Ouch. Does the pain come daily, weekly, in spurts? Is it constant or does it come and go? I'm not sure if what I have is typical, though we know it's TN. It seems to come in spurts which last several days. Aside from touch, what triggers yours? The pain is intense, but we've found some preventative meds that seem to be working well, after a lot of failures. Which is what made me start to wonder about how others live with this, and what techniques I might have been missing out on.

Thanks for the bump. It hurts, that's for sure. :(

Anyone have this? How severe was it for you? How did you go about treating it? Thanks for sharing any experiences.

Yes, the confirmation email was slow. Can't believe they are sold out already. This is our first foray into AG, so I'm glad we found a good deal. Thanks again!

I ordered one. Thank you.

Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Oh! I just saw the apple salad idea! Perfect! Yum. Off to do it now. Thanks!

Thanks! I needed to be told it would work. :) I found blueberries, fortunately, and we are guessing he might get a kick out of stopping off at the market on the way home, so he and DH might do that, depending. Whew. Relaxing again. :)

Aaaack. DH's CFO is coming to dinner. Tonight, late (cultural norm for him). He eats like a bird apparently, we are keeping this mellow and easy. Roasted chicken, sauteed green beans and red peppers cooked in wine. We had planned a light fruit salad with yogurt as something sweet, and of course, espresso to follow. We are a one car family, and DH has the car (picking up CFO, who's flying in from France). I am cutting up the fruit from the fruit salad... and... ugh. DH picked up the strawberries yesterday and they are moldy inside the carton. YUCK. He couldn't find blueberries, apparently, but I didn't notice till today. Eek. Striking out here. So... For the fruit, we have only pineapple and blackberries. I have some clementines and apples, but had not planned on those for the fruit salad. The yogurt is coconut milk yogurt, FWIW, as we are dairy free here. What can I do with this combination? Or should I chuck the whole idea of something sweet since I doubt he's going to care anyway?

It varies week to week. Partly depending on how much cash I have on hand. :) Generally between 10 - 20% depending on how well they've been cleaning. They split it up between themselves. I don't think you have to leave a tip. I'm just a tipper, for good service. :)

Take the plunge. No one will care about your bedroom paint or the state of your bedding. They will probably be happy to have another job. :) Having a cleaner means you can get to all those unfinished projects, too. We have weekly cleaners. We've had them for years. Before we moved to our current state, we had an individual, and she was great. Here, we've tried several but none have either a.) maintained their standards, b.) showed up consistently on time, or c.) stayed in business long enough to establish a long term relationship. We use a service now. I prefer it because they take care of things like taxes, insurance, etc. We are on our second service. The first - a national chain - was great until they switched lead cleaners at our house, then the standards went steadily down. I talked to them repeatedly. We've been with our current service for about a year. Love them. It's a local business, excellent service. So it can really go either way, depending on where you are. Interview several and try to get a feel for what they do, and how they communicate. If they have a list of what they'll do, all the better. Be clear about what you want done, and how much you'll pay. Don't cancel unless you have to do so. If you do, maybe offering to switch days would be helpful. Every week we get "maid ready" the night before they come. For us, this means putting things away, getting linens out for them (they change the beds as long as the linens are ready), and generally making sure things are ready so that they don't have to clean around things. I don't ask them to put things away, though if the kids room is a mess, they'll sort of put things away as they go. Other than that, if there's a pile of mail or something, they just clean around it. Oh! No one has mentioned tipping. I generally tip the cleaners if they are consistently doing a great job, and they are working for a service. I like thinking they can leave and go grab lunch. During the holidays, we generally tip a full week's clean, if they are an individual. If it's a service, then I just give the cleaners a bigger holiday tip.

Thanks, Kathryn and KrissK. My thought was they should change it immediately, too. But the SW keeps saying not to change it, that it needs to follow the child. But I'm thinking this might be because of the new stricter requirements for changing SSNs after Homeland Security, maybe? Anyone with recent experience doing this?

I may delete parts of this, so please don't quote me. :) Quick question re: social security numbers. When one adopts via foster care, is it common for the child's social security number to remain the same? What if there are questions about the biofamily's possible unethical use of the social security number? Recent foster-adopt scenario: DSS is telling the new adoptive family that the social security number stays the same and follows the child. Family is concerned about biofamily's financial situation, and their history of unethical behavior with regard to finances, among other things. Does family just keep checking the child's credit report obsessively, or can they have the social security number changed once everything is final, without DSS's approval?

