Weston Designer Show House
Public Viewing:  Tuesday, October 6 – Sunday, November 1
When:  Tuesday to Saturday, 11 AM to 5 PM and Sunday, Noon to 5 PM (closed Mondays)
Where: 44 Ridge Road, Weston, CT  06883
Show House Office Phone:  203.293.4817
Event Information:
The momentum is building in Weston, CT where something special will be happening this fall.  Franco Grimaldi, Show House Producer and President & CEO of Talent Resource Centre, LLC is happy to announce that his upcoming Show House event will benefit one of Connecticut oldest charities…The Connecticut Humane Society!

Located in Fairfield County at 44 Ridge Road in Weston, Connecticut the house will be featuring designs from some of the tri-state areas most talented and respected designers, suppliers and manufacturers. Over a dozen design spaces will be open for public viewing in this 9,000 sq. ft. magnificent stately residence which is presently on the market.  Daily admission is $30.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health/views/29essa.html?_r=1

Pregnancy Is No Time to Refuse a Flu Shot

This article is by Anne Drapkin Lyerly, Margaret Olivia Little and Ruth R. Faden.

Pregnant women are deluged with advice about things to avoid: caffeine, paint, soft cheese, sushi. Even when evidence of possible harm is weak or purely theoretical, the overriding caveat is, “Don’t take it, don’t use it, don’t do it.”

In a few contexts, the admonition is warranted; in most, it is merely inconvenient and anxiety provoking. But in the case of pandemic influenza, it may be deadly. With the second wave of swine flu at hand, and up to 50 percent of the public at risk, the usual mode of thinking about pregnancy and medications threatens to make a worrisome situation worse.

The dangers of this mentality became frighteningly apparent this summer, when a study in The Lancet reported strikingly high rates of death and of complications like pneumonia in pregnant women with H1N1 influenza. Pregnancy meant a fourfold risk of hospitalization, sometimes with a tragic outcome; all the pregnant women who died had been relatively healthy to begin with.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have since put pregnant women at the top of the priority list for the vaccine, and have recommended that pregnant women start antiviral medications as soon as possible after exposure to the virus and after the onset of flu symptoms.

But if experience is any indication, even these forceful recommendations may not be enough to overcome reluctance among pregnant women and those who care for them. Even though the seasonal flu vaccine is recommended for pregnant women in particular, in one study only 15 percent received the vaccine — a rate far lower than any adult group for whom it is recommended.

And despite recommendations that antiviral drugs be started as soon as flu symptoms appear, many pregnant women in the Lancet study were not treated soon enough. Delays ranged from 6 to 15 days from the time that symptoms started, and 2 to 14 days from the time the women were seen by a doctor. Not one of the six pregnant and relatively healthy women who died received medication within 48 hours of the onset of her illness.

This is a sadly familiar pattern. After the thalidomide disaster of 1960s, and the very real concerns it raised about the impact of drugs on fetal development, many ended up viewing the use of any medicine by pregnant women as anathema. As a result, doctors and women alike often eschew or discontinue medications for serious illnesses, even when the harms of untreated disease, for women and the children they bear, are worse than any risks of medication.

Poorly treated asthma during pregnancy, for example, is associated with higher rates of pregnancy complications for women, as well as growth problems in the fetus and premature delivery. By contrast, women whose asthma is controlled with medication do as well as women without asthma, and so do their babies. Untreated diabetes early in pregnancy elevates the chances of severe birth defects to as high as 1 in 4.

And yet even when the evidence is clear, pregnant women find it hard to fight against the “don’t take it, don’t use it, don’t do it” mentality, which focuses our minds and emotions only on the risks of taking a drug. Obscured from view are the risks of the disease itself.

Overcoming this mindset will take work on several fronts. Every effort needs to be made to alert pregnant women and clinicians about the special risks of H1N1 in pregnancy. Educational efforts need to be honest about the reasoning behind these important recommendations, including both the limits of what we know and the reasons that concern for pregnant women is now so great.

But the key to success, now and in the future, will be the conduct of research that is specific to the needs of pregnant women. Concerns about the ethics of research involving these women mean that we know far less about how to treat or prevent disease during pregnancy than for other adults and children. The urgent threat of H1N1 flu has brought into sharp relief the fact that pregnant women can and should be protected through research, not from it.

Studies enrolling pregnant women in trials of vaccines for swine flu, financed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, are now under way at six major medical centers. Researchers are also studying ways to guide the use of antiviral drugs to suit pregnant women’s changed metabolisms. Experts suggest that studying blood samples from as few as two dozen women is all we need to determine whether the standard adult dose of antivirals is effective for treatment or protection during pregnancy.

If there was ever a time to rewrite the playbook on how to think about drugs, vaccines and pregnancy, this is it. The lives of women and babies depend on it.

http://tylenol.com/?s_kwcid=kids%20tylenol%20recall

You may have heard that McNeil Consumer Healthcare (the makers of TYLENOL®) is voluntarily recalling certain lots of Children’s and Infants’ TYLENOL® liquid products that were manufactured between April, 2008 and June, 2008. All products manufactured met internal specifications. However, the company is implementing this recall because during this period, an unused portion of one inactive ingredient did not meet all quality standards. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, it was decided to recall all Children’s and Infants’ TYLENOL® liquid products listed below, which were made during this time.

