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From our family to yours, happy new year!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The Decade in Review
Some ladies on one of my message boards were reviewing the first decade of the new millennium. Apparently, Time Magazine is calling it the worst decade ever and she wondered how the decade panned out for people individually. Here's my contribution (and my age will totally show here, LOL):
- 2000- Got a leading role in the school play, where I met Jake, Jake graduated high school and went off to college, I began my senior year in high school
- 2001- Got my hours cut at my waitress job and had to find a new job (very traumatic at 17/18), graduated high school, went to college, pledged Delta Zeta
- 2002- Jake went to basic training, so I wrote letters every day for a good part of the year, learned the way to Ft. Leonard Wood, got engaged, left Delta Zeta
- 2003- Got married
- 2004- Lost 43 pounds, got pregnant, Jake deployed to Iraq
- 2005- Pregnancy got all traumatic, had Spencer prematurely, Jake came home, did my student teaching (probably my worst year of the decade)
- 2006- Started a job teaching at NLR high school, worked at a bank the summer between semesters (worst job ever!), Marla had her car accident
- 2007- Jake got on meds (yea!), we decided to move to Mtn. Home over La Grange, GA
- 2008- Lived with Mom and Pop while trying to sell our house (no luck, but we did rent it out), finished my second full year of teaching at NLR then joined Jake in Mtn. Home, got pregnant again, Crickey died
- 2009- Got our first real profit sharing check, Jack was born at home, lost 26 pounds (and will still be working on that in 2010)
Best wishes for a very awesome 2010!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
A Very Thomas Christmas
Our theme this year for Christmas was very obviously "Thomas the Tank Engine." There wasn't a single non-Thomas item on Spencer's list, so Santa did her very best to accommodate that.
The Loot:
The Loot:
The fun:
Jack telling the grinch (aka Daddy) to cheer up and have a good time:
Jake is always in a terrible mood at Christmas. He's decided next year that he's boycotting it all, so for those who buy him gifts, just be aware. If he's going to be a scrooge about it, then he sure doesn't deserve anything.
All in all, it was a really great time. We were exhausted by the end, but I think that's to be expected with the amount of driving we did while corralling two kids. The best thing of all: Jack is getting better in the car. There was very little screaming on the way down to Little Rock or back. I don't think I could've asked for anything better!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Nestle Free Zone
I am trying to live a Nestle free life. Nestle. Yes, that Nestle. Makers of such goodness as Butterfinger, Hot Pockets, and Haagen-Dazs.
So why would I want to boycott such a tasty company? Well, strap in. It is kind of a long story.
Nestle is also the maker of a little thing called Nestle Good Start, which is artificial baby milk (further known as ABM, aka formula). Now I'm not quite insane enough to hold it against them for simply making formula. There are always women who need it (last I read, about 3% of women physically can't breastfeed). It is the way Nestle has marketed its ABM on a global scale that has had lactivists in a tizzy since the 1970s.
According to many sources, Nestle is (or was) doing dirty deeds in the marketing department, specifically in Africa. There are many reports of "nurses" (who are actually just women working for Nestle) going into African hospitals and giving breastfeeding "advice" (you can imagine how good it is) and free samples. They keep supplying "advice" and free samples until mom's milk supply is gone. Then, WHOOPS!, the free samples also dry up and now mom has to buy the formula.
As you can imagine, this can cause some problems in most of Africa, where poverty is so rampant. First of all, formula costs money. These poor women are now forced to buy ABM thanks to the underhanded marketing that Nestle practices. This often causes another big problem: watered down formula. This really doesn't sound so bad, but it can be really harmful. Infants who get watered down ABM aren't getting all the nutrients they need in the right concentrations. Formula is very specifically manufactured and tampering with it can be devastating.
Along with those problems, you have a water supply and cleanliness issue. Poverty stricken countries typically don't have great infrastructure, which tends to lead to things like lack of easily accessible water or dirty water. Many infants have died because of formula usage in Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has actually issued guidelines for the marketing of
ABM. The recommendation was made in 1981. Obviously the US does not participate.
Nestle now claims that they are in full compliance with the code, but who knows. I doubt their self reporting.
