Note: I will run a giveaway every Tuesday until I run out of loot. On other days, I'll still run reviews and may run a giveaway (in an effort to catch up). But for now, Tuesday is giveaway day.
I had never heard of Gerald McBoing Boing when I agreed to review the Volume 2, Fairytales DVD. It contains six episodes of the Cartoon Network series, which is based on the Oscar-winning animated short film and classic book written by Dr. Seuss. It also comes with a mini-reprint of the original Dr. Seuss book.
It took me a month or so to convince my boys to even watch it. At 6 1/2 and almost 5, they push the upper limit of the age bracket for the show.
However, when they did sit down to watch it, they became enthralled. I spent most of the time watching them, because they had that wide-eyed, fascinated look as they watched (as opposed to that zombified look I usually see when the watch TV).
The vibe of the show reminds me of the HBO show Harold and the Purple Crayon, which my boys used to be obsessed with. It's narrated in a calm voice, and Gerald and his buddies inhabit a world of fantasy where nothing happens quite the way we're used to, in boring reality. From the press materials:
Gerald McBoing Boing is actually Gerald McCloy, a six year-old boy who doesn’t speak in words, but in sound effects. Gerald lives in a wonderfully optimistic place, a world filled with silliness and warm-hearted humor, where the townspeople are completely accepting of a six-year-old boy who only makes sounds. He manages to find all sorts of adventures along with his Janine, Jacob and dog Burp. Gerald uses “honks,” “hoots,” and “boings” to solve problems, entertain his friends, and even cause a little harmless mischief along the way.
A few weeks after he watched it, I overheard my six year old telling his friend what videos we've watched on "movie night." He named Brother Bear 2, Curious George (both upcoming giveaways, by the way), but when he named this one he started laughing and said, "That one's really funny." Pretty high praise, from a "cool" first grader.
If you'd like to win my (unsealed) review copy of Gerald McBoing Boing, Volume 2, Fairytales, along with a minibook of the orginal Dr. Suess story, leave a comment between now and Thursday at midnight, EST.
In your comment, please tell me what shows your kids are into, as well as their ages. My kids are getting sick of Cyberchase, Reading Rainbow and House of Mouse. We need some new ideas!
Meanwhile, check out this free Gerald McBoing Boing online game.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
My 6 Year Old's Fascination With War and Weaponry
Last week I mentioned that whenever Ben chooses an encyclopedia to read at bedtime, Brian and groan and insist on a story book instead. Some of you may have gotten the impression that we don't read encyclopedias to him, ever. Au contraire, mes amies.
When Ben was 2, I brought home "Everyday Life," a volume in Time-Life's A Child's First Library of Learning. He chose it to read again and again. So when I had a few Usborne book parties, I added Usborne First Encyclopedia of Our World, along with the Science, Space, Dinosaurs, Nature, Seas and Oceans and Animals editions. He also has Usborne's Encyclopedia of World History, which trumps all the others, in his opinion, and is falling apart from use.
Last year, when Ben started kindergarten, he began bringing home library books of his choosing. For the first several weeks, he chose the other volumes from the Time-Life "Library of Learning" set. "Cute!" I thought. "His teacher will think he's so smart!"
Then things got dark.
First it was books about knights and castles. Not too bad. Sure it had all those detailed pictures of weapons, but since he already owned replicas of these as part of his Imaginext castle set, what could we do?
"What does that big ball with spikes on it do, mom?"
"Um... it knocks dragons unconcious, honey."
As the weeks went by, a steady parade of history books emerged from his back pack: the history of planes, the history of the United States, the history of prisons.
Yes, prisons. It was rather interesting, I admit. And there's nothing wrong with a little healthy knowledge about what can happen if you don't listen to your parents, or your teachers, or the police.
His next selection, a book on the middle ages with several pages of pictures of the various torture devices used in those days, caused us some concern. Even Brian, whose favorite kid's book features a hunter shooting a harp seal,* could not present a kid-friendly version of torture devices.
When he followed that up with a book about war history, we came this close to calling his teacher and saying, "Is there any way you could guide our son toward library books for children under age 12? I mean, we can't find a rated-PG way of saying 'Then several thousand people died of starvation because the bad guys wouldn't give them food,' or, 'Then they attached the electrodes to his skull and fried his brain until it smoked.'"
