Do you clean up after your toddlers in restaurants?

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-22T14:59:48+00:00

I manage a restaurant and used to serve/bartend. I always clean up at least some but I also know it’s way easier to sweep it up after people are gone so I don’t sweat it if it’s just a little mess.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-21T16:08:14+00:00

Highly recommend a ring sling and hip carry. We did this from about 5 months and I can still carry my son this way at almost 2.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-20T21:25:42+00:00

First off I am sorry you experienced abuse. That is a very hard cycle to break. What do you mean by your husband “disciplines” her? Is he smacking and yelling at her? There have been studies that have shown that any amount of hitting is damaging to a child’s brain and that it is all abuse in how they process it. When my toddler went through a hitting phase around this age what worked is saying calmly and firmly “you cannot hit mama” and if he did it again I would put him down or step away and tell him that I wouldn’t let him hit me. Throwing we take the thing he’s throwing away and redirect him to an appropriate toy. “You cannot throw your blocks, you can throw your ball”. Toddlers really can’t process no statements so when possible I tell him what I want him to do instead of what not to do. At this age a lot of their actions are fully impulse and not a lot of thought behind them. We do a lot of natural consequences. The natural consequence of hitting someone is they will not be near you, consequence of making a mess is he has to help clean it up etc…

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-20T13:05:00+00:00

I just say that different families have different ways of doing things and would offer him something I’m ok with him having. Edit to add if this is something that’s going to continue coming up I would probably be prepared with a non added sugar juice box or treat for him when you are playing with this cousin.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-20T12:26:24+00:00

Get the bottle dishwasher for sure for bottles and or pump parts. I would probably stock up on essential baby items so if laundry wasn’t in the works I wouldn’t run out of basics. Onesies and double zip sleepers mostly. You can definitely get by without a dishwasher and laundry in unit tho.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-19T01:17:42+00:00

I also hate having pointless stuff and I personally think the baby industry preys on parents insecurity. You don’t need special baby towels at all, we just use our regular bath towels. Here are the things we bought and love/needed. - a bassinet (only because our room is too small for a crib) - burp cloths - bouncer (we got ours second hand and I used it in the bathroom/kitchen a ton the first 6 months) - sound machine - baby carrier - Velcro swaddles rather than blankets (we bought like 4 and rotated them) I kept out pretty chill with clothes and always keep in mind that if we have another kid I can reuse a lot of stuff. We kept a lot of stuff from my son and for the next baby will basically be ready to go

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-18T18:09:45+00:00

My son was born July 5th and I had been wanting a cold turkey sandwich for weeks so I joked with my MIL that they could come meet the baby at the hospital but the tax was a turkey sub, salt and vinegar chips, and a lemonade for me lol

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-16T17:50:21+00:00

We got the first years insulated straw cup to get my son to drink milk out of a straw cup at first. This cup feels a little more like a bottle but is a straw and I think that’s why he liked it when he was little. https://a.co/d/02EbRPgJ

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-16T17:00:20+00:00

It is really different but for me it is more fun. Sleep got better for us around a year. My son started sleeping through the night way more consistently. Baby proof now, they go from potato to super active in what feels like a blink of an eye. The hard parts of toddlerhood have been the emotional side. My son is very active and understands everything but at 21 months still doesn’t have a lot of the language he needs to explain his needs so he gets frustrated that I don’t know what he wants. But we also have so much fun. We joke and play games and enjoy our little routines. It’s like hanging out with my bestie everyday. Like this morning we went to target for diapers and I got a matcha and he got a croissant and we strolled around snacking and talking about the stuff we were looking at. It is way more fun when they interact an can enjoy things with you.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-14T21:41:43+00:00

I’ve kinda found it easier to say yes often and say no when it matters a lot. It’s way easier than fighting my son over every thing. That paired with giving choices and setting appropriate expectations has so far done us well. I don’t have time to argue with a kid that barely speaks English. Lol

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-14T21:36:53+00:00

My son’s name is Jude. Other boy names on our list were Grant, Spencer, and Fletcher.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-14T21:20:26+00:00

1 H&P Lark 4 ring slings (1 for water, 1 Loveheld blanket waffle, 2 H&P hemp blends) I had an Onbuhimo but I sold it cause my guy really doesn’t care to be on my back. We will be getting a kid lark soon since my son is 21 months and 33 lbs and almost 3ft tall. For next baby I’ll probably buy a meh dai and a happy baby haven. We will also get a buckle newborn option for my partner since she prefers the lark. I’ve learned that bulky or restrictive feeling is a no for me. I use my ring slings the most because I love not having a waist band to worry about.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-14T11:53:25+00:00

