sleep problems

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the month of March

March 28, 2011 in Animals, Brittany, Children, Darby, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Lists, Paige, Pregnancy, sleep problems by Petra | 4 comments

I am aware that I haven’t blogged in over a month. I haven’t felt like it. Sue me. Or don’t. I don’t really care. :) To make up for it, this post is going to cover all the happenings of March. If you are my friend on Facebook, much of this will be a repeat, but as you know – part of the reason I blog is for the online-journal aspect of it. I am actually referencing Facebook (along with my calendar) to remind me of what actually did happen this month. :)
 
I will also note, before I get started on my review, that I have been incredibly aware of God’s incredible grace this month.  He is so amazing, and He loves us no matter how much we might fail.  I am just in awe of His goodness, His strength, His mercy, and as said already, His grace.  Awesome!

March:
1: Took Darby to gymnastics and Jarvis to soccer. Hung out on Facebook a lot.
2: Who knows? Took the kids to church in the evening.
3: Had an OB appointment. Everything looked good, until she went to listen for the baby’s heartbeat. Ended up getting an ultrasound, only to find out that little baby Mila had passed away. Sad day. I was 13 weeks, 2 days along, but she had not been alive for a few weeks. The reason my belly was growing and I was still feeling so many pregnancy symptoms is because my uterus and placenta were still thriving.
4: Brittany and I headed to the hospital at 10:30 for my D&C. I was really nervous, having never had surgery on anything before except getting my wisdom teeth cut out. All went well, though, and it was quick and smooth. Over the next few days, friends from church brought meals to us (so nice!). Marci drove up from Atlanta to help out. So good to see her!
5: Stayed drugged up and slept a lot! Karyn and Jess brought over tonight’s meal and stayed and hung out for a while. Marci took the kids out eating, shopping, and to see a movie. They LOVED having her here.  They bought green hats and wigs and came into my room with flowers – to make me laugh.  I was groggy and half-asleep and had no idea what was going on.  It was hilarious.  :)

Jacob in his funny hair and hat :)

Britta and Darby :)

Britta, Marci, and Darby :)

6: Marci took all six kiddos to church, then to eat and grocery shopping.  I slept so much in a very quiet house – it was nice!  Marci headed back to Georgia.  (soccer game was rained out today).
7: Still recovering. Out of bed today and feeling a lot better.  Talked to Andy on the phone a lot.  Had other things to deal with as well, but not blog fodder (sorry).  :-D
8: Took Darby to gymnastics.  Did lots of resting, as far as I can remember.
9: Had a small nervous breakdown (hormones changing, I’m sure) and couldn’t stop crying.  It finally passed though, thank goodness – because I HATE crying.  And I’m using the word “hate” here, in the strongest sense of the word.  So thankful for an ecouraging husband, who, even though he is on the other side of the world, called at just the right time and was such a comfort to me.  And also thankful for good friends (like Ali) who will yak on the phone with me for hours and who I can be completely open with.  :)   Bought Paige’s Easter dress while talking on the phone to Ali.  Took the kids to church (Paige and I don’t go to church on Wednesday nights – I drop the oldest 5 kids off for an hour and a half and Paige and I head home… why?  our church has Kids Klub for Jacob and Darby and youth group for Jarvis, Justice, and Brittany.  There is a ladies’ Bible study, and I have been to it, but it’s not really geared towards my age group [i.e. I'm the youngest woman in there by very far], and I have found that I love spending that one on one time with Paige without interruption.) :)
10: My new dishwasher was delivered.  It will sit in the front room while we wait for my neighbor to have time to install it (he’s busy).  Jarvis had an orthodontist consult.  Not quite time to start braces, but there is a plan in place, and we go back in 4 months to see if his mouth is ready.  Had some other things going on that aren’t blog-worthy (again, sorry).  Soccer practice got rained out, so I took Brittany and Jarvis to see The Adjustment Bureau.  It was good.
11: Rested in the morning.  My kids were all in desperate need of new shoes or clothes or a combination of the two, and I had some tax refund money, along with some other unexpected income, come in.  Jarvis was the first one to get to go shopping, since I owed him a birthday movie anyway.  We went to Jason’s Deli, Target, Marshall’s, and to see Unknown.  Loved it.
12: Dropped Justice off early at Molly’s yard sale to sell a few things.  Took Brittany and Darby shopping.  Ate at Jason’s Deli (again – ugh).  Shopped at Marshall’s, Old Navy, and Target.  Found lots of good deals!  And we all got new swimsuits (shopping for those is always a nightmare!  And why is the Target dressing room lighting the HARSHEST lighting in the world?!). 
13: Sunday School and church.  Brittany and Jacob went with Molly to a friend’s house to play (Britt went to help with the little kiddos).  I took Darby and Paige to Jarvis’ soccer game.  Didn’t get home in time for evening church. 

Paige at Jarvis' soccer game

Darby at Jarvis' soccer game

Jarvis playing soccer

Paige playing peekaboo with her sunglasses :)

14: Various errands, including getting my annual car inspection (and found out I’d been driving around with a giant screw stuck in my tire). 
15: Darby to gymnastics.  Got a ride for Jarvis to soccer so I could take Justice on his shopping trip.  We splurged and ate at Carrabba’s (so good! BUT I got glutened there and ended up feeling bad for the next few days - ugh!).  Shopped at Target, TJ Maxx, and Kohl’s – found everything he needed. 
16: Various errands and dropping kids off places (I have been leaving out a lot of things like this on this list).  Darby’s orthodontist consult.  She could really use ortho treatment now, probably make it a lot easier down the line, but alas – it turns out our insurance only covers ortho treatment ONCE per lifetime (and only a small percentage then), so we are waiting.  If Jarvis wasn’t about to get braces, we might go for it, but yeah – that’s a bit much.  Dropped off the kiddos at church in the evening. 

