Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
The Road
Just finished this book. If you're a dad and have a son, you may be able to relate to this story. Loyd raved about it so Chris and I decided to pick it up. If you can handle sad, go for it. Do you want to tell us what you thought Chris?
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Who are you?
Every once in a while I get these shots and think.............I know you're my kid but for some reason you don't look yourself today.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Baby Bottle Warning and Omega 3 Fatty Acids can help hyper kids
Every other month I get a medical news letter from the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Virginia. It seems that every time we go to Virginia I've had to take my kids in for something nasty. So they know me now and send me stuff. The journals have tons of interesting health advice and have a listing of classes to help raise kids. I wish our local hospitals would do the same
One of the topics was titled Baby Bottle Warning. It briefly described which bottles are harmful and what would be a better alternative. Having read that I remembered the countless conversations I've had and heard saying the same things that basically plastics shouldn't be heated or put in the dish washer because of BPA.
But being the lazy person that I can be, I most often stick my baby bottles in the dishwasher and use the microwave to warm milk up in our Avent bottles. Well, shame on me.
After reading more articles about BPA, I started to get nervous about what damage has already been done on my kids. That's the irrational part of me. I also ran out to three different stores to find glass bottles. (I probably should just start weaning my baby off the bottle). I settled on buying them off Amazon.com since the stores don't have them yet. I should of done it a long, long time ago. I'm sad I have to wait for them now.
click on this link.....Walmart will remove baby bottles with BPA
Now that it is fact, more and more stores will be taking these harmful products off the shelf. Lucky for you guys who haven't had babies yet.
On Amazon you get free shipping if you spend $25 on certain products that qualify. So of course, I had to spend the extra little bit, might as well right? So I bought Charlie and the Chocholate Factory for K since he's reading now and of course I had to get something for L too.
I bought him some Omega 3 oil capsules that are kid friendly. Not only are they half the size of those usual horse pills, they have a hint of lemon flavor. Recently I've been having a hard time getting him to take the liquid form (nasty even I have a hard time swallowing) of the healthy fatty acids. In fact, the last time he just threw it up along with whatever else he had eaten.
The reason why I like my kids to take fish oil or flax seed oil is because for K and A it's good for their dry skin and for L it's good for his hyperactivity. They've found that children with ADHD have a deficiency in Omega 3 fatty acids. These supplements help out with that. Now I don't think L has ADHD because we can sit down and read for an hour and he sits through primary. But, he is very active. He goes and goes and goes and eats then goes and goes and goes and eats some more. After I give him a bit of the oil (in juice or mixed in food), he slows down a bit in a good way.
So now I'm waiting for those too. I guess we can all use them. My cousin takes them to regulate her energy levels and to help our with her depression. Now who couldn't use that!
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
I CAN'T help myself!
Both Chris and Loyd have advised me to not introduce so many new posts at one time. So that probably means, ya'll feel the same. I just wrote another especially long post on vaccinations down below that I hope you read. I should stop there but, I just can't help myself!!
We went to Wheeler Farm last night for the kick off summer reading program the library has organized. There was a magician, lots of people picnicking, and the usual walk around the farm to see the animals.
As I was leaving the house, I thought I probably should bring along the camera just in case, even though we've been to the farm many, many times. I thought...there's nothing new, most likely won't get any interesting shots.
In fact, I took the worst pictures ever, blurry, too much sun light, on and on. BUT, I am so excited with the editing I did. I MUST share!!
click here to redirect you to my picture website
We went to Wheeler Farm last night for the kick off summer reading program the library has organized. There was a magician, lots of people picnicking, and the usual walk around the farm to see the animals.
As I was leaving the house, I thought I probably should bring along the camera just in case, even though we've been to the farm many, many times. I thought...there's nothing new, most likely won't get any interesting shots.
In fact, I took the worst pictures ever, blurry, too much sun light, on and on. BUT, I am so excited with the editing I did. I MUST share!!
click here to redirect you to my picture website
To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate
I am pro vaccination. I did hold off on the MMR with K since he had a severe food allergy to eggs and the MMR is grown on egg culture. Nevertheless, he eventually got it and did fine.
