SimplyMe

Our daughter has always been a pretty good sleeper; sleeping through the night since she was 6 months old, falls asleep without a fuss, etc. So, I guess you could say my husband and I have been spoiled, haha... Well, for the past few weeks, she's been waking up 2 to 3 times each night. At first, it was just because she'd have a wet diaper or something and as soon as we'd change her, she'd fall right back asleep. Now, she's not really wet... she's not teething (that I know of)... I doubt it's nightmares because she's not waking up in a panic or anything... and once she wakes up, she doesn't want to go back to sleep. It takes her at least an hour each time to drift back off.

I'm afraid she may have gotten used to us coming in there to change her diaper, and now she wakes up because she's expecting us to be there, you know? When she wakes, she starts crying because she doesn't see us. We would let her "cry it out" for a little while, but we live in an apartment complex and are concerned about the noise for our neighbors, so we get up and tend to her. The past few nights, she woke up between 2-3am and didn't go back to sleep at all until almost 9 the next morning. That's not exactly easy for Momma and Daddy when they both work a full-time job!

A friend of mine suggested starting a "sleep diary" and keeping track of her naps, how long it takes her to fall asleep at night, the number of times she wakes up, etc. and bringing it to her pediatrician at her next check-up, but we're becoming so frustrated and exhausted that we're starting to argue with each other. As I'm reading this, it sounds like I'm making it out to be all about me and my husband, but that's not what I'm trying to say here at all... I'm first and foremost concerned for my daughter, and I'm worried that she's not getting enough sleep.

We've stopped giving her fluids after 7:30 to try and stop the wet diapers at night... We've put a few toys in her crib to try and keep her occupied for when she DOES wake up, but she doesn't want her toys - she wants Momma and Daddy. We've tried letting her cry for a little bit, but she gets so hysterical that she starts coughing really bad, and I've already mentioned the neighbors... What else could we do?

My daughter has recently started hitting herself on her head, and it worries me. She's not hitting hard enough to hurt herself or anything, but she just starts slapping her head for no reason. I take her hand and tell her firmly but calmly, "No, sweetheart, we don't hit ourselves. Hitting hurts." She just laughs and does it again.

Not only that, but she's starting to hit me and my husband, too. She just rears back and slaps us in the face. She thinks it's funny and only seems to do it when we're playing. We always react the same way ("hitting hurts, hitting is bad"), and we NEVER hit back or yell. Any suggestions?

So... my husband and I have been married for about 3 years now. We have a beautiful daughter who is just about a year old. When we first got married, we both had said that we wanted a semi-big family (about 3-4 kids).

However, since the birth of my daughter, I can't explain it, but I just don't want to have any more. It's not because she's difficult or because I had a rough pregnancy, etc. She's a wonderful baby, very well behaved, my pregnancy was great... I just don't want anymore kids. It's just the way I feel.

I've talked with my husband about it, told him how I feel... and he got really upset. He said he'll accept it, but it breaks his heart. Now I feel terrible. Who knows, maybe somewhere down the line, I'll change my mind, but I don't know. Am I wrong for not wanting more kids and could this affect my marriage badly? I don't want my husband to resent me, but I also don't want to have another child and end up resenting the child, because no child deserves to feel like that.

My husband has a habit of clamming up and not speaking when he's upset about something. We've struggled with this since we were dating, and I've always told him that he can tell me anything, I'm here for him, I can't help him unless he lets me know what's going on, etc.

We've been getting better, but we're still struggling with it. What's the best thing to do to let him know that I'm not here to judge - I'm here to help? I tell him that, if he can tell anyone, it's me. I'm his wife, I'm supposed to be the one that supports him through everything.

He's been stressed out the past few weeks, but everytime I ask him what's wrong, he shakes his head and says nothing, or he'll just sit there and not answer me at all. It's very frustrating! What do I do?

I know this may seem like an immature question, but I'm seriously sad about it, and I need some help. Ever since I've gotten married, my friends have just... dropped me. NONE of them ever call me anymore, and when I try to call them, I just get their voicemail. I leave a message, but they never call me back. I text them, try and see if they want to hang out, but they never text me back.

I go and look at their MySpace pages, and they all still talk to each other, but none of them ever comment me anymore or anything. It's very depressing! I have talked with my husband about it, and he thinks I should show up one day and surprise them with a visit or something. If they seem uninterested, he thinks I should just move on. But...

These are the same friends I've had since middle school. I don't understand what would make them do this. I'm very confused.

So, my husband and I just got married. Right now, we're in the middle of "wedded bliss", but I'm not naive - I know it won't always be this good. I was wondering if any of you could tell me: What was the toughest part for you after you got married? What things did you and your husband/wife fight about? What was the hardest to adjust to? I'm just wondering. I want to have an idea about the challenges that we'll face later on in our married life. Thanks for your help.

In the room at the church where we're getting ready, I'm planning on baking lots of different cookies and having some bottled waters put out for my girls... sort of like a "cookie bar" or something. On the sugar cookies, I want to write out in icing "to my bridesmaids." Is that really corny? Haha, if it is, just let me know. I'm just trying to think of something special to do for them, other than the gifts I've already gotten, you know?

