My body, my choice (Updated)

Update: Please go here and sign a petition to keep our health care out of government hands

This post will be about health care, truly an argument about my body versus another (say the tiny baby growing inside a woman's body). I wrote that title not knowing a recent article had the same. It covers a topic often overlooked - our own responsibility and "self-reliance" when it comes to health care.

Consequences of a government-run program are also often overlooked, which include doctor shortage, long lines, waiting lists, lower-level of care, denial of care, denial of senior-care, denial of certain medications, etc. Plus, it puts our country at risk financially. Oh, and death may occur.

Not to mention the eventual decrease in the number of medications out there. The United States accounts for almost half of the global pharmaceutical market. Why would this continue under a government-run (IE non-capitalist) system?

Another a look at Canada:

...report says that from 1997 until 2005 quality was not existent in
providing health care. She added that managers put a “far greater
emphasis on financial management than on protecting the public
interest.”

Bold emphasis added by me.

What Obama proposes as "cost control" is really reduction in spending. For example, if I set up a budget in my home of how I much is spent on milk and I need to control costs, what do I do? I reduce the milk consumed (limit availability) or I buy cheaper milk (lower quality).

A real-life health care example of cost-control: limiting the number of test strips a diabetic uses in a day. My husband Roscoe recently had an A1C of 5.9. This rocks! He does it by watching what he eats, exercising 6 days a week, and keeping very close tabs on his blood sugar levels. The last part is done partly by checking his blood sugar levels all the time, often a couple times an hour. He obviously uses a lot of test strips to do so. Well, what if he was only limited to 5 per day because some person working for the government deems it as enough because anymore than 5 is too expensive? Suddenly part of what works for this diabetic is tossed aside due to cost controls.

If you have a few minutes (20 actually) please watch this video of Stephen Crowder. He takes the cameras to Canada to find out how their health care runs.

I would rather have tort reform

Thankfully this article is out there to spell out some of the downfalls of Obama-Care.

If you prize choosing your own cardiologist or urologist under your company's Preferred Provider Organization plan (PPO), if your employer rewards your non-smoking, healthy lifestyle with reduced premiums, if you love the bargain Health Savings Account (HSA) that insures you just for the essentials, or if you simply take comfort in the freedom to spend your own money for a policy that covers the newest drugs and diagnostic tests -- you may be shocked to learn that you could lose all of those good things under the rules proposed in the two bills that herald a health-care revolution.

I've been following this "other option" that the current administration is pushing and it is not pretty. It's going to cost everyone (not just your really wealthy uncle) a bunch of money, put our country further into debt (who is going to buy it now - China doesn't want it anymore), there are questions about what coverage we will really get (or not get!), and many, many other downfalls that I have a whole other post dedicated to explaining. Think Canadian health care on really bad, out of date drugs.


h/t Roscoe emailed the article

Don't forget saturated fat

Not only does calcium and Vitamin D protect against osteoporosis, but saturated fat will as well. In conjunction with Vit D, calcium is able to be deposited into bone. This article fails to mention it's role, as do most articles and information out there about prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. The type of Vit D is also quite important. Ideally both D2 and D3 are in the diet together (whole milk, whole milk products, cod liver oil) and not supplemented separately. D2 alone has shown to actually increase sponginess of the bones instead of hardening them which is why most lower-fat milk is now supplemented with D3 instead (sited here and here). Unfortunately D2 is still used quite frequently in other food supplements, an example being soy milk.

I will be doing a blog series about saturated fats and their healthy benefits to the diet on my other blog, Real Food Mamas. When the first part is up I will link to it here.

I find it incredibly fascinating how little is published about the role of fats within the human body. By reading books and articles recently, I have learned so much about the necessity of saturated fat, the omega fats, and the way certain fats (poly-unsaturated, trans fats) can harm the body.

Humanity perfected on Kool-Aid

A good chuckle if you have three and a half minutes.

h/t IMAO

Things that made me go WHAT?! when listening to the press conference tonight

Did the President really tell us tonight that we are wasting our money when we seek second or third medical opinions? Really?!

And what exactly does he mean when he says that we will still receive the best care, just not the most expensive care?

And when he states that the one thing we will have to give up is paying for things that don't make us healthy, I have one question: who decides that it isn't making me healthy - the government, my doctor, me...?

And that guy who got hit by the bus in his scenario - either way we pay for his care, Mr. President. Why not give him an option of only having emergency health care that he purchases?

Consideration of the child's interests

To judge another these days is wrong. I do it anyway and completely agree with Dr. Laura when she talks about not wanting a 72 year old woman to get pregnant and have a child.

