Also, one of mine was sleeping a 6 hour stretch at night at 6 weeks, so you betcha I moved that bassinet into the other room.
Guess which kid woke up every single night from 6 months to about 18 months? Uh-huh.
There is no magic.
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Adding some perspective here though…even though my kid still wakes up 1-3 times a night 5/7 days each week, it’s way better than newborn sleep and I’m much better rested. It takes 30seconds-5 minutes per wake up usually because she knows we won’t let her get up…she either gets the reassurance we are there, up to a drink or water and a couple hugs before I leave the room and go back to sleep. No lights are turned on, and most of the time I can go right back to sleep because I don’t fully wake up.
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Band-new babies are just hot messes all around. And preemies even more so.
Based on about a dozen anecdotes including my own, it seems some babies can develop those sleep skills early but it’s determined by some combination of lottery and birth weight – both totally out of your control. My working theory is that it’s 80% lottery and 20% what you do. They really do seem to turn a corner (several corners!) around 2 months though, and another one around 4 months. You’re getting close!
I do think learning various cues & cries can be helpful. A friend shared this video which I found super fascinating and moderately true. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=afMNp6Q4u7s
Setting up the non-birthing/non-nursing parent to soothe the baby on their own was an awesome investment in my mental health. I know it can be hard to step away, but it is so worthwhile and will also build confidence for Greyman.
Also, any good/bad habit can be retrained. It might take more or less time, but it will still work. If you want to try a pacifier, give it a shot. I skipped it for my first kid and now I’m wondering how much sleep I deprived myself of. For the 2nd baby I just didn’t care as much and he’s actually started to spit it out half the time, like he’s weaning himself off.
We had a major sleep regression around 9 months and also used an online sleep coach (Little Winks) which did help. I just looked them up again and they now have a “first 14 weeks” online course which could be a good way to get some support and progress, but in a way that’s realistic for their development.
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My almost 4 year old is asking for a fancy baby doll set up for her birthday. We have baby dolls now and she always plays with her barbies, not the babies? I wonder if she will outgrow a fancy baby doll soon. The barbies get carted around and bathed.
Things she wants:
A pony toy to groom and take care of
A baby doll with a crib
A barbie dollhouse and more barbies
Anything glittery and mermaid or princess/stereotypically girly themed
Things I’ve considered getting her (but I do want to honor her interests):
A vet or doctor kit
Calico critters house? (Seems better for a small space)
I’m going to get her a duplo / magnatile expansion set regardless. And some sparkle dot markers.
She’s definitely becoming aware of gender and gender roles (thanks TV, society) and has started to say boys don’t do this and so on. Pink has already been expressed as a favorite for months now.
WWYD?
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I have a very sparkly very girly 5 year old. I am very much not that but I try to lean into her interests. She also likes dinosaurs along with princesses and pink. Personally I think that allowing my very sparkly girl to let her sparkle shine is honoring who she is not playing into stereotypes.
If she doesn’t really play with the current dolls I probably wouldn’t buy the fancy one because it probably won’t get used. I would maybe do a crib for the current dolls. Barbies aren’t really something we have in this house but a set that has barbie being awesome in some way could be good. Also Doc McStuffins is a huge hit here!
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I also have a very girly sparkly almost 4 year old. I totally lean into her liking pink things. She also likes dinosaurs and so when we pick things out I lean toward pink dinosaurs or outer space type things that she likes. We have not entered into the Barbie world at all and I think I’ve just been avoiding it? I guess I just think those are for older kids and the baby dolls are for her age. We also make sure that she has other options too, like play tools and dinosaurs and cars. I feel like that way we are giving well rounded options and she has the option to gravitate to what she wants, instead of only giving her the stereotypically “girl” toys.
Good idea on the doll accessories. Less expensive and she already has baby dolls.
Yeah, I want to lean into her interests and have her really enjoy it.
But man, socialization starts young. Even my mom, who really is progressive overall and understands kids, buys my nephew a Duplo rocket and my daughter a Duplo castle or dollhouse. But at this point, she has books about diggers and construction workers and so on, and has expressed a clear preference for unicorns and barbies. Maybe just go all out with diverse barbies? 
