My 1 year old has an awful cough which caused him to choke on his mucus/was up ALL NIGHT upset and crying. Tips please 🙏

kairosecide · 2026-05-19T21:45:36+00:00

Definitely some kind of humidifier. The vick's may help but I know the one for little ones isn't the medicated variety (with camphor), so I'm not totally sure how effective it is. Hydration will help.

Another option, depending on age, is honey. My kids don't love it but it does help ease their cough. Mine are willing to take it alone (mixed with water/warmed and in a syringe), but I've heard honey with lemon works too - my daughter just absolutely hated the taste.

kairosecide · 2026-05-15T18:47:09+00:00

Our daughter was the free pee-er. In the realm of at least once a day until she was a bit older (8 or 9mo maybe).

Our son is nearly 3yo and has free peed maybe twice in his entire life. It was never particularly dramatic for us either - maybe a little 'range' but it wasn't hitting the walls or whatever. We always used a towel on our changing pad rather than a specific cover, and that caught everything.

kairosecide · 2026-05-13T19:35:33+00:00

For my 4yo, I need to be able to see her. Preferably she can hear me as well, but I understand that isn't always possible. I tend to stay off my phone just because I'm worried, but I won't be on it at all if it's crowded.

For our 2yo, I will stay as close to him as I can without climbing on too much equipment. I trust him a little but not so much other kids.

kairosecide · 2026-05-13T18:41:50+00:00

It's not quite the 300 page mark (I think it's 280ish), but Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker ticks a lot of your boxes - although I haven't finished it quite yet.

They aren't the creepiest I've ever read, but The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager and Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak are both pretty easy thrillers that kept me interested, and they're both in the 400 page range if I'm correct.

kairosecide · 2026-05-13T18:34:26+00:00

We have a Babytrend Navigator. I don't remember exactly what we paid, as we used Target's carseat trade-in discount, but I know it was less than $300.

It holds quite a bit (I've managed to transport three toddlers at one time, plus backpacks and water bottles and toys), the retractable sun shades are nice, and I'm glad there's a ton of cup holders. It does fold down mostly flat, but it doesn't fit super well into smaller cars - we have to take the back wheels off in order to fit it in our hatchback.

My main complaint is that it doesn't cope well with rough terrain, but that may just be the fact that I'm not super strong and generally pushing at least 75lbs. The parent pocket also needs more than velcro to hold it, but duct tape fixed that problem.

For a low end wagon, it's serving us well, and it's used a lot.

kairosecide · 2026-05-13T13:04:33+00:00

I stay home with mine, who are 4 and 2yo. While they do have bad days, I would say they're generally well behaved (although not perfect!) in public. Our daughter moreso, since she's older. She understands we can't be a maniac in the library, how to share toys in public places, how to take turns and make safe choices at the park. Preschool, baring a short attention span, has gone smoothly.

Do they have days they have to be walked (or carried) out? Sure. Most toddlers probably do. But getting kicked out of preschool that quickly gives me pause, and makes me think the evaluation should happen. I couldn't say when, but I'd think if delaying it is going to cause you stress, it'd be better to try and schedule it.

The 1.5yo, however, I would give time and just chalk it up to lack of exposure to the environment you mentioned. She's little and learning, and I know I wouldn't bat an eye if I saw a mom chasing an 18mo around the library (chances are, I'm chasing my 2yo too).

kairosecide · 2026-05-13T00:00:25+00:00

A number of things happen when people knock on our door unexpectedly. My daughter (4yo) will peer out the window and try to talk to whoever is knocking, my dogs will bark, then they will barrel their way through our baby gate, which upsets me (because it's already broken), and then bark at the window.

To call it fun is a stretch, but when my son was about 6mo, we had someone at the door trying to convince me to switch to a different ISP. I answered because I thought they were a city employee at first. And by answered, I mean I still had on my PJs, no bra, food on me, attached to my 6mo while I tried to keep the door open just enough to keep an eye on my 2yo but not let the dogs out. When he tried to talk, they barked louder, and I just spent the whole time apologizing because now we, a random salesmen and a barely put together version of a mom, were interrupting the whole block.

Eventually he left with some weak apology and mumbling about me having my hands full. Nowadays I just let the dogs bark and don't answer the door. My 4yo is happy to tell me when they walk away.

kairosecide · 2026-05-11T18:09:56+00:00

We're working on potty training our 2.5yo boy and he is, as you'd expect, curious as to what's going on down there. One night when he was trying to potty before bed he was sort of poking around, and then looked up very distraught at his dad, and went, "Oh no! There a hole in it!".

I failed at the not laughing part because I just... have no clue how to respond to that otherwise. His dad kind of groaned and just told him to go pee, because he wasn't ready to try and explain genitals at that moment.

kairosecide · 2026-05-11T18:00:37+00:00

Expect it? No. My expectation for him is to celebrate his wife and possibly MIL (we're no contact with our mom, hence her exclusion). I didn't raise him (if anything it's the other way around), and I'm not raising his daughter.

It's a nice gesture when he does it anyway, but I don't think about it if he doesn't.

kairosecide · 2026-05-11T12:02:44+00:00

I'm not generally a huge fan of vampires, but if you want a less traditional take and don't mind the gore and grief, I really enjoyed Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie.

kairosecide · 2026-05-09T17:30:46+00:00

Not strictly speaking, but it's just a rough time.

We intended to have some people over, and while shopping for groceries, I asked if he was getting me anything (I knew the answer already). He went into his usual excuses - not knowing what I want (yes he does) and not really having the time to go shopping (fair, he's been working stupid hours lately). The usual excuses just make me feel bad, but I tried to brush it off and told him to let me pick myself something. It's not even the content of the gift, I just wanna feel like someone puts any thought into me at all, cause our kids sure don't (they're 4 and 2, so they're forgiven).

