Got Baby? Avez vous un bebe?

[loladolly 51]

Hanna Andersson has nice clothes: http://www.hannaandersson.com/home.asp

There’s also Baby Gap, Gymboree, LL Bean Kids, Land’s End.

You may even find a mail order company or two.

Thank you. I do like baby gap a lot, also Gymboree. I am just tired of Carter's, i mean it is cute when they are newborns but when they grow up it tends to always be the same thing. I ll also have my mom buy from french stores and mail to me so.

What about shoes? like good quality shoes such as Kickers for exemple. Here in France i only get him good shoes (pretty pricey too unfortunately) because i know it is very important for them to have good shoes when they are so young (for ankles etc...)

[loladolly 51]

Hi Loladolly, for child care you can find in home daycares, some are better then others just like the daycare centers. You could also look for a nanny I hear a lot of ppl recommend care.com for finding sitters. From what I know of preschools they are pretty much the same as most daycares some better then others. You will notice most parents in the US like to call the daycare schools, and some ppl will go as far and tell that they are a must in child development. Montasory (sp) schools are another form of daycare that some ppl feel are better quality. I'm sorry I can't help with daycares other then telling you what I hear from friends, I am very lucky that I'm able to stay home.

As for nice cloths, I really don't think there's much out there, Old Navy I hear is pretty good, I never found anything I liked in there. Almost every stores here sells Carters, but after 5 kids I tend to stop being so picky.

Thanks.

I know i don't want daycare centers, it is too expensive for what it is. How do you find good home daycares, like professional ones, not jsut one random person who decides to watch kids at home to make money.

I think i will look into montasory school as well when he is of age for school in my country (3/4 years old), i also have heard this is better quality and probably more expensive but well. i don't want my son to get behind from french kids of his age because there is no school like in france especially that one day we'll plan on moving to france.

[VeeNDee 44]

Thanks.

I know i don't want daycare centers, it is too expensive for what it is. How do you find good home daycares, like professional ones, not jsut one random person who decides to watch kids at home to make money.

I think i will look into montasory school as well when he is of age for school in my country (3/4 years old), i also have heard this is better quality and probably more expensive but well. i don't want my son to get behind from french kids of his age because there is no school like in france especially that one day we'll plan on moving to france.

For those who are curious here is the Wikipedia article on Montessori education:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education

I myself started school in gr. 1 without kindergarten and had no trouble with classes. I think mostly coz I loved to read and my parents read to me all the time as a kid. As a teacher myself who has been in various kindergarten classes, sometimes I wonder how good it is for all day class ---I can see kindergarten with 5 and 6 year olds, but 2 year olds?? I would rather have my 2 year old with me... what are they really going to learn that they can't learn later. It seems like glorified expensive daycare to me, whether it is called school or not. Just my 2 cents

Edited June 16, 2013 by VeeNDee

[Ontarkie 14,133]

For those who are curious here is the Wikipedia article on Montessori education:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education

I myself started school in gr. 1 without kindergarten and had no trouble with classes. I think mostly coz I loved to read and my parents read to me all the time as a kid. As a teacher myself who has been in various kindergarten classes, sometimes I wonder how good it is for all day class ---I can see kindergarten with 5 and 6 year olds, but 2 year olds?? I would rather have my 2 year old with me... what are they really going to learn that they can't learn later. It seems like glorified expensive daycare to me, whether it is called school or not. Just my 2 cents

I'm so glad you said that, that is exactly how I feel about the daycares here. I hate how some call them schools.

I think the Montessori schools also have a daycare version but they are still called school here. I do hear it is much better then regular daycares. How to find a good in home daycare check out Care.com I see that site recommended by a lot of moms. They have different types of sitters, you could even do a nanny from them. Other then off the internet the best way would be word of mouth, ask friends and family.

[loladolly 51]

For those who are curious here is the Wikipedia article on Montessori education:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education

I myself started school in gr. 1 without kindergarten and had no trouble with classes. I think mostly coz I loved to read and my parents read to me all the time as a kid. As a teacher myself who has been in various kindergarten classes, sometimes I wonder how good it is for all day class ---I can see kindergarten with 5 and 6 year olds, but 2 year olds?? I would rather have my 2 year old with me... what are they really going to learn that they can't learn later. It seems like glorified expensive daycare to me, whether it is called school or not. Just my 2 cents

Kindergarten starts at 3 years old here, or the year you turn 3 and since school starts in september most kids are 3 by the time they go to school. Here they learn a lot during those 3 years (it is not mandatory to put your child in school before 6 years old though, but most kids go especially for kids whom both parents who work). They learn a lot about counting, logic and they start developing abilities for 1st grade so they can go straight to learn how to read really fast. Most 1st grade kids here know how to read by christmas of 1st grade.

I guess i will have to look more into those Montessori classes. I will have to go to work at some point. I have already taken 2 years off since i've had my son ( i graduated only a little bit after having him). I love my son more than anything and i was glad to spend those 2 years taking care of him but now it is time for me to be independent. I don't want to depend on my future husband or my parents anymore nor the government money i am getting right now. I came to the conclusion that i cannot entirely fulfill myself if i don't make my own money and would not be able to support myself and my son if one day anything happens to my future husband or we get divorced. Or i would love to remain a stay at home mom and will have no problem dealing with the poor image society have of us and the little comments i am sure you have all heard about being a stay at home mom.

I will look into the home daycare and schools when time comes with my future husband. Thanks everyone for your advice.

