Parenting Toddlers

The Little Guy got some great Christmas gifts: his uncle and aunt bought him a froggie activity gym, and his grandparents bought him a jungle activity gym. But as parents know, duplicates are great. I planned to put one gym upstairs in his room or my room so he could play while I fold laundry or do other fun chores. The other would go in the living room, where we spend most of our time. We set up the jungle set and he loved it. Peanut wasn’t a huge fan of activity mats as a baby but her brother liked it. He studies each toy and then kicks away. My plan for the two mats didn’t quite work out: Peanut likes them as much as the Little Guy does. She pretends she’s lost in the jungle, and she also likes to teach the Little Guy how to play with the toys. She’s such a good big sister! So I set up both in the living room and let brother and sister play together.
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These are the times when having a toddler and a baby are so fun. It’s cute to watch how caring Peanut is. Let’s hope that lasts!!

Peanut is off on adventure. For Christmas, her grandparents are taking her to Disney on Ice in Boston. I think this was their compromise because I said no to Disney World. Boston is much closer, and it’ll be just a few days. She spent the day and night last night because Friday is Grandma Day, and they’ve just left. They’re going to the aquarium today, which she’ll love, and tomorrow is the show.

I’m glad they’re taking her. With a new baby, there is no way we’d be making a trip like that any time soon. But I’m also kind of sad. I thought I was being petty until my partner said that he felt kind of bad that we weren’t doing stuff like that with her. We’re both sort of on the same page with this: we’re glad that she has the opportunity to go, but sad we’re not the ones taking her. I can’t deny her the experience though.

I’m kind of sad she’s gone. On one hand, I’m glad for the break. On the other, I miss her. She’s been whiny lately. When her grandmother and aunt came to pick her up yesterday, she wanted her camera. I’d put it into her bag, so I told her, “No, it’s in your bag.” She burst out into tears. And then left. It was like she couldn’t wait to get away from me. I think she likes them better!! Every night - every single night - she says we should go to Grandma’s. Every day, she asks if it is Friday. It gets to me after a while. There’s no way I’m going to keep her away from her grandparents, and I’m really really happy that she loves them so much. But it does make me kind of sad sometimes. I guess this is normal - we have to discipline her and send her to bed and tell her no. Her grandparents buy her things and do whatever she wants all the time. It’s very focused on her all the time, and here, it’s not as much. She gets attention, but she’s not always the center of it. I know this, but it still bugs me!!

I’m going to beat them to the zoo though! I’m determined. I know she’ll love the zoo, and her father and I are going to take her. Where we live, finding a zoo is a challenge. The nearest one is literally in a different country! This spring, we’re taking her brother and her so she can see zebras and giraffes and have some fun with us. I wanna be the fun one!! I realize that this is a ridiculous problem, and if it is my biggest one in regards to Peanut, I’m very lucky. There’s always something to complain about, huh?

Our new favorite.

We’ve had a copy of The Mitten by Jan Brett in Peanut’s room for a while but hadn’t gotten around to reading it. Yesterday at nap time, Peanut picked it out for me to read to her. (She puts up no argument whatsoever about nap time when I read her a book first - YAY!!) She absolutely loved this book. She thought it was silly and fun, which it is. It is also short enough for a pre-nap or pre-bedtime book, or anytime you have a few minutes. It’s well-written, and the illustrations are gorgeous. The basic story is that a boy’s grandmother makes him snow-white mittens. Of course he loses one. And then a bunch of animals get in to snuggle. Each page has the main picture and in the border is an outline of a mitten. In the mitten is the picture of the next animal that will come along. Peanut likes this because she could “guess” what was coming next when we first read it.

Go check this out of the library - your toddler will love it. Also, you can find some fun activities to go along with it at Jan Brett’s website. Click here for that. There are printables like this for coloring and other stuff. This is a really cool website with lots of activities - and not just for The Mitten. Give it a look if you’re looking for something to do!

