|
Be a parent, not a sheep.
|
|
|
| Update and Question |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|09:21 pm] |
Update in regards to this post: http://community.livejournal.com/parenting101/5321045.html and a question. :)
UPDATE: We let his ex-wife know a few days before that I would be there, so my presence wouldn't be a shock. She said she really didn't care. The court date was today. I went, and she had a relative there with her as well. I think pretty much everyone that was present had someone with them. I mean, who really wants to wait an hour and half by themselves? They just called the two in, and everything was done within ten minutes.
QUESTION: I had to also take my daughter to the doctor today. She has a severe ear infection and bronchitis. Both medicines I received are liquid. My daughter is terrible about taking anything, much less liquids. Any ideas? We did get some cold medicine in her the other day via Mt. Dew, but she's wisened up to that. Thanks in advance! |
|
|
| Drop-off birthday parties |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|03:37 pm] |
Parents of older kids: Assuming the invitation doesn't specify, at what age would you start asking the parents whether it was a drop-off party? At what age(s) would you think it was weird if some invitee's parent called and asked whether it was drop-off, both too young and too old?
Why I ask: I'm an attempting-to-reform helicopter parent and also apparently just not-so-much with the social clues. I hadn't really thought about dropping him off at parties yet until the most recent party we attended; most of the parents stayed and 3 or 4 dropped their kids off.
My secret selfish reason: What can I do to make it clear that Kiddo's birthday party is not drop off? There's no way I'm interested in supervising 10 four year olds.
Also, my original subject line was "drop-off parties," but re-reading it looked like "drop-off panties." I should have left it, y/y? |
|
|
| Vulva Time! |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|01:57 pm] |
I've seen some similar posts before, but I'm still not sure where to find what I need.
My son is two and a half and very interested in his body and everyone else's. He keeps asking me if I have a penis. When I explain that no, I have a vulva and a vagina, he asks to see them. Maybe I am uptight, but I am not comfortable showing my son my vulva. He is grabby! I had to stop taking baths with him before he was a year and a half old.
I need a very explicit sex/body education book that shows very clearly what bodies look like, but is hopefully still geared for small kids. I have bookmarked some of the books previously recommended here, like the Child Atlas: Human Body and It's Not The Stork! The Atlas looks more like what I want, but it's for much older children. I'm not sure about the quality of the anatomical pictures in the Stork book. Can anyone who has one of these books confirm that they're what I'm looking for, or do you have something else you would recommend? |
|
|
| another potty seat question |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|10:57 am] |
So, although my son is only 15 months old, I'm thinking ahead of myself about potty training.
1st question.
potty chair or toilet topper? which did you prefer for at home use? i'm already planning on getting one of those fold-up ones that you can use either on the toilet or it can stand by itself to be used w/ a plastic bag for emergencys. the weekend of the 23rd i'm hoping to pick up the cutest kiddie potty chair, but if it'll ultimitaly be a waste of money, i won't.
2nd q.
my son throws a fit if i read something other than his books to him. what are some good sites for potty training information?
ETA: this is the seat topper that i'm thinking of getting: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3135626
if anyone has one, please let me know if it's worth it or not. |
|
|
| Toilets yo, or not your avg travel question |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|09:53 am] |
|
So my two year old is mostly potty trained, she wear trainers to bed and when we go out. Today is travel day, we have about 6 hours of travel time. Am I completely insane if I put the little seat thing that goes on the toilet in my diaper bag? I'm not even sure she'll tell me she has to go while we're out but I know she won't go on a toilet without that seat. It's coming with I'm just trying to decide where to pack it. |
|
|
| Activities for young toddlers |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|09:23 am] |
My daughter is 17 months (what? who told that kid she could grow up?) and she stays with her Grandpa during the week. She has nearly no interaction with other kids, which was fine when she was younger but I'd like to get her into some sort of activity where she will be with other kids her age.