At least I’m doing what I can to express diversity, options, gender, etc. We have a “Families” book that is a favorite and it has diverse religions, family set ups, etc. My conservative SIL read it, her eyebrows went up, and then she shut it and put it away. Hah.
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Yeah, kiddo expressed a clear preference for pink so her bedroom is all pink at this point.
I just made a wishlist for our family members for the girls since we are heading into birthday and christmas season and it is almost entirely doll accessories. D1 has a doll that she loves it goes everywhere with her. Like literally, it never leaves her side and sits in her car seat when she’s at school because she isn’t allowed to take it in. She has other dolls but doesn’t care about them, just the one doll. So, I just put tons of doll accessories on her list. Clothes, diapers, shoes, a crib (her sister has one that she steals), high chair, carrier, etc. She wants the doll to do everything she does!
Same here! Everything is pink and she flat out refuses to wear anything but a dress 95% of the time. This summer she was in a summer program where they went on field trips. They all had to wear the same T-shirt and I dreaded the days I had to get her to wear a T-shirt instead of a dress.
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Send links/ any brands? Saves me the research! I should go post on the thread about finding stuff for other ideas!
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I’ll pm you their wish list 
Thank you!
Shoe update!
I got 3 pairs of these across two sizes and 2 brands. The too big ones have arrived and are being celebrated! He can remove them but enjoys wearing them and wore them for a whole park outing. V grippy, unexpected grip issue on the slide led to a surprise fall.
On wet days we will go through 2-3 pairs, but I think it’s a good compromise. Might get a pricier brand for big kid. Reallly hoping this boy fits into the bogs we own for winter + the too clunky to walk in warmer boots for cold days.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B09YTYHCLK?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image&th=1&psc=1
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We have a toddler (15, almost 16 months!) on an anything he wants as much as he wants diet for a few days . Aka sugar, fried, processed all a go. Dairy is a no.
Thoughts on what to try? I am a bit wary of “dry” processed foods until fluids are higher, but he’s had packaged cookies before so I am going to give a few. We are doing every kind of fruit and some juice. Tried maple syrup in his oatmeal this AM and those 2 spoons are more than he’s had of anything not-fruit since Sunday, so I will try that again.
I have soy-milk custard in the fridge.
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What are your goals? Just more variety in his diet or something related to recovery from illness?
I’ve noticed sometimes being in a new environment will make my toddler more chill about food and more open to eating whatever’s in front of him. Indoor picnic, packing snack for the playground, restaurant, etc. If we’re home at the dining table, he slides out of his chair and goes shopping in the pantry for the chocolate pretzels that I never should have brought home.
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Illness recovery. So more familiar is probably going to be more succesful. In the hospital he would eat our applesauce but not theirs, in a different bowl. He wouldn’t drink water from their paper cups, only my bottle (and not much). Applejuice from a juicebox and no juice from their little cups. Usually he is so excited about new things that we get him takeout water even when we have his bottle.
This morning he had almost a tiny bowl of frozen blueberries (the size of a single serving applesauce). The biggest meal since Sunday morning. Usually he eats a LOT. Water intake is better
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Hm… some things that have worked for us along those lines (with the caveat that toddlers are psychopaths and everyone is different):
Liquids:
- Little fizzy electrolyte tablets (Nuun) that he can drop in himself to a cup of water
- Seltzer or ginger ale in a can
A bit more sustenance:
- Yogurt pouches
- Applesauce pouches
- Granola bars (who cares if they have chocolate on them, there are nuts underneath)
- Maple smoke salmon jerky, smoked salmon
- Our toddler seems to show a preference for really fresh, expensive, or labor-intensive food. Eg chicken thighs roasted at home, wagyu beef, chicken meatballs, baked salmon
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I successfully got fluids into D2 last week by giving her ramen. Full of sodium, something I said I would never give my child, but she loved it and drank all of the broth from her bowl. I did water it down a bit to cut down on the sodium. We were also successful with watermelon for her. It was ridiculously expensive but cheaper than being admitted for dehydration. Also the honest brand juice boxes that are more water than juice. She turned up her nose at pedialyte, nuun tablets, and normal juice (I think the sugar hurt her throat sores) but will sit and drink 4 of those honest ones in a row.
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what about sorbet, or vegan ice cream?
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