As for my household and the boycott, I do what I can. It seems Nestle owns so much and every once and a while I stumble across something that they own and I had no idea. For example, I have a package of Hot Pockets (Jake's lunch food of choice) in the freezer. Lamespice for sure.
By far the hardest thing to avoid has been Gerber products. Yes, they own Gerber too. *sigh* So far I haven't been able to find freeze dried yogurt bites in any other brand, so Jack has had to do without. Which is a real pity, b/c he loves those things. To further complicate matters, in the big town of Mountain Home Gerber is pretty much it. Even Wal-Mart only carries a few items made by Parent's Choice or Beech Nut. The toddler feeding area is by far Gerber dominated.
Like I said, I'm doing what I can.
So why would I want to boycott such a tasty company? Well, strap in. It is kind of a long story.
Nestle is also the maker of a little thing called Nestle Good Start, which is artificial baby milk (further known as ABM, aka formula). Now I'm not quite insane enough to hold it against them for simply making formula. There are always women who need it (last I read, about 3% of women physically can't breastfeed). It is the way Nestle has marketed its ABM on a global scale that has had lactivists in a tizzy since the 1970s.
According to many sources, Nestle is (or was) doing dirty deeds in the marketing department, specifically in Africa. There are many reports of "nurses" (who are actually just women working for Nestle) going into African hospitals and giving breastfeeding "advice" (you can imagine how good it is) and free samples. They keep supplying "advice" and free samples until mom's milk supply is gone. Then, WHOOPS!, the free samples also dry up and now mom has to buy the formula.
As you can imagine, this can cause some problems in most of Africa, where poverty is so rampant. First of all, formula costs money. These poor women are now forced to buy ABM thanks to the underhanded marketing that Nestle practices. This often causes another big problem: watered down formula. This really doesn't sound so bad, but it can be really harmful. Infants who get watered down ABM aren't getting all the nutrients they need in the right concentrations. Formula is very specifically manufactured and tampering with it can be devastating.
Along with those problems, you have a water supply and cleanliness issue. Poverty stricken countries typically don't have great infrastructure, which tends to lead to things like lack of easily accessible water or dirty water. Many infants have died because of formula usage in Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has actually issued guidelines for the marketing of
ABM. The recommendation was made in 1981. Obviously the US does not participate.
Nestle now claims that they are in full compliance with the code, but who knows. I doubt their self reporting.
As for my household and the boycott, I do what I can. It seems Nestle owns so much and every once and a while I stumble across something that they own and I had no idea. For example, I have a package of Hot Pockets (Jake's lunch food of choice) in the freezer. Lamespice for sure.
By far the hardest thing to avoid has been Gerber products. Yes, they own Gerber too. *sigh* So far I haven't been able to find freeze dried yogurt bites in any other brand, so Jack has had to do without. Which is a real pity, b/c he loves those things. To further complicate matters, in the big town of Mountain Home Gerber is pretty much it. Even Wal-Mart only carries a few items made by Parent's Choice or Beech Nut. The toddler feeding area is by far Gerber dominated.
Like I said, I'm doing what I can.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Slow November
As you may have noticed, November was kind of a slow month in my blog-o-sphere. Has there been a month in the past year that I've only done one post in a month? Hmmmm...
Anyway, there really wasn't much to report, until the end of the month anyway. I was out of work a few days with sick kiddos, but other than that we have just been maintaining the status quo.
Toward the end of the month, the boys got H1N1. Well, I guess we're assuming that's what it was. Apparently, docs aren't swabbing for it anymore. They just say, "Well, these look like flu-like symptoms, must be swine flu." Maybe they have magic H1N1 detectors? Who knows.
Jack had it first. He was running a fever and had a snotty nose, so I took him to the doctor, who said it was a cold (this was his second round of fever in about a week and a half). The fever lasted for about 2.5 days and then it was gone. So when Spencer spiked a fever, I just assumed it was the same thing and we went ahead and traveled to Little Rock for the holiday.
But Spencer's fever was persistent and, as the days passed, kept getting higher and higher. But he never really acted sick. He was still playing and having a great time. We took him to an after hours clinic where they diagnosed him with the dreaded swine flu and sent us on our way with a prescription for Tamiflu.
Four days after the fever began, he woke up fever free and stayed that way. "Hooray!" we all shouted. Swine flu defeated! We went to Chuck E. Cheese and Barnes and Noble and had a great time.