One of my bridesmaids is having a friend of hers from college fix her hair for the wedding... Am I required to invite this person to the wedding? She (my bridesmaid) said her hair doesn't take curls very well and she needs to do her hair right before the wedding... What should I do? I don't even know this friend of hers.

This is a little embarrassing to ask, but I've been wondering recently if there's something wrong. During sex, I don't feel anything. I mean, of couse, I FEEL it, but I don't have any pleasurable sensations during it. I've tried masturbation, but still, I feel nothing. I'm extremely worried that this could ruin my relationship and that I'll live my entire life without being able to enjoy sex. What can I do?

My other coworkers and I have started to notice that this girl we work with flirts A LOT with our customers... which isn't a problem I guess... until they start buying gifts for her and taking her out on dates, that is.

Two weeks ago, she went to lunch with one customer. Last week, a man brought her a brand new purse and a 14K gold heart-shaped necklace. Today, a MARRIED customer brought her a heart and diamond bracelet. Needless to say, my other coworkers and I have had enough.

We told her she needed to stop accepting gifts from these men before she lost her job over it. She became really worried, so went to our manager and gave him the bracelet, saying she "didn't want to lose her job because of dirty men buying her gifts." What the...?

Are we being unreasonable for feeling this way about her? She's very young - 20 - and men call the store for her all the time. When she's not there, they come in asking for her. When will it end?!?

How do I go about this? I'm not planning on pursuing this full-time or anything, I currently have a full-time job. But I'd like to do this to make a little extra cash on the side. I love, love, LOVE to sing (especially all of those old, lovey-dovey, sappy songs) and am wondering how I go about getting into this business? Who do I contact? What should I do?

For a while now, I've been thinking I may want to become a wedding singer... just part time, of course, because I currently have a full-time job. I sing in my church choir and absolutely love it, and a friend of mine just asked me to sing at her wedding. As I've thought about my duty for my friend, I find myself getting more and more excited over it. I also love all of those mushy-mushy love songs, haha.

I recently mentioned to some other friends that I might want to become a wedding singer. Thinking that they'd tease me for it, I was surprised when they encouraged me. So... I don't know. Basically, I'm just asking what you guys think... Should I go for it? And how do I go about getting into that business?

My bridesmaids, a couple friends, and some family members are going with me to sing karaoke the night before my wedding. What are some of your favorite songs to sing at karaoke bars? Why?

I personally love to sing Reba. I grew up listening to Reba (thanks, Mom) and I always pick a song of hers. And I love, love, LOVE oldies. Anything like that, with a fun beat that I can be silly to, is fun for me to sing.

So... my fiance and I have decided not to have alcohol served at the reception because we've both had a lot of family problems/history with it and don't want anything to happen... We've had a TON of complaints from family members, saying that not having an open bar is rude to those who want to drink.

Should we give in so that everyone will stop whining about it and risk a situation from developing, or stand firm and tell everyone to deal with it? We're just really uncomfortable with the thought of some of our family members possibly getting drunk and starting something at the reception.

My Mom has been an alcoholic since I was 6 years old, and I'm now 22. My sister just recently turned 15 and was staying with my Mom for the weekend. On her birthday, my Mom promised my sister she wouldn't drink. After a while, she started saying, "Just one. Just one." My sister begged her not to, but she did anyway. One turned into 2, 2 into 4, and 4 into nearly a whole case.

We were supposed to go out to dinner for my sister's birthday, but they didn't show up. I was worried, so I went over. When I got there. I found my Mom passed out on the floor in a puddle of her own vomit, and my sister was crying in the corner, rocking back and forth. All she kept saying was, "She ruined it. She ruined it."

We've gone through so many different detox sessions, rehab clinics, AA meetings, everything with my Mom and nothing has worked. She's really crossed the line this time. She ruined my sister's birthday. She has no control over herself anymore. How can I get her the help she needs?

My fiance and I are getting married in Sept. Ever since we've gotten engaged, his sister-in-law will NOT stop complaining about how much everything is costing. She complained that the ring he got me was too much, she complained that we invited too many people, she keeps asking, "Why do you need to have a big wedding? How are you going to pay for all of this? Why do you need this, why do you need that?" She's complaining that the wedding shower is costing too much, she said that the invitations were too flashy (which they are NOT), and it's driving both of us CRAZY!

What's the best way to tell her to back the heck off and let us do our own thing?!?

Call me a prude if you'd like, but I'm just not into that kind of stuff... strippers, naughty games, ice cubes in the shape of penises... HAHA, count me out. My friends are all disappointed because they want to throw me a bachelorette party (I'm getting married in September) and I basically told them I didn't want one. I just want to get together with my girlfriends, sit and watch funny movies, eat ice cream, and laugh all night. Is that too much to ask? MUST I have a raunchy, disgusting bachelorette party when that's not even me at ALL?

And on the other hand, I'm a little nervous about my soon-to-be husband's friends... what kind of party will they throw him? I don't want him to have that stuff either, haha! Eh, as long as nothing happens, I guess I'm okay with it, but I don't want to be worrying about it all night, either.