Yes, my dh also likes to have the t.v. on when he is home.  I rarely turn it on, except to have dd watch the YBCR dvds.  Thankfully, my dh is home very rarely, so the one or two hours a week that dh has the t.v. on I usually just take dd into another part of the house or take her outside.

I resonate with this post.  However, I only wish, pray, cry that my dd would sleep for 11 or 12 hours at night.  My dd has never been much of a sleeper.  Her nickname is the amazing awake baby.  I would estimate she sleeps between 6 and 7 hours in total at night, but she usually wakes up at least once and sometimes 2 or 3 times during that time.  Her bedtime is midnight and she wakes up around 2am to be breastfed and then she wakes up for good between 6 and 7 am.  If I am really lucky she will nap for maybe an hour in the afternoon, but most days she is happy to be awake from 7am until midnight.

I too have tried many books and solutions and have finally come to the conclusion that I will just spend my days in a haze.  I give up the only - thing left for me is to complain. 

Let me preface this entire discussion by saying that my dd doesn't sleep much, no matter where or with whom she is sleeping.  The best I can figure it she sleeps about 6 hours a night and maybe (if I'm lucky) takes an hour nap during the day.  She didn't sleep much when she was first born, and it has only gotten steadily worse.  She is a mostly happy well adjusted well fed well stimulated kid that needs less than 7 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period.

We co-slept with my dd until she was a year old.  I had a crib, but she wouldn't fall asleep or stay asleep in the crib, and I just gave up fighting it.  She was much happier in between Mom and Dad.  At about 11 months she started to move around in her sleep a lot.  I decided to put a double(full) mattress on the floor in her own room.  She slept on it the first night for usual 3 hours before she woke up to bf.  Then she feel asleep again for 3 hours.  I really like the mattress on the floor.  It gives me a nice space to lie down and breastfeed her to sleep, and then I can get up and go back to my own bed.  The mattress is low enough that she can get on and off it without assistance.  She sleeps as well as she has ever slept on the mattress, much much better than her crib.

A couple of the drawbacks are that she won't cry it out, if she doesn't want to sleep, she will just crawl off the bed and play or come find me.  Another draw back is that her room doesn't look very well put together with a mattress on the floor, but I figure better her happy than a good looking baby room.

fruityfruit8 - I am feeling your upset right now, and I can really really sympathize.  As my dd needs even less sleep than me, I never never get anytime to myself.  I don't even get time to do the basic chores or shower.  Days just run into nights and I feel exhausted 24 hours a day.  I wish I had some magic cure for you!  Parenting is tough for me and I need to constantly remind myself that this will only last for a short time and it is important to respond to my dd needs.  The one trick I have is that read while I am breastfeeing her and then at last I am stimulating my brain for a few minutes a day.

I am miles away yet but I can't decide between spending them quick on the 25% on LM or going for the free LR first.  Any suggestions?

StaceyCanada,

I made my own Doman flashcards, both words and dots.  Then I also purchased the YBCR program.  I also show her powerpoint presentations from this website.  I have also started making her own books with 4-5 words per sentence.  I so far haven't seen any concrete proof that she can read anything.  I ofter wonder if this is even working, but then I read this forum and think it will happen if I just keep it up.

dd is pretty interested in the reading, she doesn't seem to get too bored of any of it.  She really loves teh YBCR sliding flashcards and always wants more of those.

The math is a little sketchy this week.  She seemed to be really bored of it last week, so I put it away for a few days.  I just brought the dot cards back out but she still wouldn't look at them.  I tried the dot cards on the computer and still no luck.  I am wondering if the Little Math program would make a difference?

Community support in SK seems tough to find, as do attachment parenting families.

Have you considered a portable/foldable toilet insert?  It takes up less space.  I found one at Walmart for $2.99.  Inexpensive enough that if it gets dirty it can be easily replaced.

Other than that, my husband and I started no-poo-ing (no shampoo). 

That sounds interesting any specific website you would recommend for more details on unshampooing?

On top of reading childrens books by the dozen, what else are you reading?  How do you choose what to read?

I think it sets a good example for my daughter if she sees me reading for knowledge and enjoyment.  Right now I have the following books on the go:

"Jane Boleyn, a true story of the infamous Lady Rochford" by Julia Fox.
I currently have a fascination with 16th Century England, this is one of many books I have read on this topic in the last year.  Any recommendations?


"I was a really good Mom before I had kids" by T. Ashworth and A. Nobile.
I am almost done this book and loved it.  Being a new mom I have strong interest in reading everything about my new job.

"The Hurried Child" by David Elkind. 
Because I worry that I will 'hurry' my daughter with all my ideas, so this book gives me another perspective.

"Unconditional Partenting" by Alfie Kohn.  I read this book about 6 months ago, but it is packed with lots of good advice so I am giving it another read.