Any suggestions? So far we have thought of doing a swim class at the YMCA, or maybe Gymboree? |
|
|
| Boosters |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|08:52 am] |
When did you switch from a high chair to a booster seat, and do you have one you particularly liked?
My son (16m) is rejecting the high chair lately. While traveling on vacation we used booster seats at a few restaurants and I'd like to give it a try at home. But the boosters I see around here (cushie type) don't sit him high enough up - maybe we have low chairs?
Any recommendations are helpful. |
|
|
| Bath toys |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|11:24 pm] |
I am so tired of showering with a billion bath toys underfoot. I bought a bath net but for some reason it won't stick to my tub or the tile above it even without the toys in it. I can get to of the four suction cups to stick sometimes but that doesn't really help much and all the toys fall out.
Am I doing something wrong here or are some tubs just not meant for suction cups?
Also, are there any LARGE bath toy holders that do not require suction cups? I can't seem to find any.
ETA: I have a Munchkin net from Target. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|11:41 pm] |
Pro tip: Lansinoh is the best thing for dried and cracked lips, ever.
My 3 year old boy and I have severe, dry cracked lips despite staying hydrated, and both of our lips have been bleeding. We tried every lip ointment under the sun, and I decided "Screw it" and tried this, and within hours my lips were 80% better.
So, if you or your youngins' have dried lips, and have left over Lansinoh (or still use it) try it out. |
|
|
| good news |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|07:50 pm] |
just wanted to thank you all. Thea had some more blood drawn and half the results came back whithin a few hours. Her potassium wasent elevated at all. It looks like the first two tests they were artificaly elevelated and there is no problems. Everything is comming back looking NORMAL!
we are so happy! today we were so worried and trying to prep ourselves for the worse.
We are still on the look out for donor milk. Unfortunalty there is a lady on the island who can donate but needs a pump but i cant afford that at the moment. SO she is doing fine on the dairy formula but im not liking her on it.
Other then that, she is doing good and in the last 3 weeks gaiend 0.5KG....
thank you so much for all your suport! |
|
|
| Drawer latches |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|06:16 pm] |
|
We're currently baby proofing and having a hard time finding something to lock our drawers. We have (apparently) weird drawers that won't work with the latches we've come across because there is no frame in between the drawers.
For all the latches we've seen, you need to install the female part of the latch on the inside top of the drawer frame, but in our case, there is nothing there - just the bottom of the next drawer up, so there's nothing to hook it to.
We have tried those sliding cabinet latches to hook the drawer knobs together so that if you pull one drawer, it also pulls the one it's hooked to, but our little guy is strong enough to open both. Also we were able to use those multi-purpose straps for one set of drawers, but for the rest, there's no corner to attach to because they're in the middle of cabinets.
Also, we have knobs, not handles, but I'd be willing to switch out to handles if there's a solution that would work for our situation with handles.
Has anyone seen any drawer latches that would go on the side of the drawer? Or have any recommendations for our drawers? Thanks!
|
|
|
| you! sahms! |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|05:01 pm] |
After the last two weeks of enforced SAHMommy-dom for me, I must ask:
HOW THE HECK DO YOU FIND TIME TO USE THE COMPUTER?
I simply do not understand. My 15-month-old monkey child wouldn't let me 2 inches from her side! |
|
|
| quick she's begging!! |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|07:00 pm] |
yogurt for a small tummy virus (barfed once, diarrhea once, over a 12 hour period):
is it bad cuz its dairy?
or good because of the bacteria?
TIA!
ETA:: Well, I gave it to her, and I have great news- We made it to the toilet before it came back up :-D
Thanks anyway, I truest you guys with all my important parenting decisions ;-) |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|06:55 pm] |
My five month old has a tiny bit of cradle cap on the lash line of her lower eyelid.
She was always rubbing that eye and it is easily inflamed, so I asked about it at her ped appointment. The doc said she did't see anything unusual.
