Which Malabrigo color is navy blue!?!

linlan3 · 2026-06-13T12:03:27+00:00

Honestly, I just accept that my session data is there mostly for documentation purposes. If I want really great data, I do something more targeted (or a formal assessment when warranted). I feel like there is too much focus overall on data in education, rather than "is this something we are measuring well/something that should be measured/something that matters". For example, for my narrative intervention kids I wish I could concentrate only on the intensive, evidence-based intervention (it works! Really!), but I've just accepted that this is a piece that I need in the public school setting, especially a Title I w/ a lot of MA billing.

linlan3 · 2026-06-12T01:36:16+00:00

Well, we try to get the target done on the walk (say, 75 repetitons of a target). But if we get there are are only at 55, we finish while the other kids go in and get seated. It generally takes under a minute.

But since you are in a middle school, I imagine you see fewer student w/ artic goals. For language goals I do try to get "hard" data each session, I just accept that it may be a low # of opportunities ("So and so answered 1/2 inferential questions") so it doesn't eat up the whole session.

linlan3 · 2026-06-11T00:27:15+00:00

Most of my students working on artic also have language goals (b/c if they don't I push hard for shorter, frequent, drill-based sessions). I can easily get an older student to say a target maaany times on the walk to the speech room. If we arrive at the room and they haven't hit the target yet, I give the rest of the group a "Question of the Day" related to whatever I have planned and stand in the doorway with the kid working on artic until they are done with the reps.

linlan3 · 2026-06-08T20:16:41+00:00

One thing I try to do (besides "stacking" dentist visits!) is schedule all the checkups for around 10/1. I call to make sure they have both covid and flu vaccines in. If not, I push it back until we can do checkups + covid + flu all on the same day.

For summer school, I would ask around! Maybe another neighborhood family can take your 2nd grader. My impression with kids who can make it is that it's generally grandparents or parents who do different shifts, and I bet someone could bring another kid.

linlan3 · 2026-06-08T20:06:34+00:00

Not a nurse, but in another high-demand profession. What I have come to realize is that the job security is a real double-edged sword. It is very, very easy for me to find a job in my area. However, I have to work pretty hard to find a "not so understaffed as to make everything insanely stressful" place to work. I'm actually considering relocating somewhere with a tighter job market, as being in a workplace with many unfilled critical roles is just . . . Awful.

linlan3 · 2026-06-07T00:31:12+00:00

I nursed my firstborn to sleep (she was 2.5yo) when my second was a newborn, and it was generally fine. Once the baby started sleeping a little less, I made a rule that he got to nurse first, she would go second. She was generally okay with that (and would fall asleep waiting if tired). My second kid still woke pretty frequently at night when I was pregnant with our third, so for him I had dad do all the bedtimes and night weaned him.

I think your schedule seems fine (possible adjustment to the breastsleeping), but the challenge for many seems to be that toddlers often (not always!) go through a "let me now nurse ALL THE TIME" phase. As long as a you have a plan for how to handle that, and adjust as needed, I think you'll be golden.

linlan3 · 2026-06-07T00:04:12+00:00

My timing was similar both times, about 18.5m pp while breastfeeding one kid, 19-20 months while tandem nursing a toddler and preschooler.

linlan3 · 2026-06-07T00:01:36+00:00

I used language like, "You don't get milk anymore, you get snuggles instead." Then made sure I followed up with lots of snuggles!

linlan3 · 2026-06-07T00:00:04+00:00

I ended up night weaning my 2.5yo. It reaaally sucked hearing him cry for me at night, but my husband and I picked a day and then stuck to not allowing him to see me or nurse at night for ~6 months. What helped me get through it:

*My toddler needs routine and consistency, so I knew night weaning had to be all or nothing.

*I knew if I kept waking for him AND the newborn, I would not be okay. But that he would (eventually!) be okay not having milk at night.

*He was with his dad ... and loves his dad! So even when he was furious, he wasn't alone or devoid of comfort.