I agree that seeing the allergist again asap is a good plan. I would be extremely nervous about sending her hiking until you know what's causing the reactions. (Okay, and even then I might still be extremely nervous!) Mystery reactions are the worst. :grouphug: My DS is prone to mystery reactions from suspected airborne allergens, so we've had a few, some of which we've never found the cause. It's nerve-wracking. I would be very suspicious of the latex, like Dana, but also - were they cooking anything at the outdoor festival? DS has reacted to airborne food particles. Might be a possibility as well. It's just so hard to tell. FWIW, we've also had anaphylaxis to cat dander. At least, that's all we can pinpoint, and his cat allergy is severe. So it's certainly possible that this was something airborne. Maybe look at what she ate for breakfast, even if it's not a new food she might be developing an allergy. That's certainly possible - I just developed an allergy to shellfish as an adult! I'd also be wondering what type of construction debris was on that tarp. Mold, maybe? What type of dust? The latex would be concerning. Sorry, I'm no help. Just wanted to send some support and say you're not alone!

We love Playmobil here, too, but it goes in waves. I really wanted to suggest the Haba Ball Track - I think someone above suggested it as well. That is a great, great toy, and will last forever. Haba toys are excellent. Keva planks are fabulous, also. We have a collection of marble runs - all are great. Oh, and one year we did the big domino run from Hearthsong. That's still fun. Tape and random items - huge hit here - but I've never been able to give those items as the main gift somehow. Some hang up of mine about gift giving. Tape makes a great stocking stuffer though!

From what you've described - I'd allow it, too. It's a group of friends, and Calvin just happens to be a guy.

Thanks!

This made me tear up. The pain these infants go through is intense.

Showed up at 2 weeks, but took awhile to figure out the diagnosis. Everything mentioned above helps. A baby sling - the one recommended by Dr Sears - is a big help. And the fussy baby book by Dr Sears, too. Lots of coping advice there. Offers to babysit, and understanding arms to hold a crying baby while mom takes a shower or nap. A massage gift certificate with a babysitting offer. Not sure I'd have left my reflux baby with anyone, but the offer is nice. My biggest help was hearing from my best friend and her mom that this wasn't normal, and the encouragement to go to the doc. DS was my first, I really didn't know. It's only now, with a DD who doesn't have reflux, that I fully appreciate the difference in sheer exhaustion levels for all of us. Reflux hurts. :( A GI doc who specializes in infants can help some, too. Our kiddo needed special formula and meds to help. Big hugs to the mom and that poor baby.

Just read this to DS, who sounds just like yours. He is jumping up and down saying, "I do that too, I do that too!" ... And wants to set up a play date with your DS! LOL!

I used a Sharps container, too.

I had Assurant years ago. They bought the company I had prior to that policy, so I didn't choose them. The rates climbed exponentially on my policy, and the denied claims rolled in. They raised my rates so high and so fast to get me to drop the policy, I'm sure. I have health issues. Thankfully, at that point they were a second policy for me, and I could comfortably drop them. It's been years, but I still have a bad taste in my mouth just reading their company name.

I rode competitively as a child. English. Hunter jumper. In proper clothes. I have a distinct memory of getting very excited at ten, thinking my period had started. My mom thought so too. It was after a tough lesson, and in retrospect I believe my hymen was broken. Not a big deal, not horribly painful, but a smear of blood. My actual period didn't start for a few years.

I love this thread. :) Listening in. All of my college friends (yes, we are still in touch, and still friends) are just having kids now. We're all late bloomers, by some standards, but I think we are right on time. I am 42, with a 2 year old a 9 year old. Turning 40 was exciting for me, because DH and I were all about our 40s after some health issues in my 30s. I'm not terribly worried about our 50s either, as we intend to just. keep. moving. My parents are both very active and they are well into their 70s. DH's parents are not as active, but they went into retirement with the idea that retirement was the time to slow down, and it's become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Love hearing all the positive stories and thoughts.

Oops. Great minds. :)