"...It's hard to hate these little guys..." Ain't that the truth! Two weeks ago I found a nest in my raised bed with 6 babies. This little guy jumped out last Sunday, (MUCH larger than he was just a week earlier!) and now they are all gone - far away, I hope! My DH and I happened to be looking at the babies when this guy jumped out. He was contained within the confines of the raised bed, so he was kind of stuck - not that he seemed to want to go too far anyway. MY DH offered to "do something"... but how can you? To this little guy? I just hope I don't regret my decision! On the bright side, the nest was about 10 feet from my lettuce bed, and so far so good! :) Dee

If you're in doubt, tape an 'episode' and show it to your doctor. Sleep disturbances can be caused by a lot of things. Flipping around, like a fish when asleep doesn't sound 'normal' and it does sound like it might be worth mentioning to your pediatrician. Infantile spasms might cause that kind of thing. Characteristically, the baby would alternate between flexing and extending at the neck (so their head is kind of bobbing) or at the waist (so their whole body is kind of into it, back and forth just flexing and extending). That might look like 'flopping around like a fish' especially when the baby was tired, going into or coming out of sleep. This page has a good description. http://www.epinet.org.au/info/infantile.html if that's it, then be careful not to panic because of all the different causes some are very severe, and some a lot less so but the thing is to get medical treatment because seizure conditions need good management as soon as possible to avoid or minimize any significant developmental delay that could occur (if your baby had been normal until this symptom at 7 months, then odds are they don't have one of the more severe causes)

I've had days like that. I think you need to set some goals of 'me' time and figure out some ways to make it work. Part of that is getting your dh to help and part will be teaching your child to be more independent. You already know that your dh needs to help you more and give you a break. That's the hard part. I would suggest telling him you need help. I have to ask/tell my dh the same thing. If I want help getting the kids to bed or help getting them to brush their teeth, I have to ask him. He doesn't just jump in there. The same goes for when I need 'me' time. My dh isn't unwilling to help and he doesn't take subtle hints. He is a good guy, but he needs someone to flat out tell him to help. At a year and a half, your ds probably likes a little more physical or outdoor activities. I'd probably start by asking your dh to take ds to the park or go for a walk or even play ball in the yard. Your dh should be able to do that without needing you there. Tell him you need time by yourself. If your presence at home is too handy, then physically remove yourself. Go get get a haircut, go shopping, or take your own walk. Do something for yourself even if it is grocery shopping without a child in the cart. I'm guessing you're a SAHM. I would suggest finding some other SAHM's out there and letting your kids play together. If you could find one or form one, a playgroup would be great for support for you and playmates for your child. Other ways to meet parents with children would be to call around and find out about various preschool activities in your area. Most libraries have a reading hour. Go on a couple of different days to see if one group is better than another. If you have a zoo, they may have something. Stick your child in a stroller and go walking around the neighborhood. Youll meet some local people and possibly others with small children. Some churches have childrens programs like choir that you and your child could participate in. Money may/may not be a factor for you in getting other help. Another option would be to find a preschool or Mom's Day out that would take your child for a few hours a day or two a week. Meeting other other moms for that little bit of interaction would probably help you tremendously. It would help your ds, because it would distract him and teach him to play with others. Things may not magically change overnight. You can do it. Pick a small goal for yourself for this weekend such as a trip to the store by yourself. Go buy a few flower bulbs or seeds to plant in the yard this week if the weather is nice. It'll give you something to look forward to and it will be a distraction. I think you'll start feeling better.

This is a control issue, and you need to win. You can win soft, like Stephanie suggests, or you can win hard, which is what I've done (I actually remember lying across by 2.5-yr-old on the bed to hold her in place--not that I recommend it, but all the other nice methods had only developed into delaying tactics). And winning here will make it easier to win at other times and places, which will be important. It's true, you can't force a child to sleep. But you can insist that bedtime comes at a time the GROWNUP decides. And you can insist on quiet time in case the body needs a nap. When we Ferber-ized my oldest, she was 16 months old, and the battle was over bedtime. I realized pretty quickly (like the 3rd time of going in to pat her on the back) that this was a control issue. I've come, now that I have 2 kids, to realize that it's important for mommy to get her way, even when it's simply a matter of preferences and not safety, etc. We've got a lot to do in a day, and fighting over stuff simply wastes time, energy, good will, happy feelings. But the way the fight is SUPPOSED to end is with the GROWNUP winning. I had a friend (who chastized me for using the Ferber method on a 16-mo-old possibly damaging her self-esteem--yeah, right, 2 nights of mommy insisting on bedtime was gonna make her stop thinking she's the most important person on the planet) whose 3-year-old daughter wouldn't sleep in her own bed, wouldn't go to sleep at bedtime (my friend was so exhausted from staying up w/ her that she was afraid she'd be fired at her part-time job), etc. I held my tongue and didn't ask her who was in charge of her household, or ask why she'd abdicated her responsibilities as a parent. It's in the basic job description for kids, that they're supposed to make it tough on parents. And yours just recently got a promotion to top trouble-causer, so at least you know that developmentally she's right on track. Now your job is to match her--to find ways at THIS age to insist on the basic rules of your household, of which bedtime and afternoon down time are prime.