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My hubby and I recently decided to get a small pet for our young kids. Originally I was going to get an aquarium, but our pet store was way overpriced and there's not a whole lot of interaction from fish. So, long story short, we came home with a pair of adorable young boy rats.

As you might have guessed from the "overpriced" comment on the aquariums, we weren't planning on spending a whole lot on these guys. I've had mice, hamsters, and guinea pigs so I figured the basic cage setup that the petstore associate recommended would be okay. However, we've had these little guys home for a little over a week now and are already SO in love with them. My hubby decided that they need a bigger cage and more room to run, jump and climb (they're extremely active and friendly, so much more than my old rodent babies!).

So, to the experienced rat owners out there, would a ferret cage be okay for rats? The one my hubby wants has bar spacing that is the same as the one we already have, so they shouldn't be able to escape. http://www.petco.com/product/108256/Super-Pet-Habi... is what he ordered; do you think it will be okay for them? Is there anything I've overlooked that might be a problem?

Do you take a little break from housework? Does he pitch in? Is it usually a go-out fun day or a kick-back-and-relax day?

Just curious how other families do it. My hubby usually helps me out one of his days off and relaxes the other, but I know others who go out and kind of celebrate every day off as a family, and other dads who go out and don't spend any extra time with their family on days off.

My fiance's employer (who has done some fishy things before, like altering hours in the computer system, trying to get employees to take "partial" overtime payment under the counter, etc) has passed out a paper to all of the employees. Basically it says that effective immediately, if an employee is seen on a cell phone or making personal calls on the business phone, they will be docked 15 minutes of pay. Is it legal for an employer to alter hours like that? I thought that employers could write employees up and fire them, but that altering hourly pay was off-limits. I can't seem to find anything on the labor laws in PA regarding this, everything I find involves salary employees rather than hourly.

My daughter is 18 months old. I love her to death, but sometimes I really wonder about her. I don't think anything is WRONG with her, I just think she might be a little... weird.

Here's why:

-She would rather play by herself than with me, especially when toys are involved. I guess I just don't play with them right.

-She has no interest in playing with toys the way they're meant to be played with. She doesn't like stacking blocks, or putting the shapes through the slots, or putting puzzle pieces in. She'd rather just hit things off of other things while looking bored.

-She's very smart; she imitates things we do (like talking on the phone, getting dressed) and she feeds herself, but she won't imitate the "right" way to play with toys.

-She doesn't like to be read to. She runs off, or tries turning the pages, or closing the book. Even picture books with no words, if I try to show her something like "Oh, look! A bunny!" she immediately closes the book.

-She doesn't seem to like kids shows. When mommy needs to go do dishes or something, movies like Sister Act hold her attention better than Dora or WonderPets.

-She's learning more and more words, and she seems to know what they mean and understand us just fine. If I ask her if she needs her diaper changed, she'll say yes if she does (she won't say no if she doesn't, she'll just run off laughing). But there are times when she'll point at one thing and just go down her list of words while pointing at the same thing. For example, pointing at cheerios and saying "say please!" but if I don't get them quick enough she goes "say please! more! shoes! kitty!" as if she's trying to see which word gets me to move faster. She doesn't try to say cheerios or cookie or whatever it is, just her list of words over again.

-She seems to like doing things that are bad more than she likes doing things that are good. I'll be sitting on the floor with her trying to play with her, and she'll run over and start tugging on the baby gate, or messing with the baby swing, or hitting the TV, instead of playing with me. It's like she'd rather have negative attention than positive.

-She's almost self-destructive. When she's tired or upset, she'll pinch her neck or her feet. She "tickles" her belly button to the point that it's got a raw scratched-up spot in it (even though I keep her nails short).

-Most of the time, she'd rather wander around the house holding a toy while following someone (me, the cat, her dad) than actually play us or the toy.

I just don't get it. My friend brought her daughter over the other day, and she seemed so.. interactive. My daughter just seems bored. I'm thinking that maybe she just has so many toys she gets overwhelmed and never really plays with any. I'm also thinking it might have something to do with her baby brother being born a month ago. I'm just not sure.