Since there is a lot of stuff on the internet and literature about vaccination and autism, I've always been nervous about my kids being hurt by vaccinations or having a bad reaction. However, both K and L have done fine and are up to date.
However, after A's 4 month shots, he became very irritable, stopped smiling, began to arch his back when nursing, and was fussy to say the least. His trademark of being left in a room and forgotten because of his natural tendency to be content, became no more. The usual box of toys he would play with happily, he would pick up and shake and then scream. The best phrase to describe what happened to him is that he went autistic on me. I remember thinking, wow, my wrists hurt so much trying to nurse him in a weird position. Something's not right.
He was really bad for a week. I was soooooooo sad and stressed out about it. I took him for a really long walk on a sling against my chest. He seemed to calm down. It took a month for him to get back to his normal, happy, self meaning that when I walked into his room to get him from a nap, he would be there ready and smiling.
I did a lot of research, talked to doctors, blah, blah, blah. Since I am a person that relies a lot on my intuition, I have felt strongly that his reaction was due to certain vaccines he received that day. He has yet to get those ones again but has received others such as the chicken pox, Hep A and Hep B.
Had I been too busy or not putting two and two together, I would of passed what was happening to him as a phase. However, A was not a fussy baby at all. In fact, he was the most pleasant little baby I've had so far.
I think so much more research needs to be done. This might be far fetched but I think that a small portion of children aren't able to handle certain vaccines. Instead of it protecting a child, the vaccine inflames the brain and continuing to give them the vaccinations may end up causing permanent brain damage.
As a parent we all want the best for our kids. We want them to have the best chance in life. So for now, I am holding off on certain vaccines for A. It doesn't mean I am against vaccinations. It just means that I understand that each person is an individual with different needs. Some kids don't handle them well and I wish more research was being done to know what type of kids those are and act accordingly.
As a note, both A and K had their well appointments 1 1/2 weeks ago. Poor K had 5 shots and four or five warts burned off, one of which became a bloody blister the size of a penny. We ended up at urgent care because of the pinkness around it and the pink streak going to his wrist. Red flag. The doctor cut it out (nasty BTW) and he's currently on antibiotics. As for getting five shots.....it hurt but he's not autistic. The next day after getting his shots, A got a fever, threw up, became croupy, and was a mess. Go figure!
My advice........Be careful. Be observant. Follow your gut feelings! Make your own decision and stick to it.
Since there is a lot of stuff on the internet and literature about vaccination and autism, I've always been nervous about my kids being hurt by vaccinations or having a bad reaction. However, both K and L have done fine and are up to date.
However, after A's 4 month shots, he became very irritable, stopped smiling, began to arch his back when nursing, and was fussy to say the least. His trademark of being left in a room and forgotten because of his natural tendency to be content, became no more. The usual box of toys he would play with happily, he would pick up and shake and then scream. The best phrase to describe what happened to him is that he went autistic on me. I remember thinking, wow, my wrists hurt so much trying to nurse him in a weird position. Something's not right.
He was really bad for a week. I was soooooooo sad and stressed out about it. I took him for a really long walk on a sling against my chest. He seemed to calm down. It took a month for him to get back to his normal, happy, self meaning that when I walked into his room to get him from a nap, he would be there ready and smiling.
I did a lot of research, talked to doctors, blah, blah, blah. Since I am a person that relies a lot on my intuition, I have felt strongly that his reaction was due to certain vaccines he received that day. He has yet to get those ones again but has received others such as the chicken pox, Hep A and Hep B.
Had I been too busy or not putting two and two together, I would of passed what was happening to him as a phase. However, A was not a fussy baby at all. In fact, he was the most pleasant little baby I've had so far.
I think so much more research needs to be done. This might be far fetched but I think that a small portion of children aren't able to handle certain vaccines. Instead of it protecting a child, the vaccine inflames the brain and continuing to give them the vaccinations may end up causing permanent brain damage.
As a parent we all want the best for our kids. We want them to have the best chance in life. So for now, I am holding off on certain vaccines for A. It doesn't mean I am against vaccinations. It just means that I understand that each person is an individual with different needs. Some kids don't handle them well and I wish more research was being done to know what type of kids those are and act accordingly.
