How many times have I clicked the "New Post" button on my Blogger dashboard and then never actually finished writing a post? (or worse, never even started typing a post) Oh, I dunno. A million? I have so many things going on in my head, that I can't decide what to post about. The first post after a long writing hiatus overwhelms me and I just end up walking away. I am a loser.

Maybe instead of writing an update on Scout's developmental milestones and yada yada, I'll just tell you about my day. It's nothing monumental or special. Just a normal day....

Scout woke up at almost 9:00 AM, which is 2 hours later than usual. For the last week or so, her nap and bedtime schedule has consistently been about 2 hour off for some reason. Meh. Whatchya gonna do. I didn't hear her get up. Matt went to the bathroom and saw her standing at the baby gate that we use to trap her in her bedroom. Sometimes she just stands there and talks to the dog or plays in her room before letting us know she's awake. Other times, she cries for us (and we immediately go get her, of course). It just depends on her mood, I guess. I love being woken up by a squealing, revved-up toddler being plopped down on top of me from above. That sounded sarcastic, but it's really not. I do love it. She crawled all over me while smiling and giggling and seemed so happy to see me. I love that. I asked if she would like to nurse and she did her little maniacal chuckle she does when you ask her if she wants something and the answer is 'yes'. I laid there for 15 minutes, drifting in and out of sleep (and so did she) while she nursed. Then she popped up and started clapping her hands and reaching for me. That meant she wanted me to get up, pick her up, and get out of bed. Enough of this laying here and cuddling stuff. It's time to get up and get moving! (and never stop)

I obliged, but I told her that I needed to potty BAD and asked her to stand in the bathroom with me while I peed. Half the time she cries when I put her down for that straight-outta-bed 1st pee of the morning, but she didn't this morning. She was too busy pointing at the dog and waving to her. I wonder if she's ever noticed that the dog never waves back.

She ran out of the bathroom when I was done and went to find DH. (DH has been home from work for a couple weeks because of some health issues) He was right where she thought he'd be - at his computer desk. They said hi to eachother and I'm sure she sat on his lap while frantically grabbing for pens and chapstick and computer parts on his desk. I don't quite remember the details, but I'm sure she probably grabbed for something that she's not supposed to have and we probably had to tell her not to while redirecting her and she probably had a meltdown of epic proportions, going limp and screaming like we're hurting her. Ya know, because that's what she does these days.

Maybe I should skip over a few things, since I'm not even to breakfast yet and I've already written a novel. Long story short, we went out to breakfast, shopped at a local thrift store, played outside A LOT, and Scout took a 1.5 hour nap. More tantrums ensued in there somewhere, I'm sure. But there were probably even more moments of affection, impressive learning feats, and sheer cuteness to balance it all out. We had hamburgers and a spinach salad for lunch. (or I guess it was more like dinner...at 4:00) Scout's favorite part of the meal was the wheat toast and fruit. She spit out the only bite she took of the meat.

Some friends who hadn't seen Scout since she was tiny came over and they just ate her up. They brought her some wonderful books and played with her in the floor and had a grand time. I love it when people actually get down in the floor and interact with kids when they're visiting. I mean, REALLY interact. Scout was shy at first but warmed up very quickly. She grabbed one of our friends' hand and led her to the door that leads to our garage. She pointed to the door nob and motioned like she was turning it. I thought that it was cute for her to show our friend how to turn the door nob! She took our friend out to the garage and gave her a little "tour", pointing to things and jibber-jabbering. I think it's great that our guest played along. Scout led her back into the house and back into the living room to play. After our friends left, we went outside to play again.

I'm sure you see a theme here. We PLAYED all day. I didn't do any laundry or cleaning or anything. Not a whole lot of productiveness. Just hanging out with my little girl. That's not really my typical day. There are usually lots more chores. Bleh. But Saturdays around here are pretty lazy.

We never ate a real dinner. Scout just snacked on some cow's milk, a Wasa cracker, some raisins (she LOVES raisins like her friend, Bailey) , avocado, a little bit of peanut butter, and provolone cheese. I had a popcicle, a salad with lentils, and a bowl of the Wal-Mart version of Special K Red Berries. I think it's called Strawberry Morning. That name cracks me up for some reason. I have no idea why, but for some reason it brought to my mind that old SNL commercial for Colon Blow. Hee hee hee. Colon Blow. I think DH had some crackers w/ peanut butter and an apple. I was a bad suzie-homemaker today.

Scout played the drums with DH for a while and then looked at her new books. Between the books we found at the thrift store after breakfast, and the books our friends brought, she ended up with 12 new books today! My favorite part of reading to Scout is that she says "Mee-Ummmm!" every time she closes a book. She says it in the exact tone of voice I use when I say "The End!" at the end of a story. It's adorable.

I gave Scout a bath before bed and she had a blast. She filled her giant plastic cup under the faucet about a million times and probably would've stood there and done it all night, had I not finally turned the water off. We listened to bluegrass music on NPR and splashed and had a great time. Funny thing about Scout - she won't actually sit down in the bath water. She stands or squats the whole time. I don't know what that's all about. I've tried to get her to sit, but she flat out refuses. I asked her tonight if she wanted to "sit down on her bottom" while I did the sign for "sit", and she shook her head "no" and was very serious about it. I guess I see no reason to make her sit. I just think it's a little odd that she only wants to stand. Meh.

Almost every time I get her out of the tub and have her wrapped up in a towel while I'm holding her, she lays her head on my shoulder and wraps her arms around me and smiles this GIGANTIC smile into the mirror. I smile back at her, and she smiles even bigger. It is by far the BEST part of being a mom. I live for moments like that.

Afterward, she streaked down the hall in all her freshly-bathed glory so she could tell daddy "Nigh-nigh" and give him a kiss. There aren't many things in this life sweeter than that. I love her little nekkie bottom.

I nursed her to sleep and was able to slip out of her bedroom within just a few minutes. I pulled the door almost closed and put the baby gate up. Time to do it all again tomorrow. Only tomorrow, I'd better do a couple loads of laundry or we'll be wearing dirty clothes next week.

Labels: baby sleep, being sappy, blog talk, dh, family, health, pics of scout, scout talking

Scout is almost acting like her old chipper self. She woke up relatively happy this morning and is crawling through the house, wreaking havoc once again. She ate about 1/4 of a banana and 4 or 5 grains of puffed brown rice for breakfast. It's nice to have her back.

I suddenly feel the urge to deep clean the house now that she is mobile again. The floors feel so dirty and there are household chores that I could not seem to keep up with when she was sick and needed held 24/7.

I was afraid that her usual good sleep habits would be destroyed after waking up every one to two hours through the night the entire time she was sick. That's not something I want her internal clock to get used to. But I was pleasantly surprised (actually, shocked!) that she slept straight through from 8:30 PM until 6:00 AM last night and then went back down at 9:00 AM for a nap.

