<p>I was a week late and on Saturday morning after Thanksgiving, my husband tried to “gently” suggest that I do something about the turkey he had brought home from work. I answered him by going into labor, and that turkey never got cooked!</p>
<p>Aren’t we all so very inconsiderate in when we decide to give birth? ;)</p>
<p>With my oldest, my in-laws had just gone on holiday. Wouldn’t you know they turned around and drove over six hours straight to the hospital…with my three year old niece in tow. Super!</p>
<p>With my second they were waiting outside the door while I was delivering (I am NOT kidding) waiting, looking at their watches…on their way to the airport to leave the country for a month. All I heard through the door was “can you go any faster?”. No, actually I LIKE delivery and plan to drag it out as long as possible…</p>
<p>With my third, I was overdue by 10 days. My mother in law traveled three states to show up at my door and let me know in person she was leaving the country on holiday and really wanted to see HER grandchild before she left. Gee, let me get right on that. I was holding out on purpose, but since you’ve asked so nicely. ;)</p>
<p>When it comes to when, how, under which circumstances those beautiful babies choose to come, it always seems to be an inopportune time for someone…and they never have trouble letting us know, do they? We learn to ‘smile and nod’ early. “What’s that? I can’t hear you, I think the baby’s crying. Gotta run!!” :)</p>
<p>Happy birthday to all of the Thanksgiving babies, and happy ‘giving-birth-day’ to their wonderful moms!!</p>
<p>Happy birthday to the Thanksgiving babies. Hope everyone had a good day and you all are enjoying the leftovers and the sales. We ate out with husband’s family tonite. So proud that I resisted all the amazing food both nights and stuck to my eating plan. My pants are starting to feel looser.</p>
<p>My birth story was a true adventure. At 26 weeks, my tiny little bump decided he wanted to enter the world. Since I had never given birth before, I actually was having contractions for hours without realizing it. When I saw blood, I decided a trip to the doctor was in order. He immediately put me in the hospital where I stayed heavily drugged for three weeks. The labor was stopped as was all my activity. I was on bed rest until I finally gave birth three weeks early. Fortunately he was born at perfectly healthy after two hours of easy (read ‘drugged’) labor. As much as we might plan, Mother Nature, God or whoever has his/her own plan.</p>
<p>Amandak, you sure have had a week! I’m sorry about the loss of your aunt. Grateful, though, that you have 3 helpful daughters and that your S is on the mend. I hope you’re getting some rest!</p>
<p>Our tradition is to get the house entirely decorated for Christmas the Fri and Sat after Thanksgiving. I know that sounds early to some (and to others its the ruination of a perfectly good 4-day-weekend), but we’ve found over the years it really works well for us.</p>
<p>So today was very productive, and tomorrow we finish it up. The house is looking very festive!</p>
<p>Sunday we rest :). Monday it’s back to school/work, and I’m cooking a meal for the family of a friend who just had major surgery.</p>
<p>I hope you all are spending this weekend in whatever way brings you the most enjoyment.</p>
<p>Blue, I would think after your first baby your in-laws would have learned not to book any travel around your due dates.</p>
<p>My baby flew into NYC in the middle of a blizzards and was stuck on the tarmac for 4 hours because all the planes that were trying to take off kept getting sent back to the gates to get de-iced.</p>
<p>We’re also celebrating my son’s birthday this weekend. He was born 17 years ago on the Monday after Thanksgiving. His birthday falls on that Monday again this year, although we already had his birthday cake with our extended family after Thanksgiving dinner. Of course he couldn’t tell what he wished when he blew out the candles, but I have a feeling it had something to do with his EA school. Hope all birthday wishes come true for our kids!</p>
<p>Okay moms and dads need a bit of help. In early November, D started to mention that her stomach was hurting her bit (upper area). She, with a love of all things medical, felt she may have lactose intolerance and made modification to her diet and it seemed to ease a bit. A week or so later, tummy pain came roaring back, and she said it felt like when she ate anything it felt as though the food just sat in her stomach and would not pass through. Despite that, her bowels never had noticeable change. No vomittimg whatsoever. But she has avoided eating in general because of pain avoidence. Now, another piece of the puzzle, very physically active and in shape 5’7" @138 very muscular pounds has dropped 12 pounds. She looks thin, but not boney. This weight loss is since early November. She has gone from a size 4 to baggy 2s. A week before Thanksgiving, I put her on the BRAT diet and most of the pain went away. But as we have introduced “harsher foods” the pain is back. She ate bar-b-que last night and has been in a lot of pain through the night. I gave her a pepcid and she feels better, but says it still hurts. My D and my mom think she probably has an ulcer, which I was researching at 3:30 a.m. this morning and can’t help but agree that her symptoms seem to mirror that problem. She started drinking soda again a few days ago and the kid can’t eat rice forever. They say ulcers are caused by bacteria and stress (there has been plenty…which you all are in that boat) and caffiene, etc make it worse. Weight loss is also a symptom. I guess I would like to take her an urgent care, but she says to wait for regular doctor Monday. Anyone have any thoughts?</p>
<p>collegeshopping: not sure where you live but a visit to an experienced pediatric gastro is in order; a complete blood workup is the first step</p>
<p>it could be a multitude of things, but you are describing symptoms that my daughter exhibited when she was diagnosed with Celiac disease 6 years ago…</p>
<p>PM me if you need some recommendations…</p>
<p>Collegeshopping, so sorry your D is having this problem. I think, unless the pain gets severe, I would wait for her own doc on Monday. He/she knows her and her history and I think you might get a more informed diagnosis. That said, if the pain becomes severe or any new symptoms emerge, I’d whisk her over to urgent care.</p>
