I am going to do Bright Beginnings, Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons, kumon workbooks and read alouds.

I have a 5 year old and 3 year old. I was wondering whether playing with cuisenaire rods, abacus or other tools would help my children to gain a good foundation in math. I know when I was teaching DS phonics and how to read, it was beneficial for him to play with fridge phonics or bath tub letters. Just wondering what your thoughts are....:glare: BTW, we practice counting, counting by tens, fives, 1-100 etc.

MSM is Methylsulfonylmethane. A supplement sold at GNC and other stores. There is liquid that you can combine with apple cider vinegar to take as a shot orally like vodka:) MSM is typically used for people with joint problems but supposedly helps tighten skin. http://www.livestrong.com/article/106750-repair-loose-skin/

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I am thinking about starting OPGTR since we finished TYCTR 100 EZ lessons. My son loves the structure of lessons. Where should I start him in OPGTR?:glare:

I personally like "The Children's Bill of Rights" by John Rosemond. Because it is the most character-building, two-letter word in the English language, children have the right to hear their parents say “No†at least three times a day. Children have the right to find out early in their lives that their parents don’t exist to make them happy, but to offer them the opportunity to learn the skills they will need to eventually make themselves happy. Children have a right to scream all they want over the decisions their parents make, albeit their parents have the right to confine said screaming to certain areas of their homes. Children have the right to find out early that their parents care deeply for them but don’t give a hoot what their children think about them at any given moment in time. Because it is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, children have the right to hear their parents say “Because I said so†on a regular and frequent basis. Because it is the most character-building activity a child can engage in, children have the right to share significantly in the doing of household chores. Every child has the right to discover early in life that he isn’t the center of the universe (or his family or his parents’ lives), that he isn’t a big fish in a small pond, and that he isn’t the Second Coming, so as to prevent him from becoming an insufferable brat. Children have the right to learn to be grateful for what they receive, therefore, they have the right to receive all of what they truly need and very little of what they simply want. Children have the right to learn early in their lives that obedience to legitimate authority is not optional, that there are consequences for disobedience, and that said consequences are memorable and, therefore, persuasive. Every child has the right to parents who love him/her enough to make sure he/she enjoys all of the above rights. :lol::lol:No seriously. This may not be positive enough...but what a fountain of wisdom!

I have read that adding a tablespoon of liquid or powder MSM to your diet will tighten your skin. I think the "shot" I saw was a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and tablespoon of MSM.

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Anyone have experience with Bright Beginnings Preschool Curriculum? Would you use it again? Is this a complete program? If not, what would you add? Which age is this appropriate for? I am thinking about buying this for my 3 year old since she wants to "do school".

I think I am going to start 6/4 after my birthday :)

I was on levothyroxine and then switched to natural thyroid support. My doctor checked my numbers and my thyroid was completely out of whack. She told me to NEVER use natural thyroid. Thyroid regulates and works with too many important functions to have an unstable medication like armour. Back on synthroid and I feel great! My numbers are good as well.

I just ordered the HCG pellets. Wish me luck! Any last bits of advice? Any encouraging testimonials?

WOW! HMM, do you think we need to reform welfare?:glare:

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I am planning on starting once she turns 3. We use the fridge phonics set right now. Any other suggestions?

(After using the leapfrog DVDs and fridge phonics) If my young preschooler wanted to learn how to read, I would use.............because............ Feel free to elaborate!:)

Just wanted to check in to see what your results are on the HCG diet. I am still contemplating ordering the drops or pellets. Can you tell me which brand you are using? Whether you would use that brand again? Any crazy hunger? Results so far? :bigear:

Can you tell me about your experience with "Teach Your Child to read in 10 minutes a day"? Would you use it again? Any suggestions? Which age would this work for?

Any other recommendations?

Any other recommendations?

I do understand that a lot of hospitals are not "labor plan" friendly. If you have a good, reputable birth center nearby, wouldn't that be a better option?

