Babies Don't Come With Hands-Free Kits

So I mentioned last week that I was headed for the doctor's office to check out the root of my aching finger joints, and we have an answer to the million dollar question. I'm pleased to report that it is not arthritis. Nor is is repetitive strain injury. I was quite surprised to discover what was (and still is) causing me excruciating pain - something called Raynaud's phenomenon. If I cast my mind back to high school, I do recall hearing the term in biology class, back when schools still taught actual subjects instead of pretending to. I will, however, not pretend to know everything there is to know about it, and so I did a little extra reading.

There are several contributing factors but, in my case, this is how my doctor explained it to me. When one's blood pressure is low, the body responds by constricting the peripheral blood vessels (in the fingers and toes) to keep blood circulating closer to the heart. This causes cramping and joint pain in the digits due to the lack of blood circulation. On Friday my blood pressure was 85 over 50. To put this into perspective, average blood pressure is about 120 over 80. Throw into the mix the fact that I am anaemic - largely due to a history of anaemia and partially due to the fact that I am still breastfeeding - and the situation is exacerbated.

Superheroes and Epiphanies

Oooo-eh-eh! It feels like just yesterday I was sitting on my couch typing up a helluva rant, just casting my anger out to the universe... And then today I look up to see we're already in October! But I will forgive myself this minor delay, the last two weeks have been decidedly busy in the Ghobril household. But more on that later!

Last Wednesday saw my little man turn six months old! He chose to celebrate by being quite a bit fussier than usual. What a blast! But in amongst the random tears and excess need for mommy hugs, I did manage to get a few pics of a smiley little bee.

Doctors & Date Night

Yes, yes, this post is precisely two days late, by Shire reckoning, but with good reason!  On Wednesday Aunty Ter came to visit little man and I, and by Wednesday night I was so spent I just fell into bed without even considering the state of my kitchen, let alone the absence of a blog post!  It's always great when Ter comes to visit - a little bit of adult conversation during daylight hours is good for the soul, not to mention that it's one of about three opportunities I have to find out what's going on in the outside world without having to log on to Facebook or Whatsapp! We found we had a great deal to chat about, and Ricky even chimed in with a few well-placed burbles and "nnn-DAHs".

Monkey monkey with his Aunty Ter

To The Paed!

Tuesday - it starts...

"So, what they'll tell you at the baby clinic is: "Oh, he's just got a cold!" What they don't tell you is that he'll still spend the night awake and screaming because he can't breathe..." - Rodney

What many won't tell you - not out of spite, but perhaps because it simply doesn't occur to them - is that there is a definite disadvantage to having a child born at the beginning of autumn.  Not only is the final stage of your pregnancy in the blistering heat of late summer, but your little bundle is going to spend the first few months of his or her life dealing with the myriad diseases that seem to so be abundant in the winter season. We have been blessed to have had a healthy home this entire winter, not so much as a sniffle or a cough has darkened our door.  But that all changed last Monday...