♥♥♥ Mommy to Two ♥♥♥

What is something easy and super yummy that I can make? I bought ten pounds of frozen ones on sale and I am fresh out of ideas!

I ordered a Sony a700 after looking at them for months, and chose Broadway because they had a little lower price (about $100). I started to order it over the internet, but then I called them to find out if they had any coupon codes available. I got a very friendly sales person who redid my order, giving me exactly what I wanted, plus taking some off of each item and "creating" a kit price for me basically. All of the things that I had wanted were tallied in, and he suggested that I get a different memory card, which I did, added a charger and gave me a great price on an extended battery and even upgraded me to 2 day shipping from 3 day. It SEEMED like a great deal.

Got a confirmation number, been tracking it, and all seemed normal.

The order came today, everything was in the box. All looked good. The only thing was that the factory seal on the camera was broken. There was a sheet in the box stating that you had to call within two days to let their customer service know if there was anything wrong with the order.

So here's where I get scared. I am at work, and hubby is at home with the box. I do a google search for them so I can get their customer service number, and ALL OF THESE HORRIBLE REVIEWS START popping up, things like high pressure sales, bait and switch, over charges on credit cards, etc.

I went on and called them anyway, told them the factory seal was broken, and the rep said that anytime they ship out a box over $1000, their insurance inspector opens the unviewable items to make sure the items are leaving them in good shape so that if there is any issue with the product when it arrives, they can immediately replace it. I was like, okay...

None of the bad things that others have said have happened to me so far. That said, I went and checked my credit card (which is an ING Orange account where I deposit my own money and it draws interest, etc.) and the charge from them that was there yesterday, was NOT there today. I moved all of my money from my Orange account to my regular savings account with them except for just the amount to cover the camera, etc.

We have the camera charging at home now, and I'm going to try it our this afternoon. Wish us luck.

Anyway, has anyone ever had any positive experiences with them? One of the main reasons we picked them is because they are in the back of all of our photography magazines and have been for years! Guess I should have researched them some...

I have been breastfeeding my son exclusively since he was born. He is now 9 months old. Our pediatrician at the last appointment had us cut out a breastfeeding and replace it with a meal of solids (that was at his 6 month) and he also wanted him eating solids three times a day.

At his nine month appointment a few days ago, he said that he wants him down to three breastfeedings a day with 4-5 meals of solids spaced throughout the day.

I chose to eliminate the bottle that I pump for him at lunch for several reasons. 1) My husband says that he is losing interest in the bottle, and drinks it reluctantly and it takes him forever to finish it, though he still nurses the breast enthusiastically. 2) I have had a horrible time pumping due to issues with let-down and the fact that I only have 25 minutes in which to pump and eat lunch. 3) If we have to eliminate one of the four he still gets, I DO NOT want to give up my 6 AM nurse or my nighttime nurse.

BUT, I feel guilty. I know I made the right decision to quit pumping. No more parts to wash and sterilize, I get to eat lunch again, I can stop being a social recluse at work, hubby has no problem with giving him real food, plus it is what our pediatrician recommends. But I still feel guilty.

So could some of you give me a little encouragement that I have done the right thing? My breasts feel pretty full right now (it is almost the time I would have pumped), but I think I can make it to this afternoon to wake him up from his nap for a nurse.

Help me feel better about it?

I am getting one in a few days and wanted a preview of some of the best and coolest apps out there. Please give me a little description of what they do or a link also.

It is through Alltel.

Thanks in advance!

Over the weekend, we were surfing and "landed" on Aliens versus Predator: Requiem. There were some scenes in it that really, really bothered me... the scenes in the maternity ward especially where the monster puts the eggs in the pregnant moms and I guess it eats the babies in the nursery, or that is the insinuation. I had nightmares last night about that, and it used to would have bothered me anyway, but it gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Another one is Trainspotting - I had nightmares about that one for months. Those of you who have seen it I'm sure you know why.

Even Juno bothered me! I can't imagine giving birth to a child, then never seeing my baby again and having no desire to do so. Jthat movie would never have made me cry before I was a mom, but I just broke down and sobbed at the end while Juno blithely went on with her life.

Do these kinds of movies bother you more now that they did before you had children?

Are there any more of these kinds of movies out there that I should avoid? Forewarned is forearmed...

I have an 8 month old son that I am breastfeeding, and I have to pump once while I am at work. I am a teacher at a high school. All I have is a little 30 minute window in which to pump as much milk as I can and to wolf down a pack of crackers. Everyone knows that the bathroom that I pump in is occupied at the time I am in there, and most people don't even bother to try the door anymore. There are two other faculty bathrooms within 30 seconds of the one that I use (the one I use is the only one with a plug and a table/chair though), not to mention there are two student restrooms as well.

This morning a co-worker asked if I was ordering lunch today and I told her no, and she asked why. I told her why, just conversationally, that I had "baby stuff" to take care of during lunch. Now this is a person that knows me pretty well!

