Take It Easy, Baby

Grass, Part 2

jmdinap — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:33:00 GMT

In previous posts, you may remember that my hubby is a physician. He is pro-medicine. So am I. So when he started going to a radical chiropractor for some joint problems, he was skeptical, but open minded. The chiropractor insisted that changing his eating would help him.

And water. He was dehydrated.

Here was my response. "Great. I can't help you, I have 2 kids to feed. Let me know how it goes."

And it went beautifully. He looks better, feels better, acts better and is now off of all prescription medication he was taking, and having significantly less problems with his joints than he was.

What did we do to change this? Here are the 5 easiest steps.

1) We started buying all grass fed beef. Local. Straight from the farm. On Tuesday or Saturday we head up to the farmer's house and buy beef from the farmer that raises cows in her pastures and lets them eat grass. Not corn. We eat less of it because it is so filling and it tastes better. 2) We stopped eating cereal for breakfast. We switched to eggs, greek yogurt, and fruit smoothies. We aim for high protein low carb meals. 3) We added at least 1 if not 2 vegetarian meals a week. Vegetarian chili, and stir fry are now staple. They help to offset the cost of the expensive meat. 4) We stopped buying anything with more than 5 ingredients listed. Things that resemble food more than non-foods. Including going away from low-fat items because they are filled with substitutes. We still buy ice cream, crackers and potato chips. But they take up a much smaller portion of our food intake than they used to, and we switched to local ice cream with ingredients like sugar, milk, strawberries instead of a laundry list of artificial ingredients. Chips too, can have as little as 3 ingredients: potatoes, oil, salt. 5) Water. We are desperately trying to drink more.

Let me say that it has not been an easy switch in the kitchen, neither practically nor financially. But I will say that if it works, which I am starting to see, then I would MUCH MUCH rather spend my money on food now, than on medical bills later. Stay tuned.

Grassy Grass Grass

jmdinap — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:58:00 GMT

I feel like we have been in food crisis at our house for months.

Celiac, aside, our grocery bills are soaring and our options are diminishing, and I blame it on Michael Pollan. Do you know him? The author of The Omnivore's Dilemma.

It changed my life.

If you are not familiar, let me bring you up to speed. Regular man tries to find out where his beef comes from. Uncovers all kinds of horrors about the food industry. Enlightens readers on how NOT to support mega-industrial food production. It made me not question why one would pay $9.99/lb for chicken breast. Or $4.50 for a dozen eggs. However, I am going to have to get a job to support our new eating habits.

What also happened is it made me question each and every thing that is going into my body, and my family's bodies. What are these mysterious ingredients? Did you know that our favorite sausage contained MSG? And that you can buy deli meat without nitrates? did you know your deli meat probably had nitrates in it?

The other thing it did is make me mad that we actually have to pay MORE to have less added to our food. Strawberries without pesticides are about 2x the price of regular strawberries. All beef hot dogs? Way more than those with nitrates, additives and MSG. While I offer no solution, I can only offer that it is a new way of thinking about food, and what you are willing to pay for. Local? Organic? Pesticide Free? Free Range? Cage Free? Horomone Free? Antibiotic Free? Pastured?

It adds a new layer of keeping healthy to parenting.

I Heart Cardiologists

jmdinap — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:23:00 GMT

This month's topic is heart health, which is a subject we are all too familiar with.

I may have mentioned in a previous post that my 5 year old has a congenital heart defect. He has a sub-aortic stenosis. There is a piece of tissue blocking the blood flow to his aorta. Blood is supposed to flow smoothly from the left ventricle through the aortic valve. In Asher's case, as the heart pumps the blood passes a very small piece of tissue and hits the aortic valve with some turbulence. Over time, as blood hits the valve in this fashion, the valve weakens and does not close properly. If the valve does not close properly, there is leakage, or regurgitation, of blood back into the ventricle. This leads the heart to work harder then necessary to pump blood out of the aorta. The left side of the heart would grow disproportionately to the rest of the heart, thickening the actual heart muscle inappropriately. The valve would continue to worsen and leak, and therefore need to be replaced. Valves have an expiration date, especially in young children as they do not grow with the child. Valve replacement means lifelong blood thinners to prevent clotting, etc...

Suffice it to say that you don't want this to happen to you or your children.

