Coleroo
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Posts posted by Coleroo
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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. :)
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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.
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I understand what you're saying. I think the key here is that your instincts told you that weaning would be best. I can't emphasize enough how much I trust mama instinct. :D And it sounds like your milk production was going down, because you were pregnant. That would be a different story, I think, if a child wasn't able to get enough milk. I *might* keep nursing for the comfort, but I'd definitely start thinking differently in that case.
(My six year old still often has a bottle of milk before bed..... She wants to drink milk and/ or water while we read stories cuddling in bed, and the cups leak all over. They aren't in her mouth long enough to cause any mouth issues, but I am sort of embarassed about it. But, it works....)
That must have been so hard for you, to wean when you were so emotionally committed to it yourself! :grouphug: Weaning is just so hard, especially when you start feeling like you aren't ready or like you've failed. But it sounds like you made the right decision for your son! Go instincts! I think we just are trying to support the OP whose instincts are NOT telling her to wean. Just bc a pediatrician said it, doesn't make it gospel. (Why on earth do pediatricians not get more information on nursing? It seems like such a basic thing......)
: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:
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this didn't happen to me but I have heard of some other mothers starting to have trouble making enough milk after long term nursing. How can you tell if the mother is producing enough milk or not to keep the child at a good weight? I'm talking about enough for a toddler, not a little infant which I do know about. If the mother doesn't produce enough milk even though the child demands it, then I can see how it would be better for the child to switch his hunger away from breastmilk to solids.
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.
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I talked to dh and we aren't going to do anything drastic. We are going to make sure she's eating healthy foods and I'm going to keep nursing her. She loves peanut butter and sunbutter (she licks it off the bread and asks for more!). I need to buy avocados- I haven't for a while because they went back up in price here. She likes eggs too. So, she does enjoy several of the foods posters mentioned. Dh and I are going to pay attention to what she generally enjoys and make sure we offer those foods more.
She has been my most strong-willed, demanding baby; I'd hate to think that it's because she's hungry all the time. But I'd have to think that if she were hungry, she'd be eating more when she is in her highchair. She knows sign language for more, all done, etc. She makes her desires clearly known!
I need to leave for church; thanks for all the great responses!!! Normally I agree with what the ped recommends, but this time I think I'm going to have to ignore him. I will check her weight periodically though, to make sure she starts gaining again.
Good for you! She sounds so precious...keep following her cues and doing what you know is best for her. :) :) Good luck! :) :)
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**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!
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We've had similar experiences of dropping off the weight chart. I won't go into it here.
My advice is to not stop nursing right away, but definitely encourage high quality high calorie foods. Do the tests your pediatrician wants you to to ensure that your child is indeed getting appropriate nutrition (malnutrition can show up on a blood test). There may be a reason that she's not absorbing what she needs (like others have said, sensitivities, etc). Appropriate "tests" would be QBCs, a urinalysis, a consultation with a pediatric GI (who hopefully won't be a complete jerk like ours was) and a hand x-ray (to determine if her bones are developing appropriately for her age). It's scary to think about, but worth it.
My daughters are TINY: one is 32 pounds at 5.5 years old and the other is 28 pounds at 4 years. My son (who had the most difficulty growing as an infant) is 26 pounds at 22 months...so every kid is different!
Keep calm, think clearly and keep loving them so much that you'd endure posts from us strangers!
: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. :)
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1. In no way is extended breastfeeding a modern invention.
2. In no way does extended breastfeeding preclude feeding plenty of solids.
3. Why would you give a child over a year a bottle? They can drink from a cup just fine.
4. Weaning will not necessarily mean that your child gets more nutrition and could mean that they take less. Breastmilk is dense with regards to nutrition and calories. As I said before, weaning did not magically put my children back on the growth chart, they are genetically small, active and well ahead developmentally.
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.
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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.
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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. :)
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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".
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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:
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WOW! What a terrific idea! :) :) :)
Yay!
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how do i politely tell them i am not interested in becoming a JW?
