Slim

My only son will be turning 3 in about two months. He has developmental and oral motor delays due to a neurological condition that is related to hydrocephalus. He is VERY smart, and appears to understand and react to just about everything anyone says to him. He follows commands, responds to requests, and uses roughly a dozen hand signs to let us know what he wants. Other than not talking he shows no signs of autism, nor any other condition, and his neurological condition has come to a stand-still and isn't getting worse... the doctors say at this point he should be starting to outgrow the condition.

He talks constantly, but nothing he says is in English! It's all babble, and he uses the same sounds frequently, but not enough to indicate he's referring to something, you know like he hasn't given anything a label in his own language. He can say, has said many times, and used to say several words. He can still say them but as soon as we ask him to say them, or even acknowledge that he's said an actual word he stops and goes back to gibberish. He's said: elmo, banana, mama, mo, dada, nana, car, I don't know, oh my god, run around, and maybe a few others that aren't coming to mind. Sometimes he says a new word once, but refuses to say it again. I've had his hearing checked, it's normal, checked for autism, he's normal, he's worked with a speech therapist, it went nowhere and made no progress (but we will be trying again anyway), and according to the doctor he's not mentally retarded, just delayed.

So... what else can I have him tested for? And what can I do to encourage him to use words instead of gibberish? We do a lot of pointing things out and reading and looking at books and touring grocery stores and malls where I name and point to things, he understands all this but just won't even try to make the words. HELP???

I hate asking questions like this but I really need some help... My baby's father left me two weeks after we found out I was pregnant. He never comes around, refuses to pay child support, and rarely texts me to ask how my son is doing. The only thing he's done as a father was sign the birth certificate. When he left he told his family that I kicked him out and was cheating on him, both of which are flat out lies. So his family thinks I'm this horrible person and he's the good guy. I've been more than generous and have let his family come to visit my son a few times, but frankly I'm sick of them. Every time they come around they say something rude, or point out how much my son's father cares, or say something like maybe I should just get over things. My response is, he left me so I have every right to be angry for as long as I want. I can't stand his family, they're constantly pushing their religion on me and telling me how a child should be raised. So here's the question... if you were in this situation would you let the child's father's family visit? Or tell them to go screw themselves?

I am a single mother of a 1 year old son named Vaughn. Up until about 3 months ago Vaughn was like a little garbage disposal, sucking down every bottle and jar of baby food and begging for more. He often used to eat 12 ounces or more of baby food, plus snacks, juice, and a teething cookie in a single setting. Now I can barely get him to eat one 6 ounce jar of food. The problem is that he throws fits now. He will take a bottle fine, but I'm gradually trying to wean him, and I can't wean him if he won't eat big boy food. Today was much worse than before, it took him almost 2 hours to eat one jar of food because he kept screaming. I tried walking out of the room and coming back when he stopped fussing but he just started again as soon as I put the food in his mouth. I've also tried giving him different foods, letting him feed himself, giving him a spoon or cup to hold, singing songs, making entertaining special effects noises like the airplane and chew-chew-train, making silly faces and rhymes, delaying mealtime until he's really hungry (hoping that would prompt him to eat) and nothing seems to make him stop with the fit throwing. I know he's hungry, he just doesn't want to eat what I'm giving him.

How do I get him to stop screaming and just eat what I offer him?

I have recently been alerted to the accusation of the MMR vaccination being linked to Autism in children. Here's a site explaining the whole thing: http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=4440

Are there any parents out there who's child was diagnosed with Autism shortly after receiving the MMR vaccination? Can you tell me about your experience?

I am really confused here and only want the best for my son who just turned a year old last week. He already has a serious medical condition and I am trying to decide whether or not I should skip his MMR vaccine which is due on Monday. Any thoughts or stories will be especially appreciated!!

I just got a new dog a few days ago and I've noticed he has really dry skin on his back near his tail. I thought it was a hot spot but it isn't red, oozing, no hair loss and no swelling. It's kinda flaky and obviously driving the poor guy nuts because he's always scratching and biting. I'm taking him to the vet next week but I feel bad letting the little guy suffer with the itchies that long. I've heard that feeding him some olive oil or an egg every day will help... is this true? If anything, what else can I do to help the situation?

