Strollers - how big is too big?

Honestly, I don't think there is a single answer. And even if there was, the question is wrong too; if you genuinely think there is a cut off, it should be by age, not size.

Come on, you've all thought it at one time or another "That child is too old for a stroller." (probably before you had kids) But so what.  There is an entire website devoted to showing examples of this (this is by someone who has no children) Walk

I know when I first thought of having kids, I wanted to be strollerless. I wanted to wear/carry my child. Having twins put a bit of a damper on it. Yeah, I was able to wear one of them, and sometimes even two,  but a stroller was a necessity. Maybe if I lived in the burbs and used a car to go everywhere it might be different. But I live in the city, near downtown, no car and (almost) everything is in walking distance.

I went through a lot of strollers in the search for the one that worked best for us. And there was never just one at a time and most served a purpose for a year or two and were replaced as they grew and our days changed. (I bought and sold second hand mostly). Right now, we have a side-by-side double, two single umbrella strollers and a wagon. I personally have used the double only once or twice this year. I'd sell it, but my caregiver uses it anytime it's raining (this is Vancouver, it rains).

It used to be the two umbrella strollers were only used with another adult, but now Corwyn loves to push his. We can often go for an entire day with Nathan either riding or pushing his stroller and Corwyn pushing his the whole time. Most of the time. Sometimes though, we can be somewhere and Corwyn decides he can't walk anymore. It doesn't happen often, but after getting stranded and having a friend have to come help, I've started putting the stroller connectors in the bag. I'd like to stop using them all together but they can only walk so far, if the destination also involves playing then trying to walk home, I can't respond to carry requests with two of them.Oh and for those who are thinking to get Corwyn to push Nathan. No. On rare occasions he will, but mostly he just wants to push an empty stroller (he'll push the double or pull the wagon too, but only if it's empty - doing anything necessary to get Nathan out of it).

The boys are 3, barely 3, but 3. Even for those who think kids should be out of strollers before school age think 3 is okay. Nathan is big. In an umbrella stroller he looks big. He looks too old. And now it's summer. In the colder weather in a bulky jacket, it will look worse. I see the looks; I hear the comments said in stage whispers. Get over it people. Nathan plays hard and rests hard. We walk lots, take the bikes some and use the strollers too.

I miss the always in a stroller age sometimes. Getting places was so much faster. Shopping was a million times easier. But I love the freedom of going out without one. I'll be happy when we're totally done with them, and a bit sad at the passage of time to.

Those are my kids. My kids are healthy and luckily developmentally normal. But you can't tell by looking at a child if there are issues that would require a stroller until an older age. Wheelchairs aren't cheap. Or sometimes a stroller sometimes because they can get easily tired because of certain medical conditions. Or they don't have a car and 10km is too far for a younger child to walk in a day.

Or whatever. Maybe the child is lazy. Maybe the parent needs more control. So what. Bottom line, it's none of your business. Is it hurting you? Do you lose sleep over it? Are there no other problems in the world and in your life that this is the most important cause you have? I don't think anyone will be pushing their developmentally normal child to high school in a stroller.

Sorry for the small rant. I was amused one day when Corwyn was sitting and pushing himself along in the doll stroller. And it crossed my mind that someone could post a picture of this on the website saying he was too big.

Big Boy Beds

Well, they're really toddler beds, but they are not cribs.

I went with toddler beds for reasons of economy. It was economy of space in that while I could have fit 2 twin beds in the room, there would be no fun space left in there.  It was financial economy because I could use the crib mattresses, saving me cash there. I lucked out and got these beds for 100 from another twin mom. Her boys used them for 6 years (cribs first, then beds) and the mom before her used them for 5. I'm hoping to use them until they are 5 or 6 and old enough to move to bunk beds. I'm not keeping the crib sides and base around; I really don't have space to store it.

I'd love to say its been a walk in the park, but it has had its challenges. That said, they are doing really well, better even than I thought they would. They aren't quite their usual really easy to put to bed in the crib boys, but so much better than I know many people go through.

They're going to bed a tiny bit later than usual to make sure they are good and tired. The routine is kept as close to what it was when in cribs as possible. They get changed, then brush teeth and wash hands and faces (bath on bath night). Then they get to play in the bedroom for 15 minutes or so. They like to kick me out of the room for this most of the time. Sometimes, about once a week, while playing like this, they will empty every shelf, door and cupboard. This was the signal to put them in their cribs (after they 'helped' to put things away). But now there are no cribs and nothing stopping them from getting right back out. In fact, while one is helping me put clothes back, the other will be starting over again at the other end, taking it all down. Sigh. So now I 'order' them to sit in their beds while I toss clothes off the floor onto where ever they land.

The old routine had me reading, while they were in bed. Now they will either sit on my lap or the edge of their beds while reading. When we read two books, that was it. Now they will run and get another book before I can get up. I'm encouraging (with mixed results) reading to themselves in bed like they used to. If I leave the room though, the clothes will get tossed so I need to stick around.

