Texas Health Moms

Vacation Planning

2012-02-24T10:45:00.000-06:00

This year, my husband has a milestone birthday. It’s the type of milestone birthday where some people buy little, red sports cars or other large, rather silly purchases. Luckily, my husband isn't requesting sports cars or other frivolities. Know what he wants for his milestone birthday? A family vacation to his beloved Colorado. Sign me up!

The last time we took the big boys to Colorado was in August 2008. (Note, we had plans to go last summer, but baseball and my work schedule foiled those plans.) Again, it was a fabulous trip and we really had a wonderful time, even with a boulder killing our driver-side front tire (and I'm convinced that it was trying to kill us) and Caleb "redecorating" the car on the way home.

We took Sam to Colorado when he was about 6 months old and Bryan was running the Denver Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon. It was a nice trip, and we got to see some great friends and beautiful fall foliage. Oh, and Sam learned to crawl on that trip, too.

Have you noticed a theme here? We've been to Colorado twice since Bryan and I married, both times with kids, but never with all three at the same time.
What I'm discovering as we try to plan the trip (and we're still very much in the early stages of planning) is that it's rather difficult to plan family activities when the kids will be almost 12, 8.5, and just over 2 at the time of the vacation. Colorado is a boy's paradise. Hiking, zip-lining, horseback riding; all things our big boys have voiced wanting to do. But what does the baby get to do? The baby, who, remember, idolizes his big brothers and wants to do everything they do.

I'm really afraid we're looking at planning two vacations - one for Bryan and the big boys, and one for Sam and me. Someone experienced in planning family vacations with large age gaps between the kids tell me it's not as complicated as I'm making it! (If anyone's curious, we're looking at the Buena Vista, CO area in early July.)

Julie Daneman is wife to Bryan, Stepmom to Jacob and Caleb, and Mommy to Sam. They are a boisterous, loving, happy interfaith family.

Be careful what you do

2012-02-23T09:43:00.000-06:00

“Be careful what you say and do; your children are watching you!”

I have heard this phrase many times, but leave it to my 17 month old to prove it true.

My husband, Josh, was driving one day and was sitting at a stop sign patiently waiting his turn. He “kindly” hollered, “Go! Go!” to the person who should be going through the stop sign. Emory, our little back seat driver, also hollered, “Go!” with as much emphasis as Daddy. We burst out laughing as we realized that little ears hear so much and can repeat what is said at a very early age. I was just glad Josh didn’t say, “Go, idiot!”

It reminded me of the first time we learned the lesson on how quickly children can observe and repeat what we say. When Preston was a little older than Emory is now, he was climbing in and out of a bucket. The bucket tipped and Preston fell out. He stood up saying, “Dad gum it.” I looked at Josh with a knowing smile and said, “That sounded just like me.” This was the first moment that Josh and I truly appreciated the importance of watching what comes out of our mouths and making sure that we keep it as minor as “Dad gum it.”

It is one thing to hear our children repeat what we say, but it’s another when we see them do things that we didn’t know we were teaching them.

Each night we read books to Preston and Emory before we tuck them into bed. What I didn’t realize was how much they observe as we’re reading to them. I thought that perhaps their minds drifted to far-away places as we read the stories each night. So, I was caught by surprise when a couple of weeks ago, I got a glimpse of what Emory has been observing over the last seventeen months. As she was “reading” her book, this is what I learned about her observations.

I couldn’t believe that this subconscious move would be something that she would imitate. What proof that kids observe even the smallest details! I must admit, though, I believe Emory is a little more dramatic than we are when we turn the page of a book.

So, be careful what you say and do; your children are watching you!

Have your children surprised you by repeating something you’ve said or done?

Julie Swink is a Sr. Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and Mother of two.

Discipline comes in many forms

2012-02-22T11:44:00.000-06:00

On the way to work one morning I was listening to a popular morning DJ discuss the pros and cons of spanking. This topic ends up being very controversial when you really start delving into it. Some parents are big believers that if you "spare the rod, you spoil the child" while others can't even imagine raising a hand to their child.

Rather than look at the argument from the perspective of pro- or anti-spanking, I want to pose another question: What's working?

Here's the reason I ask--I know lots of people with very well-behaved, articulate, polite children who spank, don't spank, or do something in the middle to discipline their kids.

In the end, isn't this about the relationship between the parent and the child? For some children, spankings are a great punishment because it's quick and they can move on to the next activity fairly quickly. For others, the pain isn't worth it. Some children respond better to being sent to their rooms and isolated. Others look forward to being isolated so they can play quietly in the room.

As parents we make all kinds of decisions around how we raise our children. Most of us look at what our parents did and decide if it worked or if we choose to go another direction. And if we choose to raise our children differently than how we were raised, we spend a lot of time talking our parents through our choices.

But in the end, isn't it about making choices to help our children become responsible adults who contribute to society? As parents we need to take a look at what we're doing and whether our kids are changing their behaviors to reflect what we expect. If they're not, maybe there's an opportunity to look at other ways of disciplining them. I realize that my kids have to be disciplined differently--the same punishment doesn't work for both of them.

I'm not pro- or anti-spanking. I am against child abuse. I do believe, however, that as parents we have expectations of how our children will behave and should dole out the appropriate punishment--whatever form that may be.

What works for you and your kids?

Reace Alvarenga-Smith is a Mother of two.

The End of “Actually”

2012-02-21T11:40:00.000-06:00

My daughter turned eight years old last month and along with her new age came this new sense of omniscient wisdom.

As her mother, I have always encouraged her to believe in herself and exercise her self-confidence, but never thought my words would be used against me. The battle of the wills, as of lately, is proving to be more than my patience can handle.

I am okay with an occasional “did you know” conversation, but recently they’ve turned into an everyday thing and usually begin with her informing me that I am misinformed about something. It always begins the same. I make a statement and moments later I hear this little voice; “actually Mommy”… and let the corrective action begin!!

We’ve had our share of refresher courses in manners and have talked about the dangers of being a “know-it-all” and still…actually finds its way into most of our conversations. A friend of mine suggested subtracting from her allowance each time she displays this behavior, but so far this hasn’t proven to be helpful either.

I’d really like to know if this is just a phase or if I’m looking at a more permanent situation?

Nikki Hall-Branch is a Communications Coordinator at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth and determined Mom to one equally determined daughter.

Milestones

2012-02-20T11:24:00.000-06:00

Because my wife and I both work full time, our 11-month-old son spends many of his waking hours in the care of others. We had never formally discussed how we would handle the inevitable developmental milestones that were sure to occur while we were toiling away at work.

Several weeks ago my wife had picked up Elliot from school and was entering our house loaded down with him, all the accompanying baby paraphernalia as well as some work she’d brought home. Right after crossing the threshold, she realized she’d clearly had too much in her hands, and in an effort to avoid a catastrophic fall, she lowered Elliot to the ground while simultaneously stumbling to our dining room table to set the rest of her items down before they all went flying. It took her a second to notice that Elliot was just standing there, right where she put him, on his own two feet, looking at her. This was a huge deal! He’d pulled himself up plenty but never stood unassisted. She quickly called me to tell me the good news. She informed me that she thinks he is about to start trying to walk.

Well, sure enough, she was right. Later that night we set up him in our kitchen, encouraged him to take a few steps, and off he went. I was even smart enough to videotape it.

So somehow, despite being away so much, we were both there for his first steps. Pretty cool. We were obviously excited, but for some reason it never occurred to us to share this with his caregivers. The next week was a very funny study in how each person broke the news to us that our son was walking and we’d missed it.

First came his normal daycare. We picked him up as usual on Monday and not a word about anything out of the ordinary. Then when we got home and were reviewing his daily log sheet, there it was down at the bottom in the notes section. It said, “Took 15 steps.” No frills, no fanfare, just black and white.

Fast forward to Wednesday, that is my mom’s day to watch him. We hadn’t been at work for an hour when the text messages with way too many exclamation points started pouring in. My mom was so excited, and I actually think a little disappointed, to learn that she wasn’t the first to see this new achievement. My mom has not been shy about taking credit for “teaching” him to roll over when he was very little and insists that every sound he makes that sounds vaguely like a word was something she taught him. She informed us that they’d been having “walking practice” every Wednesday for weeks, and this was clearly a result of all that hard work!

Finally, our church nursery was the last to see Elliot’s new trick. Apparently, of all our caregivers, they are the only ones concerned about the potential sensitivities parents might have on missing out on a milestone like this. We were chatting with the director, and she seemed to be lingering a little longer than normal on the topic of Elliot. Finally, she came out with one of the strangest questions I’d had posed to me in a while. “So, Elliot, um, have you noticed that developmentally he is doing anything that you might consider significant recently?” I had nothing but question marks above my head, but my wife didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, you mean the walking? Yeah, he started doing it last weekend.” The director was so relieved to know that we knew. Then she gushed, “I couldn’t believe it! He was just playing and then there he went, walking across the room!”

As working parents we are well aware that the next big milestone may not happen on our watch, and I think we are mostly prepared for it, but I have to wonder how it will really feel when it happens. I’m not sure if I want to read about it on a sheet of paper or have someone ask me “So has Elliot been doing anything interesting lately … because if not, you may to have your video camera handy tonight.”

Jordan Echols is a Marketing Manager at Texas Health Resources and dad to 11-month-old Elliot.

Go wild with oats

2012-02-17T11:03:00.000-06:00

Can your whole family benefit from National Heart Month? Yes! Heart Health is not just for adults; it is actually important that you teach your young children how to eat healthy at a young age. Eating heart healthy, nutrient-rich foods will help keep your family healthy, in the proper weight range and hopefully reduce their risk for disease later in life.

So this February, go wild with oats! Oats are a whole grain rich in soluble fiber. Soluble fiber can improve your overall health in a variety of ways:
• Fiber slows down digestion and thus gets you full faster and keeps you full longer
• Eating foods rich in fiber keep blood sugar and energy levels stable over the course of the day
• Fiber helps lower total cholesterol by binding to fiber and excreting out the body with it

Oats for breakfast!
• Make a warm bowl of oatmeal with low-fat milk and mix in chopped nuts to add protein and healthy fat to your morning!
• Make cinnamon toast with oat flour bread and top with natural peanut butter for a gooey, yummy brain-powered breakfast!

Oats for a snack!
• Your whole family will love peanut butter oatmeal balls! Simply mix ½ cup peanut butter and ¼ cup honey. Stir in ½ cup non-fat dry milk powder and 1 cup oats. Roll into 22-24 balls and refrigerate. A great fiber-rich snack for your husband’s busy schedule or your child’s lunch box!
• Blend ground oat flour into a smoothie with low-fat milk, yogurt and fruit for a beverage that will keep you and your kids more satisfied than juice.

Oats for dinner!
• Toast rolled oats and top you salad with a fiber-rich crunch!
• Instead of using bread crumbs to bread your chicken or fish, try ground oat flour.

If you have a question for the dietitian, visitwww.texashealth.org/askamy.

Amy Goodson, MS, RD, CSSD, LD
Registered Dietitian
Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine

Finding Childcare

2012-02-16T12:09:00.001-06:00

Makala's new addition, Shelby Faith Pollard

With our baby girl on the way in March, I began to search out childcare options in late October/early November. To say this was an interesting exercise is a gross understatement. I joined a website that specialized in finding providers and posted the “job” to see what type of applicants I would get. Oh. My. Word.

There were many, many 17 and 18-year-olds who applied. I’m sure some of them would have been fine, but I had clearly stated on the job posting what my age range was and that was a little too young for my comfort level. I even had one email/apply and tell me she was looking to “get” two babies and was pregnant with her own. Delete!

The next factor that took many of them out of the race was cost. One provider wanted $700 per week. Another, $500 a week. The next one wanted $450 a week. And all these people wanted me to bring our daughter to them and had a number of other kids they were keeping. I mean, can you at least come to my house and maybe load the dishwasher, maybe throw in a load of laundry for that price?

I conducted some phone interviews and had a moderate comfort level with a couple of them, but not enough to want to venture any further. Some of them had their own licensed in-home day care and assured me they could take an infant in May, but my gut was telling me sure, they would take her and sit her in the corner with little attention.

Finally, I found a provider I wanted to actually go meet in person. Let me tell you, I had high hopes after everything I had seen so far. I just KNEW she would be the one. I arrived at her home and we began to chat-rather she talked and talked. You can tell a lot about a person by their home. So as she talked I observed some of her décor and surroundings. I realized she had many, many professionally taken photos of cats on her walls. A few too many for my taste.

Then as her toddler came over to her and tried to grab the remote for the TV, she looked up at me and said “we don’t use N-O here. We just redirect.” I’m pretty sure the look of confusion on my face said it all. Good for you, I thought. We use the word “no” in our house-and we will probably continue to use it when this child arrives!

At this point I needed to get out of here. This was not what I wanted. I had thought I wanted a private sitter but none of this had worked out how I had imagined.

When I finally managed to escape cat lady’s house, I drove home completely disappointed. The very next day I called the day care located directly across from our neighborhood. I made a surprise visit there after work and requested a tour. They actually greeted me by name even though I didn’t have a formal appointment and had simply inquired about rates/info when I called. We walked into the infant room and it was like someone said “cue the babies-action!” There were a few sitting on the floor with a teacher-they all looked up and smiled as big as they could. The other infants did the same. I was immediately comfortable. This is it! I found the right place. And as the fates would have it, their waiting list went until May so I was glad I stopped by. I went ahead and signed her up and marked that task off her list.

Did any of you have trouble finding the right child care for your baby?

Editor's note: It's a good thing Makala was able to find a great childcare provider, because Shelby came early, born at 12:14 this morning!

Makala Pollard is a Sr. Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources, Stepmom, and -- as of this morning -- New Mom to Shelby Faith.

Battling ear infections

2012-02-15T10:23:00.000-06:00

I am a working mother. This means that during my work day my children attend a daycare “or school” in our case. My son Logan has been attending daycare since 3 months of age and since that day, he has been sick. Now I will say that my children attend an extremely nice and clean childcare center. Due to their curriculum, it is considered a school and not a daycare but no matter what you call it, my kids are in the confines of small rooms with other children and they are exposed to germs and illness.

My daughter started daycare at 6 months of age and at that point began getting sick. After taking about 9 different antibiotics and never really healing from ear infections; she had a Myringotomy (ear tube surgery.) Once Lily had ear tube surgery, she was a new child. No more ear infections and really little to no illnesses.

Fast forward three years later and I swear I’m having déjà vu. Except this time I have a baby boy and he is much younger. After Logan took 9 different rounds of antibiotics, we went for ear tubes. I prayed that after the tubes our chronic doctor’s visits and sleepless nights would stop. I wish I could tell you that was the end result but no such luck. Logan continued getting sick, continued getting ear infections. Sometimes it was obvious as I’d see yuck draining from his ears, other times I would be surprised at the well child visit when the pediatrician would say his tubes were clogged up and ears were infected.

Since I work in a hospital I have working relationships with many physicians. One day I encountered Logan’s Ear Nose and Throat surgeon. In a casual conversation she asked me how Logan was and I told her about his continued illness and ear problems. She demanded that next time I suspected ear problems to bring him in. A few days later I picked Logan up from school and noticed yucky drainage coming from his ears. I panicked. I knew what the ENT had said, but I love my pediatrician and felt like I was being disloyal. I put aside my doubts and paid the $50.00 co-pay (which is double that of the pediatrician fee). Once in the office the ENT said sadly that Logan’s ears were in bad shape. She warned me that the next step would be sad and uncomfortable, but not painful and that she would unclog his ears. I stood by helpless as they strapped Logan to a table and sucked the infected and clogged fluid from his ears. He screamed so loud that I’m pretty sure every person in the office building heard him.

On my way home I felt glad that I had taken Logan to a specialist but at the same time I was frustrated that I hadn’t done it sooner. We are still battling illness with Logan. My hope is that as Logan grows his immune system will also grow and soon this will all be a distant memory. My advice to new parents is to trust your instinct. If you think your child is ill and needs medical attention, get it. I also highly advise seeking treatment from a specialist if it’s available. In my experience, the specialist was able to treat the symptom in a more direct way and I had a healthier, happy baby sooner.

Mindy Seals works in the information technology division at Texas Health Resourcesand is balancing work, married life and raising two kids.

Putting Our Arts into Valentines

2012-02-14T09:20:00.000-06:00

In the past couple of months, I suddenly realized that John and I could start adding more to our daily routine of books and playing outside and singing and dancing. And so we began taking tentative steps to add painting and coloring in our repertoire.

And I'll be honest, the mess was what made me hesitate at first. Will he eat the paint? Will he end up with it in his hair and all over his clothes? Our first foray into finger painting was a piece of cardstock stuck in a Ziplock bag, with some gel food coloring added in. I shut the bag, and handed the whole thing over to him. He had fun, and we had a masterpiece.

But then I realized that if I'm supervising him, there's really no way he'll eat paint, even if he wanted to. And babies? Well, they wash. So do clothes. So does hair.

In other words, I relaxed a little bit and decided that this would not be the first time John did something that had the potential to earn him a midday bath. The next time we went to the store, we picked up some washable, non-toxic finger paint, and some really neat crayon holders perfect for the palm gripping toddlers do when they color.

All set with supplies, I then looked around for something that would protect his clothes. Turns out, the answer was in Daddy's old t-shirt pile, and Mommy's bathroom drawer. An old t-shirt, with an alligator clip at the back of the shirt's neck to gather up excess material did the trick perfectly. I put John in his high chair, and added globs of paint to a piece of cardstock (which holds up better to little hands who LOVE to crumple up paper), and my little artist took off, running his fingers through the paint. He made three masterpieces that day.

So for Valentine's Day, we decided to make some cards. We loaded up cardstock with paint in shades of pink, purple and red, and John began creating the art we'd need for our cards. When he was done, we let the work dry, and then I did my part - cutting hearts out of the painted paper, and affixing them to the front of another piece of cardstock folded in half. On the inside, I wrote, "Happy Valentine's Day," and then John signed his name (with some help, of course!)

It was such an easy and fun two-day project that I can see us doing more later - because who wouldn't love a card made by two tiny hands covered in paint?

Bethany Erickson is the wife of Texas Health Resources web editor Tom Erickson and Mom to a growing boy.

Saying I love you

2012-02-13T12:19:00.000-06:00

Since early on in our dating days my husband and I have tried to find fun ways to say I love you.

I would imagine it probably started with him drawing off “Annie Hall” and saying he “lurves me” in the early dating stages.

But over the years it’s evolved to relate to random silliness in our daily lives– silliness is something we’re a big fan of in our family. For example, if I’m having a stressed day he’s been known to tell me that he loves me more than all the sea turtles in the ocean – a soft spot for me because they’re my favorite animal and relax me. And if he’s making a run to the library to return books for me, I’ve been known to say I love him more than all the books I’ll ever read.

You get the picture.

That’s why when I saw an idea on Pinterest to create a board where you could write daily love notes I was sure I had to do it, but wanted to find the right time to do so. Right now we’re trying to figure out his next career step, lease our condo, buy a house and plan a trip to Spain – not exactly a stress-free existence or a time when we were wanting to spend much on Valentine’s Day. So I decided the timing was just right to surprise him with this gift.

I went to the Dollar Store and got an 8x10 frame and then to Michaels for a sheet of scrapbook paper (on clearance for 49 cents) and I was all set. All it took was a couple of snips of the scissors to cut the scrapbook paper to the size of the frame (hint, I used the fake photo that came with the frame as an easy guide for my cuts). And voila I was done. No mess. Easy peasy. Total cost was $1.49 plus tax as I already had a dry erase marker at home. And it’s something I see our family using for years to come. The fact that it harkens back to my childhood when my Mom would give us Valentine’s Day presents in a brown grocery bag she glued paper colored hearts onto is an added bonus.

What fun love traditions does your family have?

Jennifer Erickson is a Sr. Public Relations Specialist at Texas Health Resources and is a big fan of inexpensive and quick crafts.

Ten ways with tilapia

2012-02-10T14:40:00.000-06:00

Nothing is better than the firm texture and mild flavor of tilapia for a variety of cooking methods. Whether pan-fried, broiled, or baked, wrapped in a tortilla or with a sauce (savory AND sweet!), tilapia has the ability to absorb the flavors of spicy marinades, creamy sauces, and even the most subtle of seasonings.

Plus, a 6-ounce fillet only has about 125 calories and about 1 gram of fat -- nice! So, I came up with 10 easy ways to prepare tilapia, giving you no excuse for getting at least one of the recommended two servings of fish each week.

Tilapia Way #1
Combine 2 T softened butter, 2 T fresh cilantro 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind 1/4 tsp paprika, and1/8 tsp salt until well blended, serve 2 teaspoons over fish.

Tilapia Way #2
Combine 2 c chopped mango, 1/2 c chopped red onion, 2 T cilantro, fresh lime juice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp ground red pepper, 1 chopped jalapeño, and one clove minced garlic. Serve over fish alone, or as a topping for fish tacos!

Tilapia Way #3
Heat 3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth and about 1 oz sliced Bella mushrooms in a saute pan with seasoned fish. Cover and simmer five minutes until mushrooms are tender. Remove fish from pan and add 2 T half and half cream, and 2 T Dijon mustard. Cook 1 minute until sauce is thick. Serve 1/4 cup sauce over fish.

Tilapia Way #4
Combine 1/2 c fresh grapefruit juice, 3 T fresh lime juice, 1 T brown sugar, 1 T EVOO, 2 tsp lower-sodium soy sauce 1/2 tsp of salt and ground cumin, and 1/4 tsp ground red and black pepper, and 2 cloves of crushed garlic. Preheat broiler and sprinkle fish with 1/2 tsp paprika. Broil fish for 15 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Serve 2 tsp sauce over fish.

Tilapia Way #5
Combine 1/2 c fresh cilantro, 1/2 c chopped onion, 1 T fresh lime juice, 2 Serrano chiles (or jalapenos), seeded and coarsely chopped, 1 (11-ounce) can tomatillos, drained, and 1 clove minced garlic in a blender and process until smooth. Serve 1/4 cup over cooked fish.

Tilapia Way #6
Process 1/2 cup almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, and combine with 1/4 cup flour in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle fish evenly with 1/2 tsp salt; dredge in almond mixture. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat; add fish, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden.

Tilapia Way #7
Preheat oven to 375°. Sprinkle fillets with 1/4 tsp both salt and pepper. On 1 (of 4) 13X9 pieces of parchment paper, Place 3 lemon slices crosswise in center. Top with tilapia fillet. Sprinkle evenly with shredded carrot, dill, and parsley. Top each fillet with 1 tsp butter. Fold 1 side of parchment paper over fillets; tuck excess parchment under fillets, pressing folds to form a crease. Bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.

Tilapia Way #8
Preheat oven to 375°. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp of both salt and pepper over both sides of tilapia fillets; set aside. Combine 1 (6oz) jar chopped artichoke hearts, 1/4 c seasoned bread crumbs, 1 T Parmesan , and 1/2 tsp oregano in a medium bowl; mix well. Brush each fillet with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil; top with 1/4 of the artichoke mixture. Bake until fish pulls apart easily with a fork (about 15 minutes). Sprinkle each serving with 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley just before serving.

Tilapia Way #9
Combine 1/4 c reduced fat mayo, 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tsp Dijon mustard, stirring well. Place fish in an 11- x 7 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread mayonnaise mixture over fish; sprinkle evenly with 2 tsp parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 10 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Tilapia Way #10
Spiced Tilapia & Lemon Butter Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
2 teaspoons canola oil

RUB:
1 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

SAUCE:
2 tablespoons minced yellow onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoon butter

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil in pan over medium high heat. Combine cumin, salt, garlic powder, and peppers; sprinkle evenly over both sides of the fish. Arrange fish in a pan, sauté 4-5 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or desired degree of doneness. Remove fish from pan. Place one fillet on each of 2 plates; keep warm.

Add garlic and minced onion to pan. Sauté until translucent. Additional oil may be added to the pan, if needed. Add wine and juice to pan, gently scrape bits from the bottom of the pan; cook over medium-high heat 2 minutes, reducing the wine and lemon juice. Remove from heat; stir in dill and butter. Drizzle sauce over fillets.

