It'll make them healthier later...

The flu is visiting our house again. Poor little Isaac has been vomiting and having diarrhea on and off since Thursday night. He also has a fever. And of course he feels awful. Mostly he just wants to sleep. It's so weird to see him so lethargic. Usually he is a non-stop ball of vibrant energy.

I didn't give them their flu shot this year (actually I haven't in the past few years). I have really good, researched and informed reasons for not doing that. But still, there are nanoseconds of moments when I ask myself if maybe I should have? Ah, the self doubt. It never ceases to make it's appearance some way or another. But I honestly don't believe getting the flu shot would reduce the incidence of illnesses going through our house. And to me, the pros of not getting it outweighed the cons of getting sick.

I just remind myself that all these bouts of sickness are simply adding to the repertoire of much-needed antibodies their bodies will have. I believe in the power our bodies have to heal and defend themselves. I can help nourish and strengthen their immune systems with a healthy diet, exercise and supplements so they can kick virus' butts and so they can mature and get stronger. And then I have to let nature do her part.

I hope my well-nourished, pregnant immune system can skip out on this flu. I really just don't want to vomit. Really, really, don't.

Miserable

It started out on Sunday night as a runny nose...a typical cold. Something I had managed to avoid for months and months. But now I've been hit hard. HARD. Going on day four of feeling AWFUL. I have the worst sinus headache, painful sinuses, runny but at the same time stuffed up nose, and watery eyes. I look like shit. I feel like shit. Oh this sucks. I'm being a total whiner and complainer but I just need to vent right now. My Naturopath has given me lots of suggestions, but the only thing I have on hand is cayenne. So I just drank a cayenne infused glass of water. And now I am going to bed. Because when sleep comes is the only time I feel somewhat better.

And yes, it has been suggested to me that I may need antibiotics, but if it's viral {which 99.9% likely it is} that won't do any good.

So for now I will wait it out and hopefully kick this virus' ass SOON.

Any other tips on how I can accomplish this would be more than welcome.

Sometimes..

Why is it that sometimes things are going so well and then something undesired has to happen right in the middle of all the goodness? Is it to humble us? To teach us something in the moment? Or do these seemingly bad things happen because they are truly good things in disguise?

I am trying to figure this one out.

Today I had an amazingly relaxing, nurturing acupuncture treatment and as I got back to the car, floating on my cloud lined with pure happiness, there on the windshield was the unmistakable thin paper slowly flapping in the breeze. It was 12:04pm. The timestamp read 12:02pm.

The most expensive acupuncture treatment I've ever had. But it was worth it.

Change

If you're here, you'll notice that things look different. I never really liked that other background. I dream of the day that I can afford to have my own template custom designed. But for now I will make do with what I can. And I am happy. I am happy because I have such beautiful miracles for inspiration. And in case you're wondering the picture is of my beautiful Maddie when she was just about to turn one year old {gosh, that seems like forever ago}.

Today also marked the day when I renewed my vow {to myself} to take better care of me. Even more than I already have been. Last night I went to a yoga class, which I hadn't been to in weeks. It felt amazing. Today I had an appointment with my Naturopath and she has a plan I am very happy with. It includes acupuncture, which I am over the moon to be starting again. The hope is to help my entire body, but mostly my darn stagnated reproductive system {not to reproduce per se, just to make it work normally}. Right now it is barely chugging along, deciding to work some months and not others, and frankly it's getting old and making me feel all out of sorts {it got to the point were I actually considered starting to take the BC pill...but quickly got over that. Why make something worse than it already is!?}. Darn hormones.

But I know I will be all re-balanced soon.

Change is good. Change is healthy. I like change.

Reminiscing

The last few days I have been remembering a a couple of very, very fabulous memories. On October 28, two years ago, I found out I was pregnant with our little Isaac. That was quite the shocker, because although we had been trying to get pregnant, it wasn't happening and well, I had taken a month off to relax and not think about it {and try the Naturopathic/Acupuncture route}. It was lovely that Life decided that was a good month to finally make our wish come true. And today, November 2, five years ago I got my very first positive pregnancy test ever, which resulted in my beautiful Maddie. And it was the most amazing day of my life. I still remember it like it happened 5 seconds ago. Ken and I joke about the fact that both times we got pregnant in October. It must be our lucky month. If/when we do get pregnant again, I wonder if it will be in October again? Oh and in case you're wondering, no, I am not hinting at anything, I am definitely not pregnant. But some days I wish I was! {Babies are just so freaking cute!}.

Double whammie...poor Maddie

I was starting to worry about Maddie when for the third day in a row she said she couldn't hear and she kept asking for things to be repeated or the volume to be turned up on the T.V. Last Saturday Ken had looked in her ears and they were red, though not yet "infected", so we just thought they were red from swimming lessons that past Thursday and that things would resolve. Well, last night Ken looked again and the poor kiddo's ears were so inflamed and the ear drum of one of them was bulging with pus. Today, she was so cranky, tired and just not the happy little girl she normally is. We got in to see a new family doctor (Why a new doctor? Well I think that's a story for another post) and she confirmed that yes, she has a definitely has a bilateral ear infection. She said both ears look "nasty". So, of course out came the prescription pad: Amoxicillin for 10 days. A necessary evil.

Ken was my knight in shining armour and went to get groceries and to pick up the prescription. At the pharmacy he questioned the 10 days, because he had read the Canadian Pediatric guidelines and they had said 5 days. Our pharmacists is really good and she spent some time researching it while Ken got the groceries. Apparently, there's a whole set of criteria, all of which are not too clear. But Ken and her decided the best approach would be to give it for 5 days and if she was all better to stop, but if her ears were still red and she was having discomfort to give it for 7 days. I think the 10 days is a bit excessive. We debated whether or not to try the non-antibiotic route and I would have been more than happy to except that I remember having awful ear infections as a kid and never going to the doctor and being in awful pain and discomfort. If perhaps we had caught the infection earlier we would have opted for some natural remedies, but alas I think the infection is too yucky and would take longer to get better. So for now we take the traditional medicine route and supplement it with the alternative. I am giving her a high dose probiotic and will continue her on it for several weeks after she's done her treatment (she already gets probiotics every day but just a low, maintenance dose, now she will need a high dose to recolonize her flora).

Of course, I feel the mommy guilt trying to creep in. I hate giving antibiotics and I hate that my poor baby is in discomfort. But I also know that ear infections happen. So I am grateful it's just an ear infection and that she's not in more pain (although I have to say I'm surprised she's not because, man, her ears are so infected!). I just hope we are now done, done, done with all this sickness! Nobody wants to be sick in the summer!

Update April 30: Well, day 2 of treatment is underway and so far she seems much better and more like herself. She has been sleeping much better and back to wanting to do her regular activities. It's nice to see her happy again!

Mayan Abdominal Massage: My Experience

The other day I came across an article in Mothering magazine about Maya Abdominal Massage that really intrigued me. Coming across this article was quite serendipitous as I had just started my first post-partum period, and I was certainly not comfortable! I have always been told my uterus is "tilted" towards the back, so reading about how this massage technique has been shown to correct the incorrect alignment of the uterus came as welcome news. It has also been shown to help with so many of the things that makes us dread that time of month: headaches, cramping, bloating, digestive disturbances...the list goes on. Another benefit is that it has been shown to help some women who are experiencing infertility get pregnant. And during pregnancy it helps keep the uterus properly aligned so that the birth is effective and smooth.