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ocelotmom

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Posts posted by ocelotmom

  1. We had a white elephant gift exchange at work last year, where no one really made it clear whether it was the gag-gift sort of white elephant or the safe-corporate-gift sort. Everyone basically ended up interpreting it as safe-corporate-gift, as did I... but because of other stuff going on in my life right then, my husband did the shopping for me and INSISTED that white elephant is ALWAYS gag gift. 

     

    That was a little embarrassing.

     

    Also, as a math tutor I routinely receive gifts that are clearly being regifted from previous gift exchanges.   I don't mind people passing things on but if you're going to give me a token gift can you please make it at least look like you tried? Helpful hint: remove the tag that says it's from your secret santa (or my favorite, the tag that indicated it was from a golf outing several years earlier, and the candy had an expiration date that was two years ago).

     

    I got gifted a mug one year, with a label for the candy in it attached... but no candy. That was a little weird.

    • Like 1
  2. Penalizing professors for early withdrawals seems silly; I withdrew from a few courses after the first week because I'd misjudged the nature of the course or realized the time was really unsuitable or something - never anything to do with the professor, that early.

     

    Yes, I've signed up for classes as a backup plan to maintain full-time status, and then withdrawn when I ended up getting into the "full" class I hadn't previously been able to sign up for. I withdrew from a class "Something-or-Other for Busy People" when I discovered that it meant watching multiple 3-hour long videos lectures within a very short timeframe. Classes dropped before the drop date really shouldn't count.

    • Like 1
  3.  But I may underestimate how responsible college students are; *I* wouldn't have self-treated, but probably some would.

     

    It's not necessarily about "responsible". Sometimes these situations come up because the person is trying to be responsible and tough it out to go to class/work/save money/not waste time or resources. Sometimes it's differences in pain tolerance, and thinking that something actually serious would hurt worse than this (I've had three broken bones. Only one of them I'd consider severely painful). Being able to manage the pain with OTC pain meds can contribute to underestimating the severity in both of these - even if the OTCs are being used in a way that approximate the effects of minor narcotics.

     

    I definitely recommend this tactic when the source of pain and severity of the cause are known and understood. Just not as first aid.

    • Like 2
  4. I would absolutely get one with heart rate tracking in your situation - some chemotherapy and other commonly used medications can have cardiac side effects. The main reason I still wear one is for similar reasons, because I don't really find them hugely motivating.

     

    I'm not sure who, other than Garmin, makes waterproof + HR tracking. If forced to choose between the two, I would choose the HR tracking and just not wear it in the water. I'm a bit distrustful of the waterproof claim on the VivoSmart HR anyways - I've had one for three years now, and my first had to be replaced under warranty immediately after I started using it in the pool.

  5. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. Medical professionals often recommend alternating the test medications. Having them on hand can save a pharmacy stop.

     

    Yes. But we're talking first-aid kit that you carry in a backpack. I wouldn't consider alternating the two, or taking both at once, for a pain that would otherwise necessitate narcotics, to be *first aid*. You don't want to just cover up serious pain and go about your daily business (says the person who has more than once broken bones and done exactly that).

     

    For an identified source of pain, it's absolutely a good tactic.

    • Like 2
  6. "Grooming behavior" is a subset of inappropriate behavior. Something can be wrong without being grooming behavior. So trust your instincts - if it feels wrong, it likely is, even if it isn't traditional grooming behavior.

     

    Inviting children to participate in a traditionally adult program.

     

    I think that this absolutely can be grooming behavior, depending on the context.

     

    Open invitation to all kids (or all within a particular age group)? Probably not grooming.

     

    Invitation to one individual, or a select few, because they're special and mature? That would concern me more. Putting emphasis on someone's maturity can absolutely be grooming behavior. 

     

    I also agree that a pre-teen breaking the dress code is better addressed with the parents than the child.

    • Like 4
  7. I have an internally inconsistent view.

     

    I think a small-but-expensive present can totally be a stocking stuffer.