Nutrition Information: Serves 4 (1 tilapia filet plus 2 tablespoons of sauce)
Calories: 185; Fat: 7g; Carbohydrates: 2g; Protein: 23g

Amber Massey RD, LD
Registered Dietitian
Executive Health Program
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth

Are those teeth?!

2012-02-09T11:09:00.001-06:00

Our baby girl has always had a hearty appetite, and we braced ourselves for the possibility of that appetite increasing even more once she had a few teeth. Well, a few weeks ago we noticed something different about her smile – two tiny, adorable teeth at the bottom of her mouth!

At almost nine months, she’s a little comedian, and she doesn’t even know it. When she eats, she looks like a little old woman gumming her food. And you’d think she was a contestant in a food race, with her chubby cheeks working overtime. As soon as she swallows, she’s ready for more. How do we know? She opens her mouth with her tongue hanging down past her lower lip, of course! But she’ll let us know when she’s full, too. When Nandi starts spitting out her food and flashing us a goofy grin, we know she’s had enough.

But back to her two teeth, that are front and center at the bottom of her mouth. While feeding her one day a few weeks back, my husband said, “Have you noticed her teeth coming in?” I had to do a double-take, because I thought it was just the light reflecting off of the spit bubbles in her mouth – but no, he was right. My baby girl had some teeth!

Some baby experts say little ones can experience four teething symptoms:
• Drool rash caused by excessive drooling
• Diarrhea
• Coughing
• Fever

Over the past few months, we’d seen three out of the four symptoms, but the fevers worried me the most. Some experts say babies may experience low-grade fevers while teething (less than 101 degrees Fahrenheit). Another thing we noticed was that she was waking up in the middle of the night and getting cranky for no reason at times. I don’t know if we can chalk it all up to teething, but it could very well be the culprit. For the most part though, my little angel is still full of energy, with her happy self.

And speaking about full of energy, my husband and I almost did cartwheels when she started crawling. But I kept wondering if something was wrong with her. She was crawling, but dragging her stomach along the floor like a little Navy Seal. After doing some “research” (Googling on the Internet), I found that her unique way of movement is called the “commando crawl”. Relieved, now I can look at her and giggle – plus, she’s now learning to crawl on all fours.

Another major milestone, to us, was when she first started showing her appreciation for music by clapping in church during praise and worship (a little before she turned eight months old). When Nandi and I sing “Patty Cake” together (well, I’m singing and she’s making humming noises and laughing hysterically), her face seems to light up with excitement.

Like most loving and proud parents, my husband and I try to record the memorable moments by taking hundreds of photos and videotaping her every move. My husband says he’ll show her the incriminating (yet oh so adorable) photos when she turns 16. “She’ll look at these photos and really be embarrassed,” he says with a devilish chuckle.

Yep, I remember the embarrassing photos my parents took of me (I remember one where I was standing on top of the coffee table with just a graduation cap and a diaper on). I just sit back and smile, knowing the photos we’re taking of Nandi are oh so adorable to us, but she’ll think otherwise when she reaches puberty, I’m sure.

But for now, we’ll continue to enjoy watching her grow like a little weed (my beautiful, precious weed) and document each tooth and every other milestone we can capture on camera.

Chandra Caradine is a Sr. Communications Specialist for Texas Health Resources and always ready with the camera.

Empty Nest Syndrome

2012-02-08T11:03:00.001-06:00

I’m a Single Mom!

How many times have we heard that term used? Raising your children with minimal support is difficult whether you’re a single mom or dad. I was a single mom working as a registered nurse and each day was challenging. Some days it was overwhelming trying to juggle my work schedule with car pool, after school activities, homework assignment, and projects. The list can go on and on. Finding down time for yourself was not easy back then.

This year I sent my son off to college. I now have time to relax and reflect back on my life when my son was first on the list. We got through it all together and now he’s gone to the United States Air Force Academy. His commitment to the Air Force will keep him away from home for many years.
The downside to having time alone is the guilt I feel when I think about the past.

Could I have been a more patient mom and spent time focusing on talking about his day instead of asking him if he did his homework yet or took his shower?

Did I always sweat the small stuff? Probably!

I recently sent my son a Valentine Day card. The words inside the card expressed these same thoughts. After reading the card my son sent me a message saying “I Love you mom, you’re the best!” When you hear this, the guilt goes away and the regrets vanish. When your children leave home, it’s a new beginning for everyone. My son is thriving and happy. My nest may be empty but my life is fulfilled.

Do you worry that you’re focusing in on the small stuff too much?

Kimberly Brigis is a registered nurse in the Assisted Reproductive Technology Services department at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.

Baby Shower Fun

2012-02-07T11:02:00.000-06:00

My baby shower was the last Saturday in January and I am pretty sure there is no way to sum up the blessings we received on that day but I’ll try. The men vacated the premises and there was a slow build of females that began to arrive at our house. By the time we really got the party started there were about 25 women and five kiddos in the place. You can imagine the noise level of that many women in one spot- it was swimmin’ in women as my pal Jeanine would say!

My four-year-old niece was there and she kept me on task. Well, that might be an understatement. When I began to open gifts she started stacking them up all around me. She was on a mission! And when I was not opening them fast enough for her, she would rearrange them at my feet. Finally, she began helping me open the gifts. She would pull out whatever was inside, flash it to our audience, shove it back in the package and move on to the next one. My poor friend Mandy was the scribe and I am pretty sure she had writer’s cramp trying to keep up with the furious pace.

If there is anything we didn’t get, I cannot imagine what it might be. My two hostesses did an amazing job and I got to see some friends I had not seen in years. After the party died down and all the guests left it was time to put my feet up and rest. Brett got home and my mom pulled out some of the items for him to see so we could ooohhh and ahhh all over again.

The next day my parents got up and hit the road early to head back home. Brett and I looked around at ALL the stuff and decided to jump in and get started. We sorted. And sorted. And sorted some more. When we were done he looked at me and said “now what do you want to do?” I just said, right now I need to just sit down for a moment and figure that out! I admit piles of clothing/bath items/blankets that ranged from newborn to 18 months was a little overwhelming. Then, my OCD kicked in and we formed a plan.

We kept out the smaller sizes and bagged the other items up by size so I can pull them out later. This helped tremendously. Then came snipping off all the tags and washing everything we kept out. Can we talk about the ridiculous number of tags on baby clothes? I think that was one of the most tiring parts!

The entire day was full of sorting clothes, snipping tags, washing, drying, and putting everything away in Shelby’s room. When all that was complete it was the perfect time to sit down and write all of my thank you notes – with my feet up of course.

The best part is all of this work gave me a great night’s sleep! Pretty sure it broke the cycle of pregnancy insomnia I had been battling. What were some of the fun things you did getting ready for your baby to arrive?

Makala Pollard is a Senior Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and Stepmom to two boys and after a six-year journey of infertility is expecting a daughter in March.

A Kid Being a Kid

2012-02-06T10:57:00.000-06:00

My son is an only child. With that being said, he spends most of his time, while out of school, around adults. I have noticed that this tends to make him seem more mature, and he tends not to use his imagination as much.

I have tried to be the “cool” mom and suggest certain fun, imaginative things, but he would rather shoot hoops, or play his PSP, or help me cook. Don’t get me wrong, I love when he helps me cook (it actually gets done a lot faster!), but I start thinking back to when I was a kid and I needed to use my imagination to play. My sister is 6 years older than me, so she wasn’t interested in playing with mud; she had people to talk to on the phone! My parents didn’t entertain me. Most weekends were spent either playing outside with the neighborhood kids, or acting out a play in the living room using my mom’s clothes as the wardrobe.

When my son spends the night at his friends’ homes, it is nice to hear the parents tell me, “Oh he had a blast building a fort, playing with action figures, etc.” My son has NEVER built a fort in our house. I offered to help him build one the other day…nope. Not gonna happen.

I see sparks of creativity and imagination in my son. He is very artsy; loves to draw, play musical instruments, and actually likes to go see art. He did build “Camp Awesome” behind our sectional in our game room that was complete with WWE championship belts, blankets, and various stuffed animals that were victims to a cage match. But I want more! I feel as though his childhood would not be complete until I hear him acting out a play or movie in his room by himself.

I have to say, I did see him play outside the box this weekend at the Museum of Nature and Science. We originally saw the shark exhibit, but then ventured to other areas of the museum. It was here that the child in him took off. There were demonstrations of mucous, vomiting (this I found particularly disgusting, even if it was behind Plexiglas and it was only water), and how germs are spread. He ran from exhibit to exhibit and invited me to play along. To see my son climb up into a giant nose is a proud moment for me.

So I attempt to have his friends over as much as possible, or have him over to their house for the mere fact that it keeps him a kid. He wants to grow up so badly, and I don’t blame him. But we all want to hang on to our youth, and by doing so for my son, I find what I miss the most.

What do you miss most from your youth?

Janet Fragle works in customer engagement for innovative technology solutions at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.

A Survivor – Times Two

2012-02-03T09:52:00.000-06:00

I am a Mother of four teenagers. I have two biological daughters, Ashleigh (20) and Adyson (13). I also have a step-son, Whitt (19), and a step-daughter, Lizzie (13). All four children live with my husband and me. My husband, Matt, is a respected 20-year veteran of a local police department. I am a teacher of Pre-Kindergarten five-year-olds. I, like most Mothers/wives, have many “jobs” on a daily basis – wife, Mom, daughter, maid, chef, taxi driver, laundress, educator, care-taker, cheerleader, and many other jobs. To say the least, I am very busy.

Have you ever wondered what your purpose is in life? What God has planned for you? I know, without a doubt, that God has plans for me in this life. I have survived not one, but two major medical scares in my adulthood. I survived so I could use my experience to educate others about heart disease in women.

Thirteen years ago, after twenty plus weeks of bed rest, my youngest daughter, Adyson, was born almost eight weeks premature. Following this long period of bed rest, I had a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung) when Adyson was three days old. Only fifteen percent of those that have a pulmonary embolism survive. Fifteen percent! Through a lot of prayer and healing, I survived a pulmonary embolism. Survivor – YES!

Many changes have occurred in my life over the last five years. I married my husband and went from a mother of two to a mother of four. My life became even busier than it had previously been. More things to care for and less time to do the “caring.” How many Moms can relate to that? I think we all can!

In December of 2010 my step-daughter, Lizzie, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Everything in our household changed. I began to cook differently for Lizzie’s needs. Her diet was based on a 50 to 60 gram carbohydrate diet per meal. My husband and I learned how to calculate carbs for everything Lizzie ingested. We learned how to calculate how much insulin she needed for each time she ate or drank anything with carbohydrates.

In May of 2011, Matt and I decided we wanted to become even healthier. A five-month change in our diet helped us, but we wanted to make even more changes. We hired a personal trainer at a local gym to teach us how to take care of our bodies and lift weights properly. The combination of changes in food and exercising regularly not only helped our health, but helped our stress level, as well.

I tell you all of this for one reason. I had hurting between my shoulders. It didn’t concern me because of all the things I was doing – taking care of my family, exercising, working, staying up later than usual because it was summer. I went to see my regular doctor and told him about the hurting between my shoulders and that I had a few episodes of accelerated heart rate. He put me on a heart monitor for four weeks. He thought the hurting was from muscle fatigue from working out at the gym – something that was fairly new to me. During the four week period I never had another episode of accelerated heart rate. The hurting between my shoulders was still there, but not constant. He released me to continue working out.

On July 4, 2011, I had gone to the gym to work out. It was approximately 11:45am. I was on the treadmill. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano. It was almost 72 hours later. YES, I said 72 hours later. I had a massive heart attack on the treadmill - a “widow-maker” heart attack to be exact. Only three percent survive a “widow-maker” heart attack. THREE PERCENT! Again, with much prayer, healing and education of wonderful doctors, I survived a massive heart attack.

Is there something I could have done to change the fact that I suffered a “widow-maker” heart attack? I had done everything right. I knew my family history; heart disease runs on my father’s side of the family. I had changed the way I ate, changed the way I exercised, lessened my stress, and gone to the doctor and discussed things that had concerned me. I had made many positive changes in my lifestyle, but I was still susceptible to heart disease, even with all the changes I had made.

Do you know common signs of heart problems in women? They aren’t always the same as heart attack symptoms in men. Women often experience shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, lower chest discomfort, upper abdominal pressure or discomfort that often feels like indigestion, and back pain. Not necessarily all of these symptoms are experienced at the same time. Do you as a Mother have any of those symptoms on a regular basis? MOST women experience one or two of those symptoms on a regular basis from taking care of their family.

In retrospect the only sign of concern for me was the hurting between my shoulders. A hurting that both the doctor and I thought was from exercise strain. Please listen to your body and have ANYTHING unusual checked by your doctor. Am I a SURVIVOR? ABSOLUTELY!!!!

Rechele Bonner is Mother to four and a proud advocate for raising awareness about women and their risk for heart disease.

This year I resolve to save more money. Really.

2012-02-02T16:26:00.000-06:00

It isn’t until the first time I saw a significant savings in my grocery bill that I realized the true value of coupons. When you save a dollar here and a 50 cents there, it just doesn’t seem worth it.

Then I met my hero. Whose name I don’t know, by the way. She was shopping in the same aisle as I was and had the phenomenal notebook with coupons lined up in baseball trading card holders. I stopped her and had to ask her about her system. She gave me some tips and shared how much she had saved on her last trip to Tom Thumb. I went home and tried it.

The thing is, after a couple of weeks, I was actually able to save anywhere from $25 on up on my grocery bill. And that gets pretty addicting when you think about the fact that $25 can buy you five Starbucks coffees or a manicure. My personal best was saving $85 on a $172 bill. I was quite proud. And the people behind me were probably annoyed.

But Moms, I’m sure many of you are with me. Whether it’s because your budget can’t squeeze more out of that turnip or because you realize that it’s not necessary to turn away free money, couponing is a great way to keep more money where I want it—in my hairdresser’s hands. ;-)

There are as many ways to coupon as there are people. I’ve seen the envelope method, the “bring all the flyers I have” method, the coupon organizer method, and the” clutch what I found at home” method. My personal favorite is the binder.

I purchased the largest binder I was willing to carry in public, along with a couple of packs of trading card holders. I created labels based on how I shop (by favorite store’s aisle) and then would spend football watching time cutting out coupons. If you’re not brand loyal, then this method will save you lots of money. Don’t cut out coupons you won’t use. They just take up space and tempt you when you don’t need it.

The cool thing is that if you remember to take your notebook with you, you can take advantage of unadvertised sales that combine with a coupon. There are plenty of blogs that will help you take advantage of the system, if you want to put in the time. But even with just the basic strategy of cutting coupons and bringing them with me, I’ve been able to save a lot of money.

How do you take advantage of coupons?

Reace Alvarenga-Smith is a Mother of two who is newly addicted to couponing.

Easing into cloth diapering

2012-02-01T11:10:00.000-06:00

Jake in his cloth diaper.

Days into new motherhood, I felt chaotic, stressed, sleep deprived, and emotionally wrecked from putting so much pressure on myself to make breastfeeding work out the way I’d intended.

I was sort of having a breakdown when my eyes wandered to elaborate stash of cloth diapers we’d purchased while I was still pregnant, bright-eyed, and in love with the idea of saving money/helping the environment/adorning baby’s bottom with cute prints. And I thought daggers at my ambitious crazy former preggo self.

Cloth diapers?!?!? What in the world was I thinking? What made me feel like I could pull of such a thing? Clueless fool!

So I took a step back, took some deep breaths, and acted on some great advice from a friend who suggested we use disposables for the first month of Jake’s life. I planned for us to revisit cloth diapering in a hopefully much saner future (though while in the midst of the baby’s hazing period I was skeptical that even existed).

Giving ourselves that month or so to adjust made all the difference in the world! We started using our cloth diapers about five weeks ago, and amazingly we love them so far.

Here’s the good, the bad, and the stinky on our experience so far with using cloth diapers:

We bought used CDs to save money. If you’re not grossed out by the thought, this is definitely the way to go. We bought a stash of 18 used bumGenuis one-size pocked diapers from a friend of a friend for about half the cost. There’s a cloth diaper group in DFW that does a diaper swap and would be a great place to seek out folks looking to sell. Even if you don’t buy used, you’re still saving money compared to buying disposables. An article on Mint.com (a finance management site) estimates the cost savings are about 27 percent for the child’s first year and 60 percent for the second year!

We love our one-size pocket diapers. I struggle with prefolds (the old-school CDs most people use as burp cloths nowadays). Almost every time I try to use a prefold I end up with a leak. I love the pocket diapers because you can stuff them with double inserts for extra absorbency. Plus they’re super easy to use – you put them on just like disposables. Even his daycare providers have adapted well to using them.

We take precautions to manage the smell. Dirty and soiled CDs get tossed in a pail liner (a special bag used for storing) that sits in a trashcan with a lid next to Jake’s changing table. The pail liners we purchase have a small fabric tab on the inside where you can apply drops of lovely-smelling essential oils like rose absolute blended with jojoba oil to combat the smell. We joke that Jake’s poop literally smells like roses. It’s no Diaper Genie (though I hear from my husband that those can reek to high heaven as well) so we really have to stay on top of washing them every other day or you’ll start to notice. Which leads me to…

We accepted that laundry is a pain. But it’s really not as bad as I thought it would be. Since Jake is fed breast milk exclusively, we can toss dirty diapers (poop and all) right in the washer. We run them through a cold rinse followed by a hot wash and an extra rinse with added water. Using detergent with no additives helps keep the diapers absorbent and in good shape. Once Jake starts eating solids and other things, though, we’ll have to change our process to rinse out the dirty diapers before throwing them in the washer. I’m not sure how well I’ll do with that yet.

So I'm really glad we made the leap of faith, because it's working well for us. And I do feel saner by now. Kind of.

Do you use cloth diapers or have you considered making the switch?

Megan Brooks is a Sr. Public Relations Specialist, Stepmom, and New Mom to a two-month-old whose bottom is adorned with cute prints.

Taking time for me

2012-01-31T10:45:00.000-06:00

While most people made New Year’s resolutions about losing weight, getting fit, eating healthy, spending more time with family, friends etc. I have decided that my resolution will include all of that by retiring. After almost 40 years in the nursing profession and 20 years working at this wonderful hospital I have decided 2012 will be the year.

I have received a lot of the usual comments, such as you are too young to retire, what you will do with all that time, you will get bored, I wish it was me, are you going to volunteer here?

I have a few answers for them.

Why not retire when you are ready, before you physically have to, or don’t remember your name, or when you may be asked to? Why not retire when you feel as if you have given to your profession what you intended to give and you still feel as if it is the noblest profession in the world? I will be retiring with many blessings and experiences that have molded me into the kind of person I am today and with no regrets.

Why not retire when your 80-year-old Mom is still active so that you can spend more time with her and treasure her last few years making wonderful memories together? By the way she is so excited that she got us Season Tickets to Silver Dollar City to go to all the yearly festivals they have. I can just imagine us now with her on her red scooter going up and down the hills of the Ozarks. Reminds me of the day that she called me to say, “Guess what? I have a red convertible now;” I said “What?” like any daughter should say. She just laughed and said it’s my new red scooter and I can go super fast in it and it turns on a dime and I can always leave the top down. We might just make a stop at Choctaw on the way; she has started to like the place. No, she doesn’t play the slots, they have free breakfast for seniors on Tuesday and she can sit and listen to the music while others play the slots. After one trip to the casino she calls me just a laughing. “Judy, I woke up this morning and couldn’t find my underwear and someone else’s teeth were in my pocket.” Still don’t know how that happened, nor do I think I want to know. Just like she said “what happens in Choctaw stays in Choctaw.”

Why not retire when you can take all those classes at the Senior Center without having to use a walker or a cane? I spent all those days years ago taking the kids to dancing lessons, piano lessons, gymnastics, soccer camps, the list is endless. They are grown now; do you think they are still doing any of that? I’ve already checked out the website. Did you know that you can get in a van with the other seniors and they will take you to the Fort Worth Stock Show? They also have ‘belly dancing’ lessons. Now the belly may be like jello now, but doesn’t that sound like great exercise to jiggle the jello?

Why not retire when you can still bend to the ground and plant those spring flowers? For that matter, why not retire when your eyesight is still good enough to see them, while you can still hear the birds as they sing while you check out the spring blooms?

So they ask me, what are you going to do when you retire? I will go to the grocery store on a Tuesday with the other old ladies and young moms. I will not go to the grocery store on a Saturday with all the other people who are rushed and stressed from working all week. I will do laundry on a Wednesday. I will not do 5 loads of laundry on a Saturday so I have enough clean underwear for the next work week.

I will sleep until my body tells me I have had enough sleep. I will not wake up to the sound of an alarm.

I will wear my sports bra when I want to. I will not have to think does this outfit warrant what my daughter calls ‘a real bra.’

I will wear my open toed shoes, my Capri’s and my new fragrance. I will not have to think, Am I in violation of ‘dress code?’

One last question is: Are you going to volunteer here? My answer is I don’t look good in green; pink and purple are my colors.

Judy Flores is a nurse manager in the women’s services area at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano who is looking forward to some me time.

Cell Phone Bathing

2012-01-30T11:30:00.001-06:00

Sometimes Mommies have to learn things the hard way…like just how far a toddler’s reach really is. One day last week, not surprisingly, nature called. Since Daddy was upstairs working and the big boys were engrossed in a video game, Sam came with me. (Don’t judge, we’ve all had to lose our modesty as Mommies and it was one way to keep him from playing on the stairs.) As I often do, I had my cell phone in my hand, so as I came into the bathroom, I set it down on the counter, far enough back to be out of reach of little hands…or so I thought.

As I’m, well, taking care of business, I hear a squeaky toddler-voice say, “Mommy phone. Mommy phone.” “Oh, great,” I thought. “At least it’s locked so he can’t call 911 on me.” (Yes, that happened with an earlier phone, when he was about nine months old.) Next I heard his little footed-pj feet padding over to the tub…playing with some tub toys that were left out from the previous night’s bath. I naively thought he had put the phone down, until I heard it fall – and come apart into 3 pieces (yes, I’ve dropped the phone enough to know what those three pieces coming apart sound like) – into the tub. Not ideal, but at least the tub was empty, and he can’t call China now because the phone is truly out of reach, and in pieces.

And then…I hear the water turn on in the tub. (Now, I don’t think he did that on purpose, because I don’t think he really knows how to consciously turn on the water. I think he was holding the faucet handles and stepped or lurched in just the right way to turn it on.) Queue me leaping off the throne, shouting “NO, SAM!” as I race, pj pants around my ankles to the tub to retrieve my now clean and wet phone. Sam is screaming because I yelled so loudly, and I’m sure I was a scary sight, doing the pants-on-the-ground hobble from tub to counter to try to towel off the phone in time to save it.

So, lesson learned…when you think you have something out of a toddler’s reach, move it at least another foot back, or another shelf higher. And, when small children are around, always buy the insurance on the phone.

(Note: the phone did actually survive the bath, but it took nearly the full day drying before it decided to work properly again.)

Julie Daneman is wife to Bryan, Stepmom to Jacob and Caleb, and Mommy to Sam. They are a boisterous, loving, happy interfaith family.

Thinking Outside the Jar

2012-01-27T11:01:00.000-06:00

Your grocery store is full of opportunities for consumers to get in on this convenience trend that is on the tip of everyone's tongue. That is the number one response that I get 100% of the time from clients or the groups I talk to when asked 'What affects what you eat or cook the most?' Easy, quick, and delicious -- all wrapped in a pretty little bow, or a paper bag advertising the drive thru restaurant that just got the remaining cash in your wallet.