Then its tuck in time. And this is really varying, day to day, nap to nap and bedtime to bedtime. None has been exactly the same. But once they accept that its sleep time, they do not get out of bed again. In fact, if a monkey falls out of bed, they scream for me to come pick it up. Ah well, the balance is coming slowly.

It sounds like torture, but the first night, from lights out to both being asleep was 40 minutes. The next night was 30, then 20. It was back again to 30 tonite. Corwyn did not want me to leave the room, for any reason. This might be because I went to work today.

But they are asleep now. And I finally had dinner. Oh and a glass of wine. To give you an idea of how often I drink, the wine is the same bottle I opened when we stopped the bottles. Yeah, that's me, party animal.

So what's next? Potty training of course. We need more time to adjust to this change. I'm not sure when we'll give it a try. It will be before the end of the summer though. I may need to stop using cloth diapers before then. They are too tall and butt cracks lead to poop leaks and, well, yuck.

Enjoy the video. It was shortly after they saw the beds for the first time, but before they actually had to sleep in them.

Before and After

Friday Morning

 Friday Afternoon

Details of how it went to follow

Big Boy Beds

I'm so on the fence with this one. Some days I'm ready to take the plunge, other days I dread the possibility.

This week, we've gotten into making forts before bed. They love it and I can tell when they are getting too tired to continue, but still don't want to go to bed. I think part of it is lack of control about getting out themselves (mixed with part just wanting to have more fun). At times like that, I want to give them the freedom.

Then there are the mornings when they get up way too early and shake the cribs so hard they bang against the wall repeatedly. This wouldn't bother me too much, but I live in an apartment and I have neighbors. Banging isn't good.  But do I really want them to get up that early (or do I really want to get up that early). If they were able to get out and play to amuse themselves, I think it would be okay. But if only one is awake, his brother will wake him up by force. Arggghhh. You see my dilema.

One thing I'm thinking of trying is getting an analog clock for the bedroom like we have in the livingroom. While they can't tell time yet (heck, they cant count past 3), they do know when the clock looks a certain way, specific things happen. They will even point at the clock to tell me its time to watch TV or eat dinner etc. So if I get one for the bedroom and for a bit before I move them to beds, I make a point of showing the time on the clock when they go to bed and when I take them out of bed, they might just get it enough to start. Maybe.

The bedroom is 90% kid proof. The only thing left is the lamp. There is no overhead light so I need a lamp. Nathan has burnt his hand once on the bulb and Corwyn has knocked it over and broken the bulb once. I have to find a wall mounted option before I give them unsupervised free range of the room for longer than a few minutes at a time.

The other thing is the way to restrain them in the room. I dont have doors (long story) and we use curtains for doors. Right now, its a baby gate across the doorway. But my doorways are very crooked (older building) and its so easy for them to just knock the gate over. I have to get that fixed too.

So I guess it wont be tomorrow (which is good, because we dont have beds yet). The list now is clock, lamp, gate, beds. I'll get to work on that.

For those of you who don't use cribs, at what age did you change? How did it go? Would you do it differently if you could?

Stained Glass Art - Toddler Style

I've seen some different ways to make art that is like stained glass windows, some with glue and wax paper, some with contact paper, tissue paper for color, nature for decoration etc. I took from assorted ideas and decided to try what I thought would be easiest for us that would still be fun and produce nice results.

Supplies: contact paper, construction paper, tissue paper, glitter and some fun loving toddlers

Get some one who can handle scissors to cut out shapes from the contact paper, 2 for each 'design'. Cut out thin strips of construction paper to use to outline the shape.

Give the toddlers the tissue paper and let them go nuts tearing it apart. Encourage them to tear into small pieces, and if you can, ball some of them up.  Remember, confetti is lots of fun and they will figure out how to play with it this way too. Don't worry, it's only paper.

Once done, peel the backing off one of the contact paper designs and tape it (sticky side up) onto your work surface. You can put the outline on now or later.

Put your toddler in front of it, show him/her how it works and let them go to town (expect more confetti throwing here).

Once done, bored or the paper is all thrown around and none left in the craft area, you can add the glitter (expect more to be thrown around). 

Then you just peel the backing off the the other piece of contact paper and 'seal' your work of art. (note: if you didn't already, put the outline on now)

Tada - wonderful stained glass art pieces

I wanted to take more pictures during the process but we had so much confetti throwing that I didn't get to grab the camera. I loved this. The boys love both the process and the result. We will be doing it again for sure. I suspect by the time fall rolls around we'll also be doing nature inspired stained glass with the colored leaves that fall from the trees.

Toddler Temper Trantrums x 2

They aren't 2 yet, but they have already mastered the tantrum.

The hard one to handle is when they really want something but don't have the words or signs to let me know what it is. I feel so bad. They are very insistent and obviously they know what they are pointing to, and its me who fails. Happily this type of tantrum will diminish as they learn more words. For now, I just keep trying to figure out what they are asking for and when I find it, repeat the word back to them in hopes they will pick it up sooner. Being able to nod and shake their heads has helped some since I can now sometimes just say the word to find out if I'm guessing the right thing before getting it.