As a note, both A and K had their well appointments 1 1/2 weeks ago. Poor K had 5 shots and four or five warts burned off, one of which became a bloody blister the size of a penny. We ended up at urgent care because of the pinkness around it and the pink streak going to his wrist. Red flag. The doctor cut it out (nasty BTW) and he's currently on antibiotics. As for getting five shots.....it hurt but he's not autistic. The next day after getting his shots, A got a fever, threw up, became croupy, and was a mess. Go figure!
My advice........Be careful. Be observant. Follow your gut feelings! Make your own decision and stick to it.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Donut Falls Today
We hiked up to Donut Falls today with the boys. The road to the trail was closed so it added an extra 2 miles to the hike because we couldn't drive up to the trailhead. We ended up walking to it. The actual hike I believe is 3/4 of a mile one way.
There was still alot of slushy snow so the boy's feet were pretty cold and wet on our way back down. Other than that the weather was warm. It's deceitful to see all that snow. You may have wondered why we weren't dressed in coats, boots, gloves, and hats but we were actually really warm besides the boys feet.
The kids were troopers. I'm pretty amazed that they hiked as much as they did. I wouldn't recommend going up with small kids until the snow is completely melted.
(I apologize to all those with RSS feeds. I had to tinker a lot to get this stinky slide show to work the way I wanted it to)
Thursday, May 29, 2008
I'm Changing My Mind
I've always thought of myself as more liberal than my peers. I would sit through conversations with really conservative people and think "Nope, I feel differently."
I'm prochoice not because I think abortion is moral but because I feel that a woman should have the freedom to make up her own mind and also because some women will put their lives at risk with unsafe abortion procedures if desperate enough. So, why not make it safe for them. I also believe that people suffer the consequences of poor choices and so let them.
Now on the issue of Gay marriages I have always felt the same way....people have free agency. I also felt that gay people are being discriminated against. It's that social worker in me that wants to stand up for the down trodden.
However, recently I saw a picture of a famous guy and his boy friend holding hands and walking together. It disturbed me. Not because I dislike them but because I thought about how I would explain such a picture to my sons if they saw it. I realized that although I am desensitized to so many things, I don't want my kids to be at such an early age. I don't want my boys to think this lifestyle is OK because I personally wouldn't want that kind of life for my kids. Although at one point in my life I felt it was o.k. for gay marriages to be legalized, now I feel really uneasy with what's going on in California.
Having and raising kids has changed me so much. I realize I am still growing and changing.
Now back to the issue of abortion. I still feel the same but I wonder if I will feel differently if I have a daughter later down the road.
I'm prochoice not because I think abortion is moral but because I feel that a woman should have the freedom to make up her own mind and also because some women will put their lives at risk with unsafe abortion procedures if desperate enough. So, why not make it safe for them. I also believe that people suffer the consequences of poor choices and so let them.
Now on the issue of Gay marriages I have always felt the same way....people have free agency. I also felt that gay people are being discriminated against. It's that social worker in me that wants to stand up for the down trodden.
However, recently I saw a picture of a famous guy and his boy friend holding hands and walking together. It disturbed me. Not because I dislike them but because I thought about how I would explain such a picture to my sons if they saw it. I realized that although I am desensitized to so many things, I don't want my kids to be at such an early age. I don't want my boys to think this lifestyle is OK because I personally wouldn't want that kind of life for my kids. Although at one point in my life I felt it was o.k. for gay marriages to be legalized, now I feel really uneasy with what's going on in California.
Having and raising kids has changed me so much. I realize I am still growing and changing.
Now back to the issue of abortion. I still feel the same but I wonder if I will feel differently if I have a daughter later down the road.
Radiation
At the doctors office I was waiting for my appointment and picked up a Health magazine. I read an article about being over exposed to radiation with CT scans and other medical tests. (click Healtharticle) These medical procedures can mutate DNA that in the future cause cancer. The article basically was advising people to think twice about running these types of tests since we are already exposed to natural radiation. The numbers add up and take a toll on your body. So, I pocketed this new knowledge and told myself I would do that.
