August Chit Chat - Page 9 « Back to Group Discussions

[ZippyGirl]

Yay, Ash and Becky! 

Where we live, just about every private school is expensive.   It stinks.  Most of the private preschools are in the $15-20K range.  Grade school is generally around $20-30K.  Some are even more.  The Montessori schools here are in that price range ($15K for half days x 5 day/wk), but I have found our local Montessori schools to be quite punitive.  For example, taking away outdoor time is used frequently as a punishment for rule breaking.  To me, outdoor time for kids is non-negotiable...and can help improve behavior.  But some people *love* Montessori and it works for them and they are very happy.  We send my daughter to a Waldorf school, and we're planning to move to a town that has Waldorf K-high school because we absolutely love it.  It works out well for us, though, because Waldorf is one of the least expensive options around here.  It costs us $8K to send her four mornings a week.  When she starts first grade next year, it will be about $13K.

When thinking about private schools, too, don't forget that the schools want your wallets open for fundraising!  It's for a good cause, but after writing big checks, it can get old fast!
 

[birdhappy85]

WHOA.  Where do you live, Zippy?! $15-20k for PRESCHOOL? $20-30k for GRADE school? *faints* How can many people afford that? That's like college tuition for 12+ years. My goodness... I suddenly feel very poor. LOL.

[dashley111]

Originally Posted by birdhappy85 

WHOA.   Where do you live, Zippy?! $15-20k for PRESCHOOL? $20-30k for GRADE school? *faints* How can many people afford that? That's like college tuition for 12+ years. My goodness... I suddenly feel very poor. LOL.

Your not poor, lol. Don't let that make you feel that way. My husband has a fantastic job and a college degree...and we couldn't afford that by any stretch of the imagination.

[KaliShanti]

Enoch pulled himself up to stand from a sitting position for the first time today. We immediately lowered his crib mattress. :) He was so proud!

[ZippyGirl]

Originally Posted by birdhappy85 

WHOA.  Where do you live, Zippy?! $15-20k for PRESCHOOL? $20-30k for GRADE school? *faints* How can many people afford that? That's like college tuition for 12+ years. My goodness... I suddenly feel very poor. LOL.

I know!!!  I feel like that every.single.day!  Hahaha, that's another reason why we want to move.  It's ridiculous here, but those private school costs are pretty standard in many parts of the Northeast.  I live outside of New York City, but I think these costs are similar to what you'd see in the Boston area, Washington DC, and California.  Don't get me started on what I think about the cost of living here and what it means to people in the lower, middle, and upper-middle income levels!

[CDsMom1031]

Good lord, I haven't even considered private schools for Conner. LOL I went to public school, as did DH, and everyone in our family. I'll take free, please. We have to pay for books here (We didn't where I grew up, KS.).

Daycares here run $100-$200/week for full-time.

[ZippyGirl]

Originally Posted by CDsMom1031 

I'll take free, please.

I often say, "Is that school really 30,000 times better than the public school?!?"   I think the decision depends on a lot of factors, and everyone has to make a decision that is right for their family.  This is on my mind because I have an older child.  It wouldn't be on my radar screen at all if DS was my only child.  That said, we've made the decision to go private.  Even though people think the public schools are great where I live, I am concerned about hot-housing, the testing, and lack of outdoor time -- among other things.  And as I've mentioned before, we're fortunate that Waldorf is one of the more affordable options where we are.  And in our case, I do believe that Waldorf is worth the investment versus our local PS.  In other cases, I feel like our local privates are so similar to the public schools that it's just not worth all that money.  I think I'll shut up on this topic now.

[CDsMom1031]

I can honestly say that I haven't even researched private schools. It never once crossed my mind until this topic came up. I may look into it though. Hmmm...

I have a question. Mid-cycle bleeding. My AF has yet to become regular. I usually skip a month, then bleed for a few days. According to my "normal" though, I'm not due to bleed for another week or two. The last few days though, I've had this brown discharge. Yesterday, it was just when I wiped. Today, it's been enough to wear a tampon. I've never experienced this before and it's weird. I know it's old blood, hence it being brown... It's just, weird. IDK. I have no idea. Anyone?

[birdhappy85]

Sorry Nicole, I don't know about mid-cycle bleeding like that. I've come to accept that anything can happen with your AF postpartum as it's becoming regular again. Period. (no pun intended). My AF was always punctual before I had a child. Just when I thought it was back to normal pp, I had an unusual short cycle and then a longer cycle the following month. I got so nervous that I might've been pregnant cuz I haven't had a period 4 days late since I was a teenager or when I got pregnant last year.  And I couldn't even remember when I had sex last, so it was driving me nuts. AF finally came and I am no longer expecting it to be 100% regular quite yet. 

[dashley111]

I've always thought my son would have done way better academically if he had had the opportunity to go to a Montessori school. Unfortunately kids who are born to 17 year old moms rarely get that opportunity...so...

[CDsMom1031]

I was always completely regular prior to getting PG, too. This is a whole new ball game for me, and I don't like it!

[Becky Wheeler]

Originally Posted by CDsMom1031 

I can honestly say that I haven't even researched private schools. It never once crossed my mind until this topic came up. I may look into it though. Hmmm...

