My just turned 3 year old (when did that happen???) is very, enthusiastic, about playing with mom. Up til now, things seemed to be rather well tucked inside, but at 28 weeks it turned into a beach ball belly. I'm up to 5 kick/head butts/knees/sitting too hard on events today, starting with an over enthusiastic hug when he informed me the sun was up at 5:30 this morning... I didn't even have a chance to see it coming.

We've talked about the baby in mommies belly, and how he needs to be careful with mommy, but he is a very high energy 3 year old. we literally spend hours at the playground/gymnastics/swimming a day and it hardly slows him down. It just causes him to eat like a teenager and take a nap on my lucky days.

So how big a blow does it take to do damage? Its unintentional, but it hurts like the dickens. I try to deflect the best I can. We talk about why flying monkey hugs are ok for daddy, but not mommy. We talk about why he needs to be gentile. When do I need to really start worrying and really limit our interaction. I don't want too, but even reading stories on my lap has become hazardous as he flips over and I get an elbow out of nowhere.

Cross posted to pregnant.

Thank you so much for all your comments on my last entry re: cloth diapering.  You guys are so helpful!  I have just made a post to clothdiapering with some very specific questions, but since there seem to be so many experts here, I decided to post it here as well.  I'm sorry if you are getting this twice!

So we are slowly starting on the cloth diapering journey, and I have some questions regarding specific products...

My little girl is 6 m/o, weighs about 17 lbs, and this is what we have been using so far...

1. Bummis prefolds - the "child" size, from 15 lbs up. I really like them, but I am finding them very bulky, and I find that her legs are more spread in them than usual, which really makes me wonder how comfortable she is... She is a very placid baby and does not tend to complain when something is bothering her unless it's really bad. I went to the bummis site, and I read that the prefolds need to be washed and dried 3-5 times prior to first use. I had washed them 3 times, as instructed in the store, but I didn't know they had to be dried as well. So they are back in the dryer now, and we will see what happens. In the meantime, I'm wondering if anybody has had any good experiences with other -maybe flatter?- inserts? I know that the store I go to (Diapereez in Toronto) carries their own flannel squares - any thoughts on that? or should I investigate the smaller size of bummis prefolds since she is closer to the lower limit and the ones she has seem too big?

2. Covers... So far I have purchased three, and they all seem great, but I have concerns with all of them...

-Bummis Ultra Lite - I absolutely love them, the wipable interior is great, and they are definitely not bulky, but... I got her the medium size, which is 16-30 lbs, obviously she is close to the lower limit, and there is still lots of growing room around the waist, but they are already quite tight around her chubby thighs and leaving marks... It happens with disposable diapers as well, but even more so with these covers. She just has chubby thighs in proportion to the rest of her body, I guess... I can't possibly get her a bigger size, as she is nowhere close to 30 lbs.

-Bummis Super Whisper wrap - it's great for most part, although also a bit tight on her thighs... but the extra layer of fabric might not be what we want in this hot weather. I think they will be great in the fall, if they can still accommodate her chubbiness...

-Bummis Original - I love them, but the one I bought, medium size, is 13-20 lbs. It fits her and works well for pee, but I know for a fact that it won't accommodate her explosive poop outs (which were my push factor for introducing cloth), as it doesn't even go as high on her back as the disposables which do not hold poop outs. Would it make sense to get her the next size already? She is not 20 lbs yet, but getting close - any idea how long it might be? Also, I heard the originals are less waterproof than the other varieties - any experience with that? So far we haven't had any heavy pees or poos in it, so I can't tell.

And another question about washing... Last time I had a question about washing out poo stains, one wise person here on LJ recommended starting with the prewash cycle, and yes, it's really helping, but I'm just wondering... The prewash cycle doesn't include rinse, right? So do I add more detergent before proper wash or not?

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with getting pregnant after stopping Depo Provera. I know the statistics say it can take any where from 3 months to 2 years, but I have to believe it can happen sooner since if you miss your two week window by even a day they make you take a pregnancy test before giving you the shot.

I was on Depo prior to getting pregnant the first time, but since that time we didn't have a clear time frame on when we wanted to get pregnant, they had me switch to Micronor (basically the pill form of Depo) for a while since it doesn't take as long to clear your system. I was off Depo for about 7 months and off the Micronor for 3 weeks when I got pregnant last time.

We're just hoping for a short time frame since there is a very high possibility that my husband will be going overseas in the near future. We also don't want a huge age gap between the kids. Our daughter will be 2 in August so there will already be 3 years between them.

