Chloe is two!

Wow, what a difference 3 days can make! I was hypomanic for a few weeks. Feeling the high, not needing sleep, lots of energy and ideas, feeling great about everything life has to offer, etc...

But since Tuesday, I have been crashing. I am feeling depressed, low energy, I can hardly keep my eyes open after 2pm, I start crying for no reason, I am irritable and just not happy. How do you deal with the crash? I have a 2.5 year old daughter and I am trying my best to still be "mommy" to her but ugh...not energy at all!!!

My daughter is now 16 months and basically sees me saying "no", "ta-ta" and "ouchie" as a joke when it comes to things she knows she is not supposed to do. I know that she is a toddler and only 16 months but I feel like she sees my discipline as a joke! I've tried taking her away from the issue, distracting her, giving short time-outs, etc...and she always smiles at me then starts laughing or running away laughing and fun screaming that its a joke.

I totally understand that she is still pretty young but I feel like if she does not learn that when mommy says no she means no now, then I am screwed later on! I know that she has some developing to do before she fully gets no...but I am seriously flustered and annoyed that it can take up to 2 hours sometimes before she finally leaves "it" alone! I also just ignore her as well thinking she is just wanting a reaction but it still does not work!

Any suggestions will be appreciated! (Well, other than spanking...that is not an option). What do/did you do with a kid this age and "discipline?"

Thank you :)

Ps: it feels good to be back (no, did not lose my account...just have had a hard time recently and had to give something up and this was it). I've missed all my contacts/the amazing answerers of this community!!

Oh, and BQ: What did/are you having for dinner? I am at a loss tonight :(

Last night I started to notice this, but today it is really beginning to bother me. I have a feeling of "heaviness" in my lower abdomen. I have not missed a period (I had PROTECTED sex well over a month ago, and my period came 2 weeks later like it was supposed to...now to my contacts who know I am single, it was with a good friend of mine and kind of just happened), no other signs of pregnancy.

It has been a very stressful 12 days for me. My daughter (who is 14 months) has been extremely ill, running high fevers non-stop with many symptoms and was finally diagnosed yesterday and is now on medication. I have not been sleeping well and only eating 2 meals a day as I have been busy taking care of her.

Anyways, I have a heaviness in my lower abdomen but no other pregnancy symptoms so I don't think it's pregnancy. I am not one to just have random sex...but like I said it just happened. I have known him for 15 years so it wasn't a one night stand kind of thing. I usually only have sex while in a relationship so please not judging.

I've had slight pain as well in my lower abdomen but I am ovulating right now. I have had normal discharge but it is slightly thicker. I am not sure what to think, my friend has a problem with ovarian cysts and she told me that a lot of the symptoms I have been experiencing are what she has. I get a pain around my right ovary and now abdomen heaviness I am not sure what to think.

Any ideas ladies? My period is due again next weekend. Oh, and with my last period I had really bad right ovary pain the day before I started. Does this sound like an ovarian cyst?

Thank you :)

PS: I am going to call and make an appointment with my doctor. And believe me...no more sex out of a relationship...it felt weird =S

I have been having some pain in my left breast, on the outside of the breast, for a couple of weeks now but it was nothing too bad and it never lasted longer than 10min so I thought nothing of it. This morning around 11am I noticed the pain coming back but it did not feel any different. Around 1:00 this afternoon, the pain began to stay around and so I thought maybe I was getting engorged (my daughter is 14 months and is not feeding as often) so I offered her the breast and then the pain got worse from there! Around 2:30 it became a shooting pain and I grabbed some heat and started massaging. The pain became worse so at 3 I went into the shower, made it warm and continued to massage and express milk as well. Its now at the point where I can hardly move my arm and I have consistent shooting pain. I just called our local health link (its a nurse line) to see if they had any advice and it has been thought that I have mastitis. The area is warm, quite painful and there is a lump. My family doctor is part of an after-hours clinic so I am just waiting for a call with an appointment time with them tonight as I am feeling flu-ish.

Just looking to see if any mommies have had mastitis and what helped until you were able to see a doctor. Any and all suggestions is greatly appreciated!

