pregnancy losing weight diet | End of 2013

pregnancy losing weight diet

Just like last year,  here is my year of blogging: the first sentence of the first post of every month. 2013 was a year in which a lot happened: my PI decided to move (but we could stay), my husband got a fellowship which enables us to move back to the homecountry, where I found a job too, and we welcomed a new addition to our family! Right now that new addition to our family is napping, while I am purchasing our plane tickets to return to the homecountry, which means our adventure as post-docs in the US will soon come to an end. Its nice to go home, but there will be a TON of things I will miss about living here - something for a different post some other time. Not to mention the hassle of moving an entire family + acquired stuff across the Atlantic...

January: Nothing says back to work after a good nice vacation like a good spell of the post-holiday blues.

February: I was tied to my electrophysiology rig for the past three days and completely missed the #postdocalypse hashtag on twitter.

March: The other day I talked to another post-doc who is in hir fifth year and about to leave the lab. 

April: Theres a bunch of things going on that I would LOVE to blog about, but for several reasons I have decided not to.

May: Before BlueEyes was born I knew I wanted to give breastfeeding a try, but I didn’t have any particular goals in mind.

June: This morning I got the dreaded email telling me that Im not invited for an interview for the important home country grant I applied to.

July: Whenever we go back to the homecountry, I’m excited about all the things I can eat therethat are hard to find here in the US. 

August: I really appreciate that my parents tried to raise us with gender-neutral toys.

September: A while back I wrote about pumping milk at work and the other day I got an email from a reader asking me the following:

October: My homecountry is getting ready for Sinterklaas, which means lots of people need to buy toys and the large toy stores send these big books full of ads to people.

November: This weekend, I read an article entitled: ”Rebels rise against science gone crazy” (my translation) in one of my homecountry’s newspapers.

December: So you know those lists that help you identify whether youre in true labor or not? 

Thanks everyone, for reading and commenting!!

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can you experience weight loss during pregnancy | The idea for an experiment generator

can you experience weight loss during pregnancy

Yesterday, Scicurious wrote a very honest post about how she thought that she didnt have enough ideas to write grants and stay in academic science. This is something that I hear around me every now and then (mostly from women). I have given this some thought before: how brilliant do your ideas have to be? Because I think that is what people mean when they say they dont have enough ideas: that they dont have enough brilliant ideas. But honestly, I think that the percentage of brilliant ideas in science is maybe 1-2% of all the science that is done. I think that the bulk of science is to repeat something with a slight modification to come up with something new. For example instead of looking at the dopamine system in behavior A, you now study the opioid system and you have another grant proposal. Of course nobody admits that this is how they come up with new experiments, but I have a sneaking suspicion that most PIs will have a variation of the machine below in their office somewhere. 

The optogenetics experiment generator: pick your opsin, roll the bingo wheel for brain region A, spin the wheel of fortune for brain region B and roll the dice for your behavior of choice. This generator can be modified for experiments in any field of life science and beyond.

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weight loss during pregnancy in hindi | Revolution 9

weight loss during pregnancy in hindi

What a week weve had!

My grandmother stayed with us for the past 8 weeks and she went home this past weekend. Im sure this is contributing to the boys mood the past couple days. And mine. And our dogs (she brought her small dog with us, our dogs sister, and they love playing with each other). We all miss Granny!

Despite missing Granny, the boys are driving me nuts. Weve had so much whining and fighting and arguing. Theyve started arguing with each other-- all three of them-- like in movies:

"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"

Um, imagine listening to that for twenty minutes straight. Every half hour. For three days. I feel like as soon as I split up a fight, another one is starting, or the boy I just sent away wanders over to pick a fight with a different brother.

Today I stood in line for coffee with the two toddlers. By the time I got up to the register, both of the toddlers were hanging on my ankles whining non-stop.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......"
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......"

I tried being upbeat with them, "Momma, doesnt know what that means! Use your words!"

