I'm not a big fan of diapers, though I thank god I had them for my babies. Disposable diapers, with their ulrra-absorbancy and moisture-wicking superpowers do babies and parents a big disservice, IMHO. The baby never really learns what "wet" feels like, and a parent doesn't need to watch for signs that something's happening in diapersville. By the time a toddler is socially ready for the potty, s/he needs to be reattuned to what "natural" feels like. So it takes them longer to be independent in the bathroom than they might otherwise be. (In other words: go cloth!)

Elimination-communication can work: I know friends who have done it with their kids. But, I'm of the opinion that it is the parent being trained, not the baby. Parents recognize the warning signs and act fast (nanosecond-fast) to unite baby and potty. The baby doesn't really start to put it all together until 18-30 mos, which is when most parents start potty training their diapered offspring.

Like so much else in parenting, elimination communication will depend largely on the kid, and the parent. I didn't even try. My daughter would have refused to cooperate, just on principle. (My husband and I used to joke that our e-c "warning sign" would have been "What's that smell?")

But, whichever road you choose, all healthy, developentally-typical children will be completely "trained" long before prom night.

will one of you men-types go hang out in a White House restroom and tap your feet? Maybe that's how we can get Bush/Cheney out!

sounds as plausible as being "a little pregnant." It's an either/or, not a both/and.

Gad, you're an ass. I'm guessing your mom didn't breast feed you.

I'd explain exactly how wrong you are, and how short-sighted your business model is, but I've said it all before (just check the Broadsheet archives), and I'm too damned tired to deal with morons tonight.

Breastfeeding in public can be a very discreet affair. Mom and baby snuggling together does not raise an eyebrow. If mom is at all skilled at bfing, she can latch baby on in a nonosecond with no one the wiser.

Expressing milk from a breast into a bottle is a whole 'nother issue. Things take time to set up and break down, the pump makes noise, the horns placed on the breasts are .... conspicuous, and the nipple and breast tissue gets contorted while it does its job. (Thank goodness for double-electric pumps, but they are less effecient than hungry babies). There is a Whisperwear pump, designed to be worn and used under clothing, but most moms use a much less invisible machine.

While I have pumped in my car, I am sure that setting up the pump at my desk, or in a classroom, would prove 1000 times more distracting to coworkers. And people would get to know a whole lot more of me than they would if I were nursing a baby on a park bench.

Duh.

Oh I missed you too!

Big kisses, you loveable mook!

Now go tell someone else how smart you think you are.

Mo Rocca said it best yesterday on the Stephanie Miller show:

He'd like to see Merry Miller interview Senator Craig by posing the questions given to Miss Teen South Carolina.

had the Republican party been less tenacious and indignant (and shocked, shocked) at Clinton's adult, consentual affair where no laws were broken, the public might be more merciful to Republicans who break the laws they insist upon, then lie to the police, then blame their troubles on "the media."