In the last month i have had over 4 instances where the JW's have knocked on my door. I am always polite, take their literature and say goodbye.
One man in particular has decided to target me. He has just returned today and was asking about my beliefs again (this time about heaven) and offered the kids a book of bible stories which ofcourse they accepted.
I am not interested in becoming a JW, i have a general Christian belief system but don't go to church and don't subscribe to a particular denomination. I don't want to be rude because i do find religion fascinating but i don't want to be continually targeted and then have to explain to the kids what he was on about.
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.....
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I made a big mistake with my oldest. She was in public school, and I put school and academics first. I felt sorry for her because she was swamped with homework, band practice, cross country practice, early morning (6:30 am) religion class, etc. I rarely gave her housework to do. She knows how to clean, but she isn't consistent. She has no routine. Then, she married a hoarder. The first year of their marriage was a nightmare! There was no path through their house, no place to sit, a kitchen sink full of water and rotting food, cat feces on the floor because her DH wouldn't clean the cat box (dd was pregnant). Thank the LORD it isn't like that anymore. But, she still struggles with routine. Watching her struggle was when I decided I HAD to teach my other girls to be consistent.
You just described me really really well, although I was also a terrible hoarder. The first 2 years of marriage (we're almost to 4 years now) was probably worse here than what you just described. I had no idea how to tackle it as I wasn't taught when I was younger. I know it was my responsibility -and in no way want anyone to think I blame my mom- but I also think parents should consider their child's future living habits, and be sure to teach them how to properly manage a home. It's hard...really really hard.
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Random personal story... :)
My parents moved to a new home when I was 3 years old. About a month later they had a yard sale and sold all of my baby stuff. I still remember the feelings of resentment and crying when I watched the man with dark hair walk away with my crib (it was a deep, dark mahogany color). I remember sitting in my carrier hoping I could prevent someone from buying it too. It was raining that day and it smelled terrible...and to this day I can not stand the smell of rain.
It's one of the most vivid memories I have of any personal object we owned back then. It may have been the start of my hoarding tendencies too.
What's so very very odd about it is that I was a co-sleeper and have no actual memories of ever having slept in that crib.
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Oh...thought of something else... :confused:
Would those in favor of in-lieu-of gifting like it if someone sent a card that JUST told of the charitable giving without the words "in-lieu-of"? In other words, do you feel its appropriate for charitable givers to announce their donations if it's NOT done under the guise of in-lieu-of gifting?
Like, if I sent out a card in March to family saying "Guess what guys? I just donated $100 to Planned Parenthood! Hope you have a great spring!".
No snark meant...it's something serious I thought of...how do you view the announcement of charitable donations in general? And are you basing your decision to accept in-lieu-of gifts mainly on the premise that you feel that ALL things given as "gifts" should be taken as such and thus appreciated?
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Do you always send out cards when you donate money to a charity? I mean if you really think it is a gift to others to do so and you really think you should share your joy at giving, then wouldn't you always want to send out cards or call to tell people what you have given away?
I don't expect or even want a gift. Even from my dh or kids. I'm thrilled on the occassion they feel inspired to do so, but there is zero expectation, obligation or pressure to do it. Even if I get them something...
:iagree: :hurray: :hurray: :iagree:
I'm also surprised at how some posters think that because we dislike the giving of a random charitable donation as "gift" that makes us selfish??? I'm not connecting those dots. :001_huh: :001_huh: I think pretty much everyone who's posted against this has explained fully that their reasons are based on
a.) gifts should have personal meaning behind them,
b.) charitable giving feels awkward when someone tries to take credit for the donation
c.) it's actually a NICE gift if there's thought behind it on a personal level and is something you KNOW the person will like.
d.) we would not mention this in real life as it's a very private feeling
e.) we would still act gracious towards the giver
Feelings of dislike towards "donating to a random charity and then offering it up as a christmas gift" does not equal a hidden expectation of a physical present that we *need* to hold in our hand. It also doesn't mean we dislike charitable giving. Shoot, my husband & I sponsor children, give to our church, donate a large amount to the MDA every year, donate used items to local charities instead of selling, pull out cash for the salvation army santas in front of stores....I love helping those less fortunate than I am and am always willing to do so. We don't talk about these charitable things to anyone though.
