Oh...Susiesunshine...thank you so much! You are so kind. I love doing creative and funny things for my grandkids. My brother and I were raised by our paternal grandparents. Our mother died when I was 3 1/2 and my brother was 2. My dad had some serious health problems and could not care for us himself. Our grandmother was a crack!! She was so much fun. She was also very religious...closer to God than any person I've ever known. She was a very strong woman...overcoming her own health issues and other problems. We could not have been raised by a better person! I remember my grandmother for so many things. She was a fantastic cook and taught me how. (One of her many sisters was the chef for President Grover Cleveland's son and taught Nana lots of things that she went on to teach me.) I love to cook and bake and am my happiest in the kitchen. Strangely enough...I have four daughters who have no interest in cooking...beyond providing their families with enough healthy food to keep them alive! LOL When they do need a recipe...they call Mom. I have extensive recipe files on CDs and over 90 cookbooks. Anyway...getting back to the subject at hand...I would love for my grandkids to remember me as being creative and fun. When my youngest granddaughter looks at me with her impish look and says, "Nana, you're silly!", it thrills me to death! And when I tell one of my grandkids I love them and they tell me they love me too...it just doesn't get any better than that! Lately, because of an Oprah Show subject, I asked each one of my daughters...if they could spend another day with someone, who would it be? They all said Grandpa...my Dad. He was the best...and also very funny! When they chose Dad...it made me so happy! Maybe someday one of my grandchildren will chose me. ~Sandy~

I'm right there with everyone else who says, "it can't have been seven months since Joey was born!" Seems like you were just posting about it a month or so ago. He is just such a cutie pie, and so happy, too!! You're one lucky grandmother, that's for sure!

Tammy's answer notwithstanding, it is true that once you have children, THEY are your primary responsibility and job for the next 18-20 year. Yes, some people do get remarried, and have successful blended families, BUT you've had ample warning that this woman is NOT going to be a good person to have you your son's orbit. As a responsible parent, you have NO busines, NO right exposing your precious child to someone who isn't going to be a positive influence on him. I'm sorry to say, for the next 2 decades, you are going to have to put HIS well-being ahead of your own interests. That's what good parents do--whether they're a solid married couple or single parents. Before you date, or bring someone into your life, you need to think long and hard about how they will impact upon your child. This relationship isn't one that's going to be healthy for your son--you have to end it for that reason. That's the bottom line. Know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but it's what any truly good parent will tell you.

I don't have any personal experience on the matter, but from what I've seen of other women's experience, it is common for the nursing toddler to get a little carried away if there aren't boundries laid out by mom. I've heard many people pleased with the results when they simply stopped offering to nurse, only doing so when asked. A further step is to nonchalantly offer a substitute for nursing when asked at inconvenient times, or to only nurse in specific situations e.g. naptime, mornings, etc. As for nursing all night, it does sound like it is for comfort. Since you should now be producing colostrum rather than the fattier milk, she is probably not getting the "full" signal from her belly that would normally lead to her unlatching on her own. Once she falls asleep latched on, the change in that situation wakes her up, and then she just wants to get cozy and comfortable again suckling. Kind of like when you have to get out of bed at night, and you just want to find that same cozy spot you had been in. It seems that she may need to get to sleep without nursing to end the cycle. Perhaps if you nurse her in a chair before going to bed, then wear a tee-shirt or bra that would restrict her access to you at night. She should still be able to find comfort in your warmth and softness, but without the sudden jolt of unlatching, she should be able to sleep undisturbed. You could also try shuffling the sleeping arrangements so that she is on the other side of Dad. You could try the pacifier thing, but I imagine she wouldn't accept it, and she is old enough that her need to suck is probably not so strong that a pacifier is really needed. The trick is that she will just have to get settled and comfortable without being latched on in the first place. That's why I feel blessed that my daughter loves to suck her fingers so much. I don't care how much I have to pay the orthodontist later, that baby can soothe herself right to sleep! Congrat's on the new baby and best of luck to you!