Mommy corner

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Well, Romanian and English both use the Latin alphabet. Anyone who knows the basics of the alphabet is at least quasi-literate in any language that uses it. However, English and Lao use two entirely different writing systems, so it isn't exactly comparable. Her parents really needed to teach her it, it just wasn't/isn't something you can pick up if you only know the Latin alphabet.

Here is the Lao writing system: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/lao.htm

Edited January 8, 2008 by Wacken

[churipu 4]

i learned english by ear, and im not illiterate....in fact, i think i know it better than my romanian. so i guess there are exceptions to the rule

ive noticed there are americans on this site who cant even spell properly so.....

You're absolutely right, there is always an exception to a rule, maybe many exceptions too. I should have said that most/many people who learned a language by ear would probably be illiterate in it when they have to spell/write it, because that's what I meant.

Edited January 8, 2008 by churipu

[churipu 4]

Well, Romanian and English both use the Latin alphabet. Anyone who knows the basics of the alphabet is at least quasi-literate in any language that uses it. However, English and Lao use two entirely different writing systems, so it isn't exactly comparable. Her parents really needed to teach her it, it just wasn't/isn't something you can pick up if you only know the Latin alphabet.

Here is the Lao writing system: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/lao.htm

I personally had to practise my writing/reading skills a lot back in the days when I was taking English, French and German (this last one sadly pretty much forgotten after 10 years of non-use )in school for 5 years, otherwise I wouldn't have known how to spell jack, latin alphabet or not... But that's just me, not saying or implying it has to be the same for everyone else who learned a foreign language.

Edited January 8, 2008 by churipu

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Hence quasi-literacy. I didn't mean to imply that you knew the language, only that if you picked up a paper in the Latin alphabet, you technically could attempt to read it, pick out cognates, etc. After learning a few rules, you would pick it up very quickly because you already know the basics. When you are completely illiterate, that would be being presented with a writing system unknown to you like Arabic or Chinese where you wouldn't even know where to begin knowing only what you know of the Latin alphabet. I didn't mean to imply that you would know all the grammar and spelling conventions of a foreign language by virtue of the fact that you just were familiar with the alphabet.

I guess I mean this in the sense that although I don't know a lick of French or Polish, I can technically read it and it is no big leap for me to be completely literate from one language to the next that uses the same alphabet.

Edited January 8, 2008 by Wacken

[churipu 4]

Hence quasi-literacy. I didn't mean to imply that you knew the language, only that if you picked up a paper in the Latin alphabet, you technically could attempt to read it, pick out cognates, etc. After learning a few rules, you would pick it up very quickly because you already know the basics. When you are completely illiterate, that would be being presented with a writing system unknown to you like Arabic or Chinese where you wouldn't even know where to begin knowing only what you know of the Latin alphabet. I didn't mean to imply that you would know all the grammar and spelling conventions of a foreign language by virtue of the fact that you just were familiar with the alphabet.

LOL NO, NO I know what you meant!!Seriously... I was just laughing at memories of me swearing and getting frustrated about all that stuff to process in 3 different languages, when I was learning LOL I knew exactly what you were trying to say, I was delighting you guys by reporting my personal experience when I was a tired grumpy student

Edited January 8, 2008 by churipu

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Heh. I tried French once in high school, but I never got a hang of the spelling. I am too lazy for French, I guess. The only thing I remember from French was "Je ne parle Franciais.'. That got me bitched at in Brussels by some chick at a bus terminal. Heh, well, she was the one asking an obvious backpacking tourist for whatever. Though, I have to say, Brussels was by far one of the worst large cities I visited in Europe for a lot of other reasons than that incident.

The only real problem I consistently had when I first was learning German was with the numbers. I mostly have it down now. However, on random occasion, either my husband or I will mess this up in the other's languages. I will never know all the genders, too many nouns. I just gave up and decided that the best method was that eventually I figure out what is right and wrong from constant outside reinforcement. Sometimes, I know the right genders of things now and I don't know why they are right, just they sound right and they are. I guess I heard them enough for that word that I just picked it up without even realizing it. I think that is fascinating when it happens.

Spanish I took for several years and am surprised by how much I still remember if I pick up a magazine and attempt to read it. However, turn on the TV to Telemundo and it is over.

Occasionally, I am given the odd chance to learn something by immersion. Latvian, for example. I was surprised like everyone else how much I learned in a few days of nearly nothing but Latvian knowing about nothing of the language before beyond what carried over from what I knew of Lithuanian. But then everyone was very much actively participating in my little journey and it was a lot of fun.

*Ends pointless linguistic facts about me.

[sara535 15]

I didn't even know this thread existed! I always post on the baby thread about mommy issues but it would be more appropriate for here. I am trying to wean eman off of milk during the night. I think that is why he tosses and turns because milk has never been good on his stomach. He has always had tummy troubles. But for some reason he loves his milk at night. I started with foods when he was 4 months so he should be full at night. Do you guys think that he is more into the sucking due to soothing purposes? I don't want to start with a pacifier at this point. WHAT CAN I DO??