[Marilyn. 340]

I don't want my kid to go to preschool. they already have a lot of years of school ahead of them. I just want her to have fun and be a kid.. of course I will teach her the basics. And I plan on joining a mommy and me group so she would have interaction with other children and I would have interaction with other adults..

[NikLR 13,227]

My daughter went to playschool, not preschool. It was awesome because it was an outdoor learning play school. So they went outside every day unless it was like -20 to play ball or go for walks around the wood (it was at a nature center.) She learned about animals and nature and loved it. They had visits from owls and other animals, saw an indoor planetarium, and it was only 2 days a week. I thought it was good socialization and good for her to learn to be away from me for a few hours a couple days a week.

[Marilyn. 340]

I just scored an Arm & Hammer Munchkin Diaper pail for $3.59 at Target

It rang up as $20 something but I told them it said $3.59 on the shelf. they did a price check and saw that I was right. They said it was mistake but they had to honour it... I also got two 20 packs of refills that were on sale for $3.59 each too. Oh and the refills rang up wrong too... Everything all together only cost me @ $11..

Someone who works for Target assets protection said it was a printer error. It should have said saves you $3.59...

Edited June 17, 2013 by Marilyn.

[NikLR 13,227]

I just scored an Arm & Hammer Munchkin Diaper pail for $3.59 at Target

It rang up as $20 something but I told them it said $3.59 on the shelf. they did a price check and saw that I was right. They said it was mistake but they had to honour it... I also got two 20 packs of refills that were on sale for $3.59 each too. Oh and the refills rang up wrong too... Everything all together only cost me @ $11..

Someone who works for Target assets protection said it was a printer error. It should have said saves you $3.59...

WOOT SCORE!

Did you do the ikea thing and run to the car yelling "start the car! START THE CAR!!!" lol

I kid!!

[Marilyn. 340]

no, but all the way home I was like I can't believe the deal I just got...

I found out about the deal on a baby forum I am a part of. There were a lot of ladies running to Target and most of them got the same deal. My husband said someone is getting fired at Target...lol

[Autumnal 25]

Zulily.com is a very popular site for finding cute kid's clothes. Most of my successes are online.

Carter's is very common, and not somewhere I particularly care for. I have success sometimes shopping at TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Winners -- they can carry a pretty broad range. We also have an excellent shop in town that does resale on premium children's clothing lines, and the owner is extremely selective about what she buys. Consider possibly looking at high end consignment; sometimes they will have clothes that are brand new. Once I find a company or brand I like, I'll search for it online.

[Marilyn. 340]

call me crazy but I find a lot of the Carter brand clothes adorable..

[Autumnal 25]

I'm the product of a Montessori school/daycare. My own experience has been highly positive all in all, and this little one will be enrolled in one if I can find a good one in my area.

My parents enrolled me in a Montessori when I was 3. As I'm an August birthday, you can see where that falls. I attended from 8A-4PM daily, Monday to Friday, all the way to the end of kindergarten. In Canada, that put me at 5 years old, ready for first grade in elementary school. It was a blast. I feel the education I received there more than prepared me for public school, where I excelled, and just really enjoyed myself.

The Montessori curriculum factors in several important elements including cooperative play time, "basic" learning skills (reading, writing, problem solving, counting, numeracy), "child" skills like manners at the table and shopping, tying our shoes, and so forth. I also picked up language skills -- parlez-vous francais? -- and communication skills of varied sorts based on the other students who were in my cohort/grade. For example, we had a boy whose sister was deaf, so we learned basic sign language. My grade for kindergarten had 7 people; I can name them all to this day. The lower level child care cohorts were larger, but not by much. We had nap time, lots of supervision, and lots of time to just be kids.

Lots of those "soft" skills were backed up with field trips out and about. For example, we would go to the park in the centre of Victoria (Beacon Hill) to learn about totem poles, flowers, the swans and the ducks on the pond, whatever the season happened to be. We collected leaves and made art with them, but we also learned why the trees changed colour and what that meant. We went to public places and learned how to behave, or reinforced the good lessons we had. I remember specifically going to a Scottish tea house, getting crumpets and a cup of tea when I was about 5, and the owner reading a story to us. We thought that was pretty awesome.

So, all in all, I can say this is definitely a positive avenue if you can find good teachers and a positive Montessori experience.

Kindergarten starts at 3 years old here, or the year you turn 3 and since school starts in september most kids are 3 by the time they go to school. Here they learn a lot during those 3 years (it is not mandatory to put your child in school before 6 years old though, but most kids go especially for kids whom both parents who work). They learn a lot about counting, logic and they start developing abilities for 1st grade so they can go straight to learn how to read really fast. Most 1st grade kids here know how to read by christmas of 1st grade.

I guess i will have to look more into those Montessori classes.... I don't want to depend on my future husband or my parents anymore nor the government money i am getting right now. I will look into the home daycare and schools when time comes with my future husband. Thanks everyone for your advice.

no, but all the way home I was like I can't believe the deal I just got...

I found out about the deal on a baby forum I am a part of.

Ooh, which forum?

[Marilyn. 340]

babycenter

[Kimbear 53]

so out of curiosity how much weight gain in a week is good or bad? lol i went for my appointment on the 10th and then on the 15th to my family doctor cuz i was sick and i gained 3 lbs in a week. I've gained a total of 16lbs since i found out at 8 weeks that i was pregnant. And now i'm 21 weeks. I feel like my stomach is going to blow up lol especially after eating..i'm still trying to figure out how much bigger i'm going to get.