Nathan Lawrenson's Twitter

[treemom]

Sigh, soda isn't healthy and I am not going to pretend it is. But part of what makes it work is the carbonating too. I had a tube when I was pregnant, and yes, soda will clear it...I used coke, but you can use sprite, or lots of other things that are also carbonated.

[flyawaystray]

Ah, thanks for the clear up. I thought it was the citric acid.

[lilwriter85]

Not only that, but he was complaining about a restaurant, saying it was bad because they didn't give him napkins automatically. Nate, you're an adult. ASK for them, sheesh. He complains about EVERYTHING.

It's true, you do pour soda down a feeding tube to unclog it. But I bet dollars to donuts that he also drinks soda. And he's not exactly a picture of health, he eats out a lot. Not saying you can't eat out and be unhealthy, but I think he's being a bit hypocritical.

I also saw the tweet about the restaurant. I've been to restaurants where the napkins and condiments are set aside and you have to get them yourself. I agree, Nate could have asked for that stuff too. I thought the tweet about soda and the feeding tube was a bit TMI and kind of douchy to other people. He was trying to shame people for drinking soda. I drink the diet soda maybe once or twice a week and once in awhile I will treat myself to a rootbeer float or a black cow. I know many people who aren't heavy soda drinkers. I agree, Nate probably does drink soda. I'm not trying to weight shame Nate, but I've been surprised that he really doesn't do anything to get himself in better shape for the sake of Gwyneth and Tricia. Josh Duggar has stepped up to the plate to get in better shape.

In some recent pics, Nate looks really heavy. When eating out you can be wise about where you choose to go and what you order. I think when Nate eats out he probably doesn't make the best choices. He probably eats high calorie meals at restaurants too often. If he and Tricia are staying an extended stay hotel, they might have a kitchen in their room and Nate could buy some groceries and cook some of his meals.

[flyawaystray]

Yes, he was absolutely trying to shame people for drinking soda. I drink a lot of diet soda, and I'm going to admit that. But I won't knock anyone else for drinking soda, it's not my place.

I go out to eat 2-3x a month, which is a lot less than other people, and I usually just order a side because I'm picky. Unless it pizza, then I can eat the whole box! I've stopped ordering it though, and I make it from scratch now.

I'm sure he had a soda with his meal yesterday at that restaurant he was complaining about. It's possible he's big and healthy, like my boyfriend, but there's no way he's that big because he eats super healthy.

[lilwriter85]

Yes, he was absolutely trying to shame people for drinking soda. I drink a lot of diet soda, and I'm going to admit that. But I won't knock anyone else for drinking soda, it's not my place.

I go out to eat 2-3x a month, which is a lot less than other people, and I usually just order a side because I'm picky. Unless it pizza, then I can eat the whole box! I've stopped ordering it though, and I make it from scratch now.

I'm sure he had a soda with his meal yesterday at that restaurant he was complaining about. It's possible he's big and healthy, like my boyfriend, but there's no way he's that big because he eats super healthy.

I just looked at the pic from the restaurant and he said he had a shake. Shakes aren't too healthy either. I like having a shake once in awhile and I will occasionally go to McDonalds when they have their seasonal shakes out like the Eggnog and the Shamrock shakes. In Nate and Tricia's wedding pics, he wasn't too big. I agree it is possible for some big people to be healthy. With Nate, there is proof that he doesn't have a great diet and he doesn't seem like the type of person to try and do some type of exercising activity.

[flyawaystray]

No, milkshakes generally aren't. MAYBE if you used fresh fruit and a healthier kind of ice cream, but it doesn't happen at restaurants. I've seen shakes that had the calorie equivalent to a whole meal, and they have a LOT of sugar and saturated fat.

Now, you do need some fat for your body to function, but you should only have about 22 g of saturated fat a day.

I thought that Nate looked skinnier early on. It's not uncommon for people to gain weight over the years. But there's a difference between shaming someone publicly, and not saying anything at all.