Jacob being a nut at Darby's ortho consult... Darby in the dental chair in the background :)

Paige with her "I don't feel good cause I'm teething and my nose is runny" look

17: Justice did yard work at someone’s house – he’s done a LOT of that this month.  He spends most of his money on Papa John’s ordering.  Dropped Jarvis off at soccer practice, and then headed out on the town with the Mollster.  Ate a yummy dinner at Bonefish Grill (love me some saucy shrimp! mmmmm!) and got some Starbucks and headed home. 

cell phone self-portraits are the best, no? lol. Ali will be shocked I was actually wearing a ruffled shirt!

my attempt at taking a self-portrait of Molly and me at Starbucks. Worked out well, don't you think?

18: Haven’t been getting much sleep – aside from not being able to fall asleep at a reasonable hour, Paige has been teething (2 year molars) and that’s been interrupting her sleep. Even with the sleep issues, my energy has been increasing, though.  Starting to get a LOT done around the house.  Had a couple months worth of deep cleaning to catch up on, we are rearranging some kids’ rooms, doing some construction, etc. 
19: Worked around the house.  Kids played outside.  Weather has been gorgeous!  Jarvis fell off the neighbor’s playground (er, JUMPED from the roof of the playground to a rope swing, which broke when he grabbed it so he hit the ground).  Dropped Justice off at the church for Winterjam.  They didn’t make it in though, it was sold out and many thousands of fans didn’t get in. 

Dance party!

pouty pajama time

20: Sunday School and Church.  Luncheon at church.  Got a ton of stuff done at the house.  The boys had a couple of friends over and played airsoft, etc.  Jarvis missed his soccer game because of his hurt foot, and it happened to be the first game they lost all season.  Justice and my very helpful neighbor installed my awesome new dishwasher!  It’s so so so nice to have a dishwasher after not having one for almost a year!!!

Paige the Mess. (photo by darby)

Cutie! (photo by darby)

Paige's first time with painted fingernails and toenails. She LOVED it! (photo by darby)

My attempt at photos of the kids after church - sun too bright, kids hungry, Jarvis missing (on the couch with a hurt foot), etc... not ideal photography conditions. lol

Jacob needs his sunglasses!

Paige insisted on being on the step with Jacob and Darby!

The expressions say everything!

Britt attempted to take a few photos of me (for the hubster, and also for the "before" hairdo)

another photo by Britt

21: Aside from some errands and cleaning, took some time to myself.  Went and got a real, actual haircut.  She ended up giving me too many layers, but that’s my own fault (I wasn’t specific enough).  My friend, Jess, came by for a few and chatted and dropped off some eggs (she’s been keeping us in stock since they have chickens and we love FRESH eggs).  :)   Went to a movie by myself, saw Limitless – loved it. 

Britt attempting to get a photo of my hairdo. It looks better in real life. Much.

Attempt #2

Attempt #3? :)

Our kitten - pretty sure it's current name is Ninja. I liked Odin better. But it's not my kitten.

My bathroom mirror attempts with my cell phone to get a pic of the new do...

Last attempt to show you people my new hairdo!

22: Darby to gymnastics.  Took Jacob with me and bought him some new tennis shoes, flip flops, and sunglasses – all things he desperately needed.  After we picked up Darby from gymnastics, I took the two of them through an automatic car wash.  Jacob had never known such a thing existed and I’m pretty sure it’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to him.  Best 9 bucks I’ve spent in a while!  (p.s.  When did it start costing NINE bucks for an automatic car wash?!?!).  Took Jarvis to the doctor to get an x-ray for his foot that was still bothering him.  No brake – just a sprain, thank goodness! 
(you only need to watch the first 4 seconds of the following video to see Darby’s cartwheel – I kept recording thinking something else would happen, lol…)

(apparently I’ve become retarded when it comes to embedding youtube videos – either that or WordPress has become more difficult – either way, you’ll have to click on the link: Darby\’s cartwheel)

23: Got stuff done around the house, ran errands, etc.  Got to church a little early to pick up the kids and it was a gorgeous evening, so Paige and I swung on the playground swings while we waited.  Paige LOVES the swings.  She’s too cute.  My cell phone takes horrible photos, especially at night:

Paige swinging

24: Took Justice and Jarvis to the dentist.  Justice had been hurting since his last filling – they made a small adjustment and the pain automatically went away – yay.  Jarvis had to get a filling.  Worked on kids’ bedrooms (a seemingly neverending project).
25: Clean, clean, clean.  (had to cancel/postpone our trip to Atlanta).
26: Dropped Justice off to do some yard work and then I went grocery shopping.  Felt pretty under the weather and didn’t get much done the rest of the day. 
27: Did nothing.  All day.  Felt ick.
28: Today – not much going on.  Going to try to get some major bedroom work done today, but still feeling pretty blah.
29: Tomorrow – the usual gymnastics and soccer practice. 
30: Kids will go to church.
31: No plans. 

And that concludes March in Review.  I hope you enjoyed the show.

A little of this, a little of that… and some more of this…

July 6, 2010 in Animals, Celiac, Elimination Diet, Jacob, Paige, sleep problems by Petra | 3 comments

How was everyone’s long weekend? I think this was the most low key July 4th we’ve ever had! I got ‘glutened’, Andy sprained his ankle really bad, and we treated the house for fleas. Sound exciting? It was. Despite our maladies, we actually got a lot done this weekend! But we didn’t really celebrate like usual. Other than sitting on the porch watching our neighbors shoot off some fireworks. Which scared Paige and was too loud for Jacob, so I ended up sitting inside watching through the window with them. Do you like all the fragments? I’m such a stickler for grammar in certain areas, but apparently not when I blog. Eh.