Nizzy,

I had the milk at night issue with my son also and I got this suggestion from one of the parenting books, I cant remember now which one because its been a long time ( he just turned 12) but it worked really well... Every night water down the nighttime milk a little bit, and a little bit more each night. also slowly cut down the amount you are offering, so after a couple of weeks its like one ounce of basically milkish water. At some point during the process it just becomes too much effort and not worth it for baby to want a tiny bit of way watered down milk. I cant remember exactly how long it took for my son but not long, certainly not more than a couple of weeks. and of course you want to be sure that he is getting plenty of nutrition during the day and not relying on that nightime bottle. try it !

[♥Sora_9_Dam3a♥ 0]

i didn't read through all the posts, and i'm not a mommy yet...but when i saw the title of the forum...i smiled.. i loooooooove babies and i'm dyinggggg to be a mommy....i really can't wait for that day!! i really hope its some time sooooooooon!! it'll still be a few more months before that's possible though....

[Dr. Obvious 49]

In the last few months then, I would say, enjoy your time without the Mommy Olympics. Even if you try to avoid it, people will still insist on making it a holy war like competition with you anyway. Also, don't get any lofty ideas in your head about how you are only going to do X, Y, Z. Kids have a way of smacking you down from that tower. With mine it was something like:

*We thought that with all the ultrasounds we were getting, we would at least know the sex before she was born. No dice.

*I wanted a birth with all the pain killers they would give me. I got a birth without any pain relief period.

*We all thought that she would be a larger baby so never really bothered to buy newborn sized clothes. Then she was fairly average sized and was swimming in size 56.

*I wanted to breastfeed. Then I got two infections which most likely interfered with my milk production and took 6 weeks to recover from.

*I wanted to cloth diaper. Well, that just didn't happen.

*I thought I would carry her around for comfort, etc. Guess who had some kind of pathological aversion to human contact until she was nearly a year? Picking her up when she was screaming only made the screaming worse. Then you put her down and she self-soothed in some other fashion that I never totally got. This was also frustrating to me as a new mother because we all want cuddly infants and I just didn't get one of those models. She has since grown out of that and likes her cuddles now, but it was killer in the first months, this odd personality quirk of hers.

*I wanted to start solids at 6 months. Someone just wasn't interested and turns out neither was I.

*I never imagined I would co-sleep. And then at 12 months that started and continues to this day.

*I thought that she would never watch TV. Now she can count to 10 with cues thanks to Sesame Street.

There are also just weird things, like back in September, we went to Lake Michigan. We really thought she would like the beach and the water, but all she did was freak out about how sand got stuck to her hands and would scream. The only thing she did like was the seagulls.

So far, what seems to be working out from my original plan is that she is still alive, seems to be picking up both languages, and we take her to the park often for exercise.

Other than that warning, also just enjoy your freedom. You just can't pick up and go any more without a hassle for a while, even after you have streamlined the process. I think this was the biggest thing I took for granted.

My daughter is great though and I wouldn't put her back for anything. I am sure you will be a good mother when the time comes.

[EsOrEnNa 0]

girls stop writing so much!! j/k

D is gonna speak 4 different languages and i cant wait to teach him.. i also speak 4 and hubs only 1..

D has to speak german/english and romanian..

i didn't read through all the posts, and i'm not a mommy yet...but when i saw the title of the forum...i smiled.. i loooooooove babies and i'm dyinggggg to be a mommy....i really can't wait for that day!! i really hope its some time sooooooooon!! it'll still be a few more months before that's possible though....

have fun TTC..

[Dr. Obvious 49]

i also speak 4 and hubs only 1..

He doesn't speak any German at all?

Though I know not everyone has a talent for languages. My mother tried to learn some German by taking a class last semester and it was diasterous.

Edited January 8, 2008 by Wacken

[Dr. Obvious 49]

So I am trying to cook dinner and my daughter uses this opportunity to get out the onions and start bowling them down the hallway.

[EsOrEnNa 0]

He doesn't speak any German at all?

yeah just english.. and a couple german words..

So I am trying to cook dinner and my daughter uses this opportunity to get out the onions and start bowling them down the hallway.

lmao

[Dr. Obvious 49]

yeah just english.. and a couple german words..

That's too bad. In my situation, almost none of my in-laws speak English. To get to know most any of them, I had to speak German. It would be a loss for me if I couldn't. Most of my ILs are really nice people. That aside, it helps to know what my husband is saying to our daughter and I know she can't get away with anything later because I already know what her father said or I know if he is undermining me somehow.

I hope eventually your husband learns some more German. I know it isn't easy though. I have been at it for what, nearly 7 years now, and still it is not always perfect.

I am still missing an onion.

[Bassi and Zainab 1]

I didn't even know this thread existed! I always post on the baby thread about mommy issues but it would be more appropriate for here. I am trying to wean eman off of milk during the night. I think that is why he tosses and turns because milk has never been good on his stomach. He has always had tummy troubles. But for some reason he loves his milk at night. I started with foods when he was 4 months so he should be full at night. Do you guys think that he is more into the sucking due to soothing purposes? I don't want to start with a pacifier at this point. WHAT CAN I DO??

I don't have a baby, my daughter is five, but I'll add my two cents cause she was a baby, even though now she makes a horrible face when I call her my baby. Since you said that he spits out the paci he maybe looking for "something" when he sucks, not just the motion of sucking. Try giving him water a few nights. It worked like a charm with my daughter. I think she felt like it wasn't worth it to wake up for water, so after two nights she stopped waking up. Slept right through.