new parent seeking answers to LOT of questions heh

[SpiceHD]

ok i read lot of threads here and theres quite a few questions i wanted to ask that has related to the thread's topic but not in same type of discussion. im very nervous about being a mommy soon and want to ask questions.

spanking topic:

how do u know to punish your kid(s) with right form of punishment and how old kid should be before u start to teach them right or wrong? (i alway thought it started at 2 yrs old when they just start to grab everything but at that age they don't really understand anything so really cant yell or anything like u would at a 10 yrs old kid and they will repeat till they figured it out that its wrong. its their way of learning. so I'm asking for your ways because i do want my son to keep pushing his limits but not so far to become a problematic kid)

since u cant spank kids in public... how would u treat a screaming crying kid in a food store and u cant do anything but say "you are in big trouble when we get home"? how do u get a kid to quiet down?

what if your partner and u have different ideas of punishments with the kid and end up making the kid confused? ex: 5 yrs old kid wants a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at 5:30 pm and i said no cuz its too close to supper time. he goes to his dad and he said yes. as soon as i turn around... the kid made it himself and was eating happily. so how do i punish the kid when theres 2 different answers? (yes i know need to communicate between the parents but i also have seen kids doing that trick. they knew who to go for answer yes and then got away with it. i want to know how to fix that if it does come up)

if you found out u made a mistake with ur own kid... how do u correct it? (i knew all parents will make a mistake with their own kid now and then... what im really worried is to make that fatal mistake that cause u to lose the kid forever)

seat in car topic:

what is 5 point Harness? *blushes* sorry i feel really stupid but now im reading EVERYTHING i can possibly learn so my unborn son will be safe as much as possible. can anybody tell me how it works? and where to get it? and how old before start using it? everything lol!

random topics:
since i know my child will be a hearing for sure (he responds to noises even now in my womb wayyyy too often for me to have any doubts about his hearing ) i worry about my son not wanting to use signs to communicate cuz he will have a hearing father. im positive his father and my son wont sign to communicate with each other heh. now im asking how do i make sure my son is fluent in signs since i also have that bad habit of using my voice around hearing people but i turn it off around deaf people. i know i will probably use my voice around my son automatically and im scared that i might not understand him cuz i did not teach him properly. what is the best methods for a deaf parent who kinda moves between deaf world and hearing world?

i have 3 cats and i do not want to give them up. what is safe way to keep both cats and baby safe? i heard that cats can suffocate the baby cuz they likes warm body and i already got lot of tips on how to prevent that. but i still want more tips that i never thought of. also i know i cant clean litter while im pregnant but what about after my baby is born... will it still harm the baby if im breastfeeding?

how long for a normal breastfeeding?
how do i know when to stop and switch baby to formula?
how do i know when its time for baby to try solid food?

and finally last question
whats the difference in between raising a deaf child and a hearing child if u had both? is a deaf child harder to raise than hearing cuz u cant yell to warn the kid not to do that? what if kid has ADHD or ADD how do u know if the kid does have it? simply cuz u cant control the kid's behaviors? how do i identify any other problems kid may have like bi polar or whatever?


ok i think thats enough questions for now and yes i know im a worrywart big time but i wanted kids for long time and now i got a chance... i sooo want to do this right. bear with me please and im positive there will be more questions lol. ill appreciate every post u make here and i do have diary with all questions and answers so i can review them. i will have to ask ur permission to copy and paste your answers into my "uncertain parent diary" along with ur user name so id know who to contact if i have any more questions. thank you! if u dont want me to do that just add that to ur post "do not copy and paste my post please" and i will respect that. OH and DO feel free to add any more tips that i didnt ask for heh.

please dont argue here. each parent has their own opinions and form of methods. i know i will have my own but it doesnt hurt to learn each one and know what to do at least a little.

 

[SpiceHD]

you do not have to answer every single question... just one or two. it d be nice if u can throw in ur feedback please?

 

[sequoias]

Hey SpiceHD, those are all good questions to ask. It's ok for parents to be nervous and learn new things...even while having a kid, you still learn a lot of new stuff too!