I also think I might be obsessing a bit. Since the new baby was born, I get stressed and frustrated very easily, and maybe I'm making something out of nothing. Any imput (you know, imput that doesn't say "your kid's a retard and so are you!") is welcome.

Since my son was born a month ago, my days are non-stop diapers and bottles. Between the crying baby and the temper-tantrum-throwing toddler, I feel like I'm constantly trying to walk the line between teaching and being harsh. I'm always trying to divide my time between them, but they're never happy at the same time, which stresses me out. Unless by some miracle they both happen to nap at the same time, I barely get a chance to enjoy a cup of coffee because that's the time when I have to take care of the house-- then they're up and at it again. It's not that I dislike caring for them. It's just that lately, I get a little jealous when my hubby comes home and gets to sit on the floor and play with our daughter while I change/feed/burp/whatever our son, and then he gets to relax and enjoy holding the baby while I cook dinner, because I keep an eye on our daughter while I do it. I feel like I don't spend enough quality time with my kids because I'm so busy running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to keep them and the house cared for. Do any of you feel like that? Or is this maybe a sign of PPD? Just tell me I'm not the only one out there feeling like this.

When my daughter was still using the baby tub, we had a bathroom with a stand-up shower and no tub, so it never really occured to me that the infant tub could be sat in the actual bathtub. We just sat the infant tub on the bed and filled it with a pitcher. However, when I was looking at baby stuff, I noticed that most infant tubs have a picture of the tub being used inside an adult tub. Is that what you mommies do? Does that make cleanup easier?

My son's umbilicle stump just fell off, so it's time for "real" baths, and I'm looking for whatever's easiest! Opinions, please!

I had a (repeat) c-section two weeks ago. The staples were removed after a week, about a week ago, and there was a section of the incision that was not closed. The doctor said a hematoba (sp?) under the skin kept it from healing properly, and now it has to be packed twice a day. Every morning a nurse comes to do it, and every evening my mom stops by after work to do it again (she has medical training).

Right now they're using what I assume is a "normal" packing strip for it. However, this weekend one of the nurses said that she was going to suggest to my doctor that they start using a different kind. I didn't quite catch the name of it, but she said it was basically a dry packing strip that had "salt" on it already, and that it would help to dry up drainage and promote healing. I believe the name was pronounced "mee-sol" or something.

I wanted to look this stuff up, and assumed I could find it listed on some sort of medical supply website, but I can't find anything that sounds like what she described. Does anyone have any information or experience on it? I go back to my doctor tomorrow and I'd like to be a little more informed so I know what questions to ask.

Thanks!

My son is two weeks old now, so I guess we've been home about a week and a half. My daughter, who is 18 months, has been absolutely wonderful. She pats him on the head (gently, of course) and gives him kisses on the forehead, and I swear I've heard her say "brother" a few times. She even goes over to his pack-n-play to check on him when he starts crying. She's even been behaving better in other respects; she's attempting more words, she's acting better at mealtimes (although she was never really bad, and she is starting to get to the "picky eater" stage). She's suddenly (like, overnight) trying to be more independant, wanting to drink from adult cups and wanting to feed herself all the time, which she never really was interested in.

What has happened to my daugher?? Where is my little hellion with the temper tantrums and the screaming fits? I expected unbridled jealousy, and instead I get this little angel. I've got to admit, I'm not sure how to take it.

Kidding! I'm glad she's taking it better than I expected.

Anyway, all joking aside, there's one thing I've noticed that is kind of weird to me. All of a sudden she's carrying her "lovey" around all the time. She used to just hug it when she went to sleep, but now she carries it all around the house. She asks for it (usually just by pointing, granted) at the strangest times, like when she's eating or sitting on the couch with us, or playing with another toy. Is this normal? Do you think it's her way of comforting herself with all the changes that have been going on around here? Should I encourage her to keep carrying it around, or try to keep her from becoming too dependant on it? There's no harm in her being attatched to a stuffed toy... Right?

