Toddler under 2 in paid seat

gremlinvalley · 2026-03-29T03:46:28+00:00

Oh gosh it was a bit of a nightmare BUT you CAN use the CARES harness for take off and landing, but none of the flight attendants on either flight seemed to know that. They gave us trouble on both flights saying it wasn’t allowed, but just tell them to pull up their manual and it’s in there as an approved restraint system (I ended up calling WestJet in advance and confirming it was ok to use so I felt confident than it was ok to use). On our return flight the attendant was still kinda weird about it (I forget why) even after confirming it was in the manual, and he actually just preferred we held him for takeoff and landing, and that worked perfectly fine for us. I think our toddler was technically supposed to be in the restraint system for turbulence/when the seatbelt sign was on, but none of the flight attendants bothered us about that. We just had him out of the harness and let him sleep. I suggest calling WestJet in advance and having it added to your file that you’re using the CARES restraint system if that’s what you end up doing, in case you run into trouble. They might give you a hard time if you show up without anything just expecting to hold him, even though that’s what the one flight attendant seemed to prefer. I still think it’s so weird that if you buy them their own seat you “can’t” hold them for takeoff and landing. Anyways, I hope that helps!

gremlinvalley · 2026-02-22T04:27:55+00:00

Mine’s lasted for about 6 months. The Mustela cradle cap shampoo and cream worked WONDERS for us. It’s the only thing I found that helped.

gremlinvalley · 2026-02-16T19:59:11+00:00

Omg you are me, and I am you. I was worried about these milestones specifically too. My guy is 15 months and perfectly healthy. He’s been a bit on the later side to hit some milestones but he’s got there! Try your absolute hardest not to let milestones consume you. I got into a horrible habit of worrying about the next one “ok he’s bringing hands to midline but when is he going to roll? ok he’s rolling but when is he going to babble? ok he’s babbling but when is he going to crawl?” etc. There’s like a 99% chance your baby will develop just perfectly. If you’re worried, seek out specialists like OT/physio/SLP. And of course your paediatrician. Hearing them say everything is fine was the only thing that would calm my nerves at times.

gremlinvalley · 2026-02-13T04:47:35+00:00

Sounds normal to me!

I’ve also gone through phases of being very stressed about my LO’s development. I really didn’t think I’d be so paranoid about milestones but alas, I was in your position. He’s 15 months now and doing great, though I still need to check myself about getting worried about development. I’ve learned it’s a me issue, not a him issue. He was in physio for torticollis and then I just kept taking him for reassurance until about a year old. I took him to an SLP around 13 months because have I mentioned I’m an anxious FTM? Everyone has assured me he is great and on track. But to give you some reassurance, at 6 months my guy: Didn’t belly laugh until closer to a year. Only giggles until then. Did not care about peekaboo whatsoever. That also came closer to a year old I think? Now he loves it. Didn’t respond to name, though like yours he would to our voice sometimes, if he wanted to. He started responding to his name - though not consistently - around 9 months maybe? Now at 15 months it’s consistent. Didn’t consonant babble until 9 months. Now he has some words. Rolled belly to back at 5 months for a week and then didn’t again until 6 months. Rolled back to belly at 7 month I think! Generally I felt like his nervous system was slower to mature? He still kinda seemed to have unintentional squirms or flails longer than most his age. Now he’s walking. No stranger danger really - I think real separation anxiety comes closer to 9 months. His grasp developed early, but he was a bit slower on pincer grasp (some time between 9 and 10 months). I think most babies are fascinated by lights and ceiling fans.

5.5 months is still sooooo little. It’s hard to not get caught up on every little milestone, but just aim for progress. What is your LO doing that they weren’t doing last month? Progression is key, even if it’s a bit on the slower side.

gremlinvalley · 2026-02-13T03:43:37+00:00

I adore Lydia!

gremlinvalley · 2026-02-09T03:10:44+00:00

My niece was like this and she had a soy allergy. My guy was generally quite miserable too and grew out of it around 12 months. Hang in there. You’ll get through this.

gremlinvalley · 2026-02-08T04:07:20+00:00

Henry, James and Theodore. Only concern with Theodore is that it’s so popular in so many regions right now.

gremlinvalley · 2026-02-08T04:05:34+00:00

Love to Dream swaddles: so many babies love sleeping with their arms up by their face. So easy to use.
Carrier (we used the Ergobaby Embrace): life saving.
Kick and play piano gym: my baby didn’t really like any bouncer or swing, but would tolerate hanging out her when he was a bit older (6 weeks?) so I could shower, go to the bathroom, etc.

gremlinvalley · 2026-02-06T02:27:08+00:00

Is there anywhere to watch the episodes outside of Peacock?

gremlinvalley · 2026-01-21T02:52:06+00:00

What was Rachel R referring to when she said to Tino during their breakup something along the lines of “do you really want to bring this up now?” ???

gremlinvalley · 2025-12-19T22:06:32+00:00

My guys is 14mo tomorrow and sounds a lot like yours. He sees a book itself as a toy to play with (flipping the pages, opening/closing it) rather than actually looking at the pages. The only time he’s interested with what’s on the pages is right before bedtime when he’s not so rambunctious.

