joannqn
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Posts posted by joannqn
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I've been feeling both sad and angry today. I don't know what to do but I want to do something.
On September 7th, I miscarried my son at 14 weeks and I think it was preventable. My youngest was oblivious of it. My 6 year old was somewhat sad but basically continued on life as normal. My 8 year old was more sad and spent some time talk and praying with other homeschoolers online. My husband took it kind of hard. I was fine...the strong one...but recent events have me feeling sad, teary at times, and angry.
You see, my family came down with the stomach flu at the beginning of September. First, Josh was sick. Then I got sick. The vomiting from the flu made it so I couldn't hold down my meds for hypermesis. Between the stomach flu and unmedicated hypermesis, I was up the whole night vomiting every hour. In addition to that, I had diarrhea. After 14 hours of vomiting, I was dehydrated and went to the ER on the advice of my midwife.
When I arriving at the hospital, I asked the info. desk how to get to ER. Seeing how sick I was, they put me into a wheelchair and pushed me there. The ER receptionist took my info and vitals. My resting pulse was 138bpm. Then, they sent me to do the insurance paperwork and get my blood drawn. Because I'm a hard draw and was dehydrated, they were unable to draw my blood and gave up after two attempts and sent me back to the waiting room. Apparently, my condition wasn't very urgent in their mind because they left me in the waiting room for 1 1/2 hours before someone asked if they had rechecked my vitals. The recheck showed my blood pressure still in the 130s and now my blood pressure was very high too. Feeling pity on me, she decided to try to elevate my level and get me a bed.
Once I got a bed, they hooked me up to the monitors and got an IV going. They gave me antinausea meds via the IV. Not long after, they decided I wasn't going to die and wheeled me into the hallway so they could give my room with its monitoring equiptment to someone with more urgent needs. I spent the rest of my stay in that hallway with a nurse stopping by to check my vitals about every hour. One nurse (a nice male nurse) noticed my IV bag empty and stopped. He came back with a new bag and hooked it up. At one point, a doctor finally stopped by to talk to me. Her expert opinion was that the nausea meds stopped the vomiting and that the dehydration would resolve. I asked her about the bad back pain I was experiencing and explained that the last time I had that kind of pain I was when I was pregnant with my toddler. I had a UTI and it was causing me to have contractions that, fortunately, did cause me to go into preterm labor that time. She said, I didn't have a UTI (confirmed by urine sample). She wanted to do an ultrasound before I left. So, another hour goes by and she finally returns. I asked about the ultrasound so she decided to go ahead and do it. We saw the baby and what I saw worried me. He wasn't moving...at all. She noted that his heart rate was a bit low but attributed both to him sleeping. At this point, I asked her about my increasing back pain because I was really quite uncomfortable by this time. She dismissed it as probably muscle spasms from all the vomiting I had done, told me to go home and continue taking in fluids, and wrote me a prescription for anti-nausea meds in case I wanted them instead of what I was already taking. When she discharged me my resting pulse rate was still 120.
So, I go home and my husband picks up some gatorade for me. My family spends the next 24 hours resting and getting over the flu. We had nonrefundable circus tickets the next day. We skipped the preshow and went just for the show (it was part of school). After the show, I felt like I had to pee and found a bathroom only to discover I was bleeding. I called my midwife and went home. She was hoping that it was caused by doing too much after being so sick. At worst, she said, you can't stop a miscarriage that already started. Three hours later I went into active labor and delivered my son in my bathroom. He was dead.
So, we called our midwife and told her what happened. I asked about what I was suppose to do with his body. She said there were no laws about it until 20 weeks. The next morning I felt I needed to double check that and called the hospital. The operator connected me with the ER receptionist. When I told her I had miscarried at 14 weeks and asked if there were any laws about what to do with his body, she literally asked me, "Is it too big to flush?" How's that for sensitive?
Ever since, I can't shake the feeling that his death could have been prevented. I know dehydration can cause a miscarriage. That's why I went to the ER, to prevent that from happening. I know my body reacts to dehydration by going into labor. I was on bedrest with my second for preterm labor caused by dehydration. I told them this at the ER. What would have happened if the ER had treated me sooner rather than leaving me sitting in the waiting room for 2 more hours, throwing up in their bathroom? What would have happened if they had investigated the back pain? Surely, they would have seen that I was having contractions and given me medicine to stop them. He was still alive when I was there.
I was dealing with this ok until I saw another blogger I read mention her ultrasound and feeling her baby kick. I was three weeks further along than she is. Then yesterday, I got the doctor's bill. I owe her $251 after insurance. Today, I got the hospital bill. I own them another $393 after insurance. Not only do I not have the money to pay these bills but I don't really feel like they should be paid since I think they were negligent. I wish I could just call them and tell them that I won't pay them because they allowed my baby to die. The bills are opening up a wound that I didn't really feel the first time around.
