{{{Teppy}}} I hope you feel better soon!

meara, that sounds fun. And HAWT.

oh ya, forgot to say that when talking about gas pain. Meara, OMG HOT! :: envy ::

Teppy, did he mention prilosec? That's what sort of helps me.

I've been taking prilosec for ~3 months.

I need to adjust some stuff in my diet (not "diet" like weight loss; just my daily food intake), like cutting out refined sugar for a while, and less refined carbs,* get some really good probiotics, and make sure I'm getting enough fiber.

*Totally NOT a low-carb thing; but too many refined carbs can fuck up my GI system if it's already out of whack. I think too many things got screwed up in my body, like finally going all the way off Zoloft (which, after 4 years of a VERY high dose, is wreaking havoc on every bit of my body), having a really bad (2+ weeks) cold in May, and getting a steroid shot for my wrist (steroids are not a friend to the immune system).

I'm not going to start any new eating plan at the beach; that would be nuts. Plus my birthday is Monday (what???), and I intend to eat cake. A lot. but when I get back, I need to tweak stuff big time.

Oh, and if we roll out of here by 2:00, we'll be lucky. We're definitely going to have to go halfway today and find a Bates Motel somewhere along the way. But the thing is, we wouldn't have gotten there until late evening anyway, so it's all going to work out fine.

Thank god I have the world's most understanding boyfriend.

Stephanie, Dylan slept in an Amby hammock until he was about 6 months old. (It's rated for up to 25 lbs, but he was just too tall at that point.) We LOVED it. It takes up practically no space, travels really well (packed into it's carry bag, it's about the size of a set of golf clubs), and Dylan slept great in it.

[eta: I think Plei used one or planned to use one for Lillian too, but then wound up co-sleeping? I know I first heard about Amby from her.]

Oh, Teppy. I hope that you're feeling a bit better and maybe on your way to the beach now...

I would love to sleep in a hammock. That is a dream of mine, to have a hammock....but I keep living in apartments, where I can't put one up. Like, this apartment, the balcony is totally big enough for one, but I really don't think I could put the hooks anywhere. And if you have to get a stand, that takes up so much space that the whole point is kinda lost.

"So...are you and [GILF] dating??" and I laughed and was like "No", and she was like "Oh, darn! I was rooting for you!!" and I laughed and laughed.

It occurs to me that I should explain that our dance was basically a sex fight on the dance floor. So the "rooting for you" comment probably came from that. The dance was like a "you come here now". "No, YOU come here. You come here and DO ME NOW!" kind of dance. There was some grabbing and pulling towards, and then some grabbing and pushing away, and some walking away and turning around and raising an eyebrow "are you following me or not?" There was a little bit of grabbing by the belt and "oh yeah, you're dancing this damn dance with me, bucko". And at the end, a little grabbing of the back of the head/hair and "you're not going anywhere before this dance is over".

Oh, Teppy. I hope that you're feeling a bit better and maybe on your way to the beach now...

Heh. Did I say we'd leave by 2:00?

More like 3:00. Neither of us has packed just yet, although the house is very clean. (Well, for all values of "clean" that apply to us. Basically it means that the house no longer looks like a PSA for getting a hepatits vaccination.)

So, I need to pack, strip the bed (housesitter is bringing his own sheets, which is fine with us, although we have clean sheets and would have made the bed up with them if he so desired), shower, take the leftist bumper stickers off the car, and hit the road.

Did I say 3:00? Jesus.

I hope you're feeling a bit better, Steph. really glad to hear it's not anything serious. gas is so odd. i actually had no idea that gas could appear in parts of the body that didn't involve the stomach/intestines until after my surgery. gas pocket + shoulder + hospital bed = extreme pain trying to get out of bed trying not to use abdominal muscles.

also? have fun on the beach retreat. i haven't been to the beach in so long.

Teppy, I've always found that lying on my left side is a great reliever of gas pain. It encourages the gas to go somewhere else that is not in your body. Someone told me once that because of the direction of bends in the colon, that's the best way to get rid of gas. It always works for me, but I don't think my gas pain has ever been as severe as yours, so I have no idea of the efficacy in your situation.

Sail, I forgot to say -- my mom has always told me that, from the time I was a wee little farter.

Stephanie, I just emailed you about the wonders of the Amby. We loved it, and Annabel slept through the night REALLY early, I think from around 6 weeks. It would've been even earlier, but our pede made us wake her up for a 2 a.m. feeding until she hit 10 lbs. (Your Baby May Vary.)

{{{Teppy}}} I hope you feel better soon and have a wonderful and relaxing vacation.