acupuncture follow-up

I have been getting acupuncture once a week for  a month now.  I love it and totally get why people say it is addicting.  The feeling directly afterward is amazing.  I feel so relaxed and calm.  I do feel as if I have been better able to handle many things happening in my life.  It is not 100%...just ask Vinnie!

My carpal tunnel is so much better!  I cannot even believe it.  I sleep better at night, even if I do not go to bed earlier yet.  My digestive issues have greatly improved.  When I eat (large amounts of) dairy I notice a clear effect, and not in a good way.  I still have my cream in my coffee.  Almond milk in coffee = gross.  Seriously.

I am happy to embrace a healthier lifestyle.  In my mind I want to do it all at once.  Realistically, gradual is better and probably longer lasting.  I am anxious to get back to the gym but have not gotten there yet.  I will, I promise myself that.

I have to leave in an hour for my next appointment so I better get moving here at Casa Cappiello!

hrmph.

It appears that people do read my blog.  They are just not official followers and don't make comments on the fun stuff.  Actually, they don't make comments at all.  I get notified in other ways.  You know what?  It is fine.  But I feel the need to make this clear:  my blog is my feelings, thoughts, musings, etc. about my life.  My husband and daughter get mentioned quite a bit.  Other friends and family may get mentioned tangentially or in passing.  I try to avoid passing judgement or writing about controversial family issues.  Believe me, there have been a few posts that I have written and re-written before finally deleting because I did not feel right about them.

I cleared up the issue already but I am a bit nervous that someone else has read something and is now upset with me about what I wrote.  If you are, well, you probably don't want to hear my first reaction.  But seriously, have enough faith in me to know that if I have something specific to say to you, I will.  And remember that this blog is how I am tracking my personal journey through life; the good, the bad and the ugly.  And sometimes the really painful.  Thanks for listening.  xo

new stroller?

Just this weekend my husband and I were saying that we needed to get a new stroller.  We have used our Chicco Cortina so much that it just is wearing out.  Plus it is so huge that it takes up the entire trunk.  We have a small umbrella stroller but I don't find it easy to use.  And Vinnie finds it even harder to use because the handles are too short.  I know Lilly is already 2, but we still need a reliable stroller.  We started doing some research but have not decided on one yet.

Today I received a message from the Mom Bloggers Club about a giveaway from Mamas & Papas lightweight strollers from Britain.  They are doing a giveaway for 5 people to introduce their strollers to the U.S.  I would just LOVE to win one of these.  The weight range is birth - 50 lbs, as compared to some of the others that have 40 lb limits.  Since Lilly is 37 lbs, 50 is better for us!  Additionally, one of the accessories is a toddler strap so that if/when #2 comes along Lilly can hold on.

So cross your fingers for me!!

new blog title?

I think the time has come for my blog title to change.  I am still a first time mom, but not a new mom anymore.  I have been thinking about this for some time but I am having a hard time thinking of a good blog title.  Anyone have any ideas for me?

I know there are a lot of people who read this blog who are not followers. Can you please do me a favor and "follow" my blog?  You can choose to be anonymous if you want; I just want to get my numbers up!

Thanks!

My Nanny is moving

Throughout my entire life my Nanny has lived within about 10 miles of me.  I guess really it is the other way around since she has only moved once in my lifetime...from the house in which my mom grew up to her current apartment.  For years we had been saying, "Nanny is getting old."  For the past few years we have been saying, "Nanny is old."  

Last winter and spring were particularly hard for and on her.  She was sick often and it was a harsh winter so she did not get out very often.  As much as I want to see her often and help her with the her daily needs, I cannot.  I feel guilty that I have not been able to help her in the ways in which I want.  I speak to her often and see her at least monthly.  She sees Lilly more often because she goes to see her at my mom's house while I am at work.  

That is all changing next week.  Nanny is moving in with my aunt and uncle in Pennsylvania.  Oddly enough, Nanny was born and raised in PA and moved to NJ as a young woman.  She will be about an hour and 45 minutes away.  I will not be able to see her very often now.  My aunt and uncle want us to feel as if we can visit anytime.  But the truth is, we won't be able to make a monthly trip out there.  And really, I am not sure that is even what I am mourning right now.

The thing is, Nanny is not taking her stuff. She will take her favorite chair and her personal items.  But she is giving away her furniture, dishes, etc.  She will not be taking her ancient microwave on which you dial the amount of time you want.  She is not taking her television that is really a piece of furniture.  I wonder if she will take with her that Nanny-house scent?  It moved with her from her house at "188" to her apartment in Troy Towers.  