A few days later I noticed the flakes. She once had a small spot on her head that I was able to removes with a soft brush and a few drops of olive oil. For her eye, I've tried holding a warm, damp cotton pad over the area for a few minutes, but can't dislodge the flakes. She also hates the process.
Her eye is now really irritated from me messing with it and she constantly rubs it. Anyone have any ideas about this? |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|02:22 pm] |
Does anyone know where you can get a stainless steel training cup with two handles, but without a sippy cup top? The feeding specialist my little one has seen wants us to either use a normal cup or a straw, but not the sippy lids.
I love the Foogo thermos with straw we have, but it's still a little bit advanced for my little one.
thanks in advance! |
|
|
| Self haircut disaster |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|04:58 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  discontent | ] |
I need advice/suggestions because I think I'm losing my mind. Okay, I know there are a lot of you here with young children, so this is kind of directed at parents of older children and teens or anyone who can give me help. (I'm having a bad day, here, forgive me.)
My daughter just turned 12 today. As most of you can imagine, she's 12 going on 17. Over the weekend, she had a friend stay over. The next day, I found large chunks of hair in the bathroom and naturally wondered whose it was. No one had any idea. I let it go and forgot about it.
Then, today I look at my daughter, who was trying to cleverly avoid facing me, and I see chunks of hair missing from the front of her hair. Apparently, she decided she wanted her longer hair trimmed a bit and did it herself and it looks absolutely horrible. It looks like she did it with her eyes closed. The hairdresser told her last time not to play around with her hair because she had such a mess of it and she agreed. But then she turned around and did it again. Why?? I have no idea. I can't even tell you how bad it looks.
So, my question. Should I be upset? (Obviously I'm livid about this.) Should I punish her? Or am I overreacting? I guess I'm upset too because she lied to me and said she had no idea whose hair it was. I just wish she would have told me she wanted it cut and I would have gladly taken her. So, am I just nuts here or what should I do, if anything? Sorry if this seems stupid, but I'm having a horrible day. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much for listening. |
|
|
| crawl tunnels |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|01:00 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  curious | ] |
At what age do kids love those crawl tunnel things? ykwim. |
|
|
| games and activities for 5-year-olds |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|12:47 pm] |
|
Hello and happy new year What games and activities do your 5-year-olds like? I am interested in both active and board games |
|
|
| Transitioning... |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|12:30 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | curious | ] |
Since our son was born, he's slept in our room..now he's coming up on 2 years old and I was wondering if anyone had any tips on transitioning him into his own room? We'll be moving back in with my husband after about a year or so of seperation so I don't know if I should put his bed in our room for a couple of nights and then move it into the next room, or what I should do...thanks :) |
|
|
| Poop Question |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|11:29 am] |
My peditrician is the pits and so I come to you, P101. One of my daughters has had diarrhea for two going on three days now. I'm feeding her yogurt and bananas and keeping all acidic foods to a minimum. She's eating and drinking well. But no matter what I do - baths, frequent diaper changes, lathered Desitin, easy-on-the-way-out foods... well, her poor bum is developing almost an acid burn. Has anyone gone through this? Is there something else I can try to prevent her bottom from falling off? My poor baby is in pain!
ETA: Thanks! |
|
|
| Dinosaur book suggestions |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|04:09 pm] |
My four-year old is into dinosaurs now and I'd really appreciate some book suggestions. We would be interested in age-appropriate factual books as well as fictional stories.
Bonus points if it's anything about Maiasaura, the "good mother lizard," that rules the roost over at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) p101_cretaceous.
Cross-posted to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) children_books and geekparents. |
|
|
| UTI in Toddler |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|08:34 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
Maybe I'm way off, but I get the feeling my son has a UTI. Everytime I change him and attempt to wipe poop or just clean around his penis, he cries and grabs it. It's not red, doesn't look any different than normal, and he also walks around holding his hand over his diaper every once in a while.