AprylP, I just found this website myself and I am loving it.  Finally a place to go where I do not feel judged over stimulating my baby with reading and math games.

I started with handmade Doman Flashcards and dots.  DD likes them, but does get bored sometimes.

I purchased the YBCR about a month ago.  I like it because it helps with MY Motivation.  Not sure if it was necassarily worth the cost because of the exchange and shipping made it about 50% more.  Thankfully dd does watch the videos and likes the sliding cards.  I found most of the cards to be repeats of my handmade Doman flashcards.  If I would have know about this website before I bought YCBR, I might not have purchased it.  Yet, sometimes buying something to keep myself going is helpful.

I really really like the powerpoint presentations on this website.  I just started showing them to dd about a week ago and so far she is still mesmermized by them.  She loves to tap the space bar to see the next slide and is really watching the screen for the next word.  She has a huge smile on her face with the slideshows that come with sound.  For me, it is a break from flashing cards and saying words.

If you are asking my opinion, I would start with downloading the free stuff and then when Joel gets bored of that you will have more experience and knowledge to make the next move.  Good Luck.

Fascinating opinion DadDude, thanks for taking the time.

* That I will lose my enthusiasm for teaching, and so not take the time to make/gather new materials, and set a bad example for my boy in terms of interest.

I agree with this comment.  My motivation to keep up with materials has waxed and wained since I began the process 6 months ago.

From where do you acquire the tile board?

rizzydizzy, LM Stands for Little Math, the math program that Brillkids sells. 

I have an almost 17 month old daughter.  I started using Glen Doman's flashcard method with my own handmade flashcards just before her first birthday.  I started the math when she was 15 months.  She gets bored of both so I tend to do reading at one sitting and math at the next.  In a day I would do about 4-5 reading sessions and 4-5 math sessions, alternating between the 2.  It isn't an exact science for us!

I try to remember Glen Doman's advice of keeping it short and always stopping before she wants to stop.  So, somedays that means I only flash 1 or 2 words at one sitting, but the next day I might flash 7 or 8.  It all depends on the day.

I also purchased the YBCR (Your Baby Can Read) from the www.yourbabycanread.com website.  It has DVD's, book, sliding cards, and flashcards.  I use it in conjunction with all my homemade cards.  Right now dd is really into the sliding cards.  I like the program because it keeps me motivated to continue teaching her.

Now that I discovered this website I have also been downloading the powerpoint slideshows and showing them to her.  Her attention seems to be held by the slideshows that closely match Glen Doman's flashcards.

My dd is crazy about books, and she insists I read to her all day every day, so we also spend a lot of time reading/looking at childrens books.

It does seem like a lot in a day, but the flash cards (words or dots) happen very very quickly, so it really doesn't take that much.

I have Glen Doman's saying attached on a sticky to my bedroom door:

 "...this is one game you will win to some degree no matter how badly you play it..." 

I love that quote.  It reminds me that even if I am not exactly following the book or programs every little bit of stimulation I provide is helping

Good Luck.

Yes, I worry that teaching my dd is more about my need to 'do something productive' with my days.  I constantly remind myself that to her it is just a fun game she enjoys.  I am really conscience of not testing her, so there is no pressure for her.  I haven't shared that I am teaching her with anyone except my immediate family, so thankfully there is desire to show her off. 

Nikita, Australia and small town Canada could be next door to each other!
It seems very difficult to gather any support for early education in my community.  The lack of support began at the library when I requested GD 'Teach your baby math' book.  The librarian told me that I could teach my child how to count by giving her candy and only letting her eat them once she counted them.  Correct, even the local librarian is against early learning!

After the library experience I have not shared this part of my parenting with anyone, including my in-laws.  Even my partner barely knows about it because he is almost never home.

I was getting really discourgared with the games and other parts of my parenting (EC, toddler bf, etc) before I found this website.  It is soooo wonderful to have a place that feels nonjudgemental.  It lifts my spirit to read others who are trying the teaching methods and having success.  I feel less lonely knowing there are other parents out there with similiar views.  I just love this forum.

Even if everyone in my small town backwards stuck in the previous century is against my parenting, I know there is support out there!  Thanks all.

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapsit Sue Gerhardt author of "Why Love Matters, how affection shapes a baby's brain" has compiled interesting research on the stress levels of baby's whose needs are not met. 

The book discusses the short term and long term affects of letting babies 'cry it out'.

The book is excellent support for parents who are feeling torn between picking up the baby and spoiling the baby.  The latest research makes it very very clear that babies need to be picked up and soothed, hands down, no question; 'crying it out' has significant negative implications. 

The book discusses emotional brain development which has a fascinating connection to the brain development used with learning, such as the math and reading focus on this forum. 

I loved the book both because it helped me gain confidence in my parenting and also because it provided lots of knowledge on how the brain develops, both intellectually and emotionally.