Ugh!
I also know that if I get pregnant again soon, I'll probably freak out all winter worrying about catching another bug.
Well, that was long. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading.
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I am a visual learner. I need to see the words, not hear them. I learn how to do most things by reading directions, looking/studying what I'm trying to do, and trying it. If it doesn't work, I study it closely some moe and try it a different way. I can also learn by being shown how to do it by someone else. I also like diagrams. If I'm trying to explain something to someone, I'll almost always grab a paper and pencil and draw it out.
My son is also a visual learner. He has a hard time learning by hearing something. For history and science, I read our text and library books out loud to both my kids. However, I bought an extra text book for my son to follow along in because he retains almost nothing from just listening. For other books where I don't have an extra book, he sits next to me so he can look at it over my shoulder.
My daughter is auditory. She learns by hearing. She prefers to have things read to her...which is why I read history and science out loud to my kids. Sometimes I'll read her language arts stuff to her too. She loves to read but if she can get me to read it for her, she'd rather do that.
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Follow your gut. If you are feeling uncomfortable for any reason, don't do it.
I disagree with feeling safer leaving kids with babysitters after they can talk. Kids that are old enough to talk can still be compelled into silence with bribes or threats. I was sexually abused by my neighbor/babysitter between the ages of 6 to 11 and never told my parents while it was happening. I had been threatened in a way that kept me silent.
I don't have any family in the area. The closest is 2 1/2 hours away. I have a few people I trust to care for my kids. Because some of them are 30+ minutes away and others are just busy, we almost never use a sitter. In fact, my husband and I haven't been on a date without children in over 2 years. The risk just isn't worth it for us.
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As long as you keep everyone's learning style in mind, you'll be fine. You know your kids and can adjust how you teach to fit everyone's needs.
I also have issues talking with my dad. In fact, I've been avoiding talking to him and am hoping he doesn't call any time soon. Politics really gets him going and I don't want to hear it from him...especially since we disagree on just about everything politically.
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i don't usually like chicken soup because it can be bland, but I am always looking for crock pot recipes.
I feel the same way. Adding a cup of medium salsa is a great add-in for chicken soup and adds a lot of flavor.
I also like to make chicken tortilla soup by adding beans, corn, and diced tomatoes to the chicken and broth. Then serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.
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Oh! and on the shampooing front, I mostly shampoo her hair with her standing at the edge of the tub, bending forward at the waist into the tub. When she was little, I'd place her on the counter on her backk and would hold her head over the sink to shampoo.
Now we can shampoo in the bath/shower when her skin is good.....but if I see itching start, shampooing gets moved out of the tub as a before bath routine.
:)
Katherine
If shampoo is a problem, you could try going "no poo". Instead of shampoo, use 2T baking soda dissolved in 1 cup of water. Pour that on the hair and work it into the scalp. Rinse it out and follow with a vinegar rinse of 2T apple cidar vinegar in 1 cup of water. Since there are no artificial chemicals in these, it would probably not irritate the skin. I'm been using this for about a month and love it. My hair is soft, shiny, healthy, less oily, and has more volume. I have long thick hair so I double the amounts above to make 2 cups of each. Just don't get either in the eyes...they sting.
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My middle child used to have head to toe ezcema as a baby. After about four months, I finally figured out that he is allergic to detergents.
I took every item of clothing in the house (everybody's, not just his) and every item of bedding and washed it in plain water and a double rinse. I tossed all of our detergent and switched to All Free and Clear Liquid. I use 1/2 the amount called for and a double rinse every wash. I don't use any kind of fabric softner. I also got rid of our soap and switched to either glycerin or homemade lye soap. I former I hate; the latter is expensive unless you make it yourself. I've also found that Oil of Olay Creme Ribbons feels nice on our skin without causing problems.
His ezcema began clearing up immediately. He had one patch left on his foot that wasn't clearing up. I got rid of that with triple antibiotic ointment. I know a dermatologist who once told me that ezcema sufferers have an overgrowth of bacteria on their skin and that treatment with internal and external antibiotics will resolve it. Well, the triple antibiotic ointment cleared up that last remaining patch.
He's been ezcema free for over 6 years now.
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Chicken burritos using leftover roasted chicken and homemade refried beans.
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My husband stands.
My son sits because he was potty trained by mommy who also trained him to wipe when he pees.
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I know that it is non-partisian. However, there are liberal-leaning judges and conservative-leaning judges. At times, the court has more conservative judges on the bunch than liberal and vice versa.
