Jonah had his fashionably late 18 month WBV on Monday and here are his stats -- 31 lbs, 35" long and 51 cm head circumference. He's around 95 percentile except for his head which is greater than. Jonah has started extending into size 3 now. I'm amazed at how much he has grown.

Even though he had a minor head cold I opted to get him his final Hib and polio shots as we are working on our very delayed schedule. I asked the nurse about giving him Tylenol after we got home as he had a bad reaction to the Hib the first time and she said no. A few hours later and it was the same deal of a baby in pain and crying for hours. Dumbass nurse. Last time I listen to her. I also asked the doc (a P.A. who is also an ND) about his touch of eczema and she told me to put Eucerin on it. Um yeah, like I could figure that out . I wasn't that impressed. I have some natural medicine books and so I'm going to try my own approach to it including fish oil supplement, some diet modifications, probiotics and yes, some topical cream (but not hydrocortisone).

We had our first day back at our class at the community college today and after a little initial hesitation, Jonah got familiar with the surroundings and toys again. Almost 75% of our class was in it last Spring so that's nice for me and for Jonah for developing friendships. Boy how the babies have changed -- there were toys everywhere. They pulled everything down off all the shelves and then some. When we started in Jan., Jonah was still crawling. This evening I can see a little change in his demeanor -- we went to a restaurant with a play area and he finally wasn't so shy about playing there around the other kids. My partner is going to take him to a music class on Monday mornings. It is more creative music rather than learning how to play.

Jonah has his own guitar, I don't know if I mentioned it. My partner got it for him in Peru last Christmas. It is a mini-guitar, a real one. He has been getting more into it lately. He hands it to me and I strum the strings and sing Old Mac Donald and Oh Susanna and he thinks it is great (even though I'm not really playing the song). I want to encourage him to explore and play. He also has his dad play for him, more fancy classical fingerwork stuff.

I took Jonah in for a check- up yesterday and it went all right. He didn't like being undressed while they measured him at all and he was ready to go before the doc even came into see us. "All done" he said emphatically while trying to push me to get up to leave, as the doc came in and sat down. I had to help her hold the stethoscope in place so she could check his heart and lungs.

I mentioned his recent eczema flare-up and she just suggested using Eucerin on it. I was hoping for something a little more thoughtful than that as she is a naturopath as well. I'm going to try some other things on my own, including consulting my ND books.

I opted to have his third and final polio and Hib shots given even though he has a cold. He did good and didn't cry or anything. Stupid Hib though, just like the first time, about four hours after he was in a lot of pain at the injection site. I asked the assistant who gave the shot about giving him some Tylenol and she said it wasn't necessary. She also went on about how Tylenol was not an anti- inflammatory, only Motron was. Whatever, it says on the label that it is a pain reliever, I checked when I gave him some.

The poor baby came into the kitchen as I was finishing dinner and gestured that he had a boo-boo, that he hurt his leg and wanted a kiss. At first I thought he bumped himself but then I realized it was his shot. He was so upset that it wouldn't stop hurting him and he kept crying and saying "all done" because he wanted it to stop hurting. It makes me sad to think of it. It was hard to get him to sleep after that as he was so agitated. I think the Tylenol did finally take the edge off some. It should feel better for him in the morning.

When we did go to bed finally be pushed for me not to lay next to him so I put a pillow on that side and got in on the opposite side of the bed. Not sure what was up with that. Now I'm up in the middle of the night and starving so I'll have to get up and grab something, perhaps a bowl of cereal.

I was thinking over the weekend about the presidential race. I was talking to someone at work about how we don't feel that Obama has really reached out for our support and that stuck with me. Why do I feel this way and what would it take to change it.

I thought about all the news and commentary I've been reading, about how in some regards Obama and McCain's policy directions and positions aren't always that far apart. So I thought some more... what did I care about as a woman? What would make me feel more excited about Obama and his "pro-woman" agenda? Here's what I came up with:

Work with Congress to pass the late Stephanie Tubbs-Jones Fibroid Research and Education Act. This has been stalled out in committee for years and yet it is so needed. Fibroids affecting between 25-80% of all women (and their families), and a disproportionate amount of women of African-American descent. This would be great for women and it would also be a nice gesture in remembrance of Tubbs-Jones legacy.

Work to better support women who want to breastfeed
Breastfeeding and working is a hard deal, not impossible but surely challenging for the best of us. Greater flexibility in working arrangements, possibly thought family leave, could help more women be able to offer their children this best start in life. Since Obama says he's for preventative health care, this is the best preventative care option around. (see the Breastfeeding Promotion Act)

Provide mandatory access to optional supplementary insurance plans to cover infertility treatments
After trying so long for my own child, I was lucky enough that my particular condition (fibroids) fell within the purview of my health insurance coverage. Also, I was able to conceive on my own after a good stint of work with alternative care providers. Many couples aren't so lucky and for them assisted reproduction is the best path towards achieving a successful pregnancy yet most health insurance plans don't cover these treatments. The plans themselves would be optional and supplementary, sort of like how you can get a catastrophic plan in case of disability/dismemberment. Since insurance is currently handled on a state by state basis, federal plans would have to be put in place to incentivize the creation of these plans. See Family Building Act of 2007

Expand support for small businesses to offer childcare benefits
I looked into it for our business and there is a federal tax break for offering a childcare benefit but it wasn't that comprehensive. Perhaps the tax break is enough but additional support for how to structure the benefits could go a long way to helping more families out. (see Employer-Supported Child Care and Starting Early Starting Right Act)

How about increasing support for HeadStart programming?

Expanding surviving widows to claim a greater portion of their deceased husband social security?

I'm going to keep thinking of other things that might fall on my women's agenda. Add your ideas as well -- what can the government do to help you meet your priorities?