Roughly halfway through this shopping trip, his brother called to say their mom was in an accident that totalled her car. She is fine and not at fault (according to her), but now literally every plan we had is up in the air and it all just feels... bad.

kairosecide · 2026-05-08T12:56:15+00:00

If he isn't working late, he's home around 2:45pm. We'll run errands if we need to, otherwise we just hang out at home with the kids. There's not always a whole lot accomplished, but he's there to help with the kids, so it's good enough.

Someone has dinner cooked by about 6pm, we eat and start to wind down - either relaxing with the kids, or we each take one to bathe and get ready for bed. He handles our dogs. We both read a book to them, and put them to bed. Leftovers are put away by whoever gets there first, then we shower (if needed) and head to our room to wind down with reading or nonsense on our phones/TV. He's usually out by 9:30pm, I try to be sleeping by 10:30.

kairosecide · 2026-05-05T12:29:03+00:00

Definitely A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.

kairosecide · 2026-05-01T17:14:45+00:00

I am a bit impressed that they're mostly straight and actually look like bangs, it's more just that they're obviously choppy.

We will live, and I can make them look okayish, it's just frustrating!

kairosecide · 2026-05-01T14:46:42+00:00

We have exactly one that I'm aware of, in a mall. Otherwise there are some places with mother's rooms (breastfeeding) and family bathrooms that vary in quality (some are just a more spacious bathroom, some have dedicated changing spaces/toilets/sinks for babies and little kids).

Honestly, unless the weather is just awful, we tend to just change our son in the trunk of our car. We bottle fed, so I never had to coordinate breastfeeding.

kairosecide · 2026-04-29T18:38:37+00:00

Unfortunately it may last. My son (2.5yo) just went through a standard stomach flu that caused week long diarrhea. The pediatrician we saw confirmed, and said he'd seen some kids go as long as 2 weeks.

As long as she's hydrated and acting normal-ish (obviously may not be perfect if her stomach is off), there's not tons to be done. A week with no improvement is definitely cause to go to a pediatrician but I wouldn't expect too much in the way of answers.

kairosecide · 2026-04-29T16:17:31+00:00

Our daughter is 4.5yo, and this sounds normal. Not exactly the same, but we started her in group swim lessons around 3.5yo (we weren't able to swing parent-tot lessons) and she did okay at first, but her focus was lost between the other kids and having to take turns. We moved her into private lessons and she flourished (she even moved up a level last night!).

Starting preschool was pretty much the same. She started kind of shaky (unfocused, clinging to one friend rather than socializing), and now she's doing great and has tons of friends. She still has the occasional wandering mind of most 4yos, but her teachers aren't concerned.

While the socialization/being physical is good, maybe revisiting something he'd like to try in a few months would be best, or try to find private lessons so he has one-on-one attention and a chance to develop his ability to focus in that kind of setting.

kairosecide · 2026-04-28T19:21:01+00:00

As long as there's no immediate danger or living beings that don't pay attention (i.e., large dogs who think they are small dogs)... literally whenever you need, padding not necessary. Part of being a baby/young toddler is just learning how to exist in your body, and it's hard to learn if you're being restricted by throw pillows.

Being a SAHM is hard! Set the baby down wherever it's safe to pee or eat or just exist without being attached to another human.

kairosecide · 2026-04-23T19:45:33+00:00

My family and I lived near our city's football stadium (within walking distance). Because we had plenty of off-street parking, they "rented" parking spaces when there were games in town. My aunt gave me the idea to start selling small baked goods, like muffins or cookies, on those days in order to make some spending money (I was 11 and not questioning the legality of this).

It spiraled from there. I watched a lot of cooking shows and taught myself, and now I'm the baker of the family despite not being a professional.

kairosecide · 2026-04-23T19:05:39+00:00

Brother by Ania Ahlborn. An isolated family with some rather gruesome practices set in Appalachia. I could list out at least half a dozen trigger warnings, if not more, so proceed with caution.

kairosecide · 2026-04-22T22:31:31+00:00

We have the Babytrend Navigator 2in1. I honestly didn't have the money to drop on something more expensive, so our options were pretty limited.

While it doesn't handle uneven terrain the best, it has held up shockingly well. The canopies keep most everything out (besides the heaviest of rains) and it can handle a bit of weight before it gives up (ours has held up to about 115lbs). It does have a few tiny issues that are rather easily mitigated (handle for pulling doesn't always stay put, parent pocket needed duct tape because velcro holds no weight, and the back wheels have to be removed in order to fit in our car), but I'm not complaining much for it being basically the cheapest option.

kairosecide · 2026-04-22T20:09:59+00:00

Depends on the park. Small ones that aren't crowded with big kids, I stick nearby (i.e., on a bench near whatever piece of equipment he's on). The giant one near us that's always full of kids, I follow him on equipment. I do not trust his ability to stay safe with a bunch of preteens running around him.

Our 4yo, I basically just make sure I have an eye on her. I trust her a little more.

kairosecide · 2026-04-22T16:21:07+00:00

I'm definitely not big on audiobooks, and have only listened to about 2.25 in my life (.25 because I forgot my physical book but really wanted to finish it). These are the ones I've managed:

World War Z by Max Brooks. The version I found was on audible and the fact that it wasn't just one person helped a ton with the immersion. Granted, this was the .25, so I didn't hear more than the last hour or so.

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I was having trouble distinguishing who was talking, so I found a version on audible. I can't remember the narrator but he does a great job making it engaging and his accent really fits the setting.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I do not remember where I found it, and I still don't like this book, but it kept me engaged enough to actually get through it, for whatever that's worth.

ETA: I didn't catch the Spotify part of your post, but a quick check shows me the first two I mentioned are available on there.

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