I was wondering if there's every been a time when the President, House, and Senate were all Republican and the court was ruled by a majority of conservative judges. Or the opposite of that with every area being liberal.
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I chose "other" because our dog, a smooth coat collie mix, lives inside our house rather than in the yard. When he indicates he wants out, we let him out. During the winter, he only goes outside to go potty as he hates the cold and rain. During the summer, he choses to spend more time outside but still spends the majority of his time inside with us.
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Since your kids are younger, I'll not write out what the eight year old does.
My six year old is responsible for...
Morning
Get self dressed, put pjs in hamper, make bed, brush own teeth, brush hair (when he has hair), feed the dog, feed the cats, fill animals' water bowl
Afternoon
Help pick up three main rooms, take out recycling
Evening
Fill drinks for dinner, scrape plate, wipe down table, feed dog, check water bowl, put on pjs, put dirty clothes in hamper, brush own teeth, pick up own room
When Needed
Help put away laundry (sometimes I have them fold and put away their own laundry, sometimes I fold and they put it all away for everyone), crush aluminum cans, get things for mom/dad when asked, throw away diapers when asked, watch the toddler in the bath
Sometimes he asks to help
cook, vacuum, sweep, mop, clean the bathroom (toilet, sink, cabinets, doorknobs, door), wipe down kitchen cabinet fronts, put clothes in the washer/dryer
I use a school bell program to keep us on routine. When the 8am bell rings, my kids get up and do their morning chores if they haven't already done them. The afternoon pick up is also scheduled by the bells. The other things fall at their obvious times (ie. dinner chores at dinner time) or are done when they are asked to do them.
My kids have no choice about doing chores. Each person in the family has responsiblities they must fulfill. We used to enforce chores and deal with attitude problems with time outs, taking away computer time, or taking away an upcoming outing that they were looking forward to. We've also had long talks about responsibility and what would happen if daddy decided he didn't want to do his chores (meaning go to work) or if mommy decided not to do hers (ie. clean, cook). My kids pretty much do what they are suppose to do without issues now.
We don't pay or reward for chores as a regular thing. We don't currently have the money to pay an allowance. My kids are ok with this. They understand basic money management principles and our current financial situation. When I have a few dollars, I'll randomly hand the kids money and thank them for the good job they've been doing. Sometimes we'll do something fun with the kids and explain we are doing this special outing because they've done so well with school or helping out.
My 19 month old doesn't have set chores yet. We've started training him though. He's very strong-willed and is learning that he must do what he is told or visit the corner. He does "chores" when he is told. His chores are limited to throwing away his diaper when it can be safely closed without risk of leaking, throwing away small pieces of trash we give him for that purpose, helping to sort laundry, practicing drying plastic dishes (he likes to hand me dishes to put away too), helping with cooking, putting away his toys, and putting away the DVDs or books he's taken off of the shelf. Of course "helping" means he's slowing me down and not doing much but he enjoys being included and is learning. Today he helped with putting away laundry for the first time and learned where to put his socks and daddy's socks.
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Walking is the only way I've successfully lost weight. Other exercises usually make me gain. It will help with dropping weight but toning exercises will be your best bet for shaping up specific muscle groups.
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What I find amazing is when my kids say something profound or can intelligently discuss a subject and I have no idea where they learned it from.
I run into this same thing. My kids amaze me with what they know that I didn't teach.
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I wouldn't allow the doctors to prescribe sulfa drugs unless there weren't ANY other alternatives. If you're stuck with them, let hubby do it. That's what I do.
I'm allergic to cephalosporins; they cause my throat to swell up.
When my youngest was in the hospital at 2 1/2 weeks old, he was given cephalosporins intravenously. When his IV line failed near the end of his stay, I asked them if we could skip redoing the IV and just switch to oral meds. They were fine with that...except that within 2 hours of them switching to oral meds, I broke out in full body hives. I figured out that I was reacting to the residue of the medicine in his mouth getting on my skin with he nursed. Neither the nurses nor the doctors believed me. They said I'd have to take it internally to react to it, not simply touch it.
Funny thing is that he developed a full body rash that looked like heat rash. It wasn't until five days later at a follow up doctor's visit did someone finally believe me, identified his rash as hives, and change his meds right away. Both his and my hives went away promptly after that.
I don't allow anyone in the family to be given cephalosporins now. My kids and I tend to share the same sensitivities so I assume my older two are allergic too. If not, it doesn't matter because I can't give it to them anyway.
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Another book recommendation here. Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs
I'm nearly done reading it but I've been implementing changes based on what I've read all along. Actually, I started changing how I act/react before I got the book from the library because I looked at the basic info off the author's website.
My husband went from always busy and rarely talking to me to spending more time with me and telling me about his day and his thoughts on things.