Oh, the getting ‘glutened’: I got careless, plain and simple. I know I have celiac and that I’m SUPER sensitive to the slightest hint of gluten and that I need to be careful all the time. We still have 5 people in the house that eat the stuff, so it’s around. And Paige has been eating gluten since she turned one. So on Saturday, I made her a sandwich for lunch and I washed my hands thoroughly afterwards. I usually avoid contact with things such as gluten-filled bread, but I figured “eh, I’ll just wash my hands”, and THEN Saturday night, Paige was up for about three hours in the middle of the night (fun stuff for me) and she was hungry, so I gave her some gluten-filled cereal to snack on. I thought I got her all cleaned off, but then when I was holding her she grabbed my mouth, I tasted cinnamon, and thought “I hope that doesn’t do any damage”… then Sunday morning I woke up with a migraine but went to church anyway. By the time we got home from church it was completely awful, I couldn’t see straight or tolerate anything louder than a whisper, and then my stomach started cramping up, I got nauseous, and proceeded to spend the next two days having um – ‘indigestion’ – problems. Ugh. Some medicine finally worked on my pounding head by Monday afternoon (thank God!), and my stomach finally feels better this morning.  All from a crumb that Paige put in my mouth. So – I’m cutting back on the amount of gluten that Paige eats since her hands are still near my face so often. I definitely won’t be feeding it to her, and if she does eat it, someone else can clean her off! That was the worst I’ve felt from gluten in a while. It was a bad one!

I pretty much did nothing on Sunday, other than going to church, but on Saturday and Monday I got ridiculous amounts of things done!! I had to force it on Monday, but I drugged up and pushed through. There was a time that getting ‘glutened’ would have put me on the couch for four days, not just half of a day! I definitely think my immune system is up and that taking dairy out of my system was that last key. I’m still figuring out a few things that I need to not eat more often than once every few days, but other than that my diet is going well, and I feel like the elimination diet worked (is working – there are still some foods I haven’t added back in yet).

In other news, we’ve been ripping out the carpet in the basement. And by ‘we’, I mean Andy and Justice. My job was to clean everything (and I do mean everything – cat urine was on my desk, on my leather CD case, on my scrapbook table – UGH!!!) and I moved all the furniture and things off the carpet in the office area.  They got the carpet off the stairs and out of the office, and now we only have Brittany’s room left. Andy said the carpet in the office area was SO nasty underneath and it wasn’t just from our cats. The people who lived here before us had a big dog that stayed down there and it was kind of stinky – now we know why!!! I didn’t see that carpet, as I was upstairs cleaning kids’ bedrooms and getting the floors and beds ready for vacuuming.

Both cats live outside now. Luna hasn’t ventured beyond the deck and under the deck. We go out and play with her and she is SO much more pleasant to be around now that she isn’t spazzing out and climbing in the ceiling and peeing everywhere (and her fleas are completely gone – yay!). Chili, who was our favorite inside cat, took off as soon as we let her outside and we haven’t seen her since (*sad face*).  We’re hoping she comes back!!! She was always by the window trying to get the birds and squirrels though – she is such a hunter, we could tell. So I’m sure she is having a blast exploring the woods behind our house. It’d be nice to see her and know she’s okay, though!

Sometimes 9:00 am until noon is the only *real* sleep I get. I’m so thankful that I can actually sleep then when I need to!! Paige’s bottom molars are RIGHT under the gums poking up; I’m sure they’ll be cutting through any day now. And I cannot wait! And Jacob is doing better about sleeping in his bed all night, but last night he did not do well – Paige actually slept better than Jacob last night. Instead of letting him sleep in a “bed” on our floor though, we made him go back to his bed and he cried, but then finally went back to sleep. Hopefully he’ll learn that it is actually okay to go right back to sleep in his bed if he wakes up to go to the bathroom or stirs out of his sleep for some reason. He has had more nights lately, though, where he doesn’t wake up at all – hopefully that’ll become the ‘norm’ before too long. :)

I totally got spoiled with Brittany – from the time she was 5 months old, she slept 12 or 13 hours every single night and the only time she ever woke up is if she was sick, which has been extremely rare. Justice slept through the night by 6 months old, and once he was in a big bed and could climb out, he’d sometimes come get in our bed in the middle of the night (and wouldn’t wake up when we carried him back to his own bed), and that ended when he was 3 years old. Jarvis had a similar story to Justice, as did Darby – only she came into our bed in the middle of the night until I was pregnant with Jacob – when she was 4 1/2. Jacob is 4 1/2 and he’s never really slept through the night on a regular basis. Ever. And Paige seems to be following in his footsteps. I’m old now – don’t they understand that? I need more sleep now than I did when I was 17 and Brittany was a baby!! Yeesh!! ;)

I have so much laundry to do. I kept it going ALL day yesterday and changed my last load around midnight. It’s going again and I’m *hoping* it’ll be done by tonight. Washing ALL the bed linens and all the throw blankets and the stuffed animals, plus the regular laundry from six people (Jarvis and Darby are still in Knoxville), will create large piles needing to be washed though. We do NOT want to have to keep treating for fleas, so are determined to do it right and get rid of them. We’ll spray again in a week to make sure we got any flea eggs that were lingering and didn’t get killed and then hopefully we’ll be done. We didn’t have a big infestation on the main and upstairs floors though, and the carpet where the cats ‘lived’ is mostly gone (and will be all gone as soon as we get all Britt’s furniture out of her room and rip that up – planning on doing that today). Am I talking about fleas again? Sorry.

Okay, I feel like this has been the most boring post in the world. I’m falling asleep writing it, so if you are still reading, I feel like I should say something witty for you – to reward you for getting this far, but honestly, I’ve got nothin’. Other than this nugget: The next time I go to Wal-mart, I am totally going to dress like a complete and utter freak. So I’ll fit in. I took Paige and Jacob there last night while the flea spraying was happening (had to get the little ones out) and while we were wandering the toy aisles, we saw some real winners. I mean, some people must not have mirrors in their houses. And I don’t mean the people who are just trying to be comfortable or who obviously don’t have a lot of money for clothes. I mean the people that are putting real effort into looking as insane as possible. But you’ve all been to Wal-mart. You know.

Oh, speaking of Paige and toys. I let Paige and Jacob each spend a couple dollars on toys (I’m so generous – I know ;) ), and Paige picked out a baby doll (and yes, SHE picked it out) and she hugged it all through the store, all the way home, while at home, and she went to sleep hugging it last night. She LOVES it. She has been hugging little stuffed animals and one of Darby’s dolls lately, but she needed a soft baby doll that she could sleep with, and now she has one. And she thinks she is it’s mommy. It’s the most adorable thing ever. SHE is the most adorable thing ever. Of course, I said that about all my babies. But seriously. She’s cute. I’ve got to videotape her dancing – she has a wide range of moves and she mixes it up during songs – so cute.