I didn't want to use the Micronor this time because I didn't like the emotional side effects it caused last time. I also don't have many options when it comes to birth control. I have to stick to the progesterone only kinds because of my migraines. So I'm hoping things will work out ok. The end of my two week window is the 1st so in theory the Depo should be out of my system by the 2nd. I'm just not sure if that's really how it works.

Any thoughts/tips/advice are welcome!

My son was diagnosed with a speech delay and sensory seeking behavior. He has lately placed out of speech and PT ( He is still in ST and PT at the moment but come the summer he will no longer need it ). My son has some anger issues. Anytime we ask him to do something ( ie clean his room, dinner time, pick something up, time for bed etc ) he will either kick or punch what ever is around him. Usually the wall. The other night when I told him that it was time for bed he decided to yell and scream at me and then punched me in the face. When I asked him why he does it his answer is "because". I have tried punishment, time outs, etc and nothing seems to work. Is this something that should be brought up to one of his therapists or is it normal? It seems like he only does this at home, I haven't heard anything from his teachers. Advice? I am at a total loss.

X-posted.

i was orginally going to post this to clothdiapering and maybe i still will as i have some more specific questions for them, but i think i'm more likely to get a wider range of unbiased answers here, so here we go...

i am in a process of somewhat reluctantly switching from disposable diapers to cloth, or maybe just introducing cloth diapers for part time use?  at this point i'm experimenting and not committing to anything.  before dd was born, i was determined to do cloth, and then it turned out that the supposedly one-size diapers i had purchased did not fit her (and they still don't seem to, at 6 m/o), plus they were extremely bulky and 100% polyester (not breathable).  it really turned me off, plus i felt bad about having spent all this money on something i'm not going to use, and i just happily moved on with the disposables.

what made me want to give cloth another chance were the explosive poop outs happening on a daily basis, sometimes more than once.  so i bought some bummis prefolds, 100% organic cotton.  they seem great, but i'm still concerned.  together with the cover, they still create quite a bit of bulk and i'm concerned about my daughter's comfort.  how does it feel to have all this fabric around your bum?  and doesn't she get hot, especially now in the summer?  the lady in the diaper store told me that there was a study that demonstrated that the inside of a disposable diaper is warmer by three degrees than the inside of a cloth diaper.  i just took it in at the time, as i was a bit overwhelmed, but now i'm wondering...  does it depend which cloth/disposable diaper?  does it include the cover which obviously contributes to the heat?  we had no issues with the pure and natural huggies (other than the poop outs, of course).  i even tried putting a diaper cover on top of her disposable diaper before the daily poop out, and that works well, but doesn't it make her even hotter? 

we are also at the point where we are trying to figure out if she can sit unsupported (she can but only for a couple of seconds), and i can't help wondering if all this bulk in the diaper is making it more difficult.

also, she was never one of those babies fussing over a wet diaper - not that i would take advantage of it, i check her diaper very frequently, and this morning she was in wet cloth and was crying...  it broke my heart.  and, of course, cloth diapers are more difficult to just "check".

i still feel a strong pull towards cloth diapering, but i have so many doubts...  mostly about my daughter's comfort.  any words of advice, experience or encouragement would be great.

also, if you dealt with those explosive poop outs with an exclusively breastfed baby, did you find that there was a significant change when you introduced solids?  we will be starting solids when she is sitting unassisted, which will likely be soon, but we will be doing it very slowly, the blw way, so i wonder if it will even make a difference for a while...

I'm pretty much a single mom (husband is home once a month for a few days due to his job.) My daughter is in daycare all day (10 hrs) 5 days a week. I am unsure how to balance everything on the weekends when we are running around doing errands and relaxing - trying to squeeze in play time with cleaning and laundry and feeding/diapering can be hard. I play with her and try to involve her in everything I do, I just can't help but feel a little guilty not devoting every second I have with her. Any advice?

Why do I feel like I am setting his entire academic future by picking a preschool?

( A tale of two preschools )

My genius baby, Ethan is 5 1/2 months.  He's a genius.  Just kidding.

However, Ethan can roll from his back to front (and is an exclusive tummy sleeper) but not back.  When did your kiddos learn this skill?  How did you help them do so?  He tolerates tummy time for like 5 minutes before getting angry.  I tried today letting him be angry and work on ideas to roll over.  He was sort of miserable.

Ethan's only managed a few of the front to back turns, usually by stuffing his hands under his body and sandwiching himself onto his side.  See?  Genius.  I never would have thought of this?!