Peanut is an excellent kid - if you could order kids from catalogs, I would have definitely ordered her. She’s a great, funny, pretty, wild kid. But…oh, man, is she going through a stage. I hope it’s a stage. So whiny!! People always say kids go through the terrible two’s but for us, it’s the terrible three’s. Not that she’s terrible, per se. Just not exactly a bundle of loveableness all the time. The other day, we were going to the post office. I took her out of the carseat and told her to stand on the sidewalk and wait for me. I had to go around to the other side and get the Little Guy - remind me to write a post about having two kids with huge car seas in a small two-door…fun. Anyway, she wanted to play in the snow, so off she went. It is nonnegotiable when we’re in public - she must listen, especially in parking lots. I told her firmly to stay put, which she did. But she started throwing quite a tantrum, which she hardly ever does.

“I want to play in the snow!!” Screaming. I said, no, and told her to stop. I went in to buy stamps, and she continued to cry. At this point, she wasn’t screaming or acting like a three year old jerk. While we were waiting in line, she said, “I just have to cry, Mom.” Very matter-of-fact. It was just something she had to do. Everyone in line thought that was the cutest thing. I hate when she’s being a monster and people comment about how cute she is!!

She’s been exceptionally whiny lately also. I don’t know if it has to do with the new baby or just a phase. But my goodness, she does get on my last nerve sometimes. It’s hilarious when she says to me, “Mom, you’re getting on my last nerve.” Back at ya.

I did the cinnamon ornament idea today. Everything smells great now! My lessons from this activity were these: #1. You can’t make toddlers do fun quality time activities with you. You may end up doing them on your own, bonding with yourself, and #2. Moms and dads have to improvise all the time.

Peanut and I started out making the ornaments. She measured the applesauce and the cinnamon, which is good practice for counting. Then it was time to mix them together. After that, she sort of got distracted and went off to play. So I kept on by myself. I mixed everything together. Here comes the improvisation. You need a rolling pin to roll out the dough. I am the kind of person who does not own a rolling pin. So I used a full can of gingerale. It works really well. The next step is to use cookie cutters to cut out your shapes. Again, I do not seem to have any. I sent my partner to the store for supplies, and there are none to be found. Weird. I ended up taking a glass and cutting out circles. Basic, but it works well too.
Then I got a barbeque shishkabob stick thing - because guess what? We didn’t have toothpicks. It works just as well. I made little holes for the ribbon and used it to make my children’s initials. Peanut was back in the game at this point and she helped out with that.

The next thing was to lay them flat and let them dry. I didn’t want to use my cookie sheets because I’m going to be baking cookies, so I dug out my muffin tins and put them in there. It turned out to be the perfect size, so something worked out right!
When they are dry - which takes about two days - I’ll trim off the excess. I think I might paint Peanut and Little Guy’s names on them just so they’re not plain old circles. I do think cookie cutters are a must here. It makes them a little more festive. But overall, I think this was a success - disregarding the fact that my toddler activity was toddler-free for the most part! Ah well.

We’ll hang them up, and use them as natural air fresheners. You have to love this activity. It is cheap, natural, nontoxic, delicious smelling, and the ornaments can last for years. (Also, here is a link for some natural homemade air freshener ideas - I love things to smell good and candles and oils can be expensive. Why not just look in your cabinets first?)

Do this…

I was at the dentist the other day for my semi-annual cleaning. My hygienist is the nicest woman in the world, and as I found out the other day, a craft maniac. She was telling me about all the crafts she was making for Christmas, and I got a ton of ideas for next year - I wish my appointment had been in November so I could do some of these things. But one thing that I did have time for was applesauce ornaments.

