Toby

We've had a betta fish for about a month and a half now. He seems to have been doing great until earlier this evening. He is in a one-gallon, filtered tank that is supposedly made especially for bettas. Well, my husband went in to feed him a while ago and couldn't see him anywhere in the tank. So when he opened the lid, the fish seemed to shoot out of the filter, like he had been caught in it. Now, it appears that one of his front fins is missing, and he is staying close to the bottom of the tank. It's clearly taking a lot of effort for him to swim up to the top, and he's not really trying much, but he does seem to want to get to his food.

So here are my questions:

1. Is it normal for him to stay at the bottom soon after a traumatic experience like this? It makes sense to me that it would take him some time to get over the shock and to adjust to having only one fin.

2. Will he survive, or is he likely to die? Anything specific we can do to help him out?

Thanks!

So there's a possibility that I'm pregnant with my second, and I had some weird sensations in my breasts yesterday and this morning. With my first, I don't recall having breast tenderness early in pregnancy, so I'm not sure what it usually feels like. It's not an achy or sore feeling, really. The closest thing I can compare it to is when my breasts would become too full or when I would have a milk letdown during the time I was nursing my daughter. Almost like a slight stinging/tingling? I feel pretty certain it's not related to my period because I'm not due to get that for another 6 days or so. Anyone else have a similar sensation early in their pregnancy? I know I can't be sure until I miss my period, but I was just curious how this felt for others. Thanks!

I'm in desperate need of some new panties, but I don't want to waste money on something uncomfortable. Anyone have suggestions for full coverage, seamless panties that don't ride up and are affordable? I'm all about the comfort. :)

I'm a childbirth educator and have students pay me through PayPal on occasion. I've always sent an invoice, but there's a fee associated with it. If they were to simply sent the payment to my account (without an invoice), would there still be a fee? Is there a way around this? Thanks!

I'm trying to make couscous for the first time, and the recipe that I'm using has some interesting directions. It says to bring the water to a boil, remove it from the heat, then stir in the couscous and let it stand for 10 minutes. I got the recipe from someone who's made this dish for me before, and it was great. But it just seems weird that the couscous doesn't actually cook over heat. Also, I'm using couscous from a box (pearled couscous), so I'm not sure if that matters. This recipe is served cold, by the way. Any thoughts? Thanks!

I've been breastfeeding my daughter for 19 months now. Since Wednesday evening, I haven't breastfed her because I've had to be out of town for an intensive training. I've also only had the time to pump about 3 or 4 times. Obviously, I'm not producing as much at this point anyway because my daughter doesn't breastfeed nearly as much as she used to. So engorgement hasn't been an issue. I'll be back with her tomorrow afternoon, but I'm just wondering if my supply will be able to recover. I really don't want her to wean! For you moms who are super knowledgeable about breastfeeding, should I be able to get my supply back up with lots and lots of nursing? Or is 4 days with practically no pumping completely devastating to supply? Thanks!

My 19-month-old had a low fever on Monday and Tuesday. Then yesterday, she woke up with tons of tiny red bumps all around her mouth and diaper area. There are even a few of these red bumps on her legs and hands. We're going to the pediatrician in just a bit, but I'm really curious if this could be hand, foot, and mouth disease. Everything I've read about HFMD says that kids usually get blisters in their mouth and on their hands and feet. But I can't see any in my daughter's mouth--just all around. She had a rough time sleeping last night and has been kind of irritable, which I guess suggests that these bumps are uncomfortable. (They sure look like they would be!) Anyhow, have any of your kids had HFMD, and if so, was it similar? Thanks!

I've been a tutor for an online tutoring company for the past two years. Recently, I've applied for a teaching position at a university and have started the interview/hiring process. As part of their process, the university that I've applied to has asked that I provide a list of current managers/supervisors who will fill out a job skills survey that basically ranks my skills in various areas. Well, my current employer has told me that my direct supervisor isn't permitted to complete this survey because she's not a "manager." Nor is she able to provide a recommendation for me. At the same time, upper management who is allowed to do so will not because they employ "1000+ tutors" and cannot fill out individualized surveys. So essentially they're saying that they won't give me a recommendation, even though I've been an outstanding worker. Is it legal for them to dictate what my supervisor does? Because that doesn't seem right. The top of the survey even says, "Your responses are personal and do not reflect the views of any company/organization to which you belong now or to which you have belonged in the past." How can she not be allowed to fill this out? Isn't this some sort of rights infringement? It seems like this company is trying to dictate how/when their employees can seek employment elsewhere, and that can't be okay. Anyone know anything about this?

I'm co-hosting a baby shower for a close friend, and I'm in charge of the food. But I only have a couple of ideas and lots of people to feed! They want to keep it casual. It's a co-ed shower at 10 in the morning. Any ideas for finger foods?

