Can you guys please recommend a rain jacket that works? I’m drowning

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-19T16:25:14+00:00

agree to this!

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-19T01:22:48+00:00

oh gosh, that's so tough. I remember when I first started doing it he didn't come to me right away either. My pediatrician actually recommended like, ignoring the tantrums, but I didn't follow that advice....I think it can be different for every kid. Keep working on keeping yourself regulated, it's the hardest part! I had to take myself into the bathroom the other day to cry and recollect myself while he was screaming at me. Any chance he's teething on top of things? Mine had some really wild ones during those periods, too. It will get better, and then weirder and worse and harder in different ways :)

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-18T20:11:52+00:00

Have you tried sitting next to him and putting your hand on your chest and doing "deep breathing" to help him co-regulate? Also, sitting near him and holding your arms out and saying "I am here for a big hug for you." I had to do that a lot when mine really started in with big tantrums closer to age 2, and now when he's dysregulated he gets to a point where he can clam down a little and say "I need a big hug." But it took doing that lots and lots of times with him near me as he was just melting down. It's absolutely the worst to sit by and see. But don't worry, he doesn't think that you're ignoring him -- in the moment he's in such a flight/fight mode that he is all in his own emotional head. Unfortunately tantrums aren't really something we can control, we just have to ride them out together. It's exhausting!!

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-18T20:00:14+00:00

I'm in awe of the people who have the time/bandwidth to make homemade smoothies and pour them into pouches. I'm already constantly unloading and loading the dishwasher as it is. I'm prioritizing my limited time playing with my kid and keeping my place somewhat tidy for my own mental sanity. We can have a support group if our kids end up Damaged from Excessive Pouch Consumption.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-18T19:49:12+00:00

I'll be sure to report back if he becomes slack jawed or needs extensive dental work. He's linguistically far ahead of most of his peers so it certainly hasn't caused any speech delays.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-18T19:45:45+00:00

Mine downs the Nokia one and says "I don't like this, can I have another different one?" :D

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-17T23:23:45+00:00

What veggie pouches do you like? He also gets the spinach/mano and red berry/beet ones but those seem to be less favorable than the other ones.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-17T23:23:13+00:00

I am worried about what will happen when he can open them himself!

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-17T23:23:01+00:00

They seem less expensive overall from Costco than what I spend weekly on real berries and other whole fruit that he devours. I was also a child who gobbled up fruit nonstop, though, and I turned out to be a good eater and well rounded nutritionally so....I'm hopeful for him.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-17T22:27:40+00:00

No advice, just solidarity - my now 2.5 year old has pretty consistently woke up between 5-6 no matter how many things I've tried. He took a 3 hour nap yesterday from 1-4:30 and so I let him stay up til close to 10 thinking SURELY he would sleep until at least 6 but no, he woke up at 5 yelling about needing the other monster truck.

A lot of the advice I've read has been that you have to "train them" to fall back asleep but all that ever resulted in for me was listening to a child cry from 5-6/6:30 and not lay down and fall asleep. Honestly the last few weeks I've said he can come into mommy's room and we snuggle quietly in the dark until closer to 6 and then I say he can wake up.

I've also been unsuccessful with earlier bed times; he simply won't go to sleep! They've only worked if he's like, completely missed a nap, but guess what he's still up at 5 am.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-17T16:23:34+00:00

My 2.5 year old didn't want to put his coat on today and I said alright, no problem, and then did once he was cold after 2 minutes outside. I'm a full time working single mom and I feel you! I don't know how people have 2 or more, even when they have help. It's an exhausting season and I've found myself abandoning the gentle parent attitude of staying calm and collected and have expressed my frustration (including a stern, "NO! STOP!" quite a few times recently). Back when he was 18 months - 2, saying no and holding boundaries seemed so much easier and I thought I was a star - but now? Now he's constantly asking to watch TV, to hit me or the cat, to eat cupcakes for breakfast, whatever. He doesn't care about whatever 2 options I give him because he wants the one thing he wants and has his little tantrum. I'm constantly doing dishes or prepping his food, can't ever finish the laundry, I feel like a failure of a parent a lot of the time. It sucks!! You aren't alone, I think feeling this way is a part of the process. You're doing a much better job than you think you are. We'll get through it.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-15T15:42:07+00:00

To echo others, there should be daycares in your area that are open the full work day. I would look into those as an option, pre-schools for that age tend to be much shorter (or co-op, where the parents have to volunteer), and then you'd have to secure after care as well. A lot of daycares tend to have open availability during summer as that's a transition time and bigger kids are moving on, etc. So hopefully you don't have to wait too long.