Shopping through your market, you are overwhelmed with pre-packaged, boxed, canned, frozen, etc. One that I would consider pretty darn convenient would be the jarred pasta sauce. I would be guilty of using these a time or two. A simple jar of marinara as a base for my spissskettii (spaghetti- I still pronounce it the same way I did when I was 5 years old). While I was coming up with this next recipe, I contemplated to use a lighter version of an Alfredo sauce. I am one to read a food label in the middle of the aisle, half of which was lined with hundreds of varieties of the jarred stuff, not fearing the shopping buggies that could clip my heels at any moment. When I flipped the jar to the back side I stood there jaw-dropped at the amount of sodium was in that little 10-ounce container. While it was still a little high, but reasonable, on the calorie/fat side (about 70 calories, 5 grams of fat, 3 grams saturated fat for 1/4 of a cup) there were 440mg of sodium in just one serving. That means in the entire jar there were over 2,000 mg! That is the amount that the American Heart Association recommends in an entire day. Whew...that jar went back on the shelf. I left the store feeling a bit defeated in thinking my 'quick and easy' casserole wasn't going to be either of those things. I was going to have to make an Alfredo sauce from scratch. Scratch -- now there is a word that may be foreign to three-quarters of the American population. It shouldn't be that way. Aside from the salt control you posses (BTW, your cardiovascular system will thank you) another plus is that homemade versions (to me, at least) taste much fresher than the jarred, and there is a plethora of ways to get creative with a homemade sauce making it more unique to your taste. There are many pasta sauce recipes out there that require minimum work, like the one to follow for my Chicken Casserole. Matched with a shredded rotisserie chicken and convenient vegetables (frozen broccoli, pre-sliced mushrooms and jarred roasted red peppers) you won’t be missing out on that quick and easy train with a simple homemade sauce.

Veggie-Chicken Bread Pudding

INGREDIENTS:
3 tbsp butter, divided
Cooking spray
2 leeks, chopped (white and light green parts, only)
1 (8-ounce) package pre-sliced Bella mushrooms
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard (powder)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (1%) low-fat milk
1 cup (4 oz) reduced fat cheddar
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 (12 oz) package (steamable) frozen broccoli florets, steamed according to pkg directions
1/2 cup fire roasted red bell peppers, chopped
4 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)
3 cups Sourdough Bread
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, Grated

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400°. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large stockpot coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add leeks, pepper, salt, and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add wine; cook 1 minute. Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level with a knife. Gradually add flour, garlic powder, and mustard powder to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly (mixture will be thick) with a whisk. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add cheddar cheese and sour cream , stirring with a whisk until cheese melts. Combine the mushroom mixture, chicken, broccoli, and red bell pepper; stir until blended. Pour into a 13-X-9 baking dish, coated with cooking spray. Melt remaining 2 T butter in the microwave. Mix breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl; drizzle with melted butter; toss to combine. Spread cubed bread mixture evenly over dish. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove casserole from oven; let stand 15 minutes.

Nutrition Information: Serves 10; 1 cup each
Calories: 352; Fat: 8.6 g; Carbohydrate: 45 g; Fiber: 3 g; Protein: 25 g

Amber Massey RD, LD
Registered Dietitian
Executive Health Program
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth

Heart Broken

2012-01-26T11:16:00.000-06:00

How is it that a child knows just what to say to put us right in our place?

Preston, my four year old, likes to “lolly-gag,” a term we use frequently in our house. He is a very easy-going, laid back, fun-loving child who doesn’t recognize the need to hurry for anything. I, on the other hand, rush to get things done and feel the need to hurry to get out the door on a daily basis.

In the mornings, I have perfected when to wake up Preston so that he has plenty of time to leisurely get ready. I glance at the clock and know just when to start rushing him. However, I haven’t yet perfected how to pick up the pace on such things as eating or cleaning. It seems that lolly-gagging is the basic point of contention in our household.

The first time I actually remember him saying something that put me in my place was when he was about two and a half years old. I remember his age because it happened when I was pregnant with his baby sister. I was brushing his teeth one night and he was lolly-gagging. I very sternly got onto him and he began to cry. I held him and apologized, and he calmed down. A few minutes later as he crawled into bed, he asked, “Mommy, why did I cry?” I turned the question back to him, “Why did you cry, Preston?” He quietly answered, “Because you talked bad to me.” I realized then that my tone of voice certainly made an impression on my young son.

Over the last year and a half, he has grown in tune to his feelings, and he doesn’t hesitate to share when something hurts his feelings.

Just last weekend, Preston had taken a late nap, and when he woke up, he seemed a little out of sorts. Everyone has been sick lately, so by the way he was acting, I was half-way expecting him to be getting sick. We were rushing to get ready to go to a surprise birthday party, and I got onto him for lolly-gagging. He began to cry, and I asked if he felt bad. He said, “Yes.” I thought he would tell me that his tummy hurt, or his throat was sore, but when I asked what hurt, he simply said, “My heart.” As soon as he said it, my heart began to hurt just as much as his did. It broke my heart that I had broken his.

Why is it that we hurt the people we love the very most? And how is it that a young child can put us in our place so quickly?

Julie Swink is a Sr. Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and Mother of two.

“I laughed so hard, tears ran down my leg”

2012-01-25T11:00:00.001-06:00

“I laughed so hard, tears ran down my leg.”

That was a quote from a sign I saw on vacation last summer. While we read it and laugh, we all know what it means. “How’s your bladder working?” is a common question that I ask patients in the office. The responses I get include, “fine, except when I ____”, or, “I’m fine as long as I know where the bathrooms are.” And while some patients may think this is normal, the fact is, it’s not.

The incidence of urinary incontinence does increase with age, but it isn’t something that you should, “learn to live with.” Once you’re potty trained, you should stay so. Unfortunately, childbirth is a big cause of the problem. One study found that for women who’ve had a vaginal birth, the incidence of urinary incontinence was 31 percent in the first three months after the delivery. Another survey found the overall incidence of urinary incontinence to be about 53 percent in women ages 20 to 80. In fact, I heard once at conference that we spend more money in this country on “Depends” than we do on diapers.

Not all leaking is the same. Loss of urine can be due to:
• Stress-incontinence, is when the leakage occurs in response to an increase in abdominal pressure like coughing, sneezing or laughing
• Urge incontinence is when the bladder empties without warning.
• Overflow incontinence is caused by a bladder not emptying completely and basically, “overflows.”
• Some woman have an almost constant leakage of urine which may be due to a problem with the urethra staying open all the time, like a drainpipe.
• Mixed incontinence is generally thought of as a combination of stress and urge incontinence.

And while there are many categories we can use to classify the type of incontinence, there are many reasons within each category as to why it occurs. Taking a thorough history is an important part of the evaluation process, as is performing a pelvic exam and oftentimes performing a urodynamic evaluation. Urodynamics is an office-based test whereby the physician can evaluate the function of the bladder, urethra and pelvic muscles to determine the cause(s) of the incontinence.

Once the cause(s) of the incontinence are determined, treatment options can be discussed. These can include one or more of the following: physical therapy, medication, behavioral modification or surgery.

The first step is to tell your doctor what is going on. If the treatment of incontinence isn’t their thing, they can send you to someone who can help. It saddens me to hear a patient say that they haven’t been able to do the things they love to do because they’re afraid of having an accident. You don’t have to “live with it.” I can think of many instances of patients who were embarrassed to talk about their problem, but after they did and we worked together to fix it, they were overjoyed and felt like they were able to reclaim their lives.

Dr. Kevin O’Neil is an OB/GYN on the medical staff at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford.

Finding a sleep schedule

2012-01-24T11:20:00.000-06:00

Having a baby is wonderful but it can also be exhausting! It is hard to get them on a schedule that works for everyone. This is what works in our home…for now!

The reason for this post is two-fold. First of all, if we decide to have another baby, I want to remember what I did to get Hannah to sleep! The second reason is because so many people have asked me what I do to get her to sleep and I hope to help someone. I also want to say that it might not work for everyone. It is simply what we do. It is what I have done with all three of my kids and it works for us!

When Hannah was first born, the first few weeks were TORTURE! She HATED to be swaddled so I didn't swaddle her. She would sleep all day long and be awake all night...you know the brand new baby routine. Hannah would wake up as soon as you laid her down. There were several nights when she would be awake for several hour stretches. It seemed like I fed her all night long and I was up some nights from midnight to 5 or 6 a.m. It was just awful! We finally went to the pediatrician and she gave us some reflux meds. That same night I decided that part of what was waking her was her startle reflex so I swaddled her. It was like a brand new baby. We also got a wedge for the bed! She slept in three-hour increments and went right back to sleep. It was such a needed change for both of us. She did that for about two weeks with each stretch seeming to be longer and longer. At about five or six weeks she was sleeping six and seven hours at a time. The first time she slept "through the night" was from about 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. It was AWESOME! She did it consistently after that and now sleeps from 8:30 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. and sometimes as late as 7:30 a.m. She also usually goes right back to sleep after her early morning feeding which is nice.

We are still working on daytime sleeping habits, which we have trouble. I mentioned that the first few weeks were rough and I will admit, we survived...that's what our "routine" was. I will tell you that we co-slept (something that I am very uncomfortable with), we slept in the recliner with me holding her, we fell asleep nursing in her room...we slept just about in all kinds of situations. Life was rough...I will not lie. But, after she got the hang of it and we got things straightened out, we were on a roll.

I try my hardest to keep Hannah awake after 7 p.m. Sometimes that is extremely hard because of her poor sleeping habits during the day but I only let her sleep for maybe 30 minutes if she does sleep after 7 p.m. During the day, I wake her if she is asleep after three hours to eat. We are on a three-hour eating schedule during the day. Sometimes I feed her a little early but I try to wait until at least 2 1/2 hours. She is doing well on this schedule. It is not uncommon for me bounce her, rock her or do whatever I can to keep her calm between 7 to 8 p.m. This is her fussy time. Usually around 8 p.m. I take her upstairs to get ready for night time routine. She LOVES taking a bath!!! She has really bad eczema and I think it soothes her skin. The main objective after this is to soothe her and get her mind ready for sleep. I accomplish this with low lighting, soft music, sound machine, and soft voice and touch. I feed her and then try to put her down while she is sleepy but not yet asleep. That is key for us and she does fuss sometimes but it is important for babies to soothe themselves.

I want to add that she sleeps in her crib and has since about four weeks. We both sleep better when she is in her crib.

That's what we do in a nutshell. Many could/would and do criticize many aspects of it but my babies have all slept through the night around 7 to 8 weeks. I, by no means, am an expert...just a mommy who wants to encourage and help other mommies that might need it!

How did you get your children to start sleeping through the night?

Rikki Hester is a social worker at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital and Mom of three girls.

Simple is best

2012-01-23T11:20:00.000-06:00

Ava has reached that age when she constantly needs to have a toy in her hands. But she has her own definition of what constitutes a toy. For instance, all those rattles and plush baby playthings pale in comparison to any kind of paper.

Each weekday when I pick Ava up from daycare, I hand her a rattle and she promptly drops it and reaches for her “daily” sheet – the paper the daycare uses to keep me informed about her feedings, naps, and how her day went. If she’s anything like her Mommy, she’s probably checking it for accuracy.

As for the plush toys – the tag is much more interesting to Ava than the toy itself. She seems fascinated by its size, shape and pliability. I’ve given up on taking the toy and re-positioning it in her hands because every time I do, she just turns it back over and starts playing with the tag again.

I suppose I should be grateful that my baby girl is so easily entertained. And perhaps more importantly, I should learn a lesson about all the “things” we parents buy that simply pile up in a toy box!

What lessons have your kids taught you about "things?"

Rachel Raya is director of Internal Stakeholder Communications for Texas Health Resources.

Sports Overload?

2012-01-20T11:10:00.001-06:00

Now, please don’t throw things at me, because I do realize that there is a childhood obesity epidemic, and that participating in organized sports is one way to combat that epidemic, in addition to the many other wonderful things that organized sports teach kids. But with the two older boys in multiple sports, plus a toddler, I get a little overwhelmed sometimes. And yes, if you remember from previous posts, there are actually 4 parents to help juggle the 2 older boys’ games and practices, so I realize we may have it a little easier than some traditional 2-parent families, simply because we have more drivers to help shuttle. So, I realize I might sound a little whiny here – please forgive me a weak moment.

Basketball season is about to start in our house. I love the boys’ basketball seasons – the games are action packed and fast paced, and it helps that they’re all indoors, so extreme temps don’t cause me to miss games because the littlest fan doesn’t need to be in them. As I was putting their schedules on the nifty new planner Santa brought me, I realized 1) that a 5-week yoga workshop I’d been hoping to attend was likely not possible and 2) just how busy our next eight weeks will be.

And right after basketball ends, baseball starts (no, I’m not kidding; in fact, sometimes there’s overlap). Baseball season is too long, in my humble opinion…but I digress. The point is life often feels like a never-ending sporting event in my neck of the woods. But the kids enjoy it, and it keeps them active, so somehow we manage it all.

This morning Sam was eating breakfast and labeling everything like he usually does: mommy seat, mommy milk (anything I might be drinking is milk, of course), mommy bagel, Sam milk, Daddy seat, etc. Then he started saying, "Bear beeseball, Bubba beeseball." I responded, "yes, Bear plays baseball; yes, Bubba plays baseball, and this weekend we get to see them play basketball!" Then he said, "Sam, beeseball!" Forgive me for thinking, "Oh goodness, not yet, please! Two is enough!"

Of course, when Sam is old enough, if he wants to play sports – or do any other extracurricular activity like gymnastics, dance, or music; we’re equal-opportunity here – we’ll add Sam’s activities to our hectic schedules, and we’ll keep doing it all as long as the kids are having fun.

When did you give up your weekends (and/or weeknights) for your kids to get involved in activities? Is it always fun and games, or do you, too, sometimes feel a little overwhelmed?

Julie Daneman is wife to Bryan, Stepmom to Jacob and Caleb, and Mommy to Sam. They are a boisterous, loving, happy interfaith family.

Missing Milestones

2012-01-19T09:54:00.003-06:00

Like other parents who have shared on this blog lately, I’ve found that leaving my little man at daycare can be difficult.

Well, that’s putting it mildly – I’ve actually found it to be downright gut-wrenching and guilt inducing beyond what I ever imagined. But I also love my job and don’t think I could ever stay at home, either. How parents can make peace with all these conflicting sentiments is beyond me at this point. (Or maybe they never do?) I’m hoping to be more at ease with things as time goes on.

The worst part, for me, is knowing someone else might witness his first giggle, first crawl, first word, etc. instead of me. I remember the very first time he returned my smile and the incredible giddiness/happiness feeling that followed! These precious “first” moments can’t be recreated.

Or…can they?

A friend of mine suggested instructing his daycare providers to not let me know about any firsts that happen while he’s there. That way, I can experience them for myself and avoid feeling even worse than I already do.

I thought this was an interesting idea, but I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it. Is it silly that I kind of want to know exactly when he said his first word? Or could I just embrace that ignorance is bliss and pretend that his first word was spoken whenever I happened to hear it? Does it really matter? These are questions I haven’t answered for myself yet. But Jake is 2 months old and changing leaps and bounds every day, so I’d better figure it out as soon as possible. He won't be uttering his first word anytime soon, but I think his first giggle is just around the corner. How sad it would be to miss that!

Working Moms, how do you cope with the possibility of missing milestones while your child is with their care provider?

Megan Brooks is a Sr. Public Relations Specialist for Texas Health Resources, Stepmom and New Mom to a 2-month-old.

Planning to a fault

2012-01-18T10:58:00.001-06:00

My name is Mindy and I have a problem. What’s my problem you ask? I’m an obsessive planner. I am one of those freaky people who plan what they are going to wear days in advance. I plan conversations, future purchases, and when it comes to gatherings or events, don’t even get me started.

I believe that being a full time working mother of two, wife, daughter, sister, friend, home and pet owner, the only way my life works is to have a plan. With my first child, having a plan relieved my anxiety of leaving the house. I planned our outings around feedings and nap time. I also planned what was in the diaper bag, and where we could stop along the way for diaper changes and nursing. I’m sure you can see how all of this planning could be exhausting. I can never entertain someone with a spontaneous play date without first doing a manic cleaning of my house and planning activities, snacks, and drinks.

One thing parenting teaches you is best laid plans. You can have a beautiful plan, be right on time and then guess what, little Suzie has a diaper blow-out and you are back to square one. Having a second child has forced me to relax a little. I still have a plan but I don’t freak out quite as much if things don’t work out exactly as I “planned” them.

I am currently planning our first family trip involving air travel. I’m getting anxiety just typing the words. Researching and preparation will help ease my anxiety but will also help to make my plan come off without a hitch, or at least I pray that’s how it will be.

My resolution this year is to keep on planning, but not to lose sight of the here and now, present!

Mindy Seals works in the information technology division at Texas Health Resources and is balancing work, married life and raising two kids.

Daycare

2012-01-17T10:34:00.001-06:00

The New Year is always a time to start fresh, make a resolution, take on a new challenge. For Elliot it was the start of “real” daycare. For the first 9 months of his life he was fortunate enough to stay with a family friend while my wife and I worked. We have known for months that January was going to be the time he would start in a more traditional daycare setting and have had time to mentally prepare ourselves. Elliot, on the other hand, was caught unaware.

The daycare we are using is excellent. We should know—we toured enough that I feel very comfortable saying that. The touring process was mind-numbing, to say the least. Sometimes you “just know” when you walk into a place. I remember one such place. We dropped in right at peak time. As soon as the door opened, my senses were assaulted with an overwhelmingly putrid smell and kids screaming. I knew right then that this place was not the winner, but instead of making a u-turn and sparing our evening, we politely sat through the hour-plus sales pitch. We feigned interest when they showed us the playground, classrooms and common areas, all the while knowing that I’d rather hide Elliot under my desk at work than leave him there for one minute.

Conversely, when we walked into the center we ultimately selected, we also “knew.” It was quiet and smelled nice, and the people seemed genuinely friendly. In fact we were so surprised that we decided we would do a stealth surprise visit the next week to make sure they weren’t faking the whole thing. They weren’t; it really was that perfect.

So by the time “the day” arrived, Lauren and I felt pretty good about things. The way our schedules work, I will always be the one to drop him off or, in Elliot’s mind, abandon him, and Lauren will be the one to pick him up—AKA rescue him. It’s probably a good thing that I am the one to drop him off because I don’t know that my wife would have been able to do it. Elliot cried and cried, and even though I stayed for some time, played with him and tried to bribe him with Cheerios, he knew something was up.

We called every couple of hours that first day to check on him, and learned he was staging a hunger strike. He was refusing to take his bottle or take a nap. He was making a point. When we got him home that night, he was completely fried. He ate three consecutive bottles (he’s never eaten more than one) and then passed out around 6:30 for the night. This was a rough start, and we were ready to give up and pull him out of daycare right there.

Luckily, many friends advised us to give it a few weeks, and what do you know, they were right. Now three weeks in, he is doing great. He has made friends with a couple of the babies there and even has his own breakfast clique each morning. He’s called off the hunger strike and is now charming the people there like he does everyone else.

He’s even forgiven me for being the abandoner, but I think he’s still paying me back subtly, as I am now on my second cold of 2012, and its only January 16! I think the way he sees it, if I am sharing my baby with the daycare center, then it is only fair for him to share every germ he can find there with me.

Jordan Echols is a Marketing Manager at Texas Health Resources and dad to 10-month-old Elliot.

Saying NO

2012-01-16T11:11:00.000-06:00

My son, as an only child, often gets whatever his little heart desires. Yes, I will admit, he is a brat, but he is still kind-hearted, and don’t we want better for our children than we had growing up?

So having said this, I am working on how to say “no” to my child more often. Christmas was especially difficult as Santa is supposed to give them their wants and needs. As mentioned on a previous blog post, he is teetering on being a non-believer, so my fear was that he would realize Mom and Dad couldn’t find those scented markers that he wanted (which I couldn’t by the way. Darn those friends at school that have something that Aunt Mary bought from Maryland).

So for Christmas my son was given a game system his grandparents. This is not where it ends. All of a sudden there is a need for an eye (webcam), extra controller, a multitude of games, and the list goes on and on. So, you can see, the questions of, “Mom, can I have…” immediately ramped after getting this system. While we have caved and purchased a couple of these items, we had to draw the line somewhere. A glowing controller? Are you kidding me? All we had when we were growing up was a joystick and a red fire button. And it didn’t glow. And it didn’t connect me to the Internet. And if I wanted to talk to my friends while I was playing, I had to invite them over. AND WE TOOK TURNS because we didn’t have an extra controller! Don’t get me started on the whole walking to school in the snow uphill both ways.

We get asked questions all day long. Some of them are questions about why the sky is blue, or why was that lady so mean at the grocery store (great life lesson by the way), but the majority are questions for things. Yes, you can have yogurt. No, you can’t have cake. No, another pair of soccer shoes won’t make you run faster.

Saying no is fun sometimes just for the heck of it. You see, since he is an only child, and a brat none-the-less, there is an expectation. Before you go off on me saying this is totally our fault as parents, let me just say I am completely aware of this. Working on this will only make that expectation much more realistic.

Ok, now that is out of my system, let’s get back to the fun of saying “no.”

I like to throw him off sometimes; keep the little guy on his toes.

“Mom, can I have an iPod touch?”

“Um, no.”

Here we go. Those of you with older children already know what’s going to happen. It begins - the eye rolling, the whining, the dead weight of feet that stomp around the house because somehow that is going to get the point across. Just somehow knowing that I am thinking about getting him one sometime this year makes this all the more enjoyable. At the same time, I can teach him about throwing fits, and how privileged he already is.

I want my son to have all the opportunities available to him no matter what. This may have gotten out of hand while we were raising him, but there’s no time like the present to fix it. I am looking into organizations that will allow him to volunteer so he can have an appreciation of his present situation. I’m getting better at saying No. It’s an easy word to say. I mean come on, it’s only one syllable.

Any tips from other Moms about how you use the word No for the betterment of your child?

Janet Fragle works in customer engagement for innovative technology solutions at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.

Returning to work

2012-01-13T11:09:00.000-06:00

How do I feel right now?

Let's see...I have a sassy 5 year old that thinks she is 12, an almost 3 year old that is a sweet sweet mommy's girl, and a newborn 2 month old that is by far my most difficult baby to date!

I am exhausted, thrilled, humbled daily, frustrated, and above all, honored that God would entrust these little ones to me! There have been so many times when I have made the comment that I do not deserve these little blessings and I am SO glad that God does not give us what we deserve because frankly, we deserve nothing. I love my kids beyond anything I could have ever imagined. But...being a parent is hard. It is hard to know what the "right" thing is for them. I get so worked up sometimes trying to figure out how to be the Perfect Mommy. Truth is I never will be and I just pray that I don't mess them up too much!

Next week, I return to work. I was able to work right up until the day I delivered which I never thought was possible! Since I was on bed rest for a good portion of my last two pregnancies, I just assumed it would be that way this time as well. Instead, I landed in the hospital for a "hurry up" delivery at 37 weeks, 1 day. I worked all day and then was in labor all that night. That means that I was able to take my entire 12 weeks of maternity leave. I CANNOT tell you how fast these 12 weeks have gone by. It has just been a crazy time with all three of my kiddos, the holidays, and everything. But I would not trade it for anything in the world!!!

I am excited about going back to work. There. I said it. I love my job and I have put so much into my career. Being a social worker is hard and it is very emotionally draining but it is so incredibly rewarding. Do I love it everyday? No. But, for the most part, I love my job. I love helping people and that's what my job is all about. I like the relationships with adults that I have. My work environment is way different than any other part of my job but I feel like it is a piece of the puzzle that just makes everything work.

With all of the things that I love about work...there is a negative...I will leave my baby girl all day! She is so little and fragile (not really, she is pretty tough) and young. Gosh, the thought of someone else seeing her first smile or feeling her first tooth just rips my heart right out of my body but somehow there is such a peace within me about going back to work. I have never been a huge worrier and that includes my children. I mean, I worry about them like normal Moms do, but I am just not one to sit and wonder about "what ifs." God has only given me these little kiddos for a short period of time and I am confident that He will take care of them. I know that it is easy for me to say because my kids have all been very healthy. I know that if anything were to happen, God would give me the grace to deal with whatever He puts in my path.

