Baby Girl had her 15-month appointment this afternoon

Her weight is 21.78 lbs
Her height/length is 30.75 inches

According to a baby growth percentile calculator that means for her age that she is:


Length = between percentile 50 and 75
Weight = between percentile 25 and 50


She fell asleep in the car afterwards (she had her Pneumoccal conjugate vaccination but we declined the chicken pox vaccine).

Since she was asleep - we went for a drive though the less populated areas nearby and saw a turtle (which I stopped and took a photo of).

Then she and Little Man played outside and she had her first independent ride on the teeter-totter (Little Man was on the other side) but Baby Girl held on all by herself!

Her next appt at the DR is Tues., Sept 27th at 10:30 a.m.

In other news, Little Man got his report card.  He is advancing to Grade 4 in September.

His highest grades were in French (A in writing, A - in oral communication & B+ in reading) compared to his English grades (C+ in writing, B- in oral communication & B in reading) and that C+ was the lowest grade that he received.

The deal we have with the kids is that they get $2 for each A (whether or not it's an A+, an A- or a regular A) and $1 for each B so he's got a $21 dollar report card.

And earlier today, I did my 5k at the track with Baby Girl and I edited this post at 8:07 p.m. to list my steps for the day -- 9738 steps.

Yesterday

Send good vibes for Hubs tomorrow!

Hubs has a job interview tomorrow afternoon - actually in 20.5 hrs from now.

Please send good vibes.

And speaking of good vibes -- I took my birth Mom to her mammogram appointment today and she had a bone density scan on Monday. 

It's all part of following up on her since her mastectomy almost 12 years ago -- but because of what happened with my Mom H. -- it still freaks me out.

Still not feeling quite like myself

OK so let me start with the cardiac stress test I had on Tuesday.

It seemed to be going normally but once I was off the treadmill and they were monitoring me as I caught my breath, my heart rate spiked to over 200 and stayed there for just over a minute.

The cardiologist was concerned about it.

He also noticed a slight heart murmur when he was listening to my heart beat.

So I went back in on Wednesday for an echocardiogram and I have to wait until June 20th to go back in to learn how to use something called an "event monitor."

I will be using it for at least 2 weeks starting on the 20th and then once he analyzes all the results - I'll have a better idea of what's going on.

What I am finding really rather strange and disconcerting about it all is that I can't recall a time in my life where I didn't have breathing issues after really exerting myself and then, once I would catch my breath it would feel like my heart was racing and that there was the sound of thunder and water in my ears.

So it seems normal to me.

Now I feel very freaked out about it all.

Do you know what I mean?

As I got older, I attributed it more to my heart racing in a belated panic reaction to my difficulty with drawing what I feel is sufficient breath.

But I can remember having that sort of thing happen back in my bar days where I would dance all night and drink tons of water.

I can remember it happening in high school.

All the way back to elementary school.

I will say that it seems a bit more severe or incapacitating now - as in it feels like it takes me longer to recover but that could just be my perception.

In other news... Baby Girl is still not walking.  Though she has taken one unassisted step on two separate occasions.

And she is still not a fan of the outdoors, swings or slides as of yet.

Yesterday: "I love my brother THIS much!"

 

Son had to make something that moves for school.

Tuesday: "AHHHHHH!!!!! I hate nature!!!"

Yesterday - a super-cute smile!

Today

Well I got home last night and Hubs and my kidlets were very happy to see me - just as I was happy to be home with them again!

I have my cardiac test this afternoon... hoping that goes well but it's also my TOM and I am very crampy and bitchy today.

One of my take-aways from Calgary was that I kept seeing pairs of birds that I was unfamiliar with.  I was told while I was there that they were mockingbirds.

Unfortunately, I was unable to catch them on camera but a google search turned up a picture of one from this person's Picasa gallery:  http://picasaweb.google.com/KarenMaine10433/AlbertaVacation2009# - I do not know Karen Maine but if you look at the third picture (in the top row) from that link - you will see a mockingbird just like the ones I saw while I was in Calgary.

I don't know if I can link a FB video like this or not but I got video of a guy trying to drum up business by tossing a sign... http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150627784060158&comments

On Saturday I went out for a walk in the afternoon with one of the girls and we encountered a 90ish old woman who was lost and we helped get her back to the retirement home she lived at, so that was a nice moment of good karma.

