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Archive for the ‘News/Current Events’ Category

#19!?!?!

03 Sep

Michelle Duggar is pregnant with her 19th child.  Which bothers me in ways it shouldn’t…I hate when people judge me because I have more than the average 2.3 children.  I think people should be able to have any number of children they want as long as they can care for them.  So why did I get so upset?

I’m jealous.  Do I want 19 kids of my own?  Absolutely not.  But there was a time, not so long ago, when I thought I might not have any children.  And then, there was all of the stuff I went through to have my second child.  And that bitterness lives on.  Infertility and miscarriage isn’t something I’ve put behind me even though I have declared myself done having children.  Even though the little girl currently napping in her crib was the #3 we always hoped for but certainly never expected to be surprised with.  Even though we now have everything we ever wanted for our family.  And I am not sure I will ever get over that pain, remembering what it was like when someone announced their pregnancy…or even better, “forgot” to announce it to me because they wanted to spare me the pain and then sent me a mass e-mail announcing the sex of the baby.  I even had a mini-breakdown when I heard Britney Spears was pregnant…after all, I was doing everything right.  I was in a stable relationship, I was a good mom to the child I had, I was settled down, yada yada yada.  It seemed so unfair and it was a very dark time in my life.

And truthfully, I’d still have more.  If I could provide for them.  If we had family locally who could pitch in and help now and then.  If I thought my uterus would hold up.  If pregnancy wasn’t so miserable.  There are many reasons why I’ve decided I don’t want any more, yet if everything fell into place just right I’d do it again.  My children are a huge blessing to me.  A joy every day, even with the difficulties of teething, potty training, and homework rebellion.  And if it “just happened” we’d muddle through and be thrilled to pieces to have another little person in our family.  But for so many reasons I’ve set my limit at 3 and I’m mourning that just a little bit as I watch my last baby grow up.

From what I’ve seen, the Duggars are great parents.  Michelle and Jim Bob are both patient, loving, and involved.  They have the means to take care of their family without resorting to government aid (which is more than I can say for myself at this moment in time) and their children are all respectful and well-behaved.  Sure, they do things I don’t personally agree with, but so do some of my friends.  I don’t judge them because they do the things that work for their family, so why the visceral reaction to the Duggars?  It’s jealousy, plain and simple.

I’m going to put my green-eyed monster away and just be happy for them.  Because I do agree with them on one point…every child is a blessing who deserves to be loved.

 
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Posted in Me Stuff, News/Current Events, Parenting

 

Ban Percocet? Please don’t!

28 Jul

I was at blogher looking at some things and ran across this post.  I had seen the reports several weeks ago about the recommendation to ban Percocet, Vicodin, and other narcotic pain relievers that contain acetaminophen and planned to post about it then but life got in the way and I never got around to it.  But now I’m reminded of this particular issue that could have some very real ramifications for me and I want to put it into perspective a little bit.

I’ve mentioned before about my tendency to get kidney stones.  I haven’t had any really bad episodes in months, but when I do, Percocet or Vicodin is my best friend.  I take one small dose and that typically takes the edge off enough that I am able to do the every day tasks I need to do.  I don’t drive, I try to make sure someone is around in case I become unable to take care of the kids, and I never take more than recommended.  I am overly cautious about it because a) I don’t want to get addicted, b) I can’t function if I take more than the very minimum dose, and c) I can’t afford to go to the doctor and get another prescription if I run out since I don’t have insurance right now.  Luckily, I rarely need more than a few hours of pain relief, so one is usually all I have to take.  I’m thankful to my doctors who know this and don’t hesitate to prescribe it for me when I run out and need a new prescription once a year or so.

BUT, because they contain acetaminophen in addition to the narcotic painkiller, some group of people (undoubtedly NOT people who have a regular, ongoing need for this type of drug!) has decided they should be taken off the market.  Because there are a few people out there who aren’t responsible with their medications, who don’t take the time to learn about what they’re taking, and who manage to overdose on acetaminophen when taking them.  I’m not discounting the seriousness of acetaminophen overdose…it can cause liver failure and death, so it’s certainly something that we need to prevent if at all possible.  But considering you can buy a gigantic bottle of acetaminophen (and for those who don’t know, acetaminophen is Tylenol) for $4 at Walmart, I think that banning Percocet is going a little overboard.

