mommyo

My three old son has been exhibiting some odd behaviours since very young. Currently he has been diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder but I think it is just a symptom of something bigger. He does not maintain good eye-contact, is disinterested in most toys with no pretend play skills, major sensory issues, wets his pants several times a day, hits, bites and otherwise attempts to hurt everyone in the family and our pets. We are falling apart. His behaviour is so disruptive and difficult. I am an educator and have seen children similar in schools with autism. If I could diagnose him, I would but the pediatrician and psychologist refuse to accept my words. They say there's something wrong but no one knows just what to do with him. I am tempted to go to a private clinic to have him screened but it costs nearly $3000. Waiting for the public screening clinic will be about a year and I will have lost valuable time by then. Everything points to early intervention and how kids are falling through the cracks. What can I do?

My hubby and I are contemplating our fourth child. I thought I would ask those of you who have four what your thoughts and experiences are. Why did you choose to have a fourth? What were your expectations? What do you find wonderful about having four? Alternately, what do you find the most difficult? Financially, how have you managed with four children? What was your age when you had your fourth? Thanks!

I'm replaying this great game with my kids and the walkthru's I've read talk about cheat codes. Apparently you can visit Mayahem Temple and enter certain codes into the temple using the word CHEATO first followed by a word spelled backwards (ie. srehtaef). Every time I attempt to do this Cheato tells me "this is not one of my cheats" and kicks me back out. What am I doing wrong? I have read that it is quite simple yet for some reason I get no further than this. Has anyone tried these cheats and succeeded? Thanks.

My neighbour invited our family to her son's second birthday party yesterday. The day before she asked me what kind of pizza my 4 and 6 year olds would like. I suggested cheese as its simple and most kids will eat it. Several hours before the party I called to say that we would be about 15 minutes late arriving as my youngest son (8 months) was just waking up from his nap. She was fine with that. When we made it over, it was 1:15 and the party had begun at 1:00. Three out of the four boxes of pizza including the cheese pizza had already been eaten by guests that seemed to have arrived much earlier then we (more than 15 minutes at least). The remaining pizza was cold and there was nothing my children would eat. We decided not to say anything but we felt a little awkward (my husband and I) sitting down to eat when everyone else had finished (and all evidence of the pizza was gone) and there was nothing for my other kids. When I asked if there was any other food, my neighbour had nothing that was really appropriate. We were finishing our pizza when my neighbour and the guests went into the next room to sing happy birthday and hand out cake. Needless to say my husband and I felt very uncomfortable and I am a little offended. I'm not sure if it's worth it to say anything but I was just wondering how you might feel in this situation. Do you think I am justified in being offended?

My 6 year old daughter is generally a happy, kind and compliant little girl until it comes time for school. While she tolerates school when she's there, she hates the thought of going and often outright refuses to go. Last year it became so bad that I ended up pulling her out on recommendation of a councilor. This woman said that since Kindergarten is not mandatory we should take her out and try again for grade 1 when she would be more ready to attend. At home, I successfully homeschooled her so that she would be more prepared for the next year. Now, one year later, my daughter is refusing to go again. She becomes hysterical if we force her (kicking and screaming) and it is traumatic for everyone. I have a young son and a baby to care for who are not in school but must accompany us for the drive down to the school. I am at the point now where I refuse to forcefully make her attend for this reason. My husband and I have spoken to her teacher and the principal about the situation but there is nothing we can see that is causing her difficulties at school (bullies etc.). When we ask her, my daughter cannot provide a reason for not wanting to go. We are at our wits end. She is normally very agreeable and we never have these battles around any other activity. I am considering home-schooling her again if this continues. Could anyone offer any relevant suggestions or advice on this matter?

My little guy has been eating solids for about a month now and up til this point, I've used store bought baby food. Recently I decided to prepare my own using a great little cook book that I found. Trouble is, Tommy doesn't like the stuff I make! I've tried him with homemade squash, peas, yams and carrots but he refuses to eat any of it. I think the texture of my food is different from what he's used to despite me pureeing the heck out of everything. Ultimately I know that homemade food is probably better for him and less expensive for me but how do I get around this? He shuts his mouth up tight and cries when I put it in his mouth. Should I persevere with this or go back to store bought??

Just wondering what the range of weights might be for a baby boy of this age. My little guy is a bit of a bruiser at 20 lbs. but he had a head start from birth.

If I have another baby, I will be 35, almost 36 by the time he or she is born. Is this pushing it in terms of age. It would be my fourth child.

I'm just curious... anyone out there choose to have four children? Why did you have a fourth child? What are the age spacing between children? How old were you when you had your fourth? I'm asking because I have three kids and have mixed feelings about having a fourth. Thought I'd see how other families handled four kids. Thanks for answering!!