Apparently I’m chatty this afternoon. I’ll stop now.

Here’s two photos to make up for the rambling. It’s the only things I could find to take pictures of right now. :)

Um yeah, this is blurry. But Jacob wasn’t holding real still. And I didn’t feel like multiple tries? But he’s still a giant cutie. And yes, we are still in our pajamas. We’ll get dressed in a few minutes before getting back to work – gotta get the rest of that carpet ripped up!

And Luna. We brought her back into the woods a couple of times, thinking she’d enjoy it if she’d just venture over there, but she comes back to the deck every time. She likes being around us, apparently. lol

And now, I’m really stopping. Goodbye!

Process of elimination – Part 2 (and other stuff)

June 21, 2010 in Christianity, Elimination Diet, Fibromyalgia, Health, sleep problems by Petra | 3 comments

I think you all probably get the gist of the type of things I’m eating from the three days I spelled out my diet for you. I have made a couple of discoveries in the last few days, and am continuing on with the basics of the diet.

  • I added green tea back in, but haven’t had it every day.
  • I made an exception when I went on a date with Andrew the other night. We went to Qdoba and I got a naked burrito. I did not get any cheese on it, but I did get the rice and chicken and tomatoes in the form of pico de gallo. It didn’t seem to bother me at all.
  • Of course, with intolerances, unlike allergies, I wouldn’t necessarily have an immediate reaction from eating a food one time. The more I do this, the more I really think it’s dairy that has been the root of my issues. And probably eggs. I mean, I haven’t had a bit of dairy – not even butter – in a week, so yeah, I can go without it, but ya know – milk and cheese just add so much to my life. I felt that way about gluten though, and corn… and beef (have I mentioned that beef bothers me and I gave it up about six months ago or so?). Anyway, I’m thinking I can handle it if dairy ends up on the “never” list as well.
  • I had mahi-mahi last night, and had forgotten how much I love it! I think I’ll break open the salmon tonight – maybe I’ve acquired a taste for it in the couple of years since I’ve tried it. lol
  • Aside from my Qdoba exception, I haven’t had any rice or white potatoes in the last week – I think those will be the first foods I add back in, though. I’m hoping those don’t bother me!
  • I have put pineapple and coconut on the “every other day” (or less) list. I don’t really eat those fruits that often anyway, but apparently, when I eat them all the time, they make my tongue feel weird.
  • I guess not eating the things that were really bothering me has made my body more sensitive to the things that only mildly bother me. That’s usually how it goes. Gotta get rid of the big things before one can figure out the little things…

Which, on a side note, is kind of like the Christian walk. When you have a really big sin in your life, you might think everything else is a-okay. Until you get rid of it. Then you start seeing all these “little” things that you didn’t even know you were doing.

Anyway…

I’ll try to keep you posted since I know there are at least a few people who are keeping up with the diet and my symptoms – I’m hoping my experiments can help someone else who is trying to figure out what’s going on in their own body.

As far as symptoms go – that baaaaaad lamb (I can’t not say it that way – remember ‘goat boy’ on SNL? – Oh, I amuse myself…) set me back a few days, but over all, I have had more energy, fewer headaches (the caffeine headaches were gone before I added the green tea back in), and fewer GI troubles. I still have a lot of pain from the fibromyalgia and myofascial issues, and I have had to keep taking painkillers here and there - but I plan on starting my yoga back today and then slowly adding my walks, and evenutally runs, back in… and of course, if Paige starts sleeping through the night on a regular basis, that’ll be HUGE. I hope you people that get 8 or 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night don’t take it for granted! :)

For those of you who are wondering “why the heck is she blogging about this stuff?” – I think I’ve said it, but it’s because in my research on what is going on with my body, in trying to figure out all my symptoms (because doctors have pretty much been good for only eliminating possible serious issues with some blood tests, etc., and shoving buckets of prescription drugs at me), I have found it extremely helpful to read other people’s blogs where they have identified symptoms and what has helped and not helped them. So I figure I’d give a little back. I actually am not a fan of talking about all my pains and problems to the general public. I’m one of those people who usually answer “great, how are you?” when people ask me how I’m doing. And it’s not a lie – I really am doing great aside from the pains…

My life is awesome! God has blessed me with a loving husband, six healthy and obedient children, a lovely home, two vehicles that run well and get us where we need to go, food in the pantry, and much, much more. My goal is to get healthy and energetic so that I can serve the aforementioned husband and children better, and others. You know, when I took those spiritual gifts tests several years ago, I scored extremely high in the “server” category, so it’s been kind of a shock to my system (and personality) to not be able to serve for so long. I have learned a lot of lessons these past several years though, and have learned how to be served (which was also a lesson in humility), and my children have learned how to serve more since they’ve had to step it up and help out a lot – especially during the last two pregnancies where I was on bed rest. I thank God for all He has brought me through, and for all the things He has taught me.

Okay, so this has been a rabbit-trail filled post, but my brain is kind of all over the place today anyway. I’m going to take some photos of Darby’s braids later (Britta put 127 braids in her hair, until she ran out of the little rubber bands), and I have other things to post as well, including a movie review post – I know how much you guys appreciate my stellar reviews. ;)

Aaaaand, that’s all I got for ya now – let me know if you have any questions. Have a wonderful rest of your Monday!