Perhaps Ben got the hint when his libary books began disappearing the moment they came out of his back pack. He has begun to bring home lighter titles, such as last week's "For the Love of Golf." That one had Brian and I baffled, since we don't play or watch golf. But we don't keep prisoners in shackles in our basement either, so, we do realize the boy's got a mind of his own.
Still, I wish he'd stop pointing his finger at me and saying, "Prepare to die!"
*The book with the harp seal shooting is from the '60s. The gun-wielding bear family used the dead seal for food and clothing, so we thought it was appropriate enough for our boys' delicate psyches. Perhaps we thought wrong. Heh.
When Ben was 2, I brought home "Everyday Life," a volume in Time-Life's A Child's First Library of Learning. He chose it to read again and again. So when I had a few Usborne book parties, I added Usborne First Encyclopedia of Our World, along with the Science, Space, Dinosaurs, Nature, Seas and Oceans and Animals editions. He also has Usborne's Encyclopedia of World History, which trumps all the others, in his opinion, and is falling apart from use.
Last year, when Ben started kindergarten, he began bringing home library books of his choosing. For the first several weeks, he chose the other volumes from the Time-Life "Library of Learning" set. "Cute!" I thought. "His teacher will think he's so smart!"
Then things got dark.
First it was books about knights and castles. Not too bad. Sure it had all those detailed pictures of weapons, but since he already owned replicas of these as part of his Imaginext castle set, what could we do?
"What does that big ball with spikes on it do, mom?"
"Um... it knocks dragons unconcious, honey."
As the weeks went by, a steady parade of history books emerged from his back pack: the history of planes, the history of the United States, the history of prisons.
Yes, prisons. It was rather interesting, I admit. And there's nothing wrong with a little healthy knowledge about what can happen if you don't listen to your parents, or your teachers, or the police.
His next selection, a book on the middle ages with several pages of pictures of the various torture devices used in those days, caused us some concern. Even Brian, whose favorite kid's book features a hunter shooting a harp seal,* could not present a kid-friendly version of torture devices.
When he followed that up with a book about war history, we came this close to calling his teacher and saying, "Is there any way you could guide our son toward library books for children under age 12? I mean, we can't find a rated-PG way of saying 'Then several thousand people died of starvation because the bad guys wouldn't give them food,' or, 'Then they attached the electrodes to his skull and fried his brain until it smoked.'"
Perhaps Ben got the hint when his libary books began disappearing the moment they came out of his back pack. He has begun to bring home lighter titles, such as last week's "For the Love of Golf." That one had Brian and I baffled, since we don't play or watch golf. But we don't keep prisoners in shackles in our basement either, so, we do realize the boy's got a mind of his own.
Still, I wish he'd stop pointing his finger at me and saying, "Prepare to die!"
*The book with the harp seal shooting is from the '60s. The gun-wielding bear family used the dead seal for food and clothing, so we thought it was appropriate enough for our boys' delicate psyches. Perhaps we thought wrong. Heh.
Monday, October 23, 2006
MotherTalk Book Tour: Momfidence!
I'm on board another MotherTalk book tour, this time for the best parenting book ever written, Momfidence! by Paula Spencer.
Sometimes as a reviewer, it's hard for me not to gush globs of goopy praise all over a book, lest I seem like less than objective. This is one of those times.
One clue to why I love Momfidence! so much, is the subtitle: "An Orea Never Killed Anybody and Other Secrets of Happier Parenting."
I didn't realize how much pressure I still put on myself regarding my kids' nutrition, sports future and TV watching. I didn't realize how much I still beat myself up over how much attention I give them (not enough) and how often I yell (too often).
As a a perfectionist in recovery, I know nothing takes the fun out of parenting quite like perfectionism. This book is like an antidote to parental perfectionism.
After reading Paula's wise words, I feel like my blood pressure's dropped about 10 points. As a mom, it gave me a spiritual boost. It even (sshhh, don't tell my husband) made me feel that maybe I can handle a fourth child someday soon.
Enough general admiration, let me give you a glimpse of Paula's parenting philosophy:
The AAP: "The AAP isn't 'more right' than my own mom just because it's the AAP."