I spent most of Sunday dreadfully hungover after the BBQ on Saturday night and I think I handled the flight home on Monday far better than the flight out there BUT I was more nervous coming home because it was really crappy weather in Calgary on Monday morning.

water slide at the hotel pool

complimentary breakfast

Well on my way to the land of drunkenness

crappy weather rolling in (taken from hotel room)

On the way home!!!

Going to land soon

FAB - on feeling disconnected

I tend to think that the more external stress that I feel, the more I try to hibernate (whether physically or emotionally).

When I feel like I can't control a situation, I hide out.

It gets harder for me to leave the house, to take initiative, to enjoy various aspects of my life.

I will also tend to read more or watch TV more and avoid phone calls.

This time around, what I've been avoiding the most is the internet. Blogging, Facebook and Twitter.

All have been receiving less of my attention, so to speak, since that is often the primary way in which I communicate with others.

I confess that I am really obsessing negatively over the damn cardiac stress test as well as continuing to freak out over Hubs state of joblessness.

So it's making me a neglectful internet user.

I expect that once I have the test and Hubs finds a job, I'll be back to my usual self.

I have to run out and pick up test results from my DR to pass along to Dr. W. so if I can make sense of them, I'll possibly edit this post to talk about them...


Edited to add:

The blood work done with my physical all came back with results within normal ranges but I'll vopy the info here before I pass it on to Dr. W.

Hematology


Hemoglobin     133     ref range     115-165     units G/L
Hematocrit   0.393     ref range   0.37-0.47     units L/L
WBC count       4.7     ref range     4.0-11.0     units X10 9/L
RBC count       4.49     ref range   3.80-5.80     units X10 12/L
MCV                87.6     ref range         80-97     units FL
MCH                29.6     ref range   27.0-32.0     units PG
MCHC                338     ref range      320-360     units G/L
RDW                 14.2    ref range    11.0-14.5     units %
Platelet count     242    ref range      150-400      units X10 9/L
Absolute: neutros 2.7   ref range       2.0-7.5      units X10 9/L
Absolute: lymph   1.5   ref range       1.1-3.3      units X10 9/L
Absolute: mono    0.4   ref range       0.0-0.8      units X10 9/L
Absolute: EOS      0.1   ref range       0.0-0.5      units X10 9/L
Absolute: BASO    0.0   ref range       0.0-0.2      units X10 9/L

Chemistry

Glucose fasting-ser  4.1  ref range 3.3-6.0  units MMOL/L
Creatinine               77  ref range 60-115   units UMOL/L
eGFR                      72  ref range not listed  & units not listed

Sodium                  140  ref range 135-146         units MMOL/L
Potassium               4.7  ref range 3.5-5.2          units MMOL/L
Chloride                106  ref range 95-108           units MMOL/L
Alt                           9  ref range  4-43              units U/L
Cholesterol          3.97  ref range TARGET <5.20  units MMOL/L
Triglycerides        0.60  ref range TARGET <1.71  units MMOL/L
HDL Cholesterol   1.41  ref range TARGET >1.29  units MMOL/L
LDL Cholesterol    2.29  ref range not listed       units MMOL/L
Chol/HDL ratio     2.82  ref range not listed  & units not listed

TSH                     2.35  ref range  0.30-5.60    units MU/L


looking for info on what these mean here:   http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/ldl/test.html#what

and here:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_ranges_for_blood_tests

Always consult your DR

Until I have my cardiac stress test, I am walking and doing "normal" things but not over-exerting myself just in case.

Dave was really great about me postponing my first training session until after I have my cardiac stress test and the results and he told me that when I do come in for my first session there is a form I have to fill out about having DR approval to begin the training.

Sometimes we forget to look after ourselves and sometimes we might want something so much that we will disregard any potential consequences.

I am nervous about my upcoming cardiac stress test but it would be far worse if I hadn't mentioned my concerns to my DR because who knows what could have happened?

With the weight I've lost so far, I increased my activity but never talked to my DR about it until Tuesday.

I never even THOUGHT of talking to my DR about it.  Yes, I know - I see those warnings about talking to your DR about any new exercise or meal plan but I didn't think it really mattered but it does matter and it can impact you.

My Mom used to always say, "It's better to be safe than be sorry."

She was right.

This also fits right in with the blog post one of my BFFs, 1G1D1Y wrote earlier today.

