I was on Lexapro for about 3 years. It helped w/ anxiety & sleep problems, however I wanted to discontinue because I didn't cry anymore, felt I was having some brain-failure moments (I made some mistakes at work), brain zap feelings & my husband and I both agreed I was a little too unconcerned about things. Anyhow, the shrink who prescribed said any withdrawal symptoms were 'in my head'. I tried weaning myself and was so nervous, I finally made an appt w/ a psychologist so they could sort of hold my hand thru the w/drawal. She was great. She saw me as needed and said she had heard about this many times. My withdrawal was tapered & slow. I negotiated 3 weeks off using sick time w/ company nurse, however never used it. I recall my bothersome symptoms include involuntary leg movements as I was trying to go to sleep and headaches. For about 2 months, I had some crying episodes at work. I would cry for little reason. Finally had to explain to coworker who sat next to me--- I wanted her to know I hadn't come unglued, it was the meds. Don't remember much else - it's been a few years, but it was definitely a big deal for me.

Maria, menses & ovulation are related to a number of factors, not limited to: ad lib nursing vs schuduled feeds pacifiers separation bottle use (inc expressed milk) night nursing bed sharing exclusive breastfeeding introduction of table foods skin-to-skin contact hormone levels heredity! luck! In traditional nursing communities, children are spaced around 4 or 5 years apart. In western circles, mothers see a return of periods around 14 months. Research shows the differences are related to nursing practices and nutrition (particularly the amount of fat and protein in a mother's diet). Sounds like you've had a number of interruptions in the nursing relationship, particularly if your 5 or 6 month old is refusing to nurse at times. Sometimes this is related to the social nature of that age, or a shift in milk supply related to heavy introduction of solids or change in routine. Occasionally, babies go on nursing strikes due to changes in milk taste with pregnancy. The introduction of solids for a breastfed infant is generally suggested to begin with tastes (fingertips -- 1/2 tsp) around 6 months, offering table foods for trial after nursing until at least 9 months. This protects the breastfeeding relationship and the milk supply. Offering large amounts earlier (particularly "instead" of nursing) can be understood by baby (and in practice!) as deliberate weaning by mom. Which is fine if that's your intent. If that's not quite your plan, and nursing is taking an odd road, you might want to consider chatting with an experienced & accredited La Leche League Leader or an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). You'll find good information regarding complementary foods on websites for La Leche League International and for the World Health Organization. For help understanding and continuing your breastfeeding relationship, check out La Leche League Greece. Here is a link that might be useful: La Leche League Greece

Several years ago I had three very geriatric dogs. Knowing that they wouldn't be around indefinitely, and wanting the "next generation" to have an opportunity to learn from the oldsters (which is, in my opinion, the optimal way to train a puppy), I adopted a puppy. Only one of the three geriatrics (Bootsers) was still active enough to even try to play with the puppy (Tasha), but even Bootsers couldn't keep up with her for long. Within a month, Boots was completely worn out, while Tasha was becoming more and more active. Tasha is a herder, so she has exceptional intelligence and inexhaustable energy. She housebroke very quickly but drove us all nuts with her maniacal activity level. There was NO WAY I was going to take on another puppy in addition to Tasha; she was already more than most dog lovers could handle, but I had to do something to rescue the oldsters from her constant bothering. So two months after adopting Tasha, I adopted a young adult Aussie, Pippin, to be her companion and play buddy. They were a perfect match. Pip was past the puppy stage and reasonably well-mannered (needed work on his recall and not chasing the cats), and Tasha couldn't wear him out. The geriatrics could go back to sleeping their days away in peace, while I kicked the herders outside for an hour or two to exhaust each other. It's another option to consider - adopting a young adult rather than another puppy to companion your current puppy. Raising a puppy is a tremendous amount of work, but it's easier when the pup has an adult dog to learn from (assuming the adult dog is well behaved). BTW, even though Tasha was raised in a house full of dogs, she has always been most closely bonded to me. Bonding is more a matter of training and individual personality than it is a matter of whether or not the puppy is raised with other canines. Laurie

i hope i didn't offend anyone. I really liked breastfeeding, for me, it was the best way. But I was also young and healthy. I wasn't rushed back to work, nor did I have other stresses on me. The LaLeche League is a group of women who have successfully breast fed and hope to teach new mothers how to do it. There is certainly a place for formulas, if the mother can't or doesn't wish to breast feed. For example, if the mother and baby need to be separated. Plus it's the ONLY method that can involve the father in feedings. I thought it was great FOR ME AND MY KIDS. I remember the nurse telling me that Natural Childbirth is best, too, but as long as you bring a healthy baby into this world, it doesn't maytter how he/she got here. As long as your baby gets enough nutrition,that's all that really matters. On another topic, my MIL was strange in many ways, one of them was she didn't think breast feeding was good, too primitive, too animal, I don't know. Once I went to a restaurant with MLL and SIL (her daughter) with my first born. She was maybe three weeks old. I was wearing a nursing dress, very loose but with two slits in front, disguised with pleats. As we sat in a quiet dark booth, I started to nurse her. MIL looked shocked, said "That's disgusting, you better do that in the ladies room." I was embarassed, turned beet red, and ran in the bathroom. There was no special place to nurse, so I went in a booth and sat down, and locked the door. It smelled bad but I stayed and fed her, all the while crying. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. Since then, I have always seemed to look for evidence that "validates" my breast-feeding. Sorry about this, I just had to "get it off my chest". And isn't it typical that MILs and DILs don't get along?