5 point harness means it straps the baby in between her/his legs, side and 2 on the top. It's sort of kinda like a seabelt they use in race cars to keep the person in the seat when the car is rolling or anything, same thing with the baby.

You tell that the hearing father refuses to allow you to teach him/her sign language to communicate with the kid, that means you will have to raise the kid on your own. You want to ensure the kid can communicate with you and him. He cannot "steal" the communication tools from you.

I think that's all I know. Hope this helps!

 

[Cheri]

The true goal of discipline is to teach a child the rules of behavior, there's pros and cons of spanking in general, some people thinks spanking is a form of abuse, while some of us do not think so, spanking is only should be use when it is needed to, not on every occasion or on a daily basis. There's no right or wrong methods of discipline, do what you think is best for your own child because what would work for this child might not work for another child.

No one looks forward to the terrible twos! I don't even missed it either. Their temper tantrums is even the far worst I've experienced. I've had my kids crawling and screaming in the middle of the supermarket on the floor, What did I do? I picked them up, leave my cart filled with groceries behind and go home. I refused to put up with it. No matter what your toddler will do, don't give in with their tantrums, toddler frequently gets frustrated and will cry for a long period of time, just let the toddler cry, he/she will get tired and knows it doesn't effects the parents because we are not responding to his/her tantrums, and will eventually stop.

What would happen if your cat scratched the baby? Cats suffocating babies is very rare,. it doesn't happen too often not in my knowledge. Make sure your cat is updated with his/her vaccinations and please don't leave cat and baby together unattended.

Breastfeeding should continue for a minimum of the first 12 months of life, then when your child turns one, he/she will be on regular milk in cup. (try to get rid of bottle before age of one, and start sip cup at the age of 6 months)

And for communication method, do as you wish. If you wishes to teach your baby sign language at the early stage before the child begins to talk, that would be a good idea.


I think I got all your questions answered at least I hope so.

 

[Angel]

Right when you're pregnant, you're not suppose to change or be near the cat litter box cause you can get the parasite and your unborn baby could get toxoplasmosis, it is an infection that can threaten the health of an unborn child, I dunno if your doctor had informed you this yet about how to clean it, have someone in your household change the cat litter box and then pour boiling water in it then dump it out and then pour fresh litter in it, and wash their hands throughly!

Is your cats declaws?, if not, then always supervision when the baby and the cat are in the same room but when your baby is sleeping in the bedroom, keep door closed all the time, do not allow the cats in there. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, because cats are pretty good with children. I had no problems with mine and I've know people who had both cat and baby without any problems either and one of them brought a mosquito net cover that zipped over the baby and it did kept the cats away

 

[sequoias]

No one looks forward to the terrible twos! I don't even missed it either. Their temper tantrums is even the far worst I've experienced. I've had my kids crawling and screaming in the middle of the supermarket on the floor, What did I do? I picked them up, leave my cart filled with groceries behind and go home. I refused to put up with it. No matter what your toddler will do, don't give in with their tantrums, toddler frequently gets frustrated and will cry for a long period of time, just let the toddler cry, he/she will get tired and knows it doesn't effects the parents because we are not responding to his/her tantrums, and will eventually stop.

Yup, ignoring a kid who has tantrums going on is the only way to stop them. They just want attention, that's all.

 

[SpiceHD]

Right when you're pregnant, you're not suppose to change or be near the cat litter box cause you can get the parasite and your unborn baby could get toxoplasmosis, it is an infection that can threaten the health of an unborn child, I dunno if your doctor had informed you this yet about how to clean it, have someone in your household change the cat litter box and then pour boiling water in it then dump it out and then pour fresh litter in it, and wash their hands throughly!

Is your cats declaws?, if not, then always supervision when the baby and the cat are in the same room but when your baby is sleeping in the bedroom, keep door closed all the time, do not allow the cats in there. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, because cats are pretty good with children. I had no problems with mine and I've know people who had both cat and baby without any problems either and one of them brought a mosquito net cover that zipped over the baby and it did kept the cats away

cool ok thanks! but what about afterward? can i clean litter after baby is being born?

and all cats are declawed except one and hes very old cat so im not worried abt that. and thanks for assurance

 

[SpiceHD]

The true goal of discipline is to teach a child the rules of behavior, there's pros and cons of spanking in general, some people thinks spanking is a form of abuse, while some of us do not think so, spanking is only should be use when it is needed to, not on every occasion or on a daily basis. There's no right or wrong methods of discipline, do what you think is best for your own child because what would work for this child might not work for another child.