When I went to pump, the door was locked. I stood around and could hear the person rustling around in there, laughing and whatnot. She was in there a good ten minutes of the time that I needed to pump. When she came out she said "Sorry, I was texting my son." (we have a no-cell phone policy for kids and faculty).

So I go in a pump, furious. I came up 2 ounces short because of the loss of time, and I never did get to eat my stupid crackers.

Am I justifiably pissed about this? I know there is nothing I can do about it, it's not MY bathroom, but still? Wasn't that pretty rude?

My son is 8 months old, and his tear ducts have been clogged since he was a couple of months old. Every morning we wake up to the crusty eyelids and eyelashes, with the greenish matter. We have been doing the massage to try to open it up, and we used drops at one point, but as soon as we stopped them, the goop came back.

I know that these cases sometimes resolve themselves by a year old, but if it does not, he's going to have to have the surgery to correct it.

I would like to hear from moms/dads who had little ones that needed the surgery. I have several questions...

1. Did your baby have to be put under general anesthesia for this procedure?

2. Was it out-patient at a hospital, or done in your pediatrician's office?

3. What is the recovery like?

4. Did your little one seem to be in any pain from the procedure?

5. Did the surgery completely resolve the problem?

I am so scared of the general anesthesia idea. He is so little, and I know that things happen under G.A. I am so scared that they will take him from me, put him under, and that he won't wake up. If anyone can ease my fears there, it would be much appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

Has anyone given a party at Chuck E Cheese for a 3 yr old?

It would be mostly family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc but older cousins (pre-teen) also.

The main thing is that I want it to be something that my little girl will enjoy. Is she too young for Chuck E Cheese?

I've seen on TV that they have new security measures to make sure kids don't wander off without their parents... how does that work?

Other options are welcome also...

Thanks in advance!

http://www.emergenc.com/

I'm taking the Emergen-C Super Energy Booster that has 1000 mg of Vitamin C. I need a little extra kick during the day. I am also nursing a nine month old baby boy.

The website says consult a doctor, but I can't see why it would be harmful. I would assume they are just covering themselves since they don't tout it as being for pregnant women and nursing moms.

This is what's in it...

Vitamin C, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Zinc, Manganese, Chromium, Sodium, Potassium, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and Quercitin (a flavanol).

Anybody see any problems with any of the ingredients and nursing?

Thanks!

My son is going to be nine months old tomorrow. He is exclusively breastfed, and I pump once a day to replace a feeding that I am not there to give him from the breast.

Last Tuesday I was nursing him when I got home from work, and my two year old daughter dropped something and startled the crap out of him. He chomped down on my right nipple with both his little bottom teeth, and got me pretty deep. Nursing him on the right has been excruciating since then and a couple of times when I have pumped it has been pink from a little blood coming from the bite.

It felt like it was getting some better over the weekend, but today at lunch when I started to pump, I noticed that the bite was a little "infected" looking with just a little pus over the initial wound. I wiped it away, washed the nipple good, and started pumping, but today I think I got more blood than milk.

The bite has now turned into a blood blister, sort of, and it still hurts like crazy!

I'm not sure what to do... should I keep letting him nurse it and pumping it? I'm afraid if I stop doing anything with that one it will dry up, and I'm not sure my baby can live on just one.

But ouch, it does hurt!

Opinions, moms?

I have breastfed my 7 month old son exclusively since he was born. I am a teacher, and last semester, my planning coincided perfectly with when I needed to pump and I had plenty of time. (I have a problem with let down, so it takes me 35-40 minutes to pump what my son needs for the next day while I'm gone). This semester though, I have first block planning. It's too early to pump since I just fed him, and even if I did, I'm not sure I could make it to the afternoon anyway. I only have 35 minutes at lunch (and 30 minutes on T and Th) to pump, and now I am skipping lunch to pump... I wolf down a pack of crackers between classes and that is lunch now. It is getting harder and harder to pump the amount I need because I feel so rushed. I know I should quit pumping at work and try to teach my body to just skip that "feeding", but my heart won't let me give up.

This is really tearing me up, because I feel like giving up on pumping at work is the beginning of the end of breastfeeding for us. I have really loved it. I feel so much closer to my son than I did with my daughter at the same age because I was not able to breastfeed her.

Oh help! Somebody give me some ideas and make me feel better. Oh, and BTW, asking for extra time at lunch to pump is not an option... our school is not breastfeeding friendly.

*sigh*

My 7 month old has already cut both bottom incisors (he was born with one that was a natal tooth that erupted when he was about 4 months old) and I think he is starting to cut the upper ones, but I'm kind of concerned about where it appears to be coming from. He has a hard white dot about midway between his bottom of his gum and the top of his gum that is in line with where the tooth should be, but it seems like it is up so high!!!!! As the tooth descends and gets ready to completely break through, will it eventually end up where you would expect it to be?

Call me a paranoid mama, but since he was born with the one tooth (more or less - it was a gum covered knot), I notice his mouth more than I did my daughter's. Her's may have done the same thing and I just didn't notice.

All you moms of 7-8 month olds, take a peak in your baby's mouths for me?

Thanks!

