Friday, October 12, 2012
Vaccines: What they are, how they work, and why they are important
Pertussis, aka whooping cough, is a pretty nasty illness. Most healthy adults will survive it - with a trip to the doctor or even a short stay in the hospital, so it's no picnic. However, babies, small children, old folks, or people with weak immune systems don't always survive getting whooping cough. It's scary and kills people sometimes. You might be thinking "OMG! How can I protect myself and my loved ones from such a scourge?!" and you are in luck! Through the marvels of modern medicine and SCIENCE we have a way to combat this and MANY other nasty illnesses! Vaccines! Hooray!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Fall!
August passed me by about as quickly as I expected and all at once, one day it's fall! To celebrate we went around to various friends' houses picking apples on Saturday and then broke in our awesome new grinder and press to make hard cider Sunday. We got ~16 gallons of juice and still have a few trees left to hit. We had many friends over Sunday for the juicing and then grilled burgers and brats. It was a good day. It's really spectacular that the things we like to do for fun are baby/kid friendly and that so many of our friends have babies (there were 3 babies at our house Sunday!).
My tiny Babybee is getting huge already! She's outgrown all of the "newborn" clothing and starting to hulk-out of some of the 0-3 month stuff. It's kind of awesome. I see her everyday, all day, and still she is growing so fast that I can see it. She's 60th percentile for height and weight, but 80th for head circumference - she is definitely her father's daughter! Cue Gir:
In a couple of weeks, we'll be taking her to her first SCA event which is exciting. It's a camping event, but we're planning to get a hotel room near the site. It should be a good time. :)
My tiny Babybee is getting huge already! She's outgrown all of the "newborn" clothing and starting to hulk-out of some of the 0-3 month stuff. It's kind of awesome. I see her everyday, all day, and still she is growing so fast that I can see it. She's 60th percentile for height and weight, but 80th for head circumference - she is definitely her father's daughter! Cue Gir:
In a couple of weeks, we'll be taking her to her first SCA event which is exciting. It's a camping event, but we're planning to get a hotel room near the site. It should be a good time. :)
Saturday, August 11, 2012
UGAIS. I'M SOMEONE'S MOM.
I have completed the pregnancy quest and leveled up! I'm multi-classing now and just took my first level of Mom. It comes with the Breastfeeding feat and Diaper Changing as a class skill. In a couple of levels, I will get the Eyes in the Back of My Head feat and The Mom Look feat, both of which I'm looking forward to! :)
I didn't post much in July mainly because most of my thoughts were along the lines of "I am so pregnant. When will I have this baby already?" and that's kind of boring. I saw Spiderman and The Dark Knight Rises and enjoyed both - it's crazy, but the next movie I will see in theaters is not going to be until The Hobbit in December (we're already in talks with Grandparents-Bee for baby sitting when it comes out).
Sadly, since Babybee came on the late side, she and I will not be able to attend GenCon this year. In happier news, I have decided on a Halloween costume for us! Every year, friends throw a huge Halloween party with a costume theme. Past themes have included Villains (I went as Catwoman), Circus (I went as cotton candy), and The Sea (I went as The Sea! complete with a pirate ship hat). This year's theme is Folk Tales and Babybee and I will be going as St. Margaret and the Dragon. For those not hip to medieval Catholicism, St. Margaret of Antioch is the patron saint of laboring women because after being swallowed by a Dragon she burst forth from it's belly unharmed. Ideally, I would be the Dragon since Babybee is the one who did all the belly bursting, but I got a hand-me-down 3 month size dinosaur costume from a friend which I can tweak the tiniest bit to make into a dragon and then I have medieval garb for me. I figure it will be easy enough to put these costumes together while taking care of my Level One Human (Str 0 and Con 2, but Cha at 18 because Baby). Boybee is trying to figure out how he can go as Mr. Spock for the third year in a row - Oy.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Brave was so good! Go See It!
