dmg

We are traveling to Las Vegas and will be staying just off the Strip. We will not be renting a car and we'll only be there for the weekend - attending a series of concerts right near our hotel. We're bringing our toddler and I am trying to plan what to bring. Obviously it would be easier to plan to buy diapers/extra snacks/a cheapo umbrella stroller when we get there, but Las Vegas doesn't seem arranged quite like other major cities and I've never been there.

I did a Target "store locator" search for around our hotel and the nearest one was more than an hour's walk away. Is anyone familiar with the area? Is a basic grocery/housewares type store simply not available in the area where the casinos and hotels are?

I don't have a car, but my 2 year old obviously rides in cars sometimes and we have a Britax convertible car seat for this purpose. We're currently using it forward-facing and he likes to "relax" by putting his feet up - really high up - on the seat in front of him. I don't think it's because the seat is too small - he's a big kid, but it's a big seat and rated to 50 pounds. I think he just likes doing it.

However - is this something to try and discourage? I mean, in the event of an accident, would a car seat work as designed if the kids legs are sticking up like that?

On my mother's side I am Irish and great grandparents came over during the wave of immigration in the late 19th century. Being "legal" or not wasn't really an issue, they came over, worked as dock workers in New York and died without ever becoming citizens.

On my father's side, my grandfather came over as an infant, we assume it was above-board as they appeared to have some money and there are records of him arriving in NY. He became a citizen as an adult, after serving in the Korean war. My grandmother was Czech (then Bohemia), she came over as a teenager - her entire story was sketchy and she died when my father was an infant. I assume that her legal status was dubious.

Do you know the legal status of your ancestors? Does it affect your feelings about immigration today? Do you think your own children's status should be affected by their ancestors decisions?

My husband went to the grocery store, something he does not do often. I had asked him to get leg/thighs so I could grill them but he returned with "leg quarters" - massive hunks of chicken. I'm a little scared to grill these, since I sometimes have issues getting even smaller pieces done all the way through.

How should I approach it? Should I try and chop them up first? We have a propane grill, if that matters.

My two year old usually scurries immediately to the various window sills on which he organizes his cars and "checks" on them, sometimes moving one from one window sill to another. It's like he wakes up thinking "Oh man, I really need to check on my cars."

My son is two and I consider him pretty "well-behaved" for a two year old because he doesn't hit or bite or throw things at people, he will stop in his tracks and turn around if me or my husband say in our serious voice "STOP. Turn. Around." He's pretty nice to other kids - will share. He still screams and pitches fits over things sometimes, but not for long. If I am really adamant that he not do something (usually climbing related) I can almost always get him to stop just by insisting, and if I can't, I just remove the temptation. He gets into everything, but I either decide that he can play with whatever or take it away and he fusses for a few minutes and then we move on. I feel like this is pretty good for a two year old and therefore not much "correction" is required.

We're not big into punishment or discipline yet because we haven't seen the need, really. We don't spank and the couple times we've shouted at him (always because of immediate danger) he stopped whatever he was doing and cried, so we just hugged him.

So is my kid a brat? Most people seem to think he's really sweet. Shouldn't he be a brat? In light of the discussions about "discipline", I wonder what the goal is. I've never met a 2 year old that I considered vastly better behaved than my son, (for a two year old.) Have you?

about this one kid who did something irresponsible and didn't even get in trouble for it! I think it's because all parents today are too lax. It's an epidemic! Therefore there should be corporal punishment in schools and mandatory military service for all children starting at age 14.

Parents, don't you agree?

I haven't read this poem in more than 20 years, but I suddenly thought of it today and I can't find it. Here's what I know: It is definitely by Frank O'Hara and is somewhere in his "Collected Work." It is short. It is in the form of a "letter" sort of - you know, he's addressing a "you" either a friend or a lover. He speaks briefly about the person - how he misses them or some details from their past. But then he ends the poem abruptly by saying, basically "I miss you, but don't come." That's not the exact line, it's the sentiment. It could be "don't call" or "don't write me back" or something else entirely. I've done deep google searches (and a google book search within some of his books) for those phrases and they have not turned up the poem I am thinking of.

Any Frank O'Hara nuts out there that can help me with this? It's driving me to distraction.

Meaning, do they get rewards for getting your mortgage and should you withhold your trust the way you would with a car salesman?