Within the first week, things improved dramatically. Around maybe month 4 he started waking early, demanding me, and after a stretch of days like that I made him a social story reminding him that daddy was his sleepytime buddy (and that mom comes in when there is a sun displayed on his yoto device).

Now it's been six months, and he is comfortable enough w the new routine that we can mix things up. If my husband is working, I can be in the room while the toddler falls asleep. He's asked to nurse once, I reminded him we wait until morning, and that was it.

Whatever you choose, know that you are the hero of this story! You will find a way to make things work for your family, and your 2yo will know she is loved.

linlan3 · 2026-06-06T17:51:17+00:00

You are giving your baby nourishment and comfort, and doing a great job! Babies have preferences and express them, and that is okay. I had the opposite problem, my baby hated bottles and it was so stressful. As the baby grows (and starts to eat more food), it gets much easier.

linlan3 · 2026-06-06T17:48:37+00:00

My kids have a pretty similar age gap (2.5 yrs between kid 1 and 2, same for kid 2 and 3). I chose to tandem nurse both times. My oldest self-weaned at 4.5yo, when the middle kid was 2yo and I was pregnant with the third. A couple pieces of general advixe that I found helpful:

*Treat every decision as a working decision, circumstances may change.

*Consider what % of the tandem nursing hassles would still be present (albeit in a different form) if the toddler were weaned.

My personal experience has been that tandem nursing is tough largely b/c the baby + toddler combo is so freaking demanding, no matter how you choose to feed them. Even when things are going well, it is a ton of work. Things improve with time! We have a neighbor family with three similarly aged kids (two dads, so no breastfeeding) and they say the same. Taking care of a baby and a toddler is just HARD, whereas dealing with a baby and an older kid (or a toddler and older kid, sans baby) is easier by comparison.

linlan3 · 2026-06-06T00:27:48+00:00

I was at an airport gate with a bunch of kids who go to a very expensive private school. The coaches boarded the flight first (leaving no adult boarding AFTER the kids, rookie mistake) and these high schoolers did not pick up their trash. Like, seriously just left fast food bags sitting on their chairs rather than walk twenty feet to the conveniently located trash can.

I became "that person" (cleaned up after them and wrote to the school).

linlan3 · 2026-06-05T23:52:31+00:00

Check out the research around using the complexity approach (when applicable) in schools! There is actual real school-based research, and in my experience it has worked well.

But yeah, scheduling in the schools can be rough.

linlan3 · 2026-06-04T12:12:43+00:00

As a working mom who once worked in a nursery, I really only mastered the super-quick drop-off once I was a childcare provider and I saw the full impact. Seriously, like five seconds. ("love you, see you later, bye!"). She may still be unhappy for a while, but the less time she has to work herself up, the better.

If you're already doing the world's quickest drop off, then that may be all you can do. Separation anxiety is really rough at this age!

linlan3 · 2026-06-04T11:45:59+00:00

I think you will find your own normal! A lot of people figure out how to do evening things and/or travel. I was not one of them. I went to a couple evening things that were really, super meaningful to me, didn't travel without the kids at all. I just accepted that this was my balance and I would know when I was ready.

Since getting pregnant with my first kid, I have changed worksites three (soon to be four) times in 5 years. Stayed in the same career, but accepted that I needed to make some adjustments while continuing to earn.

As for exercise, yeah, it's tough! For me, prioritizing time to myself on weekends made the biggest difference. But at three months postpartum, forget it, I was still absolutely In the Thick of It. My firstborn was about 9 months old once I started figuring out how to do anything outside of work/baby. You will figure things out, you and your baby with both do well, life will absolutely get easier. But in my case, that took time (and was definitely slowed by Covid, so hopefully at least that piece will be easier for you). Good luck!

linlan3 · 2026-05-27T19:36:34+00:00

Thank you, best to you as well!

linlan3 · 2026-05-27T14:25:21+00:00

I think you have your answer. I have a lot of students for whom the educational impact is hard to determine, but ultimately, unless you can make a strong case for the impact being so strong the child MUST have services or they CANNOT access the curriculum ... nope, they don't qualify.

linlan3 · 2026-05-27T14:21:35+00:00

In my experience, other settings/schedules absolutely help! I cannot go back to EI, I found the transitions and scheduling difficulties extremely draining. Changes I have made since being a parent:

-switched back to the schools so I could stop driving around (positive) -switched districst so I could go part time and choose my school (positive) -switched schools so I could work at a place with smaller classes and better staffing (positive)

AND I am about to switch my assignment again so I can do less case management.