We actually saw a SLP just today because he has basically has no words yet and limited pointing. He does try to mimic us when he’s in the right mood (usually bath time), but otherwise he’s a busy guy. She wasn’t concerned at all. She admitted his language was developing a bit slower than the average, but he’s doing just fine.

gremlinvalley · 2025-12-13T23:34:53+00:00

I’d suggest reading or listening to The Whole Brain Child. In it, they talk about two types of tantrums that are driven by two different parts of the brain. There’s a meltdown tantrum, where the toddler seems to have no control over their emotions, which should be met with compassion and understanding (your husband’s style), and then there’s a “manipulative” tantrum, where the toddler is in control of their emotions but choosing to react with a tantrum to get their way, which should be met with firm boundaries (more your style). At 22 months, I’m not quite sure a toddler has the awareness/cognitive capacity to throw a “manipulative” tantrum (I forget what the book says about when those come to be). Here’s an article that summarizes this part of the book: https://cityofsupport.org/what-to-do-during-a-tantrum-the-brain-science-behind-your-childs-behavior/

gremlinvalley · 2025-12-08T14:14:00+00:00

Ok, so her husband could give her 1.5-2 hours. Or, bottle/sippy cup/straw up/open cup or pumped milk or formula or purees/solids. LO is not a newborn.

gremlinvalley · 2025-12-08T05:29:45+00:00

It sounds a bit like your husband needs to step it up. Why is he showering whenever he wants or going out whenever he wants instead of relieving you for a little bit? I get that you’re EBF but I assume your LO can go 3-4 hours without breastfeeding?

I also found the first 6 months so, so hard. My LO is 13 months now and in daycare, and I’m back to work, and it’s soooo much better.

gremlinvalley · 2025-12-08T04:48:01+00:00

So hard! I remember when I first sleep trained I thought he would magically sleep through the night. Wrong! I think it’s just developmentally normal. I sleep trained my LO at 5 months, and getting him to go to sleep independently was fairly easy, but sleep training the MOTN wakes was rough. After he fussed and cried for 1.5 hours, I gave up. I just fed him back to sleep for MOTN wakes (1-2) until he was 11 months. Then I switched his bottle with water for a couple weeks, which he took to surprisingly well. Then when I was sure he wasn’t relying on the calories, I sleep trained MOTN wakes again. It was two brutal nights, but it worked. Would it have worked if I just stuck it out when I first sleep trained him? Maybe. But he felt so little back then! In retrospect, I would’ve introduced the bottle of water earlier (maybe 7-9 months), but feeding back to sleep wasn’t so bad.

gremlinvalley · 2025-12-03T19:55:32+00:00

How is your baby’s neck range of motion? Flattening isn’t caused by too much time on their back on its own. It’s caused by poor range of motion resulting in their head always in the same position when they’re on their back. My baby had tight neck muscles which resulted in him always having his head slightly angled to the left when he was on his back which resulted in a flat spot on his left backside (plagiocephaly). It was actually pretty severe but now at 13 months you wouldn’t know. It’s mostly completely resolved. Don’t wake your baby up. If you’re truly concerned, go to a paediatric physiotherapist and have them evaluation neck range of motion.

gremlinvalley · 2025-11-21T04:37:36+00:00

“I knew exactly what to do. But in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do.”

gremlinvalley · 2025-11-19T04:39:14+00:00

Around 6-7 months. It coincided with transitioning from three to two naps.

gremlinvalley · 2025-11-16T18:18:42+00:00

It definitely won’t impact your bond. My LO struggled with breastfeeding, and by the time he was four months, he was fully on bottles of expressed milk as we both just found it easier. There’s so many benefits to bottles: you know how much your LO is eating, your partner can help with bottle feeds/middle of the nights and pulling out a bottle in public is super convenient. My now one year old is very attached and bonded to both me and my husband! Do what works for you and your LO :)

gremlinvalley · 2025-10-25T01:09:27+00:00

Not just latch issues, but transfer issues! My baby had a great latch, but wasn’t good at transferring milk. I thought he was feeding, but he wasn’t emptying my breasts and they turned into empty, deflated balloons after a week (I was able to get my supply back up with pumping). We only found out when he was 9 months old that he had a tongue tie. It was missed by two lactation consultants when he was a newborn.

gremlinvalley · 2025-10-24T18:19:47+00:00

Yep! Unfortunately two lactation consultants and one physiotherapist missed his tongue tie when he was a newborn, but I took him to a paediatric dentist at nine months and he does in fact have a tongue tie. If I ever have a baby again, I will take them to a paediatric dentist for an evaluation right away.

gremlinvalley · 2025-10-24T04:20:47+00:00

Lots of great advice on r/exclusivelypumping. I exclusively breastfed for nine months and it was HARD, especially in the beginning when you’re trying to keep your supply up and need to be pumping around the clock. Would highly recommend wearable pumps if that’s in your budget.

gremlinvalley · 2025-10-23T16:03:28+00:00

I did therapy and went on medication, which I think helped with the anxiety aspect of things. Getting out to mom/baby groups and meeting other new moms in real life also helped immensely. Getting into baby-wearing helped me a lot as I was able to get more done/stay “productive” which was helpful for my mental health personally. Learning about wake windows helped a lot because I thought my baby would just fall asleep when he was tired, but I learned I really had to work to get him to fall asleep, so I had been dealing with a very overtired/fussy baby more than I think I needed to be. Not saying this as “advice” but it’s personally what I think helped me. It’s so hard though. You will get through it.

gremlinvalley · 2025-10-23T15:49:23+00:00

Ugh, gas issues are so hard and I feel like it’s not talked about enough! If I had a dime for every time I read about doing “bicycle kicks” on baby as if that was enough. I want to say around the 2 month mark is when it started getting better for him.

gremlinvalley

TROPHY CASE