Let me back up. The pediatrician discovered this situation in Asher at 1 year. She noticed a murmur at several appointments, and while murmurs are quite normal, they sound very different to the trained ear. She was uncomfortable with how this one sounded, so we were referred to a pediatric cardiologist to have it checked out further.

On what I can only describe as the second worst day of my life, it was at the cardiologist's office that we found out Asher would need to have lifelong monitoring of his condition, and in all likelihood, would need surgery to fix it.

The surgery would be open heart.

The day of his surgery? The hour he was on cardiopulmonary bypass, and they stopped his heart? That day was the worst of my life.

Asher had open heart surgery by a cardiothoracic surgeon whose own daughter had a heart transplant. That is a man I would trust to make extremely cautious judgments when operating on another person's child. He has been on the other side, and in my opinion was a better surgeon for it. Asher was 20 months old. He did beautifully. He will need to have the surgery repeated because as a young, growing child, his membrane is growing back.

Hopefully that will be the second worst day of my life, bumping the other down to third, and then we will be all done with heart surgeries. For now, we don't know when it will be, we just keep hoping he grows a little more to be a little bigger when it happens.

However, when I think back to my experiences, all I can say is that we have been lucky to have doctors that are special human beings. Truly talented, truly miraculous, and truly dedicated to the health and well being of our child and our family. And as a parent, it is your job to advocate for someone like that to care for your child. If you don't feel like you are getting the complete attention of your doctor, and they are not treating you the way they would wish their children to be treated, move on. Seek out those who will, because they are out there, and they will make all the difference in your lives.

A beautiful team of them saved Asher's life, and I am counting on them to do it again.

January is the New September

jmdinap — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:31:00 GMT

While January is not when one typically thinks of back-to-school, I am amazed at the decisions parents of preschoolers are faced with in the wake of the post-holiday insanity.

This week, I have gotten 3 emails about summer camp, began researching dual-language kindergartens, and had to give a deposit and a letter of intent to our current preschool for Jacob's enrollment in the Fall. It is a lot to process. Let's go one at a time...

Kindergarten

Can you say, OMG!!!! I can't believe I am going to register my baby for kindergarten in just a few short weeks. I already had his physical forms filled out at his check-up, so I shouldn't be so shocked, but.... KINDERGARTEN. That is for reals. Here is the thing about that. You can literally show up 2 days before school starts and still be registered in time. So why February 1st as the registration date? Staffing. Space allocations. Funding. If everyone shows up in August, the principals won't have time to get supplies, get the good teachers, and be prepared for the number of kids that are coming. So it is very courteous to register early. Also, the school we are zoned for has a dual language Spanish/English class. There is a lotto for it, so the registration deadline is in the spring.

Preschool

For next year!?!?! Same thing. Staffing, teachers, supplies, space, etc... Most of the time the directors give first preference to the returning families. They need your plans so they can open up any other spaces to new families. Some preschools always have space, some have insane registration processes. Like, 1960's Beatles ticket-mania waiting in line processes. Now is also the time of year for tours and open houses, so check into it early.

Summer Camp

While registration is not necessarily until April for most of them, there are a few popular ones that fill up quickly. The nature ones, museum ones, and the less pricey ones. Also, YMCA swim lessons fill up quickly too. That is, the good weeks. The weeks you do NOT want to be on vacation. So basically, you have to plan out all your stuff RIGHT NOW. Want a week of camp, a week of swimming, a week at the beach, and a week to visit Grandma and Grandpa this summer? And you have to put in for the vacation days. Better get it organized or it will be gone.

It seems like a lot to get a grip on, and there is certainly not ALWAYS a rush for these things. But I think it is best to be prepared, that way you can avoid disappointment if things don't quite shake out. I mean, with the way the Christmas lights come up in October, isn't it practically swimsuit season anyway?

Sleep, and the Elusive Simultaneous Nap

jmdinap — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:13:00 GMT

When the boys don't sleep, my anxiety skyrockets. I have things to do while they nap. I have a work from home job. I clean. I cook. I attempt to maintain our household. Asher is nearing 5 years old and he doesn't nap often, but he still plays in his room quietly for at least an hour. About once every two week, he naps. He wakes up like an ugly bear, but he does nap.

Jacob is 2. He needs to nap. He is inconsolable at night if he doesn't. He takes forever to fall asleep. He needs to be rocked a certain way, and have a certain blankie, and likes music. And no socks. When he doesn't nap, our lives are dramatically different.

