Comb 2 times per day with a lice comb (looks a lot like a dog's flea comb). Have her flip her head upside down and comb over a plain white paper towel - they hide behind the ears and the base of the neck!. You'll be able to see if ANY lice are present (they'll appear as little tiny brown specks on the paper towel). You can also use RID shampoo to remove any traces of eggs or lice if they happen to be there (that is, if you aren't opposed to using it). And like the other poster said - be sure to wash ALL pillows & bedding in steaming hot water!! I always had super long hair as a child and would end up with lice at some point every year between 3 & 7. Mom became an expert at stopping them in their tracks, although it was a tedious few days for me going through the combing / shampoo treatment. She never had to cut my hair off like I always heard of others needing to do...

If I had a winter baby I probably wouldn't take her out any if I could help it...just to family's houses..not public places. But I understand the need / want to get out! Like the others said, I'd definitely use a sling & heavy caution as well. My son was born in May though and we began going out in public the day we left the hospital. He was in Walmart at 4 days old, church at one week, and a restaurant at 1 week old. He's never had a cold or flu or ear problems. I'm much more cautious now b/c of H1n1 than I was when he was a baby! So... I guess it varies as to the best time. :)

My DH was not supportive of breastfeeding before we had the baby. He was a quite weirded out by it and had never even known anyone who really breastfed (He was 24 when our first was born). It took a lot to get past the "sexual objectification" of the breast. When the baby arrived, he warmed up to the idea over the first few days. He supported me in that he knew I wanted to do what I felt was best for the baby. He never questioned me on when I would stop or anything (weaned DS between 16 and 17 months), and never said anything negative about it.

:D Hurray for mommy instincts! Yes! I'm all about the instincts. :) :) One reason I'm so passionate about the issue of looking at all options (even weaning if necessary) was because I was so dedicated to extended breastfeeding before that I almost let other's opinions of breastfeeding override my mommy instincts. All of the "facts" about breastfeeding had me truly convinced that my instincts were wrong. It was very hard to go against the "facts" and follow my gut...even when I could feel it was the right thing for us. I received absolutely no support in my choice to wean from any of my breastfeeding friends. And I felt like a sheer failure.... Nowadays, I hate to think of any other mom out there feeling like a failure if she has to wean her child for any reason. I also heard a bit of myself in the OP's first post....if that would have been me posting when I was going through this, I would have adamantly said I wanted to keep breastfeeding no matter what. I never ever told anyone I had thoughts of weaning so soon (b/c I was soooo adamant about the benefits of extended BF'ing to begin with). It would have made the transition soooo much easier for me if I would have had just one breastfeeding advocate tell me "It's OK to stop if your private instincts tell you to!". Unfortunately, I never heard that from anyone. That's what I wanted to offer her. She may have wanted to hear it, or may not. But at least I could put it out there in hopes it may help in the teeniest way... :) Oh, and I agree completely - the pediatrician isn't always the God that they sometimes pretend to be. You should have heard my pediatrician's views on co-sleeping! haha :001_smile: :lol:

I can't speak for anyone else, but for us... I could tell...by..well.. by how much milk my breasts put out vs. how my son began responding to nursing sessions. For the first year of his life, I had an abundant supply...then it began to disappear. As the months passed, I noticed a correlation between how often my son nursed, how demanding he became, how light(er) my supply was compared to each previous months, pain in my breasts when he nursed (due to lower supply) and his overall attitude change. Nothing I did increased my supply. He was constantly hungry & cranky, even after nursing. And here's the stinger.... He would refuse to eat solid foods even when he was obviously hungry. We tried everything, offered solids every 2 hours, offered variety, offered the same food over & over, calorie rich, warm food, cold food, liquefied, everything. He simply would not swallow more than 1-2 tablespoons of solid food on any given day. He had always done that, from the moment I began rice cereal (4 months) until I finally weaned him. (It was only after I weaned him that it "clicked" that hunger and solid food go together.) The same period was when my son's personal curve dropped drastically. There was a huge dip in his curve....he had always done well...I don't compare him to other kids as we're "genetically small", but the dip in his personal curve is what concerned me most. Weaning was the only way to get my breast-addicted son the nutrition he needed (since I was no longer producing enough milk to satisfy his growing body), by "forcing" him to finally take in solid foods.