I'm not talking about a storefront loan operation, but a loan officer at a large commercial bank.

Do you think you would have been an extended breast feeder or not? I know it's hard to separate the issues and reasons for not nursing in the first place from this question, but it's not really about that. Sometimes I think that if breastfeeding had gone smoothly from the get-go I might have stopped at one year (though probably not abruptly, just kind of phased it out) - but that if my struggles had actually worked and I had been able to nurse after thinking it was all screwed up, I would have wanted to do it for as long as possible. Just because of all the effort to get there But I'm honestly not sure. Prior to having my son, I didn't really intend to nurse beyond one year, but I also didn't intend to do a lot of things, including stay home this long.

Nottryingtostartadebateherejustcurious. LOL

My husband has no allergies - I didn't for years, but in my 30's developed mild seasonal and perfume allergies. Our son has no food allergies and has had all the usual culprits.

However - the weather is suddenly gorgeous here, we have the windows open, we've been outside a lot and the pollen count is a bit high. And my son's eyelashes have been constantly stuck together for the past 3 days. There's no discharge - they are just matted and wet, everything is clear, but always damp. And when he's had a minor, 30 second fuss, his face has been streaming with tears - not usual for him. He has a very slight runny nose (also clear.) No fever, though he is a bit crabby. No sneezing or coughing. His eyes aren't particularly bloodshot and it seems to be affecting both eyes equally so I don't think he's got something in one of his eyes. When he woke up from his nap his pillow was damp and I think it was from his eyes...He's rubbing them a little but not insanely the way I do when I have allergies.

This all seems like seasonal allergies to me, except I'm not experiencing any symptoms. He's not due for a ped appointment until June, but if it is seasonal allergies it seems cruel to wait until summer to have him seen. If your child has allergies (I mean, we also have a cat, so I suppose it could be that or something else) what were the signs? Any other cause for clear, weepy eyes in toddlers that I am not thinking of?

I was raised in the 70's and spent tons of time running around bare-assed and it sort of bothers me that my son doesn't. So I try, when I can, to let him have some diaper-free time. It's nice out today, we had a bath and he's running around the house. I am sort of poised to clean up a mess (I have the potty out, but we're not nearly there yet) but we haven't had one yet. Do you just...wait? Do you call it quits while you're ahead? I'm not really potty training, just sort of giving him some time to air out and possibly experimenting with the concept of sitting him on the potty if he does start to pee. The child-of-hippies in me wants to just let him roam free. The person-in-charge-of-mopping in me wants to quit while I'm ahead.

Parents who bought a house, I have questions. ( My husband and I are in our late 30's and have a toddler. When we were both working full-time, before we had our son, we we "comfortable" financially and kind of spoiled ourselves. Now that I am freelancing from home, money is still a bit tight, but we're okay. We live in a pretty awesome three bedroom apartment in a city that we love. But we kind of want to buy a house...)

Do you regret buying your house? Did you compromise on things like location/size in order to own instead of rent? How did you get the money for your down payment?

Did you get more bedrooms than you "needed" (ie. we technically need two bedrooms, but we like having three.)? Did you hire a buyer's real estate agent? Did you get pre-approved for a mortage? Did you take advantage of any of the first time home buyers options available in the U.S? Was there a book or website that you found invaluable?

Was it worth it?

The big argument I see against Canadian-style health care is "waiting time." So I'm curious to know what exactly "waiting time" in Canada is actually like. Days, weeks, months?

For example, last year I had a weird growth on the inside of my nose (gross, I know, but that's my example.) I called my doctor's office and was told I needed to see my PCP (primary care physician) for a referral to see a specialist. I made an appointment - one was available the next week. Within 7 days. I went to the appointment and was given a referral to an ENT. I made an appointment with the ENT - the next available appointment was about 2 weeks later. After that appointment, outpatient surgery was recommended. The next available appointment (she only did surgery on certain days) was about 2 weeks later. I went and had the surgery, the growth was biopsied, it was not cancerous, no further intervention was needed. Out of pocket I paid nothing for the PCP visit, and a 15 dollar co-pay for each of the ENT visits. I paid nothing for the drugs I was given after the surgery and a 15 dollar co-pay for a follow up visit with the ENT a month or so later.

I have high quality health insurance and this seems pretty standard to me. I was very happy with the care I received, actually.