To which I would get this response:

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......"
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......"

The young woman in line behind me tried commiserating with me, "Oh, man, this line really is taking forever, isnt it?"

But I wasnt in the mood. She was holding an iPhone and a recently purchased book. She was waiting to get her coffee so she could hole up in a corner of the book store and read for the next 8 hours. I was waiting in line to get a drink so that I could make it through storytime without losing my marbles. (I briefly considered asking her if she would like to switch places with me for the next, oh, forty minutes or so...)

Our five-year old is picking fights with the toddlers. Our toddlers are picking fights with our five-year old. The toddlers are picking fights with each other. All three boys are picking fights with me. And then Im picking fights with my husband.

Why cant we all just get along?

Last night my husband and I had a good talk while we made dinner. We sent all the boys to the playroom, repeatedly. Then two of them to time out. Then all of them to sit on their bed until dinner was ready. (Apparently no one wore their listening ears yesterday.) My husband and I discussed with each other what was working and what wasnt working around the house. We discussed what needs our five-year old had that werent being met. We discussed the needs of both our two-year olds. We discussed our own needs and how we each would like the day to go. We came up with a new discipline plan that we both could agree on.

Then we called the boys out for dinner-- only two of them actually ate. Then we took a family walk after dinner, where our five-year old kept riding his bike way too far ahead of us, one of our toddlers refused to use his legs and screamed at the top of his lungs half the way back home, and the other toddler walked painfully slow behind all of us. When we finally (finally, finally, finally) got back home, my husband got the boys ready for bed while I splashed water on my face before we put the boys down for an early bedtime. Best of all, my husband and I spent the rest of the evening laughing and making jokes while we put a decent dent in our Halloween candy and watched DVRd shows in peace. :)

Sometimes thats what you need, a restart, an acknowledgment that things are going in the wrong direction. Sometimes routines and schedules that have worked in the past suddenly stop working and it starts rubbing everybody the wrong way. Right now we are at that awkward point of figuring out what needs to change. My husband took our five-year old bowling this afternoon while I took our toddlers to storytime. When we told our five-year old what his plans were today, he immediately perked up and became Mr. Helpful around the house, cheerily greeting us when we got home from storytime, "Can I help you unload the van, Momma? Daddy and I have lunch ready for you!" We are still working out the kinks, but we are moving in the right direction.

And I would like to add a huge THANK YOU to my husband who always keeps me laughing.

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healthy weight loss during pregnancy | 2013 flu shots

healthy weight loss during pregnancy

Ready to get their flu shots

To start this off, I am NOT against military clinics. I know many people immediately start looking for the bad when going to a military clinic or automatically assume the doctors arent as good or whatever. We have used three military treatment facilities (MTF) so far in my husbands naval career and two civilian providers, this being our third MTF. I knew what to expect heading back to the MTF. Before moving here, I was very nervous about moving our asthmatic toddler from our last pediatricians office. They were wonderful there and knew his whole history, what his triggers are, what medicines hes been on, etc. They took excellent care of our boys there, especially O, and I was nervous to move right before cold and flu season. (Read "Reactive airways.")

When I walked into the clinic here in South Carolina, I was impressed. It seriously looks like a mini Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. I have been seen quickly both times I went to the clinic, no long wait times. The pharmacy moves right along and they have a drive up window. The staff is great. The lab is quick. They even have an email service that Ive used several times. I have sent my doctor emails that reach her nursing staff. They have replied to my messages promptly, within 30-40 minutes or first thing the next morning if I sent one at the end of business day.

Downside?

It is October 23rd and they still do not have flu vaccines available to dependents.

There are posters all over the clinic advertising the importance of getting a flu vaccine and they still have no definite date on when flu shots will be available to dependents. My PCM even told me, "They say next week, but theyve told us next week every week." So I asked her, "Can we get a referral or prescription and go out in town?" She kind of beat around the bush in the office and I didnt have a place I knew we should go, so I didnt press the issue. She did emphasize before I left how important it is for me to get O his flu shot since his asthma and medical history puts him in a high risk category.