*I have no idea what this dog was fed before I got him but he is now eating Iams dry dog food. He was a rescue, taken from a home where he was locked up in a tiny room and only let out for an hour once a day. I am working on nursing him back to health but won't have the money for a vet visit until next week... so I would prefer if you had suggestions for home treatments.

My son recently turned 10 months old and has his 10 month check up here in a few days. I intend to ask his doctor a ton of questions about his development but the suspense is killing me and I'd like to hear from a few other parents.

I realize that all babies develop at their own pace but at times I wonder if my son isn't falling behind a little. He has little to no interest in sitting up (although he can do it for a few minutes unassisted if I set him on the floor), rarely pulls himself up on anything, doesn't care to try to stand (again he can stand and hold himself up he just won't do it unless I put him in that position), and won't catch himself if he falls over while sitting. Is it normal for a 10 month old boy to be so lazy? And should I be concerned or will he just start doing these things on his own time?

I recently put together a small flower garden for my mom and we planted some lilies, carnations, johnny jump-ups and a few other kinds of small flowers. I also planted a red bud tree, and two small patches of ornamental pampas grass. All the plants were labeled as low maintenance, so my only question is about the watering. How often, how much, and for how long before I just let mother nature take over watering?

What would you recommend for a watering schedule for each of these:

1) the flower garden

2) the red bud tree

3) the pampas grass

I've not had much luck growing things before and I was told by someone at a plant nursery that about 80% of plants die from improper watering habits. Can anyone help me out?

When a guy says to a girl "I'm just really stressed and need some time away from everything and everyone" and then ignores her for several days? This being said about two weeks after guy telling girl that he loves her, and also after guy is suddenly too 'busy' to hang out two weekends in a row.

A) he's really busy and stressed

B) he's just not that into her

My mom has a male Bengal kitten who is about 7 months old. Lately we have noticed that he's excessively clumsy, and is constantly on the verge of injuring himself. Actually just a few minutes ago he fell off the cat tree twice, the first time he literally fell on his face, and the second time he fell on his front paw and began limping around like he was in serious pain. We are worried his clumsiness will eventually result in a broken bone since he's jumping on and off of tall objects like our 6' tall entertainment center with absolutely no cat-like grace.

What could be the cause of his lack of coordination? And how do we fix this problem for him? Also, has anyone else had a Bengal that did similar things?

If a person gets a call on their cell phone from another person who has hidden their number to show on the caller ID as "unavailable", will the actual number of the caller be recorded in the first person's phone bill?

My son is 9 months old and beginning to feed himself by picking up food items such as biter biscuits and baby food and he is starting to mash food before he swallows it, but he doesn't have any teeth yet... do I have to wait for him to bust out with a tooth before I give him cheerios or other snacky finger foods that are similar?

I've done a lot of research on the topic so I'm not looking for links or an explanation of what the disorder is or how it affects a person. I'm looking for people who have the disorder, and can explain some of the cycles and feelings that come along with this... such as anxiety, manic episodes, and depression, etc. What is it like for you when you feel the anxiety? What do you feel like when you're manic? And how often do you go through these cycles?

I'm asking because my doctor suspects that I may have this disorder, and I'd like to know if my symptoms relate to other "real" people. It's hard to relate to a generalized description from a book or web page. Thanks in advance.

My mom has ordered a small flock of guinea fowl and they're due to be delivered to our home in May. So, with about 2 months to prepare, we are making a list of things to get. Can someone give me a good list of items to have ready for the chicks or keets when they get here? So far we have a container to keep them in while they're little (old stock tank), a heat lamp, and water and feeders. We already know we need chick feed and bedding... so what else?

If you've had these birds before can you tell me a little about maintenance and upkeep? Thanks.

