Stuff That Might Be Helpful to Someone, Somewhere

I’m in a slump, people. I’ve temporarily lost my blog mojo. I’m sure there’s plenty of interesting and entertaining stuff going on in the world, I’m just too [insert adjective here: distracted, sluggish, anxious, pregnant] to notice or care, let alone comment on it twice a week in witty prose. But that’s my problem, not yours. Why should my dear readers suffer? So this post is a random collection of information that may be helpful to someone, somewhere.

First off, “pregnancy brain” is real. I have long suspected as much, but here’s scientific proof. Also known by the catchier term “momnesia,” this is the phenomenon of forgetting simple things like your keys, where you parked, or your children’s names due to your hormone-addled brain during pregnancy. Another possible culprit is loss of sleep.*

Although I can’t cite any medical studies, I believe that pregnancy-induced clumsiness is also very real. Several times a day, I bump into things or drop them, which then requires me to lower my considerable bulk to the ground to retrieve them. Does that count as exercise? Because I’ve stopped going to the gym. First, because I get winded walking from the parking lot, and second, because I’m sick of the stares and comments. Has no one ever seen an 8 ½ mos. pregnant lady on a recumbent bike before??

It could be that my clumsiness is due to fatigue. And my fatigue is most certainly caused in part by an iron deficiency. If you’re a vegetarian, like I am, it’s very common to have low iron, especially during pregnancy. So in addition to my prenatal vitamin, I have to take a 65 mg iron supplement twice a day. That’s like 1000% of the RDA for a regular person. And since iron can, um, “slow things down,” then you have to take pills (or prune juice) for that, too. What? TMI? Like I said, just trying to be helpful here!

OK, on to non-pregnancy stuff. It took many, many sleepless nights and trips to the pediatrician and a pediatric allergist to discover that my 2-year-old’s persistent nighttime coughs were due to asthma. Turns out, a chronic cough is sometimes the ONLY symptom of asthma in children. This was a huge revelation because a) this cough was keeping everyone in the house up all night several days a month, b) since cough medicine is not recommended for toddlers there wasn’t a damn thing we could do, and c) we never suspected asthma since Miles has no problems breathing or exercising. Now he takes Singulair every night before bed and the problem has virtually disappeared.

So did I help you yet? No? You need assistance finding stylish, affordable, insulated shades for your child’s room? Try these. Looking for some quick, tasty recipes for dinner? Here you go. Need a spy fix now that “Alias” is off the air? Try “Chuck” and let this lovable geek fill the void. Tired of stumbling across inappropriate Elmo spoofs on YouTube when you’re trying to entertain your toddler? TotLol offers only kid-friendly videos.

There, that should hold you for awhile. Now you'll have to excuse me. I have to go do something. If only I could remember what it was ...

*RANDOM THOUGHTS O’ THE WEEK: This is what was running through my head as I lay wide awake in bed at 4 a.m. the other day: Did my husband always snore, or do I just notice it now that I’m always awake? Why does his body temperature drop to sub-zero at night while mine goes up? Did we remember to lock the back door? Are there skunks in Baltimore? Because I’ve never seen or smelled one. Am I going into labor, or is that just a gas pain? Should I buy a new nightgown for the hospital, or just make do with the backless gowns? Do I have travel-sized deodorant? Did C remember to get the camera fixed?

If you, too, need help getting back to sleep, try these helpful tips.