Elimination diet – Day 3

June 18, 2010 in Elimination Diet, Health, Natural remedies, sleep problems by Petra | No comments

June 18, 2010

Paige slept from 10:00 pm until 8:00 am!! She’s never done this with any consistency – she’ll sleep all night for 1, 2, or 3 nights, then it’s back to waking up. I’m patiently waiting for the day that she just sleeps all night, every night! :)

I got up with Paige this morning – I slept from 12 to 8, only interrupted once by Jacob and once by a weird dream. A few more nights like this and I might actually feel caught up on sleep! :)

Breakfast, 9:15 am -
halibut
strawberries and blueberries
garlic and honey

I ended up taking a nap when Paige did – for three hours (!), so I ate lunch late. Was really weak and shaky going five hours without eating. I may add the green tea back in. I haven’t had issues with my blood sugar for a long time, and I know when I did, the green tea helped regulate it. It coud be that it was helping all along!! I’m sure the green tea isn’t one of the foods that has been bothering me, and I gotta say – the caffeine would be helpful in the mornings. :)

I woke up with a horrid headache that was making me nauseous. I took a painkiller before my nap and the combo of the drugs and the sleep helped. It’s just a dull headache now, but I’m still a little nauseous (and I hate being nauseous). And I’ve burped up lamb several times. I don’t think I’ll try the lamb again for a while. I had never heard of lamb bothering anyone – but then, Timberly said it bothers her, so there ya go.

The foods I suspect could possibly be the culprit(s) that were still making me feel bad: dairy (I drink a lot of organic milk), eggs (I do get free-range, cage-free, organic eggs, but still – these are high on the suspect list), white potatoes, rice, bananas.

At first, I was just going to cut *those* foods out, but I ended up finding this diet that seemed like a pretty good plan.  And actually, this diet allows some other meats, but they were things that didn’t interest me, such as quail, rabbit, and other obscure animals. Uh, gross. I’ll stick with the fish for now. :)

Lunch, 2:30 pm -
salad – spinach, spring mix, carrots, cucumbers, sea salt
pineapples
plantain chips

———————————————–

So, around 4:00, my headache got much worse and I was so nauseous that I wished I would vomit. And if any of you know me at all, you know how much I hate to vomit. I used to say I’d rather give birth than vomit, but then I gave birth to Paige, and uh, vomiting is better than that was. Whew. I was just wishing to get it all out of my system!

Anyway, after much rest and some TV on DVD, I’m feeling human again. I didn’t eat much the rest of the day – some fruit, some grape juice, and finally – some natural peanut butter. According to the diet, I can have almond butter or sunflower butter, but I don’t like either of those, and I was NOT up for cooking fish tonight, so I just had some all natural peanut butter for some protein. I don’t think peanuts bother me, but I won’t be eating much of it just in case.

Oh, and I felt so sick because of last night’s lamb! I’m absolutely positive that’s what it was. I was already convinced of it, then Andy went to eat the lamb leftovers (since there was no way I was touching it), and halfway through it, he goes “I think this is really bad meat.” Hmmm. No more lamb for a while.

Elimination diet – Day 2

June 17, 2010 in Elimination Diet, Health, sleep problems by Petra | 5 comments

June 17, 2010

I got a bit more sleep last night, finally. I slept from 12 to 5 with NO interruptions!!! It’s been a *while* since I slept 5 hours straight without waking up once!!! Then I was up with Paige for a while, and then she went back to sleep. I still have lots to catch up on, so I took a nap for a couple of hours. Finally up around 10:30 or so.

Why wasn’t I asleep before midnight, you ask? (Because Paige did go to sleep around 9:30). Well, because we weren’t home from swim lessons until 8:30, and then I remembered I needed to return the redbox movies before 9. And then I had to give Jacob his bath, since he had been swimming in the heavily chlorinated kiddie pool during Darby’s swim lessons, and then I needed to eat a snack and update my blog and check facebook (of course) ;) , and by the time I spent a few minutes with my husband and took a shower and was able to relax enough to fall asleep? It was midnight.

Breakfast, 11:45 am -
(same as yesterday)
wild halibut with garlic and sea salt, used a little too much olive oil this time
blueberries

Just assume I’m drinking lemon water or plain water all day long.

Lunch, 2:00 pm -
salad again – spinach, ‘spring mix’ (romaine, chard, etc.), carrots, green peppers [note to self: buy some cucumbers and zucchini today!]

I need to go take a shower after laying in the sun right before lunch, but will eat a 2nd lunch when I get out – because yeah, a salad is *not* filling.

Oh yeah – today’s symptoms, 2:05 pm -
Pain in the neck, shoulders, and back (Andy’s been working a *lot* lately, so I haven’t gotten as many massages – that combined with not too much sleep lately has kicked up the pain more than usual in the past couple of weeks)
Not as much joint pain today – moving around a little easier and with less pain (woo hoo)
Mild headache that’s been coming and going – possible caffeine withdrawals
Tired, but I have more energy today than yesterday – functioning is a bit easier
Stomach – some gas (yay?), but not really any pains, so that’s good

Snack, 4:00 pm – (didn’t have time for 2nd lunch)
plaintain chips
blueberries

6:15 pm -
My headache is getting worse. Anytime I’ve had a caffeine headache in the past, it has taken about three days for it to go away completely. Hopefully it doesn’t take that long this time. I have had more energy today than I’ve had in a while, which is nice. I still have a ways to go for the energy levels I desire, but I did get more done today than I usually do. So yay for that. Pretty sure I should have put my lamb in the oven sooner because I’m really hungry. Should be ready in about 20 minutes though. I hope it tastes good. lol

Dinner, 6:45 pm -
Rack of lamb seasoned with rosemary and some other stuff I can’t remember (I got some pre-seasoned lamb from Trader Joe’s – it was pretty good, but I’ll season it myself next time)
steamed broccoli
pineapple leftover from the one I cut yesterday

Snack, 10:45 pm -
strawberries & blueberries

I finally took a painkiller – headache got worse. I’m hoping it’s gone in the morning. I did make it to the store and bought some more fruits and veggies.

One of Paige’s molars came through and she went to bed happily tonight. Here’s hoping she sleeps even better than last night! :)

Elimination diet – Day 1

June 16, 2010 in Elimination Diet, Health, Natural remedies, sleep problems by Petra | 10 comments

June 16, 2010 (I’ll be posting these daily as I go through this process and updating them as I go through the day)

Paige had me up half the night. When Andy got up for work (and I was up messing with Paige), I had gotten about an hour of sleep total. But then she slept from about 5:30 until around 10:30, so we made up for a little bit of the night. So, since I got up late, and I actually had to defrost and cook my breakfast (—), I didn’t eat breakfast until 11:30.