On top of this, South Carolina seems to have very strange laws regarding vaccines for minors. No child under the age of 6 (the age I heard most consistently from pharmacists) can get a vaccine without a prescription from their doctor, meaning no walk-in flu shots. I called Walgreens, Rite Aid, Target, and local urgent cares. Consistently, we were denied flu shots for our two and a half year olds, some said they would be willing to give our five-year old his flu shot. I even offered to pay out of pocket since flu shots are, what, $15 or $20? No, flu shots are $31.99 (times three, since we have three boys), but even paying out of pocket, they still would not give our toddlers the flu shot.

I found a nearby CVS and asked the pharmacist what I had to do to get our boys, including the toddlers, a flu shot there. She said, "Oh, just have your doctor send over a prescription and we can give it to them no problem. We accept Tricare Prime." I went home and messaged my doctor. She sent me back a message this morning denying my request. She told me to take them to the Health Department.

I ended up having to post a thread in a wives group where someone tipped me off about CVSs Minute Clinics. I found our closest Minute Clinic (a little over half an hour away) and we all drove over there this morning. Here is the link to the Humana website with the Minute Clinic information: "Convenient Care May Still Need a Referral." I called Minute Clinic (link to their website: Minute Clinic) and got specific information about the clinic I was going to take the boys too, confirming that they would accept Tricare Prime, that they would administer the vaccine to two and a half year olds, and that they did have childrens flu shots in stock. My husband, being active duty, was already given his flu shot by the Navy and, finding this to be quite the ordeal, I had already gone to Target for my flu shot the week before.

The Minute Clinic has a highly irritating automated answering system. When I finally reached a representative, I was feeling frustrated by this whole process. The guy on the phone was really nice and very helpful. I actually hung up smiling, glad to finally have somewhere to get their flu shots. The woman at the Minute Clinic was an angel, seriously. She was so sweet to our screaming two-year olds and actually managed to give our five-year old his shot without him bursting into tears (he has a fear of shots right now). Getting there was challenging, but CVS made the process as painless as possible. We even got a 20% coupon that we used to buy the boys candy for being so brave. Even our cashier was sweet, telling the boys how good they were.

I am really irritated with how our flu shots were handled at the MTF. I feel like they have basically thrown their hands in the air and said, "Oops! We dont have them yet! Gotta wait!" Come to find out, most of our neighbors do not have their flu shots yet. Ive heard from several people that they find this process so irritating that they dont get them anymore. I have never had this experience with Tricare, at a different MTF, Prime, or Prime Remote. I even asked our doctor if there was an exception for high-risk patients to get their flu shots (me and O) and she said no.

Im still give the MTF a chance. Im switching PCMs, at least for the kids, and seeing if there is a different doctor that we connect with more. Right now, Im just glad that our whole family has their flu shots!

Here is a link to the immunizations page of the health department, by state: "State Health Department Immunizations Websites."
(Without insurance, flu shots are $25 at the Health Department in South Carolina.)

 

Here is a link to an article I really liked about being pro-vaccine: "Im Coming Out... as Pro-Vaccine."

 

My blog post on "RSV and premature babies," outlining Os 4-day stay in the PICU with RSV.

 

My blog post about the "2012-2013 RSV season," when O got the Synagis vaccine.

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rapid weight loss during pregnancy | Making the best

rapid weight loss during pregnancy

"In that lonely place Frodo for the first time fully realized his homelessness and danger. He wished bitterly that his fortune had left him in the quiet beloved Shire."

