Dem bones - the big O, no not That o

[xeney]

My paternal grandmother had osteoporosis for as long as I knew her, way back in her 50s, and by the time she died in her late 80s she had tiny fractures all along her spine. She was only about 4'11 by the time I was born, but my dad tells me that originally she was about my height (5'6). So this is something I've always taken very seriously.

My mom, too. She's in her 60s and has been doing weight-bearing exercise for as long as I can remember, plus she had both of us taking calcium supplements long before they were recommended in every health magazine. Now that I'm pregnant I'm a dairy/leafy green vegetable fiend, on top of the calcium supps. My mom's bones are in good shape but she has worked really hard to keep them that way, so I am trying to follow her example, since (unlike her) I have a bad family history working against me. And my mom has still shrunk a little -- she was 5'8-5'9 when I was a kid, and now I'm almost as tall as she is.