The Mom Crowd

I have a confession – I am addicted to the internet. My new iPhone isn’t helping my addiction either. I can tweet, update my Facebook status, and find a recipe on my All Recipes iPhone App all while breastfeeding my new son. I secretly think that my husband sabotaged my old phone so it would break and we would have a real reason to upgrade. If he did sabotage my phone, then I am glad because The Mom Crowd is all over the web now!

You can follow my updates on Twitter at @TheMomCrowd. I love it, because I feel like I can tweet about being a mom and other moms are listening with a sympathetic ear. Also, I can keep up with the latest mom news a lot more quickly by reading everyone else’s tweets. If you have a Twitter account feel free to put it in the comments so I can follow you!

Become a fan of The Mom Crowd on Facebook! You can keep up with our latest updates and support our blog. I would really appreciate it!

Have you noticed in our new design how some people have photos next to their comments in the comment section? If you have a wordpress.com or Gravatar account then your avatar associated with your email address will appear. It is easy to get a Gravatar account. All you need to need to do is go to Gravatar.com, tell them your email address, and upload any photo that you want. It’s that easy! Then your avatar will follow you to any other site that uses Gravatar.

If you haven’t joined The Mom Bloggers Club (MBC) yet, then you need to go by and see what is happening over there. All the cool kids are doing it. I have been a member for a year and have watched it grow into a popular place where moms ask questions and get to know each other. It has never felt like a clique and other moms are happy to help. It is really easy to make friends. (You can see my previous review of the Mom Bloggers Club here.) Tomorrow Founder Jennifer James is announcing that I will be one of the new Ambassadors for the MBC over the next 3 months. I am excited about it and hope to see you there!

Recap

This weekend CMT premiered its newest show “World’s Strictest Parents” (WSP). The show documents the experience of two troubled teens adapting to new rules and consequences with a “strict” set of parents for the week. The hope is that the teens will learn respect and come out better people by the end of the week. In the first episode the Vinton family hosts teenagers, Brittani and Ivan.

17-year-old Brittani drinks, parties, has face piercings, smokes, and talks back to her mom. She lives with her brother and her mom in California. Brittani’s mom, Dawn, says that “words are more hurtful than physical abuse” and wonders where the happy, joking daughter she used to know went. She hopes this week will bring some good changes in her daughter’s life.

Next we meet 15-year-old Ivan from Jamica Queens, NY. His single mother, Maria, has a hard time getting him to do his school work and worries about his friends. Ivan also smokes, lies, and hangs out with guys who fight. He claims that “they are not going to change me.”

“They” are Lisa and Scott Vinton who have a blended family and have three kids, Holly – 21, Travis – 19, and Jeff – 18. When Brittani and Ivan first arrive they laid down the ground rules – no lying, no drinking, no smoking, no face piercings, no slamming of doors, no TV or phone after bedtime which is around 9:00 pm, and they have to do chores. As expected the teens don’t like the rules. Brittani gives up some of her cigarettes and Ivan lies about them. Both are eventually caught lying and have to face the consequences. Brittani gets her phone taken away and they remove the door from Ivan’s room. They also ask Ivan for his lighter.

(more…)

A friend of mine recently had her second baby.  She is beautiful, calm, and quiet.

Baby’s older brother, Joe, is struggling.  He is nearly 3, and the family adjustments are taking their toll on him.  My friend shared with me how Joe tends to throw tantrums on a near-daily basis, taking out his frustrations on his dad (since dad is spending more time with Joe than usual).

Joe’s tantrums include yelling, throwing things, excessive crying, and to their dismay, biting.  My friend is understandably concerned.  Joe is a sweet boy.  She knows that this is most likely a phase – but it’s a difficult one to endure.  She said she’s been reading everything she can about how to handle tantrums, but she still finds herself at a loss sometimes.   I have suggested that they share the issue with their pediatrician, and I’ve tried to encourage her that Joe will eventually get used to their family’s new dynamics.

Here are some other resources on the topic of tantrums:

• Home Treatment for Tantrums from WebMD
• When Children Tantrum from The Informed Parent
• Tips from Sprout for Parents about the Birth of a Second Child

Have you dealt with this in your family?   Do you have any suggestions for how to survive this kind of adjustment?

We recently found out that we are expecting baby #4 in December.  When we found out we were pregnant my husband, Jon, started feeling a little nausea if he didn’t eat every few hours.  Or he would just feel like he needed to eat.  Like his stomach needed something more–even though he just ate.  And he started craving things that have sustenance–like cheeseburgers, not carrots.  He describes it as his stomach gets tight and he feels like he might throw up if he doesn’t eat something.  He feels grumpy and just wants to eat.  And he has been craving more sweets.  He is more of a salt guy than a sweets guy so that is a new symptom too.

