Sabbath Notes

• I'm going through some of my old posts and my template adding "alt" tags to my photos and images. The goal is to make my blog more useful to people who are using web browsing formats that don't show pictures, or people who can't see the photos for one reason or another.
  
  Old posts may show up in feeds as new again as I go through and edit them. But then, if you read my blog in a feed you already know I'm a compulsive editor anyway.


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• I've also turned off word verification for the time being.
  
  I'm getting tired of it on other people's blogs and my own. I'm always having trouble figuring out what the letters are supposed to be or having it think I typed the letters wrong even when I did it correctly. I think I'd rather clean up spam than annoy my friends.
  
  Life doesn't need any extra annoyances; even small ones. If the spam is too excessive I may turn it back on, but for now I'm taking it off.



• Are there any other design flaws or barriers to accessibility I should know about, that I need to fix on my blog?



• We finally got the meat we had purchased from a local farmer. The second-hand upright freezer we bought is now half-full of beef and lamb--steaks, roasts, chops and ground meat galore.



• I'm going to cook some of those lamb chops for dinner tonight when the Miraclebaby family comes over. In, let's see, about two hours now.



• I should really be cleaning my house right now, but I'm procrastinating.



• Making these charts of Baby E's levels has been interesting. I've redefined them a little to get rid of the overlap, and have added some codes to cover other variables also.
  
  Having some objective criteria for what behavior fits into what level is really helpful. I can look at photos, blog entries and notes I've written, combined with my memory, and pretty reliably assign levels to various days.
  
  It makes me realize that I've somewhat redefined normal. For who knows how long now, a good day has been a day that Baby E cries a lot only if I'm not holding and entertaining her. That's become normal to me. I generally haven't considered it an actually bad day or a clear allergic reaction unless she was in a purple stage for at least an hour, usually more like three hours or more.



• Does the purple stage sound like possible neurological symptoms (similar to what's described as a vaccine reaction to pertussis) to anyone besides me? Isn't inconsolable high-pitched persistent screaming and flailing for hours on end, and then zoning out, generally a cause for alarm, especially if it happens several times a month or several times a week? Or is this actually something normal?
  
  It's not the screaming that bothers me so much as the duration and intensity of it, the fact that it's so completely inconsolable, and the fact that she gets so unresponsive even when she's not screaming in connection with those episodes.
  
  Can I see a show of hands from people who have had their child display similar behavior?



• I find myself wildly fluctuating between being on the verge of panic and wondering why nobody is seeing how sick Baby E is, and then thinking that of course this is all quite normal and that undue concern is, as a certain Hobbit might say, clearly an overreaction.



• As the Irish say, "A man can get used to anything; even to being hanged."
  
  As Sis J says, "Redefining normal is helpful in order to cope with daily life, but not so helpful when talking to doctors."



• Speaking of doctors, I'm both sad and kind of relieved to see that I'm not the only one who has had to deal with really strange clueless-type dismissive behavior from doctors lately.
  
  So sorry, Heather, and I'm frustrated and worried for you. But I must admit that I'm somewhat relieved to know it's not just me or something wierd about my personality that's causing this type of response from the medical community.



• Finally, this weekend is National Donor Sabbath. In addition to my own mother, several bloggers I read have benefitted from organ donation.
  
  Please consider becoming an organ donor if you haven't already done so. Remember, if your family doesn't know and plan to honor your wishes, you aren't really an organ donor no matter what the card says. Be sure you talk to your family about it.