I often wonder how one small thing has such a large impact on such a large part of our day, but it does. When Jacob is supposed to be sleeping and he is not, my mind spins. I think of the whining. The grocery store trip that will be catastrophic. The inability to find a snack that will satisfy him, since he is really tired, not hungry. The demands of a two year old that will be magnified by exhaustion. I start to brace myself for hours of patience.

And then. Then the whining stops. The monitor is quiet. The other monitor is quiet.

Simultaneous naps have been achieved. It is like a lunar landing, this rare occurrence. I tiptoe around trying not to jinx it. What to do? Shower in peace? Clean the kitchen? Work for a while? Have some tea and finish the next chapter in my book? Mostly, just relish in the quiet. For 11 whole minutes. The longest, quietest 11 minutes of the day.

What "Back To School" Means For ALL Of Us

jmdinap — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:17:00 GMT

For Asher, Age 4, 3 mornings a week: FINALLY!!! Kids! I am so tired of the ALL MOM ALL DAY routine. She never wants to PLAY or RIDE BIKES or DO anything. All she does is cook and clean and tell me to clean up my toys. Now I can be with people my size who understand my pain. My angst. My frustration.

For Jacob, Age 23 months, Mondays only: FINALLY! I am on my own! I don't have Asher bossing me around, and I get to be a big kid also. I get to use DOT MARKERS!! And BEAD MAZES!!! And my teacher sings! In addition, I get Mommy ALL. TO. MYSELF. While Asher is in school.

For me: Hot, uninterrupted showers. Time to work. Time to clean. Quiet. Time to get a haircut, get an oil change, get a pap smear. Time to eat cookies all by myself. And time to miss my babies. Just a little bit.

What I Have Learned Living Gluten-Free for Two Weeks

jmdinap — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:39:00 GMT

We are on day 18 of have a gluten-free (GF) child in our home.

Jacob, age 22 months, was diagnosed with Celiac Disease after 10 months of not gaining a single ounce. It is a relief, and a burden to know what is going on. I am here to share with you what we have learned thus far.

1) The internet is full of crap information. Go get your info from a trusted source, and not from some random message boards.

2) I might have to buy another toaster because Jacob's GF bread can't be near out gluten-laden bread because then the gluten crumbs might contaminate it. Seriously. For real.

3) While Whole Foods has a jazillion GF options, Trader Joe's is more manageable, and will save you some money.

4) GF bagels suck.

5) So do all GF bread, brownies, and cookies.

6) GF Pretzels are $8 a bag. Yes. E-I-G-H-T.

7) Jacob is FINALLY eating. I mean MEALS. More than one a week. This is remarkable.

8) It feels crappy to hear that your child has a problem. It is a grieving process. You lament the things they won't be able to have. The burden of being different, and truthfully, the amount of extra work and money it is for you.

9) But. You of COURSE do it. And do it happily because it will SAVE YOUR BABY. Save him from repeated damage to his little gut that has never worked correctly. And it will save him from pain while eating. And it will make him happy.

10) Celiacs can eat potato chips an M&Ms. So really, it's not that bad.

For more information onCeliac Disease or being Gluten Free, check out: http://www.celiac.com/ http://www.celiac.org/

Parenting: The Airline Philosophy

jmdinap — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:54:00 GMT

Of all the parenting strategies that I have read about, tried, thrown out and fretted over, there is one that I have devised as my own that has stayed prominent in my life.

I call it, The Airline Philosophy.

Simply put, you know how if you are traveling on an airplane, the flight attendant gives you the little speech about flotation devices and seatbelts etc? Well, there is one thing they always emphasize, and that is that if the oxygen masks should deploy you should take care of yourself before you take care of small children and those needing assistance. The reason being, that if you put the mask on the baby first, but you collapse halfway through doing so, you are both in trouble. If you take care of you, then you can take care of someone else.

If you, as the mother are hungry, tired, or plain old grouchy, you are not able to take care of your children to the best of your ability, because your needs are not being met. As women, I think we tend to play the martyr, and put others first. It is that exact kindness and compassion that drains us of our abilities to parent successfully.

You do not need to eat the burnt toast (Which is a book by Teri Hatcher that discusses this exact thing), make yourself a new piece!! You do not need to skimp on your sleep to cook and clean, and you do not need to skip a shower. You need those things to feel like a human being, and therefore to parent your children.