Hot-button Child Develoment Issues (such as potty training): "Few are worth obsession, much less adult intervention. As for the genuine knuckle biters, that's why we have schools, the police and organized religion."
Kid's Safety: "American parents are suffering from a clollectively overactive imagination ... The whole point of parenting is to feed your hatchlings, make them strong and let them flap their wings ... The empty nest is a goal, not a syndrome."
Banning All Sweets at School: "If we're really serious about ridding the schools of junk, we might start with the same old time-sucking units on recycling and bullies that the kids endure every year."
Dental Hygiene: Paula admits that she doesn't floss baby teeth! She's my new hero!
Buying Toys: "Parental co-playing must be optional. The whole point of a toy is to keep a child out of your hair."
The Standard Parental Rationale for Kids in Sports: "Of course I want Sarabeth to be Well Rounded and Take Advantage of Opportunities and Try New Things. Besides, She Loves It. It's Not Like I'm Forcing Her. She Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way."
Television: "The label 'electronic babysitter' is always tossed out so derisively. But I think it's a pretty swell bargain to buy thirty to sixty uninterrupted minutes at a strech without having to check refences or fork over $10 an hour."
Discipline: "Momfidence is knowing which child responds to a calm reprimand, which won't pay you one whit of attention unless your nieghbors can also hear you yell, and which will burst into wide-eyed tears if you so much as glare at her -- and disciplining accordingly."
The Quest for a Teri Hatcher-esque Body: "Momfidence is knowing that if you're breast-feeding, you're already a 'yummy mummy.'" (I think I will post that on my bathroom mirror.)
As I said, this is just a glimpse of the wisdom, and laughs, that Momfidence contains. I especially like Paula's unique choice of words. Here's a crib sheet:
Momologue: your internal running commentary on how it's going as a mom, and it's never saying, "Good job, Mom!"
Momfooleries: things that sound important until applied to a real situation involving your real child (for example: the importance of not sending your newborn to the nursery)
TV Land perfectamoms: need I explain this one?
Oneupmomship: "What else could explain the huge range of activities available to even the most geographicall obscure families? Or the run on bumper stickers that read 'Proud Parent of a Baby Who Can Sign 200 Words'?"
Mompetition: It's not limited to moms.
Maybe I'm so emotionally attached to this book because Paula and I seem to have so much in common. She watched far too many Flintstones reruns growing up, and so did I. She started having babies at about age 30. Ditto. She hides in her home office and writes for money, I do so for free.
All I know is, I still have a ways to go in terms of lightening up on my mom self. I figure if I keep Momfidence! on my nightstand for a few months, or maybe a year, I'll be closer to achieving the momfidence Paula has.
More than any parenting book I've read, I think every mom will enjoy the humor and common sense in this book. I have a new standard baby shower gift, and I hope you'll pick up a copy, too. In the meantime, you can read Paula's "Momfidence!" column in Woman's Day magazine and, for a bonus chapter and to rate your own momfidence, check out www.momfidence.com.
Sometimes as a reviewer, it's hard for me not to gush globs of goopy praise all over a book, lest I seem like less than objective. This is one of those times.
One clue to why I love Momfidence! so much, is the subtitle: "An Orea Never Killed Anybody and Other Secrets of Happier Parenting."
I didn't realize how much pressure I still put on myself regarding my kids' nutrition, sports future and TV watching. I didn't realize how much I still beat myself up over how much attention I give them (not enough) and how often I yell (too often).
As a a perfectionist in recovery, I know nothing takes the fun out of parenting quite like perfectionism. This book is like an antidote to parental perfectionism.
After reading Paula's wise words, I feel like my blood pressure's dropped about 10 points. As a mom, it gave me a spiritual boost. It even (sshhh, don't tell my husband) made me feel that maybe I can handle a fourth child someday soon.
Enough general admiration, let me give you a glimpse of Paula's parenting philosophy:
The AAP: "The AAP isn't 'more right' than my own mom just because it's the AAP."
Hot-button Child Develoment Issues (such as potty training): "Few are worth obsession, much less adult intervention. As for the genuine knuckle biters, that's why we have schools, the police and organized religion."
