Beyond Time-Out

Has anyone read this book?

I just wrote a review of it here. I would love to hear your thoughts about it.

11 Months

Isaac took his first steps on November 4th. We were at church, where I let him crawl around the back of the Primary room when I'm not conducting or teaching sharing time. He stood up (like he's been doing for months now) and took two tiny steps towards a chair. Yay! Since then, he's been taking a few more steps each day. He's still crawling quite a bit-- and does his Mowgli crawl too. But the more he walks the more he seems like a grown-up boy. And this outfit makes him look even more grown-up! 

In the last month Isaac has also found a new friend-- who lives right across the street. They've been playing together quite a bit and are so cute. It's just been in the last month that I've noticed Isaac really interact with his friends. He'll crawl away and look back giggling, asking to be chased. And when a friend goes over to a box and starts hitting it, he'll crawl over to join in on the fun. It's so cute to watch his social skills just beginning to develop.

Because the weather is so great right now in Houston (in the 70s-- yay!), we've been spending a lot more time going to the park and going on walks. One of our favorite spots is the Tanglewood walking trail, just a block from our house. 

Isaac loves pulling books off the shelf, exploring the safe cupboards of the house, pointing at everything, and turning off light switches. He just barely learned how to clap, which is so cute. And he points to the picture of Jesus when I ask him "Where's Jesus?" He's very interested in animals now and will point at birds, cats, and dogs. Our neighbors have a porcelain bunny rabbit on their porch and Isaac points to it every day. I'm not sure if he thinks it's real or not. All-in-all, Isaac makes life pretty fun! 

Here are a couple videos of him. In the first one, he takes a few steps. In the second, he does his Mowgli crawl. 

Hypothyroidism

Last week I went to the doctor for the first time in Houston (besides going to my midwife while I was pregnant). I was worried about a swollen lymph node in my neck-- so I got some blood work done and a prescription for antibiotics. The next morning I woke up with a cold so I figured it was just something that had been dormant in my body.  My doctor said she would call on Saturday with the results of the blood test. But she didn't call, so I thought I was good to go.

However, I got a voice mail from her Monday morning saying that I had a hypothyroid. What? I quickly did some internet research and found out that hypothyroidism is when your thyroid doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone. And one of the common causes is pregnancy and/or giving birth. The symptoms include fatigue, hair loss, weigh gain, dry skin, and cold hands and feet. I've been tired, but not that tired. I had no idea.

Then my doctor's secretary called and said they wanted to get me in with a endocrinologist that very day. I asked her about my blood work and she said that they tested for TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) that is produced by your pituitary land. It is what tells your thyroid to make more hormone. The normal range for TSH is 0.4- 4.5. My blood test showed I was at 20.53. Yikes! She said she made an appointment for me to see the endocrinologist at 12:30. I knew that the fact a specialist would see me so quickly meant this was no laughing matter.

At my appointment, the doctor felt my thyroid (which is NOT the lump in my neck I had been worried about), talked to me about my history and symptoms, and ran more blood tests. He gave me a low dose of hormone to start with and I'm slowly working up to the level my body needs so I don't put my body into shock. He said that it is totally safe to take while nursing and that it is also safe to take while pregnant but my doses will need to be monitored closely during any future pregnancy because pregnant women need more thyroid hormone than normal.

I asked him how bad a score of 20.53 was. He said, "Well, that means your pituitary is shouting loudly to your Thyroid to get working." But then he said he had seen patients whose TSH levels were over 300. Those people, he said, were like tortoises--large, slow-moving, with very dry skin.

I asked if this was temporary or chronic and he didn't really give me a straight answer, but his nurse said that there is pretty much a 95% chance I will have to take pills for the rest of my life. Whew. But, she said, this is a much easier condition to deal with than so many others out there. And that is true.

The next morning my regular doctor called to check up on me and told me that the reason that they wanted to get me treated so quickly is because if I were to become pregnant and were untreated, there is a very high risk of having a baby with mental retardation.

Even though being diagnosed with a chronic disorder is not fun (I feel like I'm turning into an old woman!), I am so very grateful I was diagnosed now. Now, before I inexplicably gained a ton of weight, before I lost a ton of hair, and before I got pregnant and put a baby at risk. It's a miracle that I went in to get checked and that this problem was found so early. To me it is clear evidence that Heavenly Father is willing to bless me-- even when I probably don't deserve it.

A Political Post

I usually don't talk politics. But I thought I would share my thoughts since it's what is on everyone's minds today.

Although there is a lot to complain about in the American political system, there is so much to be grateful for. The truth is derisive party politics have been with us since Jefferson and Adams. And although there may be a better way, our system has stood the test of time (so far). I always feel grateful after an election cycle (even when the candidate I voted for doesn't win) that our country maintains its stability through elections. There are so many places in the world where elections spark riots and even civil war. Thank goodness we live in a place were we have the freedom to vote and can retain relative stability no matter who takes office.

This election cycle I have also felt a renewed sense of duty to pray for our nation and president. I really do love our country, and I care deeply about it's future. Yet, there is rarely evidence of this in my prayers or actions. It's easy to point fingers, but more important to do something. I really feel that the decline of our nation has more to do with the collective decisions of each individual than it has to do with our leaders. Although I didn't agree with the bailout, I don't think that's what ruined the economy; in my opinion, it was a million greedy people who lived beyond their means.

Although many Republicans may be despairing today-- thinking that President Obama taking office for the second time is the end of the world-- I think the source of our county's problems is on a much lower level. It's the moral decline of our nation that troubles me most. If everyone would commit to being honest (especially fiscally), commit to being faithful to their spouses, commit to properly raise the children they've conceived, and commit to spend every day in a productive manner (even if they are unemployed), I think many of our country's problems would solve themselves.

So I'm committing to do these things myself. And I'm committing to pray for our nation and for President Obama.

Halloween

Brent loves Halloween. My feelings are so-so. It would have been great to have coordinating costumes as a family, but I just didn't do it. Brent has wanted to be a Samurai for a few years now, so maybe eventually we do Japanese-themed costumes. This year, I found that cute pumpkin costume for Isaac (featured in the last post) at Kid to Kid for $7!  But it was a little on the warm side. So when we went to a Halloween party, we dressed him up as a cowboy. I went as a hula dancer and Brent was e-mail (e-male) . . . . corny, but cute and easy!

He didn't really like the hat - - - 

Just look at those cute, round eyes!!! They melt my heart. (He got them from his dad.)

Pumpkins

In October we took Isaac to a pumpkin patch because I wanted to get some cute pictures of him in his Halloween costume. I definitely think he was the cutest pumpkin there! 

Look at his little pointing finger: 

Emily and Andrew came along for the fun. 

The newlyweds: 

You Can Also Find me At . . .

I wrote a couple posts on ateachermom.com this month. You can find them here and here.