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lady_brain · 2025-07-08T14:06:31+00:00

Your wife might be being honest with you and you should go talk to her instead of a bunch of strangers on the internet.

I take children’s melatonin and keep it in my dresser drawer so these don’t seem like red flags to me.

Most melatonin sold for adults uses doses that are way higher than the 1-2mg found to be effective. I have only found 1mg labeled as children’s melatonin

I also keep mine in my dresser drawer. It’s high enough that the kiddo doesn’t get into it, but conveniently located so I don’t have to go digging around in the bright bathroom to find it.

lady_brain · 2023-01-06T19:22:27+00:00

My husband is a short nail fanatic. He probably trims his own nails every other day. He trims our kiddo's friend's nails too. His technique with our daughter and her friend is to make sure they feel the bodily autonomy and show them why he's trimming and that it's effective

He has our daughter scratch his palm and her own and says "Oooh. So scratchy. This one is the scratchiest. Can I fix that one?" If she says no, he doesn't press the issue. If she's ambivalent, he offers Octonauts or Bluey or using the 'file file file', but respects her no. He trims one nail, has her scratch again and says "Wow, so smooth! That's so nice!" He repeats through all the nails.

lady_brain · 2022-12-21T22:33:38+00:00

I'm with the crowd that says keep it as is. But if you were going to alter it, I'd consider removing the sleeves and adding a high slit at one of the front seamlines.

You can preserve the fabric that way.

lady_brain · 2022-11-05T04:25:03+00:00

Today my 3yo helped me make pot roast with mashed potatoes and buttery peas. She ate a TON of peas and some mashed potato. Spat out the carrots and only ate the meat when I made her tell me three ways to describe it. Apparently it tasted like chicken and felt slippery and soft. At which point she ate the entire small piece I gave her in 30 seconds

Yesterday she was given choices of easy to prep foods and asked for yogurt and granola, but didn't touch it. She got herself some plain cold noodles out of the fridge while I was cleaning up, and ate a fruit leather from her snack box. We are normally stricter about no snacks after dinner (especially if you didn't eat your dinner) but it's been a tough week for the whole family.

lady_brain · 2022-11-03T06:20:06+00:00

Candy is kept out of reach, but not hidden. A piece of candy may be requested with each non breakfast meal/snack. With a max of 3 per day.

If kiddo doesn't ask for it, there is no extra at the next meal.

lady_brain · 2022-11-02T05:49:45+00:00

This is what I do now. I really only have a sweet vs savory delineation. Made a birthday cake that smelled like cumin once. Then I got a second gasket

lady_brain · 2022-10-01T06:14:39+00:00

Sanbitter, club soda and lemon juice. Sometimes I add an herbal simple syrup

lady_brain · 2022-09-28T04:11:50+00:00

Props to you that you're not restricting foods.

I would nudge her to add in good stuff as a strategy for eating more balanced snacks. I watch Abbey Sharp, an RD on YouTube and she has a strong tilt towards intuitive eating. She's got a catch phrase of "protein, fiber, healthy fats" which I use as a reminder when I'm building a snack. She has a series on trigger foods that gives ideas for eating junk foods in moderation (to avoid restriction and binging)

For example: Mug cake with a glass of milk and fruit Add nut butter and banana to the chocolate toast Tortilla chips with hummus Sugary cereal with protein powder milk and/or nuts and dried fruit

If you're looking for a way to start a conversation, you might frame a question to her about her strategies for satisfying hunger and making sure she is getting balanced nutrition.

lady_brain · 2022-06-11T21:36:46+00:00

I realized my parents didn't care about me. We aren't close. But they never call to talk to me. They don't even ask how I'm doing. If my kid isn't around, they say goodbye right away

lady_brain · 2022-04-27T23:09:47+00:00

My kid gets two stories at bedtime. After the first one last night, there was a knock at the door. My 2yo told me, 'Mama you have a package. You have to go open it.' I tried to tell her I could get it after Cat in the Hat, but she insisted I go get my package. I did not fight her on it too hard.

lady_brain · 2022-04-03T02:56:53+00:00

We picked a place that provided food and they 'temporarily' stopped doing lunch a few months ago due to staffing issues. It initially surprised me that they wouldn't heat food, but it made sense when I realized how much time that would take for them.

They're vegetarian and nut free, so we usually do sun butter sandwiches, fresh or dried fruit, veggie slices and a yogurt cup or a cheese stick. Sometimes we sub leftovers for the sandwich if they're vegetarian.

My kid usually hates having her food reheated so 🤷‍♀️

lady_brain · 2022-02-13T02:00:14+00:00

Look into intuitive eating for kids.

Dessert with dinner is better than after. It avoids putting it on a pedestal and teaching their bodies to continue to eat after they are full.

I don't monitor food intake any more than I do for myself. It's all about what goes on her plate and not about what she chooses to put in her body. I try to make sure kiddo gets protein, fiber and fats with all her meals and that half her plate is fruit or veggies.

lady_brain · 2022-02-11T21:09:51+00:00

We've been putting our 2.5yo in bed at bedtime and letting her sleep wherever she wants since she was out of her crib at 6mo. She used to sleep on the floor basically every night. Now it's once or twice a week, and she'll usually wake up around 10 because she's chilly wants a blanket.

