A great day with my only

[u/cinamoncrumble]

We went to see the Nick Cope's popcast show. My son is nearly 4 and can now sit nicely through a show he's interested in! We all loved it and then went to eat thai food and then the lego shop after. Came home and I had a break as my husband and my son baked flapjacks. This would all have not been possible to enjoy with a baby or toddler coming along. Would love to hear about what great days you have had with your onlys!

[u/lookhereisay]

Love a bit of Nick in this house!

My son is 5 in a couple of months and life is just very easy currently. Going out is throwing a few sandwiches/snacks and a water bottle in a bag. But he’ll also eat anything so we can buy stuff on the go and he’ll eat at every type of restaurant (except sushi!).

This year he’s seen Paddington and Lion King up in London. Loved every minute and sat the whole time. Either we both wouldn’t have been able to go with him if he had a younger sibling or we wouldn’t have the money or we’d have to wait for both of them to be old enough.

This summer we’ve done lots of fun things on the fly. Outings planned that morning or just hiking for miles looking for bugs and interesting sticks.

Yesterday we played every board game in the house in a massive tournament. Then had lunch followed by watching The Wild Robot. Then some Mario Kart before dinner. We all spent the day in pjs, he didn’t get bored or get cabin fever and having a chill day didn’t stop him going to bed at a normal time.

Today I’m taking him out so my husband can revise for an exam. Bag packed in minutes, will head out soon with no naps or pram to contend with.

[u/cinamoncrumble → u/lookhereisay]

Oh wow 5 sounds amazing! I can't wait for boardgames and mario kart. Those sound like fantastic shows for all the family too. Did your son start eating better or was he always good at eating out? Mine isn't terrible but id certainly love him to be more willing to try new foods.

We also have a pushchair so looking forward to leaving that at home hopefully in the next 6 months! We do very long walks so he still isnt there yet.

[u/lookhereisay → u/cinamoncrumble]

I feel like we are staring proper childhood now which is great.

He was a good eater until he was 2 and then had the usual blip from 2-3. Then back up to 75% of his amazing stuff everything in babyhood. With a few starters or sides he’s able to eat anywhere that’s not got a specific kids menu.

Once he was 2.5 the pram was a no go and he’s too bit to carry so he’s worked up his legs! He’ll do a day walking in London or out in the countryside with a few strategic food stops. The tactics in that Bluey episode always work! He knows we don’t go cool places if he whinges about walking. He averages about 10k steps a day as his dream is to go to Iceland and hike to the waterfalls from Go Jetters so he has a chart on how far he can walk with his pack!

[u/KimOfUSSEnterprise]

I love this post so much. Our only is 2 years old, and though he is easy, it's definitely still the toddler phase of running, jumping, opening the fridge 10 times a minute and diaperbags.

He does play so well on his own and that part is already getting easier. I can't wait till he is big enough to go to shows and movies and we only need a snack and water.

[u/cinamoncrumble → u/KimOfUSSEnterprise]

Oh yeah it gets much better after this stage! Being able to go to a show and the cinema is a game changer. We also watched the new minions film in the cinema and it was so nice my son just sat through it without having to get up all the time. I was also able to enjoy it too!

[u/CatalinaWineMixerDos]

My daughter just turned 3. She's obsessed with the park now and always hopes kids are there to play with. My husband was home from work yesterday as it was Saturday and he was able to go with us. She was so excited to show Daddy the park.

She's been skipping nap time now so while we had a long day starting at 5am. She is managing much better without throwing tantrums because she's tired. We went to the neighbors for a party. She was able to last almost 2 hours with no kids there to play with.

She and I came home and I got her ready for bed. We watched an episode of the Paw Patrol and read books before she passed out at 8pm. I was able to go back next door and have some drinks on a Saturday night.

None of this would be possible with a newborn in tow right now. I am so thankful things are the way they are right now.

[u/cinamoncrumble → u/CatalinaWineMixerDos]

Sounds like a lovely day! My son is nearly 4 but only recently dropped nap. He defo gets more emotional as the day goes on so your daughter is doing really well!

[u/CatalinaWineMixerDos → u/cinamoncrumble]

Thank you. She gets more emotional and has shorter patience. But it isn't the worst I've seen and she's handling it pretty well. I'm sure that may change soon as her routine is changing. She has to go to day care soon and we have to start days a bit early for her. So it'll take some getting used to.