LGM

So every now and then I like to read in parenting handbooks and magazines to see if I can pick up some useful advice. But sometimes I get across statements that are plain ridiculous.

My favorite gems of idiotic advice where the notion that extended breastfeeding might cause tooth

decay (in 'What to Expect, the Toddler Years') or the suggestion that in day care centers every toy should be dumped in sterilizing solution, before it get passed from child to child (again in 'What to Expect').

What were your 'favorite' statements in parenting books, you came across and just shook your head and thought, 'Wow, this is just ridiculous!'?

My husband and I have two beautiful children (2 years and 8 months) and initially that was the number of children we had thought of, when we got married. But somehow, I feel the decision not to have more children harder than the initial decision to have any.

How did you feel when you decided to call it a family and not having more children? Did you have to struggle with that question or was that more a feeling of 'okay, I'm done, what's next.' end to pregnancy and newborns? If you had to struggle, how did you come to terms with the size of your family?

My friend and I had our baby boys out of diapers for a while today, and we noticed a difference between their penisses. Is it possible for an uncircumcised baby boy, that the tip of the penis is not covered with foreskin? My friend is wondering, whether her son had been circumcised without her permission.

Whenever we go for a play date, my two year old daughter insists on taking a toy along for her play mate to play with. It's usually a toy she is rather fond of herself. She then starts off the play date by pressing said toy into the other child's hands. So far, we mothers always made sure, that the gift went back home with us. Would you do the same, or rather let the toy stay with the recipient?

I gave birth two months ago, and recently noticed that my belly button turned brown. I had a bit of a hernia around my belly button during pregnancy, but nothing sticks out now. I don't have any pain. So I thought, the brown color of the belly button is some sort of a stretch mark. Anyways, when I showed my husband, he was rather concerned. I'm wondering, is a brown belly button really a reason to visit a physician? I don't really fancy the idea of bundling up two children and hang out in my physician's waiting room. Is a brown belly button is anything to be concerned about?

I have a son, two months old and a two year old daughter. I'm very surprised at the speed my two month old grew so far. He is already wearing the clothing his older sister wore at twice his age. When can I expect his rapid growth to slow down somewhat?

I'm trying to decide which kind of chicks to get this year. I'm wondering about the differences between Golden Laced and Silver Laced Wyandotes. I know, they look differently. But I'm mostly wondering about they laying habits, aggressiveness, and winter hardiness/egg production in cold? Please share your experiences with one or both breeds?

(I live up-state NY, winter hardiness and egg production during the cold and dark months really matter in the choice of chickens.)

I'm mother of a lovely little girl, and I'm six months pregnant with her younger brother. I'm in the process of going through her infant clothes and sorting out little dresses etc, which don't seem quite suitable for a boy. Now, it had happened several times to me, that my little girl was dressed in a bright pink skirt and people still asked me 'What is HIS name?'/'How old is HE?'. So I start wondering, if people despite of pink skirts refer to any child as a boy anyways, do I really need to bother sorting out/dying pink onesies, t-shirts etc. just because he is a boy? Or would it be really odd dressing a boy in e.g. a pink t-shirt and blue trousers? (Just to make it clear: I'm not planning to put him in dresses or skirts.)

I'm expecting my second child begin of May. When I had my daughter, I was in a weird state of mind: Everything I looked at was automatically evaluated for potential harm for my precious baby. I couldn't pass a door frame without having the urge of making extra sure, baby wouldn't hit it. I couldn't use my knitting needles, even when baby was sleeping, because they could potentially poke my precious baby. Every mentioning of violence or cruelty haunted me for weeks. Traveling by plane was an absolute 'no no', because I was way too afraid the plane could crash and my baby might die. I substantially limited my car driving for the same reason. It sometimes scared me being so aware of all the potential harms and dangers around. Eventually, the extreme danger awareness relented and when my period returned I kind of settled back into my usual, more relaxed self. Anyways, I am wondering, whether such an extreme awareness of danger is a relative normal stage of mind for new, breastfeeding mothers, or is that something I need to bring up and discuss with my health care provider?