I have a question. Mid-cycle bleeding. My AF has yet to become regular. I usually skip a month, then bleed for a few days. According to my "normal" though, I'm not due to bleed for another week or two. The last few days though, I've had this brown discharge. Yesterday, it was just when I wiped. Today, it's been enough to wear a tampon. I've never experienced this before and it's weird. I know it's old blood, hence it being brown... It's just, weird. IDK. I have no idea. Anyone?

I know of a few women that spot for a few days when they ovulate. Which would make sense for you, if your cycle is regular, then ovulation is mid-cycle, right?

[TalkToMeNow]

Originally Posted by dashley111 

I've always thought my son would have done way better academically if he had had the opportunity to go to a Montessori school. Unfortunately kids who are born to 17 year old moms rarely get that opportunity...so...

I was a public school teacher in a "bad" school. I firmly believe that you get back what you put into your education. Public school can be wonderful. And I'm saying that in a "don't beat yourself up!!" way. I couldn't do anything but public for my kids, either, and I'm sure they will be just fine. 

Nicole, I'd say just don't worry. Chart in a loose way... meaning, make a note of any bleeding on your calendar and leave it at that. Eventually, you may see a pattern. 

Btw, I think it's the Mirena, but I don't have periods! Woo! I know, I know... it's not natural to not bleed. But I so don't care right now. Mirena, I love you. 

[Jaimee]

Nicole, it took my body a full 16 months of pp AF's to get regular again.  I know it's a bit annoying, but I wouldn't worry or anything.  Now that you're no longer breastfeeding your body will start to regulate a bit faster and even out soon, I'd imagine.  I agree with Ash, I would chart.  I personally love to chart temp and cervical fluid to get a clear picture of what is happening in my body, but you can chart loosely as she suggested, marking down days you spot, have obvious fertile cervical fluid, bleed, cramp, etc. so you can start to get an idea of what is happening when.  Ovulation bleeding is one of those things that you can randomly get and never get again, but it's not really that common.  Usually it's bright red blood, not brown and certainly not enough for a tampon.

As for private school, you might want to just do a preliminary look around at the preschool situation.  In the last few places I've lived, there was no public preschool, so if you want to send them to something a bit more enriching than daycare when they turn 3 and 4, you might need to go private.  We wanted to go Montessori, Waldorf, or Reggio Emilia, but simply couldn't afford that, especially knowing we'd be doing that for one and then two more kids after her.  So we looked into co-ops (which were not great in Baltimore area, but are much better here) and learning labs associated with universities.  In Baltimore we ended up going with a little church down the road b/c they didn't have religion in the classroom, it was close, and it was affordable.  It turned out to be a great experience for her.  When we moved here, we put her in the child development lab at UI, which wasn't the best experience, but was fine.  Anyway, depending on where you live, some preschools may have year long waiting lists or even more.

[Jaimee]

Bravado coupon!

[CDsMom1031]

I guess it was just ovulation bleeding, because it's gone today... But the brown blood thing still confuses me, although Dr. Google says that EWCM mixed with blood can turn the blood brown, so maybe that's what it was? Who knows...

[Jaimee]

Nicole, it's much more likely to be breakthrough bleeding due to hormonal fluctuations than it is to be ovulation bleeding.  Did you miss a pill or take it at a different time?  This can cause random bleeding as well.  Blood mixed with EWCF would be pink or orange, not brown unless your EW is really, really yellow, which is a sign of less fertile CF.

[Mal85]

Originally Posted by TalkToMeNow 

But I so don't care right now. Mirena, I love you. 

Me too! I don't have periods either. Mine came back at 4 months PP with DD1. I haven't had a period since January of 2011, woo!

Schools: I have nothing against public schools in general. I'm not pleased with the one and only public school in my town. Unfortunately, in a small town I know who all the teachers are. I know their personalities. My mom also works over there, not a teacher but has the displeasure of working with the teachers. I don't want my kids to go there. I might have to suck it up and be that annoying parent that requests a certain teacher or makes frequent visits/phone calls to the teacher. It sucks. I know. I am a teacher and that kind of parent gets annoying, but working in a school system means I probably know a little too much and I don't want to see my kids fall through the cracks. It happens too often. I'd give a kidney for my girls to be able to attend this Montessori school as long as they can. They go to 8th grade right now. Fact is, I probably won't be able to afford and here it's only about $4k/year for tuition. But with two kids? No way. If I want DD1 to go full days in preschool, the cost is around $400/month. I can't swing that, just won't happen. But I am ready, willing and able to volunteer with the school, help with fundraisers (as in planning them), do anything I can to make sure they succeed there. They do have a scholarship program that I will probably at least try. If that doesn't work... well, I work at the other private school in town and if I can get discounted tuition there, then they'll go there. Even their way of teaching isn't my favorite, but at least I'm there and can be involved.

[seraf]

Nicole, Sara has mid cycle bleeding as a matter of course. The docs have said she can go on the pill, but it's not hurting anything.

Private school. There is one in my town. Religious. My younger siblings each attended it for a year but I wouldn't think of sending my kids. The public school here used to be one of the very poorest in the state, and the kids' mama lives 2 districts away so homeschooling is the best option for us.

[KayPea]

Just a quick update on my best friend's little boy - she couldn't get him in to any counsellors or play-therapists, as they only take kids over 4. She's going to go to her doctor next. Her own therapist is a play-therapist and didn't seem concerned with her son's behaviour, nor did her son's daycare providers, who all have specializations in dealing with troubled children (as this is an inner-city daycare.) She's not giving up on it though, and is making sure she explores all avenues.