Category Archives: Moms

Injury flashbacks

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The other day when I was dropping Ryder off at our gym daycare, a little boy about his age fell while playing outside and busted his nose. There was blood everywhere. The child was screaming of course out of fear and I’m sure pain. I knew it was going to freak ryder out a bit with people rushing around. He seemed ok so I left.

A few minutes later I heard the siren for the paramedics. I immediately went right back to the daycare. I knew when ryder saw those paramedics he would have a flashback to his accident a few weeks ago and freak out.

When I got to the daycare I found ryder hiding in a corner of the room. He wasn’t crying or anything he was just hiding and looking at everyone with a nervous look. When he saw me he walked over and just hugged me. I stayed until the paramedics left. I wanted him to know they were ok and there to help, but I also wanted him to know I was there to help make him feel safe.

After everything settled and I left, they said he did great. He went back to playing like he does every day. Did I have to go back in there when I heard the paramedics? No. But the accident he had a few weeks ago there is still fresh in his memory and I want him to be comfortable at daycare and not scared of it or of paramedics.

Call it coddling or babying, that’s your opinion. Everyone handles situations differently and this is how I chose to handle this one. To each their own. But having my 1 1/2 year old scared because he remembers his own first major injury is just not something I wanted him to be alone for. 💙

Finding out about food allergies

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A question I get asked often…..How did you find out you were allergic to flour/wheat? 🌾

Soooo over a period of a few months I noticed some weird, irregular things happening with my body. After eating, I would get this unbearable itch in my right leg to the left of my shin. It would itch so bad I would sometimes scratch till it bled. Crazy I know! 😳

Other times I would get severe stomach pains that felt like my stomach was trying to rip itself out of my body. Sometimes that was followed by the runs. Or other times I would start to turn red and splotchy, get red bumps all over my body, start to feel really hot and itch a bit. As some people like to call it…..hot hives! 😩

I went to the doctor and they told me it was anxiety. It didn’t make sense. I don’t get anxiety after eating. I feel happy and content after I eat. So I brushed off that doctor and tried another. Who told he he had no idea what it was and maybe it would go away in its own. 🤦🏼‍♀️

It took me going to 4 doctors to finally have one tell me it’s possibly a food allergy. So he told me to fast for a full 24 hours to get everything out of my system. Then try one thing at a time and see the reaction. I started with fruits, then veggies, then meats, then cheeses and nothing was happening. One day I made a sandwich and BAM! Stomach pains and the runs. The only thing new I’d eaten was the bread on the sandwich! So I figured that was it! After a few more trial and errors I learned that I have a wheat/flour allergy. I tell people it’s a gluten allergy because it’s just easier to explain and I get less questions since gluten allergies are like a “thing” now. But for me it’s wheat and flour. Different types of wheat/flour affect me differently. Hence one time I’ll get hives, and another the runs. 🍴

My food allergy and my auto immune run hand in hand. They each affect each other. Turns out the itching in my leg is due to inflammation of the skin and tissue caused by eating wheat/flour. My body becomes inflamed, doesn’t understand what’s happening and goes on the attack. Therefore causing an itching reaction. It’s crazy but makes sense how one thing affects another.

I’m not missing out too much in life. People always give me the poor pitiful you look and ask what I can eat. Well I can eat pretty much what I want within reason…..fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, etc. Instead of flour tortillas I do corn, when at a Mexican restaurant. I have always hated pasta so there was no loss there. They make gluten free bread/wraps and gluten free pizza crust so I can still enjoy a good sandwich or pizza when I want. I honestly don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. Going wheat/flour free hasn’t changed my life other than ridden me of stomach pain, itching, etc. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Building your child’s immune system

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I’m a huge advocate for letting your immune system build and do its job. I have a few close friends that are the opposite. At even the slightest hint of illness they immediately push for medication. (Medication not immunization. Two totally different topics) 💪🏻

When my little one gets sick, I hold off on medication unless absolutely necessary. I want his immune system to try to work and do it’s job first. Your body is stronger than you think. By letting it work and “learn” it will be able to battle and fight stronger through other illnesses in the future. 🤢

