I don’t know exactly how we ended up in this situation, but I find that one of the toughest things about being a single parent with three varied age kids we’ve raised with attachment parenting ideals is that they’re not babysitter friendly. What do I mean by that? Simply that they aren’t responsive to babysitters, don’t listen, and generally are anxious and upset if they’re with someone other than Linda or I. Not during the…Read More
How do you add a second baby to the family bed?
I received this interesting letter from a reader that’s a core puzzle for family bed families: how do you add baby #2 to the mix? I’ll let her speak for herself, then afterwards I’ll add my two cents and invite you, dear reader, to do the same… My name is Kristin, I have a two year old son, Myles, and am expecting another baby in November. Myles has always slept in between my husband and…Read More
Strategies for coping with gestational diabetes?
A close friend of mine is rather panicking right now as her pregnancy has progressed because she’s been diagnosed with rather serious gestational diabetes. Here’s what she told me: “Was diagnosed at about 28 weeks and we are having trouble getting it under control. Diet changes and all – the #’s are still high. They were concerned at the Doc’s yesterday about baby’s tummy being ahead two weeks than the rest of his body –…Read More
“Imagination Movers” and the quality of children’s music
Somehow, I’m not entirely sure how, I have landed on the promo list for Disney Music and every month or two get a music CD aimed at the 3-7 set. Most of them are pretty good, but I have to admit that the latest disk they’ve sent us is quite astonishingly good and very worth a listen. The disk is Disney’s Imagination Movers: For Those About to Hop and it’s songs from the hit Disney…Read More
Are slings a simple solution for babies with colic?
If your newborn cried for more than 3 hours, more than 3 days for more than 3 weeks then your pediatrician was likely to hold colic responsible. While it can be comforting to know why your little one is in such distress, the diagnosis of colic still leaves much to be explained since there is no one proven cause of colic. Without knowing what is causing the problem, it can be quite difficult to prevent…Read More
Of classes and birthday party invitations…
School is just starting up and one of the questions that’s arisen in our new first grade class already is the whole question of party invitations. If you have young children and they go to a school where the teachers consciously try to create an optimal environment, I bet you already know what I’m talking about. The core question: if you have, say, 25 children in your kid’s class, who do you — and don’t…Read More
80% of children under two watch HOW much media per day?
I realize that we’re an outlier in the entire TV and media discussion because we don’t watch any TV at all. That’s right. When they’re deathly sick we might okay a video once in a blue moon, but I estimate that our three children, ages 2, 6, 9, watch less than twenty hours of TV/movies annually, and zero video or computer games. Usually when I tell people that they gasp and act uncomfortable, immediately trotting…Read More
When did Halloween become so darn dangerous?
A couple of things I’ve read today, All Hallow’s Eve, have really stuck with me and made me really wonder about the state of our society. First, I was reading through a local guide to Halloween events and was struck by the fact that each of those listed had the word “safe” in its title. But why do we need to know that the event is safe in the first place? Because, of course, there’s…Read More
Dave’s secret trick for calming a hysterical child
Tonight’s bedtime was about as bad as it gets. My parents are visiting from out of town, so we had unusual disruptions from the routine, but more importantly, A-, our 8yo, has terrible allergies this time of year, so she was sneezy, sniffly and generally cranky and miserable this evening. Usually we try to get the kids into bed, lights off, by 7.30, the latest, but tonight we didn’t get to bed until about 8.20…Read More
Warning: Never let your baby play with the phone!
What are the odds, I ask you! Our 1 1/2 year old baby K- somehow got ahold of the portable phone this evening and before we could retrieve it, she’d dialed 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Which just so happens triggers the emergency system here in Colorado. Linda hung the phone up immediately and told me “the baby just dialed 911 but I hung up before it connected” Ah, well,…Read More
First week of weight gain sets lifelong weight patterns? I don’t think so.
Another news entry from the hall of mirrors today. The story is Baby’s First Week May Set Lifelong Weight Patterns wherein they state: “The first week of life may be a critical period for establishing lifelong patterns of body weight. Infants who gain rapidly in those first seven days may be more likely to develop weight problems as young adults, suggests a new study published in the April 19 issue of Circulation, the journal of…Read More
How Come Parents Never Talk About Parenting?
I met a fellow father this morning for tea and we chatted about what we were working on and shared the ups and downs of fatherhood, but afterwards it struck me that we didn’t talk about parenting itself. We talked about being parents and about our children, yes, but not about parenting. So I spent today thinking about the difference, and then just happened to get a message from a new reader who asked “what…Read More
On Halloween, the Candy Fairy Visited Our House!
While I’d like to think that I’m not a complete curmudgeon, I have to admit that many of the most popular holidays in the United States aren’t ones that I enjoy or particularly want my children to participate in. For example, I’ve already written about how Mother’s Day is a bit daft – see Happy Mother’s Day? – because people should be thankful of each other every day, but given the time of year, the…Read More