Topic : Dealing with the Added Stress

That's amazing about sleeping with her upright!  I did the exact thing many times, mostly out of sheer exhaustion.  I even used one of those pillows people use on airplanes and in car travell, to hold your head up!  That was a lifesaver!  Anyway, things have gotten a lot better in that department!  Of course, at every age, there is always something your not quite sure you will make it through!  Hopefully, I will!  Thanks for your thoughts, they are appreciated!

  

 hello  I am a single mom with 2 daughters 19 and 22. They both have moved back in with me in last year. My oldest has 7 month old son. How can i get her to understand she needs to let baby cry some and sleep in his own bed, she lets him sleep with her and rocks or holds him all the time. Then during the day when i watch him it is hard for me to get him to sleep alone and i feel stressed out all the time. If anyone has a suggestion please post it.  

  

                  thanks GeorgiaNanna   

I totally get how you feel. I have Cooper who will be two in a few weeks and Madison who is 8.5 months. Altho everyone does this, ppl who are not in the throws of it act as if it wasn't that bad and I am thinking to myself AM I HORRID? My husband and I are exhausted and worn down. Cooper has just developed sleep problems after being an angel and sleeping 7-7 for months! Now he is waking and screaming for me. And at the same time Maddy is teething and HATING it.  

There should be more support for us moms out there. Its lucky we have these things to vent to!  

Never fear they all say its just a stage and it ends when they are 25. Yay us!  

   

Good luck all you brave and fearless Mother's..we can do it!!!  

HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!  

I pesonally only allow people I know to watch my kids and though I have dropped my kids off in church classes, I never hesitate to leave a service and go check on my kids, don't have to do that so much now as we know every one and know who are in contact with our kids but when I do feel the urge to check things out, I do it. There is nothing wrong with being protective of your kids, your their parent and you have that right and obligation to make sure they are safe and happy. If you do need to go outside of people you don't really know, ask for references and call every number you have on them, don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be afraid to pop up unexpectedly to check on your children, you have the right to come visit them and see how they are doing anytime you want. You can ask your 3 year old how her day was and I have even asked my daughter if she had any visitors in her preschool classroom, document anything you might not be sure about and don't be afraid to approach the caregiver about a concern. If a care giver is offended by you asking questions and poppin in, then she/he is not a good caregiver. I ahve worked in several daycares over the years and there are good teachers/providers and at the same time there are those who should never step foot in working in a day care, not every one is cut out to work in this type of atmosphere and the same goes with babysitting, Communication is very imporant. When we started going to the church we are now going to, we didn't have a sitter at all. I am a stay at home mom and on accassions hubby and I do like going out, there was a lady in the church who offered to babysit and though I felt good about her, I still asked her questionsa nd one of the questions I asked was, "Who usually enters your home ona regular basis?" She responded very politely and sid it is just her and her husband (who is handicapped, in a moberlizzed chair), her kids live out of state and visitors are rare. She was not offended by me asking and because she understood that I was only interested in who was going to have contact with my kids and it turns out that she is an awesome sitter and my kids love her to pieces. We don't goo ut often but when wwe do, there aaare a select few that I wil take my girls to. Follow your parenting instincts, communicate with your children as well as the sitter, feel comfortable popping in and don't be afraid to question, have references. Be as protective as you want/need to be............

thankyou. that makes me feel so much better that someone else is as concerned as i am. i have never left my kids with anyone but family before. thank you for the awesome advice and for making me feel better about asking questions and stuff.

Being a parent of an 11 month old is tough, and it's even more tough with another baby on the way. I mean don't get me wrong I love my daughter more then anything in the world and I wouldn't change being a parent. But the toughest part is not getting any  help from my fiance (the father of my kids) I tried everything to get him to help me raise her but he just doesn't help, I feel like a single parent almost all the time. It's just so hard, I'm hoping to get some advice from someone. Please help.

My mother had her own routine of handling my children when she watched them. We sticked to the same sleep schedule, but our methods may have varied slightly. The book BABYWISE helped me understand parenting and how to help the baby sleep through the night. Warning to give your daughter: do not take the book to the extreme! Crying for long periods of time, in my opinion, is cruel. My second child, who is now 10 months old, will not always let me put her down at night. Tonight she did, but last night she screamed her lungs out. We do get her out of her crib and hold her to calm her and even let her lightly fall asleep. I admit, we sometimes have to cheat. Keep your patience with your precious grandson. He'll start to learn; maybe you can help him when he's with you.

Hmmmmmmm, maybe your fiance has difficult or fears handling a baby. If he won't help with the baby, possibly household chores. If he helps with nothing, you may want to sit down and talk.

Juat be happy that upu have your fiance that comes home to you. He may not help out much but at least you get to snuggle next to him at night and discuss your days events. I am a single mother and dont have that luxury, i'm glad the father isn't around because of his influence but that doesn't mean i don't need someone just to talk to. Sit down and talk to your fiance and explain how you are feeling, he should understand