Keeping the Faith, Toddler-Style

As a pastor and a mom (and a seller of books, to boot), I'm occasionally asked which Bibles or Christian books I like for kids, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you.

Eager Reader Bible

(Tyndale Kids, 1994)

Even though we received several kids' Bibles as baby gifts, I wasn't really ever very happy with them and besides, I wanted to give Becca a Bible myself. I picked this Bible story book after perusing several options, and while it's not perfect, it does a great job of introducing about 100 key Bible stories from the Old and New Testaments. (I think there's also a Catholic version with a few more stories.) Each story is four pages long, and every page has a bright, colorful picture. At the end of each story there is a question that furthers reading comprehension. We're not really at the point of using the questions yet, but we'll get there soon. And since I'm being completely honest, I'll admit that there have been many days (and even weeks!) since Becca came home that this book is the closest I've come to reading Scripture. The Old Testament section is particularly good for reminding me of the different phases of Israel's history, which can often get blurry, even for folks with multiple degrees in religion! (I am particularly amused by the way some of the stories have to be sanitized. For example, Rahab is simply "the owner of a house." Niiiice.)

Psalms for Young Readers

(Marie-Helene Delval, Eerdman's Books for Young Readers, 2008; illustrated by Arno)

I love this book. It's simple and beautiful and poetic and gorgeous. And I love it. As the inscription says, "This selection of Psalms, paraphrased for young readers, uses language and imagery appropriate for children while remaining faithful to the spirit of the biblical texts." It doesn't have every psalm in it, but the 40-ish that are paraphrased and excerpted (a stanza or two each) are paired with a gorgeous illustration in the same folksy style as the cover (shown above). One of the aspects of our faith that is most important to pass on to my children is the notion that we can take any feeling, any emotion to God, and that's exactly what the psalms are: praising, ranting, raving, questioning, delighting, confessing prayers to a loving God. And it doesn't hurt that since we never read the whole book in one sitting (it's 88 pages!), I can say "one more" and only have to read one more page instead of an entire book!

The Usborne Book of Bible Stories

(Heather Amery, Usborne Books, 2007)

I promise this isn't just a shameless plug: this is a really great book. It's one of our dual-readers, meaning that --and this is a genius idea! -- on each page there are words at the top and on the bottom. If you read only the top lines (which have simpler text), it reads as a complete story, but you can also read the bottom lines for further detail. When a kid is learning to read, you can alternate; they read the top and you read the bottom, helping build their confidence and encouraging independent reading skills. Or, in toddler-world, you can get the point of the stories across reading the top lines only when you are in a hurry or when that oh-so-brief toddler attention span evaporates mid-story. So smart. These stories are a bit longer and more in-depth than the stories in the Eager Reader Bible, so they balance each other well. It's also nice that it comes with a read-along c.d. for the car or quiet playtimes. My sweet godson will definitely be getting a copy!

And one non-book recommendation:

Seeds Family Worship

When my very wise friend Marissa wrote about Seeds Family Worship cd's, I knew I needed to check them out. I'm so glad I did! All the lyrics are straight from scripture and set to -- wait for it -- non-annoying kid-friendly melodies! Amazing, I know. As far as scripture miracles goes, this one might be right up the with the translation of the Septuagint. I know that by far the best way for me to memorize scripture is through music, and I know many kids are the same way, too. (Ask me to quote any verse we say in Sonshine Choir 15 years ago, but don't ask me to quote you what I read just yesterday!) And speaking of genius ideas, how 'bout this one? Each album is sold in a twin pack: you keep one c.d. for you and give one away, all for the price of one album. Another bonus: if you are in Nashville, you can pick a couple up directly from their office, saving you shipping charges. (E-mail the contact on the website to set it up. And yes, I am that cheap.)

Now I'm curious. What books or resources do you use to teach your toddler about your faith? Are there particular faith practices you have incorporated into your family life?

Cycle Day 1

Warning: if you don't like ovaries, you might not like this post. Get over it, boys. Do I have any male readers, anyway? Speak up, if so! And it's kind of a long post.

We had a great appointment with Dr. Sizemore on Wednesday! It was a completely different experience than my typical appointments at the Vandy practice. First of all, I called last week and got an appointment at a convenient time this week. Whoa. There's just the two docs in the practice, a few nurses, a phlebotomist, and a receptionist. After the very short walk from the parking garage that had plenty of open spaces, I walked in and the receptionist (whom I had never met) called me by name. The office was calm and peaceful, but the waiting area also had a few of Becca's favorite toys, so she was happy. They took us back as soon as I finished my new patient forms. (Funny aside - John got there before we did, so he started filling out my forms, sweet man, but appeared baffled by the "gynecological history" section...like he couldn't even mark whether or not I was sexually active. When I mentioned it, he joked that he would rather put "not enough" instead of a simple "yes" or "no." :) ) After the weigh-in (down a few pounds!) and blood pressure (higher than normal - this was the 4th appointment of mine and Becca's day), we had just enough time to look up the numbers for my docs in Louisville (which we needed to request my records) before Dr. Sizemore came in.

