Christen Adler

I’ve been eyeing a very specific and meaningful tattoo (small, 2 square inches on my forearm) for a few years. I finally decided to get it, and my husband says that it’s a horrible, stupid idea to get a tattoo of any kind on and part of my body. He says he hates tattoos and will hate it every time he sees it. He does admit that it’s my body and I can do what I want, but that he will always hate tattoos. For now I’ve told him I would respect his opinion and not get it, but I feel resentful and sad. Who is right in this matter?

My 2.5 year old is in the process of being diagnosed with autism. I m really worried about 9 month old now because I know it can run in families. He is very social, makes great eye contact, and responds to his own name. He babbles but not a lot. He also does not mimic at all. Is this normal for 9 months or should I be worried?

My husband and I are thinking of trying for a baby. I've always wanted one but I keep reading these articles online from people who hate parenthood. Do you regret becoming a parent?

I am trying to have a baby right now. I have always wanted to be a mom. I fully understand that it's going to be exhausting and soul-sucking and difficult. But I don't want to miss out on this life experience and I just get so giddy at the thought of holding my own baby one day!!!

The thing that freaks me out is there are soooo many articles online from moms who say they truly hate being a mom and wish they had never had their kids, even if they love them dearly. This makes me so sad and also makes me wonder if i am delusional in thinking I want motherhood! Honest answers please! If you could do it again and NOT have your kids, would you?

I am trying to conceive right now and have always wanted to be a mom. I know it's hard work because I nannied full time, 2 little ones, so I have realistic expectations on how much life will change. My concern is that all over the Internet there are moms posting about how much they HATE motherhood and it freaks me out. Do I just THINK I want this? Is there anyone out there who LOVES being mommy??

I have a 12 week old Australian shepherd puppy. She's already potty trained and crate trained and knows 2 commands. She's great except one problem - she will NOT STOP PLAY BITING!!!! And HARD too, she's drawn blood twice. She wants to bite our fingers constantly. She has PLENTY of chew bones, toys, rawhides, etc in the house. She is also quite a dominant dog and doesn't like to take "no" for an answer. Here's what we've tried so far with no luck:

Distracting her with another toy. She chews on the other toy for about 5 seconds and then immediately tries to go back to our fingers.

Saying "no" sharply. This either has no effect or gets her more excited - sometimes she'll bark at me and then keep trying to bite.

Yelping loudly like another puppy. She will stop and look at me, surprised, for about 5 seconds, and then will try to bite me again.

Walking away and refusing to play. This helps until our next play session.

When all else fails, I put her in the crate for a "time-out." But so far this doesn't seem to be helping, other than stopping me from being bitten when she's in the crate!

I'm all out of ideas, except for using physical means, like a rolled up newspaper, which all the experts say is bad.

Anyone else have any good ideas??

Thanks in advance!!!

Hello,

My 11 week old australian shepherd has been dry hacking/coughing and then gagging at the end for 3-4 days. It happens mostly at night when she's in her crate and early in the morning, but also occasionally during the day. She was given her kennel cough vaccine 4 days ago but I suppose it's possible she had already contracted it earlier. Or maybe it's a different problem. I do have a vet appointment later today to check this out, but I was wondering if this has happened to anybody else's puppy? Thanks.