I think that life is back to normal. (well, you know, as normal as it gets around here)

Labels: baby sleep, health, pics of scout

Scout has been sick for a week. Not just like sniffly-nose sick, but like the can't-keep-anything-down-high-fever-no-sleep kind of sick. Last Tuesday she puked once and had no fever. I just thought it was something she ate. I had given her some lentils and rice earlier in the day and I think that was the first time she had eaten lentils, so I assumed they didn't agree with her tummy. Wednesday, she had one BAD totally sick-smelling diarrhea diaper, but no vomiting and still no fever. I was still thinking it was the lentils. Thursday, she had a high fever, vomiting, AND diarrhea. Then I realized it was a virus and not just a sour belly from some new food. I think it was either Thursday or Friday when she had a temp of 104. If it wouldn't have gone down fairly quickly after a couple doses of Tylenol, we would've taken her to the ER. In retrospect, that's probably what we should've done.

Every day after that, she would have a few good hours when she would actually lift her poor little sweaty head off of my shoulder and she may even have enough energy to get off of my lap and play a little. I would think that she was getting better and then, boom....puke is projected onto my shirt and splatting onto the floor, while her fever would be up again. Night time was pretty miserable for her and she was waking every hour or two. Sometimes she would refuse to nurse. Instead of just turning her head away when I offered my breast, she would get angry and bite my nipple. Not fun for either of us.

DH was so extremely helpful through all of it, even though he was sick and had a fever at one point too. I honestly don't know what I would've done without him. When I would change Scout only to discover a bad diarrhea explosion, I could yell for DH to get me a change of clothes and some extra towels. He would hold Scout so I could go pee or change my clothes and scrub the carpet after being barfed on. Administering medicine and sucking snot would've been really difficult without his assistance. Thank you, DH!!

I continually put off taking her to see the pediatrician because she kept tricking me into thinking she was on the mend. I also just assumed it was a virus that needed to run its course and it would be a waste of time and not very much fun for Scout to drive 30 minutes into "town" only to be given some tylenol samples and told to keep her hydrated. I hate to admit it, but the fact that we are self-pay also plays a part in my reluctance to take her to the doctor when I feel the situation is non-emergent.

Yesterday, I broke down and took her in to see the doctor. Even though her fever was completely gone by late Saturday night, she was still puking and having diarrhea all day Sunday.

Turns out she has an ear infection on top of the tummy virus. The doc said that the infection is probably what caused the fever to spike to 104.

I feel so bad that I let it go on for so long. Who knows how long the poor thing has been suffering through the ear pain. Even though we did give her Tylenol a few times to keep the fever at bay after it reached 104, I don't think it would've been enough to relieve any pain she may have been having in her ears. She never grabbed at her ears (that I noticed), so I had no clue there was an infection.

The doctor was super nice and saw that we are self-pay, so he gave us enough samples of the antibiotic to last the full course. I am not a big fan of administering antibiotics willy-nilly. But I really didn't see another option. Maybe some of you mommas who embrace more natural remedies when it comes to treating sick kids can tell me.... What do you do when it comes to ear infections? (or any infection for that matter) I think I would've been comfortable treating it with garlic oil and skipping the antibiotics if we would've caught the infection soon enough, but I don't want to take any chances with letting an infection rage on in her little ear just because I am too stubborn to give antibiotics. It's so tough to know when to stray from medical advice in favor of a more natural approach and when to just heed the advice of the doctor and give meds instead. I really don't want to pump her full of antibiotics every time she gets sick.

I learned my lesson, though. If her fever spikes that high again, I am not messing around next time - I'll take her in to be seen by a doc.

She is doing a lot better now and has only vomited once since Sunday night. She is nursing better, but I can tell now that her ears are bothering her. Hopefully the meds will take care of that soon.

Somehow, I managed to escape this awful plague that had infected my household. Woohoo!

Here is a pic of DH and Scout* during one of her brief stints of feeling better the other day.



*Scout doesn't normally romp around in a diaper and nothing else in the winter time. I just happened to be changing her on the bed and she was taking a little break to snuggle with daddy.

Labels: dh, firsts, health, pics of scout

Okay, seriously. I guess I need to remove my little Blog 365 button from my sidebar. I am so not worthy. Maybe I'll be the founder of the club: "Blog Every Other Day...or at least twice a week"

My sis sent me a pic that she scanned with her (obviously) crappy scanner. I think it's one of the only pictures of me in existence that doesn't make me feel bad about myself. (I'm the one on the right, by the way) I had just turned 15. I guess it's kind of sad that I was 15 the last time I remember being close to my ideal weight. I know I can't place the blame on anyone but myself, but shortly after that pic was taken, I met the guy I dated through the rest of high school. We got fat together. We would sit around and smoke out and then get the munchies and gorge ourselves on junk food. all. the. time. I think we both gained 25 lbs in the matter of 2 years. He eventually took it off. I didn't.

This picture inspires me.



Gosh. It makes me want to vomit when I compare it to this pic.

Labels: doh, health, weight loss

Well, you know how I had decided to cut my extra 10 nursing points off of my daily Weight Watchers points allowance? Turns out that's not a very good idea. I got on one of the WW message boards and asked when other nursing moms start to cut their extra points due to their babes not nursing as often. The replies were unanimous that I should not cut my 10 extra nursing points and the general rule of thumb (though WW doesn't have an "official" stance) is that each nursing session is worth 2 points, up to a max of 10 points. Scout is definitely still nursing more than 5 times a day, so I guess I'm back to my 38 point allowance.

That's a lot, but I'm now being very judicious about HOW I spend my points instead of just going at the whole thing with a half-assed approach.

FYI, You can see my daily food journal toward the bottom of the righthand sidebar.

Labels: health, pay attention to my sidebar yo, weight loss

I lost 2.8 lbs this week. Woot! I went to the weigh-in, but didn't feel like staying for the meeting. Today was another rough day (nap wise) for Scout, so I just wanted to sit alone in a coffee shop doing nothing during the time that I would've been at the meeting.

I feel like I've not been myself lately...like that sort of bitchiness and weirdness that happens post-partum. I'm just gonna go ahead and blame it on hormones or something. That's the only explanation I can think of. When I couldn't get Scout to nap today, I sat and cried and belly-ached to DH. I'm a blithering idiot. I have the best baby in the world. I love staying at home with her and I am extremely blessed. But I guess I've just reached some sort of breaking point. I need to take more time for myself. I need to somehow find the time to exercise and to actually put on something other than my pajamas....oh yeah, and to bathe. When I was having my little breakdown this afternoon, DH suggested I call Pretend Grandma to come relieve me. (DH was working, or I'm sure he would've offered...erm...maybe) I ALMOST called her, but I talked myself back down to normal and didn't feel like I needed to bug Pretend Grandma just because I was being mental. Plus, I think she's going to come over and watch Scout for us on Saturday, so I don't want to take advantage of her generosity.

Anyway, I'm better now. The weigh-in sure did help too!

