Heather

My daughter goes to bed at the same time each night with no problem - but wakes each morning at inconsistent times. Sometimes 5am, sometimes 5:30, once in a while 6. Not a week goes by where she doesn't wake and start crying at 2am (and we let her cry or take her to our bed). She only needs about 9 hours of sleep.

She goes to bead at 8pm now - I would love to be able to put her down at 9pm and come in to get her at 6am. But I know she will cry before then. Is it ok to let her cry until she gets used to playing in her crib or waking up at 6? Is that even possible?

It looks like it has leopard spots! There are spots all over, they are almost rust colored and DO NOT come off with any cleaner. What's going on with the "stainless" steel?

What Parisian-related items can I buy her for her birthday? Thank you!

He does this a few times a day. He also has started banging his head on hard surfaces, or hitting himself on the head. He does the head banging not when he is having a tantrum, but when he is playing with his toys.

Are these behaviors normal, as in maybe he is discovering new sensations? Or should we be concerned?

I read that scribbling helps with fine motor development. At 15 mo, my son still puts everything in his mouth and I think he will be more interested in eating the crayons then using them. When did you give your children or child crayons?

I usually use a leave in conditioner on wet hair. But I am looking for a product I can use in the morning before I leave for work on hair that has dried. My hair looks too dry and frizzy and I need something to make it (at least look) smoother. Does such a product exist, one that will last for more than 15 minutes? Thanks

A debate my friends and I have:

When a woman is interviewing for a job and she will be meeting with a panel consisting of men AND women, should she try to look extra-attractive in the hopes that she might score more points with the men on the panel? Or should she "downplay" her looks a bit so as not to offend/turn off any women on the panel who might be catty?

Please assume that the female candidate will dress and act appropriately, no sexy clothes or flirting. And yes, we all hope that interviewers will hire the best person for the job based on the candidate's skills and experience, but looks also plays a part, even if we wish it didn't.

I am getting laid off and my employer provided me with COBRA info. The info doesn't say whether I can decline coverage for myself, but keep it for my son (currently covered as a bene under my employer's plan). I would like to save money and provide for him only just now - can I do that?

I have been trying to find a job for months. My last interview for a position in another town went really, really well. I fit their needs to the T. The interviewer asked at the end if I had any vacation plans around the time the position would start. I left feeling great and started shifting my thinking to the new job I WOULD have in the new town I WOULD be living in. I started looking for places to live in this new town, taking action based on this job.

I didn't get the job. Despite all my efforts and positive energy/thinking. Maybe the universe knew it wasn't the best job for me. So is that how it works: we can send out all the positive thoughts and energy we want, but if the universe/God knows it's not right - it doesn't happen? If so, is the opposite true? That we can be placed in situations we didn't really "ask" for b/c it's right for us at the time?

I would like to start meeting with a financial planner to get my finances in shape. I have never before met with one - what qualities should I look for? Independent or with a company? Commission or fee based? Any thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

My 13 MO's sleep is way off. He fights his afternoon naps (although he still needs them) - we let him cry and he will go down after a few minutes of screaming. But only after we have tried this twice already, meaning he is taking his nap later than he should. We put him down between 7:15 and 7:45 pm and he goes right down, no fuss.

He sleeps well but is UP at 4:00am or maybe 4:45am. We have tried allowing him to stay in the crib, taking him into our bed, and rocking him, all to see if he will go back to sleep. No dice. He is awake and happy and ready to start the day. The room is very dark (as it's 4am!) and there is little noise, so no external reasons for the early hour.

My husband and I are resigned to a looong day (filled with caffeine), but I am just wondering when I can expect to "sleep in" again to 6 am? Thanks!

And...did you just take it from your child, or say the binky fairy came, or say the child is too big now, ect. basically, how you did it, when you did it, and how your child reacted. Thank you!

My son will be 11 mo in a few days, We were putting him to bed around 7pm - and he would wake between 4:45 and 5:15am. A bit too early for mom and dad! At our doctor's suggestion, we slowly moved his bed time back to 6:15pm. That worked at having him sleep in - for about a week. Now he is back to waking up at 4:45am. We leave him in his crib for a while to see if he will go back down; no dice. I am really thinking of slowly moving his bedtime to 8:00pm.

What time did your LO go down when s/he was 11 months old? Any other suggestions for weary parents? Thank you!

I would like to post my resume on-line, but I am not sure which sites are best. I hear good things about resume rabbit, but that's about $60.00 a month. Craigslist is free - but does it work? I would appreciate any thoughts from persons who have gotten good results from posting their resume on-line. Thank you!

My son is turning one and we will have some kids ages 3 to 6 at the party. I would like to give those kids a goodie bag - but what should I give? No party theme really, just decorating cakes and cupcakes in primary colors (red, green, blue, yellow). Ideas??

My 10 MO has always been an early riser - between 4:45 and 5:30 am usually. We have tried keeping him up later and putting him down earlier to see if he will sleep in; neither worked. So he goes down between 6:45 and 7:00pm and is up at the times mentioned above.

For those who also have early birds - have your children started getting up later as they got older and bedtimes became later? Or are they still early risers? Thx!

If a man or woman is really attractive, should s/he try to become a little less so when meeting people to interview for a job? Maybe by wearing glasses or less make-up. A female friend of mine does this so as not to turn off the women interviewers or turn on the male ones - she just wants to get the job b/c of her ability and not her looks. Thoughts?

My son has really painful bowel movements sometimes. So far we have tried:

- on the advise of a nurse, giving him baby yogurt and/or prunes, but he isn't what you might call a "good" eater, so these don't always help

- putting diluted prune juice in a sippy cup, but he only wants to play with it, not actually drink from the cup

- putting diluted prune juice in a bottle, but as soon as he tastes it and notices it's not what is usually in the bottle, he refuses it.

Any other suggestions are very appreciated!