Harms Family News

My littlest one loves to eat. She loves to eat and isn't too picky either. She is highly motivated by food. She will pick candy over any other treat or prize. When we go to chuck-e-cheese, she could have 300 tickets and she will spend them all on candy, not a single other thing. But, the "experts" all say not to use food as a reward. Now, I am not one to follow what the "experts" say on everything, but I am one who struggles with her weight, so my kids are going to be prone to that too, and I will do what I can to help them not have those struggles. We limit candy in this house (they get one piece per day as their dessert, and occasional treats when given by others like at school or the doctor), mostly because my oldest gets sick if she eats too much. But here is the dilemma. The little one will do just about anything for a candy. Sometimes, when discipline does not work with her, offering her a reward of an M&M for good behavior does. Nothing but candy trea...

So the issue at hand in our family that seems to be directing everything is naps and bedtime with our youngest. I vaguely remember having a similar issue with our oldest at age 2, but with her there was only one sleeper to worry about, so we could just let her scream until she realized she wasn’t going to win. Here is the issue. Miss M would really rather not nap anymore. Yet, I believe she still needs to nap, and I know without a doubt her sister does. This battle has been ongoing for months, and there have been days she hasn’t napped. On those days she is a mess by 6:00. We eat dinner at about 6:00. Makes for an interesting evening. The day after non-napping days are horrible. Bedtime on non-napping days is horrible. Oh wait, bedtime is horrible all of the time. Nevermind. I believe that my children need to have “quiet time” regardless of whether or not they sleep. BUT, Miss M will not be quiet. And it’s not just that she’s whispering or playing quietly. She will not BE quiet. She is...

The Internet is a curse for me sometimes. Miss N has a cough and sore throat she's had for a few days, and I am debating about taking her in to get it checked out since Strep is going around town. Most likely she's entering into her endless cycle of colds that happens this time of year all of the time. Yes, she takes a probiotic and a daily vitamin. The probiotic is an expensive fancy one. The vitamin, not so much. But I am not a fan of antibiotics, and she just finished a round for her ear infection (I know, not always necessary for those, but she was in tremendous pain and her doc thought it was a bad one). Well meaning people who I respect have offered a variety of natural methods to help her. Therein lies my frustration. Garlic oil in the ear, thieves oil in the house, Vitamin supplements (oh and of course only certain ones are effective enough), even a special silver that kills bacteria. HOW IS A MOMMY SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT"S SAFE AND WHAT"S NOT? Sure, garlic oil...

So I have determined that my eldest has hyper-sensitivity issues. Not a “disorder,” but an extreme sensitivity to pain and textures. Lately, she has refused to wear jeans because they hurt her belly and pinch her thighs, even though they are definitely large enough. So I have indulged her and purchased khakis or stretch pants for now. The last few days she has been getting goosebumps. The first time it happened she was warm as toast in her fleece sweat suit, but she was covered in goosebumps. No fever, no draft in the room – it makes no sense. Now, a normal child would probably grab a blanket and cover up and be done with it. Not my sensitive one. She had to cry and call me. This has happened at least four times in the last week – unexplained goosebumps that bother her enough that she has to point out to us. I just called the nurse and they didn’t have any “red flags” from the goosebumps, but they did say I can “bring her in” if she is really bothered by it or if I am worried. I don’t ...

Well I did a three-day attempt at potty training Megan. By the end of the third day she was definitely frustrated. I said I would only continue if she wasn't so we are stopping. Taking a break. Picking back up in a while. Really, this isn't a big deal. Plenty of parents start then stop. While I think she could be ready since she tells me whenever she goes in her diaper, it just wasn't working for the two of us. It was a relief to put that diaper back on after three days. So, why do I fell like a complete and utter failure tonight? It might be because I have a friend in the process of training her under-two-year-old daughter and having plenty of success. We were encouraging each other via FaceBook , but I have failed. Maybe it's because I'm a huge perfectionist. I honestly thought if I let her run around naked and notice when she went, she would gain a measure of control over the process. I was wrong, or I was not attentive enough, I can't tell which. I know wh...

Megan had a hearing test yesterday. She passed. I’ve been concerned with her hearing because of her many ear infections as a baby and her poor speech. Natalie was a slow talker. I had her evaluated by the early intervention program at Miss M’s age and she would have qualified had she not been a preemie. Now, she talks like she’s sixteen. Miss M qualifies for speech therapy because she wasn’t a preemie. I am having a hard time figuring out what to do. Part of my heart tells me she’s fine and just a slow bloomer like N. But part of me has some very real concerns. There are certain sounds that she just doesn’t make, and she’s made up words for some words. Instead of saying wa-wa for water, she says “ung.” That doesn’t sound like water, nor use any of the sounds in the word water. There are other words, but that’s the most obvious. Her teachers at Mom’s Day Out have expressed concern. She is picking up a lot of new words this month and starting to put together even three-word sentences, bu...