When he starts telling me all this I can’t help but laugh!  I have felt that way with the last 3 pregnancies!  Yes, I know what it is like to HAVE to eat every few hours or face the porcelain god.  Yes, I know that protein/cheeseburgers are more filling and help you feel better for longer when you are dealing with morning sickness and that the idea of eating veggies and couscous for dinner may not sound appealing.  Yes, I know what it is like to feel like you don’t care what someone is saying because all you can think about is what you need to be putting in your stomach so you don’t feel like you are going to toss your cookies.

We decided that he is experiencing Sympathy Morning Sickness.  And I say, “I’m so thankful!”  Nausea debilitates me.  I have a hard time NOT throwing up and once I start it is hard to stop.  I don’t feel like I have time to figure to mess with what we call “inconvenience sickness”. I have way too much other stuff to do–shuffle 2 kids back and forth from school, do laundry for 5 people, cook meals, keep the house in a somewhat reasonable living condition, and oh yeah, start packing/selling/decluttering our stuff for a move to England later this summer! I digress. Now, truth be told, I am only 6 weeks along and I usually don’t start getting heavy nausea until week 7.  We will see how this whole scene plays out.  Perhaps it will come full force in the next week.  Or maybe, just maybe, he’ll have it the whole time.

Many people have reported similar things. I mentioned it in my birth class on Sunday night and one of my couples said the same thing happened to them.  I found this website where women shared their stories about sympathy morning sickness/pregnancy pains.  Now it is fun to ask couples with kids if they ever experienced that same thing.

So, what about you?  Did your husband experience sympathy morning sickness?  Weight gain? Pregnancy pains? C’mon! Share your stories!

I found that t-shirt from Cafe Press. I thought it was pretty cute .

If you have been thinking about switching Pediatricians, then you should do it! Switching Pediatricians can be a hassle and cost money, but it can be worth it. Amelia wrote about switching Ob/Gyns, but what about your children’s doctor?

My family recently switched Pediatricians 6 days after my second baby was born. Our first doctor, “Dr. Passive Aggressive” is a competent physician and is a part of a large pediatric group.  I wrote about how to choose a Pediatrician and followed a lot of those guidelines. We interviewed the doctor, the office is open on Saturdays, there is a separate area for sick kids, and she seemed nice enough.

Our opinion of Dr. Passive Aggressive started to change when we told her that we were having our second at a Birth Center and asked her what her protocol would be after the birth.  She was not familiar with birth centers or home births at all. She asked what would happen in the case of an emergency and how the baby is taken care of after the birth. She was not satisfied with my answers and gave me a stern warning “that it only takes a few seconds for a baby to code.” We didn’t really finish the conversation, because she just left the room. This should have been my first clue.

My husband left the conversation with a lot of fear and doubt. I talked with Amelia about it and we chalked it up to that she wasn’t familiar with Birth Centers. I also spoke with my Midwife and she calmed our fears and explained that they do a complete checklist with newborns.

We brought my son into Dr. Passive Aggressive’s office one day after he was born, per her protocol. During that appointment she made many passive aggressive statements like, “I usually prefer to do circumcisions in the hospital.” “Did they do a hearing test? You usually are not allowed to leave the hospital without Test XYZ.” She picked apart the checklist from the birth center. She made us feel like it was really inconveniencing her to do things outside of the hospital. She was negative about the entire experience, even though my son was perfectly healthy and I was showered and dressed and sitting in her office 24 hours after I gave birth. She never even said, “Congratulations.”

My husband and I decided to switch Pediatricians. Dr. Passive Aggressive was competent, but clearly not inline with our birthing philosophy. We decided that we shouldn’t feel stupid or belittled when we left a doctor’s office.

We paid $35 dollars to get copies of our children’s records and went to a new Pediatrician across the street. The new doctor, Dr. Nice, and the new office has been great. Dr. Nice has never made us feel bad for waiting to do the circumcision and hearing test. She also doesn’t make us feel stupid when we ask questions. The new office also really appreciated the detailed newborn checklist from the birth center. The front desk is warm and friendly. My daughter has been ill and they called yesterday to check on her. I have never had a doctor do that. A nice bonus is that my daughter loves to play in their waiting room. I never knew that the grass really was greener on the other side.

There are many reasons to switch doctors:

• You move and need to find a doctor closer to you.
• You aren’t in agreement with how they are treating your child’s illness.
• You feel like you have to lie about your parenting style (like attachment parenting), because you know they don’t agree with you.
• The front office does not provide good customer service.
• It is difficult to make appointments.
• It is difficult to speak with a nurse when you have a question.
• You don’t feel comfortable asking the doctor questions.

Have you ever switched Pediatricians? If so, why did you?