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My home PC has just been (re)infected with that obnoxious Antivirus Software Alert trojan. We're getting "infiltration alert" notices every few seconds, and IE is automatically opening several windows with porn sites as the default URL. No other URLs work in IE. Same goes for Google Chrome. The only browser that runs right now is Firefox, which is how I'm online right now. In the past, I've been able to remove similar trojans using MalwareBytes. Now, I cannot run MalwareBytes because its executable is infected. None of our anti-malware apps - Norton, MS Security Essentials, SpyDoctor, McAfee - run because of the infection. In fact, Firefox is one of the few apps on the whole PC that's not infected. Can't use iTunes, photo viewers, Office, or anything else. And the download feature is broken, so I can't download any new malware removal app.

Does anyone know a clever way to get rid of this thing?? Help!

I've heard lots of parents say that they don't start toilet training until their kids are around two years old. However, my 13 month old consistently tells us "I pee-pee" or "I poo-poo" when she pees and poops. Then she runs down the hall to her room to have her diaper changed. She also says "Mama pee-pee" or "Daddy pee-pee" whenever she sees one of us go to the bathroom. (Yes, she says lots of words already!). I know she's young, but the fact that she understands what she's doing and that she knows big people do these things in the bathroom makes me think she might be ready to start learning to use a little potty chair.

My daughter is only 8 months old, but she already shows a distinct preference for her left hand. Now that she's begun to feed herself small bits of finger food, she really favors the left hand even more. I've heard that hand preferences can change a few times during early childhood, so I was just wondering what your experiences have been. Obviously, it doesn't matter whether she's a lefty or righty - I'm just curious!

My nephew's first birthday party is coming up, and I'm looking for gift ideas. What are some good toys that 1-year-old boys like? If possible, I'd like to keep the price under $50.

My daughter will be 5 weeks old tomorrow. I know that my milk supply is low, but I'm trying to get a good feel for just *how* low. For all you nursing moms: How much milk are you able to pump out at a time?

When I completely drain both breasts with a pump, I only get about 1 - 1.5 ounces from both breasts combined. Almost all of it comes from the right breast. The left one seems to be producing almost no milk at all. I nurse my daughter and/or pump every 2 - 3 hours during the day. (more milk out is supposed to prompt the body to make more). I'm eating well, taking my vitamins, and drinking plenty of fluids. I'm doing all the 'right' things to increase milk supply, but even after 5 weeks I still only get about 1 to 1.5 oz. at a time. At 1 week, the pediatrician suggested supplementing with formula. With the additional formula, our daughter is able to feel full and satisfied, and she started growing well. Without the formula she's too hungry, so we'll continue giving it to her. (not gonna let her go hungry!)When we give her a bottle of formula, she drinks about 4 ounces - even after nursing and draining both breasts!

I suspect that my milk supply is *really* low - not just a little low. How much should i be able to pump/express/feed at a time?

I'm 35w3d pregnant. I've had Braxton Hicks contractions for the last several weeks, and they feel like mild menstrual cramps - uncomfortable, but not actually painful. The last couple of days, though, I've had a few contractions that *really* hurt. During these I haven't been able to speak, and I had to use breathing techniques I learned in my yoga class to get through the contractions. The intensity of these 'new' contractions made me wonder if labor was about to start. However, they're not occurring at a regular frequency, just a few a day.

Have any of you experienced this? Is it still Braxton Hicks contractions, or could labor be around the corner? My baby dropped a couple of weeks ago.

I'm a first-time mom, so I'm not entirely sure what to expect! Just wanted to ask here before I call my doctor. Thanks.

Our daughter is due in a month and we still haven't picked a name, although we do have a top-5 list. My husband is Indian, I'm American, and we live in the US. We're trying to find a pretty name that goes well in both cultures and is easy for *both* of our families to spell and pronounce. That's a challenge! However, I think we made a HUGE mistake by letting our families get involved in the naming process. His family wants us to pick a traditional south Indian name, my family wants a classic English name....and there's only one name on our list that neither family hates! haha! Now we have relatives sending us e-mails and text messages with name suggestions and always asking us about the name search. I know they're trying to help, but it's driving us nuts! In retrospect, I think we should have kept quiet and waited until we made a decision and then just announced it.

What did all of you do? Did you announce the name you chose or did you let your friends and family help?

just curious!

I'm 35 weeks pregnant as of today. At my checkup last week, my doctor confirmed that my baby had dropped. I suspected that she dropped because her little booty isn't up in my ribcage anymore and I can breathe again :-) I know that for a first-time mom, the baby dropping doesn't necessarily mean that labor will start in the immediate future. I'm just curious to hear from some other moms about when the baby dropped and when labor began.

Thanks!

After lots of searches and discussions, my husband and I finally found a name for our baby girl that we both really like - Maya. It's been hard to find a name because we're a multi-cultural family, and we need a name that doesn't sound out of place for either culture. This one is perfect. Then we remembered that we have friends who gave their baby daughter this name last year. We're going to try to find another name we both like as much, but if we can't, would it be rude or inappropriate to go ahead and name our daughter Maya? It's not a common name, so the odds of it being 'taken' are pretty small!

Should we ask our friends if they would be offended...? Not too sure what the etiquitte is for this situation!

thanks.

I'm about 25.5 weeks along, and I think I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions the last couple of weeks. I'm almost certain they're *not* 'real' contractons because they're not regular, they go away when I stretch and move around, and they don't increase in intensity or frequency. I only get a few a day, and they're very sporadic. But...some of them are pretty uncomfortable.

My questions:

1. Is it normal for BH contractions to occasionally feel like short (1-2 minute) menstrual cramps? Normally they're painless, but occasionally they hurt a little.