Thank you =D

My daughter is 14 months and has cut 2 molars, has 2 more molars bumping and her 2 bottom eye teeth are also cutting...so she is not a happy baby! (plus the 8 teeth she already had by her first birthday) I feel like I am about to pull my hair out because she has, understandably so, been so cranky and not sleeping well at all (wakes up 5-7 times a night since Saturday). I have given tylenol, advil (not together of course), put oragel on, let her suck on ice, frozen bananas and even given her some sugar free popsical. Her cheeks are so red, and she is starting to get a rash on her face.

I feel like I am doing everything I can to make her feel better but nothing seems to be working and it is becoming very draining on both of us! I am even letting her nurse more because it seems to comfort her (I don't want to hear that she should be weaned by now, I believe in extended breastfeeding and self-weaning).

Any other advice? These are the days where being a single mom is no fun =(

I am a single mom to a 13.5 month old daughter. She is a good kid and my world, but today she is driving me nuts! She is super clingy, super cranky and no fun! I don't know who she is today!

Parents, do you ever have days like this? If so, how do you deal with it?

ADD: She is not sick, teething or over tired so really, I have no idea why she is so cranky/whiny

I came across this, thought it was fun so I am sharing it

http://lifestyle.ca.msn.com/family-parenting/famil...

Now to make this legit...what is the worst parenting advice you have ever gotten?

Mine: My ex-MIL told me not to hold my newborn for more than 5 hours a day (not including breastfeeding) because I will spoil her...I totally ignored that advice!!

I am going out on a date tonight. I am a single mom to a 13 month old and believe me I was not looking for someone! I am 27, he is 32 and has joint custody of his 9 year old daughter and has a great career. We met at a single parents support group and just hit it off. He seems to be a genuinely nice guy which is refreshing. Now before I get attacked about not putting my daughter first, we are going for a drink at 10:30 so my daughter will be in bed fast asleep and my mom is hanging around to keep an ear out for her and if she does wake up all will be fine because she loves my mom to pieces.

This is my first date (with some one else) in over 4 years and my first date since my ex left us for another woman just over 5 months ago. I am wearing my nice pair of jeans, a nice shirt and a dressy sweater. I am actually wearing a little bit of make-up and did my hair.

So, how do dates work these days? Any advice on how to deal with a possible new relationship and a kid at home? I will not introduce her to him any time soon, but I am just so nervous that I think I may actually throw up!

So, any and all suggestions are welcome! What has been your experience dating again after a long-term relationship?

Thank you and wish me luck!!

(PS: To my contacts who I have on FB please do not say anything on there...my ex and some of his family are my FB friends and I am not ready to announce that I am "dating"...thank you =D)

I have a beautiful 13 month old daughter and I have been a single mom now for 5 months (my ex ended up cheating and leaving us for her shortly before we were supposed to be married). I feel like everyone around me has everything I want. I know a lot of people who have recently gotten married, are pregnant with their first, second or third baby, have wonderful supportive husbands or boyfriends, etc...while I am trying to hold everything together taking care of my 13 month old, looking after my friends 15 month old during the day to make a bit of an income and trying to finish my masters degree so that I can make a future that my daughter deserves.

I am the only single mom in my circle of friends so its hard to talk to other people about how I feel because none of my friends really understand. I have realized over the last couple of days that I may be dealing with a bout of depression. I cry every night before I go to bed, which is not like me. I stay strong during the day for my daughter but this is getting harder and harder. I just feel like everyone around me has everything I want (want for lack of a better word or explanation) and it is just really hard! Even when my ex was around he was never there for our daughter and I so I have basically been a single mom since she was born. It's just really hard seeing the people around me with supportive spouses, getting married, or having a baby or more babies. I was really hoping to get pregnant again this year (this is when things were going well) and just giving my daughter the family she deserves.

So, single moms, do you ever feel this way? And if so, how do you deal with it?

Thank you =)

Monday to Friday I take care of my friends daughter while her and her husband are working, she is 15 months. She has been walking for just over 2 months now. She's a late walker as this started just after her first birthday (well, late compared to my daughter who started walking at 10.5 months). Anyways, she just seems to have very little balance for a baby who has been walking for a "longer" period of time now. My daughter is very sturdy on her feet, can bend over and pick something up as well as squats for a period of time. My friends daughter will fall over even if she is standing still...she looks like she is drunk every time she walks. She'll fall and then will lose her balance up to 3 times trying to get back up. The other day she fell so bad while walking she gave herself a black eye!

