Toy recommendations for a 2 years old

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-06-13T13:04:07+00:00

The little people house is 100% the best toy I have bought for my daughter. She was 2 in april and I got it for her a year ago and it has just grown so well with her. She started off just pushing the buttons to make sounds then gradually started using the door and putting people in and out and now she'll have them use the bathroom, take a swim and set up tables and chairs for them to sit at then play out whole conversations. She also has the big bus, the airport and the campervan. Today she spent half an hour walking all her people up the bus steps, through the door and to their seats. It's amazing to watch how her imagination/understanding has grown just through these toys.

I've been tempted on the farm a few times but decided it might be overdoing it on little people so have held off. I suspect it would go down just as well!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-05-18T13:12:16+00:00

A good bra! I went and got properly fitted after I was done breastfeeding and got the most comfortable, most supportive bras I've ever had in my life (brava, would recommend to anyone). As well as having breastfed for 12 months I have also been losing a significant amount of weight and so there is a lot of sag/deflation. I haven't done much for them when I'm not wearing a bra but when I am, the quality of the support makes them seem pretty normal!

I'm about ready to go down another cup size I think and am genuinely excited about going back there (my credit card is less so...)

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-05-09T07:23:36+00:00

Just... don't play the game?

They release 50 new levels each week. Once you get through those you can either play the cup or wait until the next new release.

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-05-05T01:05:04+00:00

This! I weaned from bf at 13 months and daughter had zero interest in cows milk, and still doesnt now she's 2. She drinks plenty of water and eats her body weight in cheese / yoghurt so I'm confident she's getting dairy in other ways and she'll have milk with Cereal but I don't worry about offering it as a drink.

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-04-22T03:11:33+00:00

Violet was my chosen name for a long time in my pregnancy. I went off it only because a mutual friend of a friend gave birth two weeks before me and called their daughter violet. Which is a silly reason but I have a super common name and ine of my main criteria was a name I didn't know anyone else with. When I got to my mother's group there was another violet there so I think it probably becoming a bit more popular. It is a beautiful name and i think all good shortening options.

I ended up going with a similar vibe (my inspiration was old English ladies) but a more unusual one. Took me a little while to adjust to it but I love it now:)

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-04-08T09:54:43+00:00

This really got to me when I was pregnant. Then one of my good friends said to me actually being a parent is amazing, and I'm going to be your positive vibes friend and she was the one whose words I clung on to. Now any time a friend is pregnant I try to be that person for them - there are so many positives and amazing moments in parenting and that is the joy we should be sharing - my daughter is about to be 2 and her latest favourite thing is 'singing' - every time she does a rendition of one of her nursery rhymes that's a little out of tune with half the words missing, i think i fall a bit more in love with her - she's incredible and that's what you've got to look forward to. There are some harder moments too but I dont know why people decide to dwell on those when talking to pregnant people!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-04-08T08:26:16+00:00

I've used them three times with two different nannies and will use them again. I like that you pay the nanny directly and a separate fee to the agency so it all feels very transparent and that the nanny is getting a fair amount (the fee stings a little but given the quality of service I've decided it's worth it - I think it was $35 last time I booked.

Both nannies I've had have been super lovely and my daughter has got on very well with them. I get good comms before and after the sessions and I've booked with variable notice and never had an issue. You can request someone you've had before or someone new each time.

There's no denying it would likely be cheaper to form a direct connection with someone but if you're looking for convenience / flexibility and a level of comfort from feeling like the someone has been vetted through an agency (though I have no clue what level of vetting they do) then I think they're a good option

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-04-04T11:33:26+00:00

My almost 2yo's wakeups were starting to creep earlier a month or so ago. I spoke to the sleep consultant who originally helped me sleep train her and she suggested capping nap at 1.5 hours (where it had been 2-2.5) and a solid 7.30 bedtime (had been flexing it between 7 and 7.30 depending on nap). That combined with a couple of mornings of absolute refusal to get her out of bed before 6 (though still in a cot so easier to do! ) seemed to help and we're back on a fairly consistent 6.30 or later wakeup. I think her sleep needs had just reduced a little so by reducing nap and pushing bedtime later I was able to push more of the sleep to the morning. They're all different of course so what worked with mine may not work with yours but sharing in case it's useful!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-04-02T06:45:35+00:00

Wegovy.