I've looked up the symptoms for a UTI, he doesn't have a fever, his diapers don't smell funny or look discolored, but he is peeing a lot less considering how much liquid he's taking in. He's acting totally normal, except for diaper changes. While those were never a tea party, they've gotten considerably worse.
Before I bring him to the freaken doctor for a ridiculous copay, is there something maybe I'm missing? Does it sound like a UTI? HalP? |
|
|
| hair cuts |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|01:35 am] |
When did you break down and get your baby his/her first haircut? Charlotte is nine months and three days old and was born with even more hair than she has now.. and it's HORRIBLE. It knots up the second I put her to bed.. I use johnson and johnson no more tangles. It works like a charm, but once bed time comes, it's over with.
( Head full of hair )
I keep telling myself no haircuts until she's a year old, but if your child had hair as long and as messy as hers, what would you do? |
|
|
| Weird kid does what? |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|05:55 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | bored | ] |
Okay, I'm bored and the only thing entertaining me right now is my own kid. She was naked except for a pair of socks on her hands. Then her dad wrestled her into a shirt, and she is now wearing a diaper, socks on her hands, and pirate print babylegs on her arms. And, briefly, a two sizes too small bonnet.
What's your weird kid doing today? |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|06:16 pm] |
When it comes to having a job & a kid, is it worth it to have a job that makes you completely miserable for the money? [Edited @ 5:45am] My husband starts work today, we have help from family, & this place I've got an interview at expects you to use 12 programs without being able to play with them in training. I worked here 2yrs ago & was miserable everyday. My emotions have been off since Zack was born & I'm not sure about it. I'm probably just gonna look elsewhere. I could wait tables & be happier. |
|
|
| Validate me plz! |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|04:46 pm] |
Today we implemented our first timeout, and I'm not sure how well it worked.
My son is 22 months old (yeah, he's not the magic age of 2 yet, but his behavior is getting out of hand). He went into timeout because he would not stop pinching me while I was trying to get him dressed, despite me telling him repeatedly. So I set the kitchen timer and made him stand in a boring corner of the kitchen for 2 minutes. He threw a tantrum the WHOLE TIME. He tried to run off about 20 times. I did the whole "silently put him back in the corner and restart the timer" thing each time, but he wouldn't stop screaming. Finally I realized he had no idea he had to STAY in the corner, so I silently held him there for the longest two minutes of my life (he kept crying). Once the timer beeped and I let him out, he got a hug and a kiss and we had the "you were in timeout because you kept pinching mamma" talk.
Is this the right way to go about it? Should I be changing either my methods or my expectations? Does it ever get easier?
PS. don't know how relevant this is, but he ALWAYS whines to be held and picked up, and if we try to redirect or refuse, he throws a tantrum until we hold/pick him up. So that was what he was crying about while he was in timeout. |
|
|
| School ratings- grain of salt or gospel truth? |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|09:22 pm] |
I know there are some educators on this community, and while a lot of the questions here tend to be about new parenting questions, I'm hoping to catch an expert on a long term question.
How accurate are school ranking sites? The elementary school that my kids are slated to attend has gotten 2 out of 5 stars on several sites, but when I check the national testing descriptions it's showing ahead of the state averages on everything but special needs. Would that really be enough to skew the numbers that badly?
I know any education is only as good as the parental involvement, but I'm rattled by that awful score.
What ranking sites/magazines/resources do you use to evaluate your local schools? What's the most reliable? Educators out there, if we go to a poorly ranked school, is that going to slow my kids down? |
|
|
| Eczema in 2-yr-old |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|09:47 pm] |
I'm afraid my toddler has eczema. He has a nickel-sized patch above his left nipple which is red, inflamed, dry, and crusty-looking with some dried white flaky stuff on it. Also he has some smaller bits here and there down the backs and insides of his legs. Poor lil dude is miserable, scratching at it all the time. :(((
Here's what I've tried: bathing in lukewarm water with Aveeno wash, not bathing every day, Aquaphor jelly, all cotton clothes, spot-treatment with hydrocortisone cream, oral Benadryl. Nothing really seems to make it go away. Sometimes it'll subside a bit, but then gets all inflamed again. This has only started in the last two months or so. Anybody have suggestions? Should I take him to a ped for allergy tests or something? I want my happy, smushy, soft baby back. :(((( |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|09:48 am] |
So I have a few unrelated questions that I'm hoping I can get some help with.