Is Vicoden safe to take while breast feeding? I'm about to google it, just curious if any other moms have been prescribed it while nursing/pumping. My doctor gave me percocet right after my c-section, but when I got my staples removed and found the incision wasn't fully closed and needed daily packing/dressing, she prescribed me vidocen (because I had already left the office and percocet can't be phoned in to a pharmacy but vicoden can). I had mentioned to her earlier that I was pumping and doing both formula and breast milk, so I don't think she would have prescribed it if it was unsafe. Just wondering what other mommies have experienced.

This is a repost, technically.. I originally posted it in Pregnancy and it got blown off the page with only one answer so I'm hoping for more here.

Kind of starts off as a rant, but I do have questions in there, lol.

I'm almost 39 weeks pregnant, and I have a c-section scheduled for this monday (the 20th). Apparently a VBAC is too risky in my situation, since I had a c-section last time and my doctor anticipates I would have issues with a VBAC. I've accepted this. However, as the day gets closer and closer, I get more and more scared.

I know in my head that I've been through this before, and that I can handle it. I know what to expect, and I trust my doctor. But I think knowing what to expect might be what's scaring me. I am absolutely terrified of the pain of recovery. Last time, when they told me I had to have a c-section, I was just relieved that the hours of labor were over and that I was going to get to hold my daughter. I wasn't thinking about the pain, the incision, the limitations I'd have for weeks. This time, that's ALL I can think about.

Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited that in a few short days I'll get to meet my new baby. But when I think about how hard the recovery was for me (being a plus-size woman, it was exceptionally difficult, and now I weigh even more because I never lost the baby weight between pregnancies) I get so scared. It seems like everything hurts more this pregnancy, and I don't know if I can handle it if my c-section recovery is more painful as well.

My hubby is trying to be sympathetic, as is my mother, but in their minds I've already been through this once so it should be easier this time. And maybe it should. But I get so worked up thinking about it.

Anyway, to the "real questions."

If you had a second c-section, did you find the recovery to be easier or harder?

Did you worry more about delivering the second time around?

Do you think my extra anxiety might come from my worrying about how my daughter's going to react to a new baby? I feel like they're two different worries, but who knows. I know I'm very worried about how I'll care for her while I'm recovering, but I'll have help.

Just thought it might make some people chuckle to hear that Y!Answers thinks this belongs in Health > Dental =D

Okay, I'll admit that this may come out as more of a rant or vent, but I have some real questions!

I'm almost 39 weeks pregnant, and I have a c-section scheduled for this monday (the 20th). Apparently a VBAC is too risky in my situation, since I had a c-section last time and my doctor anticipates I would have issues with a VBAC. I've accepted this. However, as the day gets closer and closer, I get more and more scared.

I know in my head that I've been through this before, and that I can handle it. I know what to expect, and I trust my doctor. But I think knowing what to expect might be what's scaring me. I am absolutely terrified of the pain of recovery. Last time, when they told me I had to have a c-section, I was just relieved that the hours of labor were over and that I was going to get to hold my daughter. I wasn't thinking about the pain, the incision, the limitations I'd have for weeks. This time, that's ALL I can think about.

Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited that in a few short days I'll get to meet my new baby. But when I think about how hard the recovery was for me (being a plus-size woman, it was exceptionally difficult, and now I weigh even more because I never lost the baby weight between pregnancies) I get so scared. It seems like everything hurts more this pregnancy, and I don't know if I can handle it if my c-section recovery is more painful as well.

My hubby is trying to be sympathetic, as is my mother, but in their minds I've already been through this once so it should be easier this time. And maybe it should. But I get so worked up thinking about it.

Anyway, to the "real questions."

If you had a second c-section, did you find the recovery to be easier or harder?

Did you worry more about delivering the second time around?

Do you think my extra anxiety might come from my worrying about how my daughter's going to react to a new baby? I feel like they're two different worries, but who knows. I know I'm very worried about how I'll care for her while I'm recovering, but I'll have help.