Kid's Safety: "American parents are suffering from a clollectively overactive imagination ... The whole point of parenting is to feed your hatchlings, make them strong and let them flap their wings ... The empty nest is a goal, not a syndrome."
Banning All Sweets at School: "If we're really serious about ridding the schools of junk, we might start with the same old time-sucking units on recycling and bullies that the kids endure every year."
Dental Hygiene: Paula admits that she doesn't floss baby teeth! She's my new hero!
Buying Toys: "Parental co-playing must be optional. The whole point of a toy is to keep a child out of your hair."
The Standard Parental Rationale for Kids in Sports: "Of course I want Sarabeth to be Well Rounded and Take Advantage of Opportunities and Try New Things. Besides, She Loves It. It's Not Like I'm Forcing Her. She Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way."
Television: "The label 'electronic babysitter' is always tossed out so derisively. But I think it's a pretty swell bargain to buy thirty to sixty uninterrupted minutes at a strech without having to check refences or fork over $10 an hour."
Discipline: "Momfidence is knowing which child responds to a calm reprimand, which won't pay you one whit of attention unless your nieghbors can also hear you yell, and which will burst into wide-eyed tears if you so much as glare at her -- and disciplining accordingly."
The Quest for a Teri Hatcher-esque Body: "Momfidence is knowing that if you're breast-feeding, you're already a 'yummy mummy.'" (I think I will post that on my bathroom mirror.)
As I said, this is just a glimpse of the wisdom, and laughs, that Momfidence contains. I especially like Paula's unique choice of words. Here's a crib sheet:
Momologue: your internal running commentary on how it's going as a mom, and it's never saying, "Good job, Mom!"
Momfooleries: things that sound important until applied to a real situation involving your real child (for example: the importance of not sending your newborn to the nursery)
TV Land perfectamoms: need I explain this one?
Oneupmomship: "What else could explain the huge range of activities available to even the most geographicall obscure families? Or the run on bumper stickers that read 'Proud Parent of a Baby Who Can Sign 200 Words'?"
Mompetition: It's not limited to moms.
Maybe I'm so emotionally attached to this book because Paula and I seem to have so much in common. She watched far too many Flintstones reruns growing up, and so did I. She started having babies at about age 30. Ditto. She hides in her home office and writes for money, I do so for free.
All I know is, I still have a ways to go in terms of lightening up on my mom self. I figure if I keep Momfidence! on my nightstand for a few months, or maybe a year, I'll be closer to achieving the momfidence Paula has.
More than any parenting book I've read, I think every mom will enjoy the humor and common sense in this book. I have a new standard baby shower gift, and I hope you'll pick up a copy, too. In the meantime, you can read Paula's "Momfidence!" column in Woman's Day magazine and, for a bonus chapter and to rate your own momfidence, check out www.momfidence.com.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Book Giveaway: Pick Me Up (You know you want to ...)
Updated to Add: We have a winner - Salome Ellen! Please send your address to clouth@gmail.com, and I'll get it right out to you.
If you're waiting for a prize from me, rest assured you will receive it this week. Thanks!
Tonight I'm so excited to watch Grey's Anatomy and The Office that I'm doing two things I never do: posting twice in one day, and posting a book review on time.
I was happy to review the new book, Pick Me Up, for one reason: Dorling Kindersley. DK is one of my favorite nonfiction book publishers. This book, which DK markets as "an unencyclopedia for the Internet generation," is the publisher's first foray into the young adult (10+) market.
OK, I lied. There were two reasons I wanted to review this book, the other being my 6 year old. Ben has a thing for encyclopedias. He always brings them home from the school library. Half the time when he grabs a book for bedtime, it's an encyclopedia, causing Brian and I to groan and say, "No, Ben, a story book!"
When I received the "Advance Uncorrected Proof" (which, unbelievably, did not affect my objectivity), I felt disappointed. Ben is, indeed, a little too young for it. The frenetic layout, which has the feel of a collage, makes my head hurt a bit. My eyes just don't know where to go next. However, I am an old person, and this book is designed for our multimedia-addled youth.
You can get a feel for what the book looks like by exploring this site, which also made my head bang, but it has some cool content if you give it a few minutes. Likewise, after I gave the book a few minutes of my full attention, I began to appreciate, if not the layout, the unpredictability of what would come next.
