I've never heard that "SWAN" but really that's it! They nickname it "Happy to Starve" in gastro school (per my gastroenteroligist) And many call it "Putnam's Syndome" but that's just a nick name as well given that Dr. Putnam has spent so much time analzying kids with this problem. They tell me it's a great deal like when you're told your child has died of SIDS. There is always a reason children die, but systemically they can't find the reason and so you get SIDS. With us, we got Putnam's or SWAN I guess (Dr Putnam is our doctor as well) :o( Eating disorders normally happen with children who have special needs, like autistic children, children with brain disorders, etc., but we don't have any of those problems so the fun part of this is dealing with insurance companies for treatment, when he has no official disease (his actuall diagnosis is Fail to Thrive without reason). The insurance companies seem to want him to go ahead and "Fail" and we insist that isn't the route we want to go. I learned abut the Kennedy Kreiger clinic on feeding disorders and while reading realized they were describing my child to a T! They do work with kids with much more significant issues involved in their eating problems (ie cleft pallet or inability to swallow etc) but they also have a place for the Jesse's of the world who just won't eat because it hurts. Somehow we need to figure out why it hurts before we begin treatment....that's the hard part. But fortunately we're going to do more poop testing first, instead of anything that will hurt him. Thanks for SWAN. I'm going to have to keep that on the tip of my tongue because I'm tired of having to explain this over and over and over to people who want to hear a name fancier than "Happy to Starve" (Which actually fits him to a T as well)

I was breastfed and I have no allergies to anything. I have never even had poison ivy and I live in a sea of it. I breastfed my daughter and she had no allergies when she lived at home but now has some issues with pollen. No food allergies. She never had one drop of formula. The idea of that was horrific to me. And about women who can't breastfeed...that is extremely rare and unfortunately many women don't get the support or encouragement they need. Quite the opposite. Even well meaning people are forever saying things like "I don't think the baby is getting enough" because breastfed babies basically nurse around the clock, and it is discouraging to women who are trying but have to listen to stuff like that. I was a firm believer in not starting babies on food very early, which is said to cause food allergies. I didn't give my daughter a bite of any kind of food until she was 8 mo. old. I tried when she was 6 mo. and she had no interest, so I waited awhile. I never gave her sugar or anything with dyes in it. I wanted to do everything I possibly could to not have a hyperactive child. I was in my mid thirties and I had seen some pretty wild kids, raised by my friends. Some that would make me want to leave home when they came over, except I had to stay home and protect what I had. The only time I was ever sick in my entire life was when we first got married and bought a new house trailer. It had that "new" smell, and it was also very hot, so we used a/c all the time. I think that is why I was sick. Since then I have always lived in houses and could keep windows open as much as possible. I use a/c very little. Another thing....which I know is controversial and will bring the wrath of many people down on me....but it doesn't matter because I'm grown (hell, I am old) and I am okay with the decision my parents made to not have me vaccinated and I also did not vaccinate my daughter as much as I could possibly avoid. I didn't have her in day care or preschool and she was breast fed exclusively until she was well into being a toddler. She was hardly ever sick. I am hardly ever sick. I had a slight cold for the first time in almost 15 years. I have never had the flu. I have never had a sinus infection. Back to allergies. I believe people start feeding infants food much too early. I think they will do it so they will sleep more, but their bodies aren't able to handle it. My baby slept with me (another no no by most people), so I didn't mind that she woke up often to nurse. I don't think living in houses with no fresh air is good. And I think over medicating causes immune problems. Our bodies were not made to handle so much synthetic stuff....be it medicine, food, environment or whatever. Another problem, I have heard is being "too clean". I know you shouldn't live in a filthy environment, but having pets around and exposing yourself to a little dirt doesn't hurt you, and I believe it is a help.

They are much safer in a stroller. Some people use those baby leashes, but that would be much harder with two of them running in different directions. I agree that they are too young to toilet train - and it's not like you could let them go to the bathroom unsupervised anyway, unless you wanted to fish toy trucks out of the toilet. Is there any reason to think that they may have any mild developmental or speech delays? Your town should have screenings for anyone at risk - and merely being a multiple would be considered at risk most places. The preschooler of someone in my town was able to go to a special needs/integrated preschool, and I think the basis for that was not a disability but rather because his father had died, leaving his wife with three kids under 4 and one on the way. I think the little boy was considered socially at risk. My daughter attended the same preschool, due to her language delays, and it was a good experience for her. Door-to-door transportation, in a van with car seats and seat belts, was provided.

minipadv -- The symbiosis of child with mother is recognized as existing until around the fourth month. The neonate mental state is autistic. Separation from the mother then is experienced by the child as the loss of a part of oneself. It's not The End of the World as long as other needs are met, but it's not optimum, and it affects different babies to a greater or lesser extent. We know that absent early security, a child has a difficult time with trust -- and with claiming himself as a separate individual. Sometimes adults only start noticing the self emerge when a child is mobile enough to venture away from Mother a few feet, then back again, then out further, back again, etc. We all can *hear* the individuation process once the child can talk. We call it the Terrible Two's, when a child asserts and strengthens his self by opposing Mom. Individuation goes on through life, even into adulthood.