I have a lovely little girl (21 months) and I'm due with her younger brother on May 1st. My daughter knows there is a baby in my belly and she loves babies. She is also a love bug and still requires a lot of lap time and doesn't nap very much. I remember, that when she was a newborn she needed constant attention - I carried her for hours every day and breastfed about 10-11 hours a day. I'm interested to know, how other moms managed to provide both children with adequate attention and care. Which approaches and strategies worked for you and your children?

I recently got a catalog for knitting supplies and found there advertised a book of knitting patterns for prayer shawls. I have never seen such a prayer shawl in use and I know quite a few religious people. Who is using these things?

This morning we had our mid pregnancy ultrasound. The pregnancy is 21 weeks 4 days. Everything seems okay with our little boy, except for one little white spot on the heart. The ultrasound technician called it an endogenic focus. My midwife who explained things to me later seemed not very concerned about it. She said that it was most likely just a calcium deposit, but there was a small chance that there was a heart problem, which would require special attention right after birth. We are scheduling another ultrasound in the neighbor town with a doctor who has somewhat more exact equipment to find out more. In the meantime I'd like to know: Has anyone else seen a white dot on baby's heart in ultrasound and have there been any problems?

My daughter is 20 months and enjoys to drum on pots, and to blow into my recorder. She is pretty good at getting a tone out of it, but has no idea yet about the holes. She also likes to use the recorder as a percussion instrument and take it apart, if I'm not careful. A few days ago, she had a great time pulling at the strings of a friend's guitar. I want to give her an musical instrument, maybe a little xylophone or a small string instrument at some point, but I don't want to give it too early, before she really can use it.

What would be a good time for a toddler to receive her first instrument? What makes a good first instrument? Does your toddler/preschooler have an instrument and at what age did you give it to him/her? To your experience, at what age did your child do more with the instrument than just banging on it?

During the last few weeks, my twenty months old daughter repeatedly skipped her nap, despite of my best efforts getting her to sleep. Even the up to now foolproof method of going for an extended walk with the stroller during nap time has failed a few times. The days she skipped her nap, she then slept 12 hours straight during the night - I put her down early. However, I'm worried 12 hours are not quite enough for her. What is normal for her age?

I have a 20 months old daughter and am 17 weeks pregnant. My daughter recently figured out how to climb out of her crib, and moved herself back into mommy's bed. She is cutting her second molars right now, so I'm not really in a hurry to urge her back into a bed of her own. But I'm starting to wonder, if it would be a good idea to co-sleep with two children, when the younger sibling comes along. I'm a bit worried about the newborn's safety with a wriggly toddler in the same bed. Does anyone have experience co-sleeping with more than one child? Does it work safely to have two children in bed? Or would it be wiser to move my daughter out into a bed of her own, once her molars are through?

I have small flock of satin angora rabbits, but I'm still new to the rabbit breeding. My handbook is all about how to get as many litters from a doe as possible - so it's not very clear on my question. My objective is to keep the flock going at a slow rate (like one litter a year), and most of all to keep my does alive and well. I'm contemplating not breeding next year at all, because I have a baby of my own due. What is the maximum ages for a young doe to safely have her first litter? Can a doe born this September safely have her first litter spring 2011? Can a doe who already had two litters the previous years pause for a year and then safely have litter by the time she is four years old?

I was just wondering. it's my second pregnancy and everything seems to be happening earlier this time around. During the last week, I sometimes had the feeling of movement in my belly, and I know for sure the first time I didn't feel anything before the end of the forth months. Does anybody have the same experience or am i just hallucinating?

About once a week, I allow my daughter (18 months) to sit on my lap for a about 10 min and watch little music videos (like papa penguin or a piece from the jungle book) on u-tube. I told my friend about it, and she was totally upset that I would allow my child to watch, claiming that I would put her on a lifetime of TV abuse and prepare her for attention deficit disorder and so on. Is such a short time of watching already likely to cause damage on my daughter's developing brain, or is my friend overreacting?

End of August I found out I was pregnant again. At that point my daughter was still enjoying one time nursing a day. In the first week of September, she stopped nursing on her own. My breasts didn't get engorged then. Now, two weeks later my breasts are swelling again, which I remember from my last pregnancy. When I touch my breasts, there is milk coming out of them, which surprises me a bit, because I do not remember that from my first pregnancy. I'm wondering, is the milk production starting again, because I stopped breastfeeding so recently, or is that a common thing in early pregnancy?