<p>Could this be acid reflux? Does she describe the upper abdominal pain as a “burning” or “stabbing” pain? Does it feel near the breastbone? Is it worse when lying down than when standing up? See me playing doctor? :). I have some experience with acid reflux, but she could be experiencing any number of things. Please let us know how she’s doing.</p>
<p>It is worse laying down, but she describes it as a pressure type of pain, not burning.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about your dd. I know how anxious you must feel because that was me, once they figured it out and had a treatment, I was completely relieved. I wouldn’t be so worried about the weight loss, if food made you have pain, you would stop eating so much. My dd had problems for about 6 mo. when she was younger, around 10 yo and they did alot of testing and never ever got to the bottom of it. What the one specialist asked for was a log with what was eaten and when and when pain or discomfort was felt and when. When it goes on for months, it was hard to find a pattern. Maybe just follow BRAT for now until Mon when you can get to your dr. I had to wait around 3 wks for a pediatric gastro guy here and then weeks of various tests. It wasn’t a quick fix at all, ours spent time first ruling out possibilities that don’t involve invasive tests. Just my experience. Good luck to you!!! :)</p>
<p>If I had to guess, I would suggest an ulcer, but it is only a guess. I would call her doctor and see what they suggest. I would hate to have to rush her to the ER on a busy Sat night if it ti something that can be handled easily during the day. JMO.</p>
<p>hope she feels better.</p>
<p>She finally fell asleep around 5, and is just getting up and feels better but did say it was going to be rice and bananas today! We will be seeing the doc at 8:30 am Monday.</p>
<p>collegeshopping, I would suggest she have some blood tests run - her doctor should order a Celiac panel. I had very similar pain a few years ago, and ended up being diagnosed with Celiac disease. That may not be what she has (I hope for her sake it isn’t), but it would be good to rule it out.</p>
<p>^^it is on my list of questions!! Thank you all very much. It sure is nice to have other Moms to bouce things off of.</p>
<p>Collegeshopping: I hope your daughter feels better soon. I’m glad you got an appointment with the doctor on Monday morning.</p>
<p>Collegeshopping - I think the idea of keeping a journal of what, when and how much is eaten and drunk along with immediate and delayed reactions is a great idea. Also any OTC remedies, unusual sleeping patterns, bowel movements, gas, etc. The more concrete evidence you have for the doctor the better.</p>
<p>Second, start checking around for a good gastro person. Any of your friends (or their parents) who have had a colonoscopy should be able to give you a referral as should your or your DD GP.</p>
<p>If you can’t get into the gastro for a few days then a visit to the GP on Monday might be best. Obviously if the pain becomes unbearable, more immediate attention is warranted. There are so many things this could be. Don’t let the Internet scare you .</p>
<p>I hope you all have a restful sleep. Check in with us in the AM if you are up to it.</p>
<p>:) 
Woo-hoo! D just submitted her last college app! All done… Finally! Now we just have to sit and wait… and start working on the scholarship apps :(</p>
<p>Hello everyone -</p>
<p>I hope it was a nice holiday, except for those of you dealing with health struggles. I send my sympathies and best wishes. I hope things resolve soon.</p>
<p>We had a nice visit with my in-laws, including a marathon shopping day Friday, which is their tradition. I didn’t shop much, but it was nice to be together. Not much talk about college - D has a cousin the same age, and there was just a general “where are you applying” and “have you heard anything yet” for both of them. It’s a pretty easy-going family where that’s concerned, no judgments or preaching. </p>
<p>College D has appreciated the break and the visit home. It’s been nice to see her. I can’t believe her trip through school is almost over - just one more semester!</p>
<p>D2 has taken a few days off of app work, gladly, but we have had a few chats about how she’s doing. I think she’s feeling good about where she’s applied and enthusiastic about the last few schools she needs to work on. I’m glad she’s happy. </p>
<p>Confirmations and log-ins are coming in, but no answers yet. I’ve been so fixated on a couple of rolling safeties that it didn’t occur to me until yesterday that her first answer might be a rejection (from one of the matches she applied to EA). Ouch! I hope not. But what are you going to do? All of the high match/reach schools are RD or in the audition pool, so those answers will definitely be later - and there will be several rejections for sure there. She’ll be lucky to go 50-50 in this process. But she knows that, and is prepared (as much as she can be). What she’s done is have several schools in any category, so she is assured of choices in the spring. </p>
<p>We’ll have answers trickling in for months … I’d just like a good one to trickle in soon! </p>
<p>Last night we had a lovely anniversary dinner. The restaurant printed special menus congratulating us, and gave us some champagne. It was stunning to sit there and see these two lovely young women. It doesn’t feel like 25 years, but they certainly prove that time has passed! Today we’re getting our tree (we do both Jewish and Christian holidays at our house), since everyone’s all together, but it does feel early, especially because we had barely a flurry so far this year.</p>
<p>D could write a college essay just about her collection of posters she’s stockpiling for her dorm room. I’ve told her there is no freshman room with that much wall space, and to remember that she will have a roommate to consider! Yesterday she bought yet another: the gang from Monty Python and the Holy Grail …</p>
<p>Another tidbit - she’s noticing that along with the schools that send her assembly-line junk mail (some from schools on her list, and lots from schools that aren’t), she’s gotten several hand-written notes from a fairly local school’s admissions rep. This school is middle-low on her preference list - she really likes it, but there are many others that provide attributes she prefers (city access, larger size, living in a new part of the country). But she said yesterday when she opened the “thank you for your application” letter from him, which was signed by hand, with several parts clearly underlined with the same pen, that it made a difference to her that he is making this effort. I guess “show the love” can work both ways!</p>