TMI Warning

I took a pregnancy test today and the results were..... negative. This is a good thing. That is a tricky question to ask- did you want it positive or negative? No no no because my youngest is not even 8 months old yet, my pregnancy insurance would not kick in for another year and I need to pay off some student loans but yes always, because children are such blessings. If it had been positive, it would have been welcomed AFTER an initial night spent lying face down on the floor in shock and scared anticipation! Anyway, this brings up several topics-

One: I am a freak that always thinks I am pregnant. I know I am not the only one- several of my close friends share the same disorder (you know who you are). I have been tired and nauseous (hello last weekend was Thanksgiving) but most of all I could swear that I felt fetal movement! I know- freak! So that begs the question, is there such a thing as phantom fetal movement syndrome? You know, like when amputees still feel pain in the limb that was removed- its' all neurological so it should be feasible that I would still feel movement from my itty one who was essentially part of me for the better part of a year.... so I looked it up. Turns out- I didn't even coin my own term :) Lots of women have this and that is WEIRD! I am going to do more research, the doc in me what to know exactly why it happens and I will post when I know.

Two: If I am tired and icky feeling, it is not a progesterone induced funk of early pregnancy. I am just not taking care of myself. I know better but what am I to do? I feel overwhelmed most days and don't eat like I used to, or exercise like I need to and consume too much caffeine- there I said it- I am unhealthy. This is really hard to admit because I used to be really healthy AND I spend lots of hours each week telling my patients to be healthy... I am a walking contradiction that gets away with it because by some miracle or probably good genes (thank you mom) I am the same size as I was pre-pregnancy... another nod to breastfeeding could go here as well. Honestly, that was what I was most afraid of- that I had exposed a little life to crap, crap, and more crap over the last 8 weeks or so. I made myself buy the test before I would drink another sweet tea or medicate a persistent headache that I couldn't make it to the chiropractor for. SO here is my wake up call that I need to jump back on the health bandwagon and stop blaming my phantom fetus for making me feel ill!

Three and final: I am so ready for my cycle to come back- I know I will regret saying this but after not having a period (this is the true TMI paragraph I know but if you are still reading, you must not be too squeamish) for 17 months, you really have NO idea where you are and could easily get pregnant. Thus my pregnancy test(s) are warranted- yes I have taken THREE since April! Remember I said I always think I am with child.
So there you go. Too. Much. Information. Only, if I have thought it, then plenty of you have thought it too. My children are gifts and so will be the next one or two but I think we have enough presents for the time being... with Christmas coming and all :)

I have a sister blog that is VERY young but focuses on food. I have a serious passion for cooking and eating and include all topics epicurean!! I have been asked for the link :) Here it is:
http://www.dr-mommagourmet.blogspot.com/

They are totally worth it

This morning I dried my hair sitting on the bathroom floor. Not the first time of course, but then this is not college after a long night out. It was a long night actually because we are teething (but that is another matter). Anyway, I digress. I was sitting on the floor because my new little crawler is drawn to the dirtiest crevices of the house and as i was in the bathroom, she kept trying to skirt my feet and head to the toilet. So what, right? At least i got a shower today- as a mom with two little ones, that is a luxury that we don't always get.
The point is, we learn and adapt to all the little changes that having babies and toddlers and later on super star elementary athletes bring because we are mothers. As soon at that little stick turns pink, or blue or digitally changes your life, we never live life just for us anymore. Sometimes I think that is a tad overwhelming and sometimes the thought is paralyzing. In fact, I am SURE i will revisit this topic again. I can't even shut myself in the bathroom for an evening bath without my 3 year old's fingers poking under the door asking for snacks :) But really, if we step back and look at it, isn't it so worth it. Most of the little changes come on gradually enough (after the intial assault of bringing home a newborn) and we know what we need to do. When that little fuzzy head and her shining smile crawls into my lap, I might just put the blowdryer down and leave the wet hair. My one patient today probably won't mind the messy hair and it will give me five more minutes of snuggle time. They are totally worth it and maybe that is the mantra I should use when I sit down on the toilet and little fists literally pound the door shouting at me- they are totally worth it :)

Peek A Boo

An exercise in futility??

