Sleep help needed

Happy new year Moms!

On to my question. My 2nd child is nearly 8 months and is still sleeping in our room. He is also still waking 2-3 times a night to nurse. I have to admit I do this so he (and I!) can easily fall back asleep. He naps in his crib in his room during the day and does well. We tried putting him down in his room a few nights this past week and he wakes up crying - and then wakes our 3-year old daughter - and then she needs to be reassured etc. It is an ugly cycle and I am avoiding dealing with it by keep the baby in our room. I need my sleep back! Please help!

Holidays (daze)

How do you all cope with holidays and kids? This is the first year my 3-year old daughter "gets it". She alternates between being excited and scared that a tubby guy in a beard is going to come into our house at night and leave gifts. Since we don't have a fireplace she is also asking how he is going to come in. My MIL said through the heating system (big mistake). So now every night Lindsey points to the heat vent in room and asks if Santa is going to come into her room while she is sleeping. That even seems scary to me! I also have a problem where I keep buying one more gift on Amazon for her - knowing my Mom bought her too much already. I want my kids to learn that this time is about being thankful & being with family - but I get easily caught up in the whole gift thing. It is hard not to overdo it - isn't it? Please share your holiday tips, plans, vent your frustrations etc. Oh & happy holidays! :)

All about mom

Okay mom friends. I need some advice. Mia is going through a phase where it is all about Mom right now. It is as if I went away for a month and she missed me and doesn't want me to go again. Of course this is not the case. I know it is not unusual for kids to go through this, but it sort of came out of no where. I have been back at work for almost two months and this has been going on for a week or two. It could be that or it could be the novelty of a new baby (4 1/2 months now) is wearing off. She is starting to act up when I have to tend to Anna is another room to get attention. Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter why, but what do I do?

I feel really bad for Ben (my husband) because he is so involved and she is basically "giving him the hand." She will let him do things for her (read, help brush teeth, etc.), but she gives him attitude and brushes off affection from him and says she just wants hugs or kisses from me. One funny example is he went to sing her "Hush little baby" and said "daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird" and she said "No, mommy buys me a mockingbird." She won't even take a gift from him!

Anyone been through this? Recommendations on how to handle it?

Thinking ahead

My daughter's daycare closes July-August & I am starting to look for day camps or classes she can take next summer. She will be 3 years 10 months - so I need pre-school level activities. If anyone has experience with a program or camp - please share. Thanks in advance!

Morning breakfast ideas

School is starting soon & I know our mornings are going to be super hectic - getting 2 kids & us ready and out the door by 7:15 is going to be a challenge. Does anyone have good breakfast ideas or getting ready advice? Lindsey will be able to eat a morning snack at school but I want her to have something nutritious before leaving.

Do I even dare bring it up?

Potty training. Ugh. My daughter will be 3 in about a month and things are basically at a standstill. She was making progress during the Winter and then things stopped. She basically became afraid of the whole process and the dr. said to follow her cues. She has sat on the potty a few times since her baby brother arrived in May with limited success. We tried the m&m ("letter candy") method as incentive - but it doesn't seem to help. If I mention it to her - she says she will try "tomorrow" - and then never does. We have the Once Upon a Potty book, the Mr. Rogers potty book, Everyone Poops. She loves reading them - but they don't seem to have any influence. I also bought her a potty chart and she likes to look at it - and says she'll use it when she is a "big girl" on her birthday. She doesn't even want to take the stickers out of the package. Luckily her pre-school does not require the kids to be potty trained - she starts after Labor Day - but I'd love her to be on track by then. Advice? Do I really just follow her cue? Thanks in advance!

Defiance!

I know that it is a natural and important aspect of development. I have read the books. I recognize that my 2.5 year old son(nickname Rabbit) is exercising his independence, and I love and celebrate that he has such a strong sense of self and space and will. Except when we are running late for a doctor's appointment and he has thrown his shoes behind the couch. Or when it is time for a diaper change and he runs away, laughing. Or when we are out for a walk around the block and he wiggles free of my hand, running away even though he knows(HE KNOWS!) that running away on the sidewalk/street is our Number One Rule not to break. Some of these things I have found small, workable solutions for: the running away thing is solved by--sadly--strapping him into a stroller/wagon for everywhere we go...sigh. (I am currently 36 weeks along in a tough pregnancy, so chasing him is not really an option.) But it is like putting socks on an octopus to get him to do simple things like get out the door, or eat dinner without spitting out milk for comic effect, or throwing toys at the cats.

Any advice? We have used "time-out" as well as the "toy time-out," with mixed results. I know I shouldn't try to reason with him, and I know that I need to keep my emotions in check so that he doesn't know that he is on my last nerve, but gosh, it is SOOOO hard to maintain a Good Mama demeanor in the face of outrageous defiance. As we have a new baby joining us soon, I am especially eager for some suggestions on how to keep order and peace in the house. I have a feeling that, whereas Rabbit is excited to welcome his new brother, he will undoubtedly act out as the attention he used to command gets reduced/shared.

So when he turns three, this defiant behavior stops, right?? Or is it when he turns 22?

Go to sleep!!

In the world of sleep, this is not a serious issue, but I do need some advice before it becomes a real issue.

What do I do when my toddler is starting to create excuses not to go to bed? She seems tired, but is trying to come out of her room (never did that before), calls for us and says things like "I needed to give you two hugs and two kisses and I only got one" or "I didn't get any medicine" (because she isn't taking medicine) or "I need a tissue."

It is taking her more than an hour to go to sleep each night. That is not unusual, but it used to be talking or singing, not coming out of her room and crying.

Do we ignore her? Go in and talk to her? If we go in, what should we say? Right now we read to her before bed. Should we let her look at a book in bed to continue the 'unwinding' process or will that just delay sleep even further.

Thoughts? Anyone have experience with this?