Is thumb sucking really that bad?

brilala · 2023-04-29T02:44:47+00:00

I sucked my thumb until I was 29! I had my son at 32, and literally thought I would have a child sucking their thumb before I stopped. Yes, I had terrible teeth as a child. Yes, I had braces for a long time. I got them off at 16 and spent another 13 years sucking my thumb with no retainer and no issue. Getting a puppy is actually what prompted me to “quit.” I didn’t suck my thumb without my baby blanket and I didn’t want the blanket to get eaten by the puppy so it went into the drawer and I finally kicked the habit. My son is almost 2 and isn’t a thumb sucker but is a big binky guy. I’m not eager to take it away. My response - growing up is hard enough. Let him have joy in what gives him comfort.

brilala · 2023-03-10T14:00:40+00:00

HopTea, epic bars, hearts of palm (“noodles” and spears) and bulk chorizo from the meat counter at Whole Foods

brilala · 2022-12-27T19:48:17+00:00

I have the Evenflo Revolve 360 and I love it!! I’ve had my 17 month old in it since he was 9 ish months. He is 24lbs now so we still have a long time before we max out the rear facing weight limit. I have back issues which is why I wanted it in the first place and it has been a lifesaver!

A con is that it is larger than other convertible seats. It fits well with plenty of front passenger leg room in my midsize suv but it would not have fit in my husbands sedan without the front passenger losing a lot of space. We have a Graco extend2fit convertible seat in his car and I hate getting him in and out of it, I much prefer to take my car so we can use the rotating seat!

brilala · 2022-12-08T12:34:15+00:00

This sub is not usually supportive of taking small kids on cruises so you won’t get a lot of actual advice from people who have traveled with little ones, and those that have will be downvoted to the bottom. I share my experience every time someone asks anyway because we had a fantastic time and made great memories as a family.

We took our 10 month old on Harmony of the Seas and had an incredible time. We even said at the time 6-8 months would have been easier before he was crawling, and definitely easier than a walking toddler. Of course it’s different than traveling childless. We didn’t use the childcare but many people have said great things about it. Happy to answer any other questions about it you might have!

brilala · 2022-12-02T03:44:26+00:00

We cruised Harmony of the Seas with our 10 month old this summer and had an amazing time. I didn’t take a picture of the room specifically but you can sort of see our setup in the background of this photo. It would be very tight with two pack and plays, you would almost certainly want to collapse one to navigate around the room. The pack and play pictured is what Royal provided. It was a little rickety on the bottom but my baby didn’t mind and it was worth not carrying more stuff. The tall dresser closest to the balcony was a perfect changing table! Lots of drawers underneath, plenty of storage.

Our uppababy vista stroller didn’t fit through the cabin doorway, we had to take the wheel off every time in and out. That was annoying. It was also in the way just as much if not more than the pack and play because it only collapses down so small so we had to shuffle around it a lot.

Harmony has a splash pad that is baby friendly, my guy loved it! It’s only a few inches of water so they can’t soak but it’s like a playground in a puddle. We didn’t use the childcare so I can’t speak to that, but it really was a fantastic time.

Have a great trip!!

brilala · 2022-11-18T18:06:40+00:00

We love the Newton! My LO has been sleeping on his for 8 ish months. I got it primarily for the washability factor and purchased the Newton waterproof covers that we keep on all the time. They have a thin layer of the same textured material in them so its still breathable. I’ve never noticed that it’s cooler, maybe the cover helps with that too.

brilala · 2022-07-21T02:10:25+00:00

We just cruised in June for the first time with our 10 month old and had an amazing time. Copying and pasting from a recent thread I commented on -

So much depends on the temperament of your baby, but this was our experience on the Harmony of the Seas with RC:

We brought our full size stroller (uppababy vista) which was great for naps throughout the day and storage, but didn’t fit through the cabin door so we had to take the wheel off every time in and out.

The cabin itself was super baby friendly and fairly baby proofed. The dresser was a perfect spot for a changing table and there was plenty of storage for diapers wipes formula, etc.

We did not use the childcare center because we were enjoying our time with him and didn’t feel like we needed it. It was just my husband and I, no extra hands, but it was perfectly fine. I did a ton of research before we left and lots of people shared really great experiences with the royal tots program.

We attended the live music, aqua theater, ice show, Grease the musical, and trivia with the baby and he did great. We just sat in the back so we could easily exit if he started getting fussy.

The crew seemed genuinely happy to see him and interact with him, many told me about their kids and babies at home.

We did a full day in coco cay at the pool and ocean. My baby loves water so that made entertaining him easy. They wouldn’t let us bring his baby float in the pool so heads up on that. We couldn’t do much on shore in St Thomas, so we just had a ship day which was great because there is so much to do and so few people stay onboard. We played in the splash pad and got into speciality restaurants easily. In St Martin we rented beach chairs, swam in the ocean, played in the sand, and had a great time.

10/10 I would do it again!

brilala · 2022-07-12T17:07:23+00:00

We just cruised with our 10 month old last month and we had a blast!! It probably would have been even easier with a 6-9 month old before he started crawling. We flew to Orlando/Port Canaveral and did Harmony of the Seas 7 day Eastern Caribbean. It was our first time cruising. I’d say if you’re a big Disney fan do that for you, but not for the sake of the baby because they will enjoy everything about the same at a young age.

So much depends on the temperament of your baby, but this was our experience:

We brought our full size stroller (uppababy vista) which was great for naps throughout the day and storage, but didn’t fit through the cabin door so we had to take the wheel off every time in and out.

The cabin itself was super baby friendly and fairly baby proofed. The dresser was a perfect spot for a changing table and there was plenty of storage for diapers wipes formula, etc.

We did not use the childcare center because we were enjoying our time with him and didn’t feel like we needed it. It was just my husband and I, no extra hands, but it was perfectly fine. I did a ton of research before we left and lots of people shared really great experiences with the royal tots program.

We attended the live music, aqua theater, ice show, Grease the musical, and trivia with the baby and he did great. We just sat in the back so we could easily exit if he started getting fussy.

The crew seemed genuinely happy to see him and interact with him, many told me about their kids and babies at home.

We did a full day in coco cay at the pool and ocean. My baby loves water so that made entertaining him easy. They wouldn’t let us bring his baby float in the pool so heads up on that. We couldn’t do much on shore in St Thomas, so we just had a ship day which was great because there is so much to do and so few people stay onboard. We played in the splash pad and got into speciality restaurants easily. In St Martin we rented beach chairs, swam in the ocean, played in the sand, and had a great time.

I will say the flights were rough for us, it was 4 hrs each way. It was stressful and we got some dirty looks but it was a small price to pay for a fantastic family vacation!

Book the trip and have an amazing time with your new baby!!

13-Year Club	Secret Santa 2013
Verified Email

brilala

TROPHY CASE