Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[Arzeena]

Bella 2 location. Steps from Central Park. This is the Cruise Critic Corridor.

[A&L_Ont]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

@A&L_Ont Need to go back to your hotel and get your rally caps on before it's too late !

Way too late. They started slow and never caught up. We still had fun though. 

[George C]

1 hour ago, Arzeena said:

Bella 2 location. Steps from Central Park. This is the Cruise Critic Corridor.

While we unfortunately will not be at Bella 2 cruise, I am looking forward to our first deck 8 grand suite on harmony in November, love the idea of being so lose to Central Park.

[sgmn]

20 hours ago, Coralc said:

With the bangs? You look lovely, Sue. 

Thanks, it was a looooong time ago, think I was 17 then 

[sgmn]

15 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Bet there are some bell bottoms in that photo!!

For sure, and cheesecloth shirts and tie dye tops

[sgmn]

10 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Love the picture, Sue!  How was your Reunion?

 

We had a great time catching up. There was only four of us, all we could find and could attend. One lives in Nova Scotia now. My good friend (sitting on the far left as you look at the pic) made all the arrangements. We're hoping we can track down more.  Everyone was in very good health and was enjoying life. 

The course was a secretarial one, hence why in the 70s it was only girls.  Thank goodness girls today have so many more opportunities than we did. 

[sgmn]

9 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I think it is better when there is a large group as I think there might be a better chance of them holding the plane. I my case there were 3 people on the plane connecting to Providence. I didn't have much hope for the plane waiting. 

Definitely airlines hold planes as long as they can when theres a lot connecting, especially if its the same airline. 

They'll also send staff and buggies to rush you through and keep in contact with the gate regarding where they are. 

I often use to contact the inbound pilot by ACARS message to get the pax moved up nearer the door do they get off first. We use to do all we could to help pax make their connections. 

[brillohead]

On 8/11/2023 at 4:03 AM, sgmn said:

It's more frustrating when they just won't eat. Made my two year g/son home made burger and home made chips with salad and vegan cheese. He hardly touched it.

With his multiple allergies plus mum only allows him water during the day, it's hard to get the calories in him, though he has tons of energy 

 

Keep in mind that at that age, the insane growth rate slows down more, so they simply don't need as much food because their bodies aren't burning it all in growing new tissue/bones at the same rate as the first years.  People often fret that their child isn't eating enough, when in fact it's completely normal for toddlers to not need as much fuel. 

Using averages, a typical newborn would be around 3.5kg and would gain about 6.9kg by its first birthday (total weight 10.4 at 1yo).  That's basically tripling its weight the first year. 

 

But then the growth the second year is only about 2.3kg (total weight 12.7 at 2yo), which is only a fifth of the weight on the first birthday.   

 

The growth the third year is only about 1.6kg (total weight 14.3 at 3yo), which is only a tenth of the weight on the second birthday.  

So the growth rate the first year is a whopping 200%, the second year it's about 18%, and the third year it's only 11%. Kids don't eat as much because they simply don't need as much.

As long as the child's doctor isn't concerned about their growth rate, I wouldn't worry about "enticing" ANY child to eat... they should listen to their body's cues and eat when they're hungry and stop when they're not hungry anymore. 

 

I know in the USA obesity is rampant among those of us raised in the "Clean Plate Club" who were told to finish everything on our plate because "there are starving children in <random faraway place with food deficit problems>" so we grew up not paying attention to our body's signals, but rather using society's "rules" about how much to eat.  I never understood how me eating my food in Michigan was going to have an impact on some hungry kid on another continent anyway!

[h20skibum]

19 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Keep in mind that at that age, the insane growth rate slows down more, so they simply don't need as much food because their bodies aren't burning it all in growing new tissue/bones at the same rate as the first years.

And then they pick up the pace and start eating a lot.
 

No one was starving at our house last night, with big plates of lasagna (sorry, no pictures). 
 

Then we topped it off with s’mores at the campfire. 
 

 

 

Granddaughter had to make hers after she got back from cheer practice. 
 

 

 

[brillohead]

On 8/9/2023 at 4:04 PM, mo&amp;fran said:

Dental guys have talked about dry mouth, and I have a couple of products they have recommended.  Oncologist has talked about the issue with swallowing food, and the GI has installed a PET tube  so food and meds can bypass throat.  A nutritionist is calling tomorrow to discuss sourcing the food part. 

