Yes, but the regular size 4 clothes I’ve seen look about the same size as a 4T.
Hmm… I really couldn’t say then.
I think the difference depends on the manufacturer. I find you really need to hold clothes up to the kid.
I believe the difference lies in the proportions. A toddler has more torso and shorter arms and legs but as they grow they get lankier until their proportions catch up to where they will be as adults. So a size 4 is a kid who needs a size 4 (longer arms and legs) but a 4T would be more for a large toddler.
I find that my daughter needs a longer dress - a size 6 - because she has such a long body that anything else shows her bum and looks like a long shirt. But when I shop for pants she only needs a 4/5 because her legs haven’t caught up. (She turned 3 in May - we get too many wardrobes a year!) My 11 month old is such a little porker that his torso needs a 2T but again the legs are usually too long.
We discovered last night that the reason the 'Lil Cricket has been so fussy the last two nights is because she’s got a tooth coming in!!! WOW! We are very, very proud. That explains why she cried all through her dinner!
Glad to know the whole food thing is confusing to others as well. It just seems like there’s such a gap between feed-them-one-new-thing-at-a-time and they-eat-what-we-eat. I guess I just need to relax already! I’m thinking that in another couple of weeks or so, I’ll have the daycare start giving her a small meal during the day. Part of me wants to rush this along as I’m getting real tired of pumping 3 times a day. I really want to try to keep her on breast milk until she’s a year but some days I just get sooo tired of it. And we’ve always had lots of trouble with latching on - I’m just waiting now (with great trepidation) for her to try using that tooth on me.
norinew - I started looking at the flylady site yesterday when you first mentioned it. Thanks for the tip. It’s not a very well-organized web site (a bit confusing as to where to start) but I will read through it all. Oh, and the food-processor idea - I like that tip too.
Flutterby - yeah, it will take a while for your clock to reset (and perhaps yours won’t). It’s been six months and only recently have I found that it’s not quite as hard to get up at 6:15 as it used to be. It’s hard, understand, but not quite as hard. Part of it is that I just don’t have a choice. It takes about forty minutes to nurse her and then change her diapers and get her dressed. And it takes me about the same time to get ready, then I have to pack a lunch, make sure the breast pump parts are all packed, strap her into the car seat (Mr. Cricket does a lot of that which helps) and get going.
Fessie Your raisin comment is cracking me up - still.
Twiddle (and someone else who recommended this) This weekend I’ll try putting her down for a nap 45 minutes after she’s been up.
I’ve been hitting the sales at Target and Kohls to pick up clothes for next summer and I’m just guessing at sizes. Who knows what she’ll be able to wear. One thing that never occurred to me when I bought baby clothes as presents was to consider the seasons. I mean, who would think about that? But we have lots of brand-new baby stuff that she’ll never be able to wear because by the time she fit into it, it was too hot to wear (and she’s got stuff that she won’t be able to wear because by the time she fits into it, it’ll be too cold to wear).
Wow - it’s been less than a week and two milestones - First Crawl and First Tooth.
My new baby shopping has changed a lot since I became a mom! Do you have a consignment shop near you? I love shopping there - whole wardrobes for $30 instead of just 2 outfits.
Maybe we need a baby clothes swap? It will be time to sort the fall clothes soon and decide what will fit. I’ve discovered we’re at an awkward shoe size - I’m looking for size 12 sneakers. Everything seems to stop at 10 1/2 and pick up at 1. Grr.
CLOTHES SWAP!!! That’s brilliant!
As you might imagine, I’ve got lots of baby stuff here - they just outgrew their bucket-style car seats. I’d thought about selling stuff on eBay, but it’s kind of a hassle. The newborn clothes already went to my favorite thrift store, but I’ve got 3-6s out the wazoo!
Twiddle More February babies! Congratulations! Are you planning to find out the gender beforehand?
Wow, mcms_cricket! Sounds like it’s exciting at your house! Mine are teething, too; we buy the BIG tylenol.