[As far as your first situation, the fever you ran was likely a result of foreign bacteria you picked up in the hospital. Once the water breaks, midwives I know don't do internal checks at all so to avoid infection. If signs of infection were picked up, you would probably have been transported. If you had a CNM, she may have been ok to give you antibiotics herself. It's an urgent situation, but not an emergency. The heart rate decels are common in hospital labors. When you lie down during labor for the fetal monitor you press on the main artery leading to the baby. So the monitor use often causes the decrease in heart rate. Barb You may be right. Due to the fact that I had an infected placenta, it may have been that I had stronger bacteria present in my tract or an immune response due to my genetic makeup..Regardless, I was in a place where a doctor could handle any type of emergency with no transfers needed .....and had medicine, surgeon and a pediatrician/NICU team readily available if I had a need in a moments notice. BTW, The decels were due to my baby being sunny side up during birth coupled probably with being attached to an infected placenta...and I had an internal heart monitor with DD. No decels. Luckily I had a perfect delivery with DD.

Well, I went into labor after my water broke at 2 am. I was not group B strep positive. After about 16 hours of labor, I started running a high fever. I was progressing, but I started running a fever. I was placed on antibiotics and oxygen due to the baby's heart beat decelerating. Of course, I was really scared and feeling terrible due to the fever. I could not imagine being at home in that situation (no matter how wonderful the midwife). They did an ultrasound to find out if the baby was sunny side up. He was. I got into position to hope he would turn. When it came time to push, I had to push every 2nd contraction because the baby's heart rate was decelerating...not recovering well after the contraction. My doctor notified me that she did not like how the baby was recovering from the contractions...that I needed to trust her if she needed to take me in for an emergency c-section. She would try to avoid it, but she did not want to gamble with his life. Right before he was about to crown, his heart decelerated dramatically. She told me that she needed to use a vacuum assisted delivery if it continued. It did. Under the circumstances, that was the right choice. He was sunny-side up. He was in distress until after he was delivered. She helped me AVOID a c-section. When the placenta was delivered, it was infected. I only had a 2nd degree tear which under the circumstances is very impressive. When Captain America was born, he had a weak cry but he was healthy and safe thanks to my competent doctors and nurses who saved the day!:001_smile: No I have no health issues. I was 28 when I delivered him. I had a perfect pregnancy with no alarms at all. SIL had a very traumatic childbirth at 30 years old. She progressed fairly quickly. Her baby went into distress. They called in her doctor. DS heart was decelerating when she was pushing. He was born at 4 lbs and some change with a VB(although her midwife thought he would be 9lbs like his brother). Although she had ultrasounds every once in a while through out the pregnancy they did not know that there was an umbilical cord issue with an inadequate placenta. It was a complete surprise to everyone (she was 30). If he had been born even an hour later the doctor did not think he would not survive. He went straight to NICU....and he was on oxygen. He was in the hospital for 1.5 weeks. He was is brachycardia (sp?) and found to have VSD (not known until after delivery). Again, she would have put her baby in great risk if she had had a home birth. Maybe the midwife's protocol at some point is to transfer people when they have a situation like ours. All this to say, an at-home birth is not necessarily the best choice. Give me any statistic you want...but common sense and experience tells me otherwise. I am thankful my sil and I made the decision to have a hospital delivery. I love my birth experience despite the drama because my son and I came home. That is what is important. The "wedding" was not perfect but the "marriage" has been awesome. This is of course a personal decision. Based on my own experience and knowing what it feels like to lose a baby, I do not think that being able to say "I gave birth to you at home with no intervention" is worth it. In my opinion, go to a birth center or a hospital with a birth plan if you want minimal intervention. I think that is fair. I will NEVER give birth to a child at home on purpose. I would discourage my daughter and any close friend from having a home birth. Unfortunately the worst case scenario happens to someone. I would rather have a bad memory with a good outcome than a dreadfully sad, preventable regret. Sorry if this offends you. Just my opinion. Now I will climb off of my soap box.:tongue_smilie:

I believe that having a home birth is unwise. Both I and my sil had situations where we could have lost our babies (my 1st, her 2nd). We had a VB but both of our doctors did save the day (gave me antibiotics since I ran a maternal fever...my water broke and that is how I went into labor... my baby's heart rate went down during labor also). I lost a baby to a non-life giving birth defect (my 2nd). That was beyond my control. If you have some control, I believe better be safe than sorry. My OBGYN (who came in during her vacation time and her days of not being on call in all 3 births- 1 baby was already deceased) is a good friend of mine. She has told me that unfortunately worst case scenarios happen more often than people really believe. I always thought nothing bad would never happen to me.....but it did. Birthing centers or hospitals can be great places to have a natural birth experience. I am sorry if I come across a bit opinionated. Unfortunately I am apart of a club I would rather not be apart of (the mom of a dead baby club). I did not sign up for it. I would really rather not have any other members.