This. A 12 month old is very different from even a 14 or 16 month old.

If you exclusively nurse, you will eventually lose your oversupply as your body adjusts to the new demand.

What are your goals for the oversupply & how much do you need each day? This will dictate how often you need to pump to maintain it. You can certainly pump one side while nursing on the other, but this may get cumbersome as the baby grows. You may just want to consider fitting in a dedicated pumping session or two.

The same is true for the zoos near me. You have to stow the stroller to ride the trains or buses back to the parking lot. I always carry a baby wrap in the stroller to stow the kiddo and keep both hands free for breaking it down and carrying diaper bags etc.

Larger NC cities have also really jumped in cost over the past 2-3 years. It is very location specific.

Check out “dog rain pants”.

If you don't have enough experience to know what fits, you need to go get fitted by a pro. REI is a great place to go if one is near you. Try on the exact backpack if possible, and if not learn what constitutes a good fit so you can judge for yourself.

Almost 35 weeks and want things 99% complete by 37 weeks. Our first kid was colicky and it was very hard to get anything done after he came. I don’t want to make that mistake again! Plus he’s almost 2 and a handful by himself.

Can you step out of the reception for 30-40min and go trick or treating in a nearby neighborhood? Or each parent take a 30-40 minute solo session? Sounds like kiddo will already be in costume! Bonus points if you can fit it in before cake -such a great 3.5yr old reason to head back to the wedding!!

Warbonnet’s are amazing.

I prefer bringing our own snap on chair that provides more support and more constraint than a restaurant high chair and has a little tabletop attached. Toys with suction on the bottom are great (fidget spinners,gears, bobbles). And you can tether other toys to the taller suction toys with plastic straps (or bottles, etc). Cycle through a few toys one by one to manage entertainment.

I always packed small tidbit finger foods that aren’t too messy and are precut, like bits of cheese, blueberries, Cheerios. Maybe a cup with straw, baby utensils, or anything “fun” and novel to help with eating entertainment.

I’d keep it short. Know your menu picks in advance and order immediately. It also helps to bring a dotting grandma or niece to keep them occupied.

For me, when kiddo gets out of the chair, it’s over and time to start heading home. Unless you have said niece or grandma for entertainment.

Seconding beans. I was in zone 7 and used to plant pea seeds Jan 1. Mine looked like this when it started to get warm and they never did well after.

Amazing!

I would recommend getting fitted at REI so you know what size will fit you each comfortably before you buy anything.

Over 35 is not a huge deal anymore. Unless there is something in your specific medical situation, I wouldn’t stress. It does get harder to conceive after 35, but not by too much. Talk to your OB.

My doc gave the go ahead to start trying around 6mo, given my age and our difficulty previously conceiving (3+ yr).

40 and will have 2 under 2 in the next few weeks!
Talk to your doctor about when it is ok to start trying for the second as it will depend on your specific medical history and will not be the same as they’d recommend for a much younger gal. We didn’t want to wait as our first took a LONG time to get here and were both older as well.

Love this! Thank you for sharing!!!

I feel you! I decide to try and “fix” the sleep every other month or so and have tried SO many things.

Now I just go to bed at 8:30 most nights and nap with him on the weekends.

If your husband enjoys this type of surprise, sure! For me, a cute surprise plays better with grandma and the aunties.

I texted a pic of the positive stick both times to my husband on his business trip. Knowing right away was important to him.

Yes! They have a cold requirement to rebloom. You can dig, freeze, and replant them each year, but that is a LOT of work.

Oh, I've also had some very limited success turning on a green "morning light" just after kiddo wakes up. If he wakes at night, I can often just get on the video monitors audio and tell him it is "sleepy time, wait for morning light" without getting up myself and have him go right back down. My original goal was to push morning light later and later in the AM and have him get up later, but that never worked.

Before this, I would do sleep training for 2-3 weeks, it would works for 1, and then he'd get sick and I have to start all over. Audio has been more consistent.

Hate to say this, but your kiddo sounds similar to mine and his sleep needs have only reduced as he is now a couple months from 2. We're now at 7:30pm-4:30am with less sleep if he goes to bed later (so I can't really shift bedtime either). At 4:30am he is upright, jumping up and down, calling for momma, and ready to party.

For over a year, daycare told me it was a phase and that he'd start sleeping 11 hours "soon." Multiple pediatricians have have recommended shifting bedtimes (didn't work), but ultimately told me that some kids are just this way.

It is SO difficult! Solidarity!!

We wanted another (read your bit below) and I'm running out of baby-bearing years, so I keep reminding myself that this difficult time is just an investment. Like school or anything else that is hard for a while and then brings great rewards in the long run!! 7mo pregnant with #2 and hoping for a good sleeper this go round. And looking forward to drinking WAY MORE caffeine.

I like the Solumbra ultra athlete shirts. They have built-in mesh vents for breathability.

Edit: I don't think you can get them at REI though.

Buying a second base is usually fairly inexpensive as well. I have a spare base for my Mom, JIC. The bucket easily pops in and out.

We trained too. It was so much harder than a regular forest like the AT. Walking in mud is no joke. Poles were a must. The wind on the edge of the cliffs was crazy too.