No one looks forward to the terrible twos! I don't even missed it either. Their temper tantrums is even the far worst I've experienced. I've had my kids crawling and screaming in the middle of the supermarket on the floor, What did I do? I picked them up, leave my cart filled with groceries behind and go home. I refused to put up with it. No matter what your toddler will do, don't give in with their tantrums, toddler frequently gets frustrated and will cry for a long period of time, just let the toddler cry, he/she will get tired and knows it doesn't effects the parents because we are not responding to his/her tantrums, and will eventually stop.

What would happen if your cat scratched the baby? Cats suffocating babies is very rare,. it doesn't happen too often not in my knowledge. Make sure your cat is updated with his/her vaccinations and please don't leave cat and baby together unattended.

Breastfeeding should continue for a minimum of the first 12 months of life, then when your child turns one, he/she will be on regular milk in cup. (try to get rid of bottle before age of one, and start sip cup at the age of 6 months)

And for communication method, do as you wish. If you wishes to teach your baby sign language at the early stage before the child begins to talk, that would be a good idea.


I think I got all your questions answered at least I hope so.

hm good tip on grocery shopping. and definitely will remember abt toddlers and their tempers. heh.

how do i know what is right or wrong methods of discipline for my child? i mean i do understand that each discipline works differently on each kid. how do i know which one is effective for my child?

 

[SpiceHD]

Hey SpiceHD, those are all good questions to ask. It's ok for parents to be nervous and learn new things...even while having a kid, you still learn a lot of new stuff too!

5 point harness means it straps the baby in between her/his legs, side and 2 on the top. It's sort of kinda like a seabelt they use in race cars to keep the person in the seat when the car is rolling or anything, same thing with the baby.

You tell that the hearing father refuses to allow you to teach him/her sign language to communicate with the kid, that means you will have to raise the kid on your own. You want to ensure the kid can communicate with you and him. He cannot "steal" the communication tools from you.

I think that's all I know. Hope this helps!

where can i get 5 point harness?

and hearing father doesnt refuse me to teach my son... what i really meant is that he wont practice sign langauage with our son so i was afraid that my son will find it easier to talk rather than sign. i do not want to end up communicating with my son like i do with hearing father.

 

[Silentwolfdog]

I don't think it's wise to leave baby with pets anyway. Baby don't understand that they can hurt the pets. I would see people blame the pets when they hurt the baby, in fact that baby was the trigger. Pulling the tail, petting hard, or poke pet's eye is not fun to the animal, lol.

I think it might help when child ask father for answer after you said, "No." by saying "What did your mom (or dad) say about this?" Only way out of it, is either child lies or obey the rule. You can punish child if he lies instead of being stuck because dad said it's okay.

 

[mizerey]

Well I'm glad to hear you are asking questions. Its hard when its your first child to know exactly when you can and can't do certain things. I'll try to answer as many of your questions as possible. Mind you, these are only my opinions and not that of the experts. I do not spank at all. When my son was young we did the time outs 1 minute for every year they are old. So the child is three, the time out would last for three minutes then you discuss what they did and why it was wrong. Now that my son is 9 we take away his video games, tv time, ect. until he has only books left. I take only one thing away per incident. Disipline can start as young as when they start crawling. A simple no no and moving them away from what they are doing is all that is needed at that time. Never hit or yell at a small toddler! Time outs can start at 2.
Even if he doesn't want to use sign you should still expose him to it. Breast feeding can be done for as long as you are comfortable doing so and aren't on any medications that would harm the baby. Please make sure you tell the doctor you are breast feeding before starting any new meds, that includes over the counter ones. Solid food normally starts being introduced around 4 to 6 months of age. Start with a thin rice cereal and as they master that you can move on to veggies or fruit. I prefer to try veggies first because all the babies I know won't eat the veggies if they started on the sweet fruits first. My son is hearing so I can't help you out on the differences between a deaf and hearing baby. My son knows that I can't hear him without my hearing aids and will remind me to put them on so that he can talk to me. I haven't learned ASL yet but when I do I will teach him too so he can talk to me when my has are out. My only other advice is: if YOU think their is something wrong with your child take them to the doctors and MAKE the doctors listen to you. A lot of times doctors don't take the time to listen to what you say and problems can go undiagnosed. This happend with my son and only after 2 years of arguing did I find out that he was autistic.