In my opinion, and experience you need 10-30 minutes to yourself per day. Let me repeat. TO YOURSELF. Not cleaning, or cooking, or reading stories to your children, but doing whatever it is that makes you happy. If cleaning and cooking make you happy, great. Still find something else for your personal time.

For me, it is usually yoga. If I can't make that work, it might be Oprah on the DVR, an extra long shower, 10 pages of a book, reading blogs I like, or maybe fooling around on my computer. I carve it out, stick to it, and it works. It shows your children that you take care of yourself as well as them. That you are valuable, too.

Let's be honest, does it happen EVERY DAY? No. But if I miss one, I can tell. The days that I don't do it, I am grouchier, more tired, more short tempered, and overall a crummier parent to my children. So I embrace the blue-suited flight attendant words of wisdom and encourage you to do the same.

Parenting 101: The Textbook Shortlist

jmdinap — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 01:11:00 GMT

I've read a LOT of them. These are the ones to buy (and I would link to them except my Mac doesn't like the windows blog program and I can't make it work so you get the LONG url, and also I can't make it underline, sorry.)

1) Healthy Sleep Habits: Happy Child by Mark Weisbluth

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0449004023

This book made my kids sleep. It was annoying and dry, but it damn well worked. For infants. And toddlers. And parents. Just do what it says and don't ask twice.

2) Your One Year Old by Louise Bates Ames

http://www.amazon.com/Your-One-Year-Old-Fun-Loving-12-24-Month-Old/dp/0440506727

They also make Your Two Year Old, Your Three Year Old etc....

Basically, what the heck is my kid supposed to be doing, and what am I supposed to be doing about it. No, really. Not like What to Expect, because those people are not really humans who get frustrated and tired. For example in Your Four Year Old it basically says, "You should try to be with them as little as possible, they really like other people better than you and you will clash with them a lot. They should be in preschool, play dates, and daycare. It will be better for everyone in the end." Brutally honest. You have to get over how ancient they are, like how they talk about moving the ashtray out of the way of your one year old. And there was a little stint about spanking that I didn't like, but they were recommended to me by a doc, and they are my go-to books for all things behavioral.

3) Blessings of a Skinned Knee by Wendy Mogel

http://www.amazon.com/Blessing-Skinned-Knee-Teachings-Self-Reliant/dp/0142196002

It happens to focus on Jewish teachings, but don't let that steer you away if you are not Jewish. Basically, it does not preach of entitlement, and encourages you to help your children be participatory in their household, be kind to others, and be a good normal person BECAUSE YOU SHOULD BE. Not because you get a marble or earn a prize, but because that is how people act. Brilliant.

4) The e-book The Three Day Potty Training Method by Lora Jensen

http://www.3daypottytraining.com/

Well, basically, it works as best as anything I could find. And I tried a TON. OF. USELESS. STRATEGIES.

Happy reading!

With Apologies, and Empathy

jmdinap — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:13:00 GMT

I am lucky enough to not have children with food allergies. We have other issues, don't get me wrong, but food allergies are not one of them. And, embarrassingly, I have made several food allergy mistakes.

Case #1 When hosting a new playgroup at our house, I put out our basket of snacks that I regularly let my kids choose from. Included in it were granola bars, packages of cheese/peanut butter crackers, Teddy Grahams, and Goldfish (AKA baby crack). The kids were happily playing, and each meandered over to the snack table, made a choice, and continued to play. As Little N (Age 3) went over, he chose a lovely granola bar, and his mom did the faster-that-the-speed-of-light-child-running-in-the-street style lurch at him and yelled "NO!!!". Backpedaling over the crying, and startled children everywhere, she explained about his nut allergy, and pulled out his snack from home. Over compensating, I apologized profusely and took all the snacks away (half of which were lethal to him), bringing out only strawberries-much messier and more expensive for a playgroup of 6- but not deadly (on this occasion).

Case #2 At the annual cookie exchange, I made sugar cookies. No nuts. Straight up plain sprinkled sugar cookies. As ladies were tasting, chewing, and commenting on how they taste differently from sugar cookies in the past, I reveal my secret ingredient. Almond extract instead of vanilla. Ms. L immediately puts her pate of cookies down and asks if it was imitation or not. I have no idea. Probably? That was not good enough for a woman with a severe tree nut allergy.

