YOU are worth it

Watching the first episode of the red band society and the fault in our stars really helped cement in the truth I've known for so long. I wish everyone with a disease would know this and BELIEVE it.

YOU are not your disease! YOU are worth loving! YOUR life isn't of less value because you're sick, in pain and need more help/assistance! Love is in sickness and health! YOU are not a burden. You are a gift. Life is a gift. Loving anyone is a gift. Being loved is a gift. 

Please know this. Please believe this. Please live with this reality. Life is too short to throw away happiness because you don't value yourself enough. 

Big Changes Ahead

Updated August 4, 2014

Switching to Vitacost 

I'm a very loyal person, so doing something like this makes me feel like I'm cheating on iHerb. 

The reason for the switch? Money. Better shipping options to Canada. Quality seems to be comparable so I'm not losing out that. 

I've learnt to pay attention to vitacosts spam like emails. They let me know about BOGO sales, where you buy one get one free or buy one get one 50 % off. With the amount of product I buy, this could end up saving me hundreds of dollars a year. This way better then iHerbs 10% off VIP bonus. I now ONLY buy on BOGO sales unless I'm out of product.

 

Yes I will update my supplement data post (why, what & how much nutrients). 

There are 3 products I can't ship to canada from vitacost or vitacost doesn't have them - dr mercola's lipo vit C, activated charcoal & d3 5000 IU

Getting rid of Phthalates 

***see new photo*** Garlite is phthalate free :D

I also will be switching from garlite to vitacost deodorized garlic ultra because garlite uses "delayed release" which is code for enteric coating. http://m.naturalnews.com/news/034604_pills_phthalates_timed_release.html

For recent pictures of Colby click HERE

In search of: Calcium, weight & better lung function

I almost missed this clinic. Last night (5 am) feeding Colby to sleep I was just thinking about random things and remembered my next cf clinic was sometime this month so I checked my phone and was like WHAT!? I have to get up in 6 hrs. :( 

Traveling with my wounded husband (broken tibia with plates, screws & clamps put in) & my almost 8 month old son we headed to CF clinic. 

I'm thankful I had 4 meals yesterday, I'm thankful I didn't use the washroom before I got weighed at clinic... 105.1 lbs!!! I was very surprised to be the same weight as last time with losing 6 lbs when I got sick over a month ago. 

First I saw the dietitian. She was happy I didn't lose weight but encouraged me to eat every 2 hrs and pack on the pounds. that's just not a realistic goal for me. Especially with all the calories I'm losing while nursing. 

Next I got results of my sputum sample from last time +4 of Staph. 

Then bad news from my bone density scan. I've lost bone density, enough to be worried about and for them to encourage extra calcium intake. I'm guessing this is because of the pregnancy. Off to find a good way to add extra calcium to my diet & supplementation. My next bone density scan is in 2 years. 

More bad news: my spirometry lung test showed my lung function to have dropped to 69% compared to the 82% last time. Very disappointing to say the least. With no signs of infection we both feel antibiotics is not the route to go... Yet. My doc encouraged more lung clearance. She did listen to my lungs which she said sounded clear. 

I got my yearly x-ray so I'm looking forward to hearing about those results. 

I'm feeling great so that makes everyone happy. I know what to work on to prevent future problems and will do my best!

Another appointment in 3 months. 

Pregnancy, Birth & Postpartum Health Regimen

1st Trimester

• New Chapter Perfect Prenatals Multivitamin+ 3 a day
• 1 Alfalfa pill a day (has a lot of vitamins and minerals but especially vitamin K to prevent too much blood loss)
• 1 Red Raspberry pill a day (strengthen and prepare uterus for birth)
• 1 cup of mama's red raspberry brew tea a day*
• 100 mg of b6*
• Ginger* as needed

**postpartum peri bottle mix

2nd Trimester

• New Chapter Perfect Prenatals Multivitamin+  3 a day
• 2 Alfalfa pills a day
• 2 Red Raspberry pills a day
• 2 cups of mama's red raspberry brew tea a day
• 100 mg of b6
• Ginger

