My 20 month old GD is a busy bee and keeps herself active; she is also back in daycare as hers is open for essential workers and my son is a physician. She loves to help with moving laundry from the washer to the dryer, then into a basket! My DIL is still working from home most days, so is happy to have the quiet time to work.
D is wrapping up maternity leave and heading back to work at 80% on July 13th. She’ll be WFH, as is her husband, for awhile. She is going to re-evaluate at beginning of August as to whether she should go 100% or stay at 80% for a bit longer. Assuming the daycare stays open, they will be able to access that beginning August 10th. D is lucky that her boss is supportive and that her work can be done in a way that she can fit in around the baby’s demands.
D was planning to meet a friend for an outdoor lunch today - first social activity she has planned since before baby came along. The friend had to cancel because her child’s daycare had to close for the rest of the week due to someone there testing positive. The positive test didn’t come from anyone interacting with her child, but whole facility is closed for cleaning until Monday. I suspect lots of facilities are going to find themselves in this pickle for the next 9-12 months.
Hope things continue to go well for your family, @snowball.
S and DIL were WFH while taking care of a 2.5yo and 4mo (at least when WFH started). DIL started her workday at 6am and worked straight through til 1-2pm, taking breaks to nurse. S did daddy duty during that time. Then they’d switch and he’d work til 9-10pm, taking a break for dinner. Needless to say, they were exhausted and stressed.
Their daycare stayed open for essential workers throughout, but when they opened back up S and DIL decided for the sake of their sanity they’d send the kids back to daycare. They’ve been back for 2or 3 weeks at this point. Of course, the kids got colds and passed it to their parents.
They live in a part of NYS that wasn’t hit as bad as other parts, so they weren’t too concerned about sending the kids, and S appreciates that, especially during the summer months, that he can do things outdoors with the kids after dinner and not be working.
Love the Primary clothing. D even ordered some for the baby herself.
New question. Any one have a clothing that they ordered a matching mom and kid shirt? I’m thinking for D for her birthday coming up. Grandkid is 9 months old.
Lots of HI prints come in mom and D. Might be too cool for anything but summer and perhaps spring wear.
You can get anything from Etsy. DIL ordered matching “you are my sunshine tshirts” for Mother’s Day. They were adorable.
Visited GD last weekend. I say “okey-dokey” a lot, and I heard her say it in my exact intonation. We all burst out laughing.
D and I were texting while watching Hamilton last evening (we saw it together in Chicago) and baby was still awake during first act. She said GD started turning & wiggling, trying to see screen when Renee Elise Goldsberry was singing Satisfied, likely because she had heard it so many times while D was pregnant.
My D and SIL are totally burned out. After the baby’s shots, she had a mild reaction a week later. While my D new it was a possibility, we were hoping GD would not have problems. She had 102 fever for 2 days or so and cranky. The fever is gone, but the crankiness and not sleeping well are still there. This is a child that never has napped well, but does sleep 12 hours at night. Now the night time sleeping has become shorter, she is waking up 2 hours early, and she might wake up crying during the night.
I just sent my daughter an email offering them to come here for as long as they want. An email allows her to process the information without getting emotional. I could be an extra set of hands as I don’t work Friday-Sunday, and my husband is usually home Monday-Tuesday. It would be a two day drive for them, with an overnight stop at my son’s, as he lives half way between us. While our house isn’t big, we have room for them so that we aren’t on top of each other as they both are WFH. We have a pool in our community where they could go without many people there during the week. I don’t know how my SIL would feel about hanging with us for a couple of weeks or so, but maybe if they had help with the baby it would be worth it! We all get along well, but too much family time is usually hard for him.
Why is it my daughter is an adult with a child and I still worry about her well being? I guess we never stop being mothers!
I’m excited to join this thread. D is expecting in mid-January! SIL doesn’t want to know the sex, so we’ll have that surprise when the time comes. One of D’s best friends is due two months before D, and they are thrilled that they’ll have kids so close in age.
Congratulations, @my-3-sons! Very exciting!
Wonderful news, @kelsmom! Congratulations! D and two of her best friends have a seven children between them. They are all age five and under. They are a great support for each other.
@snowball, What a great offer! I worry about my kids all the time, and being a parent of young children can be extremely challenging. I hope your daughter accepts your kind offer.
It’s so nice to read about spending time and FaceTime visits with grandchildren. ??
We recently celebrated GD’s first birthday. She was delighted and delightful. GS helped her open her gifts and commented that he would like to play with each and every one. GD is so sweet, smiles easily, loves to play and go for walks, and adores her brother. GS is growing so quickly and is so much fun to play with and talk with. Today he explained gravity and ‘vaporation’ to me. ?
I have always cared for GS and GD when both D and SIL are working. D did tell me in March that I could take a ‘leave of absence’ if I needed / wanted to. I certainly don’t want my grandchildren exposed to another adult during this crazy pandemic. We’ve all been healthy and blessed so far.
Welcome to the club, @kelsmom.
Welcome, @kelsmom ! May it be a smooth, positive and relaxed pregnancy! These are scary times to be pregnant for sure. DD is waiting to start trying to conceive #2 until things seem a little more “normal.”
And… we have fantastic news. DD and spouse and grandbaby are moving half a mile away from us! They are selling their very small house, which is a half-hour (now) to one hour (pre-covid) drive away, and renting for a year. The house is much bigger and is only a 13minute walk, or 5 minute bicycle ride. Husband and I are so thrilled. DD is super excited, since this neighborhood has lovely walking trails, community pools and playscapes and tennis courts, and built-in babysitters are nearby!
My daughter accepted our offer and is heading to us in 9 days!! I was unaware, but my SIL was lobbying to come, as he thought it would be good for my daughter. My daughter is a perfectionist, and everything is black or white, there is no gray. Hopefully she can destress a bit while here, although knowing her, she will not totally relax. We also tend to butt heads when not in agreement, so I will do a lot of head nodding and tongue biting 
While I will love having all of them here, especially the baby, it will not be calm. In order to give my daughter the break she needs, I assume I will be working double time as I still have a full time drive. I can handle it for 2 weeks, and there will be 4 adults here most days; surely we can handle one 12 month old 