Here’s what you need:
*Applesauce
*Cinnamon (my hygienist and another in the office suggested just going to the Dollar Store or some variation thereof to get this. In grocery stores, spices can be expensive. At the Dollar Store, you can get one little shaker for fifty cents. Also, if you run low on cinnamon, you can add nutmeg, ginger, or other brown spices of that ilk)

And here’s what you do:
*Mix 7 tablespoons of applesauce with 10 tablespoons of cinnamon. The goal is to make a dough that rolls well. Add cinnamon as needed, until the dough is dryer and workable.
*Roll it out. Again, if it’s sticky, add more cinnamon.
*Dip cookie cutters in cinnamon and then cut out your shapes from the dough.
*Place the shapes on a cookie sheet or counter top to dry. Make sure if you put them on the counter that you can keep them there for two days while they dry. If you need your counter space - and who doesn’t? - a cookie sheet is a better bet.
*While the dough is still soft, you can use a toothpick or straw to poke a hole in the top. This will be for the ribbon so you can hang it on your tree.
*Also while the dough is soft, you can use a toothpick to poke little holes into it and make faces or other embellishments on your ornaments. For example, if you have a snowman, you can make a little face. Or you can write your child’s name. Whatever you want.
*Allow the ornaments to dry for two days. If you pick them up sooner, they curl. They’re still cute, but let them dry to maximize cuteness!
*Once dry, put a ribbon through the hole and hang up. You can also paint the ornament if you choose at this point.

These ornaments are super cute and they smell sooooo good. My hygienist gave me one to take home, along with instructions, and it made my car smell great. I may just leave it in there are an air freshener. That works too. You can also give them as gifts to friends and family. They’re easy for kids to make and yet very rustic and beautiful for decoration. And did I mention that they smell incredible?

Do this! It is easy and fast and fun. Your toddler will love the dough - it gets messy so do it when you’re in the right frame of mind. And they should be able to handle cookie cutter duty too. It is a great activity for your family, and one that produces great, useful results. This is my Sunday activity. I’ll let you know how it goes.

My youngest sister was born when I was thirteen. She was always my little buddy. One day, she came into the room all proud of herself because she’d picked out her own outfit and got dressed all by herself. She must have been three or four. Anyway, she was wearing white shiny dress shoes, dark green tights, a white skirt with pastel flowers on it, and a pink and grey striped shirt. I laughed and laughed - mean! But I was a teenager. It was the most atrocious combination of color and patterns ever. Now that I have my own child, I’m seeing that Peanut does the same sort of thing. I let her pick out her own clothes. As long as she is covered, I really don’t care. And she looks cute in anything, which is an advantage three year olds have. Anyway, the other day, I told her to get clothes because we were going out to do errands. She came back with green and white plaid pajama pants and a black shirt with bright pink stripes, and I think there were sparkles on it.

I love little kids because they just do not care at all. All they care about is if the clothes are comfortable and if they can play in them. That’s all. They don’t care if they match, if they wore it the day before, if someone else has something similar. It’s all good to them. I wish I could be a little more like that.

I’ve been on a craft kick lately. I feel I’ve been neglecting that part of Peanut’s childhood experience. Poor kid! Anyway, I went to the store and bought glue sticks, construction paper, markers, and Peanut’s new favorite thing: pipe cleaners. I love kids because you can make their day very easily. I made Peanut happy for $1. Pretty good deal. We used the pipecleaners to make ornaments for our tree. I glued red and green paper to an old cereal box (reusing is a good lesson for any kid) and cut out circles. Then we looked through my box of pictures and picked some out. We put them on the circles, and voila, instant ornament. Then we used the pipecleaners to make loops to hang them on the tree. Peanut had a bit of trouble twisting the pipecleaners, so I did that part. I think she just needs a bit more practice - see, you can get some motor skill practice in there as well.

Then I wondered what else we could do with pipecleaners. I know Peanut was using them to tickle her brother, but I was looking for something a big more constructive. Though the baby did like it.
I found a website that had instructions on how to make cool little pipecleaner animals like the one pictured above. They also have dogs, spiders, and monkeys. Once you make the shapes, you then glue on little magnets, and there you have a handy fridge magnet. Here’s the link for that site.

Here’s one more. These are adorable!