I don't know if my daughter is amazingly balanced for her age (she is 13 months) or if my friends daughter is "normal" when it comes to early walkers...so I thought I would look for some opinions. I love my friends daughter like she is my own so I worry about her just as much as Chloe. I don't know if I should say something or just see how she progresses in the next month or so. Could there be a neurological issue or does she just have really bad balance?

Thank you!!

(Now before I get "how is this any of your business"...if they were watching my daughter full-time and noticed something that concerned them, I would want them to bring it up with me)

I have been battling a cold/flu demon since Sunday night. I am a single mom so I just keep pushing on even though all I want to do is sleep! Yesterday was not a good day at all. I was feeling terribly sick and my 12.5 month old (well, 13 months in a week yesterday) is teething so she was miserable yesterday too...cranky and really whiny which I can handle perfectly fine on a normal day but not when I am sick. By 8pm last night I was ready for bed and my daughter seemed tired and ready herself (between 8-9 is usually when she is in bed). For some reason last night the last thing she wanted to do was go to sleep. Her and I co-sleep still, but no matter what I did she refused to sleep! Yes I understand it was probably her mouth hurting but all I wanted was for her to fall asleep on time so that I could finally get some rest. Well, by 10:00pm I had enough. I had hid my frustration from her but I could no longer hide it. I picked her up, went into her room and put her in her crib...turned on her stars and bedtime music gave her a kiss, walked out and closed the door. As soon as I left, she started screaming but it was a scream I have never heard before...I have never heard her so angry in my life!

But, I could not bring myself to go back in there. I just needed a moment to calm down and re-evaluate the situation so I left her in her crib to scream! I don't believe in CIO so I feel so guilty this morning. I went in less than 10min later and picked her up and brought her back into bed with me but she refused to look at me while she nursed, would not hold my hand and just seemed to hate me. My heart broke and I broke down! I feel like the worst mom ever! This morning she seems to be her normal self towards me, but I still feel like I broke our relationship a bit, especially our bond.

Now, before I get picked on or yelled at...you need to understand that I have basically been doing this alone since the day she was born. Her dad and I were together until almost 5 months ago BUT he was never around for her and I when we were together. I was the only one dealing with the overnight wake ups, dealing with the jaundice treatments, colic, reflux, etc...he basically spent maybe 20min a day with her when he was around and now he averages 20min a week with her with him once every 3ish weeks taking her out for a couple of hours. I have been her only parent, the only one she has been able to rely on and I feel like I let her down yesterday.

How do you deal with getting a toddler down for sleep when they really don't want to go down? I normally don't go to bed with her, I usually put her down 2 hours before I go to sleep, but she seems to be getting harder and harder to go to bed! Any and all advice would be appreciated because I currently feel like I deserve the worst mom of the year award right now.

I took out some chicken breast this morning and now that it is getting closer to dinner, I am having a hard time figuring out what to do with them. I am usually pretty good at coming up with meal ideas but for some reason today I am drawing a blank. Any ideas for a quick and easy, but healthy and delicious, meal for me and my almost 1 year old (she will be 1 in four days, hence almost one lol).

Thanks ladies =)

(I know this is the wrong section but I like the answers from this section and other parents know what kids like)

My daughter will be 1 in 2 weeks today (*panic attack*). I have a photography session booked for Wednesday morning for her one year photos. I have not had a professional session since she was 2 months old! I know that I don't want to put her in some fancy dress but I also don't want her to be too casual. She is a toddler now, as in walking everywhere so I think something comfortable is needed. What did your daughter wear for her first birthday photos? I am hoping for fun pictures because this is her style...she is a very happy and silly baby so I want her pictures to reflect this.

I was thinking of putting her in her nice jeans but I am not sure what to do about a shirt. Or, do you think a sun type dress is better? I had no idea it would be this hard figuring out an outfit for pictures!

Any and all suggestions are appreciated...and before I get attacked, I know there are worse things out there. We have had a roller coaster ride this year between her health (she is completely healthy now) and her dad leaving us so I really want this to be special because she deserves it!

My daughter will be 11 months on Thursday and for the past 2 months now she consistently (and by consistent I mean every night) wakes up 1 hour after being put to bed screaming her head off. I go up, lay her back down and rub her tummy and she always falls right back asleep and then goes a good 6-7 hours before waking up for a feed.