-JRR Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Sometimes I really chafe under the military lifestyle. I try not to and there really are so many things I am grateful for. But sometimes, it rubs against me like a pair of ill-fitting shoes. My husband and I have been discussing buying a home sometime down the road. On a submarine wives forum, a bunch of wives were talking about their home buying experiences. Some families have had great success buying along the way, either selling or renting out as they go. Some families have not had success and have suffered great loss. Weve been renting for almost six years now and it is getting old, especially as we add more children in the equation. My husband wants to own his own house; I just hate renting. (We arent confident that those are good reasons to jump into such a large investment-- haha!) Either way, we look longingly at our civilian friends who have bought homes and wonder what it would be like, buying a home in a community and planning to live there for years to come.

Before we had our first child, we talked about how sweet it would be to plant a tree, the same age as him and watch them grow together. Can you imagine, our sweet little man backing out of the driveway to pick up his prom date under the shade of his tree? But that will never pass. At each of our homes, weve had to move away from memories. Our very first apartment, where I waited as a newlywed for a lonely, silent month by myself before I heard word that his submarine had finally pulled into port. The same place that we decided to have a baby and where we brought home our firstborn son. (After this I moved with our son to my parents house for seven months while his submarine changed homeports.) Our second home, a duplex in base housing. So many good memories in that home-- visiting family, birthday parties, brunches, dinners, girls nights in, and carrying my phone with me everywhere I went, hoping for it to ring. Our third home, an apartment, where we decided we wanted another baby and were surprised with twins! I stood in front of our pantry door as my husband took pictures of my growing belly each week. We moved to our fourth home, another apartment, before we they were born. This is where we brought home our newborns and got a dog. Long days spent at home, loving on our three boys and figuring out how to get everything done. And now our fifth home, a rental house. This is where our toddlers learned to walk and our oldest learned to write. These walls have watched our children discover each other and the joys of brotherhood.

Our belongings bear the weight of preserving our memories. Our couch-- our first piece of furniture bought as newlyweds-- now sinking and sagging in familiar places reminds us of those early days, watching movies with our roommate and later sitting feeding and burping babies. Our kitchen table bears the scars from late night card games, children learning to use forks, and my many attempted art projects (people like me should not read Martha Stewart Living magazine). My books, which I have alphabetized and organized each place weve lived, have comforted me night after night, always present whenever I need them. But no matter how much sentimental value befalls our things, we know that the most important things arent included in our household goods. This past PCS, our couch was packed with an open bag of individually wrapped chocolates. One of our bookcases was not emptied-- just wrapped in paper and packed stacked full of books (no, that does not bode well for the bookcase). We love our things; we just have to be able to let them go. Breathe in, breathe out, and fill out the proper paperwork to replace the damaged items. Create new memories.

And this is where I start to chafe. I dont want to always create new memories, or look for the bright side, or make the best. I want the memories I made. I want my kids to have those prized childhood possessions, whatever they may be. My heart will break in two when we, yet again, tear down my sons art work wall. I want that spot on the lawn that the grass never grows. I want my younger boys to have the teachers my older boys had. And the military friends we have made will never live nearby. Our friends hearts-- who love us just as dearly-- wish for their hometowns, their dear ones, their own memories of the past and hoped for future. We met them on the road, fellow travelers in the military life. We clung to each other and made the best. Sometimes it is hard to realize how wonderful things were until youve said good-bye and are moving to the next assignment.

More than memories, I chafe under distance. My heart is in so many places and sometimes I ache with the number of people I miss and love. I want my kids to play with their niece. My friends kids are growing up and I havent seen them in years. Will these children I love even remember me after years apart? It will be starting over when I see them again. And Ive never even met several of my friends children. One of my girlfriends has toddlers-- toddlers!-- and Ive never met them. I saw her last two and a half years ago. How does time slip away so quickly? I go through the day and long to share a good passage from a book with my literary girlfriend, over high tea, of course. I long to return the kindness of the most generous woman I know. I long for wine and long talks with friends I do not live near. There is so much to talk about! And time keeps slipping away.