The 3-D cover and boatload of graphics, the sassy writing (the Vietnam War is referred to as a "rumble in the jungle"), and the schizophrenic topic association ("Bill Gates to Software to Salt") do make for a fun, interesting read. I was just about to write "Thank God the book has a thorough index," when I realized my proof doesn't have an index. Hmmph. See? Writing these reviews is not all glamour.
Do you have a young adult who might enjoy learning "Stuff you need to know ..."? To enter to win a real, non-advance-proof copy, leave me a comment telling me your favorite reading material as a 10 to 16 year old. Mine was Stephen King and anything else scary. What can I say? As a teen, I got my adrenaline rushes any way I could -- any way except exercising, that is.
I'll accept entries until Saturday at midnight, EST, and I'll post a winner on Sunday. Good luck!
Milking It
Thanks for all your helpful advice about weaning, biopsies and tipping over. Here's a recap and update on my highly scientific and well-thought-out weaning decision process:
I decide: To save my sanity and stop nursing Ava at night, nursing her at only naptime, bedtime and in the morning (that is, 5 a.m. or after).
Ava: Wakes screaming at 3 am and keeps Brian (and me) awake for more than an hour. After a few nights of this, she begins sleeping through until 5-6 a.m.
I decide: To wean further, given my upcoming biopsy. I stop nursing her at naptime and rock her instead.
Ava: Sobs while I rock her, then wants to play, then falls asleep, finally, 2 to 3 hours later than usual.
I decide: To seriously consider weaning. She'll forget nursing even exisisted within a few weeks, and everything will be easier.
Ava: Begins waking up at 3 am to nurse.
I decide: What the hell. As long as she nurses only once a night then sleeps until 8 am, I'm willing. It's just a few hours earlier than what we were doing anyway.
Ava: Nurses at 3 am, then wakes at 6 am to nurse again. The following morning, she wakes to nurse at 2:30 and 5. Then Tuesday night, she wakes up at midnight! Expecting to nurse!
I decide: Not to nurse her at midnight, no matter what. I’ll show her who’s boss!
Ava: Screams, keeping Brian and I up until 2 am.
I decide: Maybe the weaning idea wasn’t so good. I consider that:
1) At her 15-month doctor visit last week, we discovered she gained just 4 ounces since her 12-month visit, bringing her up to 19 pounds, 9 ounces. The doctor says she needs to gain weight. She’s a peanut.
2) Her gums are a minefield of erupting molars. She could use some comfort.
3) I need naptime so I can have 1 1/2 hours to myself, three times a week (when John's in preschool). Naptime without nursing is hard, which makes my life hard. Why am I making my life hard?? With my other two kids, the naptime nursing was the last to go. What was I thinking? When did my brain die, and can it be resuscitated?
4) By nursing Ava at 5 am but not at 3 am or midnight, I'm sending mixed signals. Last I knew, babies don't tell time. I need to eliminiate the night feedings altogether, or it will never work.
I decide: To continue nursing her at naptime and at bedtime and, for now, nurse her whenever she wants to at night. We can wean the night feedings next week, when Brian and I stop hallucinating from lack of sleep.
Ava: Falls easily into a coma at naptime yesterday, then last night, sleeps through until 7 am for the first time since, well, never. Apparently sleep comes easier once your mom knows who's boss. (Hint: It isn't her.)
Thursday, October 12, 2006
The End of Nursing?
I spent the last few weeks thinking I had to wean Ava so I could have a biopsy of a lump on my breast.
My breast specialist and I have been monitoring this lump for two years, ever since The Week That Sucked. When I first met Dr. Feel-Me-Up, I was pregnant. My new midwife was pissing me off, first not finding a heartbeat at 8 weeks, then saying the lump I'd shown her had to be checked.
So, he examined me, marking both breasts up with a black magic marker. I felt one lump. He, apparently, felt 27.
After an ultrasound, he told me his professional opinion: breast tissue. I have fibrocystic breasts, he explained, so there are many lumps. All of them felt normal enough to him that he didn’t recommend a biopsy. He suggested I wait until after the birth then have a mammogram, but he said if I wanted a mammogram or a biopsy, even during my pregnancy, he’d do it.