     

    I think that marketing something small-but-expensive as a stocking stuffer is intentional trivialization, designed to make the buyer feel that they need to get something else as the "real" present.

    • Like 2
  8. In my experience, Pepto tablets ends up as pink powder when stored in bags. I'd only include them if you can put them in a hard case of some sort, and would probably choose immodium instead.

     

    I’d include acetaminophen because it can be taken in alternating doses with ibuprofen. If a kid is sick or worse, hurt, enough to need the alternate dosing, he/she isn’t going to want to go to the store. Being able to alternate the two might help them avoid narcotics if they get hurt badly or something.

     

    I'm all in favor of this strategy, but I would be a bit hesitant about encouraging that for a young adult living alone for the first time, because something causing that much pain probably warrants medical attention, not self-treatment. 

     

    I'd probably include both acetaminophen and ibuprofen because it's quite likely the first aid kit will end up being used on someone else. 

    • Like 2
  9. The real issue is personal care and I am hoping I will get better at that as time goes by.

     

    You will. It's just a process of figuring out what works.

     

    Figuring out how to put on my own bra was probably the biggest milestone (hook it beforehand, then put it on like a t-shirt, bad arm first - bad for the bra, but it worked, and none of mine are expensive anyways). It just felt so needy and pathetic getting someone to help with that. For taking shirts off, I did it "Cornholio"-style - pulling the neck in the back up over my head. Beavis and Butthead was useful for something. My fracture was further down so the elbow didn't actually need to be immobilized, but similar would probably work.

     

    I also wore a lot of pull-on pants for a while (I have tons of scrub pants, luckily). I could sort of manage jeans one-handed, but it seemed more trouble than it was worth.

     

    We have a similar injury history, by the way. In the past few years I've broken a finger, foot (probably, anyways - didn't get officially checked on that one), and arm (and a finger at the same time). The foot was at the gym when I dropped a weight on it, and the arm was on a motorcycle. The finger (the first one) was when I tried to grab the dog's collar as she ran past me.

    • Like 1
  10. I badly broke my arm this week, requiring surgery. My primary thought, even before the pain meds, was how much it would cost. Especially after they decided to Care Flight me to another hospital. I do have insurance, but we haven't touched our deductible up until now, and I know a lot is bound to be out of network or otherwise not covered.

     

    It shouldn't be this way, people.

    • Like 5
  11. Don't worry about going all-out on shoes for nursing school. Clinicals are rarely as long as normal shifts (except perhaps the last semester), so having absolutely ergonomically ideal shoes isn't quite as important. And chances are she'll want to dump the all-white shoe the second she's done with school - you simply can't get all that fashionable and expressive with all white.

     

    I had some sort of really boring NurseMates shoe. They worked. I actually started out in $5 all-white sneakers from WalMart. They worked too, though I imagine they wouldn't have held up well long-term.

     

    I'd definitely encourage at least trying shoes on in person, even if you end up ordering online. Danskos and so forth tend to be a love them or hate them type thing.

     

    Calzuros because they can be autoclaved.

     

    Really only useful if you have access to an autoclave :)

  12. https://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Babies-Breastfeeding-FAQ-ebook/dp/B005DMMDE6/

     

    Not necessarily the One True Resource, but inexpensive, quick, and written by a CLEC who has both breast and formula-fed.

     

    It always ticks me off when someone says, "if breastfeeding hurts then you're doing something wrong." REALLY?! 

     

    Me too.

     

    Hormonal changes can cause nipple soreness. Lots of women experience this during pregnancy, ovulation, or menstruation. I seem to get it postpartum. There's no signs of actual problem like bad latch or thrush, and it goes away on its own within a few weeks. With my first, I thought something was wrong because I kept hearing that, so I kept looking for a problem. If someone had just said, "Yeah, sometimes it just hurts." it would have been a lot less stressful.

    • Like 5
  13. I buy used as much as possible. Previous editions even, when it seems likely to be successful (ie. classes that don't have problem sets).