Breakfast, 11:30 am -
a cup or so of blueberries
wild halibut cooked in olive oil, fresh garlic, and sea salt
lemon water
clove of garlic chopped up in a spoon of local honey (for the antibiotic properties)

Symptoms, 12:15 pm -
Stomach is killing me – gas, indigestion, bloated.
Foggy brain.
Exhausted, but not sleepy.
Kind of nauseous.
Neck, shoulder, back pain – as always.

In hindsight, “going out with a bang” yesterday probably wasn’t wise, but whatever. I felt ill anyway, so I figured what the heck – may as well let my taste buds have some enjoyment.

Lunch, 1:30 pm -
salad – spinach leaves, “spring mix” which includes romaine, chard and other leafy greens, yellow onion, green pepper, carrots, sea salt
red grapes
lemon water

Snack, 3 or 4-ish pm -
raw sunflower seeds (yuck – I should have bought the roasted/salted ones!)
plaintain chips

I’m starving and starting to get a headache from not having my morning green tea (a.k.a. caffeine).

Dinner, 7:00 pm -
wild yellowfin tuna, cooked in sesame oil with fresh garlic and sea salt (it’s kind of chewy?)
green beans
fresh cut pineapple
more lemon water (been drinking it all day)

The citrus fruits I’m avoiding are in the orange and grapefruit families, also avoiding apples and bananas.

Have I mentioned that I don’t really like seafood? I bought like six different types of fish to try though. I’ve had halibut before, since when I *do* eat fish, I normally opt for a white flaky fish. However, the tuna I had tonight was less fishy than the halibut I had this morning. I bought all my fish (and my lamb and some of my fruits and veggies) from Trader Joe’s.  Oh, I always get my sea salt, olive oil, and sesame oil there as well. Just fyi. the next piece of tuna I eat needs to be cooked a different way, I think.

Final update of the day, 10:00 pm -

I just ate a snack of more blueberries and pineapples, and I sprinkled some shredded coconut on them. It was delicious. And yes, the coconut was natural – I use Bob’s Red Mill coconut.

I realize my diet today was probably a bit too fruit heavy – need to eat more veggies tomorrow. It’s because I thought I had gotten more veggies than I did, but when I went to look for things like cucumbers and zucchini today – alas, there was none. And now I remember it was because those were looking kind of wilty at the first store, and then I forgot to look at the second store. I’ll pick some up tomorrow maybe.

At the end of the first day, I don’t feel worse, but I don’t necessarily feel better.

Aaaaand as I type, my tongue is starting to feel weird? It’s indescribable, but I think I’ll hold off on the coconut for a while!!! It’s like my tongue got scraped and maybe burned? Weird.

Okay – heading to take a shower and hit the hay. Here’s hoping Paige sleeps tonight! Because yeah – lack of sleep most likely accounts for about 60% of my current issues! The last time I had a “good week” with more energy than usual and less brain fogs, was the last time Paige slept through the night for a week in a row. I really think if I can figure out whatever the last foods are that are bothering me, *and* get sleep every night, that my health and energy levels will significantly improve. :)

Process of elimination – Part I

June 15, 2010 in Celiac, Elimination Diet, Fibromyalgia, Health, Natural remedies, sleep problems by Petra | 10 comments

As most of my readers probably know, I have food sensitivities or intolerances, whatever you want to call them (not allergies – allergies are different). I know I cannot have gluten, due to the celiac (see my ‘health’ page for more info on that). I have figured out that chemical-laden foods bother me, and I know that corn and corn products make me ill. However, after ridding myself of those things, I continue to have symptoms. So, since I cannot afford to get an ALCAT test done, I am going to do an elimination diet, the particular one of which I have lost the link so I’ll link you up later when I feel like looking for it. 

Basically, I can only eat certain foods for a while (probably between 2 weeks and a month, depending on how long it takes for my symptoms to disappear), then I’ll be able to add in one food at a time to see if it bothers me. Since intolerances, unlike most allergies, sometimes take a little while to show symptoms, I’ll be introducing each new food twice a day for about four days before I can move on to the next new food. I’ll keep a chart, and if it bothers me right away, I obviously need to never eat it, if it bothers me the 2nd day, then I can probably have it once every four days, and if it bothers me the 3rd or 4th day, then I can probably have it once every other day. It’s not as complicated as it sounds. lol. I’m actually excited to figure it all out. I’m going to keep a record of it all on the blog for those who are interested. If you aren’t, then you can just skip these posts. ;)

The symptoms I’ve been experiencing lately are these:

  • more frequent headaches. They had slowed down a LOT after getting rid of the gluten. However, a lot of people with celiac have other food intolerances as well. Getting the gluten out of my system was wonderful, but then my body became more sensitive to the ‘smaller’ (for lack of a better word) things that were bothering me. I got rid of the chemicals next, then the corn. Now that those are out of my system, whatever else is bothering me is amplified. So the headaches are back. Not like they were a couple of years ago, but enough to where  I’m ready to do something about them.
  • more brain fogs. These are usually due to the fibromyalgia, but fibromyalgia can be controlled by diet, and I notice that the fogs get worse when I have something in my diet that does not belong. If you’ve never had a brain fog, trust me, you don’t want one! Your head feels full of pressure and is sometimes accompanied by dizziness, you can’t concentrate on anything, you become irritable, it’s hard to focus or even get out complete sentences, it takes much effort to try to remember simple things, etc. Not fun.
  • my fibromyalgia pain and also my myofascial pain are worse than ever. I’ve had to take pain killers much more often lately, and I wait until it’s really bad before I start popping pills since me and chemicals don’t really get along.
  • arthritis-type pain, which accompanies the above – it’s not actually arthritis, it’s from the fibromyalgia, but it’s been super bad lately.
  • I’m tired all the time, and seriously lacking in energy.
  • I’m irritable (and it’s not just me being moody – I’m only irritable when my health is uncontrollably causing it).
  • My senses have all been heightened lately. Noises are louder, smells are stronger, the sun is brighter, etc.
  • I’m sure any digestion/stomach issues I’ll ever have now or in the future will never compare to what they were before I gave up gluten (!), but my stomach has been bothering me more lately in the form of (warning: tmi ahead) gas and constipation.  Woo hoo!
  • Trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, trouble waking up once I finally do get into a deep sleep. This has always been an issue for me – my entire life, but it’s been worse again lately.