Thankfully, my oversights have only happened twice, but I have since seen them happen many other times, for example once at a preschool's pot luck, and another time in overlooking how 'vegetarian' something was. As I read what others say about food allergies, and as my children become more and more involved with other children, I realize what a serious issue this is. I hope that I can be understanding and accommodating to those families that we come into contact with.

A Biting Time

jmdinap — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:03:00 GMT

This has nothing to do with this month's theme of integrative medicine, or maybe it does...

Jacob is teething. Some babies wake up one morning, and have 3, 4, or maybe 5 teeth. They are the lucky ones.

This does not happen in our house. Teething here is more like a slow form of long term torture. First the drooling. Then the chewing. Then refusing to eat. Then eating everything, but only on the affected side. Then you go to the doctor, because of the crying. And you think, "Please GOD! Let this be an ear infection so that they can give me some medicine!" But it's not and the doctor says his gums are red and swollen.

Awesome.

I guess this is where a rudimentary form of integrative medicine starts. We try EVERYTHING. Motrin, Tylenol, teethers, frozen bread, frozen blueberries, frozen washcloths, teething gel, tablets, etc. You name it. The only thing I have not tried to ease the pain is whiskey. Well, let's be honest, I haven't given Jacob whiskey....

And then a white dot! One little piece of one tooth has broken through. Bu guess what? Of the molars, there are 4. Each molar has 4 little pointy corners that must erupt. And for Jacob, each part of each tooth is grueling. So, we wait it out and snuggle and cuddle and try everything we can think of so that the little man is more comfortable while he is teething. I'm open to new suggestions!

Lifestyle

jmdinap — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:11:00 GMT

I have to admit, I was very unfamiliar with the topic of integrative medicine, so I have layed low this month. I have learned a lot reading the posts of the other contributors. I appreciate that.

The one thing I have to contribute, better late than never, I suppose, is the way that taking care of yourself is really a lifestyle choice.

Just like on the airplane, where you have to give yourself oxygen before helping someone else, you have to take care of yourself, advocate for yourself, ask questions, and do what feels right, before you can even attempt to function for others. It is not selfish, it is self-preservation.

It weaves through all life aspects; eating, sleeping, working, playing, fitness, relaxation. Finding a balance is the essential key to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, no?

When I think about how that impacts my life, the one thing I come up with for me, personally, is yoga. When I have that going on in my life, I feel better, act better towards everyone, and am proactive in making healthy choices, especially on the nutrition end of things. You can not eat a bag of potato chips as your post-yoga snack, it would completely ruin the zen.

It is difficult however, to make drastic changes all at one time. So, for me, once I am on a roll with one thing, I am much more able to add in other things that contribute to a healthy lifestyle. The key is making it a habit, and the biggest motivation is instilling good habits into your children. I mean, really, your entire job is that in a nutshell. And in the end, everyone benefits.

Happy Holidays From The Other Side

jmdinap — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:38:00 GMT

That is, from the non-Christmas side. From the Hanukkah side.

It has definitely been interesting this year. Asher is old enough to be bedazzled by everything Christmas. EVERYTHING. Lights, Santa, wreaths, moving reindeer, trees, ornaments, TV specials etc. If you step back and take a look, there is a LOT of Christmas going on. We talk about it a lot, and who celebrates what, and why, and more lights and wow and etc....

Now, Hanukkah is not a major Jewish holiday. Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah (Fall), and Passover (Spring) are the major ones. They just don't happen to fall around Christmas which is a marketing, bonanza, so Hanukkah gets a bump in importance in order to compete, if you will. And I think Jewish parents fall victim to it. Use it as a time to make sure their non-Christian children don't get slighted on the gift-getting end. Use it as a reason to spoil their kids a little. And frankly, it is easiest to explain away Christmas with the all popular, "Well, you get 8 nights of fun and presents for HAnukkah instead of just one day!"

In addition, I have recently converted to Judaism and this is my first year officially without Christmas, even though we have not been celebrating for a while. I think that makes me hyper-sensitive to how my children might react around such a public holiday. However, we had a lovely Hanukkah. Grandma & Grandpa came, we had several nights of good food. There were presents, big and small, the dreidel game, lots of playing, a Hanukkah party at the synagogue preschool, and lighting the menorah for 8 nights (or 9 in our case as we skipped one and had to make up for it.) It is the holiday that keeps on going and going and going. But I have been worried about him feeling slighted. I loved Christmas as a child and my memories of that still hold a dear place in my heart. What kind of effect would it have on Asher, never having that?