If this woman succeeds, she will have the title of the oldest mother in the
world. I would suggest that she will be the oldest female creature to give
birth, as a real mother would never set up her own child for this selfish foolishness. I wish this fertility doctor would have his license revoked. The same should happen to the American doctor who impregnated the “Octomom.”

Bold emphasis is mine. This woman is just another example of people putting themselves first before their child. Wrong. Before having children your life circumstances should be thought about and if they are not ideal for raising a child (enough money, a mom and dad in the picture, stable relationship, etc.) DO NOT have a child.

I am sick of hearing about ME, ME, ME. If you had a choice to be born into the following scenarios, which would you choose:

30 year old mother or 72 year old mother
Single mother or a mom and dad
Mom and dad who fight all the time or have a stable relationship
Mom and dad on welfare or financial stability

Think about the child please!

Co-sleeping has worked for us

It was never the plan to have him in our room this long (when was the last time everything went right according to plan). We thought 3 months and he would be in his crib in his room. Ha. Well, 3 months rolled around and he had outgrown his co-sleeper, so we moved him into the crib...still in our room. A month and a half later (and many fitful nights) we decided to remove the crib and just have the crib mattress on the floor...still in our room. Then we purchased a twin mattress to replace the crib one...still in our room. We just keep putting it off because we love having him there - and I'm sure he loves us being right there too.

A couple things have changed recently. One is that Rooster is now mobile. He has yet to crawl off the mattress in the middle of the night - his routine is to yelp out, sometimes softly, sometimes quite loudly (I've bolted to a sitting position out of surprise!). But he eventually will and the safest place would be his own room where we can't step on him en route to the bathroom. Another thing is us waking each other up. This was also the reason we avoided bed-sharing - it doesn't work because we both frequently awaken. Currently it doesn't happen all the time, but it does occur and would be greatly decreased in separate rooms. And finally, we are all ready for our own rooms. We like to think 9 months in, 9 months out in terms of where Rooster is in development and (in)dependence from us. He will be 9 months in a few weeks (WOW!) and it is time he slept alone.

We want to ease him in so he will begin to take his naps in his new room using the crib mattress. I'm sure this whole process won't go as smooth as we could hope, but nonetheless we want to start it. It's kinda sad for me and Roscoe. We are so used to having Rooster right there as we sleep, so when Rooster moves to his own bedroom in several weeks, he will be missed.

Garden Updates

Fresh, delicious tomatoes from the garden. I have picked (and eaten) too many to count!

Three tomatoes plants with parsley interspersed. The one pepper plant is being overrun by these 3 beauties.

Hot banana peppers -we are going to pick the larger one today. We had much success with using a pot for these this year! Next year this is all we will use for peppers.

Our herb garden is coming along. No horehound sprouted. The oregano and thyme are doing good though. We will dry some of both for soups and spaghetti this fall/winter.

Choose life...

...with this option.

La Shawn Barber and I always see eye to eye when it comes to a baby's life. One of her more powerful posts on it is here.

One of the greatest blunders in US history is the Roe v Wade decision. First of all, it's entirely unconstitutional, a perfect example of legislating from the bench. And worst of all, it seriously undermines the value of human life. Yes, there is a choice - to have sex or not! I acknowledge there are pregnancies as a result of rape/incest/etc. Few, but it happens. I still take the side of life and the rights of the unborn human being because it is about life and not the reason/situation that brings it. Rather than choice, this is what needs to be the focus:

On the mark again

Dr. Laura never ceases to amaze me with her insight into human relations. I have learned a great deal from her about how to be a better woman, wife and mother. Check out her video clips for ~2 minutes of pure wisdom.

Her most recent one, Divorced, But We Get Along, is on a divorced couple visiting with each other for the sake of their 4 year old daughter. She cuts right through the outer goody-goody layer and goes for the meat. I love it!

Independence Day Tea Party

We attended the Tea Party in Castle Rock. It was wonderfully planned and well attended.

Many thoughtful signs on display:

...and he's off!

Check mark another milestone - Rooster is crawling! Yay!

I thought that all of these steps of independence would be a little sad - he's moving away from me and into his own little person after all. But I haven't found anything but joy! Here I am with my husband continuing the creation of a life. WOW.

This and that

They always say that time flies by once you become a parent. They are right.

Rooster is going to be 8 months old in a week. Wasn't I just pregnant? I can still feel my belly and his little foot jabbing out every now and then.

Today his 3rd tooth came through. It has been bothering him for several days while it was just below the surface. He was soothed only by cuddles of which we have an endless supply.

His personality is starting to emerge more and more every day. We are in trouble - he's adventuresome and rambunctious. He's a boy.

I need to slow down, enjoy this stage while he's in it. It's a good stage - everything is new, everything is exciting and he's not quite mobile.