Anonymous wrote:According to the Washington Post gizmo, I will be voting for Chris Dodd. Lucky for Hilary that American elections are not decided on the basis of "the issues" - she has my vote to lose - I want Bill Clinton back in the while house.

Whereas, for me, Dodd was a close second after Edwards when I completed the gizmo, which makes me want to take a new hard look at Dodd...aren't you at least curious about your own results? (I'll agree many answers were the essentially the same substantively from all candidates but I think you can still pick up a lot from the nuance of how answers are framed.)

If either of Obama or Clinton struck me as a true progressive that would not consistently compromise their values in the name of political expediency, I'd vote on the basis of race or gender. Alas I think Edwards (not a shot at winning the primaries) is far more progressive and unflinching, so that's who gets my vote in the primaries. (Wacky Kucinich is an interesting choice for domestic issues but I don't think he could hold his own on the world stage.) On the other side, I was willing to give McCain a hard look since he seems to actually talk about his ideas and values on more than a superficial level -- but I can't get behind a lot of his views. Post-primary I'll reanalyze my thinking.

For us, the little guy starts in his crib after nursing/rocking/Ergoing to sleep (between 7-8pm), but has usually ended up in the bed with us after his first nightwaking (by then I'm in bed even if I'm reading documents for work or catching a little TV with the captions on). Don't know about what others do.

Hi Jeff -- loving the site. I seem to be experiencing a new wrinkle though. I want to make a post anonymously, but I can't seem to do so, even though I have logged out via the home page. i.e., the exact opposite of my original problem!! Am I cursed or what?

Been off-and-on co-sleepers but trying to migrate him back to his bed a bit -- lately he wakes up if I just slightly shift position, so neither of us gets decent sleep. His dad has been sleeping with him on a mattress on the floor of his room to help transition. As for the people asking about safety, it was too scary for us when he was very wee, but when he got a little bigger it felt safer. I've got a safety rail on my side of the bed that collapses down during the day, and I used to be hard-core about no bedding (pillows, sheets anything) above my waist (this meant sleeping in sweaters to keep warm) but have relaxed a little on that now that DS is stronger.

How about using the toy distraction while you clean him up so he's not putting his hands in poop, then giving him a minute or two to explore before diapering him again?

It's not just the math, it's like using FF miles to travel -- there can be restrictions on dates and locations, etc. You need to read all the fine print in what they're offering. My grandparents had a timeshare and we usually didn't love the facilities either. You're relying on other owners to be responsible with their own maintenance and cleaning. Obviously you'd want to visit the site before buying too, as just with some resorts the brochure doesn't always match reality.

PP, all three of your kids exhibited identical sleeping patterns? Wow. I usually hear no two are alike.

Maybe there are other ways we can be helpful, since consensus is that convincing your 8 week old to STTN is not the right goal? (My family is in sleep hell right now, with 5-6 night wakings at 8 months, after several months of blissful 0-1 wakings -- it is always changing.) I actually go to bed between 9 and 10, sometimes earlier, to catch more sleep for myself. DH is absolutely not capable of moving his own bedtime up, so I know everyone's different. He's coping mostly through venting to me -- sometimes nicely, sometimes less so but I don't take it personally -- and lots of coffee. I also just need more sleep than he does. If you can squeeze exercise in that will help with your energy too. (I have not been able to motivate myself to get the exercise I need but lots of others seem to do it somehow.) Also telling yourself "I just have to do this one more month" can work wonders, even when we know it ain't necessarily true.

We weaned our babe of the swaddle at around 4-5 months with the one arm at a time strategy and it was a piece of cake. We did it when the general spazziness seemed to have quited down, which had been the reason the swaddling was helpful in the first instance. This was one of many things that has led me to believe we've got a pretty adaptable kid, so, like the PP, I no longer worry so much about "habits." Actually had this conversation with DH this morning on the way in to work -- we are co-sleeping occasionally right now because the little one seems to get more sleep that way. DC has been going through a rough patch with night sleep, frequent night wakings after a couple months of STTN. DH brought up the possibility that we may be creating a habit, but I think it's like the swaddle -- if it's needed, then do it. When it's no longer needed, if the kid is adaptable, the transition probably won't be too bad. Of course, YKMV (your kid may vary).

TaDa!