My husband is going to have a vasectomy in the New Year (it takes a few months to get in for the procedure). He's very willing to have the minor surgery as we have three beautiful kids already. Trouble is, I'm having a hard time with it. I would like to have another child but know that he's finished. But it's more than that though. I don't want this part of my life to be over. I guess it's just a reminder that my reproductive years and one part of what defines me as femine, is over. I thought men were the only ones who experienced this kind of thing at the thought of a vasectomy... feeling like they're losing their manhood. Any ladies go through this? How did you get around it?

I left my cat in the care of our neighbors while I went on holiday for a week. He had the company of our other two cats in our home. When I returned from holiday, Milo was limping and he was favoring his back leg. I thought that it was a fairly superficial injury initially but it's been a week since I returned and he's still limping. I am taking him to the vet in a couple of days but was just wondering if anyone had any opinions on how this will be handled. Milo is using his leg but can't seem to run, play or climb. If they X-ray and determine a break or fracture of some kind, would they splint it? If he's using the leg then wouldn't it make sense to just let time heal it? I'm hoping that they'll give him some kind of anti-inflamatory medication but after that, what else could possibly be done?

My little guy is nearly 4 months old and is already fighting sleep. He will very rarely sleep longer than 15 minutes or so at a time. Just wondering when the first morning nap begins to happen. I am reluctant to let him cry it out as he's still so young but I know I need to be getting him into a regular sleeping pattern at some point. Where are you at with your baby's naps?

My 3 1/2 month old is teething and quite miserable. I checked his gums and it seems that his lower canines are coming in. I can see little red /swollen points in his gums. I always thought the front lower incisors were first. This was the case with my other two children. Should i be worried or is this common? Anyone have a similar experience with their baby?

Our two year old neutered male dachshund has become very aggressive over the past year. He is very territorial and is snappy with my other dog (a golden retriever). Oscar has nipped my kids and recently did the same with a neighborhood child that came running into our yard. I have decided to find him another home because he is just not working out for our family but I am feeling terrible about this decision. As far as I'm concerned a dog is not something you take on lightly. Oscar is a member of our family and I feel as though I'm abandoning him instead of dealing with his behaviors. I've considered having a dog trainer assist me with overcoming this problem but I'm worried that I could never fully trust him. The home I've found for him is wonderful. They have acreage and other dogs including his brother and sister. He would belong to an older, retired couple that has tons of experience with dogs. It seems like the right thing to do yet I am sooo heartbroken. Please give me your opinions. Is this the right thing to do?

For those of you who are formula feeding, how much do you give your baby a day at 3 months of age? Do you have a feeding routine at this point or do you feed on demand? How much does your baby take at a sitting? THnaks.

Our neighbors have a little girl who likes to bully my daughter of the same age. "Jessica" says things such as "If you don't push me on the swing, you can't pet my puppy" or "If you don't pull me in your wagon, you can never come inside my house again." She's become quite nasty and my daughter no longer wants to play with her. Trouble is, Jessica's mother doesn't believe her daughter is to blame and is constantly wondering why she is being excluded from playdates. We have other neighborhood girls over without incident but when Jessica

is included (and we've tried to include her) the fur flies. we've tried speaking with her mother about her behavior but she becomes very angry and defensive no matter how diplomatic we try to be. How would you handle this? I've told my daughter to politely turn down offers to play but its difficult as Jessica sees my daughter through the fence everyday. How do we deal with this child's mother? Should I ignore these neighbors? I hate not dealing with this!!!

My three week old son is formula fed and I'm wondering if he has developed an intolerance for milk. He is quite gassy and his stools are green. He is very irritable and it appears as though he is very uncomfortable (abdominal pain). We can't seem to get him to sleep for very long especially at night when he seems extremely fussy. I'm going to be changing his formula to see if this makes a difference. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? Does this sound like a milk intolerance to you?

I know pimples in newborns are common and caused by the mother's hormones and clogged pores. My son's pimple problem seems quite severe so I'm wondering if something else could be causing them. The pimples are actually bursting on their own and leaving a yellow crust. He has patches of skin around the pimples that are red and raised and overnight his little head broke out in dozens of white heads. Could this be just a nasty bout of newborn acne or possibly and allergic reaction? I am planning on taking him to the doctor today but thought I'd see if anyone experienced similar with their little one.

My baby boy is 13 days old now and he is eating like a horse. He manages several little hour long cat naps throughout the day but never seems to sleep much longer. Same thing during the night. I'm up every hour and his appetite never seems satisfied. I need to know that things are going to improve as the sleep deprivation is making me one grumpy mommyo. How did you handle the night feeds / waking? When might I expect things to improve even just a little?

Next week I'll be 38 weeks and my midwife has offered me a membrane strip. I have some mild complications (edema and protein in urine, premature labour) so I'm guessing she just wants to speed things up a bit to be on the safe side. I realize that a membrane sweep is no guarantee that labour will follow but what have your experiences been? Does this work?