I wish I knew a way to just post a screen shot of my Weight Watchers e-tools points tracker dealie so I didn't have to type this all out. Here is everything I ate today:

BREAKFAST
++++++++++
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tsp pure maple syrup
1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt
1/2 large banana
2 eggs

Points total: 9.5

LUNCH
++++++
1 La Tortilla Smart & Delicious Olive Oil Soft Wrap
1 handful spinach
1/4 avocado
5 squirts French Flair Wishbone Salad Spritzers dressing
1/4 yellow bell pepper
2 slices Natural Choice smoked turkey
1 slice Natural Choice ham

Points Total: 4.5


DINNER
+++++++
Multigrain tortilla wrap
3 oz chicken breast
handful green and red peppers
handful romaine lettuce
1/8 cup sliced olives
1 dill pickle spear
2 tbsp Italian Dressing (not light)

Points Total: 9.5

SNACKS
++++++

2 apples
1/2 banana
1/2 oz mixed nuts
bowl steamed veggies
6 medium baby carrots
1 La Tortilla Smart & Delicious Olive Oil Soft Wrap

Points Total: 6.5


************
GRAND TOTAL
************
30 points (so I went 2 points over. Oops!)

Labels: baby sleep, food, food journal, health, weight loss

I have the sweetest blog readers ever. I really do. Thanks for all the hugs and support. Wendy and Jen, thanks for offering to keep me accountable. That means a lot to me. I've barely had a moment to sit down and breathe today, so I haven't gotten a chance to email either of you yet, but believe me - I will :)

Oh, and thanks Annika and defeist for your reassuring words about breastfeeding. That makes me feel so much better. I bought some fenugreek yesterday, thinking it wouldn't hurt to atleast try to increase my supply enough to (hopefully) be able to pump some more milk to leave for when Pretend Grandma comes over to watch Scout again.

I have a weigh-in tonight. I'm hoping that the scales are good to me because I feel like I did a lot better this week. From Sunday on, I've been on a 28 point allowance, rather than my 38 point allowance. I've goofed a couple times, but nothing serious. Honestly, yesterday, I had a sort of epiphany. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I started thinking in terms of HEALTH and not weight loss. Mumamarie, you were instrumental in pushing my brain in that direction, so I THANK YOU for that! The healthiest I've ever felt was when DH and I were eating more whole foods and less processed stuff and refined sugar. As I've mentioned before, I think the 100 calorie packs and all the other sugary, processed, preservative-laden diet treats have really had a hold on me. I mean, if one 100 calorie pack of Chips Ahoy cookies is good, then two is even better, right? Ha! Ummm, no, Unkempt Mommy. That is not how that works.

So, I have purposed NOT TO BUY things like Smart Ones Key Lime Pie and Weight Watchers little carrot cake thingies ANYMORE! Things like that were tripping me up big time. Plus, that stuff just is not healthy. That's one thing I don't like about Weight Watchers meetings - all the junky snack crap that they peddle there. I mean, I know that kind of stuff might help some people stay on track, but it's truly just glorified junk food.

Well, I have to go now, but I have more to write. (gee, aren't you excited?)
I'll be back later.

Labels: food, health, weight loss

I haven't mentioned a whole lot about my weight loss journey thus far because I guess there's just not much to report. I joined Weight Watchers back in October and I've lost 12.6 lbs to date. As you can see by the chart, my weight's sort of been bobbing up and down lately. I haven't been working the plan like I should. Sometimes I'm lazy about getting all of the required servings of vegetables and water and sometimes I spend my points on some really stupid crap. I rarely just go nuts and go way over my points, but I've also been lazy about measuring all of my food and journaling every little thing that goes into my mouth. Like I said, not working the plan....but I'm certainly not totally blowing either. When I started, I had 41 points to spend per day. After losing a little weight, my points went down to 38 per day. Most people don't get that many points, but nursing mothers get an extra 10points.

This morning as I was squeezing my fat ass (please excuse my language - I'm just a bit disgusted with my weight right now) into some pants that used to practically hang off of me, it occurred to me that I need to do something drastically different if I want to get this weight off. It also occurred to me that Scout is not nursing nearly as much as she used to now that she has a newfound love for solid foods. So, I decided that I am going to lop off that 10 point nursing mother allowance and stick to consuming just 28 points a day instead.

I admit that I have an addictive personality and if there is a "loophole" in a diet, I will find it. That is why it has been so easy for me to spend too many of my daily points on things like 100 calorie packs of oreo crisps and 1 point Weight Watchers dessert cakes, while neglecting my daily veggie requirements. I used to be very commited to not buying a ton of processed foods and cooking as naturally as I can, but when I'm on a "diet", suddenly I don't care and I look at those stupid low-cal snack cakes as the only things that are helping me not feel deprived.

I most definitely need to change the way I view food.

I have been an overeater for as long as I can remember. I suppose it's tough to correct a lifetime of unhealthy attitudes toward food within a matter of a couple months. (Not that I should use that as an excuse) Sometimes I feel powerless over food. For example, when DH was out of town for a few days this past week, I actually found myself soaking a large hunk of bundt cake with water before chucking it in the trash because I knew I couldn't trust myself not to eat it. Throwing it in the trash wouldn't have have been enough to deter me. Like a nicotine addict who digs a half-smoked cigarette out a of a public butt can, I would not put myself above pulling a George Costanza and grabbing a food item out of the trash in a moment of desperation. (We know, George, it was "on top")

I know, it's sad. I need help.

Labels: doh, food, goals, health, household chores, weight loss

I am in desperate need of some exercise! Since the weather got cold, I stopped my nightly walk with Scout in the sling. I miss that so much. I'm sure there have been some brisk but not TOO cold days here and there when I could've bundled her up and taken her out, but it just feels weird to me to tote a baby around outside in the cold. I bet it would've done us both some good, though.

We have a recumbent exercise bike collecting dust out in the garage that I should probably drag into the house and use at least a few times a week while Scout is napping. I'm just so selfish with my alone time. It seems like a waste to spend it doing something that I don't really enjoy. I NEVER get to escape the house alone (except for my Weight Watchers meetings). I am with Scout 24/7 and her naps are the only time I have to do chores that can't be done while she is asleep, bathe, and just relax. I'm not sure how to fit exercise in there.

Labels: exercise, general complaining, health

Scout is getting over her first fever. I must say that the absolute worst thing about being a parent is seeing your child in any type of pain or discomfort. Monday evening, DH noticed that Scout felt a little warm, but I didn't take her temp.

I was still up at 2 am, making chocolate covered pretzels for christmas gifts and heard her fussing. I could tell by the sound of her cry that she didn't feel well. When I laid next to her to nurse her, she fought it and would not calm down. I picked her up and realized she was really hot. She had a 103.2 degree fever and was just inconsolably cranky. She vomited once. I've always wondered how one could tell if a baby is vomiting or just spitting up...I mean, after all food is coming up either way. But I knew this was vomiting - it was accompanied by that gaggy upchucking sound and there was much more force behind it than when she spits up. She's had a little bit of clear snot running since her cold a couple weeks ago, but her chest sounds clear and she hasn't been coughing or pulling at her ears.

The fever did not let up through the rest of the night and through the morning, so I called and got her an appointment with the pediatrician for yesterday afternoon. I got maybe 2 hours of sleep that whole night because she just wanted to be held...but even in my arms, she would cry and squirm like she just couldn't get comfortable. There was a long stretch when she wouldn't nurse at all and wouldn't take a bottle filled with water, so I took the bottle of water and squirted it on her tongue. I got about 2 ounces in her that way. She wouldn't nap. She was just miserable.

