This is a great article courtesy of the Parenting Squad: Yes, You Can Drink While Pregnant. 

Experts tell us that consuming excessive amounts of alcohol is harmful to a fetus, and since pregnant women can’t be trusted to know the difference between excessive and moderate, they just tell them to abstain from drinking altogether. The truth is that a glass of wine or beer now and then will have no adverse effects on a fetus. Your liver will metabolize almost all of it before it reaches the placenta, and whatever may be left is super minimal.

This quote from the article speaks to one of my favorite soapbox subjects, kids and nutrition: (more…)

I went to the dentist yesterday. I had so much fun, I just have to tell you all about it.

Part One was the x-rays and examination. They took x-rays and pictures of my mouth. To do the panorama x-ray, you have to hold onto two metal bars and bite down on a piece of plastic attached to a machine. Then you have to stand real still while the machine circles around your head. It was a very weird experience, but that wasn’t even the best part.

The dentist reviewed my x-rays, then he examined my teeth up close (really close, he had binoculars attached to his glasses). Part of his examination involved measuring the gap where my gums meet my teeth. In order to do this he had to repeatedly stab my gums with a metal pick, spouting off numbers with each stab for the hygienist to record. Believe it or not, hearing those numbers took my mind off all the pain and bleeding. I really like numbers. (more…)

I think I’ve been staying up too late. My brain is fried, just like the zucchini I made for dinner tonight. It’s probably kinda mushy on the inside too.

Tomorrow Mike and I are going to the hospital for an all day Diabetes Nutrition Class. You know you’re fully submerged into parenthood when you look forward to spending eight hours at the hospital learning about the diabetic diet only because it’s eight hours you get to spend together. It’s almost like a date; no kids, a meal, and maybe even a video. Heck, if we’re feeling really romantic we might even hold hands on the walk from the parking garage. (more…)

… teeth, that is. I made an appointment with a dentist for January 16th. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a dentist. Apparently you are supposed to go every six months, not years. Whoops. When I went last, they told me my wisdom teeth were growing in straight and there was no urgent need to pull them unless they were causing me pain. They weren’t then. They are now. I noticed just recently that it was getting a bit crowded back there, and one of my molars is definitely pointing a different direction than it used to.

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I gave up on the lose 30 pounds by 30 goal, but I still need to do something about this extra weight. This is the heaviest I have ever been and it’s bothering me. Big time. I know diet and exercise are the ways to losing weight, but I’m just going to leave exercise as a last resort. I just need to be more diligent about packing lunches and making dinner and it should make a difference. At least it has in the past. Maybe I’m in a smidge of denial. All I know is I’ve been slacking on eating right and now is time to shape up. 

My weakness is not necessarily junk food as it is convenience food. I’m lazy about food, and I’ll eat just about anything. Now every time I look in the mirror I have a reminder of where my laziness has gotten me. The problem I’m running into is that I can only hide so much with clothing. That and I hate shopping for new clothes. Shopping for new clothes means I’m accepting this new body and I refuse to do that.  

It is going to be so hard staying on track during the holidays but I think I can do it. I’ve already cut way back on the evening ice cream binges. Heck, I even braved the sleet and ice late Saturday night to go to Super Wal-Mart so I would have some healthy food in the house. Now that’s dedication, people. 

Technorati Tags: holidailies, health, food, weight loss

Last Will & Testament - Check!
Life Insurance - Check!
Eternal Salvation - Check!

Bring on the Mack truck, I’m ready! Well, more prepared than ready. I don’t suppose I’m ready to die yet. I’m having too much fun!

I had my paramedical exam for the life insurance underwriting this morning before work. The medic came right to my office, which was kind of weird because the only thing separating my office from the hallway is a big wall of glass. The first bit of fun was stepping on the scale. Gulp… 160. That means I’ve actually gained 3 pounds since I stopped breastfeeding. Not cool. Yes, my pants fit, but that’s because I bought new pants.

The second bit of fun was the urine sample. I wasn’t too worried about this because I got plenty of practice peeing in a cup when I was pregnant. I had to give a sample every time I went in for a check-up. This time was a little more tricky. At the dr.’s office I just left the cup in the cubby hole in the bathroom. No travel required. At my office I had to walk through two doors, one which required a key to open, all the while holding this cup of urine and trying very hard not to spill it because the cup had no lid! Ew. Plech.