The next set of tantrums come from the 'he has it and I want it' or 'I had it but he took it from me' mix. With twins this is very common. And it comes less from really wanting what your brother has than wanting to take it from him. If one wants his brothers toy, but his brother doesn't want to share (not sharing is a valid response sometimes) then I do my best to distract him with something, anything else, while telling him that his brother is playing with and he needs to wait his turn. Most of the time it works. When it doesn't, there can be crying, screaming, grabbing and hitting. I try my best to hold and the offending boy to keep him from hurting his brother and explain again that it's not his turn. When the toy/book/food has already been stolen, then I need to first try to get it returned willingly (please give that back to your brother) or with force if necessary. Then the victim is happy and I need to go back through the "he doesn't want to share right now" with the thief. Lather, rinse, repeat.  We get this lots in my place.

The last set of tantrums are the "I want something I can't have" version. The most common of these is Nathan wanting the computer/phone/camera/electronic/boiling kettle/etc. So far, we've lost a video camera and a point-and-shoot camera this way (he's fast). I've tried toy versions and they don't work. I even took the battery out of our second phone handset and gave it to him, but nope. He wants the real thing and wants to be able to throw it. And as for things that are dangerous, well, obviously I can't even let him try. So we work on explaining 'not for babies/boys/kids' and 'that is dangerous' since I'm trying hard not to use no very often.

While its frustrating, so far I haven't lost my patience. Actually, sometimes its hard not to laugh. Tantrums can often involve ending up on the floor "crying". But to get to the floor, its a slow safe process (no flinging). Followed by regular lifting of the head and stopping crying to see what the reaction to the tantrum is. Its amusing to watch. Often times, it will end instantly when something more fun is spotted with no intervention by me.

These pictures are from a short tantrum when I wouldn't let Nathan hold the DLSR (not only the only functioning camera left, the most expensive one). This time, because it would take to long to throw himself to the floor, he decided to turn against the wall instead. Of course, since I already had the camera, I had to take the pictures.

Wordless Wednesday - Puddles

Toddling into 2011

I honestly can't believe how fast the time is flying by. The boys are now 19 months, putting them just past the starting time to be toddlers. Seriously, my newborn preemies are toddlers now. How? When?


So what have they been up to? Where are they developmentally?

Both have obviously mastered walking and even running. Corwyn has a wonderful gait, so cute to look at, more of a swagger than a walk. I'm trying to get a good video of it. Both love to 'dance'. Dancing varies between bouncing up and down and swiveling the body around. Adorable, totally adorable.

Fine motor skills are progressing as I'd expect them to. Both can feed themselves quite well (when they want to) with either a fork or a spoon. I haven't let them play with knives; they still throw cutlery, so I'm guessing I'll let them try knives when they are 30 or 40 (years). Nathan will pull up and down his own zippers (once started). Corwyn has no interest in this at all. Both like to put 'things in things' so we do activities like putting small pompoms in a container with a small opening or sticks into bottles etc. There is no real preference for handed-ness.

Nathan loves anything electronic and has an obsession with phones and cameras. I finally found a good 'play' phone. It lights up, has sounds when you push buttons, pre-recorded messages and rings once its closed. It also lets me record a message on it anytime I want. They think its neat to hear my voice and their names. Nathan wants to do everything himself but gets frustrated very easily when something doesn't work for him. Things get thrown when this happens and he doesn't want to try again for a while. He loves music and points to the CD player the minute he gets up. He does like TV and seems to become absorbed whenever its on. I try to limit TV time and like to only have it on when I can sit with him and 'talk' about what he's watching.

Corwyn loves books. He loves to sit on your lap and turn the pages. He doesn't want to be read to when their are lots of words, but if there are only a few words to each page, he'll sit through a story. He likes to look at the pictures and 'talk' about what he sees. He is understanding sequence a bit better now because he knows when he skips a page in a story and we have to go back. He only likes electronics as a means to take it away from Nathan to tease him. If Nathan has no interest in a gadget, he doesn't care. Corwyn doesn't really notice TV. He seems to like In the Night Garden, but even with that he'll lose interest before its over. He loves his trains and his Thomas books are a favorite. Interestingly, the Thomas TV shows will only hold his attention for a couple of minutes at a time. He is a very caring boy. If Nathan (or anyone else) is crying, he will bring over a toy and try to help.

Both love cuddles and hugs. They have no shyness around strangers and will wave at almost everyone and give hi-5s on request.

Both can talk a bit, but it's inconsistent. Sometimes they will say words very clearly and the next time, the same word comes out unintelligible. I think its a matter of concentration. Christmas was cute. If they saw a picture of Santa they would point and say 'Santa' and when you ask what does Santa say they'd go 'ho ho'. Once in a while, you'd get a third ho, but it was usually 2. They are wonderful at their animal sounds. The latest is the lion roar. Elephant is cute because it involves raising an arm by the face for the trunk at the same time.

I wake each day wondering what new thing they will say, do or discover. It's a wild adventure that I wouldn't trade for anything.