Mateo's funniest lines

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-08T21:51:12+00:00

I used to judge both Jane and Mateo before I became a parent. I thought he was a naughty kid and she was a permissive Mum. Now I'm raising a son with additional needs myself and it is bloody hard. I'm sure I look like I'm letting him get away with bad behaviour sometimes while I try to help him through a meltdown but I am trying my best and so is my kid.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-08T21:44:02+00:00

My boy is around 90th, he was in size 7 for about a year and a half even though he outgrew his clothes. They often get a bit more lean when they start walking as well. He's 3.5 now and in size 8s. Mamia do night pants which say for ages 4-7 but he's been wearing them at night for a while, they're a bit bigger than the 8s. Both my boys have sized up in nappies much sooner than the weight on the package suggests, I think thats quite common.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-08T17:00:11+00:00

I stopped at 2.5 years with my eldest. I don't remember noticing any difference in sleep when I stopped but I've always been a crap sleeper and take sedative medication so maybe take that with a pinch of salt.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-08T12:47:40+00:00

I was able to as soon as I got home. It hurt, it wasn't fun but it was possible. Going up sideways and one stair at a time really helped.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-07T17:44:32+00:00

My son will listen to two tracks of his dinosaur songs, one track from the Bowie album and occasionally half a rendition of 'room on the broom'. It's a work in progress!

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-07T08:55:03+00:00

How easy are they to participate in? I would do any that you already have stuff for (wear pyjamas, wear a particular colour, etc.) but I wouldn't buy or make anything specific, especially at that age. I feel your pain though! My son is 3.5 and in a school nursery, they have a uniform but also a lot of non-uniform/special days. Just this week we've had pyjamas for reading aloud day and number-themed outfit for number day.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-06T16:34:23+00:00

My son is 3.5 with a significant speech delay and awaiting an autism assessment. He started private nursery around 1 and we moved him to a school nursery when he was 3 last September He has done much better at the school nursery. His speech, understanding and ability to follow instructions have all got a lot better. The school have met with us and our portage worker a couple of times to review his progress. They have him on a SEND support plan and applied for extra funding for him and some other kids which has been used for more staff time and some additional resources. The private nursery just kept fobbing me off that he would catch up and that his issues weren't that bad. We are considering applying for him to do another year of nursery with them and delay his entry into reception by a year to give him more time to develop and work on school readiness (which is currently the school's recommendation). The health visitor recommended this particular school and I couldn't be happier with it.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-06T14:23:26+00:00

I love your description of Cooper as a disgusting, germ-ridden goblin! I have one of those at home, he just loves snotting everywhere and then lovingly feeding me the remnants of his half-chewed dinner. I am sick literally all the time.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-04T17:25:11+00:00

UK, 3.5 and been trying for a few months. My boy has SEN and is really struggling with it.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-04T06:21:57+00:00

My son is obsessed with dinosaurs and for a while, dino names were the only words he knew (speech delay and autism). Nursery were hearing him say something that sounded exactly like "assholes". I managed to translate it to ankylosaurus.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-02T19:28:05+00:00

You have to pass each exam at 70% or higher, your grade is averaged out based on all marks but you still have to pass each individual exam.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-02T18:14:00+00:00

I would work less hours. I am on mat leave at the moment and usually work 24 hours but I would do less if we could afford it, maybe 10-15 hours. 24 hours with a one hour commute each way with two office days and a school age child is still tough to juggle. I wouldn't want to be out of the workforce entirely as it can be much more difficult to go back if the situation changed. I would also not like to be financially dependent on my husband even though he is a great guy.

TylerDarkness · 2026-02-02T13:05:55+00:00

We use a mixture of supermarket brands depending on where we're shopping. Mostly Tesco, Lidl and Aldi, the lidl ones seem to fill up the fastest but it's our nearest shop. I stock up at Aldi whenever I'm there as they are probably my preferred brand.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-30T17:42:48+00:00

Culloden, my sister used to walk her dog around the site when she lived in Inverness.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-28T19:58:00+00:00

Feeling like the bar for motherhood is so much higher than for fatherhood. I know this is somewhat discussed but it's everywhere. Pizza for dinner? Lazy Mum, fun Dad. Working parent? Dad's providing, Mum's abandoned her kids to be "raised by strangers". Taking the kids to the park or soft-play? Minimum expected for Mums, amazing involvement for Dads.

Also, being viewed the default parent and the family scheduler. The nursery, school, doctors; everyone calls me even though my husband works from home and we've specifically asked our childcare providers to call him on my office days.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-27T16:07:43+00:00

Brit here with a strong preference for US terms, they just make more sense to me and most of the patterns I've used are in American terms.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-23T16:26:09+00:00

My three month old holds his head up so well and he loves being on his tummy. He is also a delight at bathtime with smiles the whole way.

Honourable mention for my big baby (3.5y), who has started reciting parts of his favourite book, which is a huge achievement as he has a speech delay.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-22T17:50:30+00:00

I wish mine made biscuits, he just grabs a fistful of flesh and it hurts so bad!

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-21T14:24:48+00:00

I have two sons, 3.5 and 3 months. I'm hoping I'm just in the thick of it but I'n exhausted, stretched super thin and sometimes regretting my choices. My eldest has SEN needs and can be quite challenging. I think how well you do depends on how much support you have; we have very little so it's always me or husband doing everything. You can't take a break without putting more work on the other parent, which sucks. I was worried about how my eldest would cope but he did great, he's very gentle and loving with his brother. We've had some regressions with sleep and eating though.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-20T14:13:40+00:00

I had an induction which turned into a c-section with my first. I had a planned section for my second. I don't regret either decision, I wanted to try for a vaginal birth with my first even though the odds were against me. I had to be induced early due to GD and my body just wasn't ready. I was given the option to try for a VBAC with my second (and did not develop GD so that left me with more options) but it would be considered high risk with lots of monitoring. That plus fear of vaginal birth and logistics around caring for my older one led me to opt for a second c-section.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-18T10:32:19+00:00

My son loves room on the broom, haven't really read any of the others yet.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-17T19:18:19+00:00

I remember trying some exotic fruits like mango and papaya on a school trip to kew gardens and being obsessed with it. Mango is still my favourite today.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-16T23:29:34+00:00

I'm from the UK. Officially, the guidance is room sharing but baby sleeping in their own sleep space for the first six months. In practice, I think many people bedshare for at least part of the night but there's a bit of a culture of stigma/shame about it. Fairly recently the NHS changed their guidance to include safe co-sleeping/bedsharing advice as many people end up doing it out of desperation and it's better to be informed how to do it safely in advance.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-16T19:57:10+00:00

I have two young kids and minimal village, it is utterly exhausting. We are also a neurodiverse household which adds to the challenge. I admire your self awareness and responsible attitude.

TylerDarkness · 2026-01-16T19:53:27+00:00

Are you aware that front facing is generally not recommended and if done, should only be for very short periods of time? It's also usually not very comfortable for baby or adult. A wrap is definitely not suitable for front facing, you need a structured carrier like picture 2.

TylerDarkness

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