KISS Katerpillar

1. Curl a 6″ piece of pipe cleaner around a pencil. Glue one chocolate to each end of the curled pipe cleaner.
2. Fold a 1″ piece of pipe cleaner in half and glue to top of one chocolate to form antennae.
3. Cut two set of feet and glue to bottom of each chocolate.
4. Complete by gluing on jiggly eyes.

KISS Ostrich

1. Bend pipe cleaner in half
2. Glue the center of the bent pipe cleaner to an edge of the flat side of a chocolate.
3. Glue feather to the opposite edge of the flat side of the same chocolate.
4. Glue second chocolate flat end to flat end with other chocolate, securing the feather and pipe cleaner in between them.
5. Complete by gluing on jiggly eyes to one chocolate and feathers to the sides of the other chocolate.

How cute are those for little decorations?

And for simple holiday decorations, you can twist red and white pipecleaners into candy cane or wreath shapes. You can get creative and twist yourself up a Santa - a little hard for toddlers, but pipecleaners are fun for all ages.

Peanut had a good time making the ornaments. They’re not keepsakes by any means, but for a family with two young children, they’re perfect. And we had a great time together.

Here are our ornaments:

And here’s Peanut working on them:

Are you sick of Christmas crafts yet? Just one more, please. These are really cute and easy to do. My good friend Randi did the ones pictured above with her daughter. I think they turned out great. Here’s how to do it:

*Find a tube sock. We could steal one from Peanut’s father. I do not wear socks!
*Fill the sock halfway with rice.
*Fold the top down and roll it to make the snowman’s hat.
*Tie the top with yarn so it doesn’t spill.
*Use yarn to tie a bow around the neck.
*Use fabric paint to make the face and buttons.

And that’s it. A fun little project if you have an extra sock. If you don’t want to use rice in the sock, I think you could substitute some cotton, some scrunched up newspaper, or something else. I don’t like to waste rice - I’m cheap that way. You do have to sacrifice the sock though!

We have two winners in the Amazon contest. They’ll get a $10 gift card each. Thanks for replying and congratulations to Chris and Allison. And I think you can still order and get stuff by Christmas, so get shopping!

I’m always looking for good book suggestions, so here are Allison and Chris’s children’s favorites:

Allison says her son likes the Sandra Boynton books. Peanut likes them as well. We have But Not the Hippopatamus and The Going to Bed Book, which she really likes. They have good rhyme and are silly and fun. Another new favorite: Good Night Gorilla by Peggy Rathman. This is the review on Amazon:

“Good night, Gorilla,” says the weary watchman as he walks by the gorilla cage on his nightly rounds at the zoo. The gorilla answers by quietly pickpocketing the guard’s keys, stealthily trailing him, and unlocking the cages of every animal the oblivious fellow bids goodnight to. Looking much like an exhausted father, the uniformed guard traipses home toward his cottage, while the lonely zoo animals softly parade behind him. The animals manage to slip into his bedroom and nestle unnoticed near his sleepy wife–until the bold little gorilla goes so far as to snuggle up beside her as she turns out the light. Author and illustrator Peggy Rathmann (creator of the Caldecott-winning Officer Buckle and Gloria) relies more on the nuances of her jewel-toned pictures than on words to pace this giggly bedtime story, making it perfect for observant preschoolers. In one inky-black spread, Rathmann lets only the shocked, wide-open eyes of the guard’s wife tell us that the gorilla has been detected! Tiny details such as the faithful, banana-toting mouse and sky-bound pink balloon that appear in each picture keep this book fresh, magical, and fun–even after countless bedtime readings. (Baby to preschool)

Allison says her son wanted to hear it again and again. That’s the best review in my opinion!

Chris’s children like The Bearenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five. The review from Random House:

What fun! What excitement! What a nuisance. At least that’s the way Sister Bear feels. If it isn’t being fed, burped, or diapered, it’s being dandled, cuddled, or kitchy-kitchy-kooed. Yes, Sister’s pretty fed up with the fuss everyone’s making over the new baby. Even the dolls make her angry, because they remind her of the baby. Then Sister gets a special homework assignment and, with a little help from wise old Mama, comes to believe that this new baby might just be a nifty addition to the Bear clan.