The third bit of fun was the blood draw, which I’m also an old hat at now. In the past I have been known to get a little woozy around needles (an inherited trait I’m sure) but I utilized my trick of counting by 3’s and was able to ward off the wooziness. I learned that trick from a phlebotomist last year. It works every time.

Now I just have to wait for underwriting to review the results. Until then I’ve got contingent coverage just in case something tragic happens. Let’s hope nothing like that happens, because then who would write my blog?

Technorati Tags: life insurance, health

I slept on the couch last night. It’s no secret that Mike is a snorer. I can usually sleep right through it (8 years of marriage and eventually you get used to it), but he has been sick and when he is sick his snores transform into some of the most horrific noises you’ll ever hear. I don’t mind sleeping on the couch, in fact I find it quite comfortable, so I’m happy to let him have the bed so he can stretch out and get some good sleep.

Last night I must have been sleeping a little too well because I woke up with a crick in my neck. It’s fairly mild so I’m sure I’m going to make it, but I’ve had them much worse. You know what I’m talking about. The kind of crick where any slight movement in the wrong direction feels like a knife in the back of your neck. What sucks is when you forget that you have the crick and turn your head to the side, causing your entire body to jump in pain. Let me tell you, when you sit at your desk spontaneously convulsing every few minutes people just think you’ve gone completely mad (as opposed to 83% mad, which was the previous speculation).

I’m wondering if there is a cure for crick in the neck. What do I do whenever I’m wondering? I google it!

The View from Sports Center says a crick in the neck is mostly caused by a sprained ligament. “Whatever you do, don’t stretch. Respect the pain, slow down, and allow your body to heal.”

Most of the search results gave different advice but this one seems to make the most sense. I usually try to rub and stretch the pain out as if it was a sore muscle, but sore muscles are not usually an acute pain. Sprains and strains give you sharp pain and stretching would only make it worse. I guess I’ll just have to be patient and give it time to heal.

Technorati Tags: health, neck pain

Have you heard of this? I heard about it from one of my coworkers because her husband has it. He thought he was getting spider bites but it turns out it was this nasty, potentially fatal bacterial infection. He’s okay now but from reading this website it seems it could have been much more serious.

MRSA Infection

And here’s the interesting part:

Although the survival tactics of bacteria contribute to antibiotic resistance, humans bear most of the responsibility for the problem. Leading causes of antibiotic resistance include:

Unnecessary antibiotic use in humans. Like other superbugs, MRSA is the result of decades of excessive and unnecessary antibiotic use. For years, antibiotics have been prescribed for colds, flu and other viral infections that don’t respond to these drugs, as well as for simple bacterial infections that normally clear on their own.

I have said for years that I think many of my past health problems were in part due to doctors handing out antibiotics like candy when I was a kid. Heck, it even looked and tasted like candy. Antibiotics are useful in some cases, but a lot of times our bodies need to be left alone to build up our immunities. I have always been leary of antibiotics, which is why it pained me to give Luke antibiotics in his first week of life for his infected circumcision. (I know, I just posted an article about circumcision. I’m for it, yet because of it I had to give my son meds that I hate. Really though, it was so minor and we only gave him the meds for a couple days until the infection cleared up. They always tell you to finish the antibiotics even though your symptoms are clear. Why is that?)

Anyhoo, it sounds like a really nasty infection, this MRSA thing. And now my coworker thinks she has it. I’ll be steering clear. Yikes.

The two items that have remained on my to-do list since… well… a long time… months and months:

• Life Insurance
• Last Will & Testament

Today I took some big steps towards completing those tasks. I purchased a template for the last will & testament from uslegalforms.com. I just have to fill it out and get it signed and notarized. I also spoke to the insurance agent who had the best rates I could find for life insurance. I just need to complete an application and physical and I should be good to go within 6-9 weeks (after that I can die in peace). With Mike’s situation (see posts on the brain tumor) it could get a little more pricey so the agent is going to call me back with quotes for him.

Once I get these two tasks completed I can only imagine the big sigh of relief that will follow. No more procrastination!!

I have lost 1.6 pounds since August 3rd. Not on track for losing 30 by 30, but I can settle for slow and steady. My mother-in-law suggested maybe eating smaller portions of ice cream, and maybe not every night. So now I’ll just be eating ice cream on the days Mike shaves Though I’m tempted to relax on the whole weight loss idea and go the optical illusion route - Slim N Lift perhaps?