I realize this is probably a loaded question, but what goes into renting out your home? What are the pros and cons? What's the minimum amount (i.e. mortgage + ?) that should be asked from the tenant? Are property taxes different? Are any additional expenses required from the homeowner if the property is switched from a primary residence to a rental property? I know nothing about this and am just looking for some basic info. Thanks! :)

My almost 17-month-old daughter only takes her paci for sleeping (never shows interest in it unless it's time for a nap or bedtime). But I have a feeling that she would be pretty upset if she didn't have it when it was time to go to sleep. Anyhow, I'm not planning on weaning her from the paci any time soon, but I was just curious when some of your children stopped needing a paci. How old were they, and how did it go? Did you have to take it away, or did they eventually wean themselves from it? Thanks!

So, I'm just wondering how many of you have children who walked really late. My 15-month-old daughter (she'll be 16 months on the 21st of this month) is STILL not walking! She's obviously fine in every other regard, and I know it's no cause for concern. But I'm just curious if any of you have children who didn't walk until after 15 months because that's pretty much the latest I've heard from anyone else.

My 15-month-old has 12 teeth, so it's obviously a good idea to brush them each day. When we first got her toothbrush, she liked it when I would brush them. But now, when I try to brush her teeth, she will NOT have it. She shuts her mouth tight, and I can't even get the brush in there unless I were to just pry her mouth open (while she screams) and brush really quickly. Did any of you experience this with your children, and if so, do you have any tips to share? I'm just worried that her teeth and gums won't be healthy if I can't brush them every day. Help, please!

Our family is having some financial troubles right now, and for the first time, I don't think we have the money to pay our water and power bills. We will be able to pay them in a couple of weeks, but they are due this week. At what point do most places cut off these kinds of services? We would only be a week late.

We have a Southwest Visa through Chase and recently received an offer for 0% APR through 12/12 on "balance transfers." In this offer, it included two checks and said that we could write a check to ourselves if we wanted. What I want to know is what exactly does this mean? We were planning on using this card for a large payment on something anyway, so would it be better to take this offer or just use the card as normal? The offer also says that as of 2013, the APR on the unpaid balance will return to 14.24%. So, would it be smarter to use this offer or just use the card as we normally would for this big expense that we planned? I don't understand credit cards, which is why we only have one! Thanks! :)

Just out of curiosity, how old was your little one when you no longer felt the need for a monitor? My daughter's room is all the way across the house, so I know we'll need one for quite a bit longer! :)

We need to get new sheets for our queen size bed, but we don't have a ton of money to spend. What's the lowest thread count you can get and still have soft sheets? I made the mistake of buying cheaper sheets from Target, and they felt like sandpaper. Is 400 still pretty soft? We got a nice set of 440 thread count sheets for Christmas. Unfortunately, there are two small rips at the top, which I didn't notice until after I washed them. And where are the best places to get quality sheets for lower prices? Thanks!

My 14-month-old has recently been acting really crazy with her naps. It started when we went out of state for the holidays (about 3 weeks ago). Up until that point, I could simply lay her in the crib, and she would fall asleep peacefully on her own. But ever since we were out of town and even after arriving home, she flat out refuses to nap unless I rock her to sleep. I've tried letting her cry in her crib for 1-2 hours, but she simply will not sleep without being rocked. I can't stand seeing her so tired, so I've been giving in to the rocking. What I'm wondering is, have any of you rocked your kids to sleep, and how long did they continue needing it? If I rock her to sleep for each nap, will this create bad habits, or do they typically outgrow it? I'm just sick of fighting her on this, and rocking her doesn't hurt me; I love rocking her, actually! Any tips?

My 14-month-old daughter has suddenly decided to start boycotting her nap. Granted, we are out of town visiting family, but she has always been pretty easy to put down, even at my family's houses. But from the first day of this trip, every time I put her to bed, she freaks out and will NOT be comforted. I've even tried leaving her in the crib, and even though she calms down after a few minutes, she just won't sleep, even after an hour! It's just so frustrating because I know she's tired when I put her down; she's sometimes even sleeping already. What has happened to my baby? I'm really hoping this is just a phase because it just makes no sense! When we were here a few weeks ago, she napped perfectly. Any advice from those of you who've experienced something similar?

We posted an item for sale in craigslist, and I got an inquiry about it. I told the guy that it was still available, and he sent me an e-mail back telling me to consider it sold. Typically, when I've sold through craigslist, we'll determine a place to meet and they'll pay in cash. However, this guy wants me to send him my address, then he would send me a certified check in the mail and send a "shipper" to pick up the item after I've cashed the check. Is this normal or safe? I'm a little nervous about giving my address.