     

    When there are mandatory access codes, I find that I can often buy the code on its own separately, and it still ends up being cheaper.

     

    I'm generally pretty gentle on textbooks, so I sell them afterwards and recoup most or all of the cost (I expected to make a profit on one from this semester, but then I spilled tea on it. Ah well).

     

    I've never rented. I might consider it if it were significantly less than the used cost. But only an electronic rental, because otherwise I'd end up spilling tea on it.

  14. However, talking to the admissions counselors at two different local schools, they both suggest not taking this route, saying that sophomore spots in the BSN program are very hard to get, much harder than freshman slots.

     

    Any thoughts on whether this is a bigger pattern, or about routes to a nursing degree in general?

     

    I think it's very geographic.

     

    Around here (west coast US), there are very few direct entry nursing programs. Most require that you take the non-nursing-specific classes (sciences, english, psychology, etc.) as prerequisites first. Then, if you survive those classes, you'll be considered for the nursing program. And most students take these prereqs at a community college, because it's much cheaper, and taking them at a university generally doesn't give you any advantage in applying to the nursing program.

     

    I did an Associate's nursing program, then RN to BSN later. Absolutely no regrets about doing it that way.

    • Like 2
  15. The essay I linked to also mentioned that he has never had a song stuck in his head—he can't mentally experience hearing, smelling, or tasting either. 

     

    If I get myself in the right state (being a passenger on a long car ride, for example), I can actually literally listen to music in my head. Kind of like a controllable auditory hallucination.

     

    I guess that's what I feel visualization should be like. Literal seeing images.

     

    I can rotate an object in my head and so on, but it's not really "seeing" it. Just something that more closely resembles seeing than any other sense.

     

    I can "see" clear images of, for example, places I'm very familiar with. But I'm not going to visualize an image if I hear/read a description of something.

     

    I do think I have some degree of face blindness, too.

     

    Do those of you who can't visualize a red triangle, for example, ever have vivid dreams? I'm assuming you don't daydream or fantasize much, but do you have visual dreams while sleeping?

     

    I daydream all the time. It's just, as others have said, more of a narrative than a picture. 

     

    I have vivid dreams. I can visualize images from past dreams (even long past) better than a lot of other things.

    • Like 2
  16. Newborn clothing. My babies have all been on the smaller side, and really needed it for at least a little while. With #4 (you'd think I'd have learned by that point), I totally forgot that NB and 0-3 month aren't the same thing. I had a ton of 0-3 month clothing but no NB. And then that baby ended up being the smallest of all, and actually had to run out and find preemie clothing. I think it was 2 months before we used the 0-3m clothing.

     

    But I know a lot of people have babies big enough that they never fit NB clothing.

     

    I'm kind of hit or miss on cloth diapers in general, but consider them an essential during the first few weeks when they poop constantly - I have a hard time with the idea of throwing away a diaper I put on 30 seconds ago. But I know other people are the other way around - they're fine dealing with cloth diapers later, but don't want the extra laundry with a newborn.

     

    Some sort of carrier. I usually use a sling at first, and an upright carrier later. This time we got a Beco Gemini, which can be used with smaller babies, but ended up switching to an Ergo because I really wanted something with a pocket to hold diapers and stuff, so as not to need to carry a separate bag for shorter outings. I'm still occasionally using it with the "baby" who is now 3.

     

    Somewhere safe to set the baby down.

     

    Car seat.

     

    Nursing bras (or nursing-compatible bras).

     

    Some babies I've used a stroller a ton (either for the baby, or for an older sibling), others not.

     

    Receiving blankets are useful, but, contrary to popular statement, it is entirely possible to have too many of them. 

     

    I love the newborn sleeping gowns for boys and girls.

     

    Yes, I would have been happy with gowns and nothing else for the first few months. Pajamas are cute, but much more difficult to manage for diaper changes.