Just thought it might make some people chuckle to hear that Y!Answers thinks this belongs in Health > Dental =D

I was at a grocery store the other day, and my one and a half year old was sitting in the shopping cart seat. I went to the front of the cart to put my groceries up on the conveyor (I'm 9 months pregnant, I can barely lean over the side of the cart, much less lean over my daughter as well) and while I was doing this, the older woman in line behind me got extremely close to my daughter while putting her own groceries up on the conveyor. I'm not talking about coming within a four-foot radius, I'm talking about this woman being right up against the shopping cart handle. Her arm was literally inches from my daughter's hands, and her hip was brushing against my daughter's shoes. It made me very angry, so I said to my daughter (who was staring at the buckle on the lady's purse strap) "No, you can't grab the lady's purse even if she is too close to you." Obviously this was for the lady, not for my daughter. Then the woman started moving her groceries up on the conveyor because it hadn't moved yet, putting them within reach of my daughter, and I had to tell her not to touch. When the person in front of me finally finished, I moved the cart away saying "Let's get you away from the obnoxious old lady now."

Now I know that that might have been a bit of a hormonal moment there. But it seriously bothers me when people invade my daughter's personal space. I don't like strangers touching her or getting close to her, or even talking to her without talking to me first. Do any of you feel the same way, or is this just my pregnancy making me irritable?

I searched the site to see if anyone had asked this before (which of course they have) but none of the answers worked for me. See, my daughter is chewing on the headboard/footboard part of her crib, so those tie-on covers that people suggested wouldn't work because there's nothing to tie on to. The headboard/footboard panels of her crib are solid, not slats. I also have the matress down as low as it will go, and she still reaches. I don't want to raise the matress either, because she's tall and I don't want her to climb/topple over the rails.

I'm not sure why she's decided to chew on her crib all of a sudden. We always put her to bed with her favorite stuffed animal, which she chews on, and a teething ring. I try to get her out of the crib before she's awake in there for too long, but it's hard. She used to call for me or cry when she woke up, but now she's too busy chewing on her crib!

I'm not worried about cosmetic damage to the crib; it can be re-painted. And the paint is lead-free, so even if she's swallowing it, it shouldn't hurt her. But what really makes me mad is that she's chewed all along the edge now, so when she chews more her cheeks rub on the exposed wood and she gets scratches. I'm worried about splinters and injuries like that more than anything.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Like I said, the covers I found online woudn't work on my crib. Maybe a PVC pipe split lengthwise and slipped over? Would that be safe?

I've been having some pretty awful hip pain lately. I've also been having these sharp, pulled muscle type pains deep inside (if I had to describe where, I would have to say in the same area as my cervix).

Did anyone else experience this? This is my second pregnancy, my daugther was delivered by c-section about 15 months ago. Could it be c-section related? I am overweight, I know that could contribute to the hip pain, but these inner muscle pains are completely new and weird to me.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow (well, today now), but I'm hoping someone here can give me an idea of what the pain is from or what the doctor can actually do about it (has anyone been given something stronger than tylenol for pain during pregnancy?).

I am curious what responsiblities the landlord has when it comes to these little pests. Recently, I started finding itchy bug bites in random places on my body. After some research, we figured they were probably bed bug bites. Now, we have never seen ANY evidence of bugs in our own apartment, but since that's what the bites look like, we did a deep clean. We even replaced our mattress and boxspring, and have plastic covers on them.

Three days after we replaced our bed and did all kinds of cleaning, along with some light bug spraying, my neighbor decided (at 3am) to get rid of her bed and boxspring as well. My fiance went to leave for work in the morning and found a mattress and boxspring RIGHT outside our apartment door. They were leaning against the hallway wall, literally less than two feet from our door. You could barely walk by them without rubbing against them. It was bad enough that she put her trash in front of our door, but what REALLY disturbed me was that there was clear evidence of bed bugs on both the matress and boxsprings. We even saw a few of the pests crawling on it. (We did take pictures.)

We called the landlord and the maintainance man moved the bed to the dumpster within a few hours. However, the bed frame (which was set outside in the hall between my calling the landlord and the maintainance man getting there) was left in the hallway, and I heard my neighbor being told to take it to the dumpster herself. He also sprayed some sort of bug spray on the matress, but not on the carpeting or walls of the hallway.This was about two weeks ago, and the frame pieces are still in the hallway.