I sometimes sit and think about what I cant have-- a home in a community with all my friends and family living nearby-- and I feel an ache in the center of my chest. But I dont need land. The earth and walls cant hold our families memories. I dont need to see my friends every day, week, month, or year for them to be close to my heart. I dont have to hold my niece and kiss her whenever I want to love her. Friendship and love overcome all these things. Instead, I choose to look forward with longing and anticipation to the next time I see these people, when I can hug them and tell them, "It has been too long!" I choose to be grateful for the time we have now, for the good things we had in the past.

One day we will have a home, even if that is after retirement, and we will fill it with the memories we have made along the way. My hope is that those memories are good and that I did always make the best-- even when it was hard.

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weight loss during pregnancy hcg | Organics vs family budget

weight loss during pregnancy hcg

My husband and I recently adjusted our family budget and we are really sticking to it. I like our open conversations about our finances and how we work together as a team. I just dont like budgets (but who does?). Anyways, we went to Costco today. Our grocery budget is not as flexible as it was with our past family budgets so my husband was tallying our purchases as we added things to our cart.

Ive written before about our family diet and how we are trying to eat healthier (read "The first step"). We have kicked out a lot of bad ingredients and brought down the ingredient count on each of the items we purchase. I really try to make as much home made foods as I can and narrow down our processed foods. However, Im not one to spend all day in the kitchen, so we do have some processed foods in our house. (Im hoping organic cereal with no artificial ingredients is better than GMO artificial cereal-- lol!)

So here we are at Costco, shopping the aisles. I am always so disappointed at how expensive it is to buy organic items, especially things that I really want to get organic, like dairy and meat. I do buy the organic ground beef because my family likes it so much better. Even my husband notices when I buy low quality beef. But the organic whole chickens were nowhere near price comparable. I bought two whole regular chickens for $8.65 combined (ranging from $8-$10). The 2-pack of organic whole chickens ranged in price from $27 to $30. The refrigerated chicken breasts were again the same price difference. I absolutely hate cheap chicken breasts, injected with fillers. They just taste weird. I just cannot afford to buy the much smaller, much more expensive packs of organic chicken breasts; one of those packs would last our family one dinner. I buy the frozen Coleman All-Natural chicken breasts. I hate that vague term, all-natural, especially since companies like Tyson claim "all-natural." It makes me feel better buying the frozen Coleman All-Natural chicken breasts than buying the yellow, salt-water injected packs of regular refrigerated chicken breasts, next to the organic chicken breasts. In North Carolina, when I lived near a Harris Teeter, I would watch the sales at Harris Teeter and buy the organic chicken breasts up every time they went on sale, stocking my freezer up.

The same thing works for other staples in our family diet. I cannot find room in our grocery budget to buy organic milk, even in bulk at Costco. Today we bought 2 gallons because we already had 2 gallons in our garage fridge. We use so much milk! And the 18-pack of organic eggs is almost $8. We buy a box of 7 and a half dozen eggs (90 eggs!) $9.99. A 2-pound bag of organic sugar is $10.99; the 2-pound bag of regular sugar is $3.99. Frown face.

I feel like I do the next best thing. I do our best to buy raw foods, cook home cooked meals from scratch. I make the best processed food choices that I can (thank you places like Costco and Trader Joes for carrying a lot of organic options); I read all the ingredients lists, avoiding "fake" organic items (how is something "organic" if it only contains one organic ingredient and has artificial flavors? My favorite is the organic Costco tortilla chips-- organic corn and hydrogenated oils.).

My husband doesnt share all my thoughts on organic food. I think he believes Im a hippie. Maybe I am. I dont think everything has to be labeled organic. Here is what I wish: that we didnt have artificial ingredients in the first place. What the heck is fractionated palm oil? Also, if you Google search, palm oil, the origin of a lot of palm oil is really sad... What is wrong with olive oil and canola oil? Why do we need to add all the food colorings? Im sure there are answers out there. I am sure there is a reason that companies headed down the path they chose-- like why Betty Crocker cake mixes have all those artificial ingredients-- and Im hoping that it isnt just because it was the cheapest way to go. And GMOs really do just feel wrong.

