The power of "no" & Your 2-year-old now...

Your two year old now:  Of all the words your child is picking up this year, it may seem like he has one grand favorite: "NO." What's the attraction? Preschoolers say "no" a lot because they're discovering their own free will. "No" is a handy way to voice their opinion. (Sometimes they even say "no" when they really mean "yes.") Sometimes a not-very-verbal child will resort to "no" just because he's mad or flustered and struggling to get his point across. Your preschooler may also learn that if he says it loudly and forcefully enough, Mom and Dad will really pay attention ... they might even go along with it! Giving your child choices is one way to reduce the number of no's you hear from him. Also, encourage him to answer in a quiet voice, and coach him in some alternatives: "What's the opposite of 'no'? 'Yes!'" "You can say 'no,' or you can say 'yes,' or guess what's in the middle? You can say 'maybe!'"

Your life now:  The switch from crib to bed often ushers in an era of middle-of-the-night visits to your bed. If you're not up for sharing your covers, lead or carry your preschooler back to his bed and bid him a kind but firm goodnight. Don't turn on the lights, don't talk much, don't get emotional or otherwise make it a fun, daytime-like experience. You might have to repeat this routine multiple times before the nightwalker learns to stay in his own bed at night. The key is to be persistent and consistent.

Your Pregnancy Week 36

How your baby's growing:  Your baby continues to grow and develop inside of you, measuring over 19 inches long, and weighing about 6 ½ lbs! During week 36, your baby's most important job is to keep putting on weight. Actually, that's his primary job from now until delivery.  You probably have another 4 weeks to go until delivery, especially if this is your first pregnancy, but "Full Term" refers to the period between 37-41 weeks, so your baby could be coming any time now! Your due date is probably a good guideline to determine when your little one is coming. Even though few women deliver on their actual due date, many women deliver in the days just before or after.

How your life's changing:  Now that your baby is taking up so much room, you may have trouble eating a normal-size meal. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. On the other hand, you may have less heartburn and have an easier time breathing when your baby starts to "drop" down into your pelvis. This process — called lightening — often happens a few weeks before labor if this is your first baby. (If you've given birth before, it probably won't happen before labor starts.) If your baby drops, you may also feel increased pressure in your lower abdomen, which may make walking increasingly uncomfortable, and you'll probably find that you have to pee even more frequently. If your baby is very low, you may feel lots of vaginal pressure and discomfort as well. Some women say it feels as though they're carrying a bowling ball between their legs! You might also notice that your Braxton Hicks contractions are more frequent now. Be sure to review the signs of labor with your practitioner and find out when she wants to hear from you. As a general rule, if you're full-term, your pregnancy is uncomplicated, and your water hasn't broken, she'll probably have you wait to come in until you've been having contractions that last for about a minute each, coming every five minutes for an hour. Of course, you'll want to call right away if you notice a decrease in your baby's activity or think you're leaking amniotic fluid, or if you have any vaginal bleeding, fever, a severe or persistent headache, constant abdominal pain, or vision changes.

Response to my posting...Contact Your Representative

Regarding Mr. McClintock's vote to bar Planned Parenthood from federal funding. After contacting his office to tell him my feelings on how he voted I soon got this email...

"Thank you for writing. I appreciate hearing from you.

Members of Congress study, debate, and ultimately vote on a wide range of issues on a daily basis. Your thoughts help me better represent you throughout this process. I hope you will continue to reach out in the future when there are other issues you would like to bring to my attention.

Again, thank you for sharing your comments."

_______________________________________________________________________________

Please click on the link below and tell Mr. McClintock how you feel about his vote and how it will effect so many people including himself in some way some where down the line his life will be effected by his choice to vote the way he did, not realizing how he himself will be effected.

Take a moment to tell your representative how you feel about this outrageous vote.

His auto-reply email wasn't very personal and really did not give the impression that he cares too much about how the people he represents feels or how they will vote when his next election comes up.

House voted to bar Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood has been there for you, your family, or your friends.

Help us make sure they get the message. Spread the word by posting this message on Facebook, or send it in an e-mail to your friends and family:

Last week, the House voted to bar Planned Parenthood from all federal funding. Did your rep vote to prevent Planned Parenthood from offering HIV tests, cancer screenings, and birth control? Find out here, and then contact your rep. We have to let them know that we are watching as they make decisions that could have massive and devastating effects on women's health.
http://www.ppaction.org/RepVotes