My kids will be fine, including little Hannah Banana. I am taking her on Monday and Tuesday for a "trial run." I know they won't call me if she starts crying but I will be able to see what it's like taking all three kids and getting myself ready. I think the things I am most concerned about are whether or not she will sleep during the day because I know how hard she is to get to sleep. Then I am afraid she will be overstimulated and not sleep at night. Then I am worried about her eating. I don't know how much to leave her or whether I will be able to keep up with the milk needs. I have decided to not stress about it too much. I will continue pumping and I will keep breastfeeding as long as I can and then when I can't anymore, we will switch to formula. I'm cool with that!

So, for the most part I have mixed emotions about going back to work. Yes, I have three kids in daycare and it is very expensive but they do well with structure and I enjoy my job. I know that the fact that I don't "have" to work and choose to is a topic of criticism but we seriously are doing what is best for our family at this time. Will that change? Perhaps. Perhaps not. For right now, this is where God has brought us so we will go along for the ride.

How did you best handle returning to work?

Rikki Hester is a social worker at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital and Mom of three girls.

Did you say my name?

2012-01-12T11:39:00.000-06:00

Do babies enjoy hearing their name? The question is debatable; but I know, without a doubt, that my little munchkin loves the sound of hers and looks forward to hearing it whenever she can.

As I’ve said before, my daughter’s name, Nandi, means “strong-willed” and “sweet”. And to this day, she’s been living up to both definitions. I picked her up from daycare one day, and her teacher said, “Miss Nandi is becoming bossy; and do you know that she’s very strong?!” I couldn’t help but laugh – yep, my little lady will let you know if she doesn’t like something or someone, for that matter.

But back to how she enjoys hearing the sound of her name. When anyone says “Nandi,” she’ll turn her head in acknowledgement. Sometimes, I’ll sing, “Twinkle, Twinkle” or just make up a song with her name in it, and she’ll give me the most adorable, toothless grin I’ve ever seen.

During “reading time,” she wants to hear her name, too. Right now, her favorite book is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I’ll say, “Chicka chicka, boom boom, Nandi! Will there be enough room?” She’ll look at me with wonder and let out a delightful squeal, followed by a string of babble as she tugs on the books’ pages. Now when she’s zeroed in on her favorite toy or eating a full-course meal (baby food, mind you), she’ll simply (and deliberately) ignore you.

Besides hearing her name, the little lady loves attention, not to mention being a bit nosy. Over the holidays, we spent time with friends and relatives in Arkansas. At her grandparents’ home, there was a constant flow of people stopping by to see Miss Nandi; and the crazy thing is that I think she knew it! Her regular afternoon naps were tossed to the side at this point, but she was fighting sleep with all of her might. Someone would hold her, talk and play with her and then we’d see her eyes droop and finally close shut. I’d get her situated for a nap – and five minutes later, she’d be up smiling, kicking and waving her arms all over the place. Finally, I just decided not to disturb her if she fell asleep in someone’s arms.

During one of her “holiday cat naps,” as I call them, she woke up a few minutes before a group of people were leaving her grandparents’ house. She heard the loud talking and laughing, and instead of being upset that we had disturbed her peaceful siesta, she started bucking and babbling. It was like she wanted to join in on the conversation, too. If a seven-and-a half-month-old could talk, I’m sure she would have said, “Don’t try and sneak outta here without saying good-bye to me!” She truly did not want to miss anything; and at night, she’d be so exhausted and fussy from lack of sleep, it was pitiful. On the drive back to Texas, I think she was awake a total of thirty minutes, out of the entire five-and-a-half-hour trip. She was pooped.

So, I’ve given an example or two about how Nandi enjoys attention and cannot help being nosy, but back to the main topic – how she loves the sound of her name. Baby experts say name recognition usually begins around five or six months of age; and the more you say your child’s name, the more it can help with language comprehension. Out of all the unfamiliar jumble of sound, they can connect to one constant – their name. And my husband and I try to say hers as often and as lovingly as possible. We enjoy saying her name just as often as she loves to hear it. I think she knows she has us both already wrapped around her little fingers. The world definitely revolves around Miss Nandi – but neither one of us seem to mind, not one little bit. I don’t think my husband and I would have it any other way.

Chandra is a Sr. Communications Specialist for Texas Health Resources and new Mom.

I'm Not Ready

2012-01-11T10:17:00.000-06:00

John, today, is nine months and three weeks old. He can tell you he wants to eat, he can tell you when he wants to dance, and he knows the names of all the people and animals who live in this house.

And a few weeks ago, a small, barely perceptible change occurred in his cruising along the furniture - he began letting go, and standing.

As days went by, he got braver. Sunday, he danced without any support. Then today, it happened.

He walked.

Now, it was just a couple of steps. But that, combined with some late night perusing of old photos, has made me one maudlin mommy.

I'm just not ready for this. Any of it. I don't mean the baby proofing - we've got that down. I'm not ready for my baby to become this toddler he's rapidly heading towards. He's already a talking, dancing, funny-face making little person. Add walking to this, and the one last bastion of babyhood remaining is potty training.

And I know that his progress is a matter of pride. And don't get me wrong - I'm proud of the way he's figured out how to retrieve toys from under the couch, use "this" to tell us he wants something and "that" to ask a question like "What is that?" or "Can I have that?"

But my tiny baby - he's disappearing before my eyes. And now we're beginning to plan a first birthday party. People told me it would happen so fast. I just didn't realize it happened in a blink!

What about you? Was the prospect of the first birthday bittersweet for you, too?

Bethany Erickson is the wife of Texas Health Resources web editor Tom Erickson and Mom to a growing boy.

What's for dinner?

2012-01-10T11:15:00.000-06:00

Answering the “what’s for dinner” question is something most of us face every night. I have that covered for the most part. My OCD/Type-A/Dietitian brain takes heart and love in planning my meals (a week in advance) and make my grocery lists (or any list, to be completely honest). My planning habits fall into play as far as planning for meal times when my Fireman and I dine out.

One of my (many) resolutions this year is to be more mindful of my munching habits.

I have it pretty well maintained, I'd say, but sometimes my habits are less than desirable. That is mainly because I really love chips. But, I'm not talking about that right now. I really enjoy the occasional dining out option. It’s such a treat because we don't do it that often. For us dining out is almost never during the week, and maybe once on the weekend. As much as I love eating out, the atmosphere, someone waiting on me, etc. I still feel like I should watch what I put in my mouth.

While there are some healthful choices in dining out, taking out, as well as boxed and prepared meals from the market, we have to be careful about what we are choosing/ordering to eat, seeing that we have no control over the chef in the back. Let’s face it, he/she really doesn't care if you are on a diet, have high blood pressure, or dealing with diabetes. They just want to make it taste good – and by 'good' I mean more oil, cream, butter, salt, and all that in between.

A few tips to remember when dining out
• Remember the plate rule: your plate should consist of ¼ carbohydrate, ¼ protein, and ½ vegetables. You'll be green in the face and sick to your tummy before you eat too many calories in broccoli. Just sayin.
• Suggest restaurants that offer healthy selections when going out to eat with friends or family.
• Look at menus and nutrition information before you arrive at a restaurant. Make your selection and avoid looking at the rest menu when you arrive- studies have shown that those that check the menu ahead of time make healthier choices than those that don't.
• Have a healthy snack before you get to the restaurant or add a broth based soup or a salad before your meal. This makes you less likely to overeat.
• Portion size is important! If you really want a less healthy choice, try ordering a small, lunch or child’s size. Also, choose side items like fruit or vegetables over the fries or mac and cheese.
• Avoid the heavy chef hand and have all dressings, sauces, gravies, dips, etc. served on the side.
• Never make pasta, rice, or potatoes the meal. Order a protein and have them as a side dish. Again, watch what sauces, butters, etc., it is cooked in or covered with.
• Avoid drinks with high calories like sodas, sugar-sweet tea, alcohol, juice, etc.

Or, you can cook at home more often. Not only to manage cost (my Fireman and I can't get out of a restaurant for less than $30 these days) but, when cooking at home you control what goes into your dinner so you can monitor fat, sodium, and calories. I know you've heard me say that before. But, cooking at home also means taking time to prepare a meal after a long day of work, whether it be away from the home, or within the home- it’s still work.

What if I offered you a realistic weeknight option that came together fast, had a (somewhat) short ingredient list that are mainly kitchen staples, and is ready in an hour or less (indeed, done in about 35 minutes or so)? How does that sound to you?

Hoisin Chicken & Rice Noodles
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil, divided
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground chicken breast
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons ground fresh chile paste
1 (6.75-ounce) package thin rice sticks (rice-flour noodles)
2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted nuts (such as cashews, slivered almonds, or peanuts) *Optional*

DIRECTIONS
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic to pan; cook 45 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon oil, ground chicken, and next 6 ingredients (through chili paste).
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain. Add noodles to bowl; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired.

Nutrition Information: Serves 4 (about 1 3/4 cups each)
Calories: 380; Fat: 8 g; Carbohydrate: 47 g; Fiber: 2 g; Protein: 28 g

Happy New Year! If you have additional questions you can email me atwww.texashealth.org/askamber.

Amber Massey RD, LD
Registered Dietitian
Executive Health Program
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth

Only Child Blues

2012-01-09T13:22:00.000-06:00

Not having someone else around your age to relate to can be pretty tough and I think it’s beginning to take its toll on our daughter.

Despite the fact that she has voiced on multiple occasions how inconvenient another sibling would be, my husband and I recently discovered a note she’d written that simply read, “Being an only child is really hard. No one my age to talk to. No one my age to play with.”

Not wanting to leave her feeling lonely, we have tried to make and keep more play dates, increase the frequency of family activities such as bike rides, going to the park, and have even included her in our weekly workout sessions. None of this seems to keep her from mentioning that she gets lonely.

According to some of my family members, the obvious solution is to have another baby, but there would literally be an eight-year gap between the two - Not much of a solution in my opinion.

So, it has left me to wonder what else I could do to take her mind off this. Any advice from you moms of one out there who have experienced this? What did you do?

Nikki Hall-Branch is a Communications Coordinator at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth and determined Mom to one equally determined daughter.

How do you get mad at that?

2012-01-06T10:57:00.000-06:00

The little boys have an 8:30 p.m. bedtime... And that's just so they'll be asleep by midnight.

Maybe midnight is a slight exaggeration, but they will stay up as long they can think of excuses to keep those little eyes of their open. They have to get a drink, another trip to the bathroom because the little sip of water was on a fast-track through their bodies, they forgot if they said, "Good-Night", they forgot if they gave everyone a hug, they always have to fight a little bit before falling asleep, but the best excuse for staying up later happened the other night.

They were watching a show with Dad, and were totally involved in whatever it was they were watching. So they asked if they could please stay up until it was over. Dad gave in, but only if they went straight to bed and straight to sleep as soon as it was over.

Nine o'clock rolls around and they quickly get up, say their good nights, and go right to bed. It didn't take five minutes before I heard the commotion of two boys fighting coming from their bedroom. I go in there with a stern look on my face, swing open their door and ask, "What is going on in here?" Corey replies with, "Cameron is reading, so I hit him and told him to go to bed."

Keep in mind their room is dark, with only a faint ray of light from the back porch light coming in through the window next to Cameron's bed. Cameron peaks his head out from under his covers and looks at me with his big brown eyes. I'm already thinking, I can't get on to him as much as I was going to because he IS reading, and reading IS a good thing. Next to me, Corey is consistently reminding me that they were to go straight to bed and straight to sleep, but Cameron decided to read instead. Corey sure was trying to get his brother in trouble.

Here comes the real kicker though. Cameron pulls the book he was reading out from under the covers and he is holding his Bible. He tells me, "I just wanted to read a couple verses before I went to bed." So, any and all punishments flew right out the window right then and there. How do you get mad at that?

I ended up explaining to them, even though reading the Bible is wonderful, they still have to go to bed when we tell them to, and to Corey "You don't hit your brother in the head when he is reading the Bible.”

Have you faced a similar situation where you couldn’t get mad?

Melissa Townley is medical staff coordinator at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville.

Birthday party balancing act

2012-01-05T12:35:00.000-06:00

Over the past year, we’ve been invited to several birthday parties that were held at places designed for kids, like Going Bonkers and Chuck E. Cheese.

With the quickly approaching fourth birthday of my first-born sweetie pie, Dylan, I battled with the decision of whether or not to have his birthday party at a similar type of venue.

Typically, we just invite family to our house for grilled cheese sandwiches and car-shaped cupcakes. However, with the knowledge that these places now exist, I was concerned Dylan would expect to have a like party. Plus I thought 4 years old was a good age to start inviting family friends – and I didn’t want those kids to be bored.

After talking with several more seasoned moms, I was provided with some great recommendations. After I searched the Web, did a couple of site visits and spoke to a few salespeople, I realized that the cost for those parties can quickly add up. You mean I have to rent the place for X number of kids (so RSVPs are crucial) for Y hours, and then we cannot bring in outside food (so we have to pay $$$ for their vendor-approved menu)? Yikes!

Now, I totally see the value in those party packages, but nothing seemed like a good fit for this birthday. I mean, he’s 4 years old – if we set that precedent now, where would we go when he turns five, let alone 10?!

With Dylan’s input, we landed on a superhero-themed party at the Super Secret Superhero Headquarters (a.k.a., the Forbus residence). We’ll dress up in fun costumes, play age-appropriate superhero games, and eat cupcakes and ice cream.

Maybe we’ll look into an external venue for future birthdays, but for now, we’re keeping the celebration close to home. Plus, Dylan got a super-cool aquarium for his birthday – how in the world could we have successfully taken that to an off-site location?!

For your kiddo’s birthday parties, what’s your preference and why – D.I.Y. at home or a party package at an alternate venue?

Mandy Forbus is a Sr. Marketing Specialist at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, and mother of two that is ready for a superhero party.

Daddy day care

2012-01-04T11:21:00.000-06:00

When I was pregnant with Ava, a dear friend of mine who I like to refer to as "Supermom" shared a fascinating tidbit with me. When her husband keeps their four kids, they never refer to it as "babysitting."

"It's parenting," Supermom said, matter-of-factly.

Clearly, Supermom is the expert. And let's face it: she does have a point. Where is it written that Moms automatically assume primary responsibility for children? Is a Dad any less a parent than a Mom? These are all fascinating questions - none of which my husband is interested in exploring. In his mind, the buck stops and ends with Mommy. So the moment he realized that Ava's daycare would be closed for the same two-week period that he was off work for the holidays, he turned white as a sheet and looked as if he might pass out. I was worried for a minute there that I might need to administer oxygen (not that I would have had any oxygen to administer).

So I spent my Sunday evening typing out step-by-step instructions for Nick about how to care for our daughter -- when and how much she eats, when and typically how long she naps -- all the pertinent information.

I'm proud to say that when I arrived home the first night, at least on the surface, it appeared as if Daddy day care had been a great success. Everyone was smiling and relaxed and there was nary a tear in sight.

As I approached my sweet seven-month-old baby girl to pick her up, I realized she was still wearing the pajamas I put her in last night.

"Typically, when a new day starts, we like to dress our child in a clean pair of clothes," I explained to my husband.

He looked at me blankly. I reached down to pick up Ava and immediately felt that her diaper was the size of a basketball. (OK, I'm slightly exaggerating). "Did you change her diaper?"

"Of course I changed her diaper," he said, as if he wanted to add a "Duh" on the end.

"When did you change her diaper?"

"9:30 this morning," he said flatly.

Apparently my comprehensive instructions for Daddy day care were not quite comprehensive enough. I think I need another session with Supermom.

Rachel Raya is director of Internal Stakeholder Communications for Texas Health Resources and is the proud mom of a seven-month-old girl.

The Power of No

2012-01-03T11:10:00.000-06:00

I have always prided myself on being a parent who doesn’t give the kids everything they want. I am proud to say that my kids have never whined or thrown a temper tantrum in the store when I told them we couldn’t buy the toy they just had to have. I can remember a specific time when we went with a group of moms and kids to the circus. Upon leaving, virtually every kid insisted on getting a souvenir. The other moms succumbed. But I proudly leaned over to our daughter and explained to her that our treat was coming to the circus and that the only thing we would take home was memories. I patted myself on the back for that.

But I am not so proud of a habit I’ve seen in myself that has grown increasingly worse as our kids have gotten older. Why is it that I have such a hard time saying no to the demands for my time – not from my immediate family, but from others? Why is it I sign up to help even when I know I already have too much to do? I think there’s some deep dark curse on all mothers that says that if we don’t say yes, something terrible will happen – our kids will miss out on something, not be accepted by others, or even worse, that as mothers, we might not be accepted.

When my dad died last year and I took on the added role of caring after my mom a bit more than usual, I made a pact that 2011 would be the year of “NO.” I adhered to the adage that “life is short” and I should say yes only to the things that would really our impact our lives. To be honest, I didn’t say “no” to everything, but I did so “no” to the things that I felt weren’t adding value in our lives. Did we need goodie bags for the Halloween party at school? Did we need to sign up for Cub Scouts on Fridays when we already had an activity three other days of the week and my kids were exhausted? Did I need to be on the PTA board again?

The more I thought about the time these things were taking, the more I realized that my efforts to do “good” were actually taking time from what mattered most to me – my family. I began to loathe the thoughts of running around like a chicken with my head cut off and then telling my son that I didn’t have time to stop and play a board game with him.

It’s been a slow transformation, but these days I find I can say yes to things that really matter to me like cooking a family meal and enjoying it together, reading a book in bed with my son at night, or volunteering as a family at the homeless shelter. And one thing I know for sure - those memories are souvenirs you can’t buy anywhere!

What works for you to balance the demands on your time with quality family time?

Chris Bolding is married to Brent Bolding, CRM manager at Texas Health Resources, and a Mom of three.

Grandparent Bond

2012-01-02T09:48:00.000-06:00

My father, who is now 73 years old, suffered a stroke in the summer of 2007. At the time of his stroke, my daughter and son were 8 years old and 4 years old respectively. It was a terribly frightening time for everyone in the family. My Dad seemed so young and was very active---how could this be possible?

A few days after the event, my mind was flooded with all the things that my kids would never get to experience with their Grandfather (affectionately named Poopa)---hunting trips, lessons in his wood shop, cooking in the kitchen, and wind-blown cruises in his red Corvette. Why I was so upset about these things was unknown to me, because they were not things I did with my Grandfather. However, these were things that my Dad looked forward to and enjoyed tremendously. These were the things that made him happy, and I knew he would enjoy doing them with my kids. I greatly mourned the loss of these events for my Dad and for my kids.

While my Dad is still with us today, his limited mobility and partial vision loss prevents him from doing the things he loved doing before his stroke. Although he has finally come to accept his limitations, it is not without obvious sadness whenever we converse about his years as a dentist, his hunting trips or the beautiful things he made in his wood shop.

This has been a long and insightful journey for all of us these past four and a half years. But it is a journey that has taught us all so much. Rather than dwell on what my father can no longer do, we celebrate all that he is able to do. When things seem to be rough for me, I think about my Dad and the challenges he faces, and my own difficulties never measure up. I have to tell myself (or my kids) to stop complaining and move on! It’s a great perspective to have, and I try to steer my kids toward it whenever I can. My children have a great bond with my Dad and love him for who he is, not for what he can do for them. He is the first person they run to when they get to my parents’ home and the last person they hug before they leave. They are very protective of him and always make sure that he is taken care of.

For Christmas 2008, my daughter’s letter to Santa Claus stated that the only thing she wanted was for Poopa’s stroke to go away. She was only 9 years old and we were amazed at her request. At that age, most Christmas lists are full of material items. My husband and I loved the fact that she thought about someone other than herself for that holiday season. It was then that we realized that she knew what love and life were all about.

Michele Charless is the manager of the NICU at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano and the Mother of two.

Get Your Facts in Gear for 2012

2011-12-30T09:14:00.000-06:00

It is almost January 1 - do you know what that means? New Year's Resolutions. For most people, this means a time for weight loss, hitting the gym, and the out with the old, in with the new mentality. After all- the typical 'I'll start my diet on Monday' phrase probably turned into 'I'll start my diet in January' during the holidays.

In reality, most people, including myself, want a quick fix. The result is getting caught up in all of the popular fad diets and temporary weight-loss eating programs. The problem is exactly what I mean when I say temporary. These crazy eating habits and weight loss ideas will work for a short time- but I can almost predict that one cannot maintain it and end up gaining the weight back.

Let's start with the facts of exercise. Have you ever started a workout program and not lost weight? Have you seen people at the gym religiously and not seen a pound melt off of them? Doesn’t exercise make you lose weight? It should, right?

Fact 1: Exercise burns calories. While this is a fact, most people overestimate how much they actually burn. You can be safe to assume about 100 calories burned every 10 minutes of moderate to intense cardiovascular activity (speed walking, jogging, elliptical training). So- A 30 minute workout would typically burn 300 calories, 45 minutes is 450 calories and a whole hour would be 600 calories. Strength training does not burn as many calories during the actual workout, just about 200-300 calories for a moderate hour of training. However, strength training does increase your metabolism throughout the day- you may have heard, muscle burns more calories than fat, so having good muscle tone will help with weight maintenance. Be aware that the caloric burning tool found on just about every workout machine at the gym is usually inaccurate to calculate your individual calories burned. A better, more accurate choice could be investing in something like the Body Bugg.

Fact 2: Exercise is good for your heart. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommend that every person get at least 60-90 minutes of moderate to intense activity most days of the week to prevent illness and disease. Exercise can help to lower blood pressure, decrease bad cholesterol levels (LDL), increase good cholesterol levels (HDL) and improve blood glucose numbers. If your crunched in the time zone, start with trying to get in at least 30 minutes each day. Plus, it (naturally) helps you feel more energized all day! Who needs coffee :)

Fact 3: Exercise makes you hungrier. Because exercise stimulates your metabolism, it also increases appetite for most people. If you think about it, you burned calories off so your body naturally wants to eat them back. However, if your goal is weight loss, the deficit of calories from exercise needs to stay a deficit! Herein is where the (your) main problem lies…

Thought 1: “I exercised today so I can eat that cookie! I already burned it off!” (7 cookies later)

Thought 2: “My metabolism must be speeding up from working out…I can finally eat more!”

Thought 3: “I can eat whatever I want. After all, I work out.”

Can you maybe see why some people have trouble losing weight? It’s pretty simple really. If you eat back the calories you burned off no deficit will remain. For example, say you power walk 45 minutes on the treadmill and you follow that up with a breakfast of a tall low-fat latte and a regular bran muffin from the local coffee shop. All sounds healthy right? In this case you burned 450 calories, but then ate about 525 calories (typical muffins from a coffee shop hold a powered amount of hidden calories!) So you are now in the plus category instead of a deficit.

The answer to all this is NUTRITION. You have to watch what you eat, even when you start exercising. I have a couple numbers to throw out at you. Weight loss and maintenance comes from seventy percent diet, and only 30% from exercise. I'm not discounting the importance of exercise, just trying to put it in perspective. Did I burst your resolution bubble?

It is all about moderation, focusing on eating small meals often throughout the day and having a whole grain carbohydrate/fruit and a lean protein/healthy fat at each meal and snack. Then pile up on non-starchy vegetables as they make you feel full without many calories because of their fiber and water content.

Create a plan of healthy eating known as the “80/20 Rule”. Eighty percent of the time, focus on eating for health including lean meats, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats. The other twenty percent of the time (about 2 meals each week) you can eat for pleasure- hello Mexican buffet. I've missed you. The key is that the majority of the time you are eating healthy and eating higher calorie foods in moderation.

No food is a bad. Some are just better than others :)

And remember, if you are trying to create a deficit to provoke weight loss…you might be a little hungry. Try to eat until you are “not hungry” instead of “full”. Eventually your stomach will adapt and you will not feel as hungry. It may not be a piece of cake, but totally do-able.

Happy New Year! If you have additional questions you can email me at www.texashealth.org/askamber.

Amber Massey RD, LD
Registered Dietitian
Executive Health Program
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth

Breastfeeding Blues

2011-12-29T10:38:00.000-06:00

There was never a question in my mind about whether I’d breastfeed. I was very passionate about doing it, though I’d heard enough anecdotes from other Moms to know it was not going to be easy. I just never expected it to be quite so hard. I think, deep down, I still expected it to come naturally for my son and me.