Good for you! She sounds so precious...keep following her cues and doing what you know is best for her. :) :) Good luck! :) :)

**Edited to remove bulky post*** Got way too emotionally involved in this one b/c of what we went through with my son at 15 months old. :) Gist of post was just that yes, we were offered other options and were 4 weeks away from going to the specialist. We didn't walk into weaning with a blind eye....I dislike doctors to begin with and seeing a specialist (perhaps 2 or 3 based on what our doctor said) didn't set well with us...we didn't want our son becoming another "diagnosis" to be put on "medication" when the solution was obvious to my mommy instincts - I wasn't producing enough milk supply to meet my son's nutritional demands, he was constantly hungry / cranky, yet he was refusing to eat solid foods (even when he WAS hungry) because he apparently never learned to associate hunger with solid food. It took a long time for me to wise up to the situation. Weaning him worked for us and improved his overall health & attitude. Anyone else's mileage may vary. :) Good night all!

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: Quitting breastfeeding cold-turkey is not good. Finding a solution, without ignoring all other options, is best. :) There are many, many things that could be going on behind the scenes. My problem just happened to be a.) my milk supply was not meeting my son's demand, and b.) he had never learned to associate food with "hunger". Weaning was what was best for US. It worked for him and brought his weight curve back up. (We're genetically little too - it was the drop in his personal weight curve that finally had me convinced that something wasn't working). The love you have for your child will help you find the answer! Always do what is best in YOUR particular situation. NOT anyone elses. You are the parent and your child looks to you to provide all she needs. Strive to understand how her body is working, what is not working, and what you can do better. "Keep calm, think clearly and keep loving them". I couldn't have said it better. :)

1. I never said it was a modern invention. Bottles and formula are a "modern invention". BUT ithe "trend" to breastfeed every single child without thought to the individual child's needs is modern. People who do not breastfeed in 2009 are looked down upon as "bad". Pediatricians are given terrible names if they have different views. Heavy proponents of extended breastfeeding are very rabid about their views. THAT is something that IS modern. 2. As in my son's case, "feeding plenty of solids" just DID NOT HAPPEN because he would NOT accept them. What are parents to do in that case? FORCE them down the child's throat? I think not. I could have sat there and "fed him plenty of solids" 24/7 - but he would have fought me every inch of the way and spit it right back out (which is what I battled with from 6 months of age till I weaned him. 3. I am in no way against giving a child over 1 year a bottle, just as I am in no way against breastfeeding a child over 1 year. It simply is a method of delivery for a particular drink. My son would not accept milk in a sippy cup and he still needed night time "milk comforting" which I could not give. He needed milk, and a tall skinny cup with a nipple (which we call a bottle) provided that for him. 4. Of course it doesn't necessarily mean that. BUT in my son's case it worked. AND I'm sure we're not abnormal. To ignore all other options when breastfeeding begins to break down is good for neither the child nor the parent. If breastfeeding works, fine. If the mother is producing loads of milk, fine. If the child is following his OWN growth curve, regardless of how low (my son had dropped from his curve), then fine. There's nothing wrong with breastfeeding for however many years it works out for you. It's this rabid "you must, you must, you must!!" thinking that I dislike. That kind of thinking can do far more harm than the suggestion of "hey, you may be one case that weaning would help" would do.