 

FYI, I think you mean a PEG tube (Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy).  PET is a type of scan (positron emission tomography)... which you've probably already done and will do later on as well. The medical industry likes its acronyms almost as much as the military does!

Hopefully you won't end up needing to use the tube at all -- that's the best case scenario -- but I'm glad you have it in place already just in case.  I also hope whoever inserted the tube gave you good information about caring for the insertion site and how often you should flush the tube with water (even if you're not using it for feeding/hydration) to keep it from getting plugged up.  

 

I have a swallowing disorder, and back in the day I went two years without eating solid food.  You don't realize how much of our social interactions involve eating or drinking until you can't eat or drink like everyone else.... if you're going to meet up with a friend, you'll probably do it at a coffee shop, restaurant, or bar.  You go to the movies and you get the obligatory big bucket of popcorn.  Someone has a birthday or other event and there's cake and ice cream involved. 

And then there's the pleasure that we get from food... I sometimes resorted to chewing my food and then spitting it out (in the privacy of my own home), just so I could enjoy some of my favorites again.  

I work with tube feeds on a regular basis, so if you have any problems or questions about using it, caring for it, or troubleshooting it, please don't hesitate to ask -- I love being able to help people with my nursing experience.  (Just ask @Ozark_Kid... he's got me on speed-dial! LOL)  I also use gmail, and you can find me there using thebrillohead as the first part of the address, or leave any questions here.    

[brillohead]

26 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

And then they pick up the pace and start eating a lot.
 

No one was starving at our house last night, with big plates of lasagna (sorry, no pictures). 
 

Then we topped it off with s’mores at the campfire. 
 

 

 

Granddaughter had to make hers after she got back from cheer practice. 
 

 

I've said it before and I'll keep on saying it.... the memories you're making with your grandkids are going to be in their hearts forever and ever.  What lucky kids!

[brillohead]

I ran across this, and all I could think of was @Ocean Boy and his love of the Windjammer buffet!
 

 

[brillohead]

43 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

And then they pick up the pace and start eating a lot.

 

Boy, you aren't kidding... when my kid played hockey, he'd get up and have breakfast, go to school and have second breakfast, then have lunch, come home and have second lunch, then eat dinner, then eat his bedtime meal before turning in.  Thank goodness for my Sam's Club membership, because the kid was going through almost a gallon of chocolate milk per day!!!  

(He misses his old metabolism now that he's an adult!  LOL)

[mo&fran]

56 minutes ago, brillohead said:

 

FYI, I think you mean a PEG tube (Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy).  PET is a type of scan (positron emission tomography)... which you've probably already done and will do later on as well. The medical industry likes its acronyms almost as much as the military does!

Hopefully you won't end up needing to use the tube at all -- that's the best case scenario -- but I'm glad you have it in place already just in case.  I also hope whoever inserted the tube gave you good information about caring for the insertion site and how often you should flush the tube with water (even if you're not using it for feeding/hydration) to keep it from getting plugged up.  

 

I have a swallowing disorder, and back in the day I went two years without eating solid food.  You don't realize how much of our social interactions involve eating or drinking until you can't eat or drink like everyone else.... if you're going to meet up with a friend, you'll probably do it at a coffee shop, restaurant, or bar.  You go to the movies and you get the obligatory big bucket of popcorn.  Someone has a birthday or other event and there's cake and ice cream involved. 

And then there's the pleasure that we get from food... I sometimes resorted to chewing my food and then spitting it out (in the privacy of my own home), just so I could enjoy some of my favorites again.  

I work with tube feeds on a regular basis, so if you have any problems or questions about using it, caring for it, or troubleshooting it, please don't hesitate to ask -- I love being able to help people with my nursing experience.  (Just ask @Ozark_Kid... he's got me on speed-dial! LOL)  I also use gmail, and you can find me there using thebrillohead as the first part of the address, or leave any questions here.    

I have a typing disorder that sometimes substitutes a T for G, they are right next to each other on the keyboard. When the tube was inserted in the hospital, our nurse instructed my wife (also an RN) in the using the tube, and gave us a bundle of supplies (dressings and tub supplies) . WE have been doing the tube maintenance and we have been contacted and will have a home health nurse come by to do whatever is necessary  to supply the actual food supplies. I understand the orders for the food comes from the Oncologist. 

  I really appreciate the help and support  of my  CC  friends like you and @seadog .  I am also gmail    known as franinpbg.

[Ocean Boy]

4 hours ago, sgmn said:

Definitely airlines hold planes as long as they can when theres a lot connecting, especially if its the same airline. 