 

[Secretblend]

Upfront, I have to say I don't have kids. Just wanted to be honest. However, I've observed others with kids. With that said, I would offer two advice.

Do not spank the child right away, I would give warning first and if they continue to do what you warned, then spank. I wouldn't spank first without warning or/and telling why.

I wouldn't tell them they will get spanking and not back it up if they do it again. Always back up what you say. Otherwise they will know it's just a threat and not mean a thing. Action does speak louder than words.

If I do have a kid, that is probably the rule I would set for myself to follow when it comes to raising my child.

 

[LadySekhmet]

As a cat lover, and I used to be a Veterinary Technician at a Cat-only hospital. I can tell you this...
Cats and Babies are fine. Some parents feel that it's too much to handle, or they over worry about cats and babies together.

You know your own cats. I would highly NOT to declaw them. I DO recommend that you clip your cats nails more often, OR get SoftPaws. SoftPaws is great, you attach it to the nail with gentle nail glue. It will prevent the cat from making scratches. You have to look at your cats' behavior. Do they scratch/bite a lot? Are they lazy and laid back? If they scratch and bite a lot (some semi feral cats are like that), then you may consider putting it up for a family member for a while until the baby is old enough. If they're lazy and laid back, let them interact. Cats do not suck souls of babies (old wives tale).

As for toxoplasmosis - Honestly, the only way you can really get it is if you eat poop. The cat has to be a carrier of Toxoplasmosis in the first place. Secondly, you CAN clean the litter box. Just wash your hands right afterwards (do not touch your face or body until you're done cleaning your hands). Wear a mask if the litter box is "dusty". During your last term, have your husband clean it. It's only 3 months, he can live through it. Lastly, you and I are probably exposed to a very small amount of it anyways because we're near the cats all the time, cleaning the litter boxes and stuff. You can always ask your doctor for toxoplasmosis titer and check. If it's positive, then don't worry about it. If it's negative (which means that you're not exposed to it at all), then you have to take precautions.
Same goes as when you clean the litter box, wash your hands before handling your baby after your baby is born.
If your cats are very mellow and sweet, I wouldn't worry about them. If your cats are rambunctious, or jumping off the walls (like one of mine), then I would close the door to the baby's room. Mosquito net is a great idea.
I think people just kind of overdo it when it comes to cats and babies, yet they don't think about dogs. Dogs go outside bringing in stuff from OUTSIDE (grass, poop, pollen, bugs, you name it). Cats don't because they clean themselves every single day.
You do not know how many cats that are abandoned to shelters just because the owner's pregnant or have a newborn (Once, I have had to put a 16 year old cat to sleep because the owners were freaking out. The cat was the SWEETEST cat you could ever meet. The mother had this cat when she was 15...so that was just so sad to see).

While I don't have children myself, but I would have a baby (1-3 years old) to come and "hang" out with my cats to see how they will react to babies. Sometimes cats avoid babies because they're loud and don't want to have their tails pulled. Also, what I have found that seems to help (from owner's experiences), is to bring in a tape of baby sounds (cooing, crazy crying, baby talking), and play it in the house BEFORE you bring Baby home. This will help the cats to get used to the sounds. Cats are very sensitive to sounds (they can hear BETTER than dogs...trust me).

I know for a fact that when I was born, I had 2 cats sleeping with me every single night. When my mom would try to pick me up for morning feedings (while I'm still sleeping), the cats will hiss at HER! These days, it feels really strange not sleeping with cats.

