The idea is shamelessly stolen from Alton Brown (though his are attached to the inside of a cabinet doors, instead of a wall*). I love love love it.

*Which I can't do because I shamelessly stole the "no cabinet doors" look from an episode of Queer Eye. The openness appeals to me.

I wasn't terribly comfy with the idea of always getting kissed by my ob/gyn. (Unless he was OB/GYN Kenobi...)

t smacking Raquel for bad punning

but Buff dives when he needs a break from studying war.

Hee. I'm sure he actually is studying war, but that's such funny thing to read....

I'm bitter, because they finally called from the doctor's office to tell me that I do, in fact, have strep. And yet, the antibiotics I'm taking don't seem to be doing shit, because it's been since Tuesday night, and still painful, swollen, and covered in strepness! GRRRR.

The idea is shamelessly stolen from Alton Brown

I try to stay away from the cooking channel because it makes me hungry, but now I wanna see the cabinet o' spices, too.

meara, I was once told by a doctor that the antibiotics can only do so much. Are you resting enough? Strep can fuck with your heart and also turn into pneumonia quite quickly. Dehydration is another issue and that'll put you in the hospital. That way lies Hospital Jell-o!

It might be time for your doc to fax a note to your employer stating that you're not to return to work until he clears you. You get paid sick days, right?

Crap. Saturday night at 7:30, and in to work we go. And probably all day tomorrow too. New developments in the plane crash thing.

VERY cool, Jess! You can name it Wally Spice.

baby-friendly certification

Hey, the hospital I work at is baby-friendly! Of course, many of the woman who deliver there grumble that it's not particularly mom-friendly to promote exclusive breastfeeding and rooming in.

The thing that makes me CRAXY more than anything else is the lack of breastfeeding education done in prenatal clinic appointments. At least three times each shift I'm at work, I answer a call light to find a woman looking mournfully at me saying, "I don't have any milk and my baby is hungry." Sometimes I wish I could carry a recording of my answer and just press 'play': "Colostrum good, very high in calories, very rich and nutritious, your body knows exactly much milk it needs to make for the baby each day, baby's stomach is tiny, babies aren't super-hungry the first 24 hours and often are crying not out of hunger but because they'd rather be held than lay in the crib, breastfed babies eat more frequently, regular milk will come in like gangbusters real soon now, just put the baby to breast every time s/he's hungry and s/he'll be just fine."

Yeah. Every. single. shift., more times than I can count. And these women get so discouraged, because no one told them that breastfeeding is really fucking hard, and exhausting, and sometimes painful, and not at all the "instinctive" thing that romanticized versions of it would have us believe--it's something both mom and baby need to learn how to do. If women heard this at every prenatal checkup, perhaps the fact that the baby wants to eat once an hour and that colostrum won't be replaced by milk until around the third postpartum day wouldn't come as such a surprise.

Mm, hospital jello! No, wait, not a good idea...

I've been resting lots! I went to work Wednesday and Friday, but I probably got 12 hours of sleep every night--I wasn't going out and doing anything in the evening or anything! And when not asleep have just been sitting on my couch. Grrr.

I do get paid sick days, but it's rather frowned upon to take any time away from work (um, including weekends) for the next couple months. So I'm trying to avoid it (though not planning to go in today).

Just bitter cause last time I felt a lot worse, but I got better a lot more quickly.

Hey, um, has anyone here gotten seriously low blood pressure when they've gotten their period? Or, at least, does anyone know if that's possible?

I started my period yesterday, and starting around dinnertime, I got really really fucking dizzy -- like almost pass-out dizzy -- and today it hasn't gotten any better. [Note: I also take blood pressure medication -- to lower it -- so I have the meds trying to bring my BP down, and now I'm wondering if I'm having a double whammy of drugs and blood loss.]

Anyone?

I was supposed to get my bro and SiL from the airport in half an hour, but I can't even stand up for more than the time it takes to get to the bathroom.

Also, I've been having horrible muscle cramps in my legs and arms for the past 18 hours, if that helps with making a diagnosis.

And these women get so discouraged, because no one told them that breastfeeding is really fucking hard, and exhausting, and sometimes painful

I. Love. Jen. If someone had explained to me ONCE that the burning nipples of fire (for the first few seconds of feeding and for the first few weeks) was NORMAL, I wouldn't have been all "THE BOOKS SAY IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HURT!!!" and weepy because I felt like a heel for wincing and complaining that the little sucker beast attached to me was a pain.

Steph, when I had my fainting/dizzy spells last taken to a doctor, one of his questions was whether I was on my period. It is blood loss, after all.

But I know nothing about the rest of your symptoms, and hope you feel better soon.

And these women get so discouraged, because no one told them that breastfeeding is really fucking hard, and exhausting, and sometimes painful, and not at all the "instinctive" thing that romanticized versions of it would have us believe--it's something both mom and baby need to learn how to do

I know I've mentioned how happy I am that one of my regular nurses, when I was in for my billionth NST, told me that, a: it would probably hurt a little for the first couple of days while my nipples got used to use; and b: it gets better after the first few weeks. The honesty and encouragement were both refreshing.

If women heard this at every prenatal checkup, perhaps the fact that the baby wants to eat once an hour on the second day of life and that milk won't pour out of their breasts like a fountain until around the third postpartum day wouldn't come as such a surprise.

Ideally, I think lactation consults should start in the third trimester, and continue through the first month. Even if you've got latching down while you're recovering, once the milk comes in, you'll probably need help again on account of Holy Mother of Painful Fullness. I got help on day 2, day 4, and again on about day 6 or 7.

I've encouraged my friend who's due in November to talk to an LC a month before her due date, and to have her nipples looked at to make sure they're not flat, and to start her on shells if they are. Not doing that's the closest I get to regret, because a newborn deflatting them for you isn't exactly comfortable. (I avoided shields, as even with improvements, I've heard negative things about their effect on production.)