That night, sacked out on the couch in all my sickly 1st trimester glory, I watched the Boston-area newsmagazine Chronicle. Wouldn’t you know, it featured a cancer surgeon from Brigham and Women’s, who noticed in the mirror a slight dimple on her breast. She had a mammogram and an ultrasound. Both showed nothing. She asked her fellow cancer surgeon to biopsy it anyway. She had cancer.
Curled up in a ball, watching this now-bald women with her kids, I kept hearing Dr. Feel-Me-Up explaining that “Pregnancy boosts estrogen, and estrogen helps feed tumors.” I wanted a biopsy. Instead, a few days later, I miscarried.
In my new non-pregnant state, I visited the doctor again for a mammogram. It showed nothing. His confidence that it was just breast tissue calmed my fears. He told me to come back in six months. When I did go back, I was pregnant with Ava. He said come back in a year.
So, a year went by, and I saw him again last month. He said the bump was softer, checked it again with ultrasound and confirmed again, “breast tissue.” He asked a few times if I had any pain there, and I said no. The plan: Get an MRI six weeks after weaning Ava, when the hormonal havoc of nursing has settled.
I went home feeling comfortable with this plan, until I felt a steady ache right were the lump is. Psychosomatic, I told myself. Then a week later, I felt it again. A few more weeks, there it was again, only this time, it hurt when I reach my arm out. Not debilitating pain, just enough to let me know it’s there.
Then last week I innocently picked up a Self magazine. Wouldn’t you know, it was a special breast cancer awareness issue, which they decided to celebrate by profiling several young women, ages 30 to 35, with metastasized breast cancer. Many of these women were told by their doctors that their lump was nothing. Several were fighting for their lives.
Now I feel like an idiot for not getting a biopsy sooner.
Yesterday Dr. Feel-Me-Up said I can get an MRI first, then a biopsy, and I didn’t have to wean for either. He said the vast majority of lumps that have pain are benign. He also said, “Standard protocol when there’s a palpable lump that you can feel and I can feel, is that we biopsy it.” This was a change of tune. No avoiding the biopsy this time.
I’m glad I don’t have to wean Ava, but the thought of nursing with a 1-inch incision centimeters away is not exciting either. Should I wean for the biopsy, to save myself the pain and inconvenience? At 15 months, she could wean fairly easily, forgetting about the whole affair within a week or two. She’s only nursing twice a day, once at bedtime and once during the night. The latter’s the feeding that strikes fear in my heart, the fear of the Screaming 5-a.m. Ava, She Who Will Not Be Denied. For Brian and I, the whole scene is like a nightmare that’s really happening.
It has crossed my mind to wean her on the afflicted left side only. But, my right breast is already bigger than the left one. If I stopped nursing on the left only, I might tip right over.
So what do you think? Should I endure brave, post-surgical nursing, or undertake appropriate-yet-traumatic weaning? Even now I keep thinking, Maybe I won’t need the biopsy! But it’s been two years. I need the damned biopsy.
My breast specialist and I have been monitoring this lump for two years, ever since The Week That Sucked. When I first met Dr. Feel-Me-Up, I was pregnant. My new midwife was pissing me off, first not finding a heartbeat at 8 weeks, then saying the lump I'd shown her had to be checked.
So, he examined me, marking both breasts up with a black magic marker. I felt one lump. He, apparently, felt 27.
After an ultrasound, he told me his professional opinion: breast tissue. I have fibrocystic breasts, he explained, so there are many lumps. All of them felt normal enough to him that he didn’t recommend a biopsy. He suggested I wait until after the birth then have a mammogram, but he said if I wanted a mammogram or a biopsy, even during my pregnancy, he’d do it.
That night, sacked out on the couch in all my sickly 1st trimester glory, I watched the Boston-area newsmagazine Chronicle. Wouldn’t you know, it featured a cancer surgeon from Brigham and Women’s, who noticed in the mirror a slight dimple on her breast. She had a mammogram and an ultrasound. Both showed nothing. She asked her fellow cancer surgeon to biopsy it anyway. She had cancer.
Curled up in a ball, watching this now-bald women with her kids, I kept hearing Dr. Feel-Me-Up explaining that “Pregnancy boosts estrogen, and estrogen helps feed tumors.” I wanted a biopsy. Instead, a few days later, I miscarried.