Within an hour of Jake’s birth, we did skin-to-skin contact and he breastfed beautifully. We were off to a great start.

But later, in postpartum at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, I was having trouble getting him to latch. And when he did latch, he wouldn’t stay on for very long. He’d just stop and start screaming at my nipple angrily. One of the nurses brought me a nipple shield to help, but this made his latch feel very painful. I wasn’t sure if it was an incorrect latch pain or a just a new-to-breastfeeding pain. Either way, I grit my teeth and kept at it hoping he was getting some colostrum.

By the end of day two, we were still having troubles and my nipples were absolutely killing me. Things didn’t feel right. The nurse took him to have him weighed and we learned he’d lost a little over eight percent of his body weight. She told me they suspected he also might be on the line for having jaundice. They worried he was not getting enough nourishment due to our breastfeeding struggles, so they wanted to cup feed him some formula.

That’s when I completely lost it and began sobbing uncontrollably. I was failing at breastfeeding and my son was suffering because of it. This was the beginning of a cascade of negative feelings that would continue to haunt me for the coming weeks – frustration, guilt, and inadequacy as a mother.

First thing the next morning, a lactation consultant came to visit me. The wonderful nurse from the night shift must have arranged this after my emotional outburst. She offered some great tips and taught us to insert a syringe with formula underneath the nipple shield to get Jake suckling, and hopefully the stimulation would get my milk to come in. I was also told to pump after every feeding to get things flowing. I left the hospital on the third day feeling confident and ready to conquer this breastfeeding thing, thinking my milk would come in the following day.

It didn’t. And I still couldn’t get him to latch for very long, even with the nipple shield filled with formula. Feeding was extremely stressful for the both of us, and little Jake screamed with hunger. This was not the blissful bonding experience I envisioned. We fed him formula with a syringe directly, and again I had an emotional breakdown.

I couldn’t let him starve. Finally I gave in and decided we’d need to feed him formula from a bottle, knowing that introducing an artificial nipple this early could sabotage our already dysfunctional breastfeeding relationship. But I didn’t know what else to do. I was so upset, disappointed in myself, and beyond stressed. At this point, it probably would have benefited me to contact a lactation consultant again for help, but I was so filled with anxiety at that moment that I felt like I didn’t have it in me to keep trying. I just wanted to get my son some nourishment in a way that was quick and un-stressful for the both of us.

I did keep using the breast pump, and what little milk I could get out I fed to him to supplement the formula.

Days into formula feeding, I was giving Jake his bottle one morning at 3 a.m. as he stared up at me wide-eyed and alert. He seemed to be taking in all the details of my face like a little sponge. I loved it. At that moment, for some reason, I relaxed and forgave myself a little. If this is the way it had to be, it was going to be okay, I decided.

When I woke up later that morning, I was covered in breast milk. Finally it had come in! It felt like Christmas to me.

But when Jake still wouldn’t latch, I called a lactation consultant at the hospital for help. She told me I’d have to take away the bottle for 24 hours and really work at it with him. But what if it doesn’t work, I fretted. I didn’t think I could let him not eat for that long. I asked her about exclusively pumping and if she thought that was okay. She assured me there was absolutely nothing wrong with that, and what’s important is that he’d be getting breast milk.

For a few days we gave Jake an equal mix of both formula and breast milk, until finally I was producing enough that we could feed him pumped breast milk exclusively. Although I’m thrilled about that, I’m still disappointed in myself for not being able to make breastfeeding work. I wanted the bonding experience, I worry about my supply going down, and every time I feed him from a bottle and then go pump I shake my head at the inefficiency of the process. If only I could cut out the middleman.

But sometimes things just don’t go as we planned. And if we’re good parents, we focus on the big picture – a happy, healthy baby – instead of obsessing about what didn’t go exactly as we thought it would.

Did you have trouble breastfeeding? What was your experience like?

Megan Brooks is a Sr. Public Relations Specialist for Texas Health Resources, Stepmom, and a Mom to a six-week-old son learning to balance expectations and reality.

What a difference a holiday makes

2011-12-28T13:10:00.000-06:00

Holidays growing up when we’d visit my extended family were almost always full of a boisterous crowd of lots of aunts and uncles and cousins.

My mom is one of eight and all of her siblings have had children so you can probably do the math. Our attendance at holiday gatherings pushes past 40 and is rapidly approaching 50 as the cousins keep adding boyfriends, girlfriends, and children, to the crazy mix. So that’s what I’m used to.

Then I met my husband. He’s got little pockets of family scattered across five states, but in terms of holiday get togethers we reliably draw a crowd of 10 to 12 people. We get to stay here in town with an easy commute over to Keller to celebrate. Contributing to the family dinner is easy because the proportions are normal. It’s not hard to figure out how many sides are needed for less than a dozen people.

When we were dating and decided we were serious about each other we started traveling for holidays. One year is Thanksgiving at home with his family and Christmas in Kansas with my family and the next year we swap. It’s worked well so far, now past our fourth year of the rotation. That’s not to say there weren’t hiccups along the way. Neither set of parents loves the off-year Christmas and adjusting to the traditions of a new family can be tough.

But this year in particular I was struck with amusement at the difference in how we celebrate.

Thanksgiving with his family was six adults and one baby. We all fit at one table. We even had to remove chairs from my in-laws’ dining rooom table because there were extra. We had fun at a quiet decibel level. We all could have a conversation together at one time.

Flash forward a month and we’re at my parents' house for Christmas. All the furniture has been pushed back against the walls in my parents', thankfully, sizeable family room. Three folding tables are set for the buffett. Folding chairs appeared alongside casserole dishes of appetizers or desserts. For four hours or so the volume rose and rose as about 45 people gathered. Added to the mix of 15 aunts and uncles and 18 first cousins (plus five spouses of the older cousins), there were two new girlfriends, two new boyfriends, a newborn and a baby due in February. In other words the typical expanding of a large family that puts great emphasis on the importance of family.

I did notice some changes this year though. I remember searching the crowd at my husband’s first Christmas with my family only to see him sitting wide eyed and quiet in the corner unsure of names or what to do with all these people when I’d been pulled away to help with something or another. I can get overwhelmed by it myself and I've been around them all my life so I couldn't blame him. This Christmas though we got separated several times and each time I’d scan the crowd for him he was busy chatting with an uncle or cousin looking totally at ease.

I’m thrilled that between our two families we can experience both versions of the holidays even if it occassionally makes us feel like extras in some holiday movie where the girl meets the boy’s family and chaos ensues from culture shock.

As we begin to turn our attention toward what we’re establishing as routines for our family going forward it’s nice to be able to choose among the gamut of holiday experiences. How have you created your own independent holiday routine while still honoring your family’s traditions?

Jennifer Erickson is a Senior Public Relations Specialist for Texas Health Resources.

Mommy, my head is itchy

2011-12-27T10:32:00.000-06:00

“Mommy, my head is itchy.”

Ut oh.

Please God, don’t let it be...

Ew..ew….ew!!!!!

Yep. It was lice. Whether she got it at camp, at church, at any random birthday party we went to, or the festival where she tried on a hat, this was not good.

Thankfully my hubby dealt with the initial issues. He trudged over to the pharmacy to get a recommendation from the pharmacist as to what medicine to use. He drug all the sheets, comforters, stuffed animals and anything head-related and washed it in hot water and then dried it in a hot dryer.

Poor H. was miserable having to get her hair “denitted” twice a day. We would run her hair through the straightening iron on the days we didn’t blow dry her hair. All things she considers torture. The thing is, you have to stay vigilant with those little suckers. You’re not really in the clear for about two weeks (or so I was told).

Luckily, my hubby is great with the kids. When removing the nits, he latched on to my daughter’s innate need for revenge and would show her the live lice as he took them off her head. They would then name them and H. would turn on the water in the sink and watch “Itchy” or “Scratchy” go down the drain.

“The pharmacist wants me to remind you that lice is common and that anyone can get it,” my hubby told me. “It doesn’t reflect on your parenting.”

Ha! No matter how much you tell yourself that, you can’t help but think it.

Especially when the same kid comes down with Pink Eye in her left eye the following week. (It hit the right eye the following week.) We started calling her Typhoid H.

The good news is that we managed to get rid of the lice (and the pink eye.) No one else came down with anything. (Thank God!)

So, poor H. No more trying on hats anywhere we go. I think we all learned that lesson the hard way.

Reace Alvarenga-Smith is a Public Relations Manager for Texas Health Resources and mother of two.

Not a Crafty Momma

2011-12-26T11:00:00.001-06:00

I’m not a crafty Momma. Well, perhaps I should rephrase that, lest someone attempt to call dispute that.

I do counted cross-stitch when I can; I can make simple projects on the sewing machine. I enjoy both of those things very much, but I find I don't often have the time I'd like to devote to it (ask me about the 6 unfinished baby blankets in my dining room).

However, I'm not a "Scrapbook-crafty" Momma. I have eleventy-seven gajillion (yes, I’ve counted) pictures of my kids. Most are still in digital form, and believe it or not, I enjoy going through them often on my computer. I do not, however, have the beautiful and adorable scrapbooks that I see other Mommies keeping for their angels. Honestly, Sam's baby book is not anywhere close to complete—which reminds me, I need to add stats from his last couple well-checks.

Even simple scrapbook-y projects eventually elude me. When Bryan and I were engaged, I started a "birthday album" for Jacob and Caleb. I printed out pictures from their birthdays - cake, presents, etc. - to put in photo albums for each of them. Very simple albums, no page embellishments, just picture and handwritten caption—I think they were last added to about 3 birthdays (each) ago. . .

So, sorry boys, there won't be a wonderfully artistic reminder of your lives for you to enjoy when you get older.

Or will there? I may not be a scrapbooker, but I write pretty decently. And I want to remember the funny things the boys say and do, and the amazing things they learn so quickly. When Bryan set up a blog for me (and when I actually started using it...), it became a sort of digital scrapbook for me. I record milestones, birthday stories, Hanukkah and Christmas pictures and stories, and any other funny stories that happen in our lives. (Believe me, with 4 boys in the house, there are PLENTY of funny stories…who knew bodily functions could be so humorous?) And, when I remember to do it, I can send links to family and friends (who aren't on Facebook or Twitter to see the new posts pop up) to keep them updated on the fabulous-ness that is my life in a house full of boys. And even though they occasionally protest at the funny stories I post (Caleb wasn’t too fond of me posting about how he fell asleep in his closet, and Jacob wasn’t too happy that I posted about him letting a friend’s little sister paint his fingernails), they do ask about new stories I’ve written and they like to see their names in “print.” (Hey, who doesn’t?)

So, no, I'm not a Crafty Momma. But I think our family memories will still be preserved in a way that's meaningful to us. What about you? Are you a Crafty Momma? How do you record holiday memories, big accomplishments, or firsts?

Julie Daneman is wife to Bryan, Stepmom to Jacob and Caleb, and Mommy to Sam. They are a boisterous, loving, happy interfaith family.

A Christmas Rebel

2011-12-23T11:00:00.000-06:00

We met Santa and his wife in the basement of the building. They had been doing this for a while. Today was our first time, and our children (then 11 and 17) were eager for the experience. We pulled on our sweltering Santa hats with the white pompoms on top and followed the big guy up the elevator.

The Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital representative met us on the pediatric oncology floor. We pushed our rolling tray of stuffed bears and tiny blankets down the hall and had to sanitize our hands at every corner. As elves, we were allowed to hand Santa the gifts but we couldn’t enter where the children lay.

We stood by the window of each room and watched the gentle man cheerfully make each child smile and laugh...perhaps even forget her or his pain for a moment. Some were so sick that all they could manage was thanking him through wide eyes and weak smiles.

Sometimes a parent would leave the room at the sight of their children’s great happiness. They didn’t want their child to see them breakdown. The strength it must take! They spend the day—or the entire season—in the hospital attending to their child while their desire to see Maggie or Ben run and play around the decorated tree at home withers. Hopes unfulfilled.

I could only imagine the sorrow. But I knew why we had sacrificed our comfort to come here on this special day. Their moment of saving-face became our opportunity. “Can we pray for you?”

They rarely said no. Every bit of support was welcome. Often a father would unburden his heart regarding the struggle of the past weeks, months. “I’d hoped Maggie would’ve been able to come home for Christmas. Hopefully for her birthday next month….”

We hit every pediatric floor and prayed for any parent willing to receive. A couple of hours later, the six of us traveled back to the basement with the leftover gifts. How Santa had interacted with a hundred or so kids without shedding a tear, I’ll never know.

My husband, a retired army officer of tough German character, admitted, “I could’ve never held myself together in those rooms.”

“Can we do this again next year?” Our kids had fed the poor and sung in nursing homes, but this endeavor of kindness apparently outranked all those experiences.

Some people enjoy the bustling aspect of this holiday, but I flee from the Santa Claus craze. Daily news coverage proves that our culture is obsessed with materialism. I rebel. Greed is not a virtue, yet we awake at odd hours in the morning just to stand in line in order to buy a gift for…five dollars less than it was yesterday.

Okay, maybe I’m going overboard. But, I seriously avoid maniac crowds—even at the loss of a great bargain.

Is it wrong to want to bless your children with gifts? Heavens no! That’s natural. It’s our attitude toward the gift(s) that matters. As our pastor says, “Stuff is just stuff.” The question he encourages us to ask is, does the stuff own you, or do you own the stuff? Do you buy things merely to flaunt? Do you go in debt to keep up with the Jones? Where is your heart?

One way to find out is to buy just one gift. Or go without. Better yet, instead of giving gifts, give time to others who don’t have anything.

Is it too late to act? Well, then, evaluate this year and plan now for next year. Spend next Christmas morning at the soup kitchen. At the nursing home. At a children’s home. Pool your family’s funds to buy and deliver necessities to a women’s shelter. Take your eyes off the gifts under your tree and be a gift to someone else.

Then, when you return home to celebrate, you’ll really be able to appreciate what you have. Give your children the best gift ever: an awareness of what it truly means to need and a spark of compassion that will open their hearts.

What do you do to remember the reason for the season?

Julie Marx is wife to Texas Health Resources Chief Information Officer Ed Marx and a mother of two.

Santa Explanations

2011-12-22T11:00:00.002-06:00

Christmas time with four year old, Preston, and 15 month old, Emory, has been tons of fun this year. Teaching them that the real meaning of Christmas is the birth of our Lord and Savior is very important to us, but they are also learning that the spirit of Christmas is very much alive in Santa Claus.

Santa comes to visit Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville each year. Preston first saw Santa in Stephenville at five weeks old. Emory was 12 weeks old when she first met him there last year.

This year, though, was a little different.

Part of my job is working on the Mommy Mixer program offered at Texas Health Stephenville. As a mom of little ones it’s fun to participate in the program where new moms in the community bring their babies to a monthly gathering. For December, our special guest was Santa Claus. All of the babies had an opportunity to sit on Santa’s lap for pictures. When we planned our visit from Santa, we didn’t realize that it was going to be on the same day that he was coming to visit the hospital. So, we had two (different) Santas on the same day!

My husband, Josh, picked up our kids from WeeSchool, and brought them to the hospital. I was working on finishing the Mommy Mixer when in walked my husband and two kiddos. Now, Preston is quite observant. I quickly assessed the situation and knew that he would catch on to two different Santa’s.

I said, “Preston, do you want to sit in Santa’s lap here or wait until he goes over to the big hospital in a few minutes.” He opted to wait until we were at the big hospital. Santa #1 and Preston had a great conversation that ended with, “Preston, I’ll see you at the big hospital in a few minutes. I need to freshen up a bit though since I’ve been playing with all of these babies.”

A few minutes later, we walked over to the “big hospital” where Preston sat on Santa #2’s lap. He told him what he wanted for Christmas, smiled for pictures, and was very patient as Emory wasn’t as excited to see Santa. Emory had to study him for a few moments, and then decided she still wasn’t too happy about sitting in the lap of a crazy-looking stranger!

On the way home, out of the clear blue, Preston explained the reason why the Santa’s looked a little different, “Mama, Santa had to change his clothes because all of those babies pee’d on him!”

Sure makes sense to me! And, who am I to tell him differently?!

Have your kids explained any interesting stories about Santa Claus?

Julie Swink is a Sr. Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and mother of two.

What my children have taught me

2011-12-21T12:57:00.000-06:00

Since the birth of my first child Lily (three and a half years ago) my husband and I have bent over backwards to entertain this child. Weekends have been chalked full with festivals, museums, zoo days, fairs, etc. We worked hard to enrich Lily and to treat her to new experiences. The funny thing is, one of her favorite things to do is sit in the driveway with me and draw with chalk. She also loves to lay in the living room floor with me and color. Lily has taught me that it doesn’t matter what we do or where we go, she just likes spending one on one time with me.

My second child, Logan (still a baby) has taught me so much in his short life. He seems to be growing at warp speed and he’s taught me to hold on to the moment and cherish all the precious time we have together. He’s also taught me to relax and not be so uptight about everything. He brings to light the neurosis I had as a first time mother and teaches me that everything doesn’t always have to be perfect.

As a parent we have a lot of responsibilities to teach our children. But no one ever told me how much they would teach me.

Since becoming a mother, I’ve learned true, unconditional love. I think hard about my words and even harder about my actions. I realize my children observe my actions and my responses and this will later shape how they respond to people and situations. My children have taught me to be a better person.

It’s funny but parenting also teaches me about my own childhood. Recently I was cleaning the dining room in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner. Lily was ecstatic to assist me with crawling under the table to dust the table legs and helping to dust all six dining room chairs. She beamed with pride at how much fun she was having. I flashed back to being a child myself, aiming to please my mother and wanting so bad to help her clean. I realized that my mother allowing me to help her dust served multiple purposes: she taught me how to keep a home, she taught me responsibility, and she spent one on one time with me.

Parents definitely have a teaching role in the parent/child relationship, but children also have a lot to teach us if we’re willing to learn. What have your children taught you?

Mindy Seals works in the information technology division at Texas Health Resourcesand is balancing work, married life and raising two kids.

Recovering from an embarrassing moment

2011-12-20T10:09:00.000-06:00

In the past couple of years, T. has become very sensitive to what people around him think of him. He won’t do certain things because he’s worried people will laugh, but he’ll do other things because he gets good feedback from the crowd. But when he’s been embarrassed, it sometimes takes a while to try something again.

His class recently had a recital along with two other grades. It was a loud, busy crowd when the second grade class finally came on to do their show. T. had a role where he was lifting a poster board with a word on it. His job was to hold up the board when the word was sung.

He did.

It was upside down.

I could see the dawning on his face as he realized the crowd was laughing and that somehow he was the cause of it. But I was so proud of how he reacted.

He looked at the sign, had a stricken look on his face, then looked at the crowd, smirked, shrugged and kept on going.

I think a year ago, T. would have stopped singing and participating altogether. He might have even started crying. But I was proud of his perseverance.

Perseverance is a trait that has to be practiced. It comes from knowing that “this too will pass.” He could have given up and then lamented for days about the mistake. When I spoke to him later that night, I told him how proud I was of him because he kept on going. He admitted that he was embarrassed and that he didn’t like the crowd laughing at him. I told him that the crowd needed a good laugh and look at how well he managed to turn that little mistake into something everyone enjoyed. But most importantly, that he continued his task.

The reality is, most people don’t know it wasn’t planned. Some might have thought it was part of the act. Those who didn’t probably won’t remember. But those who do remember will do so with a smile.

I hope this lesson of perseverance is one he takes with him as he grows up and faces more and more challenges. Yes, there are times where we have to go a different direction, but we have to keep going. Keep going, T! I am proud of you!

Reace Alvarenga-Smith is a Public Relations Manager for Texas Health Resources and mother of two.

Baby’s first Christmas

2011-12-19T11:20:00.000-06:00

Christmas is mere days away, and so our first holiday season as parents is about to come to a close.

Many times during the last nine months of parenthood, I find myself wishing for milestones to occur faster than they should. I have wished so many times that Elliot could talk so I could explain to him why crawling on top of our cat and pulling out handfuls of his fur is not ideal, or that he was old enough to go out and mow the lawn or get up and make himself breakfast so Mom and Dad could sleep in for once.

But this Christmas season has given me perspective. Perhaps I shouldn’t be in such a hurry and instead enjoy the little things that have made this Christmas different from any other. Here is just a quick sampling of things we’ve encountered this Christmas:

New kinds of arguments. My wife and I fundamentally disagree on the idea of presents for 9- month-old Elliot. She sees this as the once-in-a-lifetime “baby’s first Christmas,” and we should shower him with gifts. I see it as the once-in-a-lifetime Christmas where he will literally have no idea what’s going on, so this is our only shot in the foreseeable future to get off the hook free! Plus I tacked on to my argument that we gave him a really great gift this year in March when we brought him home from the hospital.

Forget about Christmas decorations. Elliot has a sixth sense for knowing exactly what he’s not supposed to be messing with. Plus his new trick of pulling himself up greatly increases the range of destruction. Our poor tree has no ornaments this year; they were much too easy for Elliot to get. Even the bottom row of lights has stopped working, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the only lights that work on the tree are the ones just out of his reach.

Get ready to engage in small talk. Even during the festive holiday season, Lauren and I have historically been able to breeze through shopping malls and department stores unmolested. Not the case anymore. Pushing a stroller is the equivalent of hanging a flashing sign that says, “Let’s chat.” Elliot loves the attention, always smiling and convincing all who pass by that he is indeed the ideal baby. And if it happens to be an attractive woman, then he doubles that charm.

Holiday colds. Much as was the case last month with Elliot’s nasty stomach flu, he has managed to distribute a nice sore throat/congestion combo to his mom, dad, uncle and grandma simultaneously. I know that many colds and flus are spread by airborne particles released during a sneeze or cough. So what about when your baby has his whole hand in his mouth, then sticks it in your mouth while you are distracted? Maybe next time I will just have the cold germs injected and save time.

You really do put your kids first. Lauren and I both are more excited about some of the fun items we know family members have purchased for Elliot than anything we have gotten for each other.

If any of this sounds like complaining, it really isn’t – this season has been wonderful. Truthfully I should be happy because I know Christmas only gets more complicated from here on. My future will be filled with worrying about hiding gifts where he can’t find them or explaining that even though Santa can make anything in his shop, he still sends a bill to dear old dad.

So my goal this Christmas is to enjoy the simplicity and not try to rush things; soon enough he’ll be wise enough to realize that the discarded wrapping paper is not his present.

Jordan Echols is a Marketing Manager for Texas Health Resources and first-time dad who is working his way through all of Elliot's firsts.

Christmas Concert

2011-12-16T10:00:00.001-06:00

I’d written some time back about my youngest stepson Nathan and his lack of interest in any type of sports. He had played some baseball but wasn’t passionate about it enough to want to go out and practice each day which is what it takes when kids get older and the sport all of the sudden becomes much more serious.

In the past year, we have seen him try out an activity – playing the saxophone. His mom searched out a teacher who could provide lessons, bought the instrument and we hoped that this might be something he really liked.

This year, his mom and stepdad got him a purple saxophone for Christmas and let him have it early. I cannot tell you how excited he was about this gift. If he was at our house, he would leave and run down the street to see if his special delivery had arrived. In the meantime, he would pull up photos of the purple sax on his phone and show us, telling us he was SURE that is what the gift was and couldn’t wait until it arrived.

This school year, Nathan had the opportunity to get in to the 6th grade band class. He made it and we have watched him dial in his talents on the saxophone and heard him play us a tune now and then. Then he started letting us know that they were having a Christmas concert. This was really starting to become official. He had to wear certain shirt/pants/shoes and they had a full out rehearsal the Friday before the concert.

Monday night rolled around and we all headed for the high school and took our seats in the auditorium. I have to say one of the most impressive sights to me was the fact that there were over 120 kids on that stage and only two instructors. You could tell each member of the band was disciplined and anxiously awaited for their section to be called on to play their part. Clarinets and trumpets were very large sections (over 30 kids each) and then some sections were much smaller with only three or four.