I loved the Bearentstain Bears when I was little! And this is a good one espeicially for people with new additions of their own.

Peanut’s favorite book of the moment is The Lion King. She loves the movie, so her grandmother got her a pop-up book. She loves to read it, and she also loves to act it out, which is cute. She’ll get Bo her dog to help. I get to be Simba’s mom. It’s a good book for a few reasons: good pictures, interactive quality, and she loves to look at it independently as well as have it read to her. In that series of pop-up books, they also have the Jungle Book, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp.

Once again, congratulations to our winners. Buy some books!!

I’ve been talking a lot about Christmas because that’s what my family and I celebrate. We used to all go to church on Christmas Eve, my mother always set up a nativity scene. I went to Catholic school for eight years of my life (eight LONG years of wearing a plaid uniform). Anyway, it occurs to me that not everyone celebrates Christmas, and I haven’t even mentioned Hanukkah. Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 21 and lasts for eight days. It’s a beautiful celebration, also called the Festival of Lights, which commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Jews’ 165 BCE victory over the Hellenist Syrians. The word “Hanukkah” means “dedication.”

Anyway, this made me think about what we are teaching Peanut. This is really the first year she’s known what Christmas is. Last year, she just sort of went with the flow and got presents. This year, she knows that Santa is going to come and give her presents. Her father tells her that the Grinch is going to come right after and take them. She says she’ll kick him in the butt. Anyway, she has no idea, though, about Jesus or the birth story. She has no idea why people started celebrating Christmas in the first place. I’ve been going through a period of un-faith, I guess you could say. I don’t want to give up my belief in God, but I’m trying to figure out what I believe. Meanwhile, my child doesn’t believe anything at this point. So, I’m not sure what to do. She thinks “Jesus” is a swear word because I always tell her not to say it. Really. She said it once, and I said “Peanut, don’t say that.” “Why? It’s a bad word?” So my child thinks Jesus is a bad word. Oh boy.

How do you teach your children about the real meaning of Christmas or Hanukkah? Rather than focusing on presents, how can you get them to understand why people celebrate these holidays? The concept of God is such a vast, abstract one - how do you possibly explain it to toddlers? Espeically when you’re still grappling with it yourself? Has anyone seen Dogma? In that movie, the main character is going through a crisis of faith and wonders why she doesn’t believe like she used to. Her friend tells her that faith is like a glass of water. When you’re little, you have a little glass and it doesn’t take much to fill it. When you’re older, your glass is bigger and the faith you have may not be enough to fill it anymore. I think that’s true. But what do you do to even fill up your child’s glass a little? And should you? My fiance doesn’t believe in God, he thinks we’re just here, we just die, and that’s it. I find that so desolate that I refuse to believe it. My rambling did have a point, right? Who knows!

Anyway, Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas. How do you incorporate your religious beliefs (if you have them) into your holidays?

Also, here’s a link for some fun Hanukkah crafts that are categorized by age.

The Amazon contest ends today - make sure you email me or comment for your chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card. Find out how by clicking here.

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Today, I was chatting with my good friend, Randi, and she inspired me to create some great Christmas crafts. She’s full of good ideas - when you need help, ask another parent!! Anyway, she came up with several great ideas that young children can do to decorate your home for the holidays.

* Draw a picture of Santa on any kind of paper you have handy. You could probably even find a printable online if you’re not handy with the pencil. You can have your child color him, and then stick cotton balls on his beard. Randi’s daughter’s preschool did this and a variation. They applied double -sided tape to his beard, and the children put a cotton ball on each day…as a count-down method. I thought that was really cute and toddler-friendly.

* You can draw candy canes (or get printables online) and decorate them. Hang them up on your walls and windows for easy, fast decorations.