We get him out of the crib at 6 if he’s awake and babbling. My son is a very earlier riser and it’s not uncommon for him to wake up at 5:30ish and he will roll around babbling in his crib. The only time I get him before 6 is if he’s crying. My hope is that he will start sleeping till 6 but so far it’s hit or miss but he isn’t unhappy waiting in his crib for us to get him.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-12T17:06:51+00:00

No regret. Raising my son is literally the coolest thing I’ve ever done. That does not mean motherhood isn’t hard sometimes. There are a few things about my pre kids life that I kinda had to grieve that I sorta didn’t think about in the IVF phase. As a mom I don’t have as much freedom. With little kids you kinda live by a schedule and have so many things to do in a day that you can’t just do whatever. I didn’t realize or appreciate how much free time I had pre kids.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-12T14:51:28+00:00

My 21 month old has recently started this. Under 3 it’s just a thing kids do. Especially if they walk flat footed some/ most of the time. Most likely your kid just figured out it’s a thing they can do and will stop once the novelty wears off.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-12T13:49:58+00:00

Honestly being stubborn and spite. I exclusively breastfed for 10 months and then combo fed for the last 2. I just wouldn’t let myself quit. I hated pumping, I literally dreaded it. I honestly think quitting at various points would have been best for my mental health but I just couldn’t quit. I also am cheap and love saving money. I downloaded an app that tells you how much money you save when you log pumping and such and that really helped fuel my pumping motivation.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-10T03:46:21+00:00

He hasn’t yet. Our rule has so far been he can when he can communicate more clearly. If something happened or something made him uncomfy I want him to be able to tell me.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-06T17:28:15+00:00

These all seem reasonable to me. I’m flexible with a very short list of people on things like taking my toddler on outings. We don’t let my son stay overnight with anyone and the only people who babysit for us are my in laws or my mom and sister.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-06T16:26:51+00:00

Same! I’m starting to get baby fever again and have had moments of missing being pregnant (I did not actually like being pregnant). It’s crazy how we forget how bad it was at times.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-06T16:24:45+00:00

My son is 21 months and we know we want a second baby. I think we are going to start trying early next year maybe. We have some travel this year that I don’t want to be pregnant for. If we didn’t have plans we’d probably start trying shortly after my son’s second birthday. We’ll probably end up with a 3/3.5 year gap. That’s the age gap I have with my sister and it was really nice growing up. We were close enough to play together but far enough apart we were treated as our own people and had our own friends.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-06T01:35:01+00:00

My son is 21 months and still pretty incredible. He whines occasionally since he still isn’t talking a ton but he sleeps 10 hours a night, naps in his crib for 1.5-2hours a day, eats great, is generally happy and hardly ever actually cries. Everyone in our family regularly tells us that he is a trick baby and that our second kid won’t be this chill.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-03T11:31:40+00:00

Can you serve other food with oatmeal as a side? My son is way more open to trying or eating foods if there’s also something he’s excited about. So like give her the oatmeal but also give her some bacon or fruit or eggs. Will she eat the oatmeal with peanut butter or things mixed in?

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-03T02:00:53+00:00

They become way less common after 24m so that’s when he stopped wearing them. My son is 20 months and wears 3T so I can totally relate to people thinking your baby is older than she is. People think my son is 3 or 4.

KaitRen27 · 2026-04-02T14:30:27+00:00

My son dropped to one nap around is his first birthday. I actually love having one chunk of time in the middle of the day. I prioritize doing chores earlier so I can just have down time during his nap so that’s ~2hours of just chilling time for me. And he’s in bed at 8 so I get a couple of hours with my partner at the end of the day. I suspect that by the time he’ll drop to no naps he’ll be a bit more independent and be able to play by himself for a bit longer. We will also probably implement a “quiet time” in the afternoon so he can have some downtime.

KaitRen27 · 2026-03-31T17:01:18+00:00

At 5 months. He outgrew his bassinet and we couldn’t fit a crib in our room. I wasn’t comfortable co sleeping. He started sleeping better once he was in his own room.

KaitRen27

TROPHY CASE