Postpartum depression …you do not need to suffer through it!

POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

Postpartum depression is a serious problem that can occur after having a baby…it can occur up to one year after delivery. Sometimes the signs and symptoms can just be an overall sense of anxiety and an inability to enjoy your baby.  As a new mom if you just don’t feel happy you can attribute it to many things especially lack of sleep and the many changes occurring over such a short period of time but you could be suffering from postpartum depression (PPD).

Personally, I did not experience PPD but there were days when I did not feel in control of all the responsibilities of motherhood. It was positively overwhelming. Back in the day…postpartum depression was somewhat overlooked and under treated.  A new mom was made to feel like she  “just had to suck it up” and get it together. Fortunately, since them that attitude has changed and most obstetricians screen for PPD at the time of the postpartum check-up.

I thought that I would post a list of symptoms of postpartum depression.  If you have more than one or two of these symptoms or are feeling generally depressed for more than two weeks you should check in with your doctor.

The symptoms of postpartum depression are the same as the symptoms of depression that occurs at other times in life. Along with a sad or depressed mood, you may have some of the following symptoms:

  • Agitation or irritability
  • Changes in appetite
  • Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
  • Feeling withdrawn or unconnected
  • Lack of pleasure or interest in most or all activities
  • Loss of concentration
  • Loss of energy
  • Problems doing tasks at home or work
  • Negative feelings toward the baby
  • Significant anxiety
  • Thoughts of death or suicide
  • Trouble sleeping

A mother with postpartum depression may also:

  • Be unable to care for herself or her baby
  • Be afraid to be alone with her baby
  • Have negative feelings toward the baby or even think about harming the baby Although these feelings are scary, they are almost never acted on. Still you should tell your doctor about them right away.
  • Worry intensely about the baby, or have little interest in the baby

via Postpartum depression – PubMed Health.

Kids menus …horrible!

NOTEWORTHY WEDNESDAY!

Children’s diets are under the microscope and in my opinion should remain that way for some time. In many ways “we are what we eat” and our kids are what we feed them.

Oh yes… I am guilty of serving and eating “fast food” as well as “convenience foods”. Sometimes a burger from McDonald’s or Kraft’s Mac’n’Cheese just tastes good and fulfills a craving.

I  admit to  “grandparent” guilt when I take my granddaughter to McDonald’s for a “Happy Meal” and when she requests to make a stop at McDonald’s I actually cringe at what I have done to her taste buds.

Somehow, it makes me feel better if when we go out, we actually sit down in a restaurant and have a server…it seems much more relaxing and special. I enjoy sharing and she does too. But at times we fall prey to the Kid’s Menu because it’s just a kid’s kind of moment and the kiddy menu comes with crayons and characters and games printed on it.

And then… this week, I came across a post from Baby Center.

It was a discussion on Kid’s Menus...I was in shock!   Though, I have to say…I have never seen any nutritional info on a kid’s menu… but after reading the discussion from Baby Center…it is pretty obvious why the choice is made not to print this info on the menu. The information could make you sick!

Let’s face it, when we eat out we give up a lot of control…but I will look very carefully at a Kid’s Menu before ever ordering from one in the future.

Here is what was posted on Baby Center….

Outback Steakhouse    Kookaburra Chicken Fingers meal with Aussie Fries 1,030 calories 60 g fat  21 g saturated 2,052 mg sodium Fat equivalent: 12 Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts!

Olive Garden Fettuccini Alfredo kids meal 800 calories 48 g fat  30 g saturated 810 mg sodium Saturated fat equivalent: 1.5 full jars of Nutella!

Applebee’s Grilled Cheese with French fries 1,020 calories 54 g fat  17 g saturated 2,170 mg sodium Calorie equivalent: 400 Cheddar Goldfish Crackers. That’s 1.3 full bags!

via Restaurant kid menus: awesome or awful? | BabyCenter.

” The F-Bomb “

  • Modern Family created an internet stir last week when Lily said the F-Word…

How many of us have had an embarrassing word come out of our own child at an inappropriate moment???

Amazingly, these words are used so appropriately by our kids…they are echoing us…no surprise.

My own child used to pronounce the word ‘truck” as the “f-word”. She would loudly announce  that a “truck” was going by when we would be sitting in a restaurant. At the time we were living in south Florida … many retirees looked in absolute horror at us! With encouragement this “mispronunciation” eventually disappeared, although not soon enough!

I have to admit the “F” word was not one that I used much at that time in my life …but times have changed.  This summer after a serious complication during a heart procedure…I saw my doctor, (a good friend), smiling at me as I left the operating room …I remember telling him to “go “F” yourself” loud and clear…anesthesia does funny things to your mouth!

So…the fact is that none of us can control what comes out of the “mouths of babes” or out of our own mouths at certain times…

  • be aware that our kids are ALWAYS listening
  • they will repeat what we say
  • this will happen when we least expect it
  • it will be difficult not to laugh
  • try not to laugh
  • try to control your angry words if you don’t want your kids to repeat them
  • most of all “chill out”

Cursing has been around since the beginning of language and there is no reason to believe that it will disappear on its own. What early childhood professionals can do is to understand the nature of cursing and how the total language environment influences childrens cursing and our reactions to it.

Modern Family: Lily Drops The F-Bomb VIDEO.

Week in Review…

I am going to begin something new.

Friday Link-Ups (title subject to change)

Each Friday I will post some interesting links (at least they were to me) that I found during my week.

Let me know what you are interested in and like to read.

Note: Momma’s Gone City is one of my favorite blogs.

Paula Deen is overweight and now diabetic…so what is new?

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/46054298#46054298

I don’t watch Paula Deen but I am aware of the food that she promotes on her show and magazine. I have too much respect for my own health to consider her a chef that I would want to emulate.