Now, I have been finding more and more bites all over myself. They had seemed to stop for a while, after our cleaning and replacing the mattress, but now I am covered and itching again (50+ bites and counting). And worse, I have found three marks that could be bites on my one-year-old daughter. My fiance has had two marks that look similar to mine, but I believe that I'm having a worse reaction to the bites because I'm 8 months pregnant.

What is my responsibility, and what is my landlords? As far as I know, my lease doesn't mention bugs or extermination fees. My landlord told me to get bug spray if I was worried, and I did, but apparently it has not helped. I have read on several sites that to use a bug bomb, or fogger, would put me at risk to be sued if the bugs move to another apartment. Isn't he required to exterminate my neighbor's apartment since bed bugs were on the mattress she threw out?

Do I need to be documenting the bites that I get? And does it matter that we thought the problem was in our apartment only and tried to remedy it before we contacted him? (We weren't sure if it was really bed bugs or not until we saw them on her mattress in the hallway. Those were the only bugs we have actually SEEN, but I am still being bitten, and much worse now than before.)

I apologize for this being so long. To sum up, I am not asking how to get rid of bedbugs (I've done tons of research and have been working on it), I am asking what are my landlord's responsibilities now that he knows my neighbor has them?

Yes, I know a lot of you think they're corny, and I do too.. But I think it's a cute corny!

Anyway, we named my daughter "London Marie Paris." I always loved the name London, and it just seemed to fit with the last name from her daddy. So now, we're having a second one. For a girl, I like the name Brooklyn (Brooke for short) but I can't think of a single boy name that has a city theme. I've heard Austin, Houston, Jackson.. I don't like any of them.

Suggestions? And yes, as I said, I know a lot of people don't like city themed names. I don't want an answer that says "City names are so corny! Name him John!"

Thanks! =)

I'm just curious here. I've been noticing a lot of moms who don't use the CIO method having problems getting their little ones to sleep through the night at 4 months and older. The other day there was someone saying that her one-year-old still wasn't sleeping through the night.

I used the cry-it-out method with my daughter, and she was sleeping through the night every night before three months old. Most moms that I know (real-life friends, not on here) also use the CIO method, and their children have slept through the night from a young age as well.

Is this just a fluke, or do CIO babies really start sleeping through the night earlier? Tell me what you did, and when yours started sleeping through the night!

I'm due with a baby in September, and the ultrasound tech says that she "thinks" it is a boy. Since we already have a daughter, I did a bunch of research about baby boys, especially about circumcision. My fiance and I have decided not to have our baby circumcised if he is a boy, but for some reason I've been having this (irrational?) fear that they're going to whisk him off to do it anyway.

So, moms of boys, they DID ask you, right? Or was it something you had to specify to your OB before delivery?

Please don't turn this into a circumcision debate.

I'm not sure how many of you believe in zodiac signs or whatnot, but I do.

My due date is 9/26. This would make the baby a libra, just like me (which I think is awesome, since our first is an Aries like her dad). However, since I'm having a scheduled c-section, the doctor suggested having the baby delivered September 20th. This, unless I'm mistaken, would make the baby a Virgo instead. For some reason, this bothers me. I just feel like this baby is supposed to be a Libra (and I don't *think* I feel this way because I'm a libra, although I suppose that could be it subconsiously). Now since my doctor does scheduled c-sections on mondays and fridays, and the 20th is a monday, I can probably ask him to do it the following friday (the 24th).

So, would it bother you if you knew your due-date was during one zodiac, and they wanted to deliver during a different one?

Would it bother you enough to postpone the delivery a few days?

We had our ultrasound this week and we were very much hoping that we'd be able to find out the gender. I guess we waited too long, though, because with the positioning and the room in there (I'm 27 weeks) the tech didn't want to say for sure.

She said that she couldn't get the angle right for long enough to snap a picture, but that she thinks she saw a scrotum, and that if she had to guess she would say boy.

How would you moms take that? I was toying with the idea of being surprised, so it's not a huge deal to me, but everyone wants to know for the baby shower. Should I say "Probably a boy, but buy neutral!" Or should I act like we don't have a guess? If people buy boy clothes it won't be a huge deal, we still have all of the infant stuff left over from our 14-month old daughter.