My toddler, the hoarder

I can't pinpoint the exact moment it started, but at some point over the last few months, my 31/2 year old toddler became a hoarder.

There are two areas where she hoards things, both in the room she shares with her sister. 

One is a little nook behind a doll stroller. She hides a variety of items behind the stroller including a play phone, a doll carrier, and books. Her other "special area" is a cubby in a large storage module. She wisely chose one out of her sister's reach. There, she stores a colouring pad, her new slippers, a plastic pumpkin-shaped bucket, among a number of other items.

Mostly I found this behavior endearing. I assumed she was hiding things from her sister. A few of her objects are new acquisitions, while others are well-used objects. 

She doesn't seem to mind when Papa and Mama remove things from her stash, but doesn't allow her sister anywhere near her hidden treasures.

I decided to read up a little on hoarding in toddlers. Is it indicative of future obsessive-compulsive behavior? I found a list of 10 questions. If the answers to the first 4 are yes, then your kid is in trouble:

1. Is your child in physical danger from the hoarding?

2. Does your child hoard food?

3. Does your child steal things and hoard them?

4. Does the hoarding interfere with your child's participation in normal activities?

Thankfully the answer to all four was No. Perhaps she is simply keeping her possessions away from her formidable foe, her middle sister?

Her formidable foe 

Spot # 1

Spot # 2

Magical Moment: cold

Sharing a laugh

Since starting preschool in early September, our toddler has had three colds. Certainly not as many as I had expected. She recently had back-to-back colds, something that had occasionally occurred prior to starting school.

This week, she had developed a slight cough from the post-nasal drip. I reminded her how to cover her mouth with her arm when she coughed.

Her little sister has also had a few colds recently. In fact, for the last 8 months, she has had as many colds as our toddler. She too developed a slight cough this week. Just the other day, as I was cleaning up after lunch, our baby coughed while sitting in her high chair. My toddler ran up to her little sister, proffered an arm, and said "cough in my hand".

It is certainly reassuring to know that our toddler listens and learns!

4 months-old

Being carried by mama

Turned 4 months old on June 11
Weighs almost 8 kg
Laughs a lot
Rolled-over from back to front 2 weeks ago
Favourite activity is watching her big sister
Loves looking at her image in the mirror
Slept 8 hours in a row the night of June 11th
Now if only she could keep that up, her mother would be very appreciative!

Sliding!

Papa Heads Back to Work

Before

Our baby turns 3 weeks old this Thursday. This also marks my husband's return to work. We have opted for the "special parental package" that the Quebec government offers to new parents. We will be taking a combined 25 weeks off work over the first year of our baby's life. We decided that it would make most sense if my husband took a few weeks off initially, as to help our toddler transition from only child to big sister.

A few interesting things occurred over the course of these last three weeks:

1. Our toddler has grown very attached to her papa. He left briefly one day to pick up some documents from work, and she cried when he left! (Ususally she doesn't even bother saying goodbye!)

2. Our toddler is sleeping better at night. Probably because my husband kept returning her to her own bed when she would venture into our room. This is out of necessity, as there simply isn't enough room for the four of us in the same bed, and for the moment the newborn sleeps between my husband and I.

3. Our toddler has grown very attached to her baby sister. Multiple times a day, she requests to hold the baby in her arms. And she is surprisingly gentle with her, patting her hair, and giving her little kisses.

I am a little worried about my husband's return to work. How will I feed both babies simultaneously? Will the toddler agree to nap with us, or will I be foregoing the naps I have been taking with the newborn? How will I survive on even less sleep (my husband has been waking up early with our toddler, allowing the baby and I a few extra hours of sleep in the morning)? I realize that I am not the first mother with more than one young child at home, but I remain a little apprehensive...

After