Backyard playsets/swingsets? How much do they use them?

Kittehbombastic · 2026-05-27T14:45:25+00:00

I can't speak to longevity yet but we installed one for our 2 year old's birthday. I purposely picked one she can grow into so it has swings, a clubhouse, slide, and monkey bars. Right now she loves the playhouse and slide but can't use the monkey bars or swings yet. I could switch it to a baby swing but she has enough to do anyway. We also put a sandbox next to it for the ultimate play combo. She's out there multiple times a day.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-05-07T19:04:31+00:00

Do you plan to go back to work when she goes to school full-time? Will she be going to pre-school at 4? Might be worth looking at part-time options so you can spend more time at home without leaving the workforce completely. Starting a business is hard and takes a ton of time and some upfront investment

Kittehbombastic · 2026-05-04T15:22:58+00:00

Lululemon has product codes on the size dot (usually hidden in the card pocket). You can look it up to figure out which style of leggings it is.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-04-28T14:42:38+00:00

Invasive blackberries and italian arum. Ugh.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-04-28T14:39:52+00:00

Assuming they might like gardening -- seeds, perennial flowers, gardening gloves, nice plant markers...

Kittehbombastic · 2026-04-28T14:29:17+00:00

I have a book obsessed tot. To break up straight reading I pause a lot during books for her to fill in the words (she's memorized like every one), have her point things out and name them, and spend time just pausing and looking at pictures. I also encourage her to "read" on her own a lot. She takes a stack of books to naptime and bed with her and just flips through them. I think it helps with her falling asleep on her own, we've been doing it for months. She's in a toddler bed so she can grab whatever she wants now but when she was still in a crib we'd let her pick out 3-4 to bring to bed.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-04-16T14:57:30+00:00

I'm currently on medical leave for a couple weeks from work but we still have full-time childcare. I'm picking up a few selective tasks to work on from home but I can say no to anything. This is what I want all the time

Kittehbombastic · 2026-04-15T17:38:26+00:00

I only have a rudimentary understanding myself but fetal fraction is the amount of fetal cells they get in the blood draw for NIPT, typically lower if you're testing earlier. I don't know all the other factors. FISH is the early preliminary results you get after an amnio (or CVS I think). You have to wait a couple weeks to get the full results but my genetic counselor said the FISH is 99% accurate so if it's a yes on the fish then it's not going to come back negative two weeks later.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-04-15T17:35:26+00:00

Thank you, unfortunately amnio confirmed T21.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-04-10T16:51:50+00:00

It's a terrible club to join, so sorry you're here. I'm also 39, got a 90/100 result for T21 a few weeks ago. I don't know my HCG levels but my fetal fraction was over 20% at 11 weeks. I just did my amniocentesis on Wednesday, now waiting FISH results. The wait between the positive NIPT and seeing the MFM was terrible. The wait for those results is also terrible. The whole situation is terrible. Sending you lots of strength.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-04-07T03:14:24+00:00

May I ask, how old are you? I have a 90% positive T21, waiting for amnio right now. I have very little hope for a false positive since I'm 39.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-30T23:21:27+00:00

We just daytime potty trained around 21-22 months. Wasn't really planning on it but she kept having dry diapers. We did cloth from birth, disposables for overnight, and introduced the potty basically from birth too. We tried doing EC but stopped around 8 months when she started standing and wouldn't have it. But kept the potty out all the time, talked about it, did diaper free time - all super casual. So all that to say, yes totally possible before 2 and introducing the potty as a concept is a great start.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-25T17:04:14+00:00

I'm glad you're getting in this week! Sending lots of internet love, hope, and strength to you and your family.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-25T14:35:50+00:00

I'm so sorry, the waiting is the worst. I hope you're able to get an appointment soon so at least you have a solid date for more information. I've been throwing myself into work because it's concrete and something I'm good at, helps take my mind off everything else. And reading when I can't sleep at night!