The title of this post really says it all. Brave, the new pixar movie, was so good. Funny without relying on fart jokes, heart-warming, gorgeous, and just good story-telling.
There has been a lot of noise about this movie because this Disney Princess has issues with conforming to gender roles and the drama comes from her *not* wanting to get married rather than waiting for 'her prince to come.' But honestly, what I like the most about this movie is how little time it spends caring about all of that. This movie is really about a girl who screws up royally (pun intended) and who then goes on a quest to fix things to save herself and her family.
There's magic, there's a big scary bear, there's hilarious little brothers, there's real character development, and there is no Big Bad to defeat just the characters own insecurities, fears, and interpersonal issues to overcome.
Everyone's been talking about how this is a movie that girls should see because *FINALLY* we have a Disney Princess who doesn't suck, but really, if you ask me, this is a movie that BOYS should see (arguably more than girls) because we finally have a Disney Princess who doesn't suck. Plus, this is one of the best depictions of Fatherhood in a kids movie that I have ever seen. Merida's dad, the King, saves his daughter and wife from the big scary bear and maybe has a bit of a Capt. Ahab complex but we never doubt his prowess or bravery. He's the one who listens to and respects his daughter, while loving and respecting his wife as well. He works to bridge their feud and brings humor to the situation. Also, though the Clan Leaders are goofy stereotypes, the teenage boys felt... so real. Like, I know those boys - I swear I was in BBYO with Lord Macintosch's son.
TL;DR Version: Brave was so good! Go see it! :)
There has been a lot of noise about this movie because this Disney Princess has issues with conforming to gender roles and the drama comes from her *not* wanting to get married rather than waiting for 'her prince to come.' But honestly, what I like the most about this movie is how little time it spends caring about all of that. This movie is really about a girl who screws up royally (pun intended) and who then goes on a quest to fix things to save herself and her family.
There's magic, there's a big scary bear, there's hilarious little brothers, there's real character development, and there is no Big Bad to defeat just the characters own insecurities, fears, and interpersonal issues to overcome.
Everyone's been talking about how this is a movie that girls should see because *FINALLY* we have a Disney Princess who doesn't suck, but really, if you ask me, this is a movie that BOYS should see (arguably more than girls) because we finally have a Disney Princess who doesn't suck. Plus, this is one of the best depictions of Fatherhood in a kids movie that I have ever seen. Merida's dad, the King, saves his daughter and wife from the big scary bear and maybe has a bit of a Capt. Ahab complex but we never doubt his prowess or bravery. He's the one who listens to and respects his daughter, while loving and respecting his wife as well. He works to bridge their feud and brings humor to the situation. Also, though the Clan Leaders are goofy stereotypes, the teenage boys felt... so real. Like, I know those boys - I swear I was in BBYO with Lord Macintosch's son.
TL;DR Version: Brave was so good! Go see it! :)
Friday, June 29, 2012
Having It All
Everyone has weighed in on the #HavingItAll discussion that raged this week in the feminist blogosphere and twitter. Every important point has basically at least been raised and most of them have been hashed out and beaten to death.
So, really, what I just want to say is : This conversation is why Feminism is still relevant. This conversation highlights just how far we have come and just how far we have to go.
In the mental health field, we are encouraged to use a tool with clients that I call the "Magic Wand" - we ask, "If I had a Magic Wand, and could do/fix/change *anything,* what would I do/fix/change? What would my life/the world look like after I did/fixed/changed things with the Magic Wand?"
I think that we as a society need to really sit back and think about that question with regards to how we have families and how we have careers. This is not a women's issue, it's an everyone issue but it IS a feminist issue and I think it's a vital one because it demonstrates the real need for feminist lens and critique in society as a whole.
So, what would my Post-Magic-Wand world look like?
So, really, what I just want to say is : This conversation is why Feminism is still relevant. This conversation highlights just how far we have come and just how far we have to go.
