The past week has been spent in somewhat of a fog; more of a fog than the few weeks before that. It really seems like 2009 has just been a blur and a fog.
I’m still amazed at the fact that we’re sitting at the end of February. Wasn’t all the holiday hype just yesterday – the careful planning of all my ‘09 goals? Thankfully I can say that, with the exception of last week, I’m doing pretty well with our goals 
On Sickness (and eating well)
We’ve all been sick for the past week. Not those minor annoying colds. Really sick. Even me. I don’t usually get sick with the rest of the family so that was hard. I’m thinking it was not a coincidence that getting sick occured shortly after adding some processed food back into our diet. I need to be more discerning about things like that, especially while our bodies are still rebuilding from years of horrible diets and crummy gov’t nutrition advice.
On the subject of nutrition I’ve decided to participate in a Vitamin D study so the results of that will be interesting. I’m especially eager to see how my vitamin D levels are since that influences how Galen’s vitamin D levels are.
Bedwetting and our family
I’m unfortunately not getting much sleep at night. The primary reason for the lost sleep is bedwetting – all three of our older kids have bedwetting. It was really just getting to be too much and nothing was working (pullups/diapers don’t contain it many nights, doctor’s advice not working, and I’m not willing to use medication on my kids).
So we decided to go with an alarm. It’s basically behavioral conditioning, which I happen to believe is a fairly effective method of teaching when done the right way. The alarm goes off, we get the kid up to go directly to the bathroom. Get kid and bed dry. Put kid back to bed. Eventually kid’s brain begins to make the association between bladder and needing to get up and go. The process generally takes around 12 weeks.
We decided to start with Cassidy since she is the oldest and we’re 5 weeks into it. She’s been doing really well and I’m pretty sure this is going to work for her. She is bright and chipper – the kids are often not bothered at all (and often don’t remember) by getting up. Parents on the other hand notice the lack of sleep lol. This is something I don’t see many parents write about so I wanted to take the time to say it can be an issue, and it can be hard. The worst night by far we were up four different times – had to change the bed and jammies 4 times.
But as I said, Cassidy has responded very well to the alarm and I’m sure it will work for her. We’re going to move on to Asher next, who never ever has a dry night. I think it will probably take him longer than it will for Cassidy but facing the prospect of bedwetting for years to come isn’t nice for us – or for them – so a year of lost sleep to help them is worth it. If you have a child with bedwetting issues this book has been super helpful for us – Seven Steps to Nighttime Dryness: A Practical Guide for Parents of Children with Bedwetting
The Good Stuff!
Though I’m tempted to think so, life hasn’t all been sleepless nights and sick children. In fact, it’s actually been going pretty well. Scott and I celebrated our anniversary this week (and he was really happy with my present!) We’re planning to go out tonight for sushi (Galen in tow :p) and I’m really looking forward to that.
I’m so very thankful I’m married to such a wonderful man. I know everyone gets all gushy about how wonderful their husband is on their anniversary but I’ve got to be honest – I have an amazing husband. Not only is he a good provider and a good father, his hopes and dreams are very similar to mine. This is reall important to me because I try very hard to be a good wife to Scott, and it’s much easier since he and I enjoy the same things and hope for the same things. It’s also really nice to have someone who wants to spend time with me, being with me. Oh, and the way he carries Galen around in the sling (while doing laundry) – it makes me melt!
My birthday is this weekend. I have to write it here – and you’ll probaby hear it again – because I’m still quite the little kid about my birthday. I want everyone to know it’s my day ;p So Sunday I get to kick back and enjoy the day. My biggest birthday wish? That I won’t have to cook or serve food. At all. The entire day. Oh the luxury!
Other odds and ends are mainly involved in trying to play “catch-up” and get some things done. I’ve several blog entries that need to be finished and posted so look for quite a few posts over the next few days. I’ve also been reading a really wonderful book on life with young children and I may post some reflections from that I think you’ll benefit from. Now on to the daily grind of washing diapers and dishes…life calls 