In my new non-pregnant state, I visited the doctor again for a mammogram. It showed nothing. His confidence that it was just breast tissue calmed my fears. He told me to come back in six months. When I did go back, I was pregnant with Ava. He said come back in a year.
So, a year went by, and I saw him again last month. He said the bump was softer, checked it again with ultrasound and confirmed again, “breast tissue.” He asked a few times if I had any pain there, and I said no. The plan: Get an MRI six weeks after weaning Ava, when the hormonal havoc of nursing has settled.
I went home feeling comfortable with this plan, until I felt a steady ache right were the lump is. Psychosomatic, I told myself. Then a week later, I felt it again. A few more weeks, there it was again, only this time, it hurt when I reach my arm out. Not debilitating pain, just enough to let me know it’s there.
Then last week I innocently picked up a Self magazine. Wouldn’t you know, it was a special breast cancer awareness issue, which they decided to celebrate by profiling several young women, ages 30 to 35, with metastasized breast cancer. Many of these women were told by their doctors that their lump was nothing. Several were fighting for their lives.
Now I feel like an idiot for not getting a biopsy sooner.
Yesterday Dr. Feel-Me-Up said I can get an MRI first, then a biopsy, and I didn’t have to wean for either. He said the vast majority of lumps that have pain are benign. He also said, “Standard protocol when there’s a palpable lump that you can feel and I can feel, is that we biopsy it.” This was a change of tune. No avoiding the biopsy this time.
I’m glad I don’t have to wean Ava, but the thought of nursing with a 1-inch incision centimeters away is not exciting either. Should I wean for the biopsy, to save myself the pain and inconvenience? At 15 months, she could wean fairly easily, forgetting about the whole affair within a week or two. She’s only nursing twice a day, once at bedtime and once during the night. The latter’s the feeding that strikes fear in my heart, the fear of the Screaming 5-a.m. Ava, She Who Will Not Be Denied. For Brian and I, the whole scene is like a nightmare that’s really happening.
It has crossed my mind to wean her on the afflicted left side only. But, my right breast is already bigger than the left one. If I stopped nursing on the left only, I might tip right over.
So what do you think? Should I endure brave, post-surgical nursing, or undertake appropriate-yet-traumatic weaning? Even now I keep thinking, Maybe I won’t need the biopsy! But it’s been two years. I need the damned biopsy.
Monday, October 09, 2006
CD Winners
Today is one of the last 80-degree days we will enjoy in New England for, oh, 5 or 6 months. So I'll keep this short. The winners of the coveted John Lithgow CD "The Sunny Side of the Street" are:
Mom Nancy
EntertainUs
Bridget
Amanda
Tina
Thanks for entering, and for the birthday wishes! As for my weekend, the wedding ws spectacular, and for my birthday, Brian came through with two gifts that I've wanted for years. Unfortunately one of them was not a maid or chef service. Fortunately, one of them will let me share some snazzy pictures from the wedding with you, as soon as I figure out how to download pictures.
Mom Nancy
EntertainUs
Bridget
Amanda
Tina
Thanks for entering, and for the birthday wishes! As for my weekend, the wedding ws spectacular, and for my birthday, Brian came through with two gifts that I've wanted for years. Unfortunately one of them was not a maid or chef service. Fortunately, one of them will let me share some snazzy pictures from the wedding with you, as soon as I figure out how to download pictures.
Monday, October 02, 2006
CD Giveaway Time: The Sunny Side of the Street
Unrelated: Do you know how busy I've been? No, you don't, because I haven't had time to blog and tell you about it. Let me summarize: parents' nights; school "case manager" meetings; home renovation; physical therapy; speech therapy; appointments with ENTs, gastroenterologists, breast specialists (because "specialist" is a nicer word than "surgeon"); teaching first grade CCD (this might be God punishing me); out-of-state house guests this weekend, in town for my niece's wedding; hosting get together for said guests Saturday night; trip to Topsfield fair yesterday, followed by great nephew's birthday party (stellar planning on my part); great niece's birthday party; plus all the regular crap that comes with three kids, a house, and I think there's a husband around here somewhere. Oh yeah, and I haven't been writing for DotMoms and now my stupid BlogAds thing is broken.