So there I am sitting in the examination room with one of the best cardiologists around when he says to me...that running this cardio stress test with thallium that my yearly exam through EHE suggested I do, is not a good idea. He said if I were his sister he would not let me do this procedure. Why you ask? Well, thallium is radiation and although not a huge amount, in studies the number of cancer cases were significant enough to cause worry.
So he suggested a much safer stress test already set up for next week that is much safer and will give us the information we need about my heart murmur.
I was really pleased with this guy not only because of what he suggested but also because he was so thorough in trying to figure out why a person my age with the stats I have is sitting in this office. His thoroughness also went into explaining his train of thought and the science behind the heart. It was really interesting.
So there I am sitting in the examination room with one of the best cardiologists around when he says to me...that running this cardio stress test with thallium that my yearly exam through EHE suggested I do, is not a good idea. He said if I were his sister he would not let me do this procedure. Why you ask? Well, thallium is radiation and although not a huge amount, in studies the number of cancer cases were significant enough to cause worry.
So he suggested a much safer stress test already set up for next week that is much safer and will give us the information we need about my heart murmur.
I was really pleased with this guy not only because of what he suggested but also because he was so thorough in trying to figure out why a person my age with the stats I have is sitting in this office. His thoroughness also went into explaining his train of thought and the science behind the heart. It was really interesting.
On Peanut Allergies
One of the allergens that K tested positive for was peanuts. A couple years ago he began overcoming some of his food allergies, so I decided to try peanut butter. He loved the sandwiches and begged for them everyday. About a week into this high consumption of peanut butter sandwiches, he started to get hives. I've read that it's good to rotate the grains that you give your allergic child so as not to redevelop an allergy to them after having grown out of them. So, I figured he redeveloped an allergy to peanuts because he had too many sandwiches in such a short time period.
However, when K tried peanuts, he didn't get hives and even devoured a whole pail of them. I was confused. So you can consume peanuts but not peanut butter? Interesting. Well, I had read that the process of making peanut butter makes peanuts potent and thus a major allergen for some.
At Good Earth, I started to buy him almond butter to replace peanut butter. They have a machine that grinds fresh almonds and peanuts right there in front of you. So now I'm thinking he can probably have ground peanuts as well since they are not processed with heat the way the stuff you buy at the store is. I haven't tried it yet but I'll let you know what happens.
I read a similar experience at:
can'teatpeanutbutterbutOKwithpeanuts
It's not the greatest article. So I'm still searching for similar experiences and the article I read about processed peanuts.
If you have a peanut allergy do not go off our experience. Consult with your doctor before you decide to do anything crazy and go eating a pail full of peanuts.
However, when K tried peanuts, he didn't get hives and even devoured a whole pail of them. I was confused. So you can consume peanuts but not peanut butter? Interesting. Well, I had read that the process of making peanut butter makes peanuts potent and thus a major allergen for some.
At Good Earth, I started to buy him almond butter to replace peanut butter. They have a machine that grinds fresh almonds and peanuts right there in front of you. So now I'm thinking he can probably have ground peanuts as well since they are not processed with heat the way the stuff you buy at the store is. I haven't tried it yet but I'll let you know what happens.
I read a similar experience at:
can'teatpeanutbutterbutOKwithpeanuts
It's not the greatest article. So I'm still searching for similar experiences and the article I read about processed peanuts.
If you have a peanut allergy do not go off our experience. Consult with your doctor before you decide to do anything crazy and go eating a pail full of peanuts.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Exciting News............
No, it's not what you think. Follow the link to the news for the day.
JustTryingToGetHome
Where was I, I miss everything.
JustTryingToGetHome
Where was I, I miss everything.
From Kanagawa
We got a package today from Miwako Obachan! Thank You! The boys were so excited. We absolutely love it.Sunday, May 25, 2008
Question of the Day
K asks me "So when do we get our girl?" referring to a baby sister. Ha. What can I say? Why don't I just order her from a catalog? I wish it was as easy as that. Kids......you gotta love em .
Saturday, May 24, 2008
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