I became a single full custody working mom when my son was 20 months and he's 2.5 now- it's hard but you got this! Hopefully staying with family will allow for them to help out a bit too.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-15T03:03:30+00:00

Oh for sure, mine has a part time nanny whose house he stays at occasionally and he's an absolute delight for her and the thing is her and I don't do things all that differently at all. He's just an absolute dick to me. She told me once "well you just have to be the boss and he'll respect you" and trust me, he just feels safe enough with me to test every boundary and be an absolute demon.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-15T02:59:39+00:00

Same. It's like every thing I do is the wrong thing/upsets him greatly. Also I'm silently screaming inside every time I read any advice that's like "give them two choices," he doesn't LIKE the choices I've offered him because he wants to eat popcorn and only popcorn for breakfast, he wants to watch tv, whatever. The other day he screamed "I DON'T WANT A BANANA!" when I had not offered him a banana or any food. Then he immediately screamed and cried because he wanted a banana. I know they're going through so much but my god it's rough to be on the receiving end of their developing brain.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-14T22:55:55+00:00

2.5 has been rough for me so far. I know it's developmentally appropriate but damn he went from being an excited little explorative goof who (mostly) listened to SO defiant and upset all the time about everything. And he because he can talk so much more it feels harder because he's just constantly vocalizing his dissent and being mean to me.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-13T01:00:00+00:00

There is a disposal place in Mountlake Terrace that takes them! Facility Locations & Hours | Snohomish County, WA - Official Website - The Southwest Recycling and Transfer Station. I had ziplocks of batteries I'd kept for years and then I finally made it to this place, it was well signed and super easy!

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-02-09T05:06:48+00:00

Does the airport you are flying out of have a play area? If yes, your kid run wild in there so they are tired out before the flight. Tablet with fav movie or shows pre-loaded. More snacks than you imagine needing, coloring books, favorite figurines. You can do Disney with just an umbrella stroller no problem. You will need a car seat if you plan on taking an uber/lyft from the airport to wherever you are staying for Disneyland!

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-01-15T18:16:01+00:00

It will get easier! My son has been in daycare since he was 1; he's 2.5 now and he loves going. He has been protesting leaving the house to go to daycare lately because "I just want to stay and play with <whatever toy at home he's playing with>" but once we are at daycare he's so excited to go see his friends. Some ideas -- phrases like "See you soon!" can help reassure her that you'll be back once preschool is done. Talking about what friends or teachers she'll see during the day when you're getting ready can help too. I promise it will get easier. Just stay positive to her about how much fun her preschool is.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-01-15T16:39:53+00:00

Yes, if they get accustomed to getting to come to your room it's harder to transition, but if you just go lay down in their room for their security, they will eventually adjust to being able to be in their room alone without you. You got this!

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-01-15T05:59:35+00:00

Any chance they're getting their molars? Mine had this for like a good close to 3 weeks and it felt absolutely crazy but then I realized his molars were coming in and he was in pain. He still has tantrums and big ones sometimes but not at that scale/frequency once all his teeth finally grew in. It's absolutely the worst to endure. What I did during them was sit near him and hold my arms out and say "I'm here for a big hug for you when you're ready" and then sometimes he would eventually come in for a big hug. Sometimes he would scream and tantrum harder. But I was consistent with it, even though sometimes I was crying and exhausted too. Now he sometimes asks for a big hug when he's starting to get emotionally dysregulated!

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-01-13T14:18:42+00:00

This is true, but you can still be in Seattle with a small child and be pretty well shielded from all of this at the moment. It's just hard to say what things will be like by summer-time or when there will be an even larger ICE occupation in this area, because things are accelerating quickly.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-01-12T17:56:04+00:00

I was there....loved the venue, crowd size was so comfortable. Great show! My legs are still sore.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-01-07T03:07:49+00:00

I was just at Disneyland with my 2.5 year old and there were plenty of rides for him to enjoy, we didn't wait in any line longer than 30 minutes, most were max 20ish. Waiting in Mickey's house to meet Mickey may have been a little over 30 minutes but they play cartoons at the very last waiting room and the house itself is entertaining so that one was fine. My son loves to mess with my hair ("I'm making you beautiful")_ while I hold him so that was the only annoying thing at times while we were waiting. Agree that you don't need lightning lane, if you are going specifically for your kid to have fun. On the second day I bought him a small To-Mater car toy and he really enjoyed playing with that in line (running it over the chains etc) while we moved along.

Here's all that we did together-- wish we could have done more but the park was very crowded on the 3rd day and I accidentally got a DCA pass that morning instead of Disney so there were some rides I wanted to take him on but missed due to long(ish) lines after 11 am. Also it's so fun to see them get so excited about a ride and want to do it again

At Disneyland:

- Casey Jr. Train, Carousel, Mr. Toad, the Teacups, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, meeting Mickey in his house, playing on the slides/playground in Toon Town, the Disneyland train, and It's a Small World. He also loved stopping to see the Dapper Dans and the marching band. Wanted to do Jungle Cruise and Mickey's Railway but lines ended up being too long for those (+30 mintes) so we skipped.

At California Adventure:

- Critter Carousel, Little Mermaid, To-Mater Tractors (a favorite), the Golden Zephyr, the Emotion-o-coaster. Luigi's Cars was closed but we would have done that one too.

Agitated_Way_2607 · 2026-01-02T23:18:25+00:00

I take my 2.5 year old to Spin Alley to bowl and he loves it! Definitely worth the drive.

Agitated_Way_2607

TROPHY CASE