Today’s stories brought back a lot of feelings for me, as a parent of two late walkers and one late potty pooper (no, I will not tell you which one). There are some good ideas here! Next time, I’m tempted to put in a question about how to resist the pressure to give your adolescent a phone so that I can benefit from your advice more in the moment…
Read on for three wins and woes followed by a reader question about choosing a doctor for your delivery.
This Dress Is Made for Walking
—Elizabeth
Walking has been an elusive milestone for my 17-month-old. After months without progress, I had an aha moment when I realized I needed to stop trying to make walking easier (better shoes, encouragement, wall exercises, etc.) and instead try to make crawling harder. I started putting her exclusively in dresses, and in 24 hours she had independent standing and a bear crawl. In 48 hours she had first steps. And in 72 hours she was walking. I don’t think I’ve ever seen “just put your toddler in a dress” before as advice to get them to walk, so I was eager to share!
Past Masks
—Parent Wondering When It’s Over
My daughter is about to turn 2. Our day care is still requiring masks for kids 2 to 5. There’s basically a parent revolt, because this is nutty. But I’m worried that even that won’t make a difference. I don’t want to hunt for another center while I’m also in the middle of IVF! It’s so hard to know when it’s time to cut your losses and move on.
(Ed note: CDC guidelines don’t support masking in schools or child care settings unless it’s a high-transmission area — and even then, many places are not requiring it. I wrote about the changes back in August.)
Poop Pride
—This moment was made possible by Miralax
For the first time since we started potty training four years ago, my 5-year-old pooped seven days in a row! There have been so many tears over her fear of pooping, I am so proud of her!
This week’s reader question
My OB doesn’t deliver, because she had an issue with one of her eyes a few years ago so she’s not allowed to operate. I’ve seen only one other doc in the practice, who I didn’t like (bad bedside manner; made me feel bad about gaining 20 pounds by 24 weeks). How do I best move forward with choosing someone? Or do I just try to let it go and deal with whomever I get? I’ve heard that who delivers for you is not as emotionally important as who you see month to month.
—Picky Patient
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