People keep saying that she has not died and I know.  However, the kind of relationship I had with her is dying.  She attends all my family's birthday celebrations.  The ones we have on a Wednesday night, not just big ones and she brings the brownies and fruit salad.  I took her with me to see one of my ultrasounds when I was pregnant with Lilly.  I learned how to make meatballs by watching her when I would go over for dinner every few weeks.  When I was in college I would drive by her house on my way home and if the downstairs lights were on, I would stop by.  She would heat up a little dinner for me and we would sit and chat late into the night.  After her open heart surgery I stayed with her for awhile when she was allowed to come home.   When I lived the next town over I took her to Mass on Sundays and then she made us breakfast.

I know that I am incredibly lucky to have had that kind of relationship with my Nanny.  My cousins have never lived this close to her and I am the eldest by a mile (or 8 years!) so our relationship is particularly unique.  I wrote above that our relationship is changing next week.  Truthfully, it has been gradually changing for a long time.  Having a family of my own necessarily changed my life and my availability.  


I have realized that as hard as this is for me, it must be a hundred times harder for my mom.  She moved out of her parent's house when she was 17 years old and got married and had me.  But she has lived in the same county, even, as her mom her entire life.  As much as we all know that Nanny will get a lot of great care at my aunt's house (she is a nurse and my uncle is a doctor) it is still a really, really tough transition.  I won't get into the inner workings of my family politics, but you all know that there is always stuff, politics and whatnot, that go on with something as big as this.  My mom was the first of the seven children to move out of the house, but she has lived the closest, mileage wise.  The other six are scattered around the country and have lived a lot of other places between moving out and settling down.  The difference is that they chose to make that move for whatever reason...job, spouse, whim.  I just know that my mom is probably very sad about this move, even if she thinks it is best for her mom.  Because of all this I am really going to try and make a conscious effort to be kind to my mom and remember what she is dealing with right now.  I will try to act with love and not react with anger.  Maybe by handling things this way it will help heal my heart that is a little bit broken right now.

Acupuncture and me

I am so excited!  I had my first acupuncture session today.  I have wanted to try it for some time because I really do believe in it.  My new insurance is apparently very generous when it comes to out of network providers so I was just looking into it.  Imagine my delight when I found that there is an acupuncturist in Maplewood on Springfield Ave!  I gave her a call a few weeks ago and spoke to her at length.  She has space 2 days a week inside Shakti Yoga where I took prenatal and Mommy&me yoga.  (Man, I miss yoga!)  Because the first visit is so long I could not get in till today.

I had to fill out an extensive health questionnaire before hand that the practitioner and I went over in detail.  We discussed my asthma and allergies; digestive issues; menstrual issues; stress and my desire for weight loss.  She let me know that she can definitely help me with all of the aforementioned issues except weight loss.  Rather, weight loss could be a side effect of the other issues being corrected.  That was what I had figured, but I was happy for the clarification.  Some recommendations she made initially are to cut out dairy as much as possible for both the asthma and digestive issues; try to have gluten-free pasta instead of regular; cut out the diet soda; have a warm breakfast, like oatmeal; and to look into Dr. Weil's anti-inflamatory diet.  Apparently conditions like asthma cause the body to have inflammation on a cellular level and it is helpful to eat foods to reduce it/avoid it.

Most of the needles felt either like a prick or nothing as they went in (or came out) but 2 in particular stung a lot as they went in and as they came out.  During the session (about 45 minutes) I did not feel them at all.  In fact I went into a state of deep relaxation and almost fell asleep.  That feeling lasted most of the day.  Even when Lilly was having a meltdown I was able to keep my calm.  I know that this is not  necessarily going to last all week, but the feeling of calm was nice.  I know nice sounds kind of blah, but since my norm has recently been stressed and edgy, calm is really nice.

I am very hopeful that my allergies and asthma will improve.  I know that I have frequently mentioned in this blog (here and here and here for example) that I want to lose weight and change my diet.  I am hoping and praying that this is the time that I can make that commitment and stick with it.  Giving up diet soda...no problem.  Eating a warm breakfast...same, in fact, delicious!  Giving up dairy...oh lordy.  I have done it in the past and my digestive issues did get better.  I just LOVE cheese and ice cream.  I think that I could still have the cream in my coffee since that is minimal.  At least for the beginning.  I am not so keen on soy substitutes so I would just do without.  She did say that if I was going to have dairy I should try to have sheep or goat's milk.  I am not sure how I feel about that...but I am looking forward to my next session already!

Does anyone else use acupuncture or other complementary medicines?  Tell me!