Right before we left for the doctor's office, I took her temp and it was exactly 103.2...no change. Usually she is very rambunctious while I am strapping her into the car seat and super vocal during the whole car ride into town. But this time, she was limp and had a glazed listless look in her eyes. It scared me. I kept reaching back to make sure she was still breathing while I was driving. I know that's stupid, but I had just never seen her act that way. I could tell that she wanted to scream in the car seat, but couldn't even muster a cry, so she just moaned until she fell asleep.

In a way, the doctor's appointment was a waste because all he did was tell me that it was a virus and to give her baby Tylenol and wait it out. I could've figured that out without paying $48. But I'm very glad we went because he did get a good look in her ears and throat and they looked fine. If I wouldn't have taken her in, I would've been left to wonder if she had something going on in her ears or if there was more to the problem than what I could see.

Instead of taking her to the last pediatrician she saw, I took her to the clinic where she had her first check-up at one week old. I wasn't impressed with the other pediatrician and his office is an hour away, so I decided I am done with that place. She had never seen the doctor she saw yesterday (the clinic has something like 11 pediatricians, so you pretty much never see the same one). I was surprised that he didn't chide me for not keeping up with her well baby visits. He asked if we have her on the state-subsidized free health insurance for children that is available for low-income families. Sadly, our income is just above the maximum amount a family can make to qualify. He said that at the very least, I need to take her to the health department to keep her shots updated. I should've just kept my mouth shut and said, "okay". But instead, I said that we are thinking of delaying or selectively vaxing (or not vaccinating at all) and all he said was, "The health department will not allow you to make up your own vaccination schedule, but we do have a modified vaccination schedule for parents who would like to space the shots out." That's all that was said. I was glad. I did not have the energy to get into it with him.

He gave me several bottles of baby Tylenol, which was nice because the thought of having to stop at the store on the way home was exhausting. He told me to come back on Friday if her fever did not let up by then. I'm a first time parent, so what do I know....but I'm thinking that letting a 103.2 fever last for 4 days without seeking any more medical attention is a little weird. I don't want to be the kind of parent who runs her child to the doctor with every sign of the sniffles and doses her up with Tylenol at the drop of a hat. I really would rather treat her illnesses with natural remedies. But to be totally honest, I'm too scared to do that. I'm too nervous that I'll let something go on too long and will do my child damage by being too stubborn to seek help from the medical establishment. I guess my natural parenting license needs revoked.

After the first dose of Tylenol, her fever let up a little bit and she was acting more like herself. She played and smiled and nursed great. She went to bed very easily and slept wonderfully. This morning, her temp was down to 100.7 and she is completely back to her old self.

Labels: firsts, health, tough parenting decisions

Scout has her first cold. I feel very blessed that as of tomorrow, she will be 7 months old, and she has never even had so much as the sniffles until now. But I still hate that my sweet little girl is all snorkly and gurgly. Poor thing HATES having her nose wiped. So on top of feeling crummy, she has to deal with mommy coming at her nose every 10 minutes with a wash cloth. Even more than getting her nose wiped, she despises the nasal aspirator.

I know it looks absolutely ridiculous, but I am seriously considering ordering a product I first saw featured at Thingamababy:

The Nosefrida Nasal Aspirator



If I do, I'm sure it will arrive when her cold is past the nose-full-of-snot phase, but after reading the rave reviews, I think it would be worth it to have one on hand for future snot-sucking.

Because I am cheap...er..I mean, innovative, I tried fashioning my own hill-billy Noefrida by taking the bulb off of a large baby medicine dropper and sucking the snot out that way. The shape and size of the medicine dispenser is pretty similar to that of the Nosefrida - the only things missing are the long tube and the snot filter. (I'm really not afraid of a little bit of baby snot getting in my mouth. I guess I'm just gross like that) I only tried it once before I decided that is was a bad idea. First of all, I don't like it that my face was 2 inches away from her face while I'm performing this highly irritating and maddening thing on her. If I'm going to make her that made, I don't want her to only view to be a close-up of mommy's face attached to the device that is torturing her. Seems like that would be disturbing. Second, I'm sure that the Nosefrida is designed the way it is designed for a reason. The fact that there is a long tube probably prevents the parent from sucking too forcefully.

Babies are expensive. We just bought a humidifier for her room last night and now I want this fancy Norwegian mucous collector? Gees. I guess we just love you that much, Scout.

Labels: baby gear, firsts, health

In the spirit of this post, I just ordered a couple of 100% natural rubber pacifiers for Scout. She has never liked pacifiers (despite my best efforts to get her to try them during her fussy first month), but she has recently taken to chewing on them. She loves to bite down hard and scrape her teeth on the pacifier as she yanks it out of her mouth. (Oh Lord, please don't ever let her do such mean things to mommy's nipples!) I think she likes the squeeky noise as her tiny teeth bounce off of the paci with each bite. She also likes to hold the nipple part of the paci and gnaw on the handle. Once in a while she will actually use it for its intended purpose for about 5 seconds.

But, if I'm going to such great pains to replace her cheap plastic play things with more natural alternatives, then it's pretty silly of me to let her chomp on a piece of plastic and silicone/latex all day long.

These Natursutten pacifiers are kind of expensive at $5.99 + shipping. And only after I hit the "confirm and place order" button did I notice that the item descriptions states that these pacifiers should be replaced every 4-5 weeks due to their natural quality.

But the ones I'm ordering will hardly be subjected to any rigorous sucking (if at all), so I'm wondering if I could push the limits on the suggested "expiration" date. I am not familiar with natural rubber, so I don't know what it does if used past 4-5 weeks. Maybe it turns into a pumpkin.

Oh yeah, and (not that she uses them very often anyway, but) I'm trashing all of her polycarbonate bottles (Avent Naturally), which contain the icky plasticizer bisophenol-A and recently replaced them with Gerber Clear View bottles, which are made of a safer material called polyproylene.

Labels: baby gear, health, safety

I am joining the revolution with Danielle and decided buy some quality toys for Scout so I can trash her bin of cheapo plastic made-in-China toys.

DH and I made some money at the garage sale we had last weekend, so we were able to order 9 wooden toys from Moolka.com.





I also found a couple toys on eBay that I was going to bid on, but the bidding has gotten higher than I wanted to spend, so I'm going to look for something different.

I hope Scout enjoys all of her new toys as much as I enjoyed picking them out.

They were all made in Germany and have eco-friendly non-toxic water-based paints, so I think I can feel good about Scout chewing on them. Yay!

I'll be glad to get rid of most of the toys she has now, but it'll be sort of tough for me to throw away a few of them. She has a couple favorites that she really enjoys. But it's for the better.

Labels: baby gear, health, money, safety, toys

We ended up going to see the pediatrician today instead of yesterday because my car died on the way there yesterday. Even though it was inconvenient, I couldn't have asked for more favorable conditions for having car trouble. DH was with me because he had a dental appointment near the pediatrician's office. About halfway into our 45 minute drive, we pulled into a Wal-Mart gas station to fill up and then the car wouldn't start after that. If you're gonna get stranded somewhere, the best place for it to happen is Wal-Mart. DH was able to buy tools to remove the battery and take the battery over to the tire & lube to get it tested. It was still good, so DH figured the starter had gone bad. He remembered an old trick that a mechanic friend had taught him. For some reason, if you crawl up under the car and whack the starter with a wrench as hard as you can while someone else turns the ignition, it will probably start back up again. It worked, so we were able to get some errands done and pick up a new starter.