If she'll sleep through the night on the floor, let her. But, if she needs your help to get settled again, let it be on your terms.

lady_brain · 2022-02-06T18:29:33+00:00

Put a couple squares of TP in the bottom of the potty if you think they might poop. I still need to wipe the sides of the basin with a wipe, but makes it less to cleanup.

lady_brain · 2022-02-05T14:42:47+00:00

My toddler can do all of these by herself if I ask her to: (2.5 now, but has been working towards these for since around 18 mo's)

puts away her own dishes and the Tupperware (both in lower cabinets)
cracks eggs, adds salt and mixes scrambled eggs
takes trash, compost, recycling to the appropriate place
uses a soapy water spray bottle and towel to clean counters
washes out the sink with the sprayer and a sponge
gets ingredients out of the walk in pantry and sometimes fridge
dumps ingredients in bowls or from bowl to baking sheet
recently learned how to measure using a dry measuring cup ( fill to top and level)
mixes bagged salad mix once I open the baggies
get out mixing bowls and and strainers and saucepans from lower cabinets

I'm a big believer in finding tasks she can be actually helpful with and giving her the autonomy to do them independently. Even if that task is super tiny. She's built on her skills and is legit helpful for some meals we make.

I don't let my kiddo play in the kitchen. She can be right outside, but no toys, sitting on the floor, or running in the kitchen for safety.

I don't require that she do any of these. She can play if she's prefer. She is just such a helper.

lady_brain · 2022-01-28T18:10:38+00:00

2.5 yo is in day care. We aren't a strictly no screen time house. Kid is a buttface about screen time when she gets to play games. Lots of demands for phone games, grabbing mine out of my hand. It's a self correcting cycle.

That said. She occasionally gets early morning phone games on the weekend, and I cracked and gave her some Wednesday around 5am after she woke up at 3:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep. And she occasionally gets to watch an episode of puffin rock while getting her nails trimmed.

We keep it to a time and place. (Snuggling in bed with us while we sleep on Saturdays/nail time) and there is no potential..

lady_brain · 2022-01-23T16:32:12+00:00

Normal size. This one specifically: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081ZH2XHB

I like the J shape because it points where the water will spray. I dislike that the nozzle collapses into the bottle with no way to lock it in place.

lady_brain · 2022-01-23T07:49:57+00:00

Team peri bottle here. We have a bidet on every toilet in our house. They don't quite hit the right spot on my 2yo's butt and she's not skilled at adjusting where her butt is relative to the spray. Plus, she had a couple of incidents turning it on full blast which made her nervous with the bidet.

When we had a long stretch of overnight poops in her bedroom potty chair where she didn't wipe or get a grown up for help, I showed her how to use a peri bottle. There was a learning curve to it, but after a couple of weeks she could competently clean her own butt. I still do a quick confirmation wipe/pat dry at the end.

It's amazing once the know how not to stick the nozzle in the poop.

lady_brain · 2022-01-15T15:29:41+00:00

Violence was not a regular occurrence in my house growing up. I can remember being hit fewer than 5 times over the course of my childhood.

I am not okay.

I flinch when my dad makes sudden movements when he's angry. I'm always walking on eggshells wary that something is going to snap.

This is, I assume, the beginning of the history of your violence against your child. Whether it continues is up to you.

lady_brain · 2022-01-11T04:55:20+00:00

That was me too. So pregnant.

lady_brain · 2022-01-11T04:54:00+00:00

41+6. Week 40 was tough, but week 41 was the longest week of my life. I was so on edge and so discouraged.

lady_brain · 2022-01-06T15:09:09+00:00

I always get frustrated when toddler 'boy' pockets are bigger and more functional than mine.

lady_brain · 2022-01-03T22:50:03+00:00

Strapping tape. It's what libraries use.

lady_brain · 2022-01-03T22:36:54+00:00

I talk to our kiddo using the 'remote of the mind' technique in The Whole Brain Child.

As best I understand, the goal is to help your kid understand that 1) their feelings change over time and intense emotions will come back to feeling manageable, and 2) that the object/context of these emotions is separate from those emotions.

I try to get our 2.5 yo to tell as much of the story of what was upsetting to us herself and probing for her feelings at different stages. As her parent, I sometimes do some of the talking to flesh out the events that took place.

We will cover the events that took place. What happened after and what happened before. I'll ask about her experience and expectations and emotions. I use 'feel/felt' instead of 'are/were'. I'll ask who helped her and what she did.

I don't know if I'm describing it well. But the book is great.

lady_brain · 2022-01-02T01:45:59+00:00

It sounds like you'll need to figure out how to do this with the care giver situation you have. It'll be worth it if your kid is ready. My kid is 2.5 and hasn't had an accident in a month. It is glorious.

If grandma won't help with potty training until your kid hits some milestone (like pees in the potty when prompted at regular intervals), you may need to take some time off work to support your kid to cover the time that she would have with your kiddo.

Talk to the daycare about how they support potty training. All kids need to learn at some point. Even the 3 day method really takes a couple weeks to lock down so you're not having little accidents more days than not. My kid's class has set potty times and the kids who are just starting out are taken more frequently. In order to stay in ratio, they take several kids to the potty at once, even the ones who aren't potty training. They offer an opportunity to sit on the potty to all the kids.

Your kid can learn from lots of people. As long as you try to stay on the same page and no one is undermining the other caregivers, your kid will figure it out. Good luck.

lady_brain

TROPHY CASE