*Make a multi-layer tree of green construction paper (like tiers so it looks more tree-like). Hang it on your wall or window. Each day, your child can make an ornament for it from construction or regular paper and hang it on the tree. Again, this is a cute count-down method, and a good way to get into the Christmas spirit. And it’s a great activity during which you can talk about what Christmas means.
(I like this one - I’m going to do it with Peanut ASAP).

*This is another idea from pre-school. Trace your child’s hands - and yours if you want - on green construction paper. Cut them out. I know Peanut loves to cut, but I don’t know if she’s agile enough to cut hands - you may want to do that part. Then put them together in a wreath shape on your inside door, wall, or window. You can then decorate with pictures of your child or have them make decorations as with the tree idea. You can also use the hand cut-outs to make a tree as shown in the picture above.

*There’s also a website called PaperSnowFlakes.com, which has templates for snowflake activities. These require cutting also, but there are also templates that you can print and color. Click here for that link.

*Draw a reindeer head - just an oval. Your child can draw in the face if he’s older. Peanut is pretty good at eyes, mouths, and noses. Then, dip their hands into washable paint and have them put their handprints on top of the reindeer’s head for antlers. So cute! And easy. While you have the paint out, have them dip their hands in green and use handprints to make a Christmas tree. When that dries, they can use other colors to decorate it.

There are so many things you can do. You can make whole snowy village scenes with some crayons and cotton balls. I love little kid crafts. All you really need is construction paper, glue, scissors, tape, crayons, maybe some paint. All pretty cheap and easy to use. Have you made any Christmas crafts with your kids?

Also, if you’re looking for some great craft and holiday ideas, check out Wax and Bubbles. There are some awesome and interesting ideas there. You can find out how to make your home smell nice and Christmasy or how to make peppermint lip balm…yummy! They make great and frugal presents that anyone will love.

I saw this on Shine from Yahoo. This adorable little outfit would make any toddler look like a million bucks. And guess what? It’s only $525, not including the $225 shoes. What a steal!

I can’t believe that! I think both my children’s wardrobes combined did not cost $750. In fact, the Little Guy wears a bunch of Peanut’s old stuff. When he’s bigger, she can wear his (he’s going to be a big kid - I know you shouldn’t compare your children, but I will. When Peanut was two and a half months old, she weighed seven pounds, seven ounces. The Little Guy was weighed at his two month checkup and weighed fourteen. She was twenty-four inches when she was five or six months old, and that’s what he is now. I just had to say that…it boggles my mind). Anyway, clothes. I saw a segment on The View - I have no idea why I was watching The View - about all the amazing deals you could find for the holidays and they had a challenge for one of the woman. To go out and buy a complete child’s outfit for $50.

To be fair, I think they were in NY, and I know prices are outrageous, but still. For $50, I better be picking up a whole lot of clothing! Especially for Peanut - she’s brutal on clothes. She plays hard and it shows! Ah well. Just thought I’d share that with you.

ALSO, don’t forget about the Amazon contest!!! Click here to find out how you can win a $10 Amazon gift card.

When I was pregnant with Peanut, someone gave us Sweet Dreams, Mimi, which is a Baby Einstein book. Naturally, I want my kids to be genuises, but I thought, “There’s no way she’s going to like this. It has too much text. It’s too long to hold her attention.” I tried it, and she loved it. She always has. It’s not super long on text, but for young toddlers, sometimes short is sweet. But she liked the pictures, the words. Something about how it’s written is great, and very engaging for toddlers. Here’s a little sample:

Each night after kisses, Mimi asks for sweet dreams…
And Mama whispers
Softly colored pictures
To fill Mimi’s head
As she slips into bed
Between sheets cool and smooth

The whole book is very melodic, lyrical. I was wrong when I thought that that wouldn’t appeal to Peanut. Espeically at bedtime; it’s very soothing. It’s full of language…do you know what I mean? This book is just full of quality writing. The way it flows, the way it describes. It’s great.

