Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi: The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke
Reading this book explained a whole lot of things about why so many families I know are struggling financially, even though we don't spend extravagantly. Simultaneously enlightening and nauseating.
Elizabeth Warren: All Your Worth : The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan
If other personal finance books have frustrated you because they assume you have money to invest and you don't even have enough money to buy a large coffee, this is the personal finance book for you. Reading this book showed me that it's not that I waste money on stupid things--it's that our basic expenses are too high to begin with. Reading this book is the end of financial guilt and the beginning of getting out of the hole.
Adele Faber: Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too
Lots of great ideas to think about and put into practice about not assigning your kids roles and how to approach fights. Also goes over some of the stuff from the How to Talk So Kids Will Listen book about making kids feel understood. Because, really, that's all anyone wants--to be understood. And kids are people, too.
Anne Lamott: Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year
Just perfect. A beautiful, funny, sad, accurate account of what the first days, weeks, and months with a baby are like. This is exactly what your journal would be, if you could write as well as she does.
Adrian Nicole LeBlanc: Random Family : Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx
LeBlanc's writing and pacing makes you want to keep reading despite the tragic story. Think you have an informed opinion about welfare reform and how to strengthen families in this country? Not until you've read this book.
John Taylor Gatto: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
This is the red pill. Don't read it if you want to stay comfortable with the American school system. Gatto goes into why government-owned schools were created and the things they actually teach us.
Ellis Avery: The Smoke Week: September 11-21, 2001
If you have any curiosity about what it was like for New Yorkers during the World Trade Center attacks, this is the book to read. A brilliant, crystalline, spot-on memoir of the week or so after the attacks, this book is an ode to New Yorkers. Realistic, clean, and completely un-maudlin, it's just the story of what it was like for us. This is what should go into a time capsule to represent September 2001.
B. I say B.
Maybe A. Definitely NOT C. Don't panic. Don't google, either.
Posted by: Lisa S (& Riley, Bella, & Adelyn) | March 08, 2005 at 09:32 AM
That's how my stomach bug started. Gut pain, followed by nausea, followed by two days of sitting on the toliet while throwing up in the tub. I seriously wanted to hug my contractor for having the foresight to put those two in proximity.
Oh come on, quit being squeamish, you're a mom. Like you've never dealt with poop and vomit....
Posted by: Soper | March 08, 2005 at 09:51 AM
okay, lisa is absolutely the voice of reason, and it probably IS 'B', or 'A', but as someone who had preeclampsia, i see it lurking around every corner. i have never had high blood pressure, despite being overweight, and my only 'risk factors' were being a plush, first-time mom at 30. so, take this with a grain of salt--no, don't, because that will make you retain water.
[ironically, i remember reading something that julie (a little pregnant) wrote and making a comment about taking her preeclampsia-sounding symptoms very seriously.]
the first sign i had was a pinchy stitch in my side, directly under the 'point' of my right ribs. this was waay early, 22 weeks maybe? anyway, the symptoms and signs are weird, so it helps to know what to watch for. preeclampsia.org has a good checklist (http://www.preeclampsia.org/symptoms.asp) that you should learn by heart if you're over 30.
the second red flag for me was sudden weight gain, and a lot of it: 10 pounds in a month, for no apparent reason. watch your hands and feet for signs of swelling (tight rings, tight shoes, visible puffiness).
have a plan for what you will do in case you begin to feel very sick and you're alone in the house with el chico. if he doesn't already, make sure el chico knows how to call for an ambulance and how to tell them where you are.
i promise that i don't mean to be an alarmist, and i'm not trying to stir up any unnecessary fears; i'm a worrier by nature and i realize i have a tendancy to overreact when the topic of preeclampsia comes up. in this case, educating yourself and paying careful attention to any changes in the way you feel, even if they seem minor, is important.
Posted by: wix | March 08, 2005 at 10:00 AM
DEFINITELY stomach flu, darlin'.
Don't panic!!
The stomach flu is going around and around these days. Call your doc so you'll have peace of mind. Is there anyone who can take the little one for a while?
You need to be back in bed!
Feel better SOON, and I'll be holding out hope that it is nothing too serious.
Posted by: Sarah | March 08, 2005 at 10:09 AM
It seems that the ladies who had HELLP had severe pain, with intermitent periods of feeling fine. If that starts happening, I would probably call your doctor.
Posted by: Amie | March 08, 2005 at 10:28 AM
I would assume it's not ominous, but I would call my doctor/midwife just for reassurance.
Posted by: Lisa V | March 08, 2005 at 10:58 AM
Like others have said, I would put a call in to your caregiver, just to see what they say. That being said, statistically HELLP and pre-eclampsia happens with your first pregnancy, and it's very unlikely to occur with a second pregnancy if it didn't the first time around. (Get this ... if you have a baby with one partner, you're not likely to have it again with that partner. But if you have another "1st" pregnancy with ANOTHER partner ... THEN you're at higher risk than if you had stayed with the same person. Isn't that weird?)
Having had HELLP myself, I know it's nothing to mess with. However, being informed is your best defense against this disease, and you're definitely doing that. If you want additional information on how to help prevent pre-eclampsia and HELLP, go to www.blueribbonbaby.com There is excellent nutritional information at this site.
I hope this helps, and I hope that you feel better soon. Keep us posted!
Posted by: Rebekah | March 08, 2005 at 11:37 AM
Could it be gas or an ulcer? That is exactly what my ulcer feels like.
Hope you feel better!
Posted by: KimN | March 08, 2005 at 11:58 AM
It's almost certainly not, but as someone who also had HELLP, that wrenching pain was one of the first signs I had, and the one that my OB totally blew off (because he determined that it "wasn't contractions"). So, I'm of the opinion that you should be cautiously optimistic on this ('cause it's probably B), but still observant & report it to your OB.
Posted by: Laurie | March 08, 2005 at 04:37 PM
Gas? I've been doubled over with it a few times. Ouchie.
I agree in being cautious, but I like the adage "if you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras."
Posted by: Christine | March 08, 2005 at 04:38 PM
gallbladder?
Posted by: elizabeth | March 08, 2005 at 04:49 PM
Flu. Definitely flu. I refuse to contemplate C.
Posted by: Brooklyn Girl | March 08, 2005 at 08:33 PM
I'm not so great at quizzes due to sleep dep, but hang in there!
Posted by: Robin | March 08, 2005 at 10:25 PM
It was probably gas.
Posted by: Pamela | March 09, 2005 at 05:17 PM