Monday, February 2, 2009

1 year stats

We saw Ryland's cardiologist today and we got his 1 year stats.

Birth- 7 lbs 10 oz 21 inches

Today: 26.5 lbs 34 inches. I couldn't believe how tall Ryland is!


Our appointment went amazing with his cardiologist, he said Ryland will definitely need surgery but since he's doing so well he probably won't need it until hes 5 or 6 and the bigger he is the more successful the surgery will go, so yay! He doesn't need to see him again for an entire year!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Birthday Photos

We celebrated Ryland's birthday this last Saturday at my mother-in-law's house. It was a small family celebration but we had a lot of fun together. Ryland enjoyed his cake but didn't get as messy as I expected, in hindsight he would have been thrilled with a cupcake!














My baby is 1










Ryland will be 1 tomorrow and I can't believe it has already been a year.. where did the time go? As usual i'm limited on typing time so I'll just post a few pictures. In the beginning he had a rough start and we didn't know what the year would bring for him and his health but here we are with a strong healthy amazing little boy. I can't imagine my life without him. Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Quick little quote

I saw this on MDC and I loved it. I had never thought of this as an argument before. What do you think?

"Being offended by seeing a breast while a child is breastfeeding is equivalent to being offended by seeing a person's tongue when they are eating, as both can be sexual organs, yet the main function of both is for the nourishment of the human body"

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Vaccine Vent

*** This will be long, I'm incredibly annoyed at the moment******

We do months of research before we buy a car, we check out housing foundations, neighborhoods, school districts before we purchase a house, we even check movie reviews before we spend 20 bucks on a movie but for some reason parents are scolded for doing research on vaccinations.

Why?

Vaccine information is not only found on anti-vax sites. Its found on the center for disease control and the AAP websites too (yes, the sames sites that doctors also look at) but people are told they are idiots when they choose to delay vaccinations or only selective vax or ::gasp:: not vax their children at all. What I find most amusing about this is those same individuals that point their judgemental finger don't do any research at all and blindly follow the doctors reccomendations.

Heres why I find it funny. Do you buy a car from a dealer just because the salesman says "this is a great deal, wonderful car blah blah", no of course not. But because someone spent 8 years in medical school and has the title of "doctor" what they say is gold. Forget that they too get paid by parmaceutical companies to give you those same vaccinations and although they may not be slimy like a car salesman they definetly have more of a motive to go with vaccines instead of another route of treatment, don't you think?

Usually when I say anything about vaccines I immediately hear about Jenny Mcarthy and the autism MMR link and why would you listen to a celebrity? The answer: I don't. I do my own RESEARCH. I'm not talking about the risk of autism when I talk about the dangers of vaccines, what I'm talking about things like chronic arthritis (which has been linked since the early 90s to the rubella vaccine) or allergies, brain damage, deafness and skin issues all which are clearly stated on even the pro-vaccine websites.

Some people say "hey, those are the risks and i'd rather take those small risks than having the HUGE risk of my child catching what we vaccinate against". Well, can you tell me what the chance of your child getting something like polio or diptheria is? What the risks are? How about how well the vaccines work? My guess is no since you were trusting someone else to do your research for you.

For example right on the CDC's website they say "pertussis remains endemic in the U.S. despite routine childhood vaccines". So if the vaccine for whooping cough isn't working to reduce the number of cases of whopping cough why do we still vaccinate for it?

Or how about the Hep B vaccine. Can someone explain to me why it is now a routine for our BABIES to get a vaccine that is mostly caused through sexual intercourse or IV drug use? Sure, if my kids going to get a tattoo at some unsafe place I would make sure he was vaccinated but i'm pretty sure my almost 1 year old isn't planning on swapping fluids or getting tats anytime soon.

Or how about how in the last 15 years the number of vaccines children get has gone from 10 to 36? We now vaccinate for chicken pox for heavens sake! and guess what! YOU STILL GET CHICKEN POX AFTER GETTING VACCINATED!!!

MMR has been proven to fail if given before 15 months of age but the AAP suggests giving it at 12 months. None of this is hidden information its right there in the studies done by the Gov't and Pharma companies so why aren't you reading it before injecting your kids with chemicals? Why does the rating of a car or movie become more important than your child and whats going into their bodies?

I could care less if someone chooses to fully vaccinate their children, but it drives me nuts when they don't do any research then give me the speak about how i'm a bad parent and i'm selfish and i'm uneducated. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Point is.. research.
Vent Over.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Quick almost wordless update!







I've been busy busy busy unpacking, gettin settled and chasing after Ryland but I've found a few seconds to say hello and give an update.


First, Springfield is great, Mark's new job is great and Ryland is great! We adopted a new cat, who we are currently calling David Venable Jr (from the QVC Host) but I think it might change. I'm not a big cat fan but Mark talked me into this kitty. Hes great with Ryland, which is a huge relief. Ryland has unwrapped almost all of our presents under the tree so most of his gifts are in the basement waiting until last minute to appear under the tree. I was going to do Santa this year but I know he has no concept of Santa yet (other than he is a scary man who says HO HO HO) so Santa can come next year when he is almost 2!
Gotta run!





Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Powdered formula could cause premie deaths

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1279129,aurora-baby-formula-risks-au111308.article

The Chicago Sun Times just wrote an article stating that powder formula could have caused the death of multiple babies by giving them meningitis (and other bacterial diseases).

The story begins with a family who had pre-mature twins november of 2007. The twins were given Enfamil powdered formula while in the NICU and one of the boys passed away due to meningitis. On his death certificate there was a note from the Illinois Department of Health stating that his formula consumption was associated with his death.

The article says the reason powdered formula is so risky is because it cannot be steralized. The container states "... powdered infant formulas are not sterile and should not be fed to premature infants or infants who might have immune problems unless directed and supervised by your baby's doctor." Mead Johnson since has also come out and said that this product should not be used in any neo-natal care units. The only reason I can imagine that a NICU would use powdered formula even though their is a risk right on the can is that its much cheaper.

This is not an isolated case, there have been reported brain damage and deaths country-wide. Why has no one heard of these stories? Its more than irritating. Unfortuneatly we formula feed and we use powdered formula. We discussed formula options with our doctor and never were encouraged to not buy the powdered type (since my son has a heart defect I worry about potential illness) I can't even imagine losing my child because of a nurse/doctor giving them un-sterilized formula. I'm so sad for the familes that have lost their children.