Scout was a trooper through the whole thing and didn't protest too much during the almost 3.5 consecutive hours we were in car. We took a nursing break and got to walk around a bit while DH was figuring out what was wrong with the car, so I think that appeased her.

Anyway, the visit with the pediatrician went well. He was Mr. No-personality and hardly cracked a smile the whole time we were there, but I still liked him better than the last guy we saw at her one-week check. I like that he is an older gentleman....reminds me of the doc my sis and I went to from the time we were born until we were 18 years old.

At this office, she will see the same doc every time, as opposed to the last place, where there were 9 docs and a couple of nurse practitioners. I didn't like the fact that you could request to see a specific doc if you wanted to, but 9 times out of 10 your request was was futile and getting the one you requested was a crap shoot. (according to a friend who used to take her child there)

This new doc seemed unphased with the fact that we are either going to delay vaccinations or skip them entirely and only told me his opinion after I asked him. He told me that he doesn't deny that there are some risks involved with immunizations, but he feels than the benefits outweigh the risks. I figured that would be his stance and that's fine. The nurse or MA or whatever she was, who had walked us back to the exam room and took Scout's temp, weight, etc, was a little less understanding about us forgoing shots. It didn't bother me. She was very young and didn't have a very professional demeanor anyway.

Her: So, did she get her Hep B shot in the hospital?
Me: No, we declined all injections while we were there.
Her: (with an astonished look) So, you're not getting any shots at all?
Me: No.
Her: (frowning and confused) Then, why are you here?
Me: She hasn't had a check-up since she was a week old. I thought it would be a good idea to bring her in for a well-baby visit.

I guess in her mind, it's only worth bringing your kid in for a check-up if shots are involved. Weird.

I told the pediatrician that we were thinking about starting Scout on solids pretty soon and that we plan on mashing up fresh fruits and veggies for her to taste (one at a time, of course). His response was that he normally recommends starting babies out on rice cereal at 3 months of age. Hhhmm...

That is contrary to what I've been hearing at LLL mettings and reading on breastfeeding info web sites. Here is an excert from Kellymom.com:

"Cereal is not at all necessary, particularly the baby cereals. Regular (whole grain) oatmeal is more nutritious for your baby. Many doctors recommend iron-fortified rice cereal as baby's first food because it is less likely to cause an allergic reaction and because most babies sometime after the 6th month require an additional iron source other than mother's milk. If your baby starts solids around 6 months or later, there is much less chance of allergic reaction to foods. It's debatable whether healthy breastfed babies need the extra iron (you can get baby's iron levels checked if you're worried about this). In addition, infants need lots of protein and cereal has a low protein-calorie ratio (even lower when mixed with water or fruit). Many experts (including LLL) suggest giving meat or other foods naturally rich in iron instead of foods with added iron. For more information on iron, see Is Iron-Supplementation Necessary? "

I know that you can't trust everything you read on the internet. Some pages out there can be downright flaky, but I tend to trust most of what Kellymom has to say about breastfeeding and nutrition because they always provide lots of links to studies and sources for their info at the bottom of the page. They're not just pulling it out of thin air, as far as I can tell.

Anyway, I also showed him Scout's diaper rash and told him that I'm paranoid that it could be yeast. I had read that yeast feeds on cornstarch and if you use a corn starch-based baby powder and it causes the rash to flare up, then it is more than likely yeast. It seems like it did get more inflamed after I used powder on her, but it's hard to tell because the rash comes and goes, whether or not I'm using cream or powder, or just leaving it alone. He looked at the rash and said, "Oh, that's nothing. Just put some Desitin on it." I guess I will force myself to trust him and assume that he knows what a yeast infection looks like...but it just seems like he totally dismissed what I said about the yeast-cornstarch connection. I'm really tempted to take matters into my own hands and just put some OTC yeast infection cream on the rash to see what happens. Another thing that makes me suspicious is that when she has her diaper off, she sometimes reaches down and scratches it. But she may just be curious about how her diaperless hoo-ha feels, I dunno.

Scout weighed in at 15 lbs 12 oz, which is lighter than what I thought she'd be. I weighed her at last month's LLL meeting and she weighed over 16 lbs. Then again, when I weigh her at the LLL meetings, she usually has clothes on. There is another LLL meeting tomorrow and I plan on stripping her down to a clean dry diaper like when she was at the doc's office to see how much their scales differ.

The doc said her weight, height, head circumference, etc all looked great. I didn't bother to ask about percentiles. I guess I don't care. As long as she seems healthy and is growing fine, I don't see the point in comparing her to other babies.

We never had a hearing test done on her because the hearing tester thingamajig at the hospital where I delivered her was on the fritz and I never scheduled an appointment to get it tested. I know, that's horrible. The doc's office called and got us in to see an audiologist to get it tested on the 24th. I've never had any cause for concern because she has always startled at loud (and not-so-loud) noises and constantly turns her head in the direction of sounds. It's better to be safe than sorry, though.

Labels: health

My edges are getting A LOT neater. I really enjoyed doing this little practice piece. I used this pattern, but I kind of goofed after making 2 rows of the blocks..... I accidentally started making them 4 stitches wide and 6 stitches tall (as opposed to 4 x 4, like they're supposed to be). I liked the way the 4 x 6 blocks looked better, so I just went with it. I ended with 2 rows of 4 x4 blocks to make it look like I did it on purpose. I think I may actually turn this little swatch into something practical, like a coin purse. I'll just fold it in half and sew up the sides. I think I have a little scrap of satin to make a lining...and I may even have a zipper (although, probably not the right length). I'd like to embellish it somehow, but not sure with what. It would look darling with some little felted flowers or something, but I don't know how to do that yet.





Yesterday, I took our shower door down and replaced it with a shower curtain. For one thing, I hate the noise that the shower doors make when they're rolling on the tracks. I know, that's pretty stupid. But it's just not a pleasant sound. Another reason I hated having sliding shower doors was that they are not conducive to bathing a baby. Our toilet is right beside the tub, on the side closest to the faucet. Even though Scout is far from being able to sit up in the tub by herself, I know that the day will come when bending over the toilet to reach the faucet all twisted-like because the sliding door is in the way will NOT be fun.

Scraping the caulk that lined the door off of the tub and tiles was a pretty tedious job, but the results were worth it. It looks a lot more light and airy in there now. One side of the sliding shower door was a mirror, so when you were in the shower, it was pretty dark. Now, there is an opaque curtain that lets plenty of light in.