The next day, however, he woke up with a fever of 105.3. I'm not typically one to panic over a fever, but that is a high number. In fact, I'd never seen a number that high on a thermometer before. I managed to get an appointment with our old pediatrician in Sherwood, Dr. Miers (who ROCKS! If you are in the Little Rock area, I can't recommend her enough). She took one look and him and ordered blood work and a lung x-ray. Lungs looked good, blood work was crazy, so she directly admitted us to the hospital.
Spencer's blood had basically gone septic. He tested positive for streptococcus pneumoniae, which can cause all kinds of nastiness from sepsis to meningitis. But Dr. M caught it soon enough that the IV antibiotics were able to knock it out pretty well.
He ended up staying in the hospital for about 5 days, including over Thanksgiving.
I'm super grateful for Dr. M, that she was able to catch it. I certainly don't have confidence that our pediatrician here in Mountain Home would have (see the fact that Jack was diagnosed with a cold above. Dr. M said that with Jack being generally healthier than Spencer and breastfed, he probably had it and just kicked it really easily). I certainly wish I could clone her and bring a copy up here.
Hopefully I'll do better blogging in December. :-)
Anyway, there really wasn't much to report, until the end of the month anyway. I was out of work a few days with sick kiddos, but other than that we have just been maintaining the status quo.
Toward the end of the month, the boys got H1N1. Well, I guess we're assuming that's what it was. Apparently, docs aren't swabbing for it anymore. They just say, "Well, these look like flu-like symptoms, must be swine flu." Maybe they have magic H1N1 detectors? Who knows.
Jack had it first. He was running a fever and had a snotty nose, so I took him to the doctor, who said it was a cold (this was his second round of fever in about a week and a half). The fever lasted for about 2.5 days and then it was gone. So when Spencer spiked a fever, I just assumed it was the same thing and we went ahead and traveled to Little Rock for the holiday.
But Spencer's fever was persistent and, as the days passed, kept getting higher and higher. But he never really acted sick. He was still playing and having a great time. We took him to an after hours clinic where they diagnosed him with the dreaded swine flu and sent us on our way with a prescription for Tamiflu.
Four days after the fever began, he woke up fever free and stayed that way. "Hooray!" we all shouted. Swine flu defeated! We went to Chuck E. Cheese and Barnes and Noble and had a great time.
The next day, however, he woke up with a fever of 105.3. I'm not typically one to panic over a fever, but that is a high number. In fact, I'd never seen a number that high on a thermometer before. I managed to get an appointment with our old pediatrician in Sherwood, Dr. Miers (who ROCKS! If you are in the Little Rock area, I can't recommend her enough). She took one look and him and ordered blood work and a lung x-ray. Lungs looked good, blood work was crazy, so she directly admitted us to the hospital.
Spencer's blood had basically gone septic. He tested positive for streptococcus pneumoniae, which can cause all kinds of nastiness from sepsis to meningitis. But Dr. M caught it soon enough that the IV antibiotics were able to knock it out pretty well.
He ended up staying in the hospital for about 5 days, including over Thanksgiving.
I'm super grateful for Dr. M, that she was able to catch it. I certainly don't have confidence that our pediatrician here in Mountain Home would have (see the fact that Jack was diagnosed with a cold above. Dr. M said that with Jack being generally healthier than Spencer and breastfed, he probably had it and just kicked it really easily). I certainly wish I could clone her and bring a copy up here.
Hopefully I'll do better blogging in December. :-)
Saturday, November 14, 2009
I Have Well Behaved Children.
Go figure, right? With as much complaining as I've been doing about them, I was pretty sure I was raising two demon spawn. I mean, I've got one who screams at most people and is terribly unsocial. The other has so much energy that he tells me he doesn't know how to be still (God speed to his kindy teacher next year). And we had to leave Wal-Mart two weeks ago b/c of a tantrum he was throwing. Like leave the shopping cart in the aisle and get the hell out of there type situation.
But apparently, they are better behaved than other children, especially when we dine out.
We don't go out to eat terribly often; we're much more likely to order take-out these days. About a month or so ago, we were complimented while at Sean's Restaurant as to how good the boys were. A week later, someone at McDonald's complimented me on their behavior. And yesterday, someone at Quiznos' told me how well behaved they were.