1) My son (who just turned 1 on December 27) drives me crazy when I'm changing his diaper. The moment I open the diaper it is like a powerful magnet pulls his hands to his penis. It's incredibly annoying. He absolutely loves pulling on his junk. I don't mind so much when it's just pee but when that area is covered in poop, it's not fun at all. I've tried distracting him, holding him down (which is very difficult) and giving him things to hold/look at. For a few months, he'd be content holding whatever it was I gave him. Now,he throws it to the floor and goes about his business. Did anyone else have this problem and if so, any suggestions on what to do?
2) Secondly, what are your experiences with night lights? I know every kid is different and it's a matter of trial and error, but I'm curious about others experiences. My son is waking at night after about 3 hours in his crib. I'm wondering if a night light would wake him up more or if it would comfort him back to sleep being able to see where he was.
3) What do I do at a first birthday party? I've never been to one and for some reason I keep thinking it's like a shower. Do we do group games or anything? (I'm not a huge fan of games in the first place but I worry I've got to keep everyone entertained somehow) Is it necessary to give out favors? It's going to be rather large (like 40 people) and in my church's gym. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do other than serve food. Any suggestions? |
|
|
| potty post! woo! (poo!) |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|03:49 pm] |
So, I read the potty training tag for as long as I could possibly stand and didn't see this, so I'm asking.
Anyone have a kiddo who didn't want to wait until he was finished before getting up? I feel like I have to hold him down have the time b/c he wants to stand up midstream or mid-poo. Or he'll poo the tiniest little bit and then stand up and want to rinse and flush, and then he'll have to come back and poo more - again the tiniest little bit - ad nauseum. We're getting a potty seat for the big toilet today, IDK if that will be different than the little potty chair, but he seems interested in going on the big potty more than the little chair.
Any ideas? (other than duct tape?) |
|
|
| Cleaning a pack and play mattress??? |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|04:10 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  determined | ] |
Okay mommies!!! I have a pack and play that needs serious cleaning and deoderizing...My daughter peed like a gallon earlier today and it brought out all of the smells of old milk and such that I thought washed out the last time I sprayed it down and let it dry outside...I have read a few things online about people using their carpet cleaners and/or steamers (like the Shark) on them, but I thought I would check here first...I am willing to try anything...The smell is REALLY bad...It is currently outside soaking up the sun...Thanks alot!! |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|03:27 pm] |
I'm trying out a new recipe for my new slow cooker that calls for 1/2 cup of wine. I didn't know how anything else would make it taste so I decided we'd try it this way first. I didn't realize alcohol doesn't completely cook out. Do you think it would be okay to give to the boy? He's a year old tomorrow *tear*
Or...am I going to parent hell for even thinking about giving it to him? Pardon any stupid because I don't drink and I don't cook so I don't know this crap. |
|
|
| Opinions on high chairs, or "help me spend more money P101" |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|10:59 am] |
Our twins are nearly 6 months old and so I am starting to consider high chairs. I like the traditional high chair because it can be used for stuff other than feeding (like playing with messy stuff), but I don't know how often we'd actually do that. However, they take up a ton of space and we are somewhat limited (though we could squeeze two in).
Booster seats are nice too, but the biggest issue I see with them is that our dining room chairs are padded. I don't think they'd be very stable with boosters on top. We have a small table in the kitchen with unpadded chairs, but the chairs are barstool height, and I am kind of afraid of attaching a booster to those because that also seems unstable.