ETA:  I'd not be concerned, except he now wakes up soley because he's stranded on his belly in bed :)

Secondly, I took him in to the Dr. two days ago because for a week or so he had been, well, not himself?  He was lethargic, and about 30 minutes after a nap, he was ready for another... just generally low energy.  The dr on call, not our regular Ped (whom I want to carry in my pocket all the time cause she is ZOMG fabulous) was an ass.  He wasn't kind, friendly, didn't ask clear questions and got frustrated with me when I didn't answer them correctly.  He left us waiting in the little room for 15 minutes and then told us he had been checking his email.  He then told us that he'd like to do a blood draw just in case, and then wasn't clear about where we needed to go to do this (leaving us waiting in the room for another 15 minutes or so?)  We then were promised to have the results by the end of the day (by him) at 4:55, we called back because we hadn't heard and they left a message for the dr, who called us back 3 minutes later with the results (obviously he had them, and forgot to call???!!!) 

So, how do I best address how frustrating an experience this was, and to whom?  Do we wait a couple of weeks until our 6 month and talk to our regular ped who shares an office with him?

My daughter is a new 3, her birthday is in March. She just went to the dentist for the first time (no flames please, I get it, there's nothing to be done about it now) and they found four cavities. Three of them are mild, and they said they can be left alone and watched, but one of them is moderate and is causing her pain.

They said that because she was so good for the exam, they would like to try to fill the cavity. They would not be willing to put her to sleep, they would just use a little laughing gas and maybe a shot of novacaine. (MAYBE?!?!?!?! WTF IS MAYBE?!?!?!?!?)

I have huge huge huge dental issues and its one of the reasons I haven't brought her in before now, even though I have had some concerns about her teeth. During the appointment, I was able to control my anxiety and only had one very short little panic attack, right when they were using the metal scraper to "count" her teeth (I swear to God they were cleaning/scraping) and the sound, OMG the sound. (Just as an aside, I swear I did not let on that I was freaking out. My kids don't know I'm afraid of the dentist and I am trying hard to keep it that way because I don't want to pass my fears down to them. I was careful to control my face while I was freaking out and the only way you'd know is if you'd had me hooked up to a pulse reader)

Anyway, so my issues are, in no particular order:

* They plan to strap the laughing gas to her face. I hate this idea. I hate laughing gas. I am fine with her trying it, I know it helps people and many people love it. However, when it is used for laboring women, they hold the mask to their face themselves, so that they can't possibly get overdosed, because if they get dizzy or lightheaded, their hand will fall and they breathe regular air again. I remember having laughing gas at the dentist as a child and I felt scared and lost and out of my body and I could hear people kind of but why weren't they helping me? I wanted it off, but I couldn't articulate that or move my arms or anything. I was MUCH older than 3. Needless to say, I don't want my daughter to feel this fear.

* When we had the cleaning appointment, they cleaned her teeth with a regular toothbrush instead of with the buzzy polisher because she was only 3. So of course she was good, it was just a toothbrush! How does it make sense that she is too young for a polisher but old enough to have fillings done while she is awake. (With MAYBE a shot of novacaine, omg this maybe thing is haunting my dreams.) I've met my daughter, and I expect that if they get near her with a drill she is going to freak the fuck out.

* What if they start drilling and can't finish? I asked if this had ever happened before, and props to the dentist for her honesty, she said it has. Three is the youngest they will do a filling at all with an awake child, and she said a few have been good, many have hung in there, and a few panicked so badly they weren't able to finish. If this happens after the drilling has started, they will have to hold her down to fill it quickly. It will look terrible, but at least the pain will be gone. The idea of holding my daughter down at the dentist has my heart beating through my chest as I type. I don't think I could. But, before anyone says that I shouldn't go, (trust me, I've thought of this) I don't like that either. I was with my son when he was circumsized (wouldn't do it again) because I feel like I owe it to my children to be there and support them if they have to go through awful things. If its too hard for me to watch, and I'm an ADULT, how is it fair of me to ask them to go through it? ALONE? UM, no. I will not add a sense of abandonment and betrayal to the list of things to cry about.

* If the cavity is not filled, (after all the dentist can recommend, but she can't make the decision, it is not her child) then she insisted that my daughter be cut off of juice completely except at meals and that her teeth need to be brushed after every meal. Honestly, doing that for the next 2 to 3 years would probably be more traumatic to her than the filling. At least in the long run.

She is quite articulate and I asked her what her preference was, just to see what she'd say, and of course her answer was no to cutting off the juice and also no to having her teeth fixed. Of course.

HELP?