Finally, the saxophones played their song. We smiled as we listened knowing this is what Nathan had been working so hard for — his big debut! We beamed with pride and of course felt like the saxophones’ ensemble was the best of all. At the close of the concert we left the auditorium to find our little musician so we could give him a giant hug and let him know how proud we were of him.

How do you help your kids find an activity they love?

Makala Pollard is a Senior Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and Stepmom to two boys and after a six-year journey of infertility is expecting a daughter in March.

Home-baked Memories

2011-12-15T10:20:00.000-06:00

I feel very fortunate to come from a long line of good cooks.

Growing up, my mom and grandmother were excellent in the kitchen, and shared their recipes and cooking techniques with me over the years. My mom was (and still is) a great cook. You can truly feel the love in her cooking and she is always looking for new recipes to try. My grandmother was equally talented in the kitchen, and I feel very fortunate to have inherited her recipes. It is particularly special to see her handwritten notes about each dish. She had an uncanny ability to identify ingredients in something at a restaurant, and then she'd go home and perfect the recipe, usually adding her own flair.

The holidays make me think of these special recipes and how much I have enjoyed them over the years. It is my hope that I can re-create some of these special memories with my children.

Below you'll find a couple of recipes that we enjoy during Christmastime -- one is a souffle that we prepare every Christmas Eve so that we can place in the oven Christmas Morning to enjoy after opening presents. The other is a shortbread recipe that we love. I have received several requests for this one over the past several days and thought I would share with all.

What recipes make you think of the holidays?

Never Fail Cheese Souffle
12 slices white bread
1 pound grated cheddar cheese
cooked sausage or ham, if desired
6 eggs
3 cups milk
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. dried mustard
dash of cayenne pepper

Beat six eggs in a medium mixing bowl and then add the milk, salt, dried mustard and cayenne pepper. Take 12 slices of white bread and remove the crust and butter both sides of each slice of bread. In a 13 x 9 inch size baking dish, spray the bottom of the dish with Pam cooking spray. Then place 6 slices of buttered bread into the bottom of the dish and then pour half of the egg mixture over the bread. Then add ham or sausage, if desired and top with half of the grated cheddar cheese. Then place a second layer of the ingredients -- the remaining 6 slices of buttered bread, egg mixture, ham or sausage and then top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Refrigerate overnight. The next morning bake in the oven at 350 degrees for one hour.

Classic Shortbread
1 cup salted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar

In a large bowl, combine softened butter and sugar. Beat at medium speed until fluffy. Add the flour and stir until just combined. Pat the dough into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake at 300 degrees until light golden brown for 30-40 minutes. Remove shortbread from the oven and pierce with a fork in a zig zag pattern which allows the steam to escape and make a crisper cookie. Cut the shortbread into bars while still warm and let cool in pan.

Michelle Vanderburg is a Sr. Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and Mom of two busy kids.

Christmas crafting through a crisis

2011-12-14T10:00:00.000-06:00

I finished putting up all my Christmas decorations after three days, 16 Diet Cokes and only one emergency trip to Michael’s.

Putting all our ornaments on the tree was quite a feat and made me think about the fact that every ornament has a story. Probably the most interesting/pitiful/tragic story on my tree is the gaudy green felt bird decked in sequins and gold trim. It was my Grandma’s.

When my Grandma died several years after my Grandpa, the family had to clear out their house. Walking through during the clean out, I noticed that all of my Grandma’s ornate green felt birds had been thrown in the trash. These weren’t just any felt birds – these were the birds that had hung on my Grandma’s tree for as long as I could remember. Yes, the tree looked a bit odd covered in only strange green felt birds, but it is what I remember of their tree on so many Christmas Eves.

“Why are we throwing out all the green felt birds?” I asked my mom. She chuckled and went on to tell me that the tacky – but special – green felt birds that brought me warm memories of the family gathered around the piano on Christmas Eve at my grandparents’ house were made by my Grandma when she was extremely depressed – and in a psychiatric hospital.

Nice.

So, she made them in art therapy at the psych ward and THEN HUNG THEM ON HER CHRISTMAS TREE EVERY YEAR?!?! How could decorating her tree every year have been anything but, well, depressing?

I did pull one of those birds out of the trash, and I hang it on my tree every year. We’re all kind of a mess, aren’t we? And our Christmas trees do kind of tell the story of our lives, warts and all.

Besides, haven’t most of us moms crafted our way through a crisis at one time or another? Scrapbooked when our littlest went off to first grade. Knitted frantically in a hospital waiting room. Made fancy door wreaths to sell to try to stave off an impending financial crisis. Painted a lovely landscape for the daughter who was failing art. Oh, wait. I meant helped a daughter who was failing art to paint a lovely landscape.

I myself Christmas-crafted my way through a depression once. It was year one of going through my divorce, and I worked like crazy on my son’s Christmas stocking.

I do laugh and roll my eyes when I hang it up every year. It’s too darn cute to throw away for the sake of not having an “oh-how-I-hated-my-life-back-then” flashback. And maybe those green felt birds meant more than a bad memory for my Grandma. Maybe she saw them as a turning point in her life. Maybe they reminded her that she, too, could fly. Or, maybe her crafty self just thought they were too darn cute.

Laura Johnson is a single mom and freelance communicator who lives in East Dallas with her 12-year-old son.

Oh the places Sam will go…

2011-12-13T10:33:00.000-06:00

We’ve done the Elf on the Shelf for about two years now and up to now we really haven’t been very creative. It wasn’t until I saw some really creative ideas on another site that I started realizing the potential of the Elf.

The kids named our elf Sam. I don’t remember the why, but that was the name they came up with together. Sam had been hiding in different spots around the house, but he wasn’t overly adventurous.

This year, I decided that Sam was going to be a little mischievous. And the kids have loved it. As a matter of fact, this past Sunday morning my son got up at 4 a.m. to try to hunt Sam down. (We had a talk; I hope this doesn’t happen again.) They have been telling everyone that will listen that “Sam has gone CRAZY and doing funny things this year.”

I tracked some of the ideas that I found online and figured out the best way to apply them to our home. Here are my Top 5 Sam Adventures:

Number 5: Gone Fishing

He caught a goldfish!!

Number 4: Poker Night

I secretly believe that Sam was cheating, but really don’t have proof.

Number 3: Joyride!

Princess Aurora and Sam were out partying all night. My daughter thinks they eloped.

Number 2: Mission Impossible

I hummed the theme song as we were getting this together. Hanging on by a thread as Sam climbs across our kitchen.

Number 1: Revenge!

The kids thought it was hysterical that Sam TP’d the Christmas tree.

Sam’s hijacked the stockings, spent the night in the fridge, and took a nap in a tissue box. I’m starting to run out of ideas. Anyone out there got some good ones I can use?

Reace Alvarenga-Smith is a Public Relations Manager for Texas Health Resources and mother of two.

To believe or not to believe?

2011-12-12T10:31:00.001-06:00

My son is 8 years old, and as much as I hate to admit it, on the cusp of not believing in Santa Claus anymore. Friends at school, commercials, movies, and TV programs allude to the reality of this jolly old fellow, but never really reveal the truth. It only seems to make our children ask us “Is Santa Claus real?”

Now this question is usually asked with big puppy dog eyes and a familiar look on their face - a look of hope. In the back of their minds, they are thinking “Please let him be real, please let him be real!” At this very moment in time, we, as mothers, wake up the hamster in the brain to get running. Come on … I need the right answer!

So there may not be a right answer, but this is how I deal with it:

“What do you believe?” By asking my son this question, it allows him to evaluate the whole meaning of Christmas and the Christmas spirit. Ok, not really, but it buys me some time. I can conjure up no less than 10 options in the Visio in my head while he gives me an answer. Usually the answer I get is “Yes, I believe.”

But I’m afraid of the day that we must pull the curtain back and reveal our lies, our deceit. Since we have only one child, we hang on to all that is fictional-characters-that-bring-joy-to-our-child’s-life-by-magic-during-the-night. Not only this, but Elf on the Shelf has been doing a dandy job of keeping our child in line for the month prior to the big day. My magical powers for discipline cease to exist in the month prior to Christmas unless I use the Elf or Claus as a bargaining tool.

Seeing my son’s face on Christmas morning when he truly believes a magical creature has come during the night to leave him gifts is priceless. I usually am looking at this face over a giant mug of coffee from being up all night assembling various toys, but priceless none the less.

Will this go away when he doesn’t believe anymore? I hope not. I hope we have magical Christmases every year, and as long as we wake up safe, healthy, and happy all snug in our jammies, this is the perfect prescription to say: “Yes…I believe.”

Janet Fragle works in customer engagement for innovative technology solutions at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.

So much personality!

2011-12-09T09:41:00.000-06:00

When it comes to raising a child, the phrase, “Time sure flies when you’re having fun,” couldn’t be closer to the truth! And at six and a half months, my little lady offers plenty of entertainment, day and night.

Like clockwork, she’ll wake up early in the morning (yes, even on weekends) full of baby talk. That sing-song sound never ceases to make me smile. So what do I do? If I’m not already up, I’ll hug her, give her tons of kisses (she doesn’t mind my morning breath), talk to her and check her diaper. Her Dad will usually prepare her food, and then run in and shower her with kisses (and yes, I believe she thinks her Daddy’s breath smells worse than Mommy’s). But she seems to enjoy the attention – flashing us a toothless grin, along with that signature dimple on her right cheek.

And modern technology is keeping Nandi close to both sets of grandparents, who live in Colorado and Arkansas. Ah, the wonderful world of Skype has become a necessity for our family – it’s the one way Nandi’s grandparents can stay in-the-know, instead of asking us, “What did she wear today?” or “How did she feel today?” or “How much did she eat today?” They can see it with their own eyes, in real-time. We think that the little girl gets excited to see them, too. Her eyes zero in on the laptop monitor and she waits to hear words from her adoring fans (that’s what my husband calls our parents). One time she even put on a little dance (I think she did), but my husband said she was exercising so she could get rid of her gut. In any case, she rocked side to side moving her upper body from left to right, while throwing a hand up, every now and then. It was hilarious. I think my parents caught on to her enjoyment of technical gadgets, so they bought Nandi her very own baby computer (she has a tendency to bang on my husband’s keyboard when we Skype). You should see our little lady – her eyes light up and she bangs away on her own computer, while the toy sings ABC’s and 1-2-3’s.

But then there are days when little Nandi will give us a piece of her mind. I remember one day I had to take her to the pediatrician for a follow-up check on one of her many ear infections. She was singing (her version of singing) and babbling away in the backseat after we left the doctor’s office. I think she thought we were headed back home to play, but no; we were headed to daycare so I could go to work. So, as I drove up to the daycare and got out of the car, all of a sudden the babbling stopped. I opened the door to her daycare room and got ready to take her out of her car seat. The look she gave me was classic. She stared at me with pouting lips and turned her head to the side, like she didn’t want to see my face! I know she was thinking, “Woman if I could get out of this car seat myself, I’d slap you!” I can laugh about it now, but that wasn’t the case when it happened.

All in all, our Nandi is a happy, loving baby. But if she doesn’t like you or doesn’t want to be bothered with you, she’ll let you know. One of her daycare providers told me, “Nandi is such a joy to have here – she’s full of personality! But if she doesn’t like what you’re doing, she’ll throw those eyes on you in a minute!” Yes, my husband and I have seen those “if looks could kill” eyes many a days if we don’t feed her as soon as she’s hungry.

Chandra Cleveland is a Sr. Communications Specialist for Texas Health Resourcesand New Mom to Nandi.

It requires faith

2011-12-08T12:55:00.000-06:00

My husband and I started attending church regularly when we got engaged. We found a great church in Waco, one where we found a caring community that allowed us to explore our faith in a way that never made you feel bad for asking questions. Lakeshore Baptist Church will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s where we got married, dedicated our first born son, and shared lots of laughs with friends.

When we moved back to the DFW area, we were church shopping for quite a while. We visited lots of churches before we found the right one for us. We had criteria we wanted in a church: not too big, intergenerational, a place where questions are welcome, a place where our kid (we only had one at the time) could feel at home.

When we found St. Stephen UMC, we were thrilled to find a place where we felt welcome. We affectionately refer to our Sunday School class as the ADD class—active discussions and digressions. We can start on a topic and hit dozens more before we ever get back to the original question.

Most importantly, our kids feel at home there. They’ve made friends, they know most of the people in our church, and they are comfortable. My son has been asking a lot of questions about faith, and I love how he feels that he can ask these questions without feeling like it’s wrong to question the “why” of our faith. My daughter is still very pragmatic—it is what it is, and that’s that.

Around the holidays, the question of faith comes up more often. Jesus is the reason for the season, but Santa Claus is much more entertaining. T. recently asked me to tell him the story of Saint Nicholas and I shared with him the story of a man who was so generous, that at Christmas time he would give out gifts to people in need. His legacy lives on and we remember him today as Santa Claus. The story has changed, characters have been added, but the idea is still the same: a man who gives of himself for no other reason than to give to others. What a great example of faith in action!

I’m glad that my children have a foundation of faith. I know they will have lots of questions as they get older, and there even may be a time when faith is not a part of their fabric. But I believe that this foundation will allow them to come back to welcoming arms and a peace that passes all understanding. It did for me.

Reace Alvarenga-Smith is a Public Relations Manager for Texas Health Resources and mother of two.

So Proud ... But Seriously, Go To Sleep

2011-12-07T11:16:00.000-06:00

At eight months old, John amazes his daddy and me on a daily basis with the new things he's learned. One week he'll be tentatively pulling up in his crib, and the next week he'll be confidently cruising everything he can pull up on. What were just random babbles are now purposeful attempts at words. He knows "Ma, Mama, or Mom-Mom" will get me, that "Dada" gets Daddy, "Bob" gets him his bottle, and "Das!" will get someone to turn on the radio for a dance party. He also knows that "Hi!" will get any old lady in a restaurant to smile at him.

But all this new stuff apparently comes at a price - sleep. It just seems like yesterday that we were basking in the glow of a good night's rest because our baby was sleeping through the night. From the hours of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., John could be counted on to saw logs with no disruption.

But I sit here writing this at 3:30 a.m. We've just gotten John to sleep for the fourth time tonight, and I'm wide, wide awake again.

This sleep disruption started slowly, insidiously. The last round of teething had him understandably uncomfortable. He'd wake up needing comfort, and to be honest, he's such a good snuggler that I didn't mind logging in another 20 minutes here or there in the rocking chair.

But then it started happening every night. And then he caught his first cold, and sleeping nearly upright in my arms seemed to keep him from coughing so hard - and now you get the picture.

And then you factor in the idea that this wonderful stretch of growth between 6 months and 9 months or so means a busy little brain that wants to practice those new skills all the time, and well, Mommy's sleep is suddenly disrupted by a precocious 8 month old standing in his crib, bouncing up and down and swaying, yelling, "Das! Das!" at 1 a.m.

So we've decided - after a particularly surly morning on my part where I was working on 3 hours sleep - that we had to get serious about helping John re-learn to soothe himself back to sleep at night. It's taking a lot of work, but our new rules (which are really the old ones that Mommy and Daddy foolishly cast aside) are this:

He gets his rocking at bedtime, as part of his routine. Over time, we'll probably phase this out in favor of another story, but right now, we'll pick one battle at a time.

When he wakes up, we go in only if he's crying. I know Crying It Out (or CIO) works for some, but in John's case, the one time we tried it he puked all over because he got so upset. He also becomes a little Lord of the Flies after a few minutes of wailing, and it takes much, much longer to calm him down. A couple minutes of fussing is one thing, but crying? We've yet to see the ROI on CIO.

If we do go in, he gets a hug, calmed down, and then gently laid back down in his crib and tucked back in. We stand next to the crib for a few minutes, rubbing his back, but then we leave once the eyelids start fluttering.

If we need repeats of this, we do it. But we shorten the duration of time we stay with him. We steadfastly refuse to cave and sit with him in that rocking chair. So far, eventually he does fall asleep. And I know eventually this will pay off in a baby that can (once again) sleep through the night.

How did you handle the developmental sleep disruptions that are so common? Any tips?

Bethany Erickson is the wife of Texas Health Resources web editor Tom Erickson and Mom to 8-month-old John.

I've been Googled

2011-12-06T13:04:00.000-06:00

Not too long after school started (yes, I really am THAT behind sometimes - welcome to my world), I walked into the kitchen and Jacob said, "Julie, I didn't know you wrote for the Texas Health Moms."

Me, perplexed, (but also sort of jazzed that he sounded...was it? Yes! Proud!) : Yes, I try to send them a couple posts a month. But what makes you say that, J?

J: I just didn't know. I saw Sam's picture on the "Room of His Own" story.

Me: oh, ok. Did you like the story?

J: yeah. The picture of Sam is funny.

Me: so, J, how did you find the Mom blog?

J: Google.

Yep, I've been Googled ... by my 11-year-old!

It turns out that J actually was "looking" (his word) for pictures of Sam (queue "awwwww" for him being such a wonderful big brother) and found my first entry here on Texas Health Moms. He knows I keep a personal blog, and I would imagine he was actually looking for that when he found Texas Health Moms.

But that brief exchange got me thinking...what else has he Googled?

Bryan and I are well aware of the potential dangers of the Internet. Computers are only used in public areas in the house (not in bedrooms or other private places), and permission must be granted for playing online games. (There are a couple of educational game sites that the boys' teachers have recommended that we typically say okay to them playing.) We remind the boys not to go to any website without asking, and not to ever, ever, ever give out any kind of identifying information on any site.

But now that I know J has Googled me/us, the game has changed, hasn't it? I can't help but wonder what else he's found - on purpose or inadvertently - in his searches. What do you do to help ensure your kids' Internet safety, and that they aren't getting more than they (or you) bargained for?

Julie Daneman is wife to Bryan, Stepmom to Jacob and Caleb, and Mommy to Sam. They are a boisterous, loving, happy interfaith family.

Lookin' for love

2011-12-05T10:53:00.000-06:00

My son and I had a discussion about how a man should treat his wife the other day, and it seemed to suck the air right out of my lungs. I tried to explain, but frankly, we all know that to learn how to have a relationship, to learn how a husband should treat a wife, you really need to see it. Not just on TV, not just once a week with your grandparents, not by watching the neighbors, but by living it. And therein lies the dilemma for single moms. My kid just isn’t seeing it.

It’s enough to make me want to find a photo from 10 years and 10 pounds ago, think up some amazing hobbies and post myself online.

I’ve been pretty conservative about dating, and I haven’t pulled my son into any relationships.

When he was younger, he was pretty practical about my predicament. When he was five, he asked me if I was going to have another baby. I carefully explained to him that you have to have a husband to have a baby (yes, I’m all conservative that way).

He thought for a moment and said “Well, mom, you can’t buy a husband off a shelf, and you’re not getting any younger.” Nice. Nothing like your five year old and everybody else trying to push you to get out there and get in the game.

Now, not to brag or anything, but I have had a few dates over the past ten years (unfortunately, the emphasis is on a few). I’m just going to go ahead and say that I found everyone to be too dang quirky. Some might say my quirky radar is too sensitive, but judge for yourself.

I have been out with men who:

• Pulled over at the end of my street to make sure I was going to put on my seatbelt.
• Told me they were recently divorced (as in four days divorced).
• Admitted that they lived with their parents.
• Told me their soon-to-be ex-wife thought they were an alcoholic, as they drank their fourth glass of wine.
• Talked baby talk to their CAT.
• OWNED a cat.
• Told me that they and their ex-wife fought more over custody of their dogs than custody of their kids.
• Talked to me in third person, as in “How is Laura doing?

So, all that to say, the option of my son learning how a husband should treat a wife from me and any relationship I have is pretty much not going to happen.

Now, I hope that he is seeing me love others well, but frankly, in the house he really only sees me try to love the dog. And that doesn’t always go well. Somehow, I don’t think me yelling about the dog’s audacity to poop indoors or me cursing as he wakes me up to play at 3 a.m. will translate into how a husband and wife should treat each other. Maybe I need to dial down that quirky radar…

Laura Johnson is a single mom and freelance communicator who lives in East Dallas with her 12-year-old son, dog, hamster and three fish.

Car craze

2011-12-02T11:01:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe my baby boy turns 4 years old next month! It seems like only yesterday that I was carrying him in my tummy. Now he's a little boy who says and does little boy things - with a particular love of automobiles.

When I say Dylan loves automobiles, I mean L-O-V-E-S them. And I'm not just talking about the toy cars he carries around or the characters from that infamous movie. He knows all the actual makes and models. For example, any time we are in my car, he names all the vehicles we drive past: "Toyota Corolla... Honda Odyssey... Nissan Ultima...Buick LaSabre..." Yes, he even knows Buicks.

At one year old, one of his first words was "bus." Man, he could spot a bus miles away! And I think everyone under the sun gave him bus paraphernalia, so we were never without a yellow school bus - ever.

When he was two, his favorite book was Hot Rods, a 50-page book with pictures and stats for 25 cars - all of which he memorized AND recited. (Did I mention that the names of the cars included Koenigsegg, Lamborghini Murcielago and Pagani Zanda?!?!)

At three, we took him to his first car show at Texas Motor Speedway and we thought he was going to come unglued. I think the most fun was witnessing the expression on his face as he watched several stock cars race around the track at lightening speed. And with hundreds of cars lined up and down the field for show, he didn't know where to begin looking!

This month, one of his favorite books is the American Automobile Encyclopedia. At this point in his life, he says he prefers the modern cars to the classic cars, so we end up skipping numerous pages. But I have a feeling that it won't be long before he's interested in the history of cars, too.

Overall, I'm proud of my little guy's passion for automobiles and cannot wait to see what the next year brings. Who knows, maybe one day he'll design his own modern car! In the meantime, I'm learning an awful lot about automobiles and enjoying this experience with my son.

Does your child have a particular focus that has broadened your horizons?

Mandy Forbus is a Sr. Marketing Specialist at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst Euless Bedford, and mother of two.

Of Lice and Kin

2011-12-01T10:47:00.000-06:00

So far this school year, my first grader has managed to avoid strep throat, stomach flu, and every other communicable disease known to elementary students. She has skipped steadily through the first semester with barely a cough or sneeze. A couple of weekends ago, however, I literally ran head first into an obsessive compulsive mother’s worst nightmare.

While on a visit to my sister’s home (who by the way also has OCD), we made the gruesome discovery. We had been wrestling with my daughter and nephew in the living room when we saw it. My sweet little girl, who bathes every evening at 6:30PM sharp and thoroughly washes and conditions every lock of her long, curly hair, was crawling with critters. It was all my sister and I could do to not bolt and run.

“What is it?” my daughter asked.

“Lice!” I screamed.

“Huh?”

“Cooties!”

I could see the confusion on her face. “Cooties” was just a board game with some cute plastic bugs in tennis shoes, right?

“Bugs in your hair!”

She looked even more confused.

My sister and I went into hyper-OCD drive. We got an over the counter lice kit and treated my daughter, my nephews and each other. That evening, as she lay sleeping, I dug through her hair like one of those monkeys at the zoo (minus the snacking on the bugs). She was still crawling with them. I felt sick. I reported it to my sister the next day. I could tell we had worn out our welcome. I treated my daughter one more time. Then we helped strip the beds and quarantine the room before we left for home.

Once home, I started the first of 10 loads of boiling hot laundry. I vacuumed. I sprayed furniture lice spray on everything. I treated her hair again and picked knits with a comb. I cleaned all of the bedding. I bagged everything in plastic that was not washable and banished it to the guest bedroom. Then I began making the dreaded phone call, text and email of shame. I contacted the parents of every play date she had for the previous month, the school, her teacher, our neighbor and our babysitter. It was awful. Finally, I cut 5 inches off her golden mane with my sewing scissors as a last resort. For the next several days, I checked for bugs and knits and combed and parted and checked again. Surely my efforts would pay. I tightly braided what was left of her hair and shellacked it with hairspray because one of my helpful friends said she read it would deter lice.