By medicating for things that the immune system can handle, you actually cause the immune system to weaken itself. Therefore causing more and possible worse illness risks later on down the road. This is why I love that we found a doctor who believes the same. She encourages us to use honey to help soothe Ryder’s throat or help suppress his cough as opposed to using cough medicine. 💊

Mind you, there are obviously some illnesses the body cannot fight off on its own and medication is a must. It’s definitely up to you and your doctor to make this call. But when possible, natural is always your best route! God knew what he was doing when he built us these bodies! 😉

Pregnancy and Autoimmune

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If you thought you were exhausted, achy, etc just being pregnant, try being pregnant while having autoimmune! My body is constantly overworked. It’s straining daily just to keep me and baby healthy while also battling against itself.

If you’re unfamiliar with autoimmune, it’s a non communicable disorder/disease. So you can’t catch it from someone sneezing near you, coughing, blood, inheritance, etc. They actually don’t know what causes autoimmune diseases.

In short, your body’s immune system protects you from disease and infection. But if you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake. The classic signs of an autoimmune disease are exhaustion and inflammation, which can cause redness, heat, pain and swelling. Depending on the autoimmune disease, for some the symptoms can actually be worse.

So for me, not only is my body working to grow a baby and protect the baby, but it’s also fighting against itself by mistake. My body feels overly exhausted daily. I also get a lot of non pregnancy related aches and pains. Combine that with pregnancy discomfort and I’m just one big ball of fun!

If you know someone who has autoimmune or even someone pregnant with autoimmune, give them a big hug or do what you can to try to be sympathetic! (Or if you’re like me, leave them alone and just be understanding 😂) They’re definitely fighting a difficult battle. 💪🏻

Pregnancy and workouts

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I think it’s interesting to see a “new aged” doctors view vs an “old school” one. My first pregnancy I went to an older doctor. Despite being perfectly healthy, she put me on SO many physical restrictions while pregnant. She wouldn’t allow me to lift more than 20lbs or get my heart rate above 140. She told me to limit back exercises and avoid any workout involving my core.

This second time around I have a younger doctor. Her views are quite a bit different. She gave me no restrictions other than to not push myself too hard and to rest when needed. Since I lifted weights pre baby, she saw no reason to restrict my weight lifting. However, she recommended I not push myself more than my usual. Adding heavier weights than what I’m used to would obviously not be a good idea. But I was allowed to run, lift weights, etc as I please. She also saw no reason for me to worry about my heart rate. Since my body was used to workouts pre baby, and baby and I are currently very healthy, she saw no risks in me getting my heart rate above 140. She did say to make sure I could breathe well and wasn’t struggling or wheezing. You want to be able to get enough oxygen to your muscles and the baby.

I love how people are finally accepting fitness in pregnancy rather than running scared from it. Restricting workouts doesn’t benefit the mother (unless there is a physical need for restriction.) It actually has so many amazing benefits!

I have almost no back or hip pain this time around. I credit that to my workouts and the fact that I still have most of my strength. I have way less joint pain and I’ve had very few headaches compared to what I had the first time around.

Obviously you should talk to your doctor before participating in any physical activity while pregnant. But don’t be afraid to go for a walk, lift weights, etc if given the green light. Your body, and your baby will thank you!

Pregnancy Flu

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Pregnancy flu….never heard of it? That’s because I made it up. Well, the name at least. 😂 Not to be confused with morning sickness. This is way worse and it hit me REAL hard yesterday.

It’s just like the normal flu, but not caused by a virus or bacteria and not contagious. It’s caused by hormones and a growing child sucking every bit of life out of you. Sounds harsh, busy seriously that’s how it feels.

I’ll wake up some mornings feeling like death. Nausea, headaches, body aches, you name it. Luckily the “pregnancy flu” doesn’t last as long as the normal flu. However it does come and go when it wants.

Good news is, there’s a cure! It’s called birth! 😂 Once your adorable little one is here your hormone levels start to settle and the pregnancy flu symptoms disappear for good……until the next pregnancy if you decide. It’s a miserable experience and completely exhausting but so worth it in the end. I keep trying to remind myself of that when it takes over…..💙

Removing hair ties from hair

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I went to my hair stylist and she asked if I pull my hair ties out of my hair with my left hand. Yesssss I do. I was really confused how she knew. She said she could tell by the breakage on the right side of my head. I knew when I pulled my hair ties out of my hair it may do a little damage with pulling but I didn’t think it was anything really obvious. She showed me the difference in the left and right side and what pulling out hair ties does to your hair.

