HaltonParents

Am I ready for another baby?

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Andrea Scott RN

When did you know you were ready to take the leap again? Ready to lose sleep, look shabby, shower only occasionally, leak all over the place, eat on someone else’s schedule, let the house get messy/filthy, put a brake on your social activities, take the financial strain?

Ready to hold the gaze of a newborn’s eyes, feel their hands wrap around your finger and hold on for dear life? Ready to fall completely, with all of your heart, mind and soul, in love all over again? Ready to inhale that baby scent, feel the silky smoothness of a baby’s cheek, hear the kuh-kuh-kuh sound of the baby at your breast? So ready that you would willingly, lovingly in fact, wake up at odd hours of the night to inhale that scent, caress that cheek and hear that suck? Continue reading →

Posted in Babies, Before Pregnancy, Parenting, Parenting Your Baby, Parenting Your Toddler & Preschooler, Pregnancy, Toddlers & Preschoolers | Tagged another baby, get pregnant, Mental Health, next baby, Physical Health, planning, preconception, preconception health, ready for baby, trying to conceive, TTC | Leave a comment

Don’t flush ’em!

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Paula D'Orazio

Pop quiz! Books closed! Grab your pencils. Okay, “What do poop, pee, throw-up and toilet paper have in common?” Hold your answers for a second…

Now, “What’s the common link between tampons, condoms, paper towels and baby wipes?” <I can see the confusion setting in> Think about your answers…

Well, if you answered “those all get flushed down the toilet” to the first question and “those don’t get flushed down the toilet” to the second – you’re a gentleman (or lady) and a scholar!

Unfortunately, I deserve detention for not knowing that my very own employer (Halton Region) provides very direct instructions about what can and cannot “skip to the loo with you,” with which I have been…well…not quite compliant. Continue reading →

Posted in Babies, Parenting, Parenting Your Baby, Parenting Your Toddler & Preschooler, Toddlers & Preschoolers | Tagged baby wipes, don't flush, flush, flushable, flushable wipes, plumbing, special needs, toilet, toilet paper | 1 Comment

“Is she sleeping through the night yet?”

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Andrea Scott RN

When my husband and I meet another couple with a baby, our joke is that it takes less than 5 minutes before the conversation moves to sleep and baby poop.

Lucky for you I’m not going to talk about baby poop here.

Sleep is such a hot topic when there’s a baby in the room. “How’s he sleeping?” “She won’t nap.” “I have to rock him to sleep.”

Or my favourite: “Is she sleeping through the night yet?” (By the way, sleep experts count 5 hours as sleeping through the night!) Continue reading →

Posted in Babies, Babies with Special Needs, Breastfeeding Your Baby, Keeping Your Baby Safe, Parenting Your Baby, Play, Growth & Development for Babies | Tagged baby's sleep, cry it out, healthy sleep, infant, Mental Health, Physical Health, sleep, sleep through the night, sleep train, sleep training, sleeping through the night | 3 Comments

There is no such thing as a bad kid

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Paula D'Orazio

“If only people would understand and not judge us, our parenting or our child…and not desert us.”

I know a young boy with an infectious laugh, a wicked sense of humour and an uncanny ability to dismantle and correctly reassemble anything (especially electronics). He is an amazing artist and can run like a gazelle. He gets tons of exercise and eats every colourful, nutritious vegetable put in front of his sweet little face by his devoted mother. He is 11 years old and is a loving, intelligent, energetic little ball of fun.

He also, on occasion, hits his mom…hard. And he yells…really loudly. And sometimes he breaks stuff. And, now and then, his behaviour scares people four times his age and more than twice his size. He is a wonderful little person who happens to have, in addition to other diagnoses that pose their own unique challenges, something called Oppositional Defiant Disorder or ODD. Continue reading →

Posted in Children & Tweens, Children & Tweens with Special Needs, Emotional Well-Being & Mental Health for Your Child/Tween, Emotional Well-Being & Mental Health for Your Teen, Parenting, Parenting Your Child/Tween, Parenting Your Teen, Teens, Teens With Special Needs | Tagged Bullying, Children's Mental Health, conduct disorder, Coping, friendship, grandparents, Mental Health, ODD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, school, school health, special needs, understanding | 4 Comments

It could happen to you. Why it’s important to check your child’s car seat regularly.

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Cynthia Lindsay RN

It’s all over the news; a 2yr old girl falls out of a moving vehicle on the ramp to the DVP. My stomach has this terrible sinking feeling, until I read further that the toddler is o.k. She was strapped in her car seat when she fell out of the car and miraculously she is unharmed. Thank goodness!

I don’t know all the details of this dads situation. But personal and professional experience have taught me that you need to regularly check your car seats. Don’t assume that once the seat is installed that you’re good to go and don’t need to ever check it again. Continue reading →