In the mental health field, we are encouraged to use a tool with clients that I call the "Magic Wand" - we ask, "If I had a Magic Wand, and could do/fix/change *anything,* what would I do/fix/change? What would my life/the world look like after I did/fixed/changed things with the Magic Wand?"
I think that we as a society need to really sit back and think about that question with regards to how we have families and how we have careers. This is not a women's issue, it's an everyone issue but it IS a feminist issue and I think it's a vital one because it demonstrates the real need for feminist lens and critique in society as a whole.
So, what would my Post-Magic-Wand world look like?
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Some Links!
And now for another thrilling installment of interesting things on the internet!!! This will be a break (mostly) in your regularly scheduled programming of politics and feminism. Really, I prefer geeky stuff but sometimes the rage wont shuddup and wait its turn. For the moment, the rage is whispering. Pure bliss.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Work Work
Today, for the first time, I really get why it is that so many people go through with scheduled inductions and c-sections for non-medical or quasi-medical reasons even though they're really bad for mom and baby.
It is hard to plan for babies! I'm getting down to the home stretch and I still have a four week window during which it would be healthy and normal for this kid to show up. Four weeks. FOUR WEEKS. That's basically a whole month. That represents two pay periods, countless monthly reports and invoices, and so much other work! Oy.
And that's just work, which is the easy part - there's also the whole getting-my-life-and-home-ready-for-a-totally-new-and-completely-helpless-person thing. NBD. We still need to get a crib and car seat but at least I've done my research with Consumer Reports et al so I know which brand and model to buy for each. Then there's figuring out all of the other random stuff we'll need and that's so much harder! Each parent I know has completely opposite experiences of every other parent I know with regards to what's "necessary" and what's "useless junk" - swings, butt paste brands, cosleepers, slings, strollers, play-mats, the list goes on and on. And then there's clothing - is it going to be 5lbs or 10lbs when it gets here? No one knows!
And even all of that is the easy stuff. The rest, like, you know, it actually getting here alive and healthy... I don't even want to begin to think about. It's so scary and so huge.
That's why people plan inductions knowing that they're putting themselves at higher risk for all sorts of complications. That's why people plan c-sections, which are MAJOR surgery folks, when not medically necessary. It's to have something known. Some order. It's so that they feel like they have some semblance of control in the process. Having control over when the baby shows up makes sense in a perverse way since it'll probably be the last time a parent ever gets to have control over the kid for the rest of their lives.
Oy.
It is hard to plan for babies! I'm getting down to the home stretch and I still have a four week window during which it would be healthy and normal for this kid to show up. Four weeks. FOUR WEEKS. That's basically a whole month. That represents two pay periods, countless monthly reports and invoices, and so much other work! Oy.
And that's just work, which is the easy part - there's also the whole getting-my-life-and-home-ready-for-a-totally-new-and-completely-helpless-person thing. NBD. We still need to get a crib and car seat but at least I've done my research with Consumer Reports et al so I know which brand and model to buy for each. Then there's figuring out all of the other random stuff we'll need and that's so much harder! Each parent I know has completely opposite experiences of every other parent I know with regards to what's "necessary" and what's "useless junk" - swings, butt paste brands, cosleepers, slings, strollers, play-mats, the list goes on and on. And then there's clothing - is it going to be 5lbs or 10lbs when it gets here? No one knows!
And even all of that is the easy stuff. The rest, like, you know, it actually getting here alive and healthy... I don't even want to begin to think about. It's so scary and so huge.
That's why people plan inductions knowing that they're putting themselves at higher risk for all sorts of complications. That's why people plan c-sections, which are MAJOR surgery folks, when not medically necessary. It's to have something known. Some order. It's so that they feel like they have some semblance of control in the process. Having control over when the baby shows up makes sense in a perverse way since it'll probably be the last time a parent ever gets to have control over the kid for the rest of their lives.
Oy.
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