@frazzled1 I totally agree with you about C-Section drugs. Come on, hospital staff! These mommas need some pain relief. And I have probably waxed poetic about the wisdom of “Baby-Friendly” hospital practices that require exhausted newly-delivered mothers who haven’t slept for 60+ hours to sign-off on paperwork saying they understand the dangers of falling asleep and dropping babies, and then expect them to nurse baby every 2-hours all night long. I have a friend who is an ex-NICU nurse and has told me of tragic consequences of these policies, which are supposed to increase breast-feeding percentages. Just awful.
Arrived this morning to visit 17 month old GD; OMG, she is a character!! While we haven’t seen her since Thanksgiving, the kids send us daily videos and pictures; we also FaceTime often.
The personality shines through; she is a happy girl and doesn’t stop moving! She is really into dolls right now; when we went to the park today, she had to have about 5 of them with her in her wagon. She knows she can’t play with mom and dad’s phones and computers, but that doesn’t stop her from touching them with one hand, and wagging the other finger in the air, while saying, “no, no, no.” 
My 2yo GD is quite the boss. Yesterday DIL posted a video of her going up the stairs (with DIL following behind), repeatedly saying “Stop, stop, stop, Mommy”, “Don’t follow me. I’ll be right back.” She stopped along the way, turned around to DIL and put her hand up to try to stop her. DIL was trying to get her to say what she just did on the potty for the first time, but GD was more concerned with going up the stairs all by herself. At the top of the stairs, after DIL announced that she’d peed on the potty, GD comes back in front of the camera (she’s very phone savvy) and said “I went peepee on the pot-ty.” She’s a character.
Favorite nice quality onesy companies to order online? Looking for non feminine/non masculine type.
Congratulations, scout59! Glad to hear your family is doing well!
@garland, I am a part time ‘babysitter’ and love every single minute I am with my grandchildren. I am with the sweethearts two or three days each week. Some days I am there just four or five hours, but some days I’m there twelve (or more!) hours. D and SIL have crazy hours. The specialties they chose were great before children… Because of their work, a traditional daycare, or even a full time nanny, would not work. I have avoided the major illnesses GS has managed to bring home from preschool (Hand, Foot, and Mouth was the worst!) but I do have to fight a cold once in a while. And yes, some days I am exhausted, but the love I receive from GS, GD, D, and SIL makes it all worth it! D and I are very close, and this has made our ‘adult relationship’ even more wonderful.
@rockymthigh2, We like primary dot com and bodenusa dot com. The clothes we have ordered have been really great.
Checking back in to report that my newest grandson is now 6 days old, has already regained his birthweight, and is a little sweetheart. His 4 y/o brother is over the moon with excitement; his 2 y/o brother is withholding judgment.
As expected, my daughter had to argue for more effective pain relief and then wait for it once she won the argument. She’s feeling much better now that she’s at home.
@anxiousmom, I’m okay with baby-friendly hospitals, though I agree that too much of the work falls entirely on the new mother. I’d like to see a better choice than “If you don’t want your baby to have a pacifier or a bottle, keep him in your room and do it all yourself.” Nothing wrong with pacifiers or bottles if parents choose to use them, of course! But if you don’t want your newborn to have them, some real hands-on support would be nice.
Tomorrow is D’s due date. Her OB/GYN has scheduled an induction tomorrow morning to get her in/out of the hospital before things get too bad in Nashville. Her husband was not allowed to come into the office for this morning’s appointment. I am really feeling down about the fact that i will not be hopping in the car to see this baby anytime soon, but I know in my head that minimizing risk is best for us all. Still, my heart hurts and I worry.
@2VU0609 My sister is in the same position. Her first grandchild is due next week and she knows she needs to stay away. She is heartsick even though her head understands.
After a long day, granddaughter finally arrived last evening. D says they have to monitor her for 24 hours for something she couldn’t remember, but they are hoping to go home in the evening. She said her doctor told her she had signed a physician’s petition requesting governor order shelter in place. Her governor is not being very responsive in the eyes of many to the need to shut down bars & restaurants, etc. Thankful that she’s here and looking forward to FaceTime later today!
Yay! Wonderful news. Many congratulations and best wishes, @2VU0609.
@2VU0609 Congratulations, and healthy happy vibes to all!
Congrats @2VU0609. Enjoy your Facetime until you can see your GD in person.
Used primary dot com to send to GD and they loved them. Liked the neutral option rather than male or female. Thanks @hrh19 !