Re: feeding, I’m going to give my babies some mushed up avocado today, we’ll see what happens. So far they seem to like solids, I’ve been using both regular food & those jars. They seem to prefer regular food, but I’m not always confident that I’m preparing it correctly. Like one day I took a notion to fix some squash, since the ped gave me the green light on yellow vegetables. Well, I sliced & nuked the darn thing until it was steamy hot, then put it in the food processor and let it cool. Looked ground to me. Daughter wouldn’t touch it, and son (who’ll pretty much eat anything) was making these awful, tragic faces in his sleep all night! I felt terrible.
C3 you’re pretty intrepid, moving to another country with a toddler! What’s that like? I hear you about the blur! Course part of that is I can’t ever find my glasses (memory’s gone, too!) Ha!
John_T your laid-back attitude is admirable, although I’m not sure I’ll ever get there. I guess people HAVE been raising babies for a while, though, huh. 
Well, tomorrow’s the day we become a family of four - the Wee Kilt-wearin’ Lad makes his debut! It’ll be interesting to see how the Kilt-wearin’ Lad reacts to his new brother, and how my wife and I react to the sudden increase in dirty diapers…wish us luck. I’ll be disappearing from the message board for a while now…
And for the record, not only do we not baby-talk our son, nobody else is allowed to, either. It annoys the hell out of us. As far as we can tell, the Lad’s speech development is right on track…John T, I wholeheartedly agree with your habit of talking to a baby like a real person. Of course, we’re not trying to have adult conversations…but we’re also not asking if he wants a “drinky-dinky” or anything like that…
Not “Does baby want his widdle bwanky for beddy-bie? Yes, he wants his bwanky…”
It’s “Time for bed! Do you want your blanket? Grab your blanket! There ya go!”
Big difference. I can’t believe people actually baby-talk their kids.
Wow! Congratulations in advance.
Hey, big congratulations Kilt-wearin man! Hope you’ve been catching up on your sleep lately! “wee” - tee-hee, that’ cute! I’m impressed that you at least acknowledge the existence of dirty diapers - my Hubby has developed a curious blindness where that’s concerned. Truthfully, though, double diaper duty hasn’t been all that bad, you just get faster at it. It’s when they’re both sick that it gets dicey.
Re: baby talk - okay, I try not to do it. But since I’ve said “Mommy get you bottle?” about 3,000 times/day, it’s starting to run together. We were all at a friend’s house and their daughter asked “What’s a gitchubaba?”
This morning, Laura decided that Sophie won’t be wearing diapers for her 3rd birthday party (early October). Wish us luck!
And yes, Fessie, people have been raising kids for quite a while now and the human race has been progressing all that time. Trust me: you’ll do just fine.
It also helps (maybe) in the fact that we didn’t have Sophie until I was 34, mom 32. I can’t imagine how it would be like to have a kid in my early-20s, much less as a teenager… I’m sure the extra decade’s worth of perspective might have helped in developing my “laid back” attitude. So I’m pretty much going on instinct here.
We knew the gender as soon as such a thing could be determined. “We didn’t develop this technology as so not to use it” was our attitude on the subject. Also, it makes designing the baby’s room that much easier.
We also got to plan the delivery as Kilt Wearing Man implies they’re doing. We were asked “do you want to have the kid on Tuesday or Wednesday?” We selected Wednesday, showed up at the hospital at 6:30am, Laura was induced around 7:30, and Sophie made her appearence just 6 hours later, at 1:30pm (and people say that kids aren’t born at convenient times - ours was born during lunch hour!) It went like clockwork. No natural childbirth hoohaw for us - again, God didn’t give us epidurals as to not to use them.
mcms_cricket Yay for first crawl and tooth! Hopefully it goes quickly. I find a damp face cloth that’s been frozen makes a good chew toy and helps to soothe those hurting gums. I’m pretty sure Caterpie is teething again, I find he really doesn’t like to eat anything when he’s teething, just drink his milk. Which is ho he was yesterday, as well as being kinda fussy. And my internal clock has always been fuggered. I can get up at 7 am or earlier but on a regular basis I need a morning coffee or else I’m in a daze until almost noon. (I’ve even tested it, went a few months without coffee. I was just groggy every morning.) Ah well. I’m doing fine so far crosses fingers that it continues this way
We hit the sale for clothes as well, I’m also lucky enough to have a cousin who is about a year older than my son. So about half of the clothes I have are sent from my uncle. Which is good, he’s growing so fast he already wears a good portion of them.