All this ranting about affording organic and real foods and tonight is Halloween. We have three Costco bags of candy waiting and our kids basically ate chocolate for lunch. Oh, the irony.

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reasons for weight loss during pregnancy | 2012 2013 RSV season

reasons for weight loss during pregnancy

?

? Well, cold and flu season is approaching, which also ushers in my least favorite season: prime time to catch RSV. If you are familiar with our story, you know one of my twin boys caught a severe case of RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) last year that had him in the PICU for four days (see "RSV and premature babies"). This year he may be eligible for the Synagis vaccine because of his reactive airways (see "Reactive airways"), as he takes Pulmicort twice a day, has already gone in for breathing treatments, and was on Orapred all of last week. A couple things were brought to my attention this past month that are very important heading into this RSV season:

1. Premature children are at a higher risk for RSV the first two years of their life.

2. Even if your child had RSV last year, he could catch it again this year-- possibly with the same severity or worse than he had it the year before.

The RSV vaccine is exceedingly expensive. Because of that, there are strict guidelines as to who is eligible to receive the RSV vaccine. Last year, at our old pediatrician, the nurse and our doctor emphasized how important it would be to vaccinate our 35-week infant twins. However, when we were sent off to the Synagis representative, she denied us, stating that only infants under 32 gestational weeks are eligible. Im not sure if something changed, but this year I was handed the "2012-2013 Proposed Synagis Risk Factor Guidelines" for North Carolina (their emphasis) when discussing Os eligibility-- score! :)

The guidelines are broken up into category, birthday, and additional criteria. To quote from the US Bioservices AmerisourceBergen Specialty Group "2012-2013 Proposed Synagis Risk Factor Guidelines" flyer:

North Carolina Medicaid, TRICare, and most private insurance companies servicing NC families have adopted the American Academy of Pediatrics Red Book guidelines to determine coverage eligibility for Synagis. You may use this guide to help determine your patients eligibility for Synagis.

NC Medicaid and most other insurers authorize coverage of Synagis beginning NOVEMBER 1st, 2012. US Bioservices will begin shipping at the end of October so that you may begin dosing on the November start date.

THE FOLLOWING MAY QUALIFY FOR FIVE (5) DOSES. PREMATURITY SHALL BE COUNTED TO THE EXACT DAY:

Chronic lung disease (Birthday: Born on or after November 1st, 2010) Additional criteria: Infants and children under 24 months of age who have had treatment (supplemental oxygen, bronchodilator, diuretic, or chronic corticosteroid therapy) in the 6 months before start of season.

Congenital Heart Disease; hemodynamically significant (Does NOT include VSD, secundum atrial septal defect, pulmonic stenosis, PDAA, uncomplicated aortic stenosis, mild coarctation of the aorta, lesions corrected by surgery unless on continued medication for CHF, or mild cardiomyopathy for which patient not receiving medical therapy) (Birthday: Born on or after November 1st, 2010) Additional Criteria: Infants and children under 24 months of age who are receiving medication to control congestive heart failure, moderate to severe pulmonary hypertension, or cyanotic heart disease.

Prematurity: Gestational age of less than or equal to 28 weeks 6 days (Birthday: Born on or after November 1st, 2011) Additional criteria: Less than or equal to 12 months of age at onset of RSV season.

Prematurity: Gestational age 29 weeks 0 days to 31 weeks 6 days (Birthday: Born on or after May 1st, 2012) Additional criteria: Less than or equal to 6 months of age at onset of RSV season.

Prematurity: Gestational age of less than 34 weeks 6 days (Birthday: Born on or after March 31st, 2012) Additional criteria: Has severe neuromuscular disease or congenital abnormalities of the airways, either of which compromises handling of respiratory secretions. No other risk factors will apply.

