Sorry to hear that. Mice are so annoying, more so when the cat becomes annoying trying to get the mouse. Where I used to live, we kept getting mice, twice they got into the toaster. The first one was easy to get rid of, dump the toaster upside down over a plastic container and release mouse into park. The second one would not leave. We took the toaster outside and I tried to annoy him into leaving by poking him with a leaf. Nope, just clamped on tighter. Only when I took the toaster apart did he finally realize that we could get him. He took off, little mousie butt bouncing away... I could still see him running even from a surprising distance away. That was one mouse that wasn't coming back. My worst mouse story does involve my cat, however. We had this stubborn rodent that didn't care for peanut butter, evaded my cat, and was just smarter than the avg mouse. Well, one day, we noticed the house smelled... off. Couldn't figure out what it was. The next day, it smelled bad. Still couldn't figure out what it was. I decided to sniff it out, narrowed it down to a bedroom, and randomly decided to lift the corner of the rug. You guessed it, squished mouse. In hindsight, I noticed that the cat, who normally sleeps on that corner of the rug, had been sleeping on the other side of the rug, and studiously avoiding that corner, while pretending nothing was wrong. She had chased the mouse under the rug, sat on it to keep it from escaping, and smothered it, basically did the cat version of "whoops!", and proceeded to act 'normal', all while we unknowingly continued to walk on said rug... It's funny in retrospect, but not whilst cleaning that up. Luckily, she had chased it under both the rug and rug pad, so the $300 rug was not ruined, only the much cheaper rug pad.

Are you breastfeeding? If so, you'll want to consider the impact of night-weaning on your milk supply -- as well as her calorie intake. If weight gain is an issue, you may want to consider how to return the extra milk to her diet during the day, if you take it away at night. Babies are designed to get most of their calories from breastfeeding (or whatever substitute you've chosen) throughout the first year. If you are bottlefeeding, would it work to offer an extra bottle or two during the day? adellabedella & her babies are terrific examples of "normal" night sleep (if there is such a thing!). I'm linking James McKenna, a well-known expert on infant sleep patterns. I've heard him speak at professional conferences and he emphasizes that babies are not biologically designed to sleep through the night until around 16 months. Sad for tired moms but true!!! You can train babies to understand no one will respond at night(and there are many books on the subject) but that is a different subject. Problem is, babies often continue to wake a night & look for company, milk or no milk. Sounds like weight gain is a bigger issue than sleep, from what you share. Though I'm sure you need your sleep with a baby AND a toddler in the house! BTW, there are many reasons baby spit up but feeding larger amounts less often contributes to the problem. You might also consider consulting with a registered dietician who works with this age. You'll probably sleep better yourself knowing your daughter is getting all the nutition she needs. Here is a link that might be useful: James McKenna PhD / baby sleep research

I have a dog who has seizures. He usually has them early a.m. (5 am? usually) and I have 2 others. One of them in particular - Ginger - has vivid dreams. Or at least I think she does. She just seems to chase rabbits in her sleep -- or other dogs -- or squirrels -- or cats... you name it. Ginger just seems to have vivid dream states, much like humans do. Her background indicates she had little human contact in her early youth, and spent more time in the wild than my other two dogs. So her dreams are just how she's wired. But they are by no means a seizure. You just have a dog with a big imagination or a really good memory :) I'd love to know what she is dreaming about, but that rapid running foot movement and nose snarl in her sleep tells me she is having lots of fun. I've woken her up during them (you WOULD NOT be able to do that if it were a seizure), and she's lifted her head and given me a look as if to say, "WHY did you wake me up???? I was having FUN!" And then promptly lay back down and go back to sleep. I think she is her own dog.

I just would like to do a couple of follow ups to the questions people have had for me. I am hoping this helps answer mine as well. One- they both get leash walked, however, Sampson doesn't go very far and he doesn't care for the cold much (thank God, it's starting to warm up). Truman goes on a lease and a harness b/c he's about 100 lbs and he does so much better with his harness. The puppy goes for a couple of short walks a day and Truman goes for a lengthy walk each day (usually when we get home from work). Second- I used the word "only" to describe where we were at that day, purely so that people could see that he has gone outside to potty. Using the word "only" doesn't mean I don't want to fix the problem, it means it's not fixed yet. Third- Usually my fiance and I are off by 10:00 every night, so we certainly aren't sleeping during the day. I am up , among other times to clean the crate, by 8:00 am at the latest every day. The dogs are taken out to potty and then fed right then. The second time we feed them is at around lunch time, although sometimes they decide not to eat...annz, I think you are right, if he decides to skip it, then I should too. That is where I have messed up, b/c I feel bad and so I want to feed him later b/c he ate his lunch later...We do have a gal that comes by when we are both at work to let them both out and wet their whistle. Usually neither of them eat at that time. The youngest dog is about 16 weeks old. I am certainly not comparing my dogs to dobermans by any means. I was just making the point that some dogs, even the ones who haven't been on schedules their whole lives can be very well behaved and trained. I am so trying to find better ways so that my dogs are happy and so are we. We love them dearly and just want to find a way for all of us to make our new house a home. Thanks for everyone's advice. If anyone has anything to add, please feel free. I know there isn't a magical pill to fix things- I will try anything (but neither of us can quit our jobs. Our schedules are just backwards from most...when others are working during the day we are home, when they are at home in the evening, we are working. Plus, we do have the gal come over to let them out (which Truman doesn't need but likes her coming over anyway). Michelle