Kilt-wearin’ man: Congrats on the wee Kilt wearin’ lad. Is your wife having a c-section or induction? Etiher way hope it goes well and she recovers quickly.
JohnT That’s how I felt about the epidural. What a relief! I managed to sleep more than 3 minutes. (Before I went to the hospital I was sleeping on the floor, waking up every few minutes for a contraction before I drifted off again.) Of course I ended up in a room next to a lady who went the natural route. She gave birth before I did and scared me badly with how she was screaming (seperate rooms, but I could hear her through the walls.)
My wife (whom, it has been suggested to me, might be referred to as Off-Kilter…but not if I value my life, she has informed me…) had to have a C-section with the Lad, and our doctor is concerned about the strength of the scar if she goes into labor with the Wee Lad so she’s having another C-section tomorrow morning. Safety factor and all…probably a good thing, as the Wee Lad ain’t so wee - he’s being delivered about two weeks early and they’re estimating his weight at about 8.5 pounds. That’s a pound and a half heavier than his big brother was at birth.
As for diapers, Fessie, my oldest nephew was born when I was 9 years old, so I’ve been changing diapers for the past 23 years on a regular basis (I’ve got nieces and nephews between his age and 7 years old, and several of my friends have babies.) I often wind up with dirty diaper duties, especially recently as my wife has found it quite difficult to wrangle the Lad when he gets squirmy, what with having to reach around the Wee Lad and his heated swimming pool. 
My new pet peeve - restaraunts and stores that don’t put changing tables in the mens’ restrooms. :rolleyes:
Ah yes, better safe than sorry with a previous c-section. And 8.5 lbs! My boy was 7lbs but I think that might have been because I didn’t eat all that well for about half the pegnancy. He was smaller than I was when born but he’s making up for it now.
That’s annoying as all heck. Dad’s change diapers too!
Even now I’ve encountered places where they have no change tables at all and no counterspace to put a purse, nevermind change a baby. So we had to settle on the floor in the handicapped stall because the floor space in the main area was pretty small as well.
What a great thread! Can I get in on this?!?
I have a 7 year old daughter and a 5 year old son. Actually, today is my son’s birthday. At this time 5 years ago I was in labor! Wow! Time really flies. It seems like just yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital!! My girl just turned 7 a week and a half ago so my kids are 2 years apart. (2 years, 11 days, and 54 minutes to be exact.) 
I was blessed with wonderful sleepers too. My daughter was sleeping through the night when she was about 10 weeks old and that time gradually increased. My son was sleeping through the night at about 12 weeks. Both were great nappers and I never had to use CIO or anything with them. I would feed them and hold them for awhile and when they started looking sleepy I put them in their crib. There were times they were fussy or cried because they didn’t want to go to bed but those times were few and far between.
My daughter just started 1st grade and my son will be going to pre-school in the spring. Since they have August and September birthdays we decided not to send them to kindergarten until they were 6. So far it’s been a great decision because my DD (dear daughter) did wonderful in kindergarten and is, so far, doing great in 1st grade too. I just know that when DS (dear son) starts kindergarten next year he’s going to do great too!! Most doctors, pediatricians and even school teachers and other school officials will tell you that for kids with July, August, and September birthdays it really is better to hold off a year before sending them to school. I’m glad we did that. Anyone else with July/Aug/Sept babies that didn’t send them to school until they were 6? Anyone that sent them when they were 5??