Read it.

I've been busy

But I thought I'd post a quick post so y'all know I'm alive.

I am not happy with Harper's effing Conservatives getting a majority in Canada's federal election (but I am too tired to go into detail about that).

I postponed my personal training sessions after my annual physical today because one of the issues I addressed with my DR was my discomfort and breathing difficulty when exercising.

He thought my description was atypical in regards to my thought that I might require an inhaler/puffer and decided that I need to go in for a cardiac stress test with consulting (there was also an option on the test order sheet for the test without the consult).

My uncle had a heart attack in the past year, my grandfather has had heart issues and I'm not sure if there's any heart issues on my biological paternal side of the family or not.

I had heart surgery when I was 2 weeks old for patent ductus arteriosis.

Needless to say, I'm freaking out a little bit over here.

And, if any of you are curious... when I am exercising, I find it hard to breathe, it feels very tight in my chest and it's like someone with large hands is pushing down on chest while holding a brick against me. 

An extreme heaviness and weight seems to exist and then I can only draw my breath in a very shallow manner.

So I go for the test on May 24th (the day after I return from Calgary).

Right now I feel like I need to stay away from the computer a bit because I want to start googling my symptoms and that generally leads to me scaring the shit out of myself.

Sorry I'm being a bit incommunicado.

Miss you all!

Today would have been my Mom's 81st birthday

She was 42 the year she and my Dad got me as a foster child (and then they adopted me 6 yrs later).

My Mom was also a big fan of the royal family.  OK, not Charles or really any of the males (other than Prince William) but she loved the Queen, the late Queen mother and the late and beloved of the world, Diana.

The fact that Prince William married Kate Middleton today - on what would have been my Mom's birthday, choked me up this morning.

Right now my son is having yet another meltdown upstairs.

I am really frustrated with this.  But again, he was playing video games a bit today and his meltdown was because I decided that he was not going to play additional video games today.

I think I really need to try a visual timer.  No playing until save points, no anything else.  Maybe if he can visually SEE the time he gets to play he'll understand.

Alternatively, I could just say the hell with it - give his father the Game Cube and any games he provided back and then sell the games we bought leaving only the Wii in the house.

*shrug*

All I can say is that this attitude is hard to deal with.  It seems like the medication is helping Son control his impulses at school but then he is having major freak-outs at home after 5 p.m. almost daily.

Had to switch Son's follow-up appointment with the DR to Fri the 6th at 11:00 a.m.

Wondering if there will be any matinees of Thor that day?

a sort of random post

Yesterday we went to the Farmer's Market and in one of the buildings they sell models and stuff and I had to take a picture of this one, simply because "Clara May" was almost my first name when my parents were choosing a name for me when I was adopted.

It had nothing to do with the ship -- it was because my social worker's first name was Clara and my parents really liked her (and so did I apparently, though I do not remember my "Auntie Clara").

Now this morning, Son had an appointment with his pediatrician and we are going to be trying him on a low dose of medication.

It is called "biphentin" and is typically prescribed to ADD/ADHD patients.

I tend to be very anti-medication when it comes to autism, so this is a big thing for us to try it but I really have a lot of faith in Son's pediatrician.

I was cautioned that it could impact Son's sleeping and that, if that occurs, that I should pick up some over-the-counter melatonin in such a circumstance.

In 3 wks, I am supposed to have his teacher fill out a Snap-IV assessment and I'll be filling one out re: his behaviour at home and then in a month, we go back to the pediatrician with the information to assess how it's working for Son.

Upcoming medical appointments are:

April 26th @ 10:50 a.m. - Hubs goes in to find out if the Big V was successful and if he is "swimmer-free" or not.

May 3rd @ 10 a.m. I go in to my DR for my physical (btw, my DR mentioned my weight loss when I had Baby Girl in yesterday).

May 11th @ 11 a.m. I have to take Son back to the pediatrician.

June 27th @1:40 p.m. Baby Girl goes in for her 15 month appt.

Still no luck on the job front for Hubs... he followed up with one place and was told they aren't choosing potential applicants for interviews until after April 21st.

He did get a pre-screening call from a warehouse but he won't know if he made it past the pre-screen for at least a week.

So please keep sending good vibes :>

Baby Girl's (belated) 1 year appointment

Height: 29 and 1/2 inches (between percentile 50 and 75)
Weight: 20.37 lbs (between percentile 25 and 50)

Nurse didn't tell me the HC.