I have even considered those stupidly expensive but cool Stokke chairs - these are really nice because they bring the baby right up to the table so they can be part of the family meal. The downside there, I think, is that they are then eating off the table itself, or a placemat on the table. Being that our table is a dark wood table, it gets polished with Pledge a couple of times a week; I don't really want the little guys ingesting that stuff (but I also don't want my table to be thrashed just yet).
Thoughts? What do you have and why do you love/hate it? |
|
|
| potassium keeps going up |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|03:41 am] |
ok, this is getting sent to p101, p102, brestfeeding, and my own journal. this is written at 4 am, so yes there are spelling mistakes so suck it.
my DD (4 months) had some blood drawn when we were in emerge for her reflux. they tested her potassium as a rutine draw. we ended up going on boxing day to the doctor who was covering our GP as her potassium and blood count was high. he wanted to re do the potassium becouse it was done as a heal stick and thought it could be artificaly elevated. and wanted to get a blood draw from a vein so to go to the hosptal.
we went on last tuesday to get a blood draw from the hosptal (monday they were closed becouse of boxing day) and yesterday i got a call that we needed to come in ASAP and we went in and found out that her potassium taken from the vein was even higher then the heal poke.
He checked her out, and said her fontanel *sp?* is slightly sunken in, so she is dehydrated, but not enough to warent going to the ER. Just to give her elecotrolites *sp?* every time she spits up and not to give her milk or formula for 20 mins after a spit up.
Now this is wehere is is concerned. He said she is shwoing sighns of dehydration. With deyhidration he says her potassium should be down, not up. She is acting fine except for the spitting up, heart rate is good. He says it could be one of 20 diffrent things. the first being Kidney failure (but the additonal test that he did with the seccond potassium came back that its mostlikely not kidney failure), then it could be addisons disease, or diabities, or a bunch of other things.
we have a long list of stuff that he is testing on monday when the labs at the hopstal are open to the general public. stuff like an AM cortozal *sp?*, glucose, insulan *sp?*, and others....
now have any of you ever had this issue with your baby?
now becouse of my lack of suply she is also taking formula. My father brought up a question for me to ask you brestfeeding woman. can my brestmilk be high in potassium? i dont eat a lot of bananas, im only on celexia.
now for you women who are reading this and are in the Vancouver BC area. Im desperatly looking for doner milk. even more so now with all these issues going on. please contact me via a DM here on LJ. |
|
|
| room temperature? |
[Jan. 2nd, 2010|03:27 pm] |
|
So I just read that ideal room temperature is between 68-72 degrees and I'm a little confused on how to keep my baby comfortable at that temperature. We've been keeping it warm, our thermostat is set around 77 most of the time. I know that sounds really high, but I think out apartment doesn't insulate well, because we're both comfortable at that, most people that visit are, and 77 at our apartment feels like 70-72 did at our old apartment (which was smaller, though). Some days it's higher, some it's lower - lately it's been in the 20s so it's been around that, when it was in the 40s we had it set lower.
In any case, I went and turned it down to 70 (it was actually already on 74 since we didn't actually have the heat on), so it's dropped to 73 now, but my question is, what do I do to keep my daughter (about 6 weeks old) comfortable? We were sleeping her in a long-sleeved onesie with legs/feet (not fleece or anything) and generally no blanket, occasionally a light one if we're awake, and in turn we were sleeping with light or no blankets for the most part. She was rarely sweaty or red, and if she was it was only in the spots where she was laying against the car seat or whatnot and then we'd turn down the heat. If the temperature gets below 75 or so she usually gets cold hands. Should we just sleep her in warmer clothes? More layers? What do your babies sleep in? I guess I'm just confused because I was told to dress her in one more layer than we're wearing, or the same amount if she's close to us, and keep the room temperature how we're comfortable lightly clothed.
