That is a big reason for our not having another. Will is going to be 6 in March, and the only time I had decent sleep was in the months before Meara was born. DH slept with DS, and I had the bed to myself. I just moved Meara to her own room this last week, and she is doing pretty well. She still gets up to potty, but she nurses back to sleep quickly.

I feel your pain!

One of my best friends is a nurse who also uses alternative medicines. She is a homebirther, uses herbs to supplement Western medicine for her son's chronic respiratory issues, etc.

Anyway, I asked her for the number of her son's nurse practitioner to see what can be done about this weight thing. She called me right back, all excited. Said she didn't know why she had not thought of it before. Apparently, she knows a doc who has helped several women in my position. Slightly overweight, working their butts off, not overeating, but stuck. She was on her way out the door, but she will have the number to me next week.

As much as I embrace 'clean living', if this guy tells me to start snorting coke, I almost am desperate enough to consider it.

That really makes me feel hopeful, which I have not in a long time.

I knew there was a good reason I have a dog and not babies. Kudos to all you parental types, I can't imagine functioning without my 8 hours a night.

QOTD:

I love my little Pink IPod Shuffle.

How's everyone doing. I just got my new At Home Kit for WW. I've done it before but lost track sort of last Memorial Day. I stopped coming here and just lost steam. So here's to keeping me here and losing. My son slept through the night from when he was 6 weeks old. Right when I was going to have his dad start getting up with him more cause I was going back to work Aiden stops getting up in the middle of the night. In the last 2 months though he has been waking up and wanting to sleep with us which has got to stop cause no one is sleeping well. We only have a full size bed. A few months ago I wanted another child. Now we are firmly in terrible 2's I can't even imagine dealing with a newborn. I'm trying to figure out my son all over again. I don't know where my sweet little boy went. Every once in a while he comes out again. Like yesterday when he wanted to be held but usually he's a monster. You gotta love him though.

I understand. I have a very hormonal 11 year old daughter. Lately, she is the most tempermental, sassy, self centered little brat you'd ever want to meet! This child used to wake up cheerful and go to bed cheerful. And, she was extremely affectionate and out-going....she reminded everyone of Shirley Temple. I often wonder where my sweet little girl went. I've been told that the pre-teens are the worse years. But, I was also told that the terrible twos were the worse years. Maybe, its really all of the years are really bad, but "they" keep this secret so we'll continue to propagate!

I'm excited for you! I hope this doctor can provide some answers. For me, I have hormonal problems that sometimes cause my weight loss to stop. It can be extremely frustrating. I think the best doctors are those who practice a combination of alternative and conventional medicines. Some alternative medicine practices and treatments have been around for thousands of years. They must be working or they would have been given up a long time ago, right?

That has long been my argument. Asian cultures would have stopped allowing someone to jab needles into their bodies if it did not work.

I have been to a guy for injuries that just blows me away. He did a combo of
acupuncture and cupping on my shoulders and elbows, about which I was dubious at best. I was rowing two days later with no pain at all. Freaky.

I got pg with my 2nd when dd1 was 18 months old and in that adorable stage. Then she hit 24 months and Miss Independence and it was too late to make a change!! lol That's why I have 2! It's Terrible 2's, but you have heard of the Trying 3's, right???

Hey Chelle, what's got you down? We're here for you if you want to vent. I'm sure we can all vent right back with you!

I got pg with dd#2 when dd#1 was 7 months old - so they are both at those lovely ages! IMO 3's are more challenging than 2's. Everything needs to "make sense" to them now (normal to their development, I suppose), so there's lots more questioning. Plus my DD who just turned 4 sometimes exhausts us with her contrariness. I have so much to learn about being a parent, but I have to say that I'm having loads of fun, being silly, enjoying them every day...all the BTDT Mom's say the time will pass so quickly!

My DS was an angel at 2. We had so much fun. I could take him places and do things with him, and I enjoyed his company. I could not understand the Terrible Twos. He was delightful. I assumed those people must have been doing something wrong not to be thrilled with their 2YOs. Two days after he turned three, the nightmare began and lasted for about two years.

DD was an easier baby. So easy-going and peaceful. She hit two and has been a challenge ever since. She has no need to please us or to regard our feelings in any matter. If it is not her preference, then to heck with us. She was actively ignoring us at 18 months. It was crazy; she could go almost five minutes with no acknowledgement of our existance, even when we picked her up.

She turned three last week. No signs of improvement.

I was not meant to be a mom to preschoolers. I would be pregnant and have infants forever. Five and older? Such fun. Preschoolers are the

LOL!

Anna - would the fact that you're BF'ing be keeping you at your weight?

I don't know how that works exactly since I had the most horrible experience of my life trying to breastfeed. I'd rather still be in labor with no drugs than be trying to BF! I have to say that the lactation specialists and nurses did their best every day for weeks, but we could never get a good latch. I'm still sad about it. I did exclusivly pump for 6 months for dd#1 and 3 months for dd#2.

My son usually acts like he can't hear us unless he wants something. We are trying to get him to ask for what he wants instead of whining. We know he can. He used to a couple months ago. My husband did get him to say please again the other day but I haven't seen (we taught him signs) or heard it out of him since he started the new behavior a couple months ago. Now he just throws his cup at you and walks away just expecting us to get him what he wants. Now we just get him water if he won't say milk which is what he really wants. Luckily sometimes he does say yes if I ask him if he wants milk. And then there are somedays when he just comes out with some phrase and your're like wow he can still talk. When we finally were walking back to the car after he fell the other day he looked where he fell and we asked him if he fell and went boom. He responded clear as day "I fall and went bang". But will he ask for anything. I don't know if I can make it. It took me an hour to finally get him to go down for a nap today. He's a little demon without one. My mom is nagging me about his talking but my MIL who works with small children says to wait till he's 3 before worrying. I don't worry cause I know he's smart. He's just testing us. But like I said, "I don't know if I can make it." Where'd my sweet little guy go?

I'm down 2lbs since last week. Yay. Me doing happy dance!!! My real weigh in day is Saturday so I'm hoping for 1 more lb by then.

My day has been total crap. My son (23 months) figured out how to climb out of the crib. He only naps there (he sleeps in a twin bed at night) so this means during his nap time I have to stay in his room until he falls asleep. Otherwise he will not stay in his bed. So I got the baby (10 months) down for her nap, then stayed with him for 25 minutes til he fell asleep, then did a little homeschool work with the 4 year old, then the toddler was up and out of his bed again.... basically I had zero break today. Usually I get a little time to myself during their naps. Oh and some psycho bad driver backed right into my van at the library this morning! She wouldn't even get out of her car. She pulled her hood up over her head and slunked down in the seat like I wouldn't see her... Grrr. Fortunately I could see nothing wrong with my bumper so I just jotted down her license plate # in case my alignment was off or something and I left. I think the van is fine.

Sorry realized I totally was complaining this whole time!!!



Anyway, my goal right now is to buy a crib tent and have it overnighted here so we can get some rest again!!!

This sounds like me with my 2 year old. Although he doesn't have a crib at all now just his bed. How do you do it with 3? My son keeps getting out of bed unless he's close to asleep when I put him in there.