My 7.5 month little girl does not want to eat anything unless it is from the tap, i.e. ME. I keep trying to give her yummy goodness on a spoon- on my fingertip- on her tray and she will usually stomach a few bites and then purse her lips with a grin. At first I expected it. Since she gets all her nutrients from breast milk, it is not that important to put other stuff in her belly so I didn't fret. But now, we have tried and tried again. Avocados, sweet potatoes, applesauce, peaches, mashed white potatoes, rice cereal..... she will tolerate her cereal but the rest is a gag face waiting to happen. I make my own food so maybe she doesn't like the consistency?? Sooo tried some Earth's best apples to no avail :/
Oh well- try try again. I figure that eventually she will be just as much a foodie as I but for now I will just sigh and try to laugh at the drama of her actually crying when she gets a spoonful of dreaded fruit.

Seriously Max (my dog) you have some major food thievery skills.
My dog is the ninja of table scrap acquisition. He also has an iron stomach. Oh, and he can suck food out of openings vacuum-style. You would be impressed!
His latest is a chocolate Halloween cupcake that I thought was long gone. I found him chewing apart a ball of foil this morning and that is the only possibility since I haven't had anything else wrapped in foil around here in the recent past. I figure it didn't get eaten today, only revisited so I am not too worried about the chocolate thing. In the past he has eaten a dozen brownies, seemingly extracted from their individual plastic wrappings by said sucking method since the folds of plastic were still perfectly intact. His sweet tooth also had another cupcake episode wrappers and all one Fourth of July, though he left the toothpick flags undisturbed :) Like I said, iron stomach.
But- it got me thinking and I decided to revisit the topic of chocolate being bad for dogs. Here is what I find worthy of passing on, compliments of About.com:

Theobromine, a component of chocolate, is the toxic compound in chocolate. (Caffeine is also present in chocolate, but in much smaller amounts than Theobromine.) Both Theobromine and Caffeine are members of a drug class called Methylxanines.

It turns out that baking chocolate is worse than milk chocolate and that for a dog of Max's size, he/she would have to consume 9 oz of milk chocolate to get an effect. I don't know about you, but I am not good at predicting ounces...... It can cause vomiting, blood pressure increase, muscle spasm and rarely, death. Scary, but then again, he IS a ninja dog so he can probably handle it :)

Magic

There is magic at work!! Every night, my husband and I go to bed and mysteriously overnight the bed exudes a strange draw so that by morning, we have FIVE bodies in it (four are even human- one hairy mess lies at our feet). What to do what to do??
I have some pretty strong convictions about babies sleeping with their mommies if they need to and am completely against sleep training infants. It is a very personal decision for a parent and the separate philosophies can drive pretty polarized debates. My 7 month old is currently in the throes of teething and if night nursing and sleeping next to me keep her comfortable and secure as those little chompers break through, then that is what is going to happen. It is VERY possible to safely co-sleep if you follow the rules! Luckily for me, she naps very well and even (gasp!) goes to sleep on her own and actually slept pretty darn well overnight too until her oral barrage began.....
My son however..... has never ever been an "easy" sleeper. He was an all-night nurser for 6 months and was not completely night weaned until he was 11 months old. I was adamant that we respond to his cries and not let him "cry it out" again, to each his own, that is my parenting style. He eventually slept pretty well but the addition of a new little person in the house who vies for our affection has thrown a kink in the deal- plus he can get out of his bed, unlike the crib. During the day, he is the most independent little person but nighttime requires our presence these days. Now that he is three, I feel like we can sleep train him a bit and I have been scouring the net/books for ideas to keep him in his bed..... any ideas from you mommies out there?
Last night he did not come in even once and when he woke this morning, I made a HUGE deal about how impressed I was with his staying in bed. Then we made a sleep chart- he got to pick a sticker to put on the day and when he gets 10 stickers, we told him we'd go to Chuck E Cheese...... I am not sure if he grasped the entire concept. He seems on board, but we will see. Fingers crossed :)

'Fall Back' off the schedule

Here we are two days out of the time change and as always occurs after shifting the clocks, my kids are way messed up. It is light out earlier so my son pops out of bed at the crack of dawn (if he isn't still in the bed from his nightly sleep migration- more on that later) shouts "Mom! Can I have a snack?!" wakes up the baby and forces my bleary eyes and sleeping mind to focus on his cheery blond head. Mentally I knock him over the head with my pillow but physically I gather his warm form into my bed and try to hush the little one back to sleep. Here we are, a brand new day....
As the day goes on, we are officially flying by the seat of our pants, my little nursling becomes a grazer who sleeps during her brief feedings and doesn't want to nap. The babysitter is going to love us tomorrow because there is now no such thing as a schedule! We still have a pretty good day overall and manage to squeeze in some outside playtime even though the sun drops right after my little man's naptime.
Strangely enough, they both stay awake until the new bedtime, so why is it that when my 'alarm' calls for breakfast in the morning, it will be so stinking early again???