I am not sure what to make of this. I am wondering if it has to do with her entering REM or if this has just become a habit. I am going to bring it up at her 12 month check-up...I was just wondering if this happens/happened to anyone else? If so, do you have any suggestions.

Thank you!

My daughter is 10.5 months old and I swear has an aversion to sleep, lol. She takes a 20min nap 2-3 hours after getting up in the morning and then another nap between 3 and 4pm for, typically, for 45min but some days I can get just over an hour out of her. Then we start bed time at 8pm where it is the same every night...bath with play time in the tub, book, cuddle, nursing and then into bed. She is usually asleep between 9 and 9:30pm (which works for me, I think she takes after me and is more of a night owl). She always wakes up between midnight and 12:30am...she used to feed but now I can lay her back down, pat her back and get her back to sleep. She gets up around 4am for a feed and then sleeps until 8:30am or 9am. I feel like she does not get enough sleep, even though she does not show signs of this.

What is your baby's sleep pattern like? I am just curious to see where my daughter fits into the mix.

Thank you

This issue is totally my fault. As some of you know, my ex-fiancé broke up with me almost 2 months ago so it has been a pretty tough time. When this all started, I was sleeping in my daughters room (my ex is not a man and made me sleep on the floor in my daughters room until I could get myself a bed and he moved out) so when she woke up (she's good at waking up but then getting herself back down, not cry it out, she's always been like this) she saw mommy right there and thought it was play time. I was already exhausted from not really sleeping due to being really upset and my mind never shutting down so I started co-sleeping with her again just to get some sleep.

Well, my ex is gone now so I am now out of her room but she now wakes up around 3am (which is normal for her) and instead of getting herself back down she sits or stands in her crib and yells "mamamamama" for ever. So, me being exhausted and not wanting to mess her world up anymore than it has been already, have been grabbing her and bringing her into my room and co-sleeping.

We co-slept from birth until 6 months when I transitioned her to her own crib and room. It worked out beautifully and she actually started sleeping through the night better. I know I should not have given in a few weeks back but, like I said, I was exhausted and not sleeping so I figured out a way to get some sleep and now I am regretting it. I love having my baby beside me when I get up in the morning but I worked so hard to get her in her crib that I feel like I have failed her by letting her back into my bed.

Any suggestions (other than cry it out) to get her to stay in her crib all night again? She goes to sleep in her crib at bed time just fine (so I know we are not completely hopeless lol) but when she wakes herself up around 3am she no longer goes back to sleep and is relentless in getting me to come and get her and bring her to my bed.

Thank you mommies =)

My ex was going to give me $600 a month child support for our daughter. I figured everything out financially between that, the rest of my mat leave, Child Tax Credit, Child Care Credit, etc...to figure out how much I would have to bring in running a day home (I thought about working, but cannot afford daycare in this province so running a day home still allows me to be with my daughter who will be 1 in September).

Today, he called up and said that he was now only going to give me $450 a month (which is closer to what he is legal to give) so my finances are in shambles! I am going to call a lawyer on Monday to make an appointment. I have not been working since May 2009 due to a high risk pregnancy, I quit my job 3 months back (before all this happened) because he wanted me to be a SAHM so I have no job to go back to in the meantime until I can open my day home. From what I have found, he should have to pay alimony because I have been raising our child! I am just so angry at him! And what I really don't understand is that he said that if Chloe needed anything more during the month to just ask and he'll give it to her. Once again, he needs to be in control and I have to beg for money!!! I have been begging for money even though we were common-law for years and I don't want to do this now...why can't he just give the $600 we originally agreed on?

What would you do? I really did not want to go to court over all of this, but I need to make sure my daughter is taken care of first!!!! I hate how he can basically walk away from HIS responsibility while I have to struggle! I am just so angry and upset, but I have to be strong for my daughter so that's what I'm doing...even though inside I am stressing and freaking out!!!!

Really, the only thing keeping me a float right now is the fact that my mom is going to move in with me (selling her house, she was doing this anyway) to help out. If it was not for her, Chloe and I would be pretty much homeless just because of the timing of this all! (I know that someone would take us in, but this is the reality).

I am looking into welfare until I can get back on my feet just to fill in the gap and hoping to extend my EI for at least a month (but this rarely happens).