That’s all I can think of at the moment, and many of the things I mentioned are bothering me right now. Some of my issues I know are due to a lack of sleep, but I’m sure that there are foods that are still bothering me. I’m crossing my fingers it’s *not* dairy. I think that’ll be really hard to give up – as hard as giving up gluten.

Starting June 16th, I will only be eating the following foods that I stocked up on yesterday and today:

  • lamb
  • wild fish, not farm-raised (I bought several types)
  • a myriad of vegetables, but no white potatoes, tomatoes, and a couple others that I’ll have to consult my list again to see
  • some fruits, but no citrus fruits, and no bananas
  • sea salt
  • extra-virgin olive oil, sesame oil
  • sunflower seeds
  • a few spices

A couple of nuts are allowed on the diet, like almonds and, I think, pecans, but just the thought of consuming those makes me want to hurl, so yeah – I wont’ be eating them. Yuck. I SO wish I loved almonds, but alas, I do not.

I have never eaten lamb before, so I just bought one package of it, which is supposed to be about 4 servings. I’ll let you know how I like that.

Basically, my plan is to eat for breakfast – fruit, some fish, and my daily garlic, for lunch – a salad and a fruit smoothie (not my old recipe, which included yogurt and milk, but an all-fruit recipe) and probably a handful of sunflower seeds, then for dinner – fish or lamb with lots of veggies. I’ll snack on veggies, fruit, and seeds. I’m planning on feeling very hungry, especially at first! lol. Today, I ate lots of things I love and will miss, like gluten-free pancakes, Trader Joe’s bacon, Kettle barbecue chips, White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter, and an extra glass of green tea. I figured I’d go out with a bang. ;) I think my morning green tea will be difficult, but the stuff I read about the diet gave a convincing argument that I needed to eliminate all that sort of stuff and start from scratch for this to really work. I don’t think green tea bothers me, so I’m sure I’ll be adding it back in as I believe the health benefits of green tea far outweigh anything negative from the caffeine.

Wish me luck, or rather, pray for me. I’ll need it! :)

Quick update…

February 28, 2009 in Jacob, Jarvis, Marriage, Pregnancy, sleep problems by Petra

  • I have been sleeping better.  I had a few rough nights there, but it’s because I ran out of some of my new formula!  The tip from Sarah was more potassium – supposed to help with the jumpy legs.  My new bedtime combo is, aside from making sure my extremities are warm enough, 2 Tylenol (this week it has been necessary to have them every night – as much as I hate taking ANYTHING, even something as mild as Tylenol), an antacid (the heartburn has gotten really bad again – especially when lying down at night), a banana + a glass of milk, and some stretches.  Seems to be working pretty well.  I still get a little jittery, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was.  I prefer to add a massage in there as well – but Andy’s schedule doesn’t always allow for that, especially since my schedule is so not the same as his – it’s nice when we are able to add that in too though.
  • Jarvis had his first soccer game this morning!  I wasn’t feeling up to sitting in the bleachers for over an hour, so Andy took him and hopefully I’ll be able to get to the next one (turns out the game wasn’t where the bleachers are so I could have just used a camp chair – but I was getting some good sleep, more so than I have in months, so it all worked out I guess.  I do love watching him play though).  Anyway, his team won 7 to 2!  Jarvis is a naturally good soccer player, and he loves it.
  • Jacob has started doing magic tricks.  He’ll be all “there’s nothing in my hands…” as he holds them up, then he’ll reach into his sleeve and pull out a coin or something.  It’s pretty funny.
  • According to me, I’m due on April 4th, according to the midwife it is April 12th.  My original due date was the 4th, but with that first ultrasound they shoved it back, but then I saw on the 20 week ultrasound that the baby was measuring a little large – and hello – NONE of my other five kids ever measured large, they were either small or right on track.  So I was like “I’ll just go back to the 4th when I’m not talking to the midwife!”  According to *my* due date, I am 35 weeks today (according to hers, I will be 34 weeks tomorrow).  I’m thinking this baby should be born on March 13th.  Darby and Jacob were BOTH born on Friday the 13th and I think it’d be totally cool if Paige was too (it would be something to freak out the superstitious people with – I obviously am not superstitious in the least). :D
  • Have I mentioned that I’m totally done being pregnant?!?!  I mean, I want her to stay in the womb until she’s completely healthy enough to survive without problems – of course.  But still – can we just fast-forward through these next couple or few weeks?!?!  Please???
  • Andy finally got his orders for our move – but we still have lots of details to work out.  I can’t wait to have dates for the movers so I can really start planning our trip to NC.
  • My husband is amazing!  I know I say that all the time, but it’s just so evident to me all the time.  And he just gets better with each passing day.  Just when I think our life is perfect, he becomes an even better husband/father/Christian/man.  I am so grateful for what God has done in our marriage and in our lives.
  • Oh yeah – I forgot… I was going to make an amendment on the post about getting our new car!  When I put that part about it being out of character for Andy – I didn’t mean the praying part or the listening to me part.  I meant the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants part and just head down to the dealership with a vehicle that may or may not start (when we were trying to get a decent trade-in value) without making plans and with the weather being less than ideal.  Just thought I’d clarify.  He’s not some tyrant who never goes along with the things I want to do, and he certainly brings our life issues to God in prayer.  Just in case anyone took that the wrong way.  lol! :)
  • I wonder if, after this baby is born, I will EVER want to eat my daily dessert again in my entire life (Breyer’s Natural vanilla ice-cream topped with coconut and chocolate chips).  I don’t think it’s something I would have eaten prior to getting pregnant, but lately I *must* have it nightly!!!  Surprisingly enough, I’m not really gaining a lot of weight.  I don’t think I’ve really gained in the 3 weeks since my last doctor’s appointment – although I’m getting enormous!  Maybe our scale is just broken – it’s not the most reliable scale in the world (it could possibly be the least reliable scale though – not sure why we still haven’t gotten a new one).
  • I have several friends and family members that are due to have a baby within the next month – I think 5, maybe more.  It’s definitely baby time!  I wonder who will go first?!?!?  I think Kendra is due the soonest.  What’s up Kendra?  Anything happening there?  Get that baby out already!!! lol :)