If it had been a life-threatening emergency, obviously, I would have just gone to the ER. But it wasn't, so I just scheduled my appointments when I could. Is this worse/better/the same than a similar sort of situation in Canada?

This happened yesterday, but I thought it was a fluke because we had a really busy weekend. My 21 month old son grabbed a sippie cup of water, took me by the hand, led me to his crib and said "up! up!" It was an hour and a half or so earlier than he usually naps. I was so shocked that I just lifted him in there without changing his diaper or clothes - I thought it was a game and that he'd call for me in a minute or two. Then he said "bye!" and I closed the door and he slept for two hours. Today he did the same thing, a little later (though I was prepared this time and changed him.)

This is AWESOME, of course, because I want him to nap when he's ready to nap. But it's also so freaking weird to me. Does anyone else have a kid who does this? Do kids that sleep in toddler beds do this more often (because this might be an argument to get rid of the crib, right?)

We went out on a family excursion today with both the backpack and our toddler son walking himself. We walked pretty far so my son got tired and then after a while, my husband got tired of the backpack too. I kept wishing I had a cheap-o umbrella stroller and wondering if they make one that straps to your back, like from one shoulder to the opposite hip - sort of like a big sword, I guess? I looked at all the usual places online and all I can find is this large-looking padded bag for umbrella strollers. Has anyone ever seen a stroller like this (or maybe some kind of strap that enables this)?

My son is 21 months and talking more and more each day. But he does not seem to have a word for me. It's just weird. He says "Daddy" and he has names for a few of our friends and relatives, but no word for me. He's quite attached to me - I am home with him full time, so it's not that. I keep searching through his babble to try and hear if he is calling me by some version of my first name, but I haven't heard anything. He does occasionally call me "you."

I am not *worried* about this, I just think it's sort of unusual. Have you ever heard of a toddler who called his mother "you" and nothing else?

Something along these lines:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XECFEW/ref=pd...

I have been noticing these more and I am thinking about getting one. I can definitely see the advantages (we live in an apartment with no driveway in an area with lots of traffic - a tricycle/big wheel mistake could be lethal.) But I'm not sure how long my son would be willing to use it. Currently he uses his ride on toys in our hallway and at the playground, but it would be nice to go for longer rides now that spring in coming. I am sort of interested in something like this, but I worry that we won't use it very long - he'll hate the lack of freedom.

I'm also open to recommendations on brands/styles.

My sister's best friend from college (and so, a friend of mine, for 15 years) just had her husband leave her, abruptly, for another woman. They have three children. My overwhelming urge is to just...send her a check. I'm not wealthy, but I could spare a couple hundred for a friend in need. Is this crass? I am so practical sometimes and I know it can be offensive. Would you have been offended if an old friend, hearing of your situation, just mailed you a check with a nice note when your relationship ended? I just can't help thinking that with three kids, a few hundred bucks would just...ease things.

is bad for a toddler's teeth? My son doesn't have bottles during the day and he never gets milk or juice in a bottle. He still gets one bottle of water at his nap and at bedtime and falls asleep with it. At our last pediatrician appointment the doc said that that "wasn't such a big deal" but that we ought to "work on it." We weaned our son off milk bottles primarily by replacing them with water bottles and that, at least, worked very well. Now we have a "water bottle" attachment issue.

So today I put my son down with a sippy cup of water. He cried for ten minutes, which made me very upset, (I explained to him that he was getting a sippy cup for this nap and I have no doubt that he understood and was NOT HAPPY about it) and then fell asleep. Discussing it with my husband over IM, my husband asked "Do we really HAVE to do this? Is there a medical reason?" I went looking online and could not find one.

I am aware of the risks of letting a baby fall asleep with a bottle in their mouth of juice or milk, but I can't seem to find anything about the risks of letting them sleep with one filled with water. I guess I would like him off the bottle mostly because he's 20 months old and it's sort of "high time", but that's not necessarily the best reason. I mean, if that's the only reason, I will gladly deal with whatever parental shaming comes with having a toddler still take a bottle for sleeping, you know?

Can anyone point me to a resource that talks about baby bottles with water in them?

(I know that many people abruptly take all bottles away from their children at one year - we chose not to do this on purpose. So comments about how he should have been off a bottle for ages now aren't helpful. Cheers.)