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Oh, animal bites are scary...glad Claire was okay. I don't think our cat would bite because she has never bitten anyone but I guess there could always be a first time and DS would be the most likely candidate in our household.

Sounds like Evelyn is quite the talker...does that mean you are having to think more carefully about what you say in front of her in case she repeats everything :) I keep reminding DH he can't assume that just because DS is only babbling (nothing very coherent except mamamama when he gets upset....) that he shouldn't rein in the adult language.

Oh, temper tantrums...wish I could pretend I don't know what those are. The first couple of times I found it funny when Finn lied down on the floor and smacked his hands against it when he got upset about something I took away or stopped him from doing...like how cute you are having your first temper tantrums. Now I'm just like little man you need to calm down. Sometimes I ignore him and other times I sit down with him. Haven't really figured out the best approach yet, fortunately he has only done this at home and not in public yet.

I don't think we would give away our current cat, but I can see where a dog would need more attention and care like walks. We did end up surrendering our cat's sister back to the shelter where we got her (fortunately they are no-kill and very kind all the times I've had contact with them) when Finn was about seven months old. It was a very hard decision for us because they were both like my children, but this cat had a disability (which I knew when we adopted her) which made her care needs more than the typical cat and I was struggling to keep up with that and the baby...I thought I was losing my mind and would get so frustrated with myself and the cat though it wasn't her fault. I really did not want to be the person who gave up their pets because a new baby arrived because I've seen pets in shelters for that reason...sigh. I miss her so much but not the extra care stuff, KWIM. Anyway, I know it's a hard position to be in because we love our pets, we love our babies, we love our sanity and we want to do right by all.

Wow, big transitions! And cute stories. :)
Twins tend to be a little delayed but I was surprised to see just how delayed "they" think my daughter is based on an early intervention screening. Anyway, mine are both just starting to walk -- first steps for my boy and first days of walking more than crawling for my girly. There are no tantrums or words or anything else toddler-ish here. Soon!

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Originally Posted by triplespiral

Wow, big transitions! And cute stories. :)
Twins tend to be a little delayed but I was surprised to see just how delayed "they" think my daughter is based on an early intervention screening. Anyway, mine are both just starting to walk -- first steps for my boy and first days of walking more than crawling for my girly. There are no tantrums or words or anything else toddler-ish here. Soon!

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Claire is an early walker but no words besides Mama and even that is more often mmmmaaaa and I'm not sure if she actually means Milk or Mama because she only says it when she is mad or she wants milk. We do signs but mostly she just signs food. Occasionally milk if you say it and all done. I guess she does say ah da but it really doesn't sound like all done. She will say dada but most of the time in no relation to my DH being around.

Why did they do the early intervention screening? I'm sorry I don't remember but were they born early? I know twins often are and wouldn't that play into them being a little delayed? I don't know much about twins tho.

Evelyn is starting to do the tantrum thing too. She will cry if we move her away from something she wants or if we have to take something from her. Sometimes she will kind of grunt at us and wave us away if she has something she shouldn't. I usually try to distract her with something else to keep her from throwing a fit because she sometimes will hold her breath until she passes out. It's really scary and the doctor says it's common and it will get worse before it gets better. Sometimes she will go a few days without doing it and I will start to feel relieved like maybe she's going to grow out of it. But then it will happen again. Supposedly it's involuntary, so I try not to make a big deal out of it. I just hold her and wait for her to get through it. :(

I am starting to worry about adult language. She's never tried to repeat anything like that, but it's only a matter of time. We definitely have to curb the swearing. They are definitely like little sponges, taking it all in!

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Originally Posted by mlle_carrie

Evelyn is starting to do the tantrum thing too. She will cry if we move her away from something she wants or if we have to take something from her. Sometimes she will kind of grunt at us and wave us away if she has something she shouldn't. I usually try to distract her with something else to keep her from throwing a fit because she sometimes will hold her breath until she passes out. It's really scary and the doctor says it's common and it will get worse before it gets better. Sometimes she will go a few days without doing it and I will start to feel relieved like maybe she's going to grow out of it. But then it will happen again. Supposedly it's involuntary, so I try not to make a big deal out of it. I just hold her and wait for her to get through it. :(

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That sounds scary to witness :( DS cries so hard sometimes that he sounds like he is choking but I never knew some babies could hold their breath involuntarily. I hope she outgrows it soon.

Carrie, that is so scary! Sorry that is happening, I hope Evelyn will grow out of that very soon!

Ryan will do the grunting and waving (or swatting!) too. It is sort of funny but we try not to laugh so he doesn't think it's funny and he realizes we are serious. Ha!

Yes, Carrie, that sounds scary! At least it's something the doctor is familiar with, I'm sure that comforted you some when it first started. Did they say how long it is usually an issue? Just a couple months? I try distracting Claire sometimes but some things I want her to really know are wrong, Like pushing the toys in the dog's mouth, so I just let her get upset so she knows it doesn't matter that she got upset. Not a technique I plan to use long term but now she listens when I say something is "Not for Claire"

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Originally Posted by beccasweet

Yes, Carrie, that sounds scary! At least it's something the doctor is familiar with, I'm sure that comforted you some when it first started. Did they say how long it is usually an issue? Just a couple months? I try distracting Claire sometimes but some things I want her to really know are wrong, Like pushing the toys in the dog's mouth, so I just let her get upset so she knows it doesn't matter that she got upset. Not a technique I plan to use long term but now she listens when I say something is "Not for Claire"

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I've read that it can go on up until age 8 for some children. I'm hoping she will outgrow it soon. It's hard to tell when it will happen...it's pretty random. She did it twice today, once when a child at playgroup took something from her, and again when she fell and bumped her head on the floor. It's not really a tantrum I guess, because I don't think she has control over it. The first time it ever happened was when the cat jumped up and startled her. When my DH was a child care director, they had a child there who did the same thing. The child's mom had to reassure the staff that there was nothing they could do about it and other than making sure the child was safe from falling, they had to just let it go. It still really worries me though and I'm afraid that other parents are going to judge us, like we're raising some brat who manipulates us to get what she wants. :(

Otherwise, I talk to her a lot about what's happening, even if she can't understand me. I'll say, "I know you're upset, but you can't play with that. It's not for you." She normally pretty good about it, but sometimes she does cry. I let her cry a little bit and then give her something else to do.

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Originally Posted by beccasweet

Carrie - Your husband is home with her during the day right? Where does he put her while he cooks? My DH is only home a couple hours a day so I cook all 3 meals with just me and Claire and so she ends up in there with me while I cook and clean up.

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We cook a lot of things on the weekends so that he can just pull things out of the refrigerator and heat them up for a few seconds at lunchtime. Our living room, where Evie plays most of the time, is right off of the kitchen, so she usually stays right by the gate when he is cooking dinner and he can see her. Honestly, he is way better than multi-tasking with her than I am!

Thought this was a fun idea for those busy hands and good way to repurpose the plastic wipe containers if you have more than what you need. I don't have any extra scarves but I might see if I can find a couple at a second hand store. I know DS likes to take stuff out (we're working on the putting stuff back in/away part still :))

http://mamaot.com/wp-content/uploads...box-3-text.jpg

I also liked that this site, mamaot.com, had an article about how important doll play is for all kids, even boys. I got DS a baby doll a couple months ago because he kept going after our baby move class instructor's doll when she would set it down on the floor. Granted he mainly likes to chew on his baby and drag it around on the floor now, but we have been using it to label body parts and I hope he will start wanting to feed and dress it as he gets older :) I have memories of playing dolls with my brother but he never really had his own. I'm glad it's being perceived as more acceptable now days.