I'll be one of the lone horses here.... I'm all for breastfeeding, but us moms must remember the GOAL of raising a child is to get enough nutrition in their bodies. Sometimes our bodies allow enough milk to be produced for this to happen - sometimes it DOESN'T. It's not our faults one way or another. Don't be so dedicated to breastfeeding that you are ignoring all other options. This modern day adherence to all things breast influenced my mothering skills far too long - and I'm very glad I finally started ignoring them. You must do what's best for your child, even if it means giving up breastfeeding before YOU are ready. Her body may just be yelling out that it's ready for a lot more substantial "meat" than what you are giving her. I just went through this with my son. He's 19 months old and I breastfed from day 1. I blindly followed the mantra of "under one, table food just for fun" and had always assumed I would breastfeed until after 24 months at least and my goal was to wean when I saw he was ready. Shoot, my cousin's son is over 3 and he still breastfeeds occassionally. I guess I also felt a heavy burden that I MUST "breastfeed" or I wasn't a good momma. I did introduce various foods to him regularly (4 months = rice cereal, 6 months = veggies, fruits, 9 months = meats, 12 months = whole milk) but because he was breastfed on demand and a co-sleeper, his "food of choice" was always the breast. He never cared for table food. By 9 months of age he started going down in his growth curve. My pedi is not pro-breastfeeding and she had suggested considering weaning him way back at 6 months!! I decided not to listen because I *thought* breast was best. By 12 months he had hit 5th percentile for his weight. The pediatrician suggested again to wean. She wasn't rude about it at all...she just wanted to be sure he was staying healthy. His pedi had a follow up at 15 months because of the sudden weight-curve drop...he was still in the 5th percentile at 15 months. AND by this time I had to admit to myself something was wrong somewhere. I noticed that even at 15 months, after nearly a year of having been introduced to solids, he still did NOT connect his hunger signals to "food". His hunger signals told him to breastfeed - and nothing else. No matter what we did, he would NOT accept more than 1-2 tablespoons of food per day. He refused to drink whole milk. He refused to drink a bottle. He had been using a sippy cup since 6 months but would not touch it if milk was in it. I also noticed that my milk supply was NOT what it use to be. If I'm honest with myself, I'd say that my milk supply had been tapering off slowly for months. At 16 months (beginning of September) I began weaning him from daytime feedings. I was kind of lackadaisical about it though until mid-september when we learned I was pregnant with #2. I also noticed my milk supply had severely decreased over that last 8 weeks. My body was giving out and I just could not produce what my son needed! Daytime weaning DID show to "work" as once he realized mommy wouldn't let him "nurse" he began accepting table food because he recognized it eased the hunger. By the end of September I had noticed a remarkable change in him - he was now associating hunger with REAL FOOD. For the first time he was eating more than 2 tablespoons per day of food. His attitude changed as well (going from always semi-hungry to feeling full will do that to a kid I suppose). At the beginning of October (he was 17 months), I also weaned him from co-sleeping because that was the only way we could make a final break from night time breastfeeding. We introduced a bottle with whole milk, and he accepted it just fine. It was the first time ever that he accepted whole milk. By the 2nd week of October he was weaned completely and he was eating like a champ! It just sent my mommy instincts of "Hey, I'm doing the RIGHT thing finally". On his Nov. 4 checkup (18 months), he had finally passed 20 lbs for the first time and he made it to the 10th percentile - his growth curve was finally back on track Please don't let the modern adherence to breastfeeding cause you to keep table food nutrition from reaching your child. She may be like my son and has never learned to associate hunger with "food". Weaning my DS was the only thing that worked in getting him to eat properly. After my experience, I am in no way convinced that breastfeeding past 12 months is best for EVERY child out there! P.S. Again, I wanted to reiterate - your goal is to do what SHOWS to work for your child. Don't keep plodding along with breastfeeding if it is NOT doing good for YOUR child. It's NOT worth it.

I personally have always been a fan of Mavis Beacon (for about 13 years now I think). It's fun, has good graphics, and Mavis is a pretty great teacher as well for a computer simulator. :)

I wont be sheltering my kids from it...if they see it, they see it. But I nor my husband make an effort to watch news - we listen to talk radio sometimes and I keep up with headlines on google reader (if something interests me I'll click through but more often than not I don't). For me, personally, I can't handle it emotionally...I get really stressed and realized long ago that my life is much, much happier without it. There's always talk of some murder or shooting or gang-related-whatevers or dying or car wrecks...and that's just on the local news! I've had some hard times in my past (with people I love dying, one in a bad motorcycle accident) - real life is hard to deal with in itself...who wants to watch it happen every single friggen day???? My mom is an avid news watcher and to this day can't understand why I don't watch it anymore She thinks something is wrong with me...."What if there's a boil water advisory???" she always retorts. If there is, I'm sure she'll call me. :-D So in a way, I guess I'm going to be sheltering myself more from the news then sheltering my kids. I do want them to be aware of current events at a young age (starting around age 5 I'd say), but I do NOT consider murders, kidnappings, car jackings, shootings, and gang banging "current events".

Well, it's almost 9:54 here...and I have the munchies. :D I'm munchie'ing on chocolate covered raisinettes right now. :tongue_smilie:

WOW! What a terrific idea! :) :) :) Yay!

For what it's worth.... my father had JW's target him once. They came even more than 4 times and each time he tried to be polite, asked them not to return, he had his own church, etc. They kept returning. Finally one day they came when he was taking a shower. He answered the door...without bothering to dry off, kwim? :lol: They never returned. YMMV.....