I have a large trash bag of stuffies and baby dolls that smell like smoke. Somewhere between a moderate smell and a medium smell. Our washing machine has been able to get the smoke smell out of clothes and towels no problem thankfully.
So, do I throw a bunch in the washing machine and dryer and see how many survive? Wait for a sunny day when I can put things out to air out (will likely be 3-4 weeks before this happens as our exterior surfaces are covered in toxic ash and need to be remediated). Is there any other method I’m not thinking about?
I’ve generally had good luck with stuffies that got involved with bed wetting so I think that would be workable. And it’s just one time through, from the sounds of it? Repeated washings would add to the wear on them but one should be okay.
A LOT of things can go in the washing machine! If there is something precious that you want to be extra careful with, you could try Soak first (extra delicate no-rinse detergent).
I’m so sorry, and sending good luck wishes for decontamination.
For those with extremely active/gross motor children, when did that become clear to you and what made it clear?
My 3 month old seems to be pretty damn physically active when she’s awake, and has longer than developmentally appropriate wake windows no matter how good the sleep hygiene. She just wants to be awake and doing things!
My second one was picking up his head on day 4. He was full-term plus 1 day, and just came out seeming 2-3 months older than I remembered from the first (preemie) one.
My nephew was full speed ahead too. He was spicy from newborn days according to his parents, but I didn’t start babysitting (and thus getting to really know) him until about 2 years old. I thought running off the ends of picnic tables was normal toddler behavior.
If she’s in a good mood, just awake and active, well, congrats and hold on tight
If she keeps it up, Raising Your Spirited Child is a good read! The same author now has Raising Your Spirited Baby which I haven’t read, but might be even more relevant for that age.
B1 was super strong from day 1- head straight up. His upper body was hauling him around really young. He actually has poor gross motor skills in many ways but is otherwise so strong it is masked.
B2 IDK. I was too overwhelmed. I think when he was on top of the table well under a year I knew I was truly truly fucked.
I mean it is great when they have strong motor skills! So yay! Amazing how it enriches my life by keeping me in constant motion and encouraging me to move and engage!
Pipsqueak definitely falls into this category! She was pretty strong in tummy time right away, rolled both ways earlier than other kids. But mostly, her love of jumping/bouncing was ever present. She just wanted to be pushing up on her legs (with support) into a standing position and bounced like that. She still needs to jump for 3-5 minutes before climbitinti bed every night lol.
She did walk a bit early (11 months) but some other things like sitting and crawling were more “on schedule”.
We had sleep FOMO too…in the very early days I’d put her in the carrier for a walk around the block for afternoon naps but within a couple weeks she stopped falling asleep if there was anything interesting to look at, or if a spec of light was getting into the room. I wish we had invested in a slumberpod much earlier for travel because she still wakes up as soon as the sun begins to rise (in our house we have wood shutters AND heavy duty blackout curtains in front of them).
Yep, our first sign with D1 was lifting up her head to stare at me straight in the eyes while doing our golden hour on my chest immediately after birth. She was 3 weeks early and could lift her head up and go from side to side immediately after birth D2 waited until the day we came home from the hospital to do that, so a day later
I have seen babies that are set down on a play mat and just look around, maybe reaching toward something. My children were kicking and flailing all arms and legs and trying to grab things or make noises with noise maker parts. They were never content to just sit and look around at their surroundings (and still aren’t!)
Also PSA if you are still swaddling and have a gross motor baby… Pipsqueak started rolling from back to tummy a few days before she turned 4 months old. I’m glad we had already weaned off the swaddle before that because it’s not safe to use when they can roll both directions.
Is there a connection between gross motor babies and low sleep needs? TR doesn’t seem to fall asleep until like 8:45 these days. He’s 20 months and naps for about 2h at daycare. His wakeup time is usually 6:30 which is Acceptable but I am jealous of families whose kids go to bed at 7 or even 7:30.
Mo is very high movement though didn’t necessarily hit all milestones early and goes to bed at 9 and gets up at 7ish, sometimes a little later if she has a lot of or long wakes. I don’t know how some people’s kids are getting more than 12 hours of sleep per day at this age.
Ravioli goes to bed at 7:30 but wakes up at 4:30 so don’t be too jealous lol (he has never ever been able to stay up past 8, even as a tiny babe, without Serious Crank. lol sob)
Hmmm I’d say pipsqueak has pretty normal sleep needs and if anything, she’s on the slightly higher end of normal. She’s always been late to drop naps and still naps a couple days a week at 4.
Letting herself sleep is another issue entirely, she’s definitely a fomo kid and doesn’t fall asleep easily if there’s anything else going on or in new places. She rarely sleeps on car rides and has never ever passed out anywhere other than a defined bed or car seat.
I do not remember the exact point but when my tiny 5 month old started crawling I KNEW we were in for it. She is 6.5 now and has not slowed down in the slightest.
Second is still very active but seems so much easier. Maybe it’s being experienced parents or maybe it’s because first was just so far out of “normal” but second seems so calm in comparison!
I thought we were getting tantrums before but now we’re having ten-twenty minute screaming sessions over me refusing to open and taking away a pill bottle she somehow found.
Aw thanks. It was TR. He was extra tired tonight from inexplicably waking up early, and we might have missed the window and/or upset him by rushing through some parts of our evening. Or by declaring he couldn’t disassemble big brother’s lego creation. He howled and howled until he just fell asleep in my arms standing up.
We now think Spore was the gotcha baby. You know, the one who’s so easy, they trick you into having a second. And then, wham, GOTCHA!
We should have a reset coming up with a cabin trip this weekend. If it keeps going I’ll definitely be back to vent!
D2 waited until the day we came home from the hospital to do that, so a day later 