Prematurity: Gestational age of 32 weeks 0 days to 34 weeks 6 days (Birthday: Born on or after August 1st, 2012) Additional criteria: At least ONE of these two risk factors: (1) Attends child care-- a home or facility where care is provided for any number of infants or young toddlers (toddlers age 3 and younger) (2) Has a sibling younger than age 5 in the home.

The following conditions DO NOT singularly justify medical necessity for Synagis: an RSV episode during the season, repeated pneumonia, sickle cell disease, being one member of a multiple birth with the other member being approved for Synagis, apnea or respiratory failure of a newborn.

Here are some helpful links on the 2012-2013 Synagis eligibility guidelines:

CDC "RSV: Prophylaxis and High-Risk Groups"

American Academy of Pediatrics Red Book Online "Revised Indications for the Use of Palivizumab and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Immune Globulin Intravenous for the Prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections"

Besides the Synagis vaccine, what can you do to help protect your premature babies this RSV season? A friend of mine was discussing this with me today. Last year our twins were in infant carriers and much easier to protect. We simply hung our Touchy Tags on our infant carriers and strollers and kept well-meaning hands off our infants. This year our twins are toddlers, hers starting the season at 16-months and mine at 18-months. How do we keep toddlers from touching the world around them? For starters, we are implementing the hand-washing routines we did last year. Beyond that, we are keeping sippy cups up-- no sippy cups touching every surface and no sharing sippy cups. We have antibacterial wipes, travel size hand santizers in every bag and stored on the stroller, and lots of prayers... lots and lots of prayers.

Last year I posted a letter on my family website to let visitors know what to expect when they came to see the new babies. This year, Im going to post the same letter revised. To see last years letter when they were newborns, check out my blog post "RSV and premature babies." This years letter, links kept in tact for you to copy and paste, if you choose to also share the letter:

Hello, everyone!???

I wanted to make a post because it is cold and flu season, peak time for RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). If you are unfamiliar with RSV, it is the leading cause of bronchitis and pneumonia in babies. To read more about RSV in premature babies, check out: http://preemiecare.org/rsv_resourceshtm.htm. C and O were born at thirty-five weeks, five weeks early. Luckily for us, they had great birth weights, but they were early and they are multiples. As we enter in to peak RSV season, they will still be in the high risk category as they are premature infants under 24 months. (https://www.rsvprotection.com/ and http://rsvtesting.com/Facts/rsv_risks.php) O is at a much higher risk than even C with his reactive airways and twice daily nebulizer treatments. To help lower their risk, we are going to keep making hand washing a priority in our home before handling the children. These are the guidelines that we have been following and we wanted to share them with you so know what to expect when visiting: http://www.ehow.com/how_4442791_prevent-respiratory-syncytial-virus-premature.html

??1. Limiting exposure to germs (school age children, interaction with the public, sick friends/family, etc)??

2. Washing and sanitizing hands?

???3. No cigarette smoke: in person, on clothing, or second hand

4. Avoid crowded childcare

5. Toy sanitation

We would appreciate your support when you visit with our attempts to limit their exposure to RSV. We understand they are sturdy, healthy looking boys and need to catch childhood diseases, but we feel it is important to address their specific health needs and make it a priority.

If you come down with a cold before visiting, please tell us before you arrive.

Most importantly, please get your flu shot!

Links on importance of getting flu shots:

• Flu information: http://www.facesofinfluenza.com/en/flu-clinics/
• About RSV: http://coldflu.about.com/od/othercommonillnesses/a/rsv.htm
• 2011 RSV outbreaks: http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/46520/flu-and-rsv-outbreaks-across-t-1.asp
• Preparing for Cold and Flu season: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/kidsandtheflu/a/05_flu_prep.htm

Thank you!

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