He (and you/the rest of your family) are on my prayer list.

Well, I am the baby of my FOO by 2 years. And I have never, ever gotten along well with my sister who is 2 years older than me. In fact, we are now estranged and have been for years. Really, I am convinced that age gaps between siblings play very little role in whether or not they will get along. IMO, personality and family dynamics play a much larger role.

I am not a doctor. I do not play one on TV or the internet. So take what I say with a grain of salt, do your own research, and talk to your medical professionals. My grandma had the worst bunions I have ever seen. Her feet were just ugly (sorry, grandma, rest in peace). So a few years ago I realized I was starting to develop a bunion on one foot. It was not a road I wanted to travel so I started to research. And I realized bunions are often caused due the way people bear weight on their feet. So I started paying much more attention to my posture/how I stood and walked. I also started spreading my toes as wide as I could as often as I could. There were a number of biomechanists whose work influenced me. Katy Bowman's work in particular was easy to read and follow. And in doing so, my tiny bunion and the pain from it disappeared. I tried those ideas because they were low effort, low cost, and low time investment. While the ideas probably wouldn't completely reverse super severe bunions, they might provide some relief. I hope you find something that works,

I can tell you that the medical system I work for offers both types of appointments. We schedulers are instructed that if a patient calls to schedule a new patient appointment and they are due for a wellness, we are to schedule it as a wellness exam, but put in the appointment notes that it's a wellness and new patient appointment. Somehow, for our system, that allows our practitioners to do both in one appointment. , If they aren't due for a wellness, we have to see if they have another medical need to be seen. If they do, we schedule the appointment for that, again adding the new patient tag to the notes for the appointment. Scheduling a straight new patient is a last resort for us. In my year or working for this local healthcare system, I can't remember scheduling any appointments that way. So...I'd go with whatever your medical system recommends. Also, yes, our providers see patients without a new patient appointment or wellness on the books. Visiting from OOT and have a sore throat? Come on in! New to the area and want to have (insert medical issue here) looked at? We'd be glad to schedule you. Of course, everything varies from system to system/practice to practice.

Yes. Oldest had a nn that we gave him in utero (which is an actual name, just not one we were serious about using). That one stuck until recently. Now, as a teen, he doesn't appreciate it as much. He also goes by the first syllable of his middle name. This started because a younger sibling had trouble saying his first name and so I suggested using the middle name, which got shortened. DD has many nn. One is a pretty unique boys' name. Again, we started using it when I was pregnant, as we didn't know if baby was a boy or girl. I also call her by 2 other boys' names. One I use in honor of a friend. That name is one half of a well-ish known duo. So I also call her by that name. Then she has lots of "firs name, rhyming word" names. DS10 has a long first name with no common nn in our culture. We use a riff off of the second syllable for his nn. Only we use it (no one outside our house). DS7 has a nn given to him by siblings. Only they use it. He actively dislikes nn other than that. DS3 gets called by his name and by the Spanish pronunciation of his name. His siblings change the second syllable of his name to just the "ee" sound. But again, that's siblings only usage.

I don't know either, and I've got a kid who hates soup. (To be fair, he does like canned tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich.) Cereal is not soup.

Any chance you'd share?

My recent bloodwork showed numbers similar to yours (overall total not quite as high, triglycerides higher, others similar). My pcp and I decided I would focus on diet and lifestyle for 6-9 months and then retest. Sadly, I am eating way less cheese. When I think of that I want to cry. We have not just a cheese drawer, but a cheese shelf. I am also now eating overnight oats for breakfast, with ground flaxseed. I am trying to eat more beans, lentils, fish, chickpeas, and veggies. I now often have a veggie wrap for lunch. I am more careful about eating sweets. Exercising is a priority. No real advice here, just commiseration.

No. But...I grew up in a place that is known for its Canada geese. Going to church we had to watch where we stepped because our church was right near a river they liked. And nobody wants goose sh!t on their shoes in church. So I'm much more drawn to other wildlife these days. Also...they are vicious. Honestly, I barely notice geese anymore. Growing up with so much of them/their noise makes me just tune it out.

Agreeing with pp...try a different bottle or nipple or use a sippy cup. Thankfully, this should be a short stage (which feels long while you are in it), because in just a few months baby can be eating table foods!

It is! Thank you! She wants to reread it and it's not one I am familiar with.

DD12 is trying to remember the name of a book she read. The protagonist is a boy, about 14-16 years old. At the beginning of the book he starts getting bad breath. He likes art. He is at school and fights with a bully. His breath sets off the fire alarm. He is sent home from school, at which point he hears his parents talking about how he is a dragon. His house gets burned down by the school principal, who knows about dragons and hates them. There is also a girl who is a dragon. She has wings and usually hides them with a backpack. The boy, his family, and the girl-dragon escape on a plane. The school principal attacks the plane. They survive the plane incident but the search is on for them. Can anyone name the book? TIA!

I have not tried that combo. However, I am going to put a very off the wall suggestion out there. I tried it with one of mine after reading it online, and it helped. Has she tried eating sour things, particularly sour patch kids? For reasons, I can't explain eating sour patch kids worked for me during 2 pregnancies. I should note that it had to be actual sour patch kids for me, other brands did nothing, I hope she finds some relief soon!

I just received tetanus and Covid shots today. The arm that got the Covid shot is currently more sore. And I am sure that arm got the Covid shot, as the nurse showed them to me. OP, if you truly believe the nurse made a mistake, please let them know. I work for a local healthcare system and this would be something we absolutely want reported. Also, have fun on your trip.

Umm...what? No, absolutely not. Two things can be true here. It was sweet of the bus driver. (I don't think anyone here has claimed otherwise). It is also true that the situation that caused the driver to perform the sweet action is not good. As other have pointed out, the dress days can cause students to be othered. And that's not good. Is it sweet of someone to prevent that for a student? Absolutely! Now, I need to bow out of this thread because I know how the poster I just responded to is...