Let’s start with education.  Doctors need to remind their patients about the risks associated with a medication before dashing off a prescription and sending them to the pharmacy.  Pharmacists need to be required to give counseling on these drugs, because acetaminophen overdose is not the only problem associated with them.  How about making sure the patient understands the nature of narcotics?  Gee, that’s a novel concept.  The problem here is this: if we start taking away the acetaminophen because people are too dumb to take it appropriately, then what’s next?  Are you going to take my narcotics away because a lot of people get addicted to them, even though it is (for the vast majority of people) something that is taken responsibly and sparingly and only when necessary?  Are we going to pull all Tylenol off the shelves if we ban the narcotic+acetaminophen drugs?  Where do we stop?  I can only imagine how the people with chronic pain are feeling about this.

I understand feeling the need to save us from ourselves, but in this case there is a definite benefit from drugs like this.  This is a quality of life issue, and I hope the FDA sees that and keeps these drugs available for those who need them.

 
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Posted in Health, Kidney Stones, News/Current Events

 

Finally, a political wife who stands up for herself!

29 Jun

Political wives are a strange breed to me.  The most famous example to illustrate my point is Hillary Clinton.  I am sorry, but there is no way in hell that I’m going to stand by my man when he embarrasses me in front of the entire country by having an affair with a much younger woman.  It’s not going to happen.  He would be kicked out on his behind the minute he admitted to me that it was true.  Even if there was an “arrangement” in place that allowed for straying, (harf!) I am not going to stand by and be thought of as the woman that condoned her husband’s cheating.  Period.  I think this is why I could never support her politically.  She didn’t stand up to her own husband when he cheated on her, but wants to be the president?  Perhaps a weird and shallow reason for not supporting someone, but she never appealed to me after that.

I’m kind of fascinated by the fact that so many well-known political figures do seem to stray.  Seriously?  You think that a young and indiscreet girl won’t blab the intimate details?  You think that you won’t be followed to that hotel you have no business being at?  You think people won’t find out that you were in Argentina with your mistress instead of hiking on the Appalachian Trail?  If you really do believe you won’t get caught, I have a bridge I can sell you!

But Jenny Sanford has earned my utmost respect for her handling of her husband’s affair.  I love that she wasn’t standing at his side when he admitted what he’d done.  That she had already left him/kicked him out.  That she has said she doesn’t care about what happens to his political career.  That she is showing her 4 sons that behavior of the sort their father has engaged in is not acceptable.  But in all of that, she is also willing to work things out.  I like to think I’d try to repair my marriage if it happened to me, but that I would do it in such a way that allows me to maintain my self-respect.  Based on the news reports, it seems like she’s doing her best to achieve this.

And shame on Governor Sanford.  Choosing to fly to South America to spend Father’s Day with your mistress rather than your own 4 children? Disgusting.  And if I was his wife, that is probably the point the whole thing would have been unforgivable.  Especially if we had just started a trial separation to see if things could be worked out.  The fact that he took off to see his girlfriend right away would have been enough to tell me exactly where I stood.  He deserves to have his political career ruined at this point.

 
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Posted in News/Current Events, Politics/Government

 

Paranoid Freakazoid

25 Jun

I was going to skip the asthma stuff again and talk about the death of Michael Jackson.  But what is there to say?  I was really overwhelmed with the news earlier today but realized that “my” Michael Jackson is long gone.  He had gotten way too creepy over the last 10 years or so and was certainly not the pop idol he once was.  So, while I hope he has found the peace he seemed to be seeking in life but never found, I am moving on to a topic that *really* affects my life and that of my family.

Last Friday night, Baby V developed an absolutely terrible cough.  She was having trouble catching her breath after the fits were over and it sounded terrible, as if she was choking.  Being the paranoid freakazoid that I am, I was googling pertussis, reading up on the symptoms, and trying to find sound clips to see if that’s what she had.  Some of the clips sounded similar, so I proceeded to really start freaking out.  I considered going straight to the ER but decided to simply call for a sick appointment with the pediatrician the next morning.  She’d been vaccinated for pertussis, so that decreases the likelihood quite a bit.  Plus she’d had hives the previous Sunday and I managed to convince myself that it was much more likely that this was the residual effects of a bad allergic reaction of some sort.