It's just that "random charitable giving" and "gifting to someone you love AT CHRISTMAS" are simply not. remotely. related.
A "gift" is something the giver does for a receiver on a personal level to help strengthen a bond between the two - and it should always have thought and meaning behind it.
If someone sent me a random physical gift that had no meaning behind it (say, a bag of organic catfood...when I can't stand cats), I would feel the same way. All gifts need to have person meaning behind it - not just some obligatory thing of monetary value thrown at someone on the holidays.
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amazon has a book that I just put on my wishlist...it has a broken down "chore list" of what might be expected at certain ages. I thought it looked helpful. :)
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Just for giggles...
Here's a facebook fanpage called "I know someone who knows someone who knows Orangejello and Lemonjello"
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gid=2216401047
:)
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Thanks for the link to the original site!
it's not really the "original HH site" - its the predecessor created by the original owner after she left the hillbilly housewife site. :)
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Well, if I were the hostess, and if there were so many left over plates/cups that the bags weren't even opened, I'd have given them back. I wouldn't just keep them and use then at another party.
I would feel like I was stealing.
But that's just me, apparently, because none of the other posters agree with me..
Oh that's a totally different situation. lol I was viewing it from an attender's point of view, not the hostesses. I would also offer to give them back if I were the hostess. Just a courtesy, hey there's leftovers, did you want them?
Personally I don't view paper products as a big deal one way or another. If I bring them to something, I have no expectations of getting them back. If someone brings them to my party, they can leave them or not. Doesn't matter a bit to me (my whole family seems to have this same attitude as well).
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Need educational gift ideas for 1 year old dd, we are not able to make it home to Michigan for Christmas due to financial issues but will have some money to spend on dd for presents. I already have her some puzzles.
Amazon.com has some great selections! They even have free shipping anywhere in the US if you buy at least $25.
I personally love...
Melissa & Doug brand toys
Some Leapfrog toys
Shape sorters
Nesting cups
Abacus's
Chalkboards
Bead trolleys
My 19 month old DS loves those too. :)
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I was never assigned ANY chores growing up (I was an only child, spoiled, and had an extremely lenient mom & dad). Yet there are things I loathe today now that I have my own family & house - laundry and handwashing dishes...which is odd because when I was little I remember LOVING handwashing dishes on the occasions mom let me do them. I think there are just some things we hate doing no matter what. I hate doing laundry so much that I would rather clean 10 filthy toilets if I had someone to do the laundry for me!!!
I did have an extremely HARD time making that transition from home life with mom & dad to home life with a husband (married at 23...lived at home during college so I moved strait from my childhood home into my married home). I'm still working through "learning" what all comes with managing a home although I'm 180 degrees from what I was 4 years ago.
My husband was adopted and his adopted family had 2 biological children (a boy 8 years older and a girl the same age as my husband). From stories I hear from family friends and from my husband's tales, he was the only child expected to do LOTS of chores. Hand dishwashing all the dishes was a daily expectation. To this day he hates hand dishwashing. For the first 6 months of our marriage (before I knew how much he hated it), we were both working full time and I would cook the evening meal and expect him to do clean up.
For my birthday that year he bought me a dishwasher. hahaha :lol:
I definitely think that expecting a child to do the same thing over and over and over without letting them have input into it can cause longterm damage. Our son is only 19 months old now, but we already plan on rotating chores in the future and we'll definitely be (slyly!!) fine tuning them to his interests. There's a fineline there to walk between teaching responsibility (and the need to do things you do not like in life) versus not badgering them to death with something they TRULY dispise.
Lice exposure-can we stop infestation?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted · Edited by Coleroo
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...