3rd Trimester

• New Chapter Perfect Prenatals Multivitamin+ 3 a day
• 3 Alfalfa pills a day
• 3 Red Raspberry pills a day
• 3 cups of mama's red raspberry brew tea a day
• 100 mg of b6
• Ginger

Gestational Diabetes

• cinnamon pills with every meal
• chia seeds
• hemp protein powder drinks/smoothies
• low glycemic diet
• exercise

38 weeks until delivery

• New Chapter Perfect Prenatals Multivitamin+ 3 a day
• 6 Alfalfa pills a day
• 6 Red Raspberry pills a day
• 100 mg of b6
• Evening primrose oil

Labor/Birth

• Black Cohosh (the highest recommend dose to induce labor)
• 2 Advanced Ambrotose pills every hour
• Vemma Thirst during labor to keep energized
• 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice to prevent too much blood loss

Healing the Tear

• Golden seal herb
• Bed rest
• Legs together

Postpartum/Nursing

• New Chapter Perfect Prenatals Multivitamin+ 3 a day
• 3 Alfalfa pill a day
• 3 Red Raspberry pill a day
• 100 mg of b6 (I stopped 2 months after then started losing fist fulls of hair, restarted and noticed a HUGE difference after just 1 pill!)
• Herbal Peri bottle rince (I felt no burning!!!) **see picture
• Non-GMO Soy Lecithin pills 1200 mg a day

*to prevent morning sickness and other health/baby benefits

homeschooling

The homeschool topic showed up on one of the facebook groups I'm involved with. I honestly can't believe I haven't written about my experience, how it relates to my CF (cystic fibrosis) and why I will be homeschooling my son.

My husband was not homeschooled, he dropped out of high school, got a job at a local factory and now is welding for a living. He earns a good wage and is able to support us. I guess I could want that outcome for our son but I don't, the school system failed him, treated him horribly and he hated his high school experience. I KNOW I can do better for Colby and give him a far better education then Abe got.

I was homeschooled. My parents reasons were more along the religious line but there were other obvious ones as well, one being CF.
I know I got a good education, I had no problem going for my GED and passing it even though I didn't study for it.

I know I had better health being homeschooled. People send their sick kids to school all the time, we had the same issue with church but my parents were great with keeping us home if we felt even a little sick.

The social aspect:
I have 9 siblings, we went to church 3+ times a week, I was in 4-H, we participated in homeschool groups, gym night, I have my red belt in Tae Kwon Do (from age 14-19), had piano and violin lessons and took part in recitals.
For my son, I want to encourage his passions whether it be sports, dance, music, martial arts, guns/hunting... hopefully he'll be willing to try all of those at least once!

Why I'm going to homeschool my son:
I can give him the best chance at a great future this way. I will have no problem sending him to school as a teenager if he so chooses and wants the graduation experience and diploma, my youngest sister did this and is an honor student (I'm so proud of you Sara!)

These may be other people's reasons for homeschooling but they are not mine:
Religion - I'm not homeschooling to shelter them from "evil" and keep them isolated from "the world"
Evolution - I'm not homeschooling so I can teach them creation instead of evolution...
Tolerance - I'm not homeschooling because being gay is now tolerated and taught as a sexual orientation in the schools

Colby is only 4 months old so his educational activities include Baby Einstein and Your Baby Can Read youtube videos.

With the internet, homeschooling is so much easier then it was for my parents. All the information we need is right at our finger tips.

Before my son is school age I plan on completing Khan Academy, I already have 15% mastered.

2014, welcome!

 I realize it's been a long time since I've posted. I'm sorry! Truly. So here is an update :)

 

At Colby's 4 month appointment he was weighing in at 15 lbs and 26 1/2 inches long. That's 50 percentile for weight and 97 percentile for height! I've been so blessed with a healthy growing boy. 

I had my follow up cf clinic today (3 months after my pfts dropped to 70%) well the tech was right! With no restrictions (a proper fitting bra) my pfts were back to pre pregnancy levels - 82% 

My weight stayed the same as last time 105 lbs. my doctor is happy with this while I'm nursing. 

Results from sputum taken in Nov at cf clinic:

3+ Staphylococcus aureus

Yay no PA!

I got an iPhone 5c!