Also, is the fact that I went and turned down the heat suddenly going to be a shock to her system? I've covered her with a light blanket to compensate. For the record, 77 or so normally seems roasting to me, too - it just doesn't feel that hot in this apartment for some reason.
|
|
|
| Question |
[Jan. 2nd, 2010|03:11 pm] |
Might be a silly question, but I really dont know, What age do you start taking your kids to the dentist? My daughter is about to be a year old and only has 2 teeth still so Im not worried now but I was thinking of making myself one and it struck me i didnt know when to start taking her... |
|
|
| When is the time right? SAHM vs. Career Mom |
[Jan. 2nd, 2010|01:34 pm] |
Okay, ladies! I need some opinions.
My son is 17 months old and I've been a SAHM his whole life. It's not something I ever wanted to be or thought I'd enjoy, but I was wrong and I've loved and cherished every second of it. However, I dream of being an RN one day. I was actually supposed to start nursing school when he was 4 weeks old and just couldn't do it (emotionally). I know I made the right choice and have not ever regretted not going. Now that he's older, I'm wondering if I should attempt to go back (It would be August 2010 and he'll be 25 months old by then). I'd also like to have another baby sometime in the future and I'd like to stay home with that baby for at least a year. So here are the scenarios I've thought of and I'd like some opinions on them.
Option 1: Skip school for the time being. Continue to be a SAHM and start trying for another baby when my son turns 2. Attempt to go to nursing school when both children are school age. The pros to this situation are obvious, but I worry about the cons. Will juggling two children instead of one make succeeding in a demanding nursing program quite a bit harder. Will I even go back if I wait that long? The longer I wait the more I lose what I learned in the pre-requisite courses.
Option 2: Go to nursing school in August. School will take approximately 2 years. Work for about a year after graduating then try for baby # 2 and quit work for a year or more when baby # 2 arrives. The pros to this situation are that I'd only have one child to care for/drive to daycare/spend time with while juggling all that nursing school requires and then I'd have an awesome job when I was done. But I'd miss out on two years of my (still very young) son's life and I wouldn't plan on working for very long before having baby # 2. So it'd really just be a matter of getting school out of the way and not really about working.
There are pros and cons to both options and I suck at being an adult and making these HUGE decisions for myself and my family, so I'm leaving it up to you P101. No really, I know there is a good mix of working, schooling, and SAH Mommies in this community. Maybe one of you has even been in my exact situation. I'll appreciate any opinions or advice you can offer.
Also, it might be important to mention that financially my husband and I are stable. A second income would be really nice, but is not a necessity right now. We don't live a life of luxury, but we are comfortable and have never gone without.
|
|
|
| How to stop the pacifier ...? |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|11:58 pm] |
I'm writing this for my friend because she doesn't have a LJ. Her daughter is still using a pacifier and she's trying to figure out how to effectively take it away? Her daughter is 3 yrs. She normally has the pacifier at night, and spits it out while sleeping but enjoys having it during the day while watching cartoons.
She's tried taking it away several times, but her daughter cries all night without it.
Any suggestions? |
|
|
| vitamins for toddler? |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|10:25 pm] |
Does anyone give those Flintstones vitamins to their toddlers/kids? If you don't use those ones what ones do you use? My son is 27 months old and he does eat a variety of foods but has gotten so picky so I am thinking about starting vitamins just to make sure he is getting everything he needs. I myself take a daily vitamin so I figure it couldn't hurt him to start taking one too.
So what does everyone recommend? |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|10:01 pm] |
|
What does a divorced parent need to cross the border into another country (from the US to Canada) with a child in the form of paperwork? Other than the obvious passport. I know he needs a release from the other parent, but is there anything else? |
|
|
| Baby's first foods |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|08:15 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | solids | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | confused | ] |
Our son will be starting solid foods soon.
We'll be making our own foods. I have a general idea of what foods are good to start with. However I read it's better to start with veggies since they are less sweet and babies will easily get a taste for sweet foods (especially if he's my child).