So one final week of caring for GKs with daycare slated to open April 6.
Last month SIL (not the kids) had Hand/Foot/Mouth - no one else in household had it. He had sores in his mouth, so it helped him with weight loss and he met his weight goal. I can imagine the discomfort with the young ones that don’t know what is going on @hrh19 .
Last Friday morning 8 month old grandson gave us a ‘taste’ of what it is like to be colicky - about 3 hours later he passed a really nasty #2 - much air freshener needed. When I picked up his legs to clean him up he even cried with his bowels still hurting. DD had already left for work, and SIL came out a few times (from working at home) to see if he could ‘help’.
22 month grand-daughter has been allowed by SIL to have a very extended bedtime (essentially he lets her go on and on, run around the apt, tear up the bedroom, reads books over and over, etc). She eventually falls asleep in her arms (with the pacifier they said was going to finish at 18 months). Since she had acted out since supper time, I did have a talk with him once she was asleep. He did put her into time out once early in the evening, and I praised him for that. Somehow he thinks he is ‘the boss’ because he decides when to end things at night…I told him she was the boss all evening. He asked her 3 times if she wanted her bottle - I told him that after the first time and she says no, you put it in the refrigerator. She can ask for it later if she wants - we are not the servants and she is the princess, yet he acts like that. I also said he is blurring Parent and child rolls. Gave him examples from my sister and her son who also didn’t have much parenting limits early on and would ‘reward’ him for bad behavior unknowingly. SIL did listen. He is processing. He doesn’t like to admit he doesn’t know things. I told him he has been a parent for 22 months; I babysat 5 kids at age 12 with the youngest in diapers – I have been at it a long time. I know DD has tried to tell him things, but essentially it is working out that DD takes care of 8 month old (breastfeeding with some supplemental bottles when she is at work) and SIL takes care of 22 month old. They converted her crib to a toddler bed, which she likes, but her ‘big girl’ behavior is not there yet. Hoping it will all click when she potty trains. She is understanding the concept but they haven’t started. They have to provide a potty chair at daycare so buying two of the same thing.
Grand-daughter doesn’t give me trouble with laying down for nap when she is clearly tired - I give her the boundaries and she accepts them because I have been consistent. When she wants things and starts to cry, I talk to her and if she is being unreasonable I will tell her “crying doesn’t work with Nana - we will do xyz and we can do abc” - she understands. If she is overtired, they crying will get the energy out of her.
Well, I finally cancelled the April flights to and from GS.
I was supposed to be there for the daycare spring break.
In an effort to support small business, I ordered some outside distractions with a pick up at store option local to their home. Unfortunately, that is no longer an option, so they will ship it. (And it is walking distance to their house).
GD is 7 weeks old. Last night she slept 8 hours. Big win. I told the parents not to expect this every night, but its a big step forward.
Congratulations, 2VU0609! Enjoy every minute of FaceTime and I sure hope it won’t be long until you get to snuggle with your sweet granddaughter.
@SOSConcern, When GS had Hand, Foot, and Mouth, we just kept telling him that it would be a little better tomorrow and even better the next day. We also let him have a little screen time… ?
Because of the crisis we are all living with, D and SIL have been very busy and will continue to be even busier going forward. I will worry every time they go out the door. I am caring for their children almost every day now and my DH is unable to help due to an underlying health condition. To say I am exhausted - physically and emotionally - is an understatement. BUT I am so proud of D and SIL and the amazing work they do.
When we FaceTime with our almost 18 month old, one of her favorite things to do is give us kisses, directly on the iPad screen! It is so cute to see this little face up close, and receive the lips! Her next favorite thing is to tell us bye bye, and end the call, even when it isn’t time.
My daugher has the 9 month old crawl to the screen and once she gets close, my daughter moves it to another corner of the room so that the baby crawls to it. This is her PE class for the day. 
This one also likes to get up close to the screen, but she likes to eat it, so we usually get a clear view of her mouth.
I miss these two terribly. Can not wait until we can travel again; it will be a hard decision which we go to see first.
You are lucky, @snowball . Our 2 1/2 yr old granddaughter likes to push the “off” button when we are on facetime. She thinks its a riot.
Last time we facetimed with 2yo GD, I tried interacting with her by asking her to make me some lunch at her play kitchen. She kept going back and forth between her kitchen and the screen bringing us cups of coffee over and over again. DH and I joked to ourselves that we’d be up all night with all the coffee she served us. I miss actually being with her.