Hope this was of help. All newly mothers worry a little bit, but then after a while things become a snap.

As for punishments and all that stuff - I suggest you to get a book called "Supernanny", you know, Jo from the show Supernanny? It answers all your questions, and I really like her methods of punishment. Why would you want to spank your kid anyways? There's different methods of punishment. The book explains everything.

I wish you BEST of luck!!

 

[LadySekhmet]

Dang! Sorry, I didn't realize how long of a post I did! Forgive me!

 

[Secretblend]

Dang! Sorry, I didn't realize how long of a post I did! Forgive me!

That's alright, I enjoyed reading it.

 

[Angel]

You know your own cats. I would highly NOT to declaw them. I DO recommend that you clip your cats nails more often, OR get SoftPaws. SoftPaws is great, you attach it to the nail with gentle nail glue.

Softpaws are no help at all, they chew on it, and pull them out, and one my cat's nail came right out. and they don't stay on within a week or two


I will never buy them again. I prefer declaws

 

[LadySekhmet]

I will never buy them again. I prefer declaws

While it's true that sometime cats hate the Softpaws, but other cats put up with it just fine. It all comes down to personality of the cats.

When you get your fingers cut off, don't come to me and crying. Because that's exactly what they do to the cats.

 

[Angel]

While it's true that sometime cats hate the Softpaws, but other cats put up with it just fine. It all comes down to personality of the cats.

It may work for some but not all.

When you get your fingers cut off, don't come to me and crying. Because that's exactly what they do to the cats.

:sigh: here we go again, I already debates about declaws on this forum, I know how some of you feel about declaws, but don't judge me, and second my declaws cats are doing fine.

Respect that. I'm out of here, not up to discuss this issue anymore and I'm not here to agrue either.

 

[Liebling:-)))]

ok i read lot of threads here and theres quite a few questions i wanted to ask that has related to the thread's topic but not in same type of discussion. im very nervous about being a mommy soon and want to ask questions.

wow, Are you mother to be? How many months, you are now?

spanking topic:

how do u know to punish your kid(s) with right form of punishment and how old kid should be before u start to teach them right or wrong? (i alway thought it started at 2 yrs old when they just start to grab everything but at that age they don't really understand anything so really cant yell or anything like u would at a 10 yrs old kid and they will repeat till they figured it out that its wrong. its their way of learning. so I'm asking for your ways because i do want my son to keep pushing his limits but not so far to become a problematic kid)

To me, spanking is not belong to form of positive discipline. I am doing to correct my boys' behavior is sit and talk with them or time out... Its about good patience and teach positive things, not spank to punish them.

It would helps when you search at websites (google) to find out over spanking issues or Parenting Section at AD forum.

The child would become a problematic child if you did not firm your limit/conseques on them enough.

since u cant spank kids in public... how would u treat a screaming crying kid in a food store and u cant do anything but say "you are in big trouble when we get home"? how do u get a kid to quiet down?

Like what Cheri said about ignore their terrible twos/temper tantrums...I experienced with my both boys... until they grow out of terrible twos... Around 5/6 years old, I prepared with them before leave home for shopping. I told them to not make misbehavior to the public when I said no or no point their fingers to anything... Promises? They promised... No problem... They got praised from me when we got home from shopping. I have to alway prepare with them before leave for shopping... Talk with them first before leave for shopping or outing trips is the best tip.

what if your partner and u have different ideas of punishments with the kid and end up making the kid confused? ex: 5 yrs old kid wants a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at 5:30 pm and i said no cuz its too close to supper time. he goes to his dad and he said yes. as soon as i turn around... the kid made it himself and was eating happily. so how do i punish the kid when theres 2 different answers? (yes i know need to communicate between the parents but i also have seen kids doing that trick. they knew who to go for answer yes and then got away with it. i want to know how to fix that if it does come up)

Best way is sit down and communicate with your partner about child upbringing and make sure that you & your partner have same view of child education/upbringing before discipline your child then your child won't cheat you or your partner because she/he know that you both have same form of discipline on her/him. It will confuses her/him if you and your partner have different view of discipline on your child or rules in the house. There should be same rule in household and same parent's form of discipline.