Kilt-wearin’ man - congrats on your upcoming arrival! He sounds like a might big lad too! It’s probalby a good thing your wife is having a c-section!! My son weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. at birth… talk about a big boy. Be sure to give us all his stats after the birth.
I love talking about my family and my kids and there’s so much I want to put here but I’ll stop… for now. 
I hope this thread continues to grow and I hope we can all learn from each other. Also, I’d be happy to answer questions or share my experiences with anyone who might have a question/concern about their kids… from birth to 7 years old that is! I’ve been through diapers, potty training, sibling rivelry, cutting teeth, losing teeth, ER visits, learning to ride a bike, how hard it is to be the Easter Bunny, Santa, and the Tooth Fairy, first day of school, swimming lessons, nap time, bedtime, bathtime, sick kids, etc., etc. Anyway… I hope I can share some of my experiences with y’all.
Hey Kiki!
Sounds like you’ve done a lot of raisin’ over at your house (nyuck nyuck)!
OK, I really wanted to post some snarky comment about how BAD a joke that is but I can’t - I’m giggling too hard…
Oh you bet! I love knowing before hand. A hint for anyone else who wants to find out the gender: Drink OJ instead of the water before your ultrasound…the baby will wriggle around and give you a better chance of getting the money-shot than if it was still.
mcms_cricket Congrats on the crawling and the tooth! And good luck on the early nap, let us know how it goes.
norinew My daughter is 2, and I really regret not signing with her from the begining. Her speech therapist is teaching her some signs, but I’m not yet sure if she’s picking up on them.
Oh and never mind a baby clothes swap, how about a maternity clothes swap??
Twiddle
Do you think seven months is too early to try to teach signing? I found some ASL webpages with enough vocabulary to start - 'cept the sign for “milk” is to “make alternating motions with both hands as if pulling teats.” That’s a little graphic for me :eek: .
OK, I have to bring this back because I missed a couple of days, and I have stuff to share now.
DangerBaby is 17 months old today. She is as cute as a button, and starting to say a lot of stuff (today’s word: “bow” for “bounce”). But what we’re really happy about is that she finally took a few steps on her own today! Yes, our kid was still not walking; she’s been quite happy with butt-scooting and bunny-hop-crawling. Amusing, yes, but it was starting to get a little worrying. So, yay DangerBaby!
Meanwhile, DangerGirl, age 4, has been taking “Kiddie Kung-Fu,” a little class where they hop around and talk a lot about listening and respect. She has very little physical coordination, so it’s been good for her, and I think we’ll sign up for another session later on. Today was the last day, so Daddy came to see her do her stuff, which was nice.
Tomorrow we’re going out of town for the weekend, to see my friend who just had a baby which will be blessed on Sunday. Eek, it’s a lot of driving, so wish us luck.
I started signing with my Babygirl when she was about six months. I decided to start with “drink”. Every day at one-or-another mealtime, I’d be sure to offer her her drink (she wasn’t very good at drinking at this stage, of course … we were practising!) and sign “drink” just before I got it and as I gave it to her.
Anyway, the weeks rolled by, and occasionally at mealtimes I’d see what looked like a little wavery “drink” sign … or maybe it was just random waving of her hands, but I’d be sure to give her her drink then anyway, just to encourage it.
Then, one day at about eight months, she did a really strong, obvious “drink” sign. And I gave her a drink. And this incredible look of GLEE came over her face - like ‘wow, when I do this I can make them DO STUFF! WooHoo!’ And she drank her drink.
And then about a week later she realised she could get the same effect by pointing and beckoning. And she’s never done a single sign since! Or, at least, not one of my signs. She does her signs, though, and since I’m not so perverse as to pretend I don’t know what she means, it looks like that’s where we’re staying. So “hungry” is “smack the lips together and look hopeful” ; “finished” is “push on the tray and tug at the bib” ; “pick me up” is … well, we all know “pick me up”, don’t we!
She’s one now. Today, in fact! I’m hangin’ out for her first words…