She can do what she wants with her own health…but I have a problem when a public persona, who profits off of others, promotes an unhealthy lifestyle and tries to justify this by saying that it is a personal preference and choice.

Where is her sense of responsibility to her fans?…

It seems it is tucked away in her pocketbook.

Here is a comment from Dr. Yoni Freedhoff:

Could Paula have taken this opportunity to become a healthy role model for America? Yes. Did she? Clearly not, and while I would have hoped that as a human being she would have seen value in that, her obvious refusal to step up to that plate leaves her playing the same role she always has – a B list celebrity chef whose claim to fame is cooking nutritionally repugnant food.Too bad she didnt trade up and become someone laudable.

via Weighty Matters: Paula Deen has Diabetes and takes Victoza. So What?.

Related:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/46054298#46054298

Amelia Rivera …Transplant “Rejection”

Amelia’s Rivera’s story is a tragic one and one that is sadly not that uncommon.

The medically fragile and vulnerable are all at risk when it comes to who gets a transplant and who does not. There are guidelines and ethics involved in medical decisions and sometimes it does not seem fair when decisions like the recent one at CHOP are made based on mental disability.

On the surface, this decision seems unfair and the conversation with the parents seems cold and unprofessional.

From the distraught parents’ point of view the doctors, nurses and social workers were unfeeling and certainly not the professionals that that these parents had put their faith in, to save their daughter.

As a social worker and nurse I have had some serious heart rendering discussions with families. Experience has taught me to listen very carefully to patients and families…they want to be heard and understood. I try to support them to my best ability and I am their advocate while also working within the hospital’s policies and procedures and decision making. This is sometimes extremely difficult.

In this case…if Amelia’s parents want to continue to pursue a transplant for her…it would be my responsibility to encourage them to seek out another pediatric center that performs transplants…I would then explain to them that acceptance of a donor is not automatic and a pediatric donor is more complicated than an adult donor.

Amelia’s parents needed to experience empathy from the transplant team at CHOP…they needed to feel that their feelings were respected and understood and they need to be treated like the concerned and loving parents that they are.

The transplant team at CHOP should disclose how decisions like this are made…this is certainly not the first decision of this kind at a transplant center and it will not be the last. These types of decisions are not made lightly by checking a box on a sheet of paper…they are agonized over by the medical staff and guided by medical ethics.

The truth today is that some lives are considered more valuable than others…we see this with the abortion issue and life sustaining treatments for the fragile elderly to name only two vulnerable patient populations.

My heart goes out to Amelia’s parents and family…they are trying to save her life and to them her life is valuable…she is their precious child.

Unfortunately, transplant decisions are not made on feelings and love…they are made on facts and medical ethics…

The delivery of these decisions are not easy…in this case it seems that those involved did not empathically deliver bad news to these loving parents …they did not respect the fact that Amelia’s parents were hoping for a life sustaining procedure for their little girl…which was not going to happen at CHOP.

Related article:

Amelia Rivera and medical morality – Guest Voices – The Washington Post.

The Condom Broke!

NOTEWORTHY WEDNESDAY!

When I worked as a nurse in a busy NYC Ob-Gyn practice “back in the day” women would call asking for the “morning after pill” if the condom broke…sex was fearless for the most part in the 70’s.
It was before too much was actually know about HIV and AIDS.
Herpes was a concern but mostly on talk shows…I never heard a mention of syphilis except when people were being tested prior to getting married, rarely was there a mention of gonorrhea, There was rarely a concern about hepatitis and never a mention of HPV. Chlamydia was for the most part unheard of.
Life did seem much more simple then but was it really simple?
No…HPV was present but we did not know all we now know and of course there was no vaccine being offered to young girls who were sexually active…pregnancy was preventable by taking “the pill” and there was no vaccine for hepatitis.
Fast Forward…
Today…if the condom breaks or if you choose not to use one you could be exposing yourself to many STD’s (sexually transmitted diseases). Some can cause complications leading to infertility, or cancer and in the case of AIDS death.
Sex education is a necessity…how early?
Well, as parents that seems to be a topic up for discussion along with who should provide sex education to our kids. Not providing sex education to me is a form of child neglect…our kids need to know how to take care of themselves and others.
The HPV vaccine is now available and parents should seriously consider this vaccine for their teenagers. But that discussion is being saved for another post. It seems parents are concerned that getting the HPV vaccine gives the go ahead to having sex.
Parents should figure out sooner than later how to discuss safe sex with their kids so that hopefully they will not have to be discussing something much more serious with them…
If the  condom does break… here are the tests and a nice discussion from BlogHer
  • Gonorrhea & Chlamydia– Can be tested for by a urine test or on certain types of Pap Smears
  • Herpes – Ask for a Type Specific Blood Test
  • HPV – Can be tested during a Pap Smear
  • Syphilis & HIV – A Blood Test
  • Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C – A Blood Test

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/morning-after-pill/MY01190

Oh those days off…

Monday’s are always difficult especially when it is a holiday don’t you agree? It seems that by Tuesday I am already three days behind rather than just one.

I love that school ism out but when the weather is so cold going outside is painful it makes me somewhat at a loss when it comes to toddler friendly activities that don’t wreak havoc with the entire house or at least with the kitchen.

Yesterday papa and nana went sledding with our little granddaughter…so much fun on even the tiniest “bunny ” hill. I tried to be the designated photographer with my i-Phone but freezing fingertips made it next to impossible to catch “the moment” in a frame. I gave it my best and captured some significant video and called it a day.

A few runs and we were all tired and ready for some hot chocolate at a nearby Starbucks….then a well deserved nap for all or at least a kick back to catch a football game.

What do you do when school is out?

I would love some serious solutions to those days that are unstructured so that I can plan ahead for the next school holiday.