zoeintoronto's Profile

I live in Toronto and despite our reputation as being part of the snowy north, it really is hot and humid here during the summer months. It's about 31 degrees (90 F) today and feels like 41 (106 F). We have 2 young children and I'm expecting a third any day now. We live on the upper floor of an old house and don't have A/C and it really hasn't been a big deal. If it gets miserable at night, we have a couple of big freestanding fans we turn on to get the air moving. Otherwise, we just wear light clothing, take cool showers, and keep a freezer full of popsicles. We also keep most of the lights off and avoid using the oven. There are trees shading the windows around the back of the house and that really helps.
I really don't enjoy the heat or being out in the sun, but I still find it reasonable to live without A/C.

This is cute and the price is completely reasonable. I love having my kids in toddler beds because it makes it much easier to fit everything they need into a shared room. We got one for my son because he gave up the crib when his sister was born and he just didn't seem ready for a twin bed. Then we ended up getting a second one when she was ready for a bed. They are 4 and 2 now and still happily and comfortably sleeping in toddler beds. I am expecting my 3rd child any day now. I've been imagining that when she is ready to move to a toddler bed, the older two will be ready to move to a bunkbed.
Anyway, I can see plenty of reasons why a toddler bed is worth the money even if you could move straight from crib to twin bed. And the KidKraft one shows that you can get an attractive, modern one without spending a lot. You can reuse the crib mattress if you aren't giving the crib over to another baby too.

Yes, they do this at my son's school. In the nursery class last week they had some very goopy homemade playdough stuff sealed in a bag for the kids to squish, roll with a rolling pin, or whatever they wanted to do. A sealed bag can great for all sorts of materials that might be fun to play with, but are just too messy to give the kids direct access to. (Of course it's great to let them get right in there and get messy sometimes, but sometimes you just don't have the time or the patience.)

Someone above mentioned hair gel. You can use it to get kids to draw letters in with their fingers. They do sensory stuff like this with handwriting at my son's school too... building letters out of straws, pieces of wood, pieces of sandpaper, and so on.

Also... it could be fun to turn an old globe into a model of one of the planets. My son would love creating the Moon or Mars by sticking clay or Model Magic or something onto the surface to form geographical features, then painting it all.

What a step backwards for New York. I live in Ontario and all women with low-risk pregnancies can choose whether to get prenatal care from an OB or a midwife, and if under the care of a midwife whether to give birth at home or in a hospital. Midwives are in such high demand that most women call to put their names on the clinic waiting lists the moment they conceive.
I have had two homebirths and am 8 months pregnant with my third child. Barring any complications, she will also be born at home. I always think it is strange to see articles citing the mother's privacy and comfort as the primary reasons for choosing a homebirth. The statistics are clear - for women with low-risk pregnancies, homebirth is just as safe or safer for the woman and her baby as giving birth in the hospital. Midwives are health care professionals with a great deal of experience and training, and they are capable of spotting the potential for complications long before the situation becomes an emergency. They also carry resuscitation equipment and work in partnership with hospitals in case transfer is necessary.
I am shocked that insurance companies do not always cover midwifery services, as it is also a much cheaper option. Midwives not only provide a valuable service, but also save health dollars by preventing unnecessary medical procedures and hospital stays.

My son is a terribly picky eater (he has mild autism, which has a lot to do with it). We are always trying to get him to eat more and presentation matters A LOT. We already use cookie cutters, make animals, shapes, and funny faces out of food, and let him do hands-on activities with the food. BUT we always want him to enjoy a peanut butter or almond butter sandwich (since his protein sources are so limited) and most of the time he rejects them - I'd be willing to bet he would not reject peanut butter decorated with sprinkles though! Thanks for that idea!

This is not your run-of-the-mill nursery, for sure! Is the rest of your house the same style? I'll have to look at the links. I think it's really fun.

I recently made bed "tents" to hang over my children's toddler beds (they are 2.5 and 4.5 years old). The tents are similar to the canopy here but encircle the whole bed... my kids love them and haven't tried to pull them down. You can attach the ends to the crib if you're worried about the baby pulling the fabric into the crib. You can use some velcro tabs or fabric ties...

We lived in a 300 square foot studio and had no trouble fitting everything in. But we were students at the time and just didn't have a lot of stuff. A futon, a couple bookcases, a small dining table and chairs, and a laptop desk were sufficient.
I think the resident did a good job with this space. Building upwards is definitely the way to go. I would have used one of the walls (probably the one with the TV) to put in a lot more shelves/bookcases/storage and then left the remaining wall open except for the bed. Or pushed the head of the bed up the window. I applaud using the space above the cupboards, but I probably wouldn't have put books up there because it looks hard to access.

I think parents should just be honest and forthcoming with their wishes to have or not have visitors. When I sent out an email to our friends to announce our baby's birth I said something like this: "We are going to take a week or two to get to know each other and settle into a routine. After that, we'd love to have visitors over to meet the baby."

Nobody except my best friend and midwife came over during the first 2 weeks and it was great. I didn't need to worry about getting out of my pajamas or having a shower, tidying up, or having coffee and snacks on hand.

I agree that if there are older children in the family, visitors should take some time to play with them. It'll make them feel special and give the parents a bit of a break. Also, some moms are comfortable handing the baby around and others don't want to let go of their newborn for a second. Don't be offended if you don't get to hold the baby - you'll get plenty of cuddle and play time as the baby gets a bit older.

Bring Land of Nod to Canada! We have Crate & Barrel, but can't buy the kids' items here.