I have a co-worker who is a Seventh Day Adventist and does not celebrate Christmas at all. I had purchased little jingle bell ornaments for some of my other co-workers, and I don't want this person to feel left out. What can I do for her to let her know she is appreciated during the holidays, but has no commercialized connotation?

I am trying to decide who to sign up with, and what plan.

Here goes.

You have a Word Document open, and you have typed a lot, but you decide to go back and change a word or phrase. You highlight it, then type the new word or phrase and it replaces the old one using the same formatting, etc. What is this called, an can it be turned on and off?

My version of Microsoft Word came with Office Suite 2003. It used to do this, but now all of a sudden, when I highlight the word or phrase and try to replace the text, it doesn't replace it, it just adds to it. If I use the delete key, it removes the formatting also.

I'm not talking about using the Insert key to Overtype (OVR) either... that dries me nuts because it gets rid of all text in the way instead of just replacing the highlighted part.

Thanks in advance!

Last night I was holding my 5 month old son in my lap while we ate dinner (fish sticks, potato salad, and Lima beans). My 2 year old, my husband and I were all eating, and the baby was just WATCHING us intently. I decided to be brave and squished a Lima between my fingers and offered him the squishy center (not the skin part) on the tip of my index finger. He popped his mouth wide open, sucked the Lima off my finger and proceeded to "chew" and swallow. He must have eaten 6 or 7 small Lima beans before I decided that he had had enough of an assault on his digestive system for one night, but he would have eaten more.

I am sure back in the day, this was exactly how moms got their babies started on solid food - baby shows interest, mom offers, baby eats, VOILA!

But are the Lima beans going to hurt him? Other than a little gas maybe?

This was they very first solid food he has ever eaten. We were planning on waiting until Christmas break and for him to be 6 months old before we tried him on solids, and we were going to go the traditional route of breastmilk and cereal then. I must say I was pretty proud of him though :-)

Thanks!

My five month old son has just recently cut his first tooth (one of the front bottom ones). It is pretty well in now, and has a pretty sharp point to it. I was feeding him the other day, and he chomped down on my nipple hard enough to draw blood. I got it away from him, cried a little, then put him on the other one and he did fine. He has clamped down on my right one several times since then (it is not as "high production" as the left), and this morning he chomped down again and drew blood (he didn't mean to this time - he was half asleep and finishing off/letting go),

OMG, I am so sore, and it is just agony to let him nurse the right one right now. I know I have to to keep production up, so I'll suck it up, but what can I do to get him not to bite down?

I know that there is no way to discipline a five month old... he has no idea of what he is doing or that it is hurting me. What I've been doing is just sticking my pinkie in his mouth as soon as I feel him start to clamp down, but I was half asleep myself this morning...

Thanks in advance for the help!

My ds is now 5 months old, and I have been pumping at work since August. He is in the 80th percentile as far as weight, so I know he is getting enough when he breastfeeds. I have had serious issues with pumping from the start though (I have problems with let-down and end up starting and stopping, starting and stopping the whole time). I am a teacher, so I only have one pumping opportunity, from 12:20-1:10 every day. It takes me that full amount of time to get anywhere from 3-5 ounces. It is a P.I.T.B., but it is a sacrifice I am more than willing to make even if it means giving up my whole planning block.

Here is the conundrum part: In the Spring semester, I will no longer have the same planning. My planning then is going to be from 8:06-9:40. I will have just fed him at 7:00 (last thing I do before I leave home everyday), so that block of time is going to be useless to me. Our lunch is from 12:10-12:45, and the administration's idea is for me to pump and eat at the same time. Ha. I can barely pump alone, much less do anything else at the same time. So I can either eat, or I can pump. Our administration has never been a breastfeeding advocate, so they make no provisions for anyone to cover our classes or anything. I know that going from 7:30 to 4:30 without eating anything is not going to do me any good as far as breast milk production (snacks are out also, except during our planning).

Should I pump the little I'll get in the morning? Should I skip lunch and pump? Should I just plan on going all day and feeding him when I get home that afternoon? I am anticipating some serious discomfort with that option.

What have you all done in the past if you in in similar situation?

We are getting a new 09 Focus early next year... what is the difference between a Coupe and a Sedan?

I have a two and a half month old son at home, and just returned to work last week. I am only able to pump once at work, and need to be able to pump once to cover two to three feedings while I am gone.

My pediatrician prescribed Reglan over the phone for me to use, and the recommended dosage is 3 times per day. He said that once my supply has come in to my satisfaction, to discontinue it slowly because stopping the Reglan abruptly can cause my supply to return to the pre-Reglan levels.

I thought that I would take it with meals until the supply comes in better, then stop the dinner time one first, followed by the lunch one and just keep taking the breakfast one, as I pump at lunch time.

Before I returned to work my supply was more than adequate (my son is a roly-poly little rascal), but I can only pump about 6-7 ounces in a 30 minute time span, and really need to have about 10 on hand for my husband to feed him while I am gone.

Does this sound reasonable to you all? Thanks in advance!