Girl meets guy,

girl falls for guy,

girl's step-sister tricks girl into thinking guy is unfaithful,

girl finds out guy was innocent and the whole thing was a misunderstanding,

guy dumps girl,

girl misses guy.

1) Is it desperate for girl to ask guy to take her back?

2) Or should girl wait for guy to ask on his own?

3) Would asking make girl seem desperate?

Long story short... my step-sister recently told me that my boyfriend was trying to get naked photos of her online. She even made up a chat to try to prove it, but the whole thing was a fake. I know it was a fake because he wasn't around a computer or phone when this allegedly happened. He's 100% innocent. Of course at first I didn't know that, so I asked him if it was true. He just got out of a 5 year relationship where his wife was cheating on him the whole time, so upon being asked he freaked out, got very mad at me, and broke up with me. We are both sorry it ended, and now I'm wondering if he's worth a second chance. I really love the guy but I worry he doesn't feel the same since he just broke up with me abruptly instead of trying to talk to me about the whole deal.

Do you think he's worth a second chance or should I just move on?

My mom and I just found out Thursday that my grandma (my mother's mom) is dieing from cancer. She's far past being helped by medicine, and even if they could save her she doesn't want to be saved. Although my grandma is very happy to go, no one wants to lose her. My mom has been falling apart these last few days, and I am too. I want to help my mom get through this but I'm not really good at this kind of thing so I don't know what to do... I keep telling her that I love her and I'm here for her but I still feel it's not enough. I can't stand to see her suffer. What's the best way to support someone who's losing their mom?

Lately I've been getting some criticism for the way I feed my son. He's 8 months old, growing nicely, and is happy and healthy. In the morning when he wakes he gets an 8oz bottle of formula, then after his morning nap he gets about 8oz of baby food (I feed him until he lets me know he's full), after his lunch and a bath he gets 2oz of juice mixed with 2oz of water, and then an afternoon nap, he wakes and gets another 8oz bottle, and then between 2 and 4 hours later he gets another 8oz bottle just before bed. All together that's about 24oz of formula and around 8oz of baby food.

I know all babies are different and some require more than others so I'm just looking for a general here. This is my first baby and I don't have any mom-friends to help me out. I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. A few people are constantly telling me that I need to be feeding my son baby food 3 times a day but if I did that then he'd never take a bottle and I know he's a little too young for that.

*I also want to add that he's at a healthy weight, growing fine, and doesn't have any health problems.

Can someone help me out?

I've been taking a new birth control pill for almost 3 weeks now. It's allegedly the one birth control out there with the lowest dose of estrogen, which from what I hear is what causes the mood swings. Lately I've been having these extreme mood swings (along with literally every other side effect that can possibly be caused by the pill) and I've been unintentionally lashing out at friends and family. I feel terrible about it because I've been saying and doing things I normally wouldn't... the other day I made my mom cry, and this weekend I'm pretty sure I really hurt my best friend. Even though I apologize to everyone I still feel terrible about it and I don't think they feel my apology was heartfelt because honestly I've been and still am being the biggest ***** on the planet. This isn't me!!

I was considering taking a different type of pill but now I'm afraid that since this is the lowest dose pill (Loestrin24 Fe) any other pill will just be worse, and have worse symptoms, and then I really won't know what to do. Has anyone else had this problem? What did you do to fix it? Would it be better to try and switch to another pill or just stop taking them altogether?

I've been taking Loestrin birth control pills and I'm just moving into my third week. Since the third or fourth day of taking these pills I've noticed (and so has my family) that I've become extremely moody. Sometimes I go through 2 to 6 severe mood swings a day. From an extreme happy to a very extreme depressed almost suicidal mood at times. I know it's just my body adjusting to the hormones in the pill and I have enough self control not to do something stupid, but I would like to know if anyone else has had this problem while taking birth control? If you did, how long did it take to go away?

What songs do you sing to your child that aren't run-of-the-mill nursery rhymes?

I like to sing these to my baby when he's upset, or when I'm putting him to bed for the night...

Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab For Cutie

Birds And Boats by Gregory And The Hawk

Wake Up by Coheed And Cambria