[chaotic life]

First, Micah had a g-tube for his entire life and I NEVER had to clear it. Perhaps he should worry less about what other people drink and more about how to properly maintain his wife's tube. Second, it's the soda water that clears the tube. In fact, he should probably use DIET soda or just soda water since the SUGAR will complicate the efforts to clear a plug in the g-tube. But then again, you could just replace the peg, which insurance allows you to do every other month.

Second, Nate has put on a LOT of weight while Tricia has gone downhill. I'm not about to fat-shame, given that I am heavy myself and put on weight from the stress of years of Micah's illness. However, it's entirely inappropriate to shame those who drink sodas as if he is SOO different while struggling with weight issues himself. SO WHAT if people drink soda???? I drink it 1-2 times per week. I should cut even that out, but I tend to drink a glass after working a 12 hour shift at the hospital to give me enough energy to do bedtime with my kids afterward.

[flyawaystray]

Good point. Maybe he doesn't know how to properly care for a g-tube.

It's very, very hypocritical of him to shame soda drinkers when he's not exactly eating healthy either. Sure, a milkshake now and again isn't going to kill you, but Nate has to be eating a lot or something for him to cause weight gain. Granted, there are a few medical conditions that can cause weight gain, but I don't think it's like with Nate.

[lilwriter85]

Based on his IG, it he eats out often. At least once a week there is some restaurant related pic. On Saturday, he and Gwyneth ate at a restaurant. I think he probably eats out more but doesn't always take pictures. On the topic of Nate's twitter, the next couple of weeks will be probably be mostly basketball related tweets. If Duke loses on Friday, I will love to see Nate throw a bitch fest on twitter. I think Duke will win, but if they lost it would be a huge embarrassment for Nate to have his team be eliminated right away.

[flyawaystray]

I don't have IG because I don't have anything fancy, cellphone wise. I have a full keyboard, and that's about it, lol. I can't see Nate's IG posts, sadly.

I think once a week seems standard enough, but knows if he's going out more, or what he's eating at home. He could be eating cake, ice cream, chips, etc at home.

[lilwriter85]

I don't have IG because I don't have anything fancy, cellphone wise. I have a full keyboard, and that's about it, lol. I can't see Nate's IG posts, sadly.

I think once a week seems standard enough, but knows if he's going out more, or what he's eating at home. He could be eating cake, ice cream, chips, etc at home.

You can view Nate's IG posts through the webstagram site. He recently had a picture at home of ice cream and girl scout cookies. I didn't think much about girl scout cookies because they are kind of a seasonal thing.

http://web.stagram.com/n/nathanlawrenson/

[flyawaystray]

"Professional musician and photographer"

HA. HA HA HA.

Sorry, but his photographs are horrendous. He probably has a fancy camera, but abuses that high key Photoshop action and it makes his pictures look bad. Not only that, but the photos of the OBX pier, sky, water, etc are all filtered like hell.

And ew, Nate. This is not a good look. You look horrible and should either trim that beard or shave it off.

I can't believe he's only 31-32. He's a year and a half older than I am, and he looks like he's in his late 30's. Meanwhile, people tell me all the time that I look like I'm 20-21.

[lilwriter85]

I agree he does look close to 40. I know a few guys that are around the same age as him but they look several years younger. I kind of think that beard makes him look older.

[flyawaystray]

The beard makes him look a lot older, but I think some of it is also sun damage. He lives close to the water, it makes sense. He may not always use suntan lotion. My boyfriend's mom never did and she's had melanoma. She also drinks a lot and between the two, she looks a lot older than she really is.

He looked a lot better here: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KRYs69OXpwg/T ... 62wtmk.jpg

But it also looks like he used too much contrast in the pic. I know Gwen is pale (I'm pale, too), but Nate's hands and Gwen's forehead looks very washed out.

He could have lowered the exposure and boosted the contrast a little bit. I don't know how much of it was Photoshop and how much of it was his "skills", but I always adjust the exposure on my camera whenever applicable, especially in a well lit area, like a sunny day.

[lilwriter85]

I have noticed sun damage in some of his pics. Not to be mean or anything, but at times Gwen reminds me of an albino. I know she isn't albino, but her paleness is kind of scary.

[flyawaystray]

I'm sorry, I laughed a little. She's probably the palest person I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a few pale people in my life.