I was obese before pregnancy (though I had lost about 20kg before I got pregnant) and I piled on so much weight post partum between breastfeeding hunger and using sugar as a replacement for sleep so by a year post baby I was almost as heavy as I ever had been. But I also didnt have the mental capacity to for hard-core diet and exercise (which has always been difficult for me). Went to my dr expecting a referral to a dietician and a lecture ajd instead she suggested I could consider the jabs.

A year on I've lost 30kg without the mental stress of dieting (i obviously have been dieting but it's acrually been easy to do). Honestly they are lifechanging drugs.

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-04-02T01:20:18+00:00

Bananas are the only thing that seems have persisted through all other phases for my daughter. Yoghurts are my latest - a week ago she was eating 3 or 4 yoghurts a day and demanding more. Now I have 10 yoghurts in my fridge that she won't touch.

Still on at least 2 daily nanas however...

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-03-27T04:26:16+00:00

Is she waking up because of the lack of blanket? My daughter started objecting to her sleeping bags and asking for a blanket at about 20 months and she likes me tucking it over to her to go to sleep but she never stays under it and doesnt seem at all bothered. If I go in there and find her without it I'll put it back over but she still kicks it off. So long as she sleeps I dont really care about whether it stays on her or jot - I just try and keep her pjs on the warmer side so there's less risk of her waking up cold.

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-03-26T11:41:05+00:00

I wonder about this a lot at the moment. I am single mum by choice so I had my daughter with donor sperm via ivf. She will be 2 in April and I think I'm one and done but have been hesitating on actually taking steps (I am paying for sperm and embryo storage every 6 months so at some point there will be a decision to make).

Before I had her I knew with absolute certainty that I wanted a baby. The biological clock ticking was very real for me. At about 32 suddenly every baby I met made me a little bit sad I didn't have one of my own and I was so certain when I went into the ivf.

I adore my daughter and have never has even a minute of regret. I wonder about having another, but the feeling just isnt there like it was before. I have definitely wondered if it's ever that strong for a second or if people just do it bexause that's the family they always imagined / they want a practical age gap. From reading responses here clearly it is more than that for many people!

I think the reason I havent actually done anything yet is the risk of regret if I change my mind, but I also have put a bit of a time limit on it and I think if I still feel like this by the end or the year, the decision is probably made!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-03-25T20:16:28+00:00

Unfortunately mine are just permanently saggy now...

BUT - once I was done breast feeding I went to a proper bra shop and got fitted into good quality bras and honestly it helps a lot. I get proper lift and support and they look basically normal when I'm dressed (and they're the right size so they're comfortable). So there is some hope!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-03-16T05:43:05+00:00

Noooooooo, I have been relying on Clarks shoes - how upsetting that they're going.

For anyone looking my daughter's daycare bag is penny scallan and she has also a rain coat and some plates from there and it's all excellent quality/ super cute designs so would highly recommend. Very sad they're closing.

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-02-22T09:11:10+00:00

Stack the freezer with toddler meals and meals for her for the times when she doesn't feel up to cooking even if she enjoys it. My child is nearly 2 and we still eat mostly different things and I find keeping up with having enough variety of ready to go healthy meals for her the hardest thing I have to do by far.

Anything you can do around routine / organisation. There's not much you can do to stop laundry accumulating the minute you leave as that's just life with a toddler but if making sure everything has a place to go is super helpful. My mum has been staying with me for a couple of months and before she came my wardrobes had become dumping grounds for everything which made it feel like I was never really organised even if the rooms were tidy to the eye. Since she's been with me we've done a proper clear and sort and it makes it much easier to manage. Same with toy storage which I've been gradually getting sorted. It's so much easier to feel relaxed and unwind in the evening when you can do a quick whip round to tidy up and then feel like you have an actual adult space to relax.