Too good to be true…

January 21, 2009 in Pregnancy, sleep problems by Petra

Yep, it’s just after 3 in the a.m.  You know what that means.  I’m not asleep.  Ugh.  I went to bed at 11:30, but have only slept a total of about 30 minutes.  My main issue tonight is the restless leg (and arm and head) syndrome.  I was just tested for anemia at the lab last week, and they told me that no phone calls meant everything was fine.  So what’s the story?!  (this can be a symptom of low iron).  Granted, Andy went back to work yesterday, so he went to bed earlier, so the order of how we were doing things changed a little (got the massage/did the stretching, then took my hot bath and ate my snack, then was still kind of awake, so I read in a book… then tried to sleep and kept waking up because of my jittery limbs).

Well, the 3 or 4 nights of real, actual sleep that I got yielded awesome results during the days!  We got so much done over the long weekend.  I was alert, I was feeling better, I was organizing… it was awesome.  Hopefully, I can figure out some kind of nightly routine, that goes along with the earlier hours of sleeping and that works for the rest of this pregnancy!

Before I got up and got on the laptop, I had blog ideas galore… my mind is a giant blank canvas now though.  That’s the way it usually goes. lol

I have noticed quite a few blogs lately, where they do things like devote Mondays to writing about food, Tuesdays to something crafty, Wednesdays to something about their kids, Thursdays to decorating… that sort of thing.  The listmaker in me loves this idea.  And I think having some sort of blog ‘schedule’ would be awesome in two ways: 1. it would keep me from droning on and on and on about whatever was going on in my life (i.e. sleep issues. pregnancy. gluten.), and 2. it would totally satisfy that OCD, list-making, crazy side of me.  But I can’t even begin to think of doing something like this until I know I am getting some regular sleep.  So for now, I’ll just drone on and on and on…

I got on here to google restless leg syndrome during pregnancy, but it didn’t tell me anything that I haven’t already tried.  So hopefully just getting up and getting the blood flowing for a few minutes was enough to calm my body down for some sleep.  I *really* was enjoying getting things done due to full nights’ of sleep, and would like to continue… I had high hopes for going through toys and kids’ clothes.  Monday night, I ate something that didn’t quite agree with me (Jacob had the same issue), so Tuesday was spent recovering from that… I was soooo hoping the sleeping-at-night would continue so that Wednesday (which starts in just a few short hours) would send me right back into the great cleaning and organizing mode I was in!

No, I can’t stop talking about it… I NEED SLEEP!!!

Bullets…

January 18, 2009 in Pregnancy, sleep problems, Uncategorized by Petra

No, not those kind of bullets… this kind:

  • Friday night, Andy was determined I was going to get some sleep.  He massaged me and helped me with some stretches we hadn’t done (baby sits on some nerves which cause some major issues in my back, hips and legs).  And I did the hot bath thing and making sure my belly was full (of food… it’s already full of baby).  So, I slept better.  I still woke up a LOT, but getting back to sleep wasn’t nearly as hard, and I managed to get probably a total of 7 hours – which was HUGE… I was like a new woman yesterday!
  • Saturday, Andy and Justice went out to run errands – a lot had accumulated.  They hit the library, Wally World, Fred Meyers (twice)… the second time at Fred Meyers (to return something that was 1/2 the price at Wal-Mart), Andy called me to let me know the van wasn’t starting.  This happened last week when I was on base, remember?  So he had someone try to jump the van, but to no avail.  I was feeling better from getting some actual sleep – so I jumped in the Jeep (okay, there was no jumping – I wasn’t feeling *that* good – ha!), and headed to Fred Meyers (which is a store similar to Wal-Mart, only much more expensive), and jumping the van with the Jeep worked.  Yay.
  • So we headed home to drop off the groceries that had been bought already, and I was like “okay, I need to get out of the house – I’m doing the rest of the chores WITH you guys!”
  • So we hit Qdoba (yeah, that got added when I joined their group) and had some yummy food.
  • Then we went to Ross, and they actually had some maternity clothes that I needed!  I ended up getting two pair of jeans (the baby recently hit a growth spurt and I’ve outgrown most of my pants), a pair of jogging pants, and two shirts.  Yay.  Justice also found two shirts on clearance.  Andy just held my coat and purse and helped me browse the maternity racks.  That wasn’t on their original list of errands either.  lol
  • On we went to WinCo – where we buy most of our groceries.  Andy was glad to have me there with him since when I’m not, he has to call to clarify things on my list.  I was feeling pretty good through all this, though my belly was done by the end of the grocery store.
  • We got out and the van wouldn’t start again.  Awesome.  We weren’t far from home, and Andy hadn’t had his daily workout, so he decided to just run the 2.7 miles to our house and grab the Jeep. We got it jumped and back home.
  • And now, we need to take it and see what the story is – why does it keep not starting?  Hopefully nothing serious or expensive!
  • Oh, and last night?  We repeated the hot shower/massage/stretches/food series (not in that order, but whatever), and… I SLEPT… I *only* woke up for going to the bathroom and switching positions – like every 3 hours-ish… which is amazingly LONG compared to what’s BEEN going on.  I stayed in bed sleeping for nearly 11 hours!!! My brain is working today.  Yay.
  • If only my body would cooperate (but that will come once this baby gets on the outside of me).
  • And that is the bulleted saga of our weekend so far… well, Darby also went ice-skating with her BFF and spent last night there… Jarvis spent the night with the neighbor… Andy and the kids got lots of cleaning done… Brittany made some yummy brownies… actually, so did Jarvis – but I didn’t eat the ones he made because they were for the people who can eat gluten… we didn’t go to church this morning, so we had a really good family Bible Study, led by Andy… we’ve watched a few episodes of Seinfeld… and we are happy there is no school or work tomorrow.

Until later…

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