Blah blah blah....Sorry..... Like you really want to hear about my bathroom :)

Tomorrow is Scout's second ever appointment with a pediatrician. (oops - I mean, today...I'm up way too late!) She hasn't been since she was a week old. She will be 5 months old in 2 days. I'm nervous and I'm not sure why. I heard from an acquaintance that this particular doctor is very respectful of (but probably not in favor of, I'm assuming) the decision not to vaccinate or delaying/selectively vaccinating. I'm not sure what to say when it comes up or if it will even be an issue. I don't want to totally dismiss his thoughts on it and I definitely don't want to send out the "To hell with what you think, Doc" vibe...but I also want to stand my ground and not let anyone pressure me into giving my daughter injections that I'm not totally convinced are safe.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Labels: health, knitting

We went to the police station today and had Scout's Britax Marathon car seat installed in our car. We had it in the car when she was a newborn and decided to replace it with an infant seat for a while because the straps on the Marathon just swallowed her up and she didn't seem very comfortable in it. Now that she is much bigger, she fits nicely in it. I feel like it is a much safer seat, so I was anxious to get it installed as soon as possible. The infant seat definitely served its purpose for a while, but we never unsnap it from its base anymore (unless it is just so we can bring it in to keep it cool). That's the one thing I will miss about having a seat that comes off of the base. But I have a solution to that: I'm going to bring a big ice pack with us whenever we run errands and lay it on the seat and the buckles while we are shopping. Even if the ice pack totally melts while we are in there, at least the seat and buckles won't be scorching hot.

It has been miserably hot here. Last Friday I went grocery shopping while Scout rode contentedly in the Ergo carrier on the front of me the whole time. After we were done, I started the car and cranked the air so it would cool off a little while I loaded the groceries in the trunk. Scout was still attached to me in the Ergo. A lady came up to me and graciously offered to help me put my bags in the trunk. I only had a few left, so I politely declined and thanked her for offering and told her I thought it was so sweet of her to ask. Then she said, "I just thought I'd offer because it is just too hot to have a baby out today." I think it was her disapproving motherly tone that bugged me more than what she said.

Can anyone say "passive aggressive"?? Sheesh. Here, I thought it was just a stranger being nice but it was actually just a cranky old lady who can't keep her advice to herself. Offering to help just gave her the perfect opportunity to come over and gripe at me for having my baby out in the heat.

I couldn't think fast enough to reply with anything clever. I just thanked her and she walked on. If I would've thought faster, I would've told her that it was a billion times hotter inside the car and much safer for her to be out in the sun for 2 minutes with me while we waited for the car to cool off. But I think by her phrasing, she must've meant that it was much too hot to have a baby out of the house in general. Yeah - it's SOOOOO dangerous to carry a baby around in an air conditioned store for an hour and then spend 2 minutes in the parking lot (I even had her head shaded)and put her into an air conditioned car. I'm a neglectful mother.

Okay. Sorry. Got derailed from my original story. Anyway, after we got the car seat installed, we went to the local LLL meeting. I always look forward to that every month. It's nice to hang out with some like-minded mommas. I weighed Scout at the meeting and she weighed 16 lbs 2.5 oz! What a chunk!

That reminds me, I made an appointment for Scout to see a pediatrician for a check-up on September 17th. We haven't taken her to any well baby visits since her 1 week appointment. I know, I know...don't throw tomatoes at my head. I just really didn't care for the place we took her for her 1 week appointment and I've put off finding another pediatrician. Part of my laziness in finding another one stems from the fact that I'm dreading the confrontation about vaccinations. I've heard stories from some of my other friends who don't vaccinate their children (or vaccinate on a delayed schedule) about docs who tell you that you are a bad parent and are stupid for questioning the safety of vaccines. Supposedly, this other doctor we are going to try is open to discussing it in a friendly manner and doesn't think a parent deserves to be turned in to CPS for refusing/delaying vaccinations for their children.

**ETA**
Ha ha .... I just read what I wrote in the last paragraph and the way it is worded makes it sound as if the first pediatrician she saw wanted to turn us in to CPS or something. LOL No, not at all. We didn't even get into a discussion about vaccinations with him. Just from what I've *heard* about the physicians at that particular clinic, they are not very open to discussing more natural ways of preventing and curing diseases. Plus, the staff just wasn't very friendly AT ALL. Just wanted to clear that up. I was just being dramatic.

Labels: baby gear, babywearing, general complaining, health, safety, tough parenting decisions

I had been toying around with the idea for a while, but yesterday I decided once and for all that I am going to cut all dairy, soy, and gluten from my diet. I am not sure that it is even necessary, but I think it will be interesting to see if Scout becomes any less fussy after I eliminate those things. It seems like she gets some gas issues in the evening and she has been spitting up more often than I would like. Besides, it certainly won't hurt me any to just eat fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, and lean meats for a while.

Scout's poo color has evolved from a neon yellow with curdy white specks to a slightly darker yellow with some darker brown specks. Yesterday, I did see a couple of tiny flecks of what appeared to be blood. At first, it freaked me out and I immediately thought about getting her in to see a pediatrician. But then I remembered reading about how infants with milk/soy protein intolerance (MSPI) get irritated bowels and can have specks of blood in their stool. I also read that the appearance of a small amount of red blood in their poo can be normal if it seems like they strain a lot while trying to go. When I did a search on Mothering.com for "blood in stool" several threads came up with mothers in the same predicament asking for advice. Almost all of the replies involved stories of babies whose poo had the same appearance, acted gassy, and spit up frequently, and when the mothers eliminated all dairy and soy (even the trace amounts found in most prepared foods) from their diets, the babies got better. I'm not saying that's necessarily what's going on here.....after all, Scout does not seem like she is in pain except for that window of "fussy time" some evenings....but I figure it can't hurt to try it and see what happens. I'm tossing out gluten as well, because that seems like a common culprit in babies' tummy issues in a lot of the stuff I've read as well.

At the same time, you'd better believe that if I see anymore specks of blood in her poo, I will be taking her to a doctor (although, most doctors don't know a lick about breastfeeding issues or the link between mommy's diet and baby's tummy....so I'm not sure if that would do any good.) I know she doesn't have a virus or anything. She has no fever or any other symptoms. Unless I see more signs of something being wrong, I'm not going to get bent out of shape about it and just look at it as an opportunity to do something healthy for both me and my daughter.

Labels: health

DH: "________'s wife had a level II ultrasound to make sure the baby doesn't have Down's. How do we know our baby doesn't have Down's?"

Me: "I guess we don't."

DH: "Oh."

Me: "How old is she?"

DH: "Who?"

Me: "________'s wife."

DH: "I dunno."

Me: "I'm not sure, but I thought that a level II ultrasound is usually only ordered when the woman is old....."old" being in her 30's. 'Cause when you're older, there's a higher chance of baby having Down's Syndrome or Trisomy something-er-other."

DH: "She's over 30"

This little conversation made me thankful for the way our pregnancy is going. It made me thankful that I haven't worried myself over stuff like this. I just KNOW like I know that water is wet that this little baby, who is all curled up inside me poking me in the ribs as I type this, is perfectly healthy. That may seem naively confident to some, but I think it's smart. It's smart because fear, worry, and mulling over what-if's never helped anyone's health.

If I would've been thinking, I would've also shared with DH the fact that I have read a little about level II ultrasounds and nuchal translucency tests and found that they are notorious for producing "false positive" results, which just propel the parents-to-be into a state of worry and uncertainty for the rest of the pregnancy. Yeah, that's really good for momma and baby's health.
Don't get me wrong, I know that there are instances when these tests can be helpful. But like I said, I am very pleased that things like that have not been a part of this pregnancy. This blessed pregnancy.

Oh and just for the record, I don't think 30-something is old :)....I was just thinking it might throw one into a different "risk" bracket in the world of obstetrics.