Parents and caregivers who have questions or concerns should contact their child’s health care provider or our consumer call center at 1-800-962-5357 (available Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time). Consumers can find the lot numbers on the bottom of the box containing the liquid product and also on the sticker that surrounds the product bottle. The lot numbers of the affected products are listed below.

These actions do not apply to Children’s TYLENOL® Meltaways and Junior Strength TYLENOL® Meltaways. The voluntary recall applies only to select lots of Children’s and Infants’ TYLENOL® liquid products.

Recalled Products – Full List

Bringing home baby changes everything, including, of course, your sleeping habits.  I can say with almost certainty that a complete night of sleep will never be the same again once you become a parent.  But the first few months are undoubtedly like no others.   You are anxious about leaving your little angel for even a few moments of rest.  What if you fall so soundly asleep that you miss some urgent need your baby may have?  And when you finally are exhausted enough to drift off and relax, that little bundle is sure to wake you up with a piercing cry that you certainly could not have missed if you were in a bunker.
There is an age old struggle of how to get your newborn baby to sleep longer and longer stretches.  Should we feed him more, let him cry, dream feed, or shorten day naps? What sleep books should we read and follow like the bible?  And by the time we have it all figured out, our little one has beat us to it and finds her own way to get the sleep she needs.  However, until that time, it is PAINFUL.
For me, not sleeping can be compared to having teeth pulled.  I need my sleep, and without it I am a different person while I am awake:  short tempered, cranky, edgy and some other lovely qualities that I care not to admit.  I can recall one particular night maybe a week or two after my daughter was born that my husband and I had reached our breaking point.  Stella woke up and would not return to sleep no matter what we did or how we did it.  We fed her, changed her, rocked her, held her, sang to her, and put her in the swing, the car seat, and dare I say it, our bed!  But her crying persisted and persisted until it was already time for her next feeding.  We finally gave up and put her back into the bassinet while her wailing persisted. Suddenly I became so overwhelmed and angry that I actually kicked the bassinet that my sleeping child lay in!  Ok, so it wasn’t too hard, and she barely flinched, but what scared me was that I actually had a desire to do this.  How could I even think of attempting to hurt this precious little baby, who I adored and loved so much just because I selfishly needed to sleep?  Looking back I now, of course, realize that it was not simply my need for sleep that landed me in that place.  Several contributing factors came into play that all new parents should be aware of during the first few weeks.
First, there was anxiety.  All new parents, whether they realize it or not, are anxious in some way.  Whether you are worried about your parental instincts kicking in, or how you are taking care of the baby, or finances, baby’s health or familial issues, there is anxiety in many forms that creeps up on us unexpectedly during these first few weeks.  Next, there is change:  change in our schedule, our eating and sleeping habits, our relationship with our spouse, our amount of free time, our work schedule, sex life and the list goes on and on.  Next on the list is frustration.  We had this baby and we are expected to know exactly what to do with him.  We should know why he is crying or when he needs to eat, or if he is sick or just gassy.  We were prepared — we read all the books, took all the classes, we have college degrees and we still don’t know what this screaming child needs or wants from us. Ouch!  Mix the anxiety with the change, and the frustration with sleepless nights, and you will have two very overwhelmed people who may or may not be thinking straight.
The key to success in getting through these crazy eight weeks is no magic secret. It’s just that — getting through them.  Time will tick away and a new routine will form and you will grow accustomed to it.  Your anxiety will decrease, and you will feel more relaxed in your new role.  You will get to know your baby and begin to have a better understanding of his or her needs.  And suddenly you will realize you don’t need nine hours of sleep, but your body has readjusted and six or seven good ones will be just fine.  And then just like the pangs of labor that suddenly disappear, sleepless nights will be a faded memory when you are off to next phase of parenting…like child proofing your house and weaning off bottles!  Like any rewarding job, there’s always a new challenge.

Step 1: Research. Be a prepared and informed shopper. In today’s world of information technology we can find answers to just about anything with the click of a mouse. Shopping for a nursery is no different. The Internet is filled with resources for expecting parents to utilize before they even take their first shopping trip. So use this information to create a game plan. Read reviews from other moms, and guides, but keep in mind that it’s your child so first hand research (like talking with mommy friends) is the best way to get answers.

Step 2: Hit the stores, online and in person. Try every route you can to come up with the nursery of your dreams but nothing beats taking a crib for a test drive. Visit your local baby store and get a lesson from an informative and knowledgeable sales person. (Hint: don’t forget to bring room dimensions). Ask a ton of questions and find a sales person that can be your personal tour guide and contact person through the entire experience.

Step 3: Get inspired! Find a store or website with room décor that will inspire your imagination while allowing you to create personal touches. Look for high quality so you won’t be spending more money down the line. I am a true believer in spending a little more upfront so the furniture will be able to be passed on through all your children, or converted to a different use down the line (like cribs that convert to beds, or changing tables that convert to bookcases).

Step 4: Bring in back up. Once you have done the initial leg work, it’s fun (in most cases) to bring a spouse, parent or best friend along for the ride. I always liken the experience with buying a wedding dress: it’s an emotional and exciting experience that is best shared with those we love. At this point get creative. Find items that are unique to your family’s personality. Mix antiques from your childhood, with modern amenities that will personalize the room and make it warm and special.