My hair is thinner and broken off more on the right side. That’s because when I pull out a hair tie, I always pull with my left hand pulling from my head out to the left. So it tears at my hair on the right side the most.

She told me to avoid doing too much damage, to unloop the hair tie rather than pulling it. Sounds like something obvious and simple. However when you’ve pulled the hair tie out of your hair for years, you non consciously do it out of habit. I now have to stop my self when taking my hair down and remember to unloop it to let my hair fall rather than pulling.

Spare your hair the breakage! Don’t pull hair ties out of your hair!

Counting age in months

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There needs to be an unwritten rule set on how long it’s appropriate to tell your child’s age in months. I heard a woman say the other day that her child is 31 months old. Lady, your child is 2 1/2…. 😂

I understand telling your child’s age in months up until 2 years old. Children’s clothing counts in months from 0-24mo so I get counting to 24. But once your child hits 24 months, I think it’s time to start counting in years and half years. Their clothing no longer counts in months for sizing so maybe we shouldn’t either. Just a thought

Shopping

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Truth….I have a hard time buying things for myself. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t want or like to buy things. I think that’s obvious by my credit card bill on occasion. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I’m just indecisive and I constantly go back and forth as to whether or not I really need the item. I’m not exactly an impulsive buyer. I will put things in my shopping cart (online), leave them, and go back a week later to see if I still really want or need all of those items. Most of the time I will remove half if not more of the items. I think my little process works well for me (and my credit card). It keeps me from ordering things I might not actually need. 🛍

I don’t however apply this logic when buying things for my son. When it comes to him I have zero self control. It’s bad I know. I just love to buy him things! As he gets older, I obviously won’t buy him everything because he will need to learn the value of earning things. But for now while he’s young and has no idea, I’ll spoil him like crazy! 💙

The dreaded ADD battle

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Attention deficit disorder aka ADD. If you have it, you know how miserable it can be. If you don’t have it, it’s hard to understand.

I think kids are over-diagnosed so often. Just because a kid can’t sit still or has a little trouble focusing, doctors automatically slap them with an ADHD or ADD label and put them on meds. Maybe they’re just being a kid! Lots of kids don’t want to sit still, run like crazy and have a short attention span! But they eventually grow out of it.

Someone with true ADD has a hard battle. I have it and have never been medicated for it. That was a personal choice of my parents and later mine as an adult. Having ADD is very difficult. I struggle often to focus, even on little tasks. If I’m watching tv, I can’t listen to a conversation at the same time. My mind can’t focus on two things. There’s too much going on at once.

My husband gets frustrated because at times he will be talking to me and I have no idea. If I’m watching tv or doing something my mind is so focused on that item, I don’t realize someone is talking to me. It’s as if I go deaf to everything around me. I’m not purposely ignoring the person. My brain literally doesn’t register they are talking to me. That’s hard for someone without ADD to understand.

I remember trying to study in HS and college, and just getting so frustrated. I literally had to study in a room without other people, no tv and no objects to distract me. So a cubicle in the library was ideal. If I tried to study around other people, I would get distracted watching people or daydreaming. An attempt at a one hour study session would turn into a three hour session where I spent most of the time rereading the same page over and over because I got distracted and completely forgot what I read. 📚

I also struggle to remember little things. When I was younger my mom would play a “game” with me and ask me to go get 3 things from my room and bring them to her. A majority of the time I could only remember 2 of those items requested by the time I got to my room. I’m still that way. If someone gives me a list of things to do or get, I have to write it down or I’ll never remember any of it. It sounds ridiculous but I literally write everything down. I do that so I won’t forget. It’s also a great way to keep me organized. I enjoy checking things off a list.

If you know someone with true ADD, go easy on them. They’re already in a hard battle themselves. Living with ADD isn’t easy. It takes a lot of hard work to learn how to deal with it and work around it.