I was thinking about how important it is to read to toddlers. When Peanut was younger, I read to her all the time. I read to her in the womb, I read to her when she was a day old. Now, to be honest, I’ve kind of slacked off. With the baby, I’m sometimes too tired to read to her at night. That’s such a lame excuse, because obviously I could read to both of them. But if he’s crying, I just want to get her to bed so I can handle him. It’s terrible. Espeically since Peanut has been waking up in the middle of the night, asking me to read to her. She’s done this four or five times in the past month, maybe. Three or so in the morning, she’ll get up and ask me to read her a book. That makes me feel terrible. So today, I made a deal with Peanut. If I promised to read to her every night before bed (even one short book - whatever we can do), would she stay in bed? She said yes, and I think it’ll work. I can’t believe that I’ve neglected something so important. I was a teacher, for God’s sake. I know how important reading is. We all love to read in our house, and I want to make sure that Peanut continues to love to read as she grows. That’s my job. I should fire myself! Anyway, that made me think of good old Mimi. I think we’ll be digging it out of the bookshelf, along with some others.

I know that if you are taking the time to read a parenting blog, chances are very good that you do everything you can to ensure your child is healthy, happy, and intellectually stimulated. So I thought I’d help out a bit.

Leave a comment or drop me an email telling me what your toddler’s favorite book (or books) is. It’d also be great if you could give a brief description and tell me when you typically read to your toddler. I’ll randomly select one person and send him or her an Amazon gift card for $10. You can buy a few toddler books on Amazon for $10 - which is a great thing about little kid books. It’d be a good Christmas present for your kids or another toddler in your life. So get me your emails or comments by Saturday, December 13 I’ll only need your email address to send you the gift card. It’s easy, it’s free. And Amazon is awesome.

I had my children at the best hospital. I really did. The nurses, espeically, were awesome. Anyway, I was blown away when one of the nurses, George, gave me a certificate for a free month membership at our local gym. What’s he trying to say?? No, they give them to all the new moms because exercise helps combat postpartum depression. It comes with unlimited use of the facilities, a massage, a nutrition consultation, and three sessions with a personal trainer. This was the most awesome baby present I’ve ever received. The gym bends over backwards to make it a good experience, and they offer daycare right there. There’s a little room off the main exercise area for the children. From 8 to 10 in the morning, someone is there to watch the children while you work out. I guess they are mom who do this in exchange for a membership…good deal.

Anyway, here’s my issue. I love to go to the gym. It’s fun, and it’s good alone time. This past week, I’ve been lucky because my fiance has been able to stay with the kids while I go. I want to go as much as possible because it makes me feel better, and I need to lose baby weight. Anyway, this week, he has a different schedule for work. My question is: should I leave the kids with the daycare people? I honestly feel fine leaving Peanut. I can peek in on her at any time, and I really think she’d have fun. It’s a cool kid’s room, and she loves to play with new stuff. I’m more concerned with leaving the baby. He’s two months old, and I’ve only left him with his father and his grandparents. Here are the good points:

*I can look in on them at any time.
*The room is right there, with large windows so I can even look while I exercise.
*I can do something good for myself while not neglecting them. And I feel that when I feel better I’m a better mom.
*Peanut would have fun. And she can always yell out the window if she needs me.
*I can meet the person who would be watching them first and then decide if I feel comfortable.
*The baby would probably sleep - they’ll even let you put the baby in his seat nearby while you are exercising, so I could bring him out with me. I’d rather not though.
*We could all get out of the house, which is essential in the winter. And Peanut could climb around and get some activity herself.
*I’ve seen other moms do it.

Negative Points:
*I’ve never left either of my children in any kind of daycare situation (even though they’d probably be the only ones there).
*The baby is two months old. Is this too young? (He eats formula, so he wouldn’t starve.)
*Is leaving a three year old and a baby there too much? What will the person do with the baby? Will she hold him or rock him in his seat? She’s a mom, so she’s done this before.

I’m not sure. What do you guys think? What would you do in this situation?