Enough about me. Let me tell you about Shannon, an extremely enthusiastic PR person who sent me a record-breaking number of CDs to give away. Seven, in fact.
Shannon also followed up with several perky, polite emails wondering when I might mention the CD on my blog. So I figured I'd award her enthusiasm by bumping her up on the long list of reviews I was supposed to write six months ago. Poor Shannon, she didn't realize what I procrastinator I can be. She also didn't realize, and neither did I at the time, that I shouldn't be reviewing kids' music. My kids, at the wordly ages of 4 and 6, are so over kids' music. "I mean, really, Mom. Gawd!"
When I first popped in The Sunny Side of the Street, I admit that my very first thought was, "Aw, John can't sing." John Lithgow that is. This is his CD. Don't we all just love him? Sort of?
OK. I listened to it, and I like it. It lifted my spirits. It put a bounce in my step. It's, well, sunny, just like the title promises. Some of the songs, like "Getting to Know You," and "Inka Dinka Doo," are classics from my parents' generation. Maybe that's why hearing them warms my heart cockles.
Of the many times I listened to this CD, in an effort to hear all the songs, my boys never asked me to turn it off. Not in the kitchen, not in the car, not the 10th time in one day. So I guess they liked it too, although they'd never admit it.
This is not John Lithgow's first foray into the the silly music business. His Singin' in the Bathtub has lots of excellent reviews on Amazon. He's also had success writing children's books, for example, with "Marsupial Sue," which my boys enjoy.
If you would like a more professional, informational music review, please refer to Amazon reviewer Tammy. She seems to know what she's doing.
If you'd like one of the five copies I have to give away (thanks, Shannon!), leave me a comment and tell me what you're doing this Columbus Day weekend. We've got the houseguests and the wedding, and thank God Brian's got Monday off so we can recuperate. Plus today I turn 37, so extra points to anyone who wishes me a happy birthday. Despite my advancing age, I don't feel old at all. But if you tell me I look tired, I just might hit you. OK, I won't hit you, but I'll really, really want to.
I'll accept entries until Sunday at midnight, EST. Have a great weekend!
Enough about me. Let me tell you about Shannon, an extremely enthusiastic PR person who sent me a record-breaking number of CDs to give away. Seven, in fact.
Shannon also followed up with several perky, polite emails wondering when I might mention the CD on my blog. So I figured I'd award her enthusiasm by bumping her up on the long list of reviews I was supposed to write six months ago. Poor Shannon, she didn't realize what I procrastinator I can be. She also didn't realize, and neither did I at the time, that I shouldn't be reviewing kids' music. My kids, at the wordly ages of 4 and 6, are so over kids' music. "I mean, really, Mom. Gawd!"
When I first popped in The Sunny Side of the Street, I admit that my very first thought was, "Aw, John can't sing." John Lithgow that is. This is his CD. Don't we all just love him? Sort of?
OK. I listened to it, and I like it. It lifted my spirits. It put a bounce in my step. It's, well, sunny, just like the title promises. Some of the songs, like "Getting to Know You," and "Inka Dinka Doo," are classics from my parents' generation. Maybe that's why hearing them warms my heart cockles.
Of the many times I listened to this CD, in an effort to hear all the songs, my boys never asked me to turn it off. Not in the kitchen, not in the car, not the 10th time in one day. So I guess they liked it too, although they'd never admit it.
This is not John Lithgow's first foray into the the silly music business. His Singin' in the Bathtub has lots of excellent reviews on Amazon. He's also had success writing children's books, for example, with "Marsupial Sue," which my boys enjoy.
If you would like a more professional, informational music review, please refer to Amazon reviewer Tammy. She seems to know what she's doing.
If you'd like one of the five copies I have to give away (thanks, Shannon!), leave me a comment and tell me what you're doing this Columbus Day weekend. We've got the houseguests and the wedding, and thank God Brian's got Monday off so we can recuperate. Plus today I turn 37, so extra points to anyone who wishes me a happy birthday. Despite my advancing age, I don't feel old at all. But if you tell me I look tired, I just might hit you. OK, I won't hit you, but I'll really, really want to.
I'll accept entries until Sunday at midnight, EST. Have a great weekend!
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