He went from rarely helping with the housework, taking only the kitchen trash out, and forgetting to bring the trash can back in to doing the dishes most nights, taking the trash from every can and diaper pail out, and bringing the trash can back in without me ever saying a word.
He went from never showing interest in me physically to pursuing me several times a week. Honest, I thought I had the most non-man on the planet for a husband because he never initiated (maybe 6 times in 10 years) and never said a single word of complaint about our lack of bedroom activity.
He smiles and laughs a lot more now too.
Oh, and he's still working the same amount as he was before.
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Does anyone know...
Has there every been a time in American history where the same party was in balance at all levels of federal government? I know there has been times where the presidency, senate, and house were all the same. What I can't find was whether the supreme court during those times was also controlled by that side?
And, do you think the original system of checks and balances written into the Constitution still works when one party holds power in all sections of our government (Presidency, Senate, House, Court)? Or does one party holding all the power allow the government to make big changes quickly?
Can you point to examples in history to show how it still works or doesn't work?
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I received this today:
Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read "Vote Obama, I need the money." I laughed.
Once in the restaurant my server had on a "Obama 08" tie, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference--just imagine the coincidence.
When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need--the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight.
I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.
At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved money more.
I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.
OR IS IT.........REDISTRIBUTION OF SOMEONE ELSE'S WEALTH IS A GREAT IDEA.
Aggie
Funny! And so true.
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Exactly!
But they story forgot one part...
Then men 1 through 9 all complained about the 10th man not showing up. He had no right to take his money to a different bar where the bill was more fair. So they followed him to his new bar, beat him up some more, and stole his wallet to pay for their drinks at the old bar.
The next day men 1 through 9 went to the bar again. Man 10 still wasn't there and now his wallet was empty. They went to the new bar to beat him up some more and steal his wallet again but they didn't find him. They discovered that he died from his wounds (went out of business) the previous night.
They went back to the bar trying to figure out how to buy their beer without the rich man's money only to discover that the rich man owned the parent company which owned the beer making company. With the demise of the parent company, the beer company also went out of business, thus there was no more beer to drink. The rich man's company also indirectly employed men 1-6 who lost their jobs when the rich man's company went out of business.
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I've had a horrible time with the pill.
The first pill made me throw up constantly...like every 15-30 minutes I was running to the bathroom. I was working at a restaurant to support myself at the time. It wasn't good for my job.
The second pill made me have heavy break through bleeding every day.
The third pill gave me severe acne and I've never had problems with acne before or since. It left me with scars.
The fourth pill worked for a while but it's effectiveness wore off and all of my symptoms came back.
I just put up with my cycle the best I can without them now. I wish I could find a doctor to help me with my symptoms without trying to give me birth control.
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Lorna,
That did seem to be the problem, but I also realized you cannot move the photo either, which is annoying b/c the photo always ends up at the front of my post even when I try to insert it at the end.
ugh
A couple things about blogger and photos that I've learned...
ALWAYS insert all the photos you want into your post before you start writing. Inserting them in the order you want them to appear is the easiest. Then write what you want before, between, or after each photo. If you insert photos after you start writing, you'll end up with large spaces between paragraphs that can be difficult to get rid of.
You cannot insert photos where you want just by clicking the spot you want them at. They always insert at the top. After inserting, you can move them to where you want them to be by clicking and dragging. But then, you'll have a funky spacing problem after. See first paragraph by inserting photos first.
I'm not sure why some photos are clickable and others aren't.
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How about a simple jumper that could be worn with a turtle neck and tights? If the pattern is too short, it would be easy to lengthen it.
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I can see why you are thankful. It's good they found it early.
My dad went in to the ER early this year for pain and vomiting. He never goes to doctors. In trying to discover what was wrong, they found both appendicitis and kidney cancer. They removed the appendix right away and referred to the urologist for the cancer. The kidney removal was fairly simple...laproscopic and one night in the hospital with a 4 week recovery at home.
One thing to be on the lookout for...my dad didn't recovery as expected and ended up with a third surgery to fix a hernia. He was warned that that could happen. All is well now, though.
I'll pray for you guys.
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We do history, science, and literature together. I just roll the younger ones into the spot we're at when they are ready.
I don't worry about the additional resources. My library hasn't had many of them. I just get what they have instead. There have been some chapters where there really wasn't anything we could use so we just used SOTW only for those. It allows us to move more quickly with those and enjoy extra time for chapters where we have a lot of additional resources.
How fast can you type one-handed?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
29wpm one handed
66wpm two handed while lounging with my laptop.
Stupid nails are causing me to make mistakes and slowing me down. Never had my nails strong enough to grow before so I've never had any.