  17. I did that with someone I know IRL who is on the boards. Her posts sounded so much like her. And the ages of her kids were the same. I asked her, "Hey are you so-and-so," and she was. :)

     

    I've recognized people I knew in real life on another forum (MDC) based on little quirks combined with other details that added up (occupation, general location, kids ages). One had a very unusually vehement negative reaction to a certain book that I've never heard from anyone else, which I'd both heard from her directly and saw on the forum. One talked about some issues with her son that we'd also discussed in real life. One... I think it really just came down to her writing "voice", combined with details that fit.

     

    Really made me rethink the concept of internet anonymity, and I tend to be very conscious about posting things that could be too identifiable. Not so much on here, where I'm not really posting anything I'd have a problem with people knowing, but elsewhere.

     

    That said, I'd be reluctant to jump into a WTM conversation in real life around here in anything but a "Oh, do you homeschool too?" sense, just because the homeschooling community where I live leans so strongly conservative/religious.

  18. Nope. Not scabies. I know this because my dd was (most likely mis) diagnosed with scabies a few days ago and I've been looking at every picture of scabies rashes that exists on the internet. (I don't recommend doing that unless you want to make yourself crazy, btw.)

     

    Scabies is one subject where I strongly recommend STAY OFF THE INTERNET!!!!!!!! Or at least stick to reputable sites. Following the rabbit holes (scabies burrows?) just makes it so much psychologically worse.

     

    I think there's a lot of delusional parasitosis out there.

     

    My whole family had scabies many years ago - there was an outbreak in our community. It sucked. It was horrible. But realistically... we did the treatment, washed stuff, and were fine. Didn't have to get rid of furniture or burn the house down or anything like that.

     

    My new question: can scabies ever present like eczema?

     

    It can, actually. But your daughter's rash doesn't really look like it to me, and after treatment it would be unlikely.

     

    One possibility - scabies treatment can trigger eczema.

  19. FWIW, although this is neither here nor there, I had to write in cursive for several years when I was in school and so I did learn it and I can certainly read it but it was never super comfortable for me to write in that form.  I know cursive is supposed to be faster and flow better than print once you really master cursive (which is one of the arguments for teaching cursive) but that was not true for me.  When I hit college I shifted to a kind of hybrid of print and cursive which I still use.  It just flows better for me than solid cursive or solid print.  

     

    Same here. I did cursive, as required, for years. I switched back to print the second they stopped caring about it (sometime in high school), and still print everything except my signature.

     

    If I didn't master it to the point of it being easier in the years of daily use when it was required of me, then, for me, it probably isn't actually easier.

    • Like 1
  20. The My Father's Dragon series! You can buy all three together on Amazon or individually.

    They may also be available for free at other sites.

     

     

    Three Tales of My Father's Dragon: My Father's Dragon; Elmer and the Dragon; The Dragons of Blueland

     

    https://www.amazon.com/Three-Tales-My-Fathers-Dragon/dp/B01J28F7N0/ref=pd_sim_129_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01J28F7N0&pd_rd_r=Z6BAEVP5DZQHGRSTC4JX&pd_rd_w=ledxr&pd_rd_wg=cTusi&psc=1&refRID=Z6BAEVP5DZQHGRSTC4JX

     

    The version of My Father's Dragon on LibriVox is absolutely adorable.

     

    My son really liked the Thorton Burgess animal books at that age. Also, pretty much everything on kayray.org. 

  21. Now, another option is a cup like Instead, which are a different shape altogether. But they're also disposable.

    https://www.amazon.com/Instead-Softcups-Feminine-Protection-Count/dp/B000X29GY6

     

    While they're technically single use, many people do reuse them. I'm sure you couldn't get years out of a single cup, but I've never had any issues with reusing one for a single cycle. They also make (made? They changed ownership and the website isn't super informative) a version that is intended to be reusable through a whole cycle - I think it's just a little more sturdy.

     

    I tried these before having kids, and had some problems with them, both in terms of discomfort and leakage. Now they're great.

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