MammaOf2

My son has been diagnosed PDD-NOS. I've been (successfully) working with him on his social interactions, but he has some stimming behaviors that I haven't figured out to change. He chews on blankets, his shirt, toys, and yesterday I caught him chewing his baby sister's hair. He also flaps his hands against his face when he's excited or learning something new. He also has a very hard time settling in to sleep at night. I was just reading online about weighted blankets, and I think it may be a help to us. I'm wondering if anyone has had an experience with them in a child with PDD-NOS and what that experience was. (and yes, I know I should talk to an OT.. still waiting to be assigned one by the school district)

What are some breakfast cereal options for someone looking to reduce sodium intake (for hypertension)? I found Golden Crisp is fat free and has only 25mg of sodium per serving. However, that's my only option at this point. The other cereals seem to be quite high in sodium, especially the "healthy" brand cereals! They're worse than the sugary kids cereals.

My 3-year old son was diagnosed PPD-NOS recently. He's being assigned a speech therapist and occupational therapist. I don't know anything beyond that... I'm supposed to just wait for someone to call me.

Can someone who has been through this before give me any information about what to expect? I'm hoping for in-home therapy, because I think it would be easier on my son, but I don't know if that type of thing is even available.

I just noticed that my daughter is getting her 3rd tooth, and it's not one of the ones I expected. She's got her two front bottom teeth, and I was waiting for the front middle teeth to come in. But, she's cut one of the incisors on top instead. I'm thinking it's normal however it happens, but have a small doubt that her teeth may not come in straight of they come in a weird order. Anyone have experience/input on this?

Everyone in my family has allergies. What have you used as an air purifier, and do you feel it works well? I'm looking for information on large ones for larger areas (500 sq ft plus) plus smaller ones (for about 150sq ft).

My son has Aspberger's Syndrome (not officially diagnosed yet, but I know he does). He's almost 3. I'm looking for recommendations on good books that explain Aspberger's and advice on raising children with this condition. Also, if you have any personal experience you can share that would help me understand this condition, please do. I've suspected he's had Aspberger's for almost a year now, but I didn't want my child labeled as having anything wrong with him. But when my day care provider brought up a suspicion of autism on Friday afternoon, it's become something that I know I need to deal with.

change the toilet paper roll?

Just a fun question. My husband NEVER, in the 3 years we've been married, has changed a roll. The empty one just sits there, and the new roll ends up sitting on the floor. Is it really so hard??? :-)

Okay... I'm probably going to get slammed for this, but I'll say it anyway. Why do so many people over-react when a child gets a fever? I see the advice people give on Yahoo answers, and most people seem to say things like "OMG -- get your child to the emergency room immediately!" when someone posts a child has a had a 101 or 102 fever for a couple of days. I admittedly over-reacted to one of my children's sicknesses once and went into the emergency room (only to be told to go back home and he'd be fine). My children have both been sick plenty of other times, and trips to the doctor aren't needed for most illnesses. I'm very suspicious that most of the people giving this advice don't have children --- because MOST people who have had a child for a length of time (or who have several children) know that fevers and colds come along with the territory, and doctors and hospitals can't do anything.

Am I right?

I'm looking for information/opinions on artificial grass. I found a company and grass that I really like, but it's a lot of money to spend. The grass comes with an 8 year warranty, "but is expected to last 15-20 years". Have you had artificial grass for several years? How does it hold up? Do you think it's a good value?

Is the bumbo seat waterproof enough to use as a bath seat? I give my daughter a bath in the kitchen sink (holding her with one arm and washing with the other hand)... I'm looking for something she can sit in to make the process easier as she gets bigger.

I'm currently using Craigslist to advertise my small home business. Are there other similar posting sites (with a higher Google page ranking, if possible)? I'm particularly interested in a site that is small-business friendly in a site for the San Francisco Bay Area. If it's a paid service, that's fine.

My son LOVES oranges. What is the easist kind of orange to prepare for a toddler? I always get seedless naval oranges (just becaus they don't have seeds). Are there other seedless oranges out there that have less-thick skin?

Danny has been my #2 favorite on American Idol. I saw his Christmas video on tmz.com, and he just doesn't look so cute anymore. I'm really disappointed. What does everyone else think? Am I just over-reacting? I don't think someone who would say those things should be a role model.... he stepped over the line.

At what age does a baby typically start getting a first tooth? My daughter is almost 3 months, and she's starting to drool a lot and chew on her fist. I think she's a little young for teething, but I can't remember when my son got his first one.

I got a water quality test from home depot and tested the tap water at my house (it's city water). The tests came back as "good" except for 2. One says I have hard water. I have a water softener, though, so I'm thinking it may not be working well enough. I'll grab the manual for that question. The second test that came out as "caution" was for the PH level of the water. It was around 5. What can I do to adjust the PH of the water? Do I contact the city with my concern, or is this something I should even be concerned about?

Help! I've got everything ready to have tacos for dinner, but I just found out I don't have any packets of the seasoning. I have tons of spices in my cabinet. How can I mix some up???

I've been using bottled water for formula, but read an article today about how bad botted water can be. Can I just mix the formula with filtered tap water?

When did you stop using baby laundry detergent (like Dreft) for your children?

My 2.5 year old son has a couple of behaviors that I'm not sure I should be concerned about or not. He's always lined up his toys and been very organized... I actually like that. The thing that he does that bothers me a little is when he feels uncomfortable or gets very excited, he'll put both hands up by his mouth, clenches his fists for about 5-10 seconds, and then seems to settle down. He may do this several times if it's an uncomfortable social situation. I'm only concerned because he went to go talk to a girl his age, and he did this 3 times within the 2 minute "conversation" he had with her, and the mom asked me what is wrong with him. Should I be worried about some kind of disorder? He's smart and communicates well, good eye contact, and plays well with others at day care.

I bought some stuff that cleans mold/fungus from washing machines. The instructions say to fill the washer with hot water and then add the mix. However, my washing machine will not fill with water when it's empty. It's just putting a couple of inches in the bottom and then the agitating cycle starts. I think it must have some kind of sensor to determine how much water to use. What can I do to get it filled (other than carrying pans of hot water and dumping them in manually)?