She got her MMR in her right arm and Menjugate in her left arm.

I did not know that the MMR can have a delayed reaction. The nurse told us that any fever in even the next 10 - 14 days could be because of that.

We were also warned that she could get a slight rash and to not worry if that happens.

And that if the injection sites get red and inflamed - then we need to bring her back in.

Look, Ma!  No hands!

New shake combo

Good day!

Weight:  242.2 lbs

So I don't tend to think I get enough protein so this morning's breakfast shake was made of the following items:

• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 a large banana
• 1 scoop unflavoured protein powder
• 1 scoop ground flaxseed powder
• 1 tsp benefiber
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup tropicana pure no pulp orange juice w/ added vitamin A & D
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Blue Diamond chocolate almond milk
• 1/4 cup organic vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup chopped spinach

I don't find shakes as tasty when I add the spinach but I do have to be more diligent with getting some veggies in.

I got my blood work results back from the DR.

my tsh was 2.04
my glucose random was 3.9
my ferritin was 17

Of course I don't know what it all means so I googled things.

The TSH # is normal,  but I read that one can still have thyroid problems when the TSH # is normal and that a T3 and T4 test are required to be certain.

My glucose random # was the lowest number still considered to be "normal" though it said that a low glucose random number can indicate thyroid problems and my ferritin is low (out of the normal range) and it also says that it can be indicative of thyroid problems.

So I guess I'll see what I am advised of next.  I see my naturopath near the end of November so hopefully she'll have some good suggestions.

Balancing breast-feeding with healthy weight loss

OK, I know you aren't supposed to "diet" when you are breast-feeding and that you are supposed to eat approximately 500 more healthy calories per day.

That being said, when I was pregnant, I was told because I was obese that I didn't need to gain weight during my pregnancy and that, so long as I wasn't dieting, some weight loss would be acceptable.

Of course I did gain during my pregnancy (though not nearly to the amount I gained when pregnant with Son).

So now I am not dieting... but I am working on making healthier food choices, only eating when I am hungry and not eating when I am bored, stressed or angry and I am increasing my activity levels.

My family DR told me as long as I don't go under 1200 calories per day, it's OK.

Fatsecret says I should be consuming 2300 per day for "moderate" weight loss (1 lb per wk) but I think that estimate might be high.

Looking at my food diary my daily average intake is 1553 cals so far for October.  But I've had a number of high days and one day where I ate more than my RDI.

With some of the stuff that went on this month personally, it was a bit hard but I am committed and it's going to get better!

Hmmn, for August my average daily intake was 1790 calories.  And for September it was 1878 calories per day.

Maybe I'm not eating enough?

I have started taking MilkMaid Tea because I think I've been producing less breast-milk lately.

I should email my naturopath and ask for some guidance since I didn't think to ask about this yesterday.

I really need to write a list whenever I consult ANY professional because I always think of things I should have asked after the fact.

My arm hurts - aka my owwie appointment at the DR

Today I went to my family DR to get his OK for signing up for a weight loss boot-camp.

It's a 6 week boot camp with 2 "camps" per week.

Though I am already scheduled for things on the first Mon and the 2nd Wednesday so I'll only be attending 10 of the 12 sessions but I still really hope that I'll be able to make some advances in my health and ability levels.

Also, my DR took 3 vials of blood to test my blood sugar, my thyroid and my iron levels since my naturopath was asking me at my prior appointment what my results on my last thyroid test were. When I asked my DR, he said since it was over a year ago he'd just have my blood drawn today and get me re-tested.

Then I got him to use some liquid nitrogen on something that I've hated for awhile... a skin tag.

I was too much of a chicken (and a tightwad) to buy the skin tag remover kit for over $30 before tax at Shoppers Drug Mart, plus I only have ONE skin tag (on my left arm).

So he treated it and it's supposed to get worse looking and then hopefully scab up and eventually be gone. Though I was warned that it might require one more treatment.

Still, if it's gone in one - it only cost me $15.

He was pleased that I've lost weight and that I am under my pre-pregnancy weight and he asked if I am getting support at home re: better eating.

I think it was the most congenial he's ever been with me in my over 8 years as a patient.

Made an appt for my next physical

It is Tues., May 3, 2011 at 10 a.m.