Pause. I've got to tell the Candler folk that Dr. Sizemore looks just like Mark Rogers-Berry. Similar mannerisms and everything. I find this simultaneously weird and comforting. But the last doc looked like Dr. Brelsford, who, while he may be an excellent professor, is not someone with whom I would necessary discuss my lady issues.

Okay, picture go forward. (Special reference for Brandy H. there). After a few minutes of catching up and talking about how amazing Becca is (remember, he was the first person to lay eyes on her tiny self), we got down to business, which, thankfully did not involve an actual exam of my business. We gave him the run-down of the difficulty conceiving Becca (4 months, quick PCOS diagnosis, Metformin) and on our attempts over the past 12 months (pre-conception consult with the maternal-fetal pre-eclampsia specialist, adjustment of psych meds, temperature monitoring, 4 rounds of Clomid at 50 mg a day without monitoring from the doctors (don't get me started), irregular periods, even on the meds, a billion pee sticks, 5 months of Metformin, and a general lack of follow-through from the doctors). I also mentioned that I still have pain from my c-section, 2 years later. (The pain is internal, not at the incision site.) We wondered if that could indicate an issue, since I didn't exactly give myself much time to heal; besides, the c-section is the only difference John and I could really identify between this time and last time.

I asked him if he thought we were crazy for trying again, and he said no, that we seemed to be aware of the risks, which he didn't think were deal-breakers. Then he said that we really ought to be able to get me pregnant, and from that point on, everything was in terms of how and when and never if. That was such a change! My poor overscheduled doc at Vandy was so ready to send me over to the infertility specialists (that we can't afford), but John and I didn't feel like we had really done everything that a general OB could do (like follow through on the actual treatment plan). The root issue is that I don't ovulate reliably or predictably, even when I was on Clomid. Oligomenorrhea (infrequent periods) is a gynecological problem outside of trying to conceive, so a general ob/gyn is equipped to treat it, and insurance covers it. We all agreed that if I can ovulate, then I ought to be able to get pregnant, so that's our goal. (Of course, there may be other issues, but since I did get pregnant before and do have trouble ovulating, this is the first issue we have to deal with - until we get past it and something else crops up, we'll assume that there aren't other issues.)

So, how are we going to convince my body to ovulate? Here's the plan:

• Fortuitously, I have (mostly) started my period today, making this cycle day 1. That's convenient, because we were going to have to wait for a new cycle or jumpstart a new cycle (with progesterone) to get this party started.
• On day 3, I'll have blood drawn to measure my FSH level (follicle stimulating hormone?). These levels will tell us how my ovaries are functioning. (I don't really understand the science behind it yet, but I'm okay with that.) Turns out day 3 is going to be on a Saturday, which would make this test impossible at the Vandy practice since they aren't open on Saturday. Neither is the new practice, but the outpatient lab at the hospital (Williamson Medical) is, so they've already sent the order over, and I can just stop in on Saturday.
• On days 5 through 9, I'll take 100 mg of Clomid. Before I had been on 50 mg and ovulated 2 out of the 4 months, which is just about what my average without the medicine had been. Clomid, by the way, is not covered by insurance, but the ten pills I need for this cycle's dose only cost $16. We can handle that. :)
• Starting on day 12, I'll pee on sticks (ovulation predictor kits - OPK's) at least once a day in hopes of catching the Lh surge (a hormonal spike) that precedes ovulation by 24 - 36 hours. This could be tricky because apparently I have a quick surge and drop or something because I have never once gotten a positive OPK test. Apparently I'm not alone in this, though the doctors both looked at my quizzically when I told them so. My dear sister-in-law once referred to OPK's as "a complete racket." Still, I dropped another $40 on this month's pee sticks. (By now I totally would have gotten my money's worth out of the $200+ fancy fertility monitor that I guess I should have purchased to begin with.)
• That week is John's favorite week of the process. I'm a fan of it, too. 'Nuff said.
• On day 21, I'll go in for another blood draw. This time they will measure my progesterone level in order to determine whether or not I actually ovulated. (Progesterone is much higher in the second half of your cycle. That's why many women are really tired before they get their period.) At this point, it is too late to fertilize an egg that has been released (they only live for a day or two), but it will tell us whether the Clomid has done its job.
• About a week later, as Dr. Sizemore said, we'll get our positive test result. NBH (New Baby Hill) will (would, really) be due right around Becca's 3rd birthday. Voila!

That last point is not so much a guarantee, of course. Part of me worries about getting my hopes up too high, but most of me wants to run with the doctor's enthusiasm and optimism. We needed an injection of positivity, if you hadn't noticed.