My hubby often said to my boys... Did you ask your mama? What your mama said? OR I do the same to them... Did you ask your Papa? What your Papa said? If my boys said that they never ask Papa or Mama then my hubby & I talked before agree something with them...

if you found out u made a mistake with ur own kid... how do u correct it? (i knew all parents will make a mistake with their own kid now and then... what im really worried is to make that fatal mistake that cause u to lose the kid forever)

Apologize to my boys if I realized that I made a mistake and then correct my mistakes. My boys do the same in returns when they know they are mistakes as well. Admit your mistake is better then deny your mistake... It would be worst if you deny your mistakes because your children will do the same to deny their mistakes. Should let children know that nobody are prefect...

seat in car topic:

what is 5 point Harness? *blushes* sorry i feel really stupid but now im reading EVERYTHING i can possibly learn so my unborn son will be safe as much as possible. can anybody tell me how it works? and where to get it? and how old before start using it? everything lol!

Noooo, you are not stupid but... you did good to prepare yourself before your baby comes to the world and seek the feedback/tips from us.

Toddler Harness are not very common here in Europe countries including Germany. I know from other thread that Toddler Harness are common in America. I would advise you to search the websites or other thread to find out cons/pros about Toddler Harness and car safety belt law in your country...

Child Safety Belt in the car is obligation due law.

random topics:
since i know my child will be a hearing for sure (he responds to noises even now in my womb wayyyy too often for me to have any doubts about his hearing ) i worry about my son not wanting to use signs to communicate cuz he will have a hearing father. im positive his father and my son wont sign to communicate with each other heh. now im asking how do i make sure my son is fluent in signs since i also have that bad habit of using my voice around hearing people but i turn it off around deaf people. i know i will probably use my voice around my son automatically and im scared that i might not understand him cuz i did not teach him properly. what is the best methods for a deaf parent who kinda moves between deaf world and hearing world?

Don't worry... your child will understand you automatic no matter what you are or what your partner is.

You should not change yourself for your child but stay what you are!!!!!!!!!! Let child to learn what you are as the same as you learn what your child is.

As what you said that your partner is a hearing. Let your partner to communicate with his child what he is if he is alone with his child. It would be nicer when your partner sign your child front of you.. .example meal time... etc. or communication together... when he know you are deaf... then your child will know the difference between you and your partner and able to communicate you and him differently.

My both boys grew up both deaf and hearing world and have no problem to understand us... We do not have prefect voice like hearing...

i have 3 cats and i do not want to give them up. what is safe way to keep both cats and baby safe? i heard that cats can suffocate the baby cuz they likes warm body and i already got lot of tips on how to prevent that. but i still want more tips that i never thought of. also i know i cant clean litter while im pregnant but what about after my baby is born... will it still harm the baby if im breastfeeding?

I myself have Sussi, cat for over 6 years before start a family. We continue to take care of Sussi's litter... Always wash hand before and after clean cat's litter or pat cat's or any pets/animals. It does the same with other animals, not just cat.

Don't leave cat or any pets alone with baby.

I don't declaw Sussi but keep my eyes to make sure that my baby or Sussi won't hurt each other... No problem...

Now I have 3 cats - still no declaw on them.

Toxoplasmosis:
Don't eat raw meats.
Always wash hands before and after do something with pets/animals or cook the meats...

how long for a normal breastfeeding?
how do i know when to stop and switch baby to formula?

Accord parenting - it should be up to 6 months breastfeeding but I was fedbreast my younger son Alan up to 9 months until I decided to quit it but it doesn't work... he depend on my breast... My family doctor advised to take sage tea. It tastes sour... It took 3 days to kill mother milk... Alan noticed and don't like taste... and begin to drink tea...and normal milk... it goes automatic and normal.

how do i know when its time for baby to try solid food?

Time to time from 4 months old. Don't force him if he don't like... leave him time to use the taste... just one taste... no hurt...