Then, I received a phone call from the school nurse. She was so sweet. She told me how sorry she was that we were going through this, but that she had found several more knits around my daughter’s ears. There were no live lice, but we needed to get rid of the knits to ensure they didn’t come back. When I told her how many times I had used the treatment, she pleaded with me not to use the toxic drug store treatments anymore because they are not good for kids. She said to just cover her hair in mayo and plastic wrap overnight, and everything would rinse right out in the morning. That is just what I did.

So far, we are truly lice-free. I have several take-aways from the whole experience though if it ever happens to you:

1. “DON’T PANIC!”
No kidding. That is easier said than done, but remaining calm will help you to make rational decisions about effective ways to get rid of the problem.

2. Talk about it.
I grew up in a home where we dealt with things like this internally and didn’t discuss them in public. I found so many of my friends to be helpful and supportive in finding solutions and sharing their own experiences. Instead of being grossed out or judgmental, they were sympathetic.

3. Know it can happen to anyone.
It does not matter how clean you are or how often you wash your child’s hair, they may still get lice from school or playmates. It is sometimes just a part of growing up.

4. Be gentle and empathetic with your child.
They should not be ashamed or embarrassed because they got lice. It is frustrating for a small kid to sit still for long periods of time while someone knit picks through every inch of their hair. My little one is actually thrilled to pieces to be sporting a new, shorter do. She has also compared notes with some of her first grade colleagues and found out they got lice too and had to go through the same thing.

Dustee Morris is a 35-year-old who manages a full time career, being Mom to five-year-old Rian and wife of almost 12 years to husband Brian.

He knows I’m an amateur

2011-11-30T11:09:00.001-06:00

I think my almost 2-week old newborn can smell fear.

Jake has actually been a pretty good baby so far. But during his occasional moments of intense fussiness, it seems like those with parenting experience can effortlessly calm him while I stand by and watch in a state of jealous awe.

For example, my husband Brian – who has done this before 11 years ago – is like the Baby Whisperer. I feel like it takes him half the time to calm Jake down compared to me. And don’t get me started on Grandmas’ magic touch. Once you set him in the arms of a Grandma, it’s like someone pressed the mute button on his remote control. And he can stay that way for hours like he's in some sort of baby coma. Are they slipping him a sedative?

It’s hard because I’m his Mother for crying out loud! When it comes to soothing him, shouldn’t I be the best person for the job? That’s what I so naively thought before. But smart little Jake has me all figured out: I have no idea what I’m doing, and he smells my fear.

Does that ever change? Or do you have to wait until child number two before you’re inducted into the Baby Whisperer club?

This is merely a footnote on the Things I Never Expected in Motherhood List, and I’m only a week and a half in.

For example, I never expected myself to handle labor and delivery as well as I did. It turns out I’m much stronger than I thought.

I never expected breastfeeding to be so difficult, or that I would become such an emotional wreck when the road got bumpy.

And speaking of that bumpy road, I never expected our first couple of days spent in the hospital to be so stressful for me due to the breastfeeding troubles. I thought it would be all bliss and bonding, and instead I spent most of it obsessing about what an inadequate mother I was. I couldn’t have made it through without my wonderful husband and the amazingly supportive postpartum nurses at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.

I never expected to be so unfazed by being puked on and peed on. There’s something about your own child’s bodily fluids make you less grossed out than normal. I had always heard this and never believed it before now.

I never expected to hate being away from him for even just an hour.

I do expect this list to grow exponentially. Right now, I'm just trying to take it day by day and do my best to hone those baby soother skills.

What’s on your "never expected" list?

Megan Brooks is a Sr. Public Relations Specialist for Texas Health Resources, Stepmom, and a Mom to an almost two-week-old son learning to balance expectations and reality.

How epilepsy affects Lily

2011-11-29T11:28:00.000-06:00

Lily's excitement at meeting her baby sister, Harper

This is the hardest part for me in my efforts of creating awareness for Harper. Our family makes a conscious daily resolution to maintain a positive attitude about the struggles we face. It is difficult to pull apart the wall for a moment and disclose the emotion behind that daily decision. It weighs heavy on our hearts to know that this burden is not one we as parents simply carry, but one that affects the entire family, including Lily, age 3.

As my belly size continued to increase and time grew near we began to explain to Lily that she would soon have a baby sister. One day we were discussing Dustin’s name choice of Harper and Lily happened to overhear our conversation. From that point forward she referred to her baby sister as Harper despite our undecided name choice. Lily’s persistence solidified the name: Harper for everyone. When the day finally arrived Lily couldn’t have been happier!

Two weeks later we gave Lily to my parents for an unknown amount of time as we took Harper to the ER for seizures. We attempted explain to Lily, at 2 years and 3 months old, that her nearly three-week-old baby sister was sick and we had to take her to the doctor so they could help her get well. During the first year, Lily was displaced for a minimum of two days per month while I took Harper for a 24-hour video EEG, and even longer when we traveled to the Children’s Hospital of Boston in hopes of finding some answers. In an effort to take Harper to all her appointments and therapy sessions without making Lily suffer through the wait we increased her time in school. Luckily she enjoys going. This was hard for me because I wanted to enjoy my limited time with her before she had to attend school. I am so very thankful I was able to stay home with her for the first two years. That time we shared is memorable.

Over the past 18 months as we have sought out therapies and doctors to help us combat the seizures and overcome the delays we were determined to have Lily continue the activities which provided stability to her disrupted life. With the help of Lily’s Grandma Shirley I am able to have Mommy-Lily time on Friday mornings, which makes a big difference in Lily’s attitude. During that time I take her to gymnastics and dance and we eat lunch just the two of us. It is a time she and I both enjoy where we can focus on each other and talk about everything!

One day on the way home from our Mommy-Lily time an unexpected conversation took place that I was not fully prepared for but should have been.

Lily: out of nowhere comes the question “Why is Harper sick?”

Me: shocked and unsure where this conversation is headed “I don’t know baby”

Lily: “Well, you need to fix her!” with an angry look on her face

Me: “Baby we are trying very hard to make her better.”

Lily: in a very demanding tone with an assertive look on her face “Then why is she
not better? Why is she still sick? Why does she still have seizures? You need to fix her!”

Me: swallowing back the tears, “Baby, we are doing everything we can, lets go
home and see Harper and Grandma, okay.”

Lily: “okay!”

The remaining ride home was silent and the longest five-minute ride I think I have ever been on, as I looked in my mirror and see Lily staring out the window.

Harper responds so well to Lily that we constantly try to encourage interaction. I know Lily loves Harper, but it is difficult for them to play the way Lily sees other siblings interact. Harper is a year and a half now but to Lily she is still just a baby. It is difficult for us as parents to cope with the difference between the two at certain ages. It is also challenging to explain to Lily where she was at that age when she sees Harper is clearly not near accomplishing that ability.

Lily: 18 months walking, talking and feeding her self.

Harper: 18 months unable to walk, talk, feed self or sit with out assistance.

Lily’s favorite station at school is home living. She loves her dolls. She is a great mommy, doctor and therapist to them. She comforts them as they have seizures, puts them in her car and drives them to the doctor and does therapy with them. When her and Harper are in the same room she’ll yell out seizure when Harper has one and either Dustin or myself will look at a clock, call out the time and go to the book while the other goes to comfort Harper.

We do our best to protect her from as much bad in this world as we can and focus on how much good surrounds us. Since the age of 2 Lily has had to be emotionally mature enough to watch her little sister have seizures multiple times a day. Lily is an amazingly strong and supportive BIG SISTER!

Despite the physical and emotional challenges, we are honored to serve in such a special situation. It is surreal to reflect on my own life and realize it has been training for such service. There is a plan. There is a purpose. It is not always clear but it is there. Hope is what makes the path laid before you easer to follow and we hope for Harper everyday!

Penny Howard is Lily and Harper's mom and cofounder of Hope4Harper.

First trip without baby

2011-11-28T11:06:00.000-06:00

The countdown to Vegas has officially begun.

Four days from now, Nick and I will be strolling around the shops in the Venetian while I sip my favorite Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf beverage and we leisurely saunter by the stores where the beautiful people shop.

I am looking forward to our trip with very mixed emotions. Though it will be a welcome vacation – we haven’t had one for more than 18 months – it will be our first time to be away from Ava.

Thankfully, at six months old, Ava has not yet begun suffering separation anxiety. She loves her sitter, who will be staying with her while we are gone. Her regular routine will be intact – going to daycare on Friday and Monday and staying home over the weekend. Grammy and Grandaddy plan to visit, as well as her aunt, uncle and cousins. I am thankful to have family so close by; I take comfort knowing she will see their familiar faces. But I will miss her terribly, and I worry about how she will react when she wakes up each morning to someone else’s face.

We will only be gone a few days, but something tells me it will feel like much longer. My husband reminds me almost daily that we need some time away to refresh, rejuvenate, refuel, and ultimately have more to offer Ava when we return home. I know he’s right. And yet a part of me wishes we could take her with us.

When I suggested to Nick that we bring Ava and her sitter along for the trip, he furrowed his brow and said, “What are we, the Rockefellers?” Unfortunately, we are not. But who knows? Maybe we will hit the jackpot in Vegas so on future getaways, we can travel with an entourage.

Rachel Raya is director of Internal Stakeholder Communications for Texas Health Resources and is happy for any tips ahead of her first post-baby getaway.

Shifting to Christmas

2011-11-25T11:04:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving always passes too quickly. I love the holiday and what it represents – time with family and moments to reflect on abundant blessings. But it seems that the minute Thanksgiving plates have been cleared, thoughts turn to finding the perfect holiday gifts for family, friends and loved ones.

As a Mom, I take great pride in finding special gifts for my family to place underneath the Christmas tree. My hope is to not only get some items on the wish list, but to weave in some thoughtful surprises as well. Black Friday marks a big day in the rush to go out and capitalize on the deals and finding the perfect gifts.

All this aside, Christmas is so much more than about gifts, and the other things are what become cherished memories. My family has many holiday traditions. Some of these traditions have evolved as the children have grown a little older.

After we got out of the toddler stage, I would buy a little gift each day for the kids during the two weeks leading up to Christmas. They were small tokens such as a coloring book from the dollar store, a yo-yo, or marbles to introduce a new game. As you can guess, these smaller tokens of affection grew less interesting with the kids as they got older. So as not to break the bank but yet uphold a tradition, I changed the game a little. I now write a daily note of appreciation on why I love them so much, along with a clue about a gift that they will receive at the end of each week.

Other traditions we enjoy are decorating and baking for friends and neighbors. Each weekend in December, we find a holiday treat (or two) to bake. The kids really love this time in the kitchen with the holiday music in the background and dogs at our feet just waiting to catch a morsel! My daughter and I are actually working on our own family cookbook. We try out recipes, and “the keepers” we write out twice – one for her recipe book and one for mine. We go to these cookbooks often. As a keepsake, she has drawn pictures on the recipe cards. For example, if it’s a Christmas recipe, she’ll draw stockings or a Christmas tree next to the recipe. I know my cookbook will become even more special as the years pass.

This year, I’m going to implement a new holiday tradition for our family. I’ve created a calendar of events for the Vanderburg Crew and posted it on the fridge. We do something similar to this during the summer months when the kids are out of school – Friday Night Pizza Night, Game Night, etc. In addition to these types of activities, we’ll be headed to the Dallas Zoo via DART and are planning to stay at the Gaylord Texan and will take in the Christmas lights and ice exhibit while we’re there. I figured we might as well package all of this excitement to make it more memorable and give the kids things to look forward to. I’m all about packaging – and adding spin to make things more fun!

What Christmas traditions do you have?

Michelle Vanderburg is a Sr. Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and Mom of two busy kids.

Memories in the Kitchen

2011-11-24T09:32:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving. Turkey, dressing, yams, green bean casserole, corn casserole, cranberries, the list goes on and on. Even with all of that, my favorite has to be the dessert – pecan pies, pumpkin pies, apple pies, peanut butter fudge. Mmm…does it get any better than that?

Thanksgiving brings up so many memories. When I was growing up, my mom and I spent many hours in the kitchen preparing for Thanksgiving. We would start planning days in advance for the goodies we wanted to make for Thanksgiving. Everyone in the family had his own favorite dessert, and we felt the need to make them all.

It was in that kitchen that I learned to love the joys of cooking. It’s also where I learned so many lessons about baking. Things like:
• The difference between baking powder and baking soda as I baked cookies for the first time by myself. It truly does make a difference in the taste and texture! My first batch of cookies ended up in the trash.
• The importance of stirring the flour into the mix before turning on the mixer, so that the cabinets don’t get coated in flour;
• Likewise, the importance of turning off the beaters before taking them out of the bowl.

These are just a few of the practical lessons I learned in the kitchen. More than that, I remember the stories that were told, and the laughter that filled the air while stirring fudge constantly until it reached the right temperature on the candy thermometer. At the time, I thought it was a test in patience. Now I know it was about building relationships.

Now that I am grown with children of my own, I want to instill in them the joys of cooking.

Each Thanksgiving, my husband says, “I can just pick up a pie at the store.”

I look at him like he’s crazy. “Really? And miss out on the fun of baking?” I ask.

“But think of the mess and all the time it takes,” he points out.

“Yes, but look at all the memories we’re making.”

I think he finally understands.

When my children grow up and look back on their time at home, my hope is that they remember the holidays and all the time we spent making memories in the kitchen.

What are some of your favorite holiday memories?

Julie Swink is a Sr. Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and mother of two.

Thanksgiving for the Working Stepmother

2011-11-23T10:37:00.000-06:00

Last Thanksgiving was wonderful. I spent some good quality time with my husband while each of our 4 kids went with their “other” parents. We have a blended family, with no children together. This is our year with kids. Yes, I am excited…BUT how is a working mother supposed to handle the holidays with 3 different families? Both of us come from divorced families so we have to schedule time with his mother’s family, his father’s family, and my mother’s family. 2 years ago we “hosted” the big event at our house and had well over 20 guests from all of our families. Since then my husband lost his job and we downsized to a 3 bedroom apartment with 4 kids, 2 adults, and 2 dogs. Needless to say, hosting at our place this year isn’t happening.

Over the years, I have learned some “shortcuts” in dealing with food, scheduling, and those dreaded holiday cards. Hopefully, some of you working mothers out there will find these useful.

Scheduling
My rule of thumb is, whichever of our parents’ calls first gets first choice on scheduling. The first year of our marriage, I was surprised to get a message in late October from both of our mothers on the same day. “Isn’t that strange?” I asked my husband naively. He affectionately educated me that this was the time of year that mothers started calling to schedule the holiday festivities. Unfortunately, fathers usually wait until the week before hand. So now my rule is that whoever calls first gets the actual holiday day, and everyone else gets the leftovers, no pun intended.

Food
There are 3 holiday foods I can cook especially well. Beer braised ham, toffee sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. The Thanksgiving family gets the ham, because that is usually when I am off and have time to spend basting ham every 15 minutes. My family will always get the sweet potatoes, because they KNOW about them. I have never made them for his families because then they will beg for them too. Although, if my family is number 2 or 3, they will get my famous potatoes out of a can instead of me spending the time to slaving over the trash can to peel 3 pounds of potatoes. As you might of guessed, the 3rd family gets the pumpkin pie. The best pumpkin pie ever made, straight from Mrs. Smith’s. You can find it in the frozen food isle and this time of year you can usually get 2 for a special price. My favorite is the prebaked pie that cooks in about 30 minutes. Did I mention leftovers? I’ve never had that problem.

Holiday Cards
Ok so here’s the problem. My son’s family is Jewish. My husband’s family are Christians. My family hates Santa Claus. The solution? I go to the portrait studio at JcPenney, usually in early November when they have really good specials. We get our family picture taken and get the cards that say “Happy Holidays”. Do I send them? Nope. I hand them out at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mission accomplished. Last year, I forgot to hand out the cards. Hopefully nobody will notice that the cards this year say “Happy Holidays, 2010.” Yes, the kids look a bit younger too, but I am not wasting any time or money when I have perfectly good cards.

Christmas and Beyond
We will be spending half of Christmas day with my mother and the other half with his mother. The kids will get lavished with gifts galore, as grandmothers love to do. Personally, I will not bother braving the traffic and picking out presents endlessly for the kids. Instead, we will celebrate our Christmas on December 26th. All of the kids will receive Visa gift cards. My husband gets the honors of hitting the after Christmas sales and letting the kids get the most bang for their buck. This may not be a traditional way to celebrate our Lord’s birth, but the kids are going to have a blast, and I may just catch up on some much needed rest.

Please tell me I’m not the only stressed out Mom this time of the year? What are your best shortcuts?”

Rachael Whitmer works in the Women's Services area at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.

Talking turkey leftovers

2011-11-22T11:46:00.000-06:00

While we’re busy finalizing preparations for Thanksgiving, many of us don’t think ahead to leftovers. But once the meal has come and gone, leftovers will more than likely consume your fridge space.

There's nothing finer than a turkey-and-stuffing sandwich. But when that's been munched, turn to turkey with hominy and Mexican spice to beat the leftover turkey boredom. This is far from your mother's pot pie, that's for sure.

Roasted Poblano & Turkey Tortilla Soup

INGREDIENTS
3 large Poblano peppers, seeded and halved lengthwise
2 teaspoons canola oil
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons ground chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 cups water
3 cups fat-free, lower-sodium organic chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can golden hominy, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can Stewed Tomatoes, undrained (Mexican Style, if available)
4 cups leftover shredded cooked turkey breast
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup roasted unsalted pumpkinseed kernels
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 cup crushed tortilla chips (I used blue corn)
1 sliced avocado (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat broiler. Place pepper halves, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil 6 minutes or until blackened. Place in a paper bag, and fold to close tightly. Let stand for 15 minutes. Peel and chop; set aside.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add chili powder and oregano; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in 4 cups water, broth, tomatoes, and hominy; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Stir in peppers and turkey; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in cilantro and salt; cook 3 minutes.

Ladle about 1 1/3 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon pumpkinseed kernels, 1 tablespoon green onions, and 1 tablespoon cheese. Serve with lime wedges and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Nutrition Information: Serves 8 (1 1/3 cup each)
Calories: 213; Fat: 6.8 g; Carbohydrate: 13.8 g; Fiber: 3.2 g; Protein: 25.4 g

What’s your favorite leftover turkey dish to make?

Amber Massey RD, LD
Registered Dietitian
Executive Health Program
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth

Patient Zero

2011-11-21T12:09:00.001-06:00

When we first became parents, we were flooded with advice, so much that I probably only retained a small amount. One that I remember crystal clear was “Just wait till Elliot brings home the first stomach flu and passes it around the whole family.” Of all the great things people told us about parenting that I quickly forgot, this stuck with me due to my extreme aversion to vomiting. Although I have mellowed since becoming a dad, the act of vomiting is still among the things that I loathe the most.

Vomit was the last thing on my mind Tuesday morning, mere days away from my favorite weekend of the year (my wife gets mad when I say “favorite,” so let’s amend that to “one of my favorite”). In less than 48 hours, my dad and I would be on a plane to Las Vegas for a weekend of professional drag racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and reservations at the new Aria Hotel and Casino. If that wasn’t enough, the Rangers would be playing game 6 of the World Series the night we arrived! Needless to say, I was counting down the hours.

Our flight was leaving the first thing Thursday morning, so I had a little extra spring in my step Tuesday when I was getting Elliot ready for his day. It never occurred to me that something might be off when he wasn’t particularly interested in his bottle or when he was unusually whiny as we were driving to the babysitter’s house. He finally got my attention right as I was turning on to her street when he vomited all over the back seat of my car. Perfect. I was in a rush for an early meeting. He’d had some big throw-ups before, and nothing was wrong and I was in a hurry, so I ran him in to the baby sitter’s, cleaned the seat the best I could and was on my way.

Later that day I received a call from my wife, who was leaving work early to go pick up Elliot. Apparently he’d developed some other symptoms associated with a stomach bug, and the baby sitter thought it best to send him home. The next day was Wednesday (one day from our trip), and my mom was kind enough to stay with Elliot so that we could work. My dad was also kind enough to stop by in the afternoon and bring my mom lunch and visit his grandson (you can probably see where this is headed).

Fast forward to Thursday night. Things are going great, we are in Vegas, and we’d snagged some prime seats in the Aria sports book to watch the Rangers win the World Series. Throughout the playoffs I’d been very nervous during the games, so I didn’t think too much of it at first when my stomach started to feel odd. As the game progressed, I was becoming more and more aware of it, but was honestly much more focused on what was happening on the field. The Rangers were winning, and I was counting outs. Then the 9th inning began. We had one out, and my stomach would not be ignored any more. Suddenly I sprang up and broke into a dead sprint for the bathroom, I didn’t make it and vomited right in the middle of the sports book ¬– in front of the hundreds of people who had assembled to watch the 9th inning. Not my finest hour.

Now I knew something was really wrong. I made my way back to our room as quickly as possible, only to turn on the TV and see that the Rangers had surrendered the lead. Could things be worse? Well, at the time I didn’t think so, but they were about to.

Not long after my abrupt departure from the sports book, my dad came back to the room to make sure I was ok. I was already under the covers of my bed, shivering with bizarre chills. About an hour later I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or not when I swear my dad was telling me that he too was in bad shape.

This was bad. I’m going say this next part very delicately – two men, sharing a room, both as intestinally sick as you can be is not a pretty picture.

That was Thursday night. The next time we left our room was Saturday to try and eat something for the first time. We had some oatmeal and quickly retreated to the room, where we didn’t leave again until Sunday. We never made it to the racetrack, and those prime seats went empty. When we left for home Monday, we found out that we’d somehow managed to rack up $300 in room service and mini bar charges for oatmeal, bananas, PowerAde and water – not the way we’d planned to blow our money on this trip.

To make things even crazier, we were getting reports from home that my mom, who watched Elliot Wednesday, and Lauren’s mom, who came to visit on Friday, were both also in the same predicament as we were.

Elliot had the starring role in our own personal version of Outbreak.

Jordan Echols is a Marketing Manager for Texas Health Resources and first-time dad who is working his way through all of Elliot's firsts.

It’s Game Time!

2011-11-18T10:39:00.000-06:00

My oldest stepson found a sport he loves – basketball. I can’t even begin to appropriately explain how much time he spends playing and practicing this sport. If the sun is out and the weather cooperates, he is pounding the court somewhere.

As I mentioned in my last blog, he entered high school this year. Just as everything else in high school is a bigger deal, so is the basketball team. There was no “sure, anyone who wants to play is on the team” this year, but instead-tryouts. Not just one day of tryouts either-but three. They were scheduled to begin on Saturday and end on Tuesday.

The week leading up to tryouts was of course filled with anticipation. A popular conversation over dinner and numerous strategies discussed between Josh and his father on making the team. Then – it happened. That Tuesday as I was driving home from work my husband called to tell me Josh had turned his ankle. Uh-oh.

Now, this very serious event in his life was even MORE serious. Tryouts were going to begin on Saturday. We had to get a game plan to get this kid functional by then or it was very likely we would have to send him to a psychologist to recover!

Since my husband and I both work in health care, we are lucky to have friends and coworkers who are familiar with various injuries and illnesses-so we used our resources. I have a particular friend who played ball in college and is now a doctor who shared some tips for us to get him tryout ready-but they weren’t going to be fun.

We were armed and ready. Josh had to stay off his foot for a day or two and then tape and brace it for practice. Ibuprofen was also on the list to help with inflammation. And then, there was the ice bucket. My friend suggested “if he’s serious, he needs to put his foot in a bucket of ice for about 20 minutes a couple times a day.” Did I mention Josh isn’t a big fan of pain?

You can see by the photo how much he did NOT enjoy this part of the regimen. However, I am happy to report that after days of rest/tape/brace/ice and mental coaching for him to play through it-he made the team! The whole family was ecstatic and very proud of his accomplishment. Now-it’s game time.

How do you help your kids accomplish big goals and overcome challenges?

Makala Pollard is a Senior Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and Stepmom to two boys and after a six-year journey of infertility is expecting a daughter in March.

Happy holidays to the baby (not you)!