They'll also send staff and buggies to rush you through and keep in contact with the gate regarding where they are. 

I often use to contact the inbound pilot by ACARS message to get the pax moved up nearer the door do they get off first. We use to do all we could to help pax make their connections. 

When we landed they did make an announcement for everyone to please stay clear of the isle so people with tight connections could get off the plane. I was the second person out the door and the first out of the jetway.

[mo&fran]

8 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

When we landed they did make an announcement for everyone to please stay clear of the isle so people with tight connections could get off the plane. I was the second person out the door and the first out of the jetway.

That actually happened to us on a tight connection weather related through ATL and it worked. We have almost always use Delta. They have at least one flight an hour on the ATL-PBI route if you miss one, the next isn't that far away.

[h20skibum]

16 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

When we landed they did make an announcement for everyone to please stay clear of the isle so people with tight connections could get off the plane. I was the second person out the door and the first out of the jetway.

And I hate it when you are at the back of the plane, and a lot of those people ignore that.  

[bobmacliberty]

11 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Organic was used to weed out the masses who started out as pre-med.

 

 I hated O Chem.  Nothing but pure memorization.  It's a weed-out course in Engineering also.  

[mo&fran]

Just now, h20skibum said:

And I hate it when you are at the back of the plane, and a lot of those people ignore that.  

On Delta I have gotten spoiled, I try to at least book the Comfort seats, and if the fare is somewhat reasonable , first class. 

[bobmacliberty]

Just now, mo&amp;fran said:

On Delta I have gotten spoiled, I try to at least book the Comfort seats, and if the fare is somewhat reasonable , first class. 

 

Atlanta is surprisingly good at moving luggage between gates quickly.  I've had several Delta experiences where I end up with 30 minutes or less between flights in Atlanta and am able to get myself to the next gate in time, expecting that my luggage won't make it.  I've never lost luggage through Atlanta from a short layover, although I have for other reasons.

[h20skibum]

6 minutes ago, mo&amp;fran said:

On Delta I have gotten spoiled, I try to at least book the Comfort seats, and if the fare is somewhat reasonable , first class. 

On SW, we have been known to upgrade to the A1 to A15 boarding group.  We did that on our trip home from Myrtle Beach this summer, because our assigned boarding group was so low that our grandkids would have been sitting with strangers.

[mo&fran]

1 minute ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Atlanta is surprisingly good at moving luggage between gates quickly.  I've had several Delta experiences where I end up with 30 minutes or less between flights in Atlanta and am able to get myself to the next gate in time, expecting that my luggage won't make it.  I've never lost luggage through Atlanta from a short layover, although I have for other reasons.

My only issue with ATL is that Florida flights and New England flights typically leave form concourses at the opposite ends  of the airport. 

[Ocean Boy]

13 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

 I hated O Chem.  Nothing but pure memorization.  It's a weed-out course in Engineering also.  

And it was a completely worthless course for anything that followed in my life.

[Ocean Boy]

18 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

And I hate it when you are at the back of the plane, and a lot of those people ignore that.  

One guy was blocking the isle as I tried to get up front. He looked at me and said I should relax. I looked at him and said... Dude it would be in your best interest to get out of my way... which he promptly did.

[Luckynana]

@brillohead  Good morning Debbie!  Thank you for explaining the growth and weight gains in babies and little children.  I never knew that, nor had I ever thought about that!  Our grandson William had many health issues as an infant, beginning at the age of 8 months.  Poor little guy, they did an endoscopy and colonoscopy at CHOPS trying to find what was going on in his little body.  This had all begun when food was first introduced.  William had a feeding tube inserted, which he lived with until around the age of eight.  I'm not going to go into all of his problems, since there were several.  Due to the longevity of his tube, he has scar tissue, which is being addressed by his OT.  His swim classes are also helping him with regard to this.

 

Our 14 year old grandson was diagnosed with Type1 Diabetes last year, which was quite a shock to us all.  When he was admitted to ICU, he only weighed around 80 pounds.  This past year has been really tough on Ryan and his mom, but Ryan has been getting so much better at handling his situation psychologically..he's been in Marching Band since last year, he's joined a gym, and has just joined the High School wrestling team.  He told me last night that he now weighs 120!  He even mowed the backyard for the first time yesterday, since he now meets the weight requirements that you should be over 100  pounds to operate the ride-on mower.  He did a great job, btw!😁