It seems to me that they must be pretty well behaved in general, even with what I assume are demon like behaviors that crop up every now and again. I'm going to start trying to focus on the good stuff as opposed to all the little negatives.
But apparently, they are better behaved than other children, especially when we dine out.
We don't go out to eat terribly often; we're much more likely to order take-out these days. About a month or so ago, we were complimented while at Sean's Restaurant as to how good the boys were. A week later, someone at McDonald's complimented me on their behavior. And yesterday, someone at Quiznos' told me how well behaved they were.
It seems to me that they must be pretty well behaved in general, even with what I assume are demon like behaviors that crop up every now and again. I'm going to start trying to focus on the good stuff as opposed to all the little negatives.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
November Is Prematurity Awareness Month
Some quick facts...
1. About 13% of babies in the United States are born prematurely (that's more than 500,000 a year), up 36% since the early 1980s.
2. The March of Dimes has concerns that a rise in late preterm births could be because of elective inductions, either for the "convenience" of mother or her doctor (ie- without true medical justification).
3. Prematurity can cause a huge laundry list of problems for babies. Some of these problems may not present themselves until childhood.
(Source: March of Dimes)
Prematurity is not a cause that I have always championed. Once upon a time, I was quite oblivious to all things preemie. I knew there were babies that were born too soon, but because I wasn't directly involved it wasn't something I thought about.
The whole world flipped upside down for me on March 16, 2005. At 20 weeks pregnant, my water broke. Not a leak. Not a trickle. A flood.
When I got to the hospital, they couldn't even get a good reading on Spencer's heart rate because he was too small and still had so much room to maneuver.
"What happens now?" I had asked.
The answer was: we wait. Wait for an infection. Wait for labor. Wait for general fetal demise. Should I develop an infection, we deliver the baby. Should I go into labor, they would not stop its progression. Should fetal demise occur, well... But regardless, until I was 24 weeks pregnant, almost a month away, the NICU couldn't even do anything for him if he was born.
So wait I did, for many long weeks. Jake called me in the hospital daily to fill me in on what they were up to in Iraq. Mom, my grandmother, stopped by with frappuccinos from the Starbucks downstairs. Dara, my sister, stopped in frequently, bringing pictures of the cats, bills, and, at least once a week, some dinner from beyond the hospital cafeteria.
With every week brought my new perinatologist, his ultrasound machine, and a bit of encouragement. Spencer was growing. His body was growing at an appropriate rate, which led us to believe his lungs were developing despite the lack of fluid.
By the time we reached the end of May, I was finally beginning to go stir crazy (my nurses said it usually happened in the 2nd week of hospital bedrest, LOL). I had reached the huge milestone of 30 weeks pregnant, 2 weeks past what my OB and perinatologist had wanted. So when I developed a small placental abruption, the decision was made to proceed with delivery (which was a c-section due to breech presentation).
Spencer was a robust 2 pounds and 14 ounces, a full 10 ounces bigger than estimated via ultrasound, and 15 inches long. He cried in the operating room, but quickly became strained so they intubated him.
This began our NICU journey. Suffice it to say that it felt like 7 years rather than 7 weeks.
Spencer's lungs were underdeveloped and the NICU team had a terrible time keeping his blood oxygen level where it should have been. They had to put him on an oscillating ventilator with nitric oxide (different from nitrous oxide like at the dentist), which can cause brain bleeds. However, things began to move in a positive direction at that point. Three days later, he was able to move to the conventional ventilator and get off the nitric. A mere 2 days after that he was put on the nasal cannula.
Then, something funny happened. At the same time they began feeding him, his tummy just kept getting bigger and bigger. The doctors feared it was necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which is a very serious problem with the bowels. He was rushed from Baptist Hospital to Children's, where emergency surgery was preformed.
Turns out it wasn't NEC after all, but that his nurse had poked a hole in his stomach with his feeding tube. I think I should have been upset about that, but the gratitude I felt in the fact that he didn't have NEC outweighed it all.
From this point, Spencer's stay in the NICU was fairly uneventful. He grew and grew, almost doubling his birth weight by the time he was discharged in July. When I took him home, he was 4 pounds and 5.5 ounces.