I don't buy baby foods but do homemade... I just puree the foods in the mixer, I cook for ourselves and feed them.

and finally last question
whats the difference in between raising a deaf child and a hearing child if u had both? is a deaf child harder to raise than hearing cuz u cant yell to warn the kid not to do that? what if kid has ADHD or ADD how do u know if the kid does have it? simply cuz u cant control the kid's behaviors? how do i identify any other problems kid may have like bi polar or whatever?

I can't answer your question about the difference child upbring between a deaf and hearing child because I myself have both hearing boys.

I myself had a ADD child. I noticed thru his severe hypericative when he was baby to toddler... Take him to child physican for a test before send him to therapy (specialist for behavior). Do it earlier is best than late. My son is now teenager and don't show his ADD behavior very much... He is more calm and quiet person now.

ok i think thats enough questions for now and yes i know im a worrywart big time but i wanted kids for long time and now i got a chance... i sooo want to do this right. bear with me please and im positive there will be more questions lol. ill appreciate every post u make here and i do have diary with all questions and answers so i can review them. i will have to ask ur permission to copy and paste your answers into my "uncertain parent diary" along with ur user name so id know who to contact if i have any more questions. thank you! if u dont want me to do that just add that to ur post "do not copy and paste my post please" and i will respect that. OH and DO feel free to add any more tips that i didnt ask for heh.

please dont argue here. each parent has their own opinions and form of methods. i know i will have my own but it doesnt hurt to learn each one and know what to do at least a little.

Don't worry then you will be surprised that it's easy than you thought... I feel the same as you when I was expected my first child. It's normal...

You can search the parenting websites or Parenting Section in AD forum or buy positive discipline books. Your gyn., family doctor or child physican will be glad to give you advise or whatever when you question them.

Good Luck

 

[deafmama78]

how long for a normal breastfeeding? That is totally up to you! Some Mamas only do it a few days, 30 days, 6 mos, a year, 18 mos, 2 yrs, and there are a few extended breastfeeder who will breastfeed past 2 yrs old but most stop when the child is 2.5. Some continues past that. But, it's all up to you. Me, personally I breastfed my oldest til she was 21 mos, cause she self weaned when I was 5 mos preggo w/ my youngest as my milk changed & she was getting frusturated with the milk change so she decided to stop. With my youngest, I tried hard to wean her when she was 18 mos but I had such a hard time, so I continued it until she was 2 then I made her wean.

how do i know when to stop and switch baby to formula? If you decide on breastfeeding, you have the option to never switch to formula! You can breastfeed up to a year & go straight to regular milk without having to even touch formula at all. It's totally up to you.

how do i know when its time for baby to try solid food? They say that 6 mos is the best age to start, some will say as early as 4 mos. Every baby is different, so it all depends on how your baby is, what your baby's Dr. and how you feel. Some babies doesn't even like baby food & will prefer to just have breastmilk or formula instead and that is okay for the 1st year of the baby's life, but do try to encourage baby food at least by 9 mos, so the baby will have an easier time switching over to solid food once the baby is about a year old [but can still have baby food for a lil bit longer if you want, it's all up to you & what the baby want/need.]

I, too, was a worrywart before I had my oldest, but lettme tell you- the second she was born and placed on my tummy. All that worries I had were gone! I've never even had to call my Mom or MIL up with concerns or questions on how do I this or that. It's called Mother's Inutition. You wlll just automacially know how to care for your child even if you haven't had much babies/child care experience!

and finally last question
whats the difference in between raising a deaf child and a hearing child if u had both? is a deaf child harder to raise than hearing cuz u cant yell to warn the kid not to do that? what if kid has ADHD or ADD how do u know if the kid does have it? simply cuz u cant control the kid's behaviors? how do i identify any other problems kid may have like bi polar or whatever?
Generally Deaf & Hearing children who has ADD/ADHD usually has the same symptoms, and you'll just know- if the child is showing signs of ADD/ADHD or anything else, just take the child to the Drs and talk to the Drs about your concerns w/ your child and from there they will determine if this is a cause for concern and test the child so they're able to diagnose the child correctly & provide the correct treatment for the child.

I don't know what to tell you on cats- but I'm sure others on here will have info on that for you.