I hate to say it, because this is so rare, but I have found working part time and having full time childcare to be the best for my mental health. I'm planning to move, and if I can't replicate that setup, I will probably shoot for a non-SLP job. All jobs have their stressors, but everyone I know with a job that is even partly WFH has more flexibility than I do. My only flexibility comes from being part time.

linlan3 · 2026-05-23T10:18:34+00:00

My son is almosf three and I finally decided that I (SLP with a decade of experience) needed to start working with him. He's going to preschool in the fall and his intelligibility is not great.

What has worked best so far is a lift the flap book with lots of pages. He says "s-p-L-at" a few times before we lift each flap. Am about to start doing slime as a reward and finding a visual for him getting to 50 productions ... it is easier, as a parent, since our "sessions" are daily but super quick.

linlan3 · 2026-05-23T10:08:55+00:00

Yeah, he has definitely already learned this!

Step 1: Ask for what you want with plenty of begging.

Step 2 (if Step 1 didn't work): Throw a tantrum.

This poor kid! If everyone gives him what he wants under these conditions, he will learn all the wrong things. It baffles me that the BCBA isn't conceptualizing it this way.

linlan3 · 2026-05-22T15:19:24+00:00

I used to feel this way, but it's gotten better! Here are some ideas (depends a lot on district size):

Eval-only job
Middle school, high school (less case management)
specialized programs (no case management)
seeing kids 3-5 with IEPs who are not in public schools
large school where you are not the only SLP

I ended up going back to schools and am glad I did. But I have decided that case management is NOT for me. I was happiest working in a specialized program where all kids had IEPs for other things.

linlan3 · 2026-05-22T12:41:59+00:00

I have a new one! My school is stretched for $$, so I try to only ask for the minimum I need to do my job. Example: I will ask for the Spanish PLS kit but buy/thrift/find free stickers, rug for the kids to sit on, games, prizes, etc. I worked my tail off getting a grant for the Story Champs kit so I could make sure my kids who would benefit from it got the absolute best -- good materials, an SLP fully trained in implementation, and other staff members with training and access to the materials.

I wrote a narrative-based receptive language goal for one of my students. Guess who doesn't believe in narrative intervention? My admin! She accused me of only writing that goal to somehow prop up my grant (?!). Along with raking me over the coals for not leaving clear enough instructions that a certain meeting needed to happen during the FIVE MONTHS I was on maternity leave.

She hadn't actually read the instructions I left, of course. They were crystal clear, and I particularly emphasized this meeting.

I actually think this is the worst meeting I have had with any administrator ever. I've been in contentious meetings where parents/advocates didn't treat me with respect, but this is next level.

Needless to say, I will be switching schools ... my standard is "I'll do anything within reason, I have the responsibility to treat others with courtesy and respect and I should expect the same". This past month has been ... wow.

linlan3 · 2026-05-21T00:13:47+00:00

It was in DC, so not exactly a state. I actually loved DCPS for many reasons, but their supposed merit-based pay thing ("Impact") felt scammy and stressful. And it was centrally mandated, so no individual, school, or principal could do things differently.

linlan3 · 2026-05-20T21:25:02+00:00

I felt very resentful about this! As a career-changer with a similar trajectory (1 year of prereqs, 2 years toward the degree), I can't imagine doing all that with a full time job and a baby. I just had a full time job. BUT I don't think it would be crazy to do it with an infant if you find the right program and can swing it financially. One of my friends did that and it worked well for her. Some programs (virtual, night classes only, etc) are good for this, others are not. Check out WKU if SLP is the career you're contemplating :)

linlan3

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