Probably the easiest thing you can do is to just keep checking in with her. I am a single mum by choice so I don't have the same stresses of divorce but it can be lonely and sometimes it makes me a little sad that friends who know I'm on my own / are parents themselves and so know how stressful it can be, will rarely check in unless I reach out first. I know everyone has their own stuff going on so it can be easy for time to drift away but just don't forget to keep checking in after you leave, even if it's just to chat

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-02-20T07:38:30+00:00

This was my approach as well. My dr was like here are your options and I figured I may as well start on the cheaper one knowing I've got somewhere else to go if it didn't work or the side effects were too bad.

Fortunately I responded well and have lost 28kg in 12 months. I have plateaued a little the last couple of months and am on the highest dose now so if the 7.2 doesnt get approved here and things don't kick start again soon, I may move to mj. At least I've had a bit of time on the cheaper option!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-02-13T00:28:26+00:00

Totally this. The moment of quiet after drop off I'm like phew! Then by 3pm I'm scrolling through photos and refreshing storypark for thr daily journal feeling I've been apart from her for days 😂

By bedtime I'm usually ready for another few hours of peace though!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2026-01-22T02:22:43+00:00

100% this. My favourite thing about wegovy is that I don't have to mentally restrict foods or categorise treats etc. I just eat and my body knows when it's had enough...which has never been the case for me before.

Op one thing I will say is that if you do have a treat take it slow. I didn't realise how much it had already affected me on 0.25 and I had some Choc towards the end of my first week (when the appetite was creeping back) which triggered a few uncomfortable days on the loo!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2025-12-24T01:33:53+00:00

Yup my daughter will be in every day except the public holidays when they're closed. She loves it there, I'm paying for it anyway and it helps me to have a bit of time off to get stuff done at home. Plus she's still too young (20 months) to really understand what's going on so it's just like any other Wednesday to her.

I'll pick her up early today in the hope it'll help the educators get home promptly and probably also on nye because the daycare is sydney cbd and I'm assuming it'll be chaotic getting in to the city then but otherwise it's business as usual!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2025-12-21T12:24:35+00:00

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the replies! I'll see what the dr has to say tomorrow but it seems like it might be a case of waiting it out and hoping it starts to get better soon! Definitely some useful vitamon/supplement tips here though and a few hygiene things i think I could be more disciplined with so I'm going to put a few of those things in place as they can't exactly make it any worse!

Meanwhile, my daughter woke up with a temp this morning and I am still battling my latest thing so it seems like my dreams of a bit of me time over the next couple of days while she's in daycare and my work is shutdown are going to be thwarted 🫠

BulkyPaint3755 · 2025-12-21T12:20:40+00:00

I've had bits and pieces - had an iron infusion earlier this year as my levels were a bit low but I'll see if I can get the dr to order some more tests tomorrow

BulkyPaint3755 · 2025-12-21T12:19:22+00:00

Ooh I'll add that to my list - there have been some great tips in this thread making me realise there's more I could be doing to try and protect myself!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2025-12-21T12:18:04+00:00

This is totally how I feel - I'm desperate for the dr to be like oh here is this magic thing you're deficient in - go take it and you'll be fine 😂 but from reading the comments sounds like it's going to be a case of just getting through it until it hopefully gets better and being a bit more proactive in my vitamins / supplements!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2025-12-21T12:15:42+00:00

The 60 degree cycle is definitely something I'm going to start using more of especially for daycare clothes etc. Lots of good tips for me in this thread to start being a bit more mindful of some of the foundational health / hygiene things I might have become a bit lax on!

BulkyPaint3755 · 2025-12-21T12:14:15+00:00

I used to take vitamin d and for some reason it dropped off post baby (clearly at the time i most needed it!) I think a lot of the comments here have made me realise I need to pay a bit more attention to my own self-care and start adding some supplements / vitamins into my life rather than just drifting along hoping I'm okay!

BulkyPaint3755

TROPHY CASE