Start here. Grow far.

The weaning isn't the hardest part

I'd been worried about weaning my son who's just over 17 months old. But, to my surprise, he handled it like a champ. It's been 8 days since he last nursed and although he's asked to nurse at least once each day, I've been able to distract him and point his attention elsewhere.

I really thought that weaning would be a power struggle. I was ready for tears, screaming, daily fights. None of that happened. It's true that he's been even more clingy than usual but that's been the only difference in our relationship lately.

So, the weaning? Was easy. The hard part? Whatever power struggle does come next. And--I assure you--with this headstrong little boy, there will be one...

Is three (or four) the new two?

It seems that everywhere I go these days I see families with three or more children. I don't know why it surprises me, but it does. Maybe it's because I grew up with one sister and there were just the two of us. Maybe it's because, growing up, most of my friends came from two-children families. Maybe it's because I have two kids and cannot, for the life of me, imagine handling more than the two kids I have (yes, I'm a wimp and it's on record).

I think the old adage says that the average American family has 2.5 kids. I suppose if that's the true average number of children U.S. families tend to have then the .5 has to come from somewhere. And that somewhere must be from the families having more than two.

Because having two children has monumentally changed my life and challenged me in ways I never expected, I can't imagine having more kids. Although, I will admit, if I'd started having kids at a younger age I can see the appeal of having three or more. When I had my second child I had a honeymoon period while in the hospital where I could seriously see myself having a third child. But bringing him home, dealing with his big sister's jealousy, trying to work, realizing I'm not a spring chicken and not getting ANY SLEEP WHATSOEVER for months on end made me change my mind in a hurry.

I'm very happy to have my two babes. But I suppose there will always be a part of me that will wonder what life would have been like if I'd had three or more. Big families do look like they're having a lot of fun.

What about you? Are you happy with having only one or two children? Or do you yearn for more? If you have more than two children how do you do it? Seriously, I want to know. Because I admire you and I'm in awe of you. You should get an extra present for Mother's Day. Go. Tell your husband I said so.

[photo credit: SXC]

Threats and Yelling and Bribes, Oh My!

My four-year-old daughter has this problem (and it's so unique, I'm sure!) where she just won't listen to me. So, I yell. And she still doesn't listen. So, I bribe her with a lollipop. And when that doesn't work, I threaten her. But none of these shady parenting techniques seem to work. No surprise there, I guess.

Someone screaming at me wouldn't make me want to listen to them either. And bribes would just make me want to work the system to continue getting what I wanted with the least amount of effort involved. Threats? Well, unless they're carried out every single time, they really don't do any good and who wants to have to threaten their children to behave? What is that teaching them anyway?

Still, I'm embarrassed to admit, I'm at a loss. We've tried time-outs, Magic 1-2-3, being patient, taking away toys but nothing seems to work.

There must be a better way to parent, but how? What tried and true methods work for you when dealing with your smart, spirited children? Inquiring moms (including me, especially me) want to know.