Every time I look at him, I am reminded of how fortunate I am that he is alive. Every time I think I'm going to go crazy if I hear him tell me about his trains one more time, I think about how many mothers of premature babies didn't get to take their children home.
Because regardless of what the television shows us, prematurity doesn't mean that a baby is simply small. Prematurity is complex and frequently devastating. Simply getting big doesn't solve their problems. And I am grateful for Spencer. Every day.
1. About 13% of babies in the United States are born prematurely (that's more than 500,000 a year), up 36% since the early 1980s.
2. The March of Dimes has concerns that a rise in late preterm births could be because of elective inductions, either for the "convenience" of mother or her doctor (ie- without true medical justification).
3. Prematurity can cause a huge laundry list of problems for babies. Some of these problems may not present themselves until childhood.
(Source: March of Dimes)
Prematurity is not a cause that I have always championed. Once upon a time, I was quite oblivious to all things preemie. I knew there were babies that were born too soon, but because I wasn't directly involved it wasn't something I thought about.
The whole world flipped upside down for me on March 16, 2005. At 20 weeks pregnant, my water broke. Not a leak. Not a trickle. A flood.
When I got to the hospital, they couldn't even get a good reading on Spencer's heart rate because he was too small and still had so much room to maneuver.
"What happens now?" I had asked.
The answer was: we wait. Wait for an infection. Wait for labor. Wait for general fetal demise. Should I develop an infection, we deliver the baby. Should I go into labor, they would not stop its progression. Should fetal demise occur, well... But regardless, until I was 24 weeks pregnant, almost a month away, the NICU couldn't even do anything for him if he was born.
So wait I did, for many long weeks. Jake called me in the hospital daily to fill me in on what they were up to in Iraq. Mom, my grandmother, stopped by with frappuccinos from the Starbucks downstairs. Dara, my sister, stopped in frequently, bringing pictures of the cats, bills, and, at least once a week, some dinner from beyond the hospital cafeteria.
With every week brought my new perinatologist, his ultrasound machine, and a bit of encouragement. Spencer was growing. His body was growing at an appropriate rate, which led us to believe his lungs were developing despite the lack of fluid.
By the time we reached the end of May, I was finally beginning to go stir crazy (my nurses said it usually happened in the 2nd week of hospital bedrest, LOL). I had reached the huge milestone of 30 weeks pregnant, 2 weeks past what my OB and perinatologist had wanted. So when I developed a small placental abruption, the decision was made to proceed with delivery (which was a c-section due to breech presentation).
Spencer was a robust 2 pounds and 14 ounces, a full 10 ounces bigger than estimated via ultrasound, and 15 inches long. He cried in the operating room, but quickly became strained so they intubated him.
This began our NICU journey. Suffice it to say that it felt like 7 years rather than 7 weeks.
Spencer's lungs were underdeveloped and the NICU team had a terrible time keeping his blood oxygen level where it should have been. They had to put him on an oscillating ventilator with nitric oxide (different from nitrous oxide like at the dentist), which can cause brain bleeds. However, things began to move in a positive direction at that point. Three days later, he was able to move to the conventional ventilator and get off the nitric. A mere 2 days after that he was put on the nasal cannula.
Then, something funny happened. At the same time they began feeding him, his tummy just kept getting bigger and bigger. The doctors feared it was necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which is a very serious problem with the bowels. He was rushed from Baptist Hospital to Children's, where emergency surgery was preformed.
Turns out it wasn't NEC after all, but that his nurse had poked a hole in his stomach with his feeding tube. I think I should have been upset about that, but the gratitude I felt in the fact that he didn't have NEC outweighed it all.
From this point, Spencer's stay in the NICU was fairly uneventful. He grew and grew, almost doubling his birth weight by the time he was discharged in July. When I took him home, he was 4 pounds and 5.5 ounces.
Every time I look at him, I am reminded of how fortunate I am that he is alive. Every time I think I'm going to go crazy if I hear him tell me about his trains one more time, I think about how many mothers of premature babies didn't get to take their children home.
Because regardless of what the television shows us, prematurity doesn't mean that a baby is simply small. Prematurity is complex and frequently devastating. Simply getting big doesn't solve their problems. And I am grateful for Spencer. Every day.
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