So Saturday morning we get to the doctor’s office and I hear the dreaded news: asthma.  This is not something new for our family.  I have asthma, though it’s not bad unless I over-exert, and even then I’m fine unless it’s very hot or very cold or the air quality is bad.  My oldest son was diagnosed right around his 3rd birthday, so I’ve dealt with his breathing problems for several years now.  I suspect my younger son has it also, but again, I’m used to dealing with an older child who has it.  And of course I knew that her having reflux greatly increases her risk for asthma…but I wasn’t at all prepared to get that diagnosis the day she turned 5 months old!  I have managed to scare myself to the point that I can’t sleep at night.  I have terrible insomnia because I’m afraid she’s going to stop breathing in her sleep.  When I do finally close my eyes out of simple exhaustion, my sleep is plagued with nightmares of babies who have stopped breathing and I’m desperately trying to remember the steps for infant CPR, only to have them die in my arms.  Completely irrational, but incredibly terrifying.

I think my fear stems from the fact that we weren’t given a nebulizer or told to do breathing treatments.  Instead, I was told to use my oldest son’s inhaler with the spacer and pediatric mask on her occasionally if the coughing/choking gets too bad.  I’m not at all comfortable with this plan for a reason I just can’t put my finger on.  Maybe because it feels very reactive and I’d prefer to be proactive?  Plus I’ve never heard of anyone using an inhaler on a baby, much less one that belongs to somebody else.  I think it’s strange but since I’m not a doctor I am trying to simply trust our pediatrician.

Her cough is improving, slowly.  The hives were gone within 24 hours and we think it was a reaction to the fabric softener my mom uses.  She won’t be using it again on anything Baby V would be exposed to so I am glad that won’t be a problem.  But who’s to say there won’t be other places where this could happen…the church nursery where someone washes their clothes in something that makes her sick, a friend’s house where the house is cleaned with something she’s allergic to, or any number of situations that could result in another bad reaction.  It makes me more and more thankful that I’ve made the effort to reduce our dependence on harsh commercial cleaners and try to go with things that are natural.  Unfortunately I can’t protect her from the rest of the world, which is perhaps the hardest thing about this whole situation.  It’s something I’ve known for a long time but the lesson has really been brought home over the last week.  Even if the hives were unrelated to the later respiratory problems, it’s not something I’ve ever had to deal with before in a child this young.  Yes, I freak out if someone smokes around my kids…but now I’m worrying about things like perfumes, cleaning products, and other things that most people don’t have a second thought about.  And it’s (literally) crazy-making.

Mama needs a Xanax.

 
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Posted in Health, News/Current Events, Parenting

 

It’s a beautiful day to be born.

20 Jan

The snow is so pretty outside.  I’m a little worried about getting to the hospital safely, but we’ve had an offer of a 4 wheel drive if we needed it, so it shouldn’t be a problem.  I’m hoping that once we get out of our neighborhood, the roads are clear.  Heck, even if Carthage is clear we should be OK!  I’m glad that Lee County made the decision to close early so we could adjust our plans slightly.  No need to juggle school drop-off and getting me to the hospital on time.

So Violet is arriving on a very momentous day!  It’s rare to get this much snow in NC, and we’re also seeing a historical inauguration in our country.  And for the rest of her life, she’ll have to share her birthday with a presidential inauguration every 4 years.  If it’s anything like this year’s, I’m sure she’ll feel a little lost in the hoopla.  But it will always be memorable!

I’m planning to post the vitals from my phone to Facebook, so if you’re a friend there you can check out my status.  No pictures until I get home, though!  Nobody else has a clue how to get them on the computer, so you’ll have to wait for those.  I’ll get a blog entry up as soon as I can…until then, prayers and good thoughts are happily accepted!

 
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Posted in News/Current Events, Pregnancy

 
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