Labels: health

Thanks, Wendy, Sorlil, and Jae for your comments on my last post. I totally agree that it has to be a decision that a family comes to on their own. Yes Wendy, I'd love more info about your delayed vax schedule. Maybe it'll help me sort things out in my head. And I totally wasn't offended by any of the points you made - I'm always open to different points of view.......

......even though it probably didn't seem that way from my reaction to that anonymous commenter. LOL! :) It's not that I wasn't open to what they were saying, it was just the dumb tone of the comment that made momma-bear's hormonal claws come out. I'm actually thankful for the comment because it made me realize how strongly I feel about soaking in as much credible information as possible before DH and I make any decisions about vaccinations....and it was sort of fun to pretend that the commenter was every person I might come across in real life who looks at people that embrace non-mainstream parenting choices as irresponsible freak shows. Not that I have a huge abundance of people like that in my life...but it was cool to have a sort of "virtual punching bag", if you will.

I'm not going to let myself get overwhelmed with the choices. Afterall, this is just the beginning of a myriad of tough decisions that DH and I will have to make as parents. I might as well get used to it and go with the flow. I know that God will tell us what to do.....I'd better get accustomed to handing my child over to the Lord and trusting in His divine provision and protection, lest I be one of those nervous-wreck mommies who worry themselves sick over their children's safety. That would be no way to live.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind"
-2 Tim 1:7

DH and I just read about how "sound mind" is sophronismos in Greek, which literally means "safe mind"....denoting safe thinking and clear understanding; the ability to make right decisions.

I'm just going to believe that the spirit of "sophronismos" reigns in our lives as parents......as opposed to the spirit of fear and doubt. Amen!

Labels: controversial topics, health, spirituality

I am totally confused about vaccinations. I've been reading a bunch of articles and forums and it's so difficult to tell whether or not a source is reputable or just full of crap. My gut tells me to pass on ALL immunizations. But then I started thinking if we decide to selectively immunize and/or delay immunizations, I want to be as informed as possible. Well, of course I want to be informed either way. A friend of mine has not given her 6 month old son any shots at all and has recently decided to go ahead and do the DPT shot...or DTaP, whatever you want to call it. She said that her son's pediatrician is okay with her skipping all the other vaccinations, but he feels strongly that she should at least give her son the DPT shot.

And then, here I am reading articles that give accounts of babies going into convulsions and having bad fevers and possible brain damage after getting the DPT shot. Sheesh. From what I can tell, these cases are extremely rare....... but it still doesn't sit right with me. The question is WHICH poses more risk: the vaccination shots and their possible adverse reactions, OR the chance of our child acquiring one of these diseases??

Here's a thought that keeps coming to my mind in all of this: The Amish have almost no incidence of Autism. They also do not vaccinate their children. I doubt that's a coincidence.

Labels: health

One of the things that totally blows my mind about becoming a parent is the fact that DH have the power to shape this little person's health. I know that there will be times when I let my child indulge in McDonalds and eat Little Debbie snacks (In fact I already have, in a way), but I love that we can give this little boy or girl the advantage of being raised on a diet that consists mainly of healthy, minimally processed foods.

I know we can't keep our child in a bubble, separated from this world full of weird chemicals and toxins, but I'd like to do what I can to limit his/her exposure to harmful substances.

Lately, I've been reading about the possible negative effects of plastic baby bottles. Although I will be breastfeeding and won't be relying heavily on bottles, there may be times when the baby is a little older when I may need to pump and have DH or someone else feed the baby. My sister gave me 20 or so Avent Naturally bottles in 2 different sizes, along with a few breast milk storage containers. (Woohoo!) All I need to complete the set (and have already registered for) are the nipples.

Somehow, I stumbled across an article on the Children's Health Environmental Coalition about polycarbonate bottles and how scientists in Japan found that they can "release a hormone-disrupting chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA) into infant formula during sterilizing and heating on the stove-top. The scientists also found that used bottles leached up to nearly double that from new bottles."

Then, I read a little here and there about what the effects of BPA are:

Bisphenol A disrupts young brains, scientists report

Bisphenol-A: Wikipedia

Danger in Plastic Baby Bottles?

Of course, the 20 baby bottles that were given to me are made from polycarbonate, the plastic in question.

So now, I'm wondering if I should get some glass bottles, or bottles made from plastics that have been deemed safer like polyethylene and polypropylene. With glass, there's always the concern with breakage and weight. The "safer" plasic bottles out there are ones like Evenflo's pastel polyethylene plastic bottles and Gerber's polypropylene opaque plastic bottles. (couldn't find them on the internet, for some reason).....but how do I know that studies about those plastics won't come out in a few years declaring them harmful as well?

Sheesh.

I'm leaning toward glass, since the occasions our baby will be taking a bottle will hopefully be few and far between. Whoever is doing the feeding can make sure that they are holding onto the bottle while the baby is eating or atleast that baby is not toddling around the house unattended with the bottle.

At the same time, it seems like a "waste" to already have 20 bottles sitting in a box in the other room and not use them.

Am I bordering on fanatacism here? Should I even be worrying about this? Maybe I should just buy like one or two glass bottles so that when we do need to use a bottle, I'll have one handy and we can see where to go from there.

Labels: baby gear, health

I am determined to take a brisk 30 minute walk EVERY DAY. I'm mad at myself for being so complacent about exercise up to this point in the pregnancy. I wish I would've been taking it seriously from day one. Maybe my blood pressure wouldn't have been elevated at my appointment the other day, and maybe my butt wouldn't be the size of Texas.

Yesterday, after Bob got picked up, I threw on my comfy walking shoes, a winter hat (it was windy!!), and my favorite hoodie (I can't believe it still fits). I made sure to use the bathroom before leaving the house because last time, I was miserable halfway through the walk because my bladder was screaming at me.

It felt great to get my heart rate up and walk against the chilly refreshing wind. But not long into my little excursion, my bladder or something in that general area was feeling very sore and irritated. It sort of felt like ligament pain maybe? I'm sure my big uterus isn't accustomed to being jostled around like that, so maybe things were just stretching out in there......OR it was simply my angry bladder again. Whatever it was, it made the walk pretty tough. My lower back was aching most of the time too. I'm sure it's just because I'm not used to much motion these days.

My shoe came untied toward the end of the walk, but I couldn't stop to tie it. By this time, I was certain I needed to pee. BADLY. I was too afraid I would pee my pants if I bent over that far. From now on, I should take someone with me for the specific purpose of tying my shoe and carrying a bucket for me to pee in.

Labels: exercise, health

I had a Quarterpounder w/ cheese with fries and an orange drink tonight. It was yummy. At first, I felt guilty because I had just gone grocery shopping and spent a lot of time and effort label-reading and choosing healthy foods. But then, I convinced myself that DH and I have a pretty good system going here. We hardly ever keep junk food in the house. There are rarely any cookies, candy, ice cream, etc. to be had under this roof. So when we do have a hankerin' for sweet junk and fatty foods, they're not easily accessible. I think it's alright to indulge in scrumptiously naughty fare every now and again while we're out and about, as long as it's not all the time.

But now that I'm home again, in the land of no dessert, I'm wishing I would've gotten one of those greasy little boxed apple pies while we were at McD's.

