Daily Challenge

Inspired by Nessy at lipstick, perfume, and too many pills, I've decided to join the Daily Challenge. Everyday they will send me a small, health-based challenge to improve my daily life and overall health. And it's not a big thing to commit to doing one small thing to improve your health every day. So let's see how it goes!

Here is today's challenge:

How to do it

What's your favorite healthy go-to drink? A glass of sparkling water with a slice of lemon or lime? A cup of a delicious herbal tea? A cold glass of low-fat or skim milk? Whatever makes you savor your sips, share it!

Why it matters

Staying hydrated is key! Every system in our bodies needs water, and without enough of it, we can feel sluggish or headachey. Unfortunately, it's all too easy to hydrate ourselves with drinks that are high in sugar and calories. By sharing a healthy drink, it may motivate you to think of other good-for-you drinks to guzzle - and you may get some good ideas from others!

Fun Fact

The average person in the United Kingdom will drink about 80,000 cups of tea during his or her lifetime.

For me, especially since I got pregnant, I have been a whole lot more conscious about what I drink and trying to stay hydrated. However, I have to admit that eliminating sugary (and caffeinated) drinks has not been easy for me. In fact, as far as the caffeine category goes, I will admit to not being entirely successful in that department - every once in a while I can't resist sneaking in a Coke or Dr. Pepper, and, since aspartame gives me a major headache, I don't drink the diet ones either (sorry, kid!!).

But, for the most part, I have replaced soda with wonderful Boulder tap water. When I need a little bit of bubbles I've been drinking Pellegrino with a little lemon or lime juice in it. And, to make sure I get the calcium I need (so the kid doesn't steal what he needs from my bones) I've been drinking a lot more non-fat milk - we get ours from a local dairy! It gets delivered to us every Monday in glass bottles and everything, fresh from the cow and delicious!!

And my friend MK shared this awesome idea: "I love tap water with homemade ice cubes that have blue berries or strawberries frozen in them!" Those ice cubes would be nice in my Pellegrino too!!

So that's Day 1 of the Daily Challenge - and so far so good!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Check out my Valentine's Day guest post on CreakyJoints.org!

Some News For You!

It's a boy!!

Parker

You all know how much I love and admire the kids with JA - their determination to keep loving life despite their arthritis inspires me every day! Today I've been inspired by Parker, who made a video about what it's like to live a week in his life. I want to share it with you:

Physical Therapy

It's snowing just a little bit in Boulder today. The picture is of the snow that has accumulated on the fence in my back patio since last night - I would say it is almost a foot. And it doesn't look like it is planning to slow down any time soon.

So, after looking out the window, I guess I wasn't too surprised to find a voicemail on my phone letting me know that my physical therapy appointment for today had been cancelled. What did actually surprise me was how that message made me feel: slightly disappointed, actually. Which is a really good thing - because it means I actually like this physical therapist and I actually think it's helping.

After my last less than stellar physical therapy experience, I have to admit I was pretty reluctant to waste my time and effort (and money) trying it again. But the pain in my back wasn't getting a lot better, and my belly certainly isn't getting any smaller, and I can't exactly just take a handful of Advil and hope the pain goes away. So last time I saw my OB I bit the bullet and asked her for a recommendation for PT. 

And I am ever so glad I did. She recommended a rehabilitation center associated with a branch of the same hospital where I will give birth - and they actually have PTs who specialize in prenatal therapy. (And postnatal therapy, which may also turn out to be super useful). SCORE. So I've been seeing this new PT for two weeks now. This morning, when I was actually disappointed that my appointment was canceled, I realized that this PT is actually helping. 

This PT has been focusing more on loosening and strengthening the muscles in my back (as opposed to focusing on the actual SI joint itself). Now that I think about it, the physical manipulation she has been doing and the exercises I have been doing really do seem to be helping the pain in my back - especially since I am now showing a whole lot more than when I was seeing the previous PT. Plus she is super nice and willing to answer all of my questions and she is full of good suggestions. For example, on Wednesday she pointed out that the pregnancy is causing me to stand with my pelvis tipped forward, which is putting extra strain on my back. And, when I thought about how I have been "naturally" standing recently I realized she was right (which is probably how I was standing during the three hour visit to Babies 'R Us last weekend, which explains the extra pain I was in this weekend). So of course she showed me how to correct that.

In any event, though I am disappointed not to have her help today (and a little nervous that I will have to until next Wednesday to see her again) I am really glad I had the realization that it this PT is actually helping. That makes me feel good. Because it did take a lot of effort on my part to start over and try again with a new PT. But, as it turns out, with a trustworthy recommendation and someone who actually specializes in my issues, it was totally worth the effort.