Speaking of injections, if I don't ovulate at this level of Clomid, next cycle he may give me an HCG injection that somehow magically makes me ovulate (in some circumstances). If I do ovulate but don't get pregnant, we may do a...crap, forgot the name...they may inject my uterus with a bunch of fluid and look at it on an ultrasound or something or other and check for scarring from the c-section that might be causing problems. (He offered to go ahead and do this, but we opted to wait until we really get a good Clomid cycle with the appropriate tests before exploring this possibility further. A much better approach, I think, than the old doctor who told me I just had gas. Nice.) If we are still having trouble in a few months, we may have John tested, but with guys it tends to be a bit more all or nothing in terms of fertility, unless there has been some kind of significant illness, physical trauma, etc., and since we conceived Becca, then we don't really anticipate an issue there.

I think that's about it. I hope this makes sense; I'm incredibly tired today. Becca seems to be shifting her sleeping pattern...as in, not sleeping as much. Dislike. I also noticed while writing this that I know much less about the medicine and physiology of infertility than I do about all of Becca's medical and developmental issues. And I'm okay with that. I know enough to understand what's going on, and at the moment our issues are pretty clear-cut, unlike many of little missy's. It's kind of refreshing to have problems that doctors have seen a million times instead of always being the exception. But it's still nice to be treated like you aren't the millionth patient they've seen that day.

Oh, and as an added bonus, he wrote me a prescription for Nexium so that I can stop buying Zantac in bulk. (Turns out if you are having to take Zantac 5 days a week, you really ought to be on something stronger.) And since I had a coupon, the extra prescription got me another $10 Target gift card, so I won free money, right? (I won't mention that the Rx cost $30 on its own, though...) Still, it justified a purchase of uber-cute Halloween p.j.'s for for my favorite little witch.

All in all, we are feeling much better! Thanks for the encouragement and kind kind thoughts!

Wednesday Weigh-In

Last week: 8.3 kg (18 pounds, 5 ounces), 29 inches

This week: 8.4 kg (18 pounds, 8 ounces), 30 inches

Week's change: +100 grams/3 ounces, +1.0 inches

Net change: +700 grams/24 ounces, +1.0 inches

Good week! She up a pound and a half in exactly 2 months!

Cycle Day 63

I am officially on cycle day 63. For you lucky folks not concerned with fertility, that means my "cycle started" (um, I got my period) on July 7th and has not re-started since then.

No, it's not because I am pregnant.

It's because my ovaries are, well, constipated.

I have PCOS, meaning that my ovaries don't, you know, ovary. Or ovulate, to be more accurate. So the little eggs that would eventually turn into adorably witty mini-me's stay tucked away in their nice little home. Maybe they are just lazy. Maybe they heard what a tough go round the last egg that was impregnated had. But whatever they do, they don't, ahem, present themselves for service.

As you know, we've tried a few different medications, including the Metformin that I am not taking. I have ovulated on both Clomid and Metformin, but for whatever reason, nothing is sticking, if you will. Neither medicine has made me ovulate dependably or predictably, making scheduling some, um, quality time difficult.

I'm getting really frustrated. No, I'm not really getting frustrated...I'm more getting...dejected. And very sad. I'm nearly ready to leave this whole procreation mess behind and look at other options like fostering and/or adopting. SuperDad is not so ready to move on. Even so, I almost called it quits a couple of weeks ago. I mean, it's been almost a year (a full year next week) since we started trying to conceive, and it's not like my body's all that good at this pregnancy thing anyway. We're not getting much help -- and no support -- from my OB/GYN, especially considering that you have to fight a small war to get in to see him in a timely manner (and fertility issues tend to be rather time-sensitive). My current OB/GYN was basically selected by default anyway. (Since the high-risk folks only see you when you are pregnant, I went to the first-available regular doc at Vandy.) Our insurance has absolutely zero coverage for fertility treatments, and we couldn't even consult a specialist without having to, oh, sell a car or something. (I've seen enough specialist bills in my time!)

But then last week I stopped into a medical arts building here in Spring Hill to make a dentist appointment for Becca, and lo and behold, a new OB/GYN practice has opened there...and one of the doctors is the guy who delivered Becca during his residency at Vandy! So I got to thinking...

Sure, he's young, so he doesn't have as much experience. He's not a Vandy SuperDoctor, though he was trained by them. He's a doctor of osteopathic medicine and not an MD, which is different for me. (DO's apparently have very similar training as MD's - same boards, residencies, etc., and can specialize in anything, but they tend to take a more holistic approach.) That's probably a good thing for me. The main office is in Franklin, not far from John's work, and he's got the smaller Spring Hill office a few days a month. And, besides, he's seen the inside of my uterus. Not many doctors can claim such, um, intimate knowledge. Can't really beat that. And when I called, they were able to get my in this quarter. That's improvement.