So, what would you do? How would you go about getting more money? Am I wrong wanting to talk to a lawyer? I just cannot believe how messy this has become!!!

Thank you <3

As my contacts (and some of you) may know my ex-fiance called off our wedding 8 weeks ago and then broke up with me 6 weeks ago. It's easy to conclude that he has never been there for not only me, but our daughter as well. He was never really around, spent very little time with our daughter, etc...

Anyways, he was supposed to take her tomorrow for the night. I was excited for Chloe (10 months) because it was a chance for her to FINALLY get some quality time with her daddy and (now don't get me wrong, I love my daughter to pieces) I was looking forward to being able to have a break and finally get to sleep all night through! (my ex never got up with our daughter nor never let me sleep in or get a nap so needless to say, I am pretty tired).

I just got off the phone with him and he has decided to head out of town tomorrow because there is a part for his truck (he has been restoring a 1959 chev truck for months now) that he would like to get as it will help him fix something up this weekend. I am LIVID with him! He used to do s**t like this all the time to us when we were together (he would say "Saturday, we'll go out all together as a family" but then something always came up!) but I am not going to take this now that we are apart! I don't want my daughter growing up always getting disappointed my her dad! She needs to know that she can count on both of us!

Thank goodness at this time, she is too young to know what is going on, but my heart still hurts for her! I am so upset that he could do this to her already!

I really don't want to bring the courts into this, so is there anything I can do? How can I make him FINALLY care about our daughter? I am tired of all of this!!!

Thank you!

(I also posted this in pregnancy but wanted to see what me fellow mommies thought!)

I know that this sounds really crazy, but I am really starting to wonder if what they thought was a miscarriage really wasn't and I am pregnant? I was told I had a miscarriage at 6 weeks a few months ago but there are some symptoms that are just not adding up. My stomach has been really upset (not nauseous, really bad diarrhea...sorry tmi...) like it was with my daughter, tender nipples (some days it makes it really hard to nurse my daughter), really emotional, extremely tired, increased vaginal discharge and bloated.

I have not had sex since the miscarriage so I know it is not a new pregnancy. This thought just shot in my head tonight as I was watching TV and felt little kicks (almost like phantom kicks) and a weird cramp. As some of you know, my now ex-fiance called off our wedding 7 weeks ago and then broke up with me almost 5 weeks ago so I have been under a lot of stress...newly single mom with a now 10 month old.

I know how crazy this sounds, but I am just wondering if maybe they were wrong??!! I am thinking about taking a pregnancy test in the morning just to shut my mind off...but has anyone else ever felt this way? It is not the ideal time to have another baby but s/he will be welcomed into my life (before all the s**t hit the roof with him, we were hoping for another baby).

Please tell me I am just being crazy! I think it is all stressed related but I just need some reassurance

(please don't judge and make fun of me...I am normally a really level headed person but the last few weeks have been crazy and I guess I am just looking for some sort of good news...although I think I am way out in left field right now lol)

I know that this sounds really crazy, but I am really starting to wonder if what they thought was a miscarriage really wasn't and I am pregnant? I was told I had a miscarriage at 6 weeks a few months ago but there are some symptoms that are just not adding up. My stomach has been really upset (not nauseous, really bad diarrhea...sorry tmi...) like it was with my daughter, tender nipples (some days it makes it really hard to nurse my daughter), really emotional, extremely tired, increased vaginal discharge and bloated.

I have not had sex since the miscarriage so I know it is not a new pregnancy. This thought just shot in my head tonight as I was watching TV and felt little kicks (almost like phantom kicks) and a weird cramp. As some of you know, my now ex-fiance called off our wedding 7 weeks ago and then broke up with me almost 5 weeks ago so I have been under a lot of stress...newly single mom with a now 10 month old.

I know how crazy this sounds, but I am just wondering if maybe they were wrong??!! I am thinking about taking a pregnancy test in the morning just to shut my mind off...but has anyone else ever felt this way? It is not the ideal time to have another baby but s/he will be welcomed into my life (before all the s**t hit the roof with him, we were hoping for another baby).

Please tell me I am just being crazy! I think it is all stressed related but I just need some reassurance

(please don't judge and make fun of me...I am normally a really level headed person but the last few weeks have been crazy and I guess I am just looking for some sort of good news...although I think I am way out in left field right now lol)