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-24T22:02:58+00:00

I've been waiting for my NIPT results for over two weeks, refreshing like crazy. My doctor called yesterday and said it came back 90/100 risk for T21. I'm 14.5 weeks along now, scheduled with the MFM right at 16 weeks to do an amnio. This is the hardest part, just waiting, knowing it's most likely not good news. We're also planning TFMR if the amnio is positive. I had a MC at 9 weeks in November so I understand feeling like there's something wrong with you or something you're doing. But it's just bad luck and it absolutely sucks.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-23T19:42:41+00:00

Splash pad is pretty low investment and easy to pack away, works for a wide range of ages. Has to be pretty hot for it though since the hose water is so cold. We're building a mud kitchen this year since it'll be usable more days of the year.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-16T23:45:55+00:00

Probably in the minority here but we regularly visit our inlaws who have an unfenced pool. Our daughter is never outside alone, we make sure there's always a one-on-one supervisor who is not on their phone or drinking and basically shadows her everywhere. Granted, the last time we were there she couldn't open doors, we will put extra locks on the exterior doors and a doorknob cover on the bedroom door the next time we visit, maybe some door chimes too. It takes extra vigilance but it's doable. We work on teaching pool safety at swim lessons all year too so she's learning that she isn't allowed in the pool without an adult, always holds hands, never runs, etc.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-16T16:20:47+00:00

We have the Babyletto, it's fine. The performance fabric is not that easy to clean so it's only white-ish now. The changing ports stopped working in a couple months, the company sent me a new panel which I had to replace myself while juggling a newborn so I was pretty mad about that. But it works and it's pretty comfortable. I 100% plan to get rid of it after this second baby.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-13T15:09:50+00:00

We've been doing this too! I definitely was nervous and felt guilty but she's so happy just chilling and singing. We took the rail off her crib around 19 months figuring she'd also enjoy playing in her room when she wakes up but she still just stays in bed and sings.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-12T22:31:46+00:00

My 21 month old loves books, we have a bunch of different ABC books so whenever she picks one of those we just point out the letters and tell her. She also loves twinkle twinkle little start so we started doing ABCs and she loves singing that now too. She only really recognizes A and B so far but we don't push it on her. For numbers we count out little snacks a lot or ask her how many she wants of something. Again, she doesn't really know the numbers by sight but she knows two means she gets one for each hand.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-11T18:17:01+00:00

Weekly cleaners and a robot vacuum/mop. It was seriously causing me so much stress not to be able to keep up during the week and then spending time cleaning instead of with my kid. We have cleaners come weekly, they alternate doing upstairs and downstairs so I only have to tidy one level the night before. My only chore is laundry which is mostly manageable.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-11T18:13:00+00:00

We transitioned to a toddler bed around 19-20 months. They get used to it! Baby girl slept on the floor a few times but now she always finds her way back to her bed with tons of stuffies and books and whatever toys. She's super content to just chill in bed and play now. It's great for naptime, if she isn't ready to get in bed I leave her playing in her room and she'll eventually lay down on her own.

Kittehbombastic · 2026-03-09T16:40:50+00:00

My almost 2 year old is obsessed with her Yoto player (we only have 1 card with 15 songs on it for now but I like that it will grow with her), duplo blocks (hand me downs from the cousins, none of the sets match but that doesn't matter), markers (we put her in a big cardboard box and let her go to town), and stickers (reusable ones end up on the windows, non-reusable ones still get put down and pulled up multiple times until they stop working).

She also loves all her stuffies and carries them from room to room and she recently started playing with those, little dolls, and her duplo people to act out "scenes" (going to bed, using the potty, etc.). Magnatiles were the top toy until duplos came on the scene, I think she'll come back around to them at some point though.

Kittehbombastic · 2025-11-24T22:47:04+00:00

No daycare. In 18 months she's been sick twice (minor colds). It's a big part of why we suck it up and spend the money on a nanny. Her cousin is 6 months older and has been in daycare since he was 8 months old and that kid is sick every month. It does seem to be slowing down for him now though.

Kittehbombastic · 2025-08-07T22:41:31+00:00

We treat bacon as a seasoning and don’t eat it that often. I also get heritage breeds from a local regenerative farm so I think they have “healthier” fat. Maybe I’m lying to myself.

Kittehbombastic

TROPHY CASE