But back to Nate, he doesn't seem to really post anything about Trish's health anymore. A picture here and there, an occasional update, and lots of rants about Duke. I guess it's because nothing can be done for her at this point.

[lilwriter85]

I'm sorry, I laughed a little. She's probably the palest person I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a few pale people in my life.

But back to Nate, he doesn't seem to really post anything about Trish's health anymore. A picture here and there, an occasional update, and lots of rants about Duke. I guess it's because nothing can be done for her at this point.

I have also seen pale people, but Gwen looks really pale and she reminded me of a documentary I watched on albinos last year. One of the people in the documentaries was a teenage girl who had slightly lighter hair and skin then Gwyneth. Again, I'm not snarking on Gwen's looks, but her forehead looks strange and I have to wonder if it is related to her being a micropreemie.

[flyawaystray]

My friend as an adult is a little darker than Gwen, but still has platinum hair and eyebrows naturally. I had platinum hair but now I'm a dirty blonde that's dyed red :P

I was born at 30 weeks, so I don't count as a micro-preemie, just a regular premie. I don't think I had a weird head or anything, just super, super skinny until I became an adult. I did get mistaken for a boy a lot though, and it pissed me off. It wasn't until after high school that I really looked different because I experimented with hair, makeup, clothing, and so on.

[lilwriter85]

My friend as an adult is a little darker than Gwen, but still has platinum hair and eyebrows naturally. I had platinum hair but now I'm a dirty blonde that's dyed red :P

I was born at 30 weeks, so I don't count as a micro-preemie, just a regular premie. I don't think I had a weird head or anything, just super, super skinny until I became an adult. I did get mistaken for a boy a lot though, and it pissed me off. It wasn't until after high school that I really looked different because I experimented with hair, makeup, clothing, and so on.

I was kind of wondering since Gwen was born as a micropreemie, if her body developed weirdly after birth than it would have in the womb.

[flyawaystray]

Ok, I was looking at baby pics, and yep, big head! Hahah. I guess I grew into it though, because I have a small head now.

I was also super thin and super short. I have a pic of my friend and I and I was at half her height in 6th grade. I'm surprised that I grew to be almost 5'8". Weight wise, I evened out at like 22 but I'm still on the low end of normal, that's just how I am.

ETA: here I am in my ugly, big-headed glory. I'm also pulling a Josie.

[chaotic life]

I'm not aware of a lack of pigmentation caused by being a micro-preemie. I have actually wondered on more than one occassion if Gwen is albino and whether they have even investigated the possibility of it. She LOOKS albino far more than any other micro-preemie I've seen before, and I've seen a lot of them.

As for how aged Nate looks, on that I have to come to his defense, in spite of my frustration and lack of love for his behaviors and how he's handling Tricia's disease.

I have always looked VERY young for my age. I just have a young, ageless face. I could have passed for 25 when I was 14 and I was looked like 18 when I was 30. Except, the last two years of Micah's life aged me. I got my first grey hair after his doctors started telling me they were out of ideas to keep him alive. I only had four, until the week he died. I cannot tell you how many I have now. That week, there were too many to count and I immediately got serious about using henna to dye my hair. I'm only mid-30s and those two years of my son dying aged me at least 10 years. The stress and constant cortisol levels caused me to put on weight and refused to let me take any of it off. I got wrinkles I never had before. My skin looked sallow and yellow. I've gotten skin tags. Most of what happend is starting to reverse now. I cannot get the grey to go away. I just dye it. The wrinkles are back to fine and the sallow skin looks better and doesn't break out now that I have spent the last six months aggressively working to re-stabilize my health. My hair is still falling out, consequence of my thyroid crashing the month after Micah died. It's slowing but once we get it totally stable it will take me forever to grow it back in, if it even will.

So yes, he is going to look aged. It's incredibly stressful and emotional to lose someone you love. They say that your health will tank as your loved one dies and any pre-existing conditions you have will go completely haywire. That is exactly what we have experienced. My ppor DH went completely grey on his beard, went more salt than pepper on his head and for the first time in his ENTIRE life, