Birthdays!!

In two weeks both of my boys will hit new milestones...so sad :( Caleb will turn 5 YEARS OLD!!! We've already told him he's not allowed to turn 6, ha ha ha! He says, "Yes I will mom!" He's such a big boy. He is at the local elementary school in the Georgia PreK program. He loves his school and his teachers. If you ask him if he likes it he says, "I wish I was there right now!"

Elijah will be 6 months four days before Caleb's birthday. He is such a chunker and a sweet boy. Somehow we got blessed with two awesome boys. Eli is definitely a little more high maintenance than Caleb was but still nowhere near what I've seen from some babies. He's learning how to sit up by himself although he weighs so much that it is very difficult for him to fully support his head quite yet. He's learning. He also scoots on the floor. I think crawling will come very soon.

One of the issues that we're dealing with right now is the Swine Flu or H1N1. I'm not 100% sold on the vaccine yet. Caleb and I both got the regular flu vaccination and Eli will too but as for the H1N1 vaccine...I just don't know. I'm still debating. Right now we're doing everything that we can to keep ourselves healthy. Each of us are taking vitamins (except for Eli) as well as veggie/fruit supplements. Here are also some good to know health tips.

Prevent Swine Flu - Good Advice
Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know.

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe).
3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*
5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm and Vitamin D

I suggest you pass this on to your entire e-list. You never know 20 who might pay attention to it - and STAY ALIVE because of it.

So what are you doing about the vaccine??? ~ Charity