Labels: food, health

Man-o-man, have I eaten loads of junk over the past few days! Cookies....fudge....chocolate fondue w/ pound cake, candy, egg rolls, deep fried squash....french toast and grilled cheese made with (gasp!) white bread....biscuits and sausage gravy....the list goes on. All these things wouldn't be so bad, if I hadn't eaten such large quantities of them and had at least intermingled them with some fresh vegetables.

I want to sink back into my normal, relatively healthy eating habits today. So far, so good. I've had a bowl of cereal and a protein smoothie made w/ eggwhite protein powder, super green food supplement, echinacea, frozen fruit, and orange juice. Now, I think I'm going to eat some celery and carrots w/ natural peanutbutter and maybe some french toast....with NO maple syrup (even though we have all-natural 100% maple syrup, I need to wean myself off of this holiday sugar binge). Then, maybe I'll have a spinach salad w/ sunflower seeds and cheddar cheese.

I'd also like to do better with the quantity of water I drink. I still drink a lot of water, but I've slacked off with measuring and knowing FOR SURE that I'm getting at least 100 oz of water in a day.

I just called my midwife to get the phone number of the Bradley childbirth class instructor that we are going to use. I believe it is a 12 week course, so we probably need to get started as soon as we can. She's really good about returning my calls right away, so I'm sure I'll hear something from her soon.

Labels: food, health

So, my little UTI seems better, but not COMPLETELY cleared up. I have already taken the full course of antibiotics that I was prescribed. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that last Thursday I eneded up breaking down and seeing a physician. The natural remedies seemed to be helping, but just when I thought things were clearing up, I'd have raging symptoms again. I was afraid of letting it get out of control. The doc gave me 3 days of an antibiotic called Macrobid and told me to keep chugging the fluids, yada, yada. She also said that if it didn't seem cleared up after that, to call back.

I called the doc's office @ 8:00 yesterday morning to let her know that it didn't seem completely cleared up and was wondering if she wanted to refill my antibiotic or put me on something different. Her nurse finally called me back at around 2:30, but I don't think she had really listened to my message because I had to explain everything to her again. Then, she said she'd get with the doctor and call me back. Grrrr.... I think it was a little after 4:00 when she called back to tell me that the doctor said I would need to come in as early in the morning as possible so they could collect a good concentrated urine sample and see where to go from there. (Last time, I had been drinking so many fluids, my urine was diluted and it was difficult to tell how bad the bacteria was)

The only problem with that was....my my 4th appointment with the midwife was scheduled for today @ 10:00 and I didn't think I could get to the doctor's office to pee in a cup when they opened and still make it on time to my midwife apointment (she's almost 2 hrs away). Then the nurse proceded to tell me that my midwife should be able to check my urine at her office and that I should just have it done there. I told her that I'm not sure if she has the facilities to do that.....and the nurse said "I would be seriously worried about her if she didn't." By this time, my head was spinning. I wanted to say, "Would somebody just PLEASE help me with this infection?????" ....but instead, I said, "Okay, I'll see if she can do that."

Oh yes, did I mention that I felt like the doctor had acted a little stand-off-ish when I told her that I am seeing a midwife and another doctor for my prenatal care? I wasn't going to say anything because I know that some docs can be a little strange about midwives....but she asked me, so I told her.

Meanwhile, I'm going a day and a half with a lingering infection and lapsed antibiotics. I'm no professional, but I'm pretty sure that it's bad to treat an infection half-way w/ antibiotics and then several days later, start treating it again. Seems like it would give the bacteria time to bounce back. But what do I know???

At that point I was really confused. I KNOW that my midwife doesn't have a LAB in her office. Sure, she can use the little dip-stick things to check my protein and whatnot, but I don't think she has the capabilities to check for bacterial infections......AND even if she did, she doesn't have a license to prescribe medication! I called my midwife to find out if I could come in a little later for my appointment so I could get my urine checked @ the doc's office first thing in the morning. She was perfectly fine with that. I tried to call the doc's office back to let the nurse know that I could come in to give a sample in the morning, but by this time it was 4:30 and the only choice I had was to leave the nurse a message. Of course, she didn't call back. The front desk told me to just come on in.

So.....this morning I go to the doc's office and explain things to the receptionist. I swear that she looked at me like I was speaking Chinese. She called the doc's nurse and told her I was there to give a urine sample, yada, yada. I could tell by the receptionist's reaction that the nurse acted confused. Suddenly, no one knew what was going on or what I was there for. I was not on the schedule and I could tell that I was stressing them out. I was asked to sit down and wait until the nurse could come out and talk to me.

Meanwhile, I'm getting nervous that I'm going to be even later for my appointment with the midwife than expected. AND I overheard the receptionist tell someone that their lab is CLOSED today. WHAT?????? I was seriously considering walking out. After a half hour, I went back up to the front desk and apologized for being a bother, but I was under the impression that I would just need to give a urine sample so the doc's nurse could determine what kind of antibiotic she needed to call in for me. (Keep in mind that at this point, I hadn't peed since 6:00 am and I was READY to give my specimen) She said the nurse would be out in a little while. I asked if I had heard correctly about the lab being closed and she said "yes". Bewildered, I sat back down. Just then, my midwife called and told me that she needed to cancel because of a family emergency. We rescheduled for next Tuesday. Not that I was happy about the family emergency, but it worked out well that I did not have to keep the appointment - it was looking like I might be at the doctor's office for a WHILE.

They finally call my name and a medical assistant (not the doc's personal nurse I talked to on the phone) proceeds to weigh me and take my vitals. I told her that I was confused. I didn't need to see the doctor....I was just there because I need a prescription refilled or new prescription written out and that the nurse had told me to come in and give some early moring urine so they can check it before I get anymore meds. I must have been speaking Chinese again. The confused girl takes me back to an exam room. The nurse that talked to me on the phone comes in and tells me to pee in a cup and the doctor would be in to see me in a little while. I told her that I'm sorry I'm confused, but I didn't know I was supposed to see the doctor again. She said it was necessary. She also seemed surprised that my midwife can't prescribe medicine. (Apparently, this nurse knows nothing about midwifery and the fact that midwives can't go around writing scripts for meds.....maybe Certified Nurse Midwives can, I dunno, but my midwife is a Licensed Midwife) When I mentioned what the front desk said about the lab being closed, she said that it is, but the doc could just test my urine herself. Doc looks at my urine then spends all of maybe 10 seconds in the room with me. She says that the infection looks like it's on its way out (what she said on Thursday!) and wrote me a different prescription. And she wasn't very friendly AT ALL. Bye-bye. That'll be ANOTHER $60, please.

So I have to pay for ANOTHER office visit because she did not prescribe a long enough course of antibiotics for me??? WHAT A CROCK. This round of antibiotics cost $50. Great. (We don't have insurance right now because the benefits at DH's new job do not kick in until January)

This infection had better CLEAR UP because I am not going back to a physician's office that is run by monkeys. In case you're wondering why I did not see my birth back-up doc for this problem, she is also almost 2 hours away. When I called THAT office when this infection first started, they advised me to see my primary care physician.....which would've been fine, if I had a competant one.

Alright. Now that's over with, wanna see pics of my 18 week belly?