2. Is it normal to occasionally have cramping in the lower back with BH contractions? During the ones that feel like menstrual cramps, my whole lower back tightens and cramps as well.

This is my first pregnancy, so I'm not completely sure what's 'normal'! Thanks! :-)

I'm due on January 5th. My friend wants to host a baby shower for me, and we think that the weekend of November 8th is our best choice. We don't want to have to try to schedule around Thanksgiving or other holiday plans, and I want to have the shower while I'm still feeling good and energetic. Would it be ok to go ahead and have the shower in early November, even though it's still two months before the due date?

Last week's ultrasound showed that I have complete placenta previa - the placenta is at the bottom of the uterus instead of on one of the sides. I'm right at 20 weeks along, so there's a chance the placenta could move up. However, because it's a complete previa, moving completely out of the way is unlikely.

Has anyone else here had the same problem? Did you have any complications like bleeding or early labor? Did you need a c-section?

My goal is to have an unmedicated delivery, if at all possible. I'm at the end of week 18, and I want to start talking to my doctor about birth plans. I was just wondering how other women decided on a birthing method - Lamaze, Bradley, hypno-birthing, epidural, etc - and whether the childbirth classes are helpful.

I'd love to hear your stories!

The past 3 days my right ankle has been really puffy. The left one still looks normal. My ankle doesn't hurt at all; neither does any part of my right leg. I'm fit, I've only gained 2 pounds so far, and have healthy blood pressure.

It just seems really odd to have only one puffy ankle - two would make sense...! Has anyone else experienced this? Does it sound normal, or should I call a nurse?

I'm 16 weeks pregnant and physically fit. My normal resting heart rate is around 62 - 64 beats per minute. Over the past few weeks, I've noticed that my resting heart rate is closer to 72 beats per minute. Also, I've had a few short episodes (10 - 15 minutes) during which my heart rate goes up to about 120 beats per minute. I know that the body is producing a lot more blood right now, so it makes sense that the heart would have to work harder than normal. But the 'racing-heart' thing seems a little weird.

Has anyone else experienced the same thing? Is this normal?

I'm 14 weeks pregnant, and I shared the news with my manager a few days ago. While I am glad that we qualify for FMLA, I don't want to place a 10 - 11 week old infant in childcare for 9 or 10 hours a day if I don't have to. Because our engineering team is understaffed, returning part-time after the FMLA leave is not a choice. All or nothing. So....after lots of discussions, my husband and I have decided that we can afford for me to take a year off work after the baby arrives. I hope they'll let me take a leave of absence, but I'm aware that I may have to resign and re-apply. (I'm marketable, so I'm not worried about finding another job.) With an extended leave, I don't have to go to work sleep-deprived and exhausted; and we can wait until the baby is a little older before putting him/her in daycare. I think this is the right decision for us.

At what point is it appropriate to talk to my manager about my decision to take a year off?

I'm 14 weeks along and not really showing. Although I haven't gained any weight yet, I'm starting to feel a little 'inflated', and my stomach isn't flat like it was. Some of my clothes are becoming a little uncomfortable. Since this is my first pregnancy, I don't really know what to expect as far as how slowly or quickly my body will change. I'm petite and athletic, and my clothes that are feeling a little snug aren't feeling snug everywhere - just in the chest and in the waist. I'm hesitant to buy normal clothes a size or two bigger because the proportions are not quite right - too long, too big everywhere besides waist and chest, neckline too low, arm holes too big, all that... However, I don't need actual maternity clothes yet.

Does anyone have any suggestions for this in-between period? Are there any cool stretchy gadgets that can extend the usability of regular clothes?

I just found out that I'm pregnant - about 12 weeks. (31 years old, 1st pregnancy). I haven't been terribly nauseous - just occasionally - and I haven't thrown up. But the fatigue has been pretty intense. Even though I am healthy and very fit, I'm feeling completely exhausted all the time. Just walking around the block makes me feel like I've run a 10K. I can't make it through a work-out without getting lightheaded. By the end of the day, I'm too wiped out to do anything besides plop on the couch. ugh! My doctor said that this is pretty normal at first. Does anyone know of a safe, healthy way to get my energy level back up, or do I just have to wait it out? Please tell me this fatigue will go away soon!!

Thanks :-)

Over the weekend we had an unpleasant experience with an unsupervised kid at our favorite dog park. The boy was about 9 or 10 years old, and his parents had let him go do his own thing. The boy was making really loud noises at the dogs, chasing them, trying to pull tails, taking toys away, etc. My dog is a gentle giant with seemingly endless patience, but when the boy wouldn't quit chasing him and shouting he growled. My dog's tail was tucked between his legs and he was noticeably frightened; that's why he was running away from the kid. When he finally growled, my husband told the boy "Please stop. The dog is scared, and growling is his way of telling you to leave him alone. It's not going to be his fault if he bites you." The boy said we were mean and then went somewhere else.

Questions:

Would a dog owner be legally responsible for a dog bite if the kid was provoking the dog? (with this kid, it seems inevitable)

Should we have found the parents and told them about the incident?

My husband and I live in an older house, and we're in the process of doing some cosmetic improvements on it. The cabinets in our bathrooms are wooden (not sure what kind of wood), and they are looking a little old and in need of refinishing. The current stain color is a medium-light brown. It's a good color, but the cabinets are scratched, scuffed, and have a few stains.

We'll be painting the bathrooms soon, and we're trying to figure out whether to refinish the cabinets by sanding, re-staining, and varnishing, or by painting them a color that complements the color we use for the bathroom walls.

How hard/easy is it to sand and re-stain the cabinets as compared to painting them? What do we need to do as far as stripping the existing stain and preparing for the new finish?

Thanks!