We've got an appointment with him today. I'm excited to have some fresh eyes to take a look at me and our efforts and maybe offer a little more in the way of options or support. I don't expect to walk out pregnant or anything, but I have a feeling he'll at least be willing to work with us a little more instead of saying, "Let me write you a referral to my fine reproductive endocrinologist colleagues. Don't worry; they can work out a payment plan for you." Ugh. Or maybe he'll say, "Are you crazy? I saw you last time around! Don't try this again!" I don't know. But I'm excited to have the conversation about my fertility, and that's saying something these days.

Gymnastics!

Last week when I caught Becca doing this:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I knew that my plan to enroll her in parent-and-child gymnastics classes was a good one! (And apparently Sasha needs them, too!)

We started today at the Spring Hill location of Let It Shine, the same organization through which I took gymnastics classes as a kid. She had so much fun! (And I kind of kind of loved it, too!) We spent the first 15 minutes working our way through an obstacle course, which included activities like climbing up and going down a slide, walking on two stripes (that will eventually turn into crab walking or bear crawling), doing a very rudimentary cartwheel over a bolster, trying out a forward roll down a slope, etc. Then we moved into the big gym and bunny-hopped and/or ran down the tumbling track (think huge mattress with sides), rode a zipline (on a seat and being supported, of course), walked on balance beams, jumped on the trampoline and, yes, jumped into the foam pit! (The foam pit is a big pit with a trampoline at the bottom, filled with foam cubes. It's fun to get lost in, to wiggle in, to bounce in, really to do anything in. Everyone loves the foam pit! Is this a Let It Shine thing, or do most gyms have them?)

Becca did really, really well, considering that it was her first class and given her sensory issues. I often talk about her sensory issues in relation to her eating, but they also come into play (in a big way) with gross motor skills. Since her vestibular (balance) centers are wonky and she doesn't have good proprioception (the ability to know where you are in space and in relation to objects and such), skills like standing, walking, running, jumping (and even earlier skills like crawling) are difficult for her (hence the delays). At the same time, though (I feel like I say that all the time...sensory issues are so complicated!), since she is hypo-sensitive, generally speaking, (meaning that she doesn't really feel things correctly), she seeks sensory input she can feel well, like rolling, spinning, swinging (depending on the direction), shaking and generally rough-housing.

Gymnastics, then, is perfect therapy for her! It works many of the areas that need to be worked by doing things that she loves to do! And actually, her physical therapy sessions these days really do look a lot like gymnastics class, complete with a pit (not foam, but similar), a balance beam, stairs and a track. (There are also other exercises, like kicking a ball, that we do that aren't really gymnastic-y, but they all work together.) And since Becca is so social (if you know her in person, you are smiling now, right? Because she's really beyond social. :) ), the class setting is ideal for her. She loves to watch other kids and then jump right in. According to her (new) occupational therapist (who is great but is no Karla B. ;) ), since things feel weird and unstable to her, she depends more on watching other kids (or people in general) do things to know that they are okay. The good thing is that with her personality, she doesn't just watch for very long!

And I'm not going to lie; I really liked getting to meet other caregivers of young kids in the area (mostly moms, but one dad and one grandmother). I'll also confess that while I certainly don't want to put any pressure on Becca to become a star athlete at age 2, I also have some long-term motivation in enrolling her in gymnastics. Becca can and will do whatever she wants in terms of extracurriculars (as long as we can manage it logistically and financially), but I also want to introduce her to the areas that might be a little easier for her. Let's face it: she's not built like your average WNBA star. Of course I'd never say that she's not going to play and love basketball, but it makes sense to start her off with activities in which she's not already at a disadvantage because of her size. I mean, she is still our Itty Bitty - but I'm not about to be the one to tell her so! :)

p.s. Big thanks to Aunt Daphne and Uncle Rob (and crew), Martha S., and Cousin Mary Lou, our gymnastics "sponsors" for September and October classes! :)

Brand Power

Becca now not only recognizes Elmo, Abby, Eh-nie, Oshar, Tookie, Rover and the rest of the gang, but she also recognizes

the brand.

Today she found the logo on the inside of her new Elmo shoes (consignment sale find - $5 - but I would have paid $25!) and promptly started chanting "Seseme! Seseme! Seseme!"

At least it's a brand I can trust, I guess!

Wednesday Weigh-In

Last week: 8.25 kg (18 pounds, 3 ounces), 28.5 inches

This week: 8.3 kg (18 pounds, 5 ounces), 29 inches

Week's change: +50 grams/2 ounces, +0.5 inches

Net change: +600 grams/21 ounces, +0.5 inches

The granulation tissue is improving. After burning it with silver nitrate again on Friday (at the surgery office), I put alum on it, and it turned really disgusting. I'll spare you the gory details, but it looks like it might be on the retreat.