Happy Halloween

I'm quite certain not many other places do what Iowa, or rather Central Iowa, does for Trick or Treat Night. It's called Beggar's Night and it is not even on Halloween. The "trick" you have to do to get a treat is tell a joke. We skip that part, in fact we skip the entire door to door thing.

Last night we went to the mall. *SCREAM* Oh the horror! I hate malls. I hate crowds. I hate shopping and being pressured by pushy sales people. I hate kids hyped up on too much sugar/ poor parenting. I have come to the conclusion that the whole ordeal is one big photo opportunity since every 3 or so feet some parent stopped their kid to pose them and take a picture. I hate that too. I like natural joy/action photos. I like real smiles. Blah. My camera ran out of juice after two unfocused pictures. Guess what we couldn't find at the mall? Batteries.

Lil'Bug was very overwhelmed by the kids, the noise, and the crowds. The thing is though, we had a good time just being together as a family. She liked playing on stuff. She loved getting candy. She liked getting gooey with tootsie roll drool. Her happy= me happy.

So, even though it is Halloween, we are done with Halloween stuff! Today is a day of rest. Oh and of banned book debate. That's for another post.

Fibroids, the Mystery

I spent the morning researching uterine fibroids because their absence really bothered me. I'm glad they are gone, but why and where?

I found several medical journals that talked about post menopausal disappearance of fibroids. That's not me...BUT, the why is interesting. Abnormal estrogen can cause their growth. I also had these same growths in my breast tissue 4 years ago. Gone now. Why?

There are several theories:
1) Unresolved anger accelerates growth of tumorous tissues. I certainly had a lot of that 4 years ago. I'm at peace with those issues now, working towards forgiveness, and only get riled up now and then instead of stomping around angry all the time. I still get mad sometimes about the injustice but it is not ruling my life nor calling me every day. I'm not sure that that's why the fibroids are gone though.
2) Added hormones in milk and meat cause, not only early onset puberty in girls and infertility issues in young women, but also fibroid growth. When Lily was born we switched to organic milk, yogurt, and cheese. We've also switched to no hormone chickens and buy our other meat locally. I can't remember the last time we ate a microwaved TV dinner. We opt away from buying convenience foods.
3) Pregnancy and long term breastfeeding adjust hormone levels and normalize the fibroid causing conditions. We certainly did that, long term breastfeeding, Lil'Bug weaned herself this summer. I knew that longer breastfeeding minimizes chances of breast cancer, but I'd never read about the other effects before. Speaking of hormones, I was on the pill for almost 10 years, a low dose estrogen, exactly the hormone that is said to trigger fibroid growth.
4) Exercise. I am certainly more active than pre Lil'Bug. I used to sit at a desk all day and watch a lot of TV or lay around and read books. I was not over weight or lazy per se, but in retrospect I was not very happy or healthy.

I'm not sure if it was one or a combination or all of the above, but the fact is that right now I don't have fibroids. Fibroids complicated my pregnancy with Lil'Bug, hindered labor, and complicated C-Section recovery. Here's to a healthy lifestyle!

Yup, Still Tuesday......

Our appointment went as well as we could have asked with an almost three year old at her nap time in tow. Whew. I am really glad I had help!

I love my husband. He is totally awesome. He took us out to lunch and for a walk, and even turned off his phone, just to alleviate my anxiety before the appointment. He really wanted to stay in the exam room, but Lil'Bug was pushing buttons, bouncing off walls, and biting! She really needed to run around and he made that happen for her.

There are a lot more tests available for pre-screening. I was a little in awe with how much they added since Lil'Bug was born and how much earlier things can be screened. The rules for fish consumption have changed again. I can eat cod, which was on the banned list. I can eat little tuna too. If I wanted to eat Tilapia, I could. Salmon is highly recommended. I was reassured that VBAC is very supported in the medical group I've chosen. Whew. My BP and weight are perfect, though I am to watch weight gain since I am so small.

We couldn't hear the baby's heartbeat in the exam room. The Midwife arranged for an in-house ultrasound when she was made aware of my anxiety over this. Thank you Dear Husband for articulating my fears. Did I mention that I love him!

The ultrasound tech is a lady I know from serving on the Historic Preservation City Commission. She's also the tech that ran the Doppler for my breast biopsy 4 years ago. It was a little comforting, and weird too, to have someone familiar running the probe cam. Ah! The baby has a good heart beat and measures 8 weeks 3 days. Calendar dated baby at 8 weeks 6 days. So, early June is what we know. Heartbeat was upper 180's. Lil'Bug said it sounded like Boo-Gah Boo-Gah Boo-Gah. She was so good and calm through this part. I am glad she was. The tech gave her the pictures to take home.

Also, no fibroids were found. ??? None. It is not like they just disappear! I had huge masses of them. Where did they go? Maybe it is best not to think to much about this and simply say I am grateful. Incredibly thankful.

So that's what we know. I'm more at ease now, but still tired. I'll write more later.

Tuesday Morning in October

Last night there was a big chemical fire in Des Moines. Actually a chemical plant exploded and fire, smoke, and toxic water runoff ensued. My sister's live in boyfriend's father works(ed) at the plant and was one of the first evacuated. My sister was home sick from her job at the ARL which is next door to the industrial park where the plant was located. The smoke was drifting and toxic. The runoff was heading towards the Des Moines River and our main water source for the region. The ash is toxic.

We harvested the last yesterday afternoon, but anyone who hasn't in this area should call it a loss. We already buy drinking water bottled, but especially now it is important. The news is trying to make people panic less but I studied chemical toxicity in my grad program at Iowa State for preservation technologies, the things that are burning are nothing to be shrugged off. It's serious stuff.

We're fine here, so far the ash cloud is blowing east, but we have many friends (and most of my students and colleagues) in that direction.

On a lighter note, we are heading for our first pre-natal visit this afternoon. I'm not worried much. I feel nauseous, have chicken pox acne, and mood swings aplenty so all is normal there. But there are so many things that could go wrong, so I am still worried a little.