2011-11-17T13:27:00.000-06:00

With Thanksgiving a few days away and Christmas just around the corner, my husband and I are planning our holiday vacations and deciding how to enjoy the holidays with the little one and make it exciting for her.

Our baby girl continues to grow like a cute little weed and her happy, pleasant demeanor is still intact, despite her bouts with ear infections and congestion. A few days ago, my husband and I took a trip to Arkansas to visit his parents. And I don’t know who enjoyed the visit more – our daughter or her grandparents.

As soon as my husband pulled into their driveway, they couldn’t wait for the baby to get out of the car. I walked inside the house with our baby girl and she was quickly whisked out of my arms and smothered with hugs and kisses from her grandparents. Since she eats up attention, she smiled and cooed, loving every minute of it.

During the trip, my husband and I got a chance to go out while his parents watched the baby – it seemed as if they could have cared less what we did, they just wanted us out of the house so they could spend time with the baby. We decided to go to a football game and his parents made plans to take our baby shopping – to get a jump on the holiday crowds. When we returned later that night, we saw our baby girl sitting contently in the lap of her grandfather. They proceeded to tell us how animated and vocal the baby was in the mall (festive Christmas decorations were in every store they passed). In fact, she couldn’t bear staying in the stroller – her grandparents said she wanted to be held the entire time as they walked about (the stroller didn’t allow for an ideal view of the decorative scene).

While they walked about the mall purchasing outfits for their grandchild, her grandfather said something caught her large, inquisitive eyes. “She saw one of those Nativity scene snow globes and she just had to have it!” Hmm – I don’t know if Pa Pa just had to get it for his grandbaby or if she really had to have it. When they showed us the snow globe, her eyes did light up and her hands were flailing all around, so I must admit that she does enjoy looking at it and hearing the music.

And even all the way in Colorado, my parents act the same way. My mother especially cannot wait for Thanksgiving – she’ll get to see my daughter and my sister’s little three-year-old daughter. Trust me, it’s all about the kids – we are just the necessary means to get the grandchildren to their Thanksgiving destination in the Rockies. My mom has already bought clothes and gifts for both her granddaughters.

And my husband isn’t any better. He’s planning to purchase the baby’s first Christmas tree within the next few days – I figure, what’s the rush? She won’t remember any of it anyway, being less than a year old. My logical reasoning falls upon deaf ears when it comes to my husband’s “sugarfoot” – the nickname he’s given our daughter. “My baby will have her first Christmas this year, with a tree and presents,” said my husband. “We might just sit you in the garage by yourself for Christmas since you’re being such a Scrooge!” He can talk all he wants – I know I won’t be sitting in the garage by myself. And maybe I just need to get with the program and feed off of the excitement of my husband and our baby’s grandparents. It will be a special time full of long-lasting memories and precious family moments – during Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, happy holidays, to the baby!

Chandra is a Sr. Communications Specialist for Texas Health Resources and new Mom.

Family Traditions

2011-11-16T11:11:00.000-06:00

As a child, my family celebrated each holiday habitually every year.

I fondly recall each Christmas. My mother would pack the car; we’d pick up my dad from work and drive with sponge rollers in our hair five hours to my grandparent’s house. Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma’s with all of my cousins, aunts, and uncles. After a big traditional Christmas lunch we’d all gather in the family room to open presents, which were always clothes. My cousins and I (all girls- seven of us total) would each model our new Christmas digs. Our fashion show would turn into haste as we quickly got ready for church and attended the Christmas Eve children’s mass. After church we would all gather again for a snack of the days’ leftovers. We’d play and sing Christmas carols and then giddily go to bed anticipating Santa’s arrival.

The memories of my childhood always center on holidays spent with my family. I will cherish those memories forever.

As a mother of two, it is important to me to create traditions with my own children.

It’s a struggle for me as my extended family has grown and the ability for us all to gather has dwindled. I know in my heart that I must create new traditions for my family but I also mourn celebrating the holidays the way I always did as a child. I find myself stressed and having anxiety over what traditions to create this coming holiday season that we can continue each year through my children’s childhood.

Although we won’t do things exactly the way my family did when I was a child, there are a few traditions that I plan to incorporate. Thanksgiving lunch with traditional food is a must and watching the Cowboys and shopping the Friday after is just a given. Christmas we will definitely attend church and the day wouldn’t be complete without watching A Christmas Story. I’m also excited about new traditions such as donating food to a family for Thanksgiving and adopting a child to buy gifts for this Christmas.

I hope that when my kids are grown they will look back at our family holidays with warm memories as I do now. Memories are priceless and can’t be taken away, I thank my family for the wonderful ones I have!

Mindy Seals works in the information technology division at Texas Health Resourcesand is balancing work, married life and raising two kids.

Past my due date

2011-11-15T11:31:00.001-06:00

A conversation I had this morning at work:

Man at elevator bank: “Looks like you’re getting ready to have a baby.”

Me, smiling: “Any day now.”

Man at elevator bank, laughing: “More like any hour!”

I have conversations like this daily now. Walking around at work, 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant (so when I say “walking” I mean waddling), I feel like a ticking time bomb. I’ve learned that gigantic pregnant bellies are strangers’ preferred topic of small talk, so I’m reminded constantly of how much I look just like I feel – ridiculously enormous and ready to pop at any given moment.

I’m not actually overdue, of course. In fact, about half of all pregnancies go past the 40-week mark, according to the trusty “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” website. I’ve still got a week and four days before that’s the case.

But as the days tick by and at each weekly doctor appointment my OB says I’m still dilated “a fingertip at best” (which I wonder if she’s only giving me that much to make me feel better) I’m getting increasingly nervous. I haven’t felt a single contraction and baby Jacob has only slightly dropped. The only sign the end is near is that strangers can’t help commenting I look like I’ll give birth any second.

My cervix is “unfavorable” for delivery as it stands today. So what does that mean? If my doctor were to induce labor today, there would be an increased risk of delivering via C-section. I told my doctor I’d prefer to wait and not risk that. Even if it means I might have to eat Thanksgiving dinner with a full-size newborn squishing my stomach and leaving little room for turkey.

My doctor has ordered a biophysical profile for Thursday to check on Jacob’s movements, oxygen levels, amniotic fluid, etc. If there is any cause for concern, they’ll go ahead and induce right away. If everything looks good, we continue the game of checking and waiting until around 42 weeks. I’m not sure exactly what to expect with this test, so if anyone can offer insight into what it’s like please leave me a comment!

Going past my due date has me full of mixed emotions – nervousness that I’ll never progress naturally, gratefulness that I’ve been able to carry Jacob the full 40 weeks, frustration that I can’t plan for anything, anger with my uncooperative and aching body, anticipation for meeting my baby, and fear that I might, in fact, pop unannounced at any given moment (like while in front of an elevator bank talking to strangers).

Did you go past your due date? What was it like for you?

Megan Brooks is a Sr. Public Relations Specialist for Texas Health Resources, Stepmom, and Soon-to-be Mom who feels more than ready to deliver (though her body disagrees).

Thanksgiving: Indulge without guilt!

2011-11-14T11:03:00.001-06:00

Did you know the average person gains seven pounds throughout the holidays?! From Halloween candy to Thanksgiving pies to Christmas baking to New Year’s cocktails…it is easy to add a few pounds. So let’s check out how you can avoid common nutrition holiday pitfalls this season--starting with the meal that can leave you stuffed and on the couch watching football all afternoon! There are a variety of Thanksgiving dishes that are scrumptious, but lower in calories. Take a look at how you can “fine-tune” your indulging , making it easy to treat yourself without killing your waistline!

Before the Meal
Many people make the mistake of “saving up their calories” for the big meal. The problem is that when you skip meals you end up feeling starving and thus overeat. So to prevent overeating:

Eat breakfast.
Exercise! Go for a brisk morning walk or jog to get your metabolism moving and provide you with a natural burst of energy.
Do NOT skip meals all day. Eat small meals and snacks all day so you are not starving upon arriving at Thanksgiving dinner.
Drink plenty of water throughout the day as dehydration can make you believe you are hungrier than you actually are.

The Table Setting
The best way to prevent overeating is make it “difficult” to get food…if the food is within arm’s distance, typically people eat more because it is convenient. So what can you do?

Leave the food in the kitchen instead of placing it family style on the dinner table.
Use the “small” plate at the meal and if you are still hungry, you can go back for seconds.
Only put one serving of each item on your plate; don’t create a mountain of food (I’m one of those that will leave enough room for everything- about 2 tablespoons worth!).

Drink This, Not That!
Wine, martinis and champagne…oh how the calories can add up! Alcohol is full of empty calories, which means it has a good amount of calories with no nutrients. The real problem, however, is that alcohol does not make you full like food does so you keep drinking those extra calories. Make your first goal to drink water then have a drink or two throughout the day and alternate water in between.

Drink red wine INSTEAD of a red fruity cocktail -- 4-5 oz wine or champagne = 100-120 calories)
Drink light beer INSTEAD of regular beer -- 12 oz light beer = 110 calories (avoid the regular that has over 150 calories per serving)
Avoid things like margaritas and fruity drinks as they can have anywhere from 250-600 calories per drink
Drink hot chocolate or coffee INSTEAD of eggnog

Eat This, Not That!
Thanksgiving dishes are known for their calories, but there are many healthy choices you can make at the meal and even with dessert. Check out the TOP 10 healthiest decisions you can make at dinner:

Choose a green salad or raw veggie appetizer INSTEAD of chips and dip
Choose skinless, white meat turkey INSTEAD of fried or dark meat turkey
Choose fresh green beans INSTEAD of green bean casserole loaded with creamy sauces
Choose brown gravy INSTEAD of creamy gravy on your mashed potatoes
Choose a sweet potato INSTEAD of a sweet potato casserole loaded with marshmallow & sugar
Choose bright colorful veggies INSTEAD of a plate loaded with white starches
Choose a whole wheat roll INSTEAD of a croissant or flaky biscuit
Choose water as your beverage INSTEAD of an alcoholic beverage, sweet tea or soda
Choose desserts that are fruit based INSTEAD of chocolate or cheesecake based
Choose pumpkin pie INSTEAD of pecan pie

Have Thanksgiving cooking or eating questions for the dietitian? Follow @TxHealthMoms on Twitter Thursday, November 17 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. CST for a live chat with Amber (hashtag #trimturkey).

Amber Massey RD, LD
Registered Dietitian
Executive Health Program
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth

Trying for an 11-11-11 birth date

2011-11-11T09:05:00.001-06:00

Mid-February of this year, I was trying to keep my cool and bat away any baby fever urges that crept up. I’m not really sure why I was so set on the timeframe, but I was determined to wait until the summer to get pregnant. I told myself to savor the freedoms, the self-indulgences, the sleep, the selfish time to myself, the stuff I knew I would soon lament.

And then I saw this:

11-11-11

The date jumped out at me from this news story: Shooting for the coolest birthday ever.

“Babies conceived Feb. 18 will burst forth Nov. 11 assuming a strict 40 week gestation period.”

The words latched on to something in my subconscious — the same something that had been encouraging me to absentmindedly browse nursery themes and daydream about baby names. I was getting itchy. The attempted coolness was being taken over by a force greater than myself.

Curious, I plugged dates into an ovulation calculator. Turns out I was ovulating on February 18.

The thoughts trampled their way into my head. It’s a sign! What a cool birthday to try for! We could just try once on February 18 and if it doesn’t happen then we’ll know it’s not meant to be yet…

The news story continued: “Do it, do it now, though, because as the aforementioned article points out, the next chance to birth a baby with a birthday of all the same number doesn’t happen again until Nov. 11, 2111, and we will all be dead.”

Do it, do it now? I felt like the story was intentionally pushing my buttons. I tried to just forget about it and honor my original plan, but the 11-11-11 kept elbowing its way to the forefront of my mind.

Fast forward to today: I’m nine months pregnant, with a due date of November 12.

“We see this all the time where patients will latch on to a certain date for their baby’s birth, whether it’s wanting a family member’s birthday, wanting a holiday or not wanting a holiday, etc.” said Dr. Darren Tate, OB/GYN on the medical staff at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.

However, when it comes to scheduling a C-section or induction, the date needs to be based on what’s safe and practical, Dr. Tate said.

“Giving birth before the 39 weeks gestation is associated with increased risks for mom and baby,” he said. “If mom has completed 39 weeks and certain factors are in place then sometimes we can oblige.”

So did I ask my OB/GYN if I could be induced on 11-11-11, at 39 weeks and 6 days gestation? Nah. There’s no good reason for it. I'm not even slightly dilated yet, so I'm positive my doctor wouldn't do it even if I asked. And I'm okay with that -- while the birth date seemed so intriguing back in February, I think in all honesty my mind was just searching out a reason to go ahead and get pregnant in a fit of baby fever.

Instead, I’ll leave the birth date up to fate and the whim of baby Jacob.

What about you? Did you hope to give birth on a certain special day?

Megan Brooks is a Sr. Public Relations Specialist for Texas Health Resources, Stepmom, and Soon-to-be Mom expecting any day now.

Physicians on the medical staff are not employees or agents of the hospital.

Children and sports in North Texas

2011-11-10T11:37:00.002-06:00

North Texas is a hotbed of sports for young children. They have so many options available to them, and the competition is fierce, and so is the controversy.

We started our son in soccer at the tender age of 4 years old. Our son attended a day care at the hospital where I am employed, so he was not going to be familiar with any of his future kindergarten classmates, and this was a great opportunity for him to become familiar with them. We also became good friends with some of the other parents, and established ongoing friendships that we otherwise would not have had. We also enrolled our son in other sports – basketball and baseball. We did not want to lock him down to one sport in particular so that he may become well rounded. He found out on his own that he has an affinity towards soccer and baseball, but still holds a love for basketball.

A couple of years ago, the chatter started regarding “recruiting” for certain teams around the North Dallas area for soccer. So without actually trying out for teams, my son practiced with different coaches, attended different camps, and then ultimately we were told that they would pass on our son joining their team. While I told myself I would not get caught up in the competition of it all, there was the mother bear that comes out thinking “why not my kid??” During this whole process, we kept telling our son that he could quit anytime. We would never force him to do anything he didn’t want to do.

After some time, my son received an invite to practice with an FC Dallas Youth soccer coach. My son was very anxious to do so; not because of the premise of “trying out,” but because my son has an anxiety of meeting new people and entering situations of where he doesn’t know anyone. I’m sure this is an only child thing. It took some convincing just to get him out of the car and onto the field. He had a great practice, and low and behold, the coach emails us that very evening inviting our son to join their program. Fast forward to current day and he is on a pre-Select team, molding into a fine soccer player.

Do I think he will become a professional soccer player? No. Does he still play other sports? Yes. Why do we do this as parents? Because it’s good for him. My son is the type of child that needs structure. He needs a schedule and needs his day planned out for him in advance. Yes, I am a type A personality, so he gets this from me. Is he overscheduled? Perhaps. Does he still do well in school? Absolutely, and that will always come first.

At my own soccer game, there was a discussion regarding sports at an early age and how young was too young. One of my teammates suggested 8 was too young. In North Texas, if a child is entering sports at age 8, it is too late. This is sad but true. Do I agree with it? No. I also don’t agree with the overzealous coaches and parents on the sidelines that scream and yell at the referees, nevertheless the children on the field.

I ask my child on a monthly basis, “Are you still good with playing soccer?” The day he tells me no, is the day we pull him out. For now, I enjoy my life of chaos, grass in my car and trunk, and a happy child with a few smudges of dirt on his face.

Janet Fragle works in customer engagement for innovative technology solutions at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.

Sock sorting

2011-11-09T12:32:00.002-06:00

When you have kids, laundry is never-ending. Whoa, sorry...I slipped into my Captain Obvious uniform for a second there, didn’t I? In my house, certain loads of laundry lead to confusion. How you ask? Well, don't worry, it's pretty easy to tell my clothes from the clothes of all the other occupants in my house. And right now, Sam's clothes are still washed separately from everyone else's so I can use the mild and oh-so-sweet-baby-smelling baby detergent on his clothes.

The confusion lies in the underwear/sock loads! Okay, to better clarify, the confusion really is the socks (as long as I can still read the size on the underwear tags, there's no confusion there…yet). Jacob's and Caleb's socks are finally getting close enough in size that I have to closely inspect them to make sure that 1) I make a true match and 2) I give the right boy the right socks. This adds to my already-compressed laundry time.

Yet, it is often to no avail. More often than not, I'll hear a call of "Juuuuliiiiieeee, I'm out of socks!" when I've just sent a ton upstairs…with the wrong kid. Or, one of the boys comes downstairs with obviously ill-fitting socks on. I will never understand how Caleb doesn't notice when he puts his shoes on that his socks are bunching up because they're too big; or how Jacob doesn't notice that he's had to stuff his ever-growing feet into way-too-small socks! (Is it something on the Y chromosome?) When I question it, I typically get “I dunno," or "they were in my drawer," as a response.

When my Mom was visiting recently, she noticed my sock scrutinizing and offered some suggestions to ease my sock-sorting pain. Her first suggestion was sock locks. They're really neat little contraptions - you just slide your socks through them when you take them off, and the whole thing goes in the wash (and dryer!). The socks get clean and stay paired up. My father has used these since, well, the beginning of time. (He's an engineer and all about efficiency.) Now, I love my boys, and I think I know them pretty well, and I just didn't see them figuring out what to do with sock locks. Plus, while sock locks solve the pairing problem, they don't solve the “whose socks are whose” problem. Her next idea was genius. She suggested they each have a bag for their socks so that they're kept separate, but still get nice and clean (or at least unstinky - they are boys, after all). BINGO!

I happened to have two "extra" ~~lingerie~~ garment bags. I took a black sharpie and marked one with a big "J" and one with a big "C" and presented them to the boys, along with instructions that when their dirty clothes come downstairs to the hamper, the socks get separated out into the bags. I then took large binder clips and hung them, open, on their laundry hampers. (Open is important, because if the laundry hamper’s lid is on, the clothes somehow manage to only make it to the floor of the laundry room – I assume the bags would work the same way.) I know I'll have to remind them to pre-separate their socks for a while until it's habit (they're actually REALLY good about getting their clothes into the hamper downstairs), but I'm excited (yes, I actually used the word excited in the context of laundry) to see how it works.

I always need housekeeping time savers, so please share - what have you done to make your household tasks easier?

Julie Daneman is wife to Bryan, Stepmom to Jacob and Caleb, and Mommy to Sam. They are a boisterous, loving, happy interfaith family.

Telling tall tales

2011-11-08T11:41:00.001-06:00

“I went to four haunted houses,” T. proudly told his little sister during a recent drive home.

I immediately looked back at him. “Really?”

Guilty look. “Ummm….”

T. is scared of all things scary. He didn’t want to visit Six Flags because there were too many posters of zombies around. His uncle had an app on the iPhone that zombified pictures. H. loved it. T. didn’t. I can guarantee that up to this point in his life, T. has not visited one haunted house, let alone four.

T. has discovered the desire to make himself look better to another person. It is manifesting itself in what we are calling “Tall Tales.” We discovered this little habit recently when stories he was telling us were not adding up when confirmed. During this drive home, I knew for a fact that the story he was telling his sister was incorrect. And I called him on it.

By the time all was said and done, T. was feeling pretty bad about the lies he had told. I told him how when he tells these stories and I find out they are untrue, that it’s hard to believe him the next time he tells me something. How after a while it’s hard to trust someone who lies to them. How it puts other people in awkward situations when the original story wasn’t true.

I was careful to distinguish between the act of lying versus being a liar. T. is not a liar, usually. This is a new behavior. I don’t want this behavior to identify him, especially when he can make a conscious effort to change it.

I realize that there is a developmental aspect to this. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to allow it. Someone I trust suggested that now that we’ve laid down the law about lies, we need to start helping our son identify when he’s doing it. When he shares a story that we question, we ask him “Is this a true story or is it a tall tale?” His reaction has been fascinating. He stops, thinks for a second, and responds. I think he is relieved that he can step back from a story before he actually gets in trouble.

Just recently he was telling me a story and ended it with “but that’s a tall tale.” So maybe it’s working?

I’m hoping it is.

What do other parents do when faced with this situation?

Reace Alvarenga-Smith is a Public Relations Manager for Texas Health Resources and Mom of two.

Skills on the Grill

2011-11-07T12:22:00.000-06:00

This weekend we made a quick trip up to the lake. We had our boat winterized so we had to pick it up from the shop and take it out to the lake to store for the winter. This trip included myself, Brett and my youngest stepson, Nathan. There are many reasons that I think my husband is an awesome dad, but this weekend probably highlighted one of the biggest.

Grilling out is a common practice when we are at the lake, and this particular Saturday evening was no different. When the time to get the grill ready neared, my husband beckoned Nathan. He has done some grilling before, but this job was from start to finish-and it was with charcoal.

His first step was to open the very heavy lid to the grill. Brett’s dad built things to last-so just lifting the lid itself is a workout. Next, Nathan had to get a shovel and dig out the ashes from the last time the grill was used. Again, some more physical labor which he isn’t always excited about, but once he gets started you can see the pride and sense of accomplishment on his face.

After the ashes were removed Brett instructed him on how to strategically stack the charcoal brickettes so the best fire could be produced for optimum grilling. Then came the part that any young man enjoys-starting the fire and using the lighter fluid. What guy doesn’t like that? And then, they waited. I looked out the window from inside the cabin to see father and son sitting in lawn chairs watching the fire.

These are some of the important lessons my husband teaches the boys - how to become young men. We all dined on some delicious steaks after our two chefs were done with their grilling lesson. I must say Nathan was beaming with pride at the dinner table due to the fact that he had prepared our main dish from start to finish. What are some important lessons and traditions you try to impart to your kids?

Makala Pollard is a Senior Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and Stepmom to two boys and after a six-year journey of infertility is expecting a daughter in March.

Jacob's Montessori Nursery

2011-11-04T15:48:00.002-05:00

"So are you still doing that bed on the floor thing?"

I get this a lot from my friends, who probably think I’m nuts but are too nice to say so.

While patiently awaiting Jacob’s arrival, I’ve been preparing his Montessori-inspired nursery, bed on the floor included. What exactly does that mean? This excerpt from “Montessori from the Start” by Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jessen sums it up nicely:

The room is carefully, if minimally, furnished to address the four areas of necessity for the infant: an area for sleeping, for changing, for nursing, and for activity. Almost everything within the child’s room is low to the ground and each item will adjust to her changing needs as she grows.

Here are the main components:

An area for sleeping…

The floor bed is meant to give the child an unobstructed view of his environment and, once he’s mobile, the freedom to move in and out of his bed and explore as he chooses. It’s meant to foster the child’s independent spirit. That being said, the environment needs to be as baby-proofed as possible. Won’t he roll out of the bed onto the floor? Maybe, or maybe not. One way to prevent this is rolling up receiving blankets and sticking them under the crib sheet along the outer edge to form a speed bump that helps keep him on the bed. Note: the pillow and stuffed animal are just for show – these will be removed from the bed before he would sleep in it. The quilt (which moves freely) was homemade with love.

...for changing

This is Jacob’s care area. Eventually, when he starts walking, this open cabinet that is currently chock full of cloth diapers will instead house a few outfits he will be able to access on his own and choose from. The diapers will have to find another home.

…for nursing

...and for activity.

This is Jacob’s movement mat – an area for tummy time, playing, and focusing on different mobiles (to be added soon) that will help develop his concentration. Montessorians like the idea of changing mobiles based on the developmental stages of the baby. His first mobile will be a black and white Munari mobile that helps develop his visual discrimination, tracking, and focus. The mirror, securely attached to the wall, is meant to give him the opportunity to study his own reflection and movements, provide another view of the room, and encourage him to lift his head during tummy time. And the giraffe play mat? It’s there just for fun and because I like it!

This is by no means a perfectly Montessori room. For example, the paintings aren’t hanging at his eye level and we’re lacking toddler-sized furniture. But these are just a few Montessori concepts we’d like to try out and discover if they’ll work for us or not.

What has worked well in your nursery for you and your baby?

Megan Brooks is a Sr. Public Relations Specialist for Texas Health Resources, Stepmom, and Soon-to-be-Mom due November 12.