The answer is none. And I should have known it all along. It is the reason I converted. It is the reason Dan and I married, and decided to raise our children in the Jewish faith. It is the reason that maybe you love Christmas. Or Kwanzaa. Or that you don't need a holiday to celebrate. The reason is that it is the family that makes the holiday. It is family and tradition that make the memories. It is the family that the joy stems from. And as much as we give our parents an grandparents a hard time about how wonderful it is when everyone is together, it is true. Those are my fond memories. My family, singing Christmas carols, and now, lighting a menorah together. It is the together that makes it special. And the materialistic side that we create around it, really can't hold a candle, Hanukkah, or advent, to the impression that we make upon our children by demonstrating a loving, caring family.

Asher proved it to me at the vet this morning. They had a tree lit up when we went in to get some dog food. He and Jacob were oogling and talking non-stop about how beautiful it was. The very nice grandma who works at the counter came out to talk to him. She chatted him up with one of the three usual things to say to a kid right now. (In case you were wondering, they are: Have you been good for Santa? What did you ask for for Christmas? and, Do you have your Christmas tree up?) She opted for the question about the tree, and he just looked at her and said, "We don't celebrate Christmas. When I grow up I want to run the beer tanks at a restaurant." (Let's come back to the beer comment another time...) But the point is, he's fine with it. And he handled it beautifully. I shouldn't have worried. And I should be thankful that he is lucky enough to be making memories just like I was.

Hopefully, We Will Not Be Swiney

jmdinap — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:32:00 GMT

Just a disclaimer, and a reminder, this is just my opinion. I also would like to add that once things hit the level of hype where they have daily trailers on CNN, I stop watching and paying attention. I have a deep seeded hatred for the media and its tendency to turn things into a frenzy. It stems from living in NYC on 9/11 and actually living through the tragedy there. The media was an injustice to what was happening, and so stems my distrust.

Anyhow.

Swine Flu. H1N1. Frenzy. Here is my experience with this situation.

March, 2009. Jacob is 6 months old. Dan was in bed with a flu for about 3 days. He was useless. Sick everywhere and as pathetic as I have ever seen anyone. We scratch our heads, a little late for the flu, but OK. In retrospect, he probably had it then, and we all made it through unscathed.

Spring-ish 2009. Swine flu news.

Summer 2009. We move. We ignore everything happening on the planet because moving with 2 children and starting a new job and selling a house is all our brains can handle.

Early October 2009. Now it is H1N1, and I am on the email list at the preschool and emails are flying around about who is getting H1N1 and is it live or flumist or a shot or what have you.

Late October 2009. I get the kids regular flu shots at the new pediatrician because we finally have health insurance. (Don't get me started on that)

Later October 2009. I have a playground discussion with a few moms about where to get the H1N1 shot, because as I have said in previous posts, I do what doctors say. If we are supposed to get it, I will get it. I call the pediatrician. They don't have it. I look up the health department, they don't have it either, unless you are high risk. We are not. One day Dan calls and says his office is asking him to get it because they are health care professionals. So he gets one at Kroger. As in the grocery store. They are only doing it for health care professionals.

Early November 2009. I read the disclaimers about who can and can not get the shots, and make a call to Asher's cardiologist. He is only allowed the shot, not the mist because of his prior heart conditions, but it does not put him in a high risk category. So.... still none available.

Yesterday. Friends are posting on Facebook where they can get vaccines, and how long they have had to wait in line at the health department. I say to Dan, "Ok, What the heck is going on with this? Am I going to be a lunatic about it and track down some vaccines, or just go with it? Can't you help with this, Doc?" We decide to put a small amount of effort into getting it. But the lack of availability is frustrating, and I am am sure is what the media is playing on. Not to minimize the impact of the illness, but...

Today. Dan emails me that a Duke children's clinic about 30 minutes away has some for walk ins. We have a playdate with a mom who tells me that they are giving it at well baby visits, I call his new pediatrician to make his 4 year check up appointment for December and ask if he can get it then. She says, "Well, I am opening our newest shipment right now, we haven't posted it yet, but we are having a clinic tomorrow at the office. Would you like an appointment?"

ChaChing. Dan and the kids will be vaccinated. I will hope that is enough until I can round up some for myself. Because we all know, if mom goes down, the whole operation goes down. And that is one situation that deserves all the media hype it can get.