Suggestions for starter foods?
ETA: We have no interest in BLW. We don't plan to BLW. |
|
|
| babies drinking water |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|07:56 pm] |
My daughter is almost 6 months old. She's really interested in getting water into her mouth - she watches me drink water, she licks her arm in the bath to get the water, sucks wet wash cloths with great excitement, and she puts her face down to the bath water to try and slurp some up. She's exclusively breastfed right now, though we may start playing with solids in the form of sweet potato pieces or something in a few weeks.
I know babies aren't support to have water until a certain point, but at what point is a teeny bit (like an ounce or less?) okay to play with for drinking? Is it a good idea to offer her some in a cup or a bottle?
Just curious, I am not dead set on giving my baby water or anything. ;) |
|
|
| Sleep questions |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|02:23 pm] |
Last night, my 22 month old fell out of our very high bed with the bedrails up. He didn't get hurt, just scared. It's been obvious to us for quite some time that he needs his own place to sleep, but it's been a struggle finding the right arrangement.
He usually starts out the night in his own crib but then ends up in our bed sometime during the night. He sleeps better in his own crib, but he doesn't like it. He would prefer to sleep with us, even though it's extremely uncomfortable for him and for us (he tosses and turns and thrashes around). Until about a month ago, he used to nurse 2-3 times a night. I'd managed to get him to hold off until 4 AM, but then he got sick and after that he and I went away for 10 days and I didn't want to keep up the nightweaning while he was in such an unfamiliar environment. Now we're back to the frequent night-nursing again, and my trying to cut him off after 10 minutes results in a meltdown.
When he wakes at night, he's equally comfortable being nursed to sleep, or walked to sleep by his father (unless he's genuinely hungry), but he cannot soothe himself to sleep. If he's in bed with us, I've let him cry himself back to sleep which takes about 30 seconds. When he's by himself, he just keeps screaming and wakes himself up even more.
We have a few issues with his crib as well. One is that it's in another room. I wish it could be in our bedroom, but there is no floorspace to put a crib, a mattress or the floor, or any other type of co-sleeping arrangement.
Also, his crib is quite low (it's an IKEA crib on the lowest setting), so it's not always easy to put him in the crib once he's asleep. His crib is easily convertible to a toddler bed but I'm hesitant to do that because I don't want him waking up in the dark and coming to find us and getting hurt.
I do want to get him STTN in his own bed, but I'm not sure how to do it. I think nightweaning him first and then working on transitioning to the crib sounds easiest, but I'm wondering if p101 has other suggestions? |
|
|
| Quitting Formula |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|01:43 pm] |
Watch out, question from a formula feeder here.
How do I know when my daughter is eating enough solid food to stop feeding her formula and switch her to dairy/rice/whatever milk? She's 11.9 months old but isn't a fabulous solids eater. How do I know when she's getting enough solids to quit with the formula? |
|
|
| sparkling white grape juice |
[Dec. 31st, 2009|10:36 pm] |
would it kill my son to have some sparkling white grape juice? since i'm not a big drinker i've got a whole bottle to myself and since my son like regular white grape juice, he might like to try mine.
ETA he's 15 months old
ETA 2
thank you for the laughs, i need them tonight. stuck at my parent's due to lack of real-life friends |
|
|
| Fever Question |
[Dec. 31st, 2009|08:08 pm] |
Hey, it's New Year's Eve, and one of my babies is running a fever. We can't find our baby thermometer anywhere, and so we've been using an older adult thermometer meant to go in the mouth, underneath her arm. The underarm reading is 101.5. My question is, should I add anything to this number? Is her temp most likely closer to 103 and I should call a dr? She's not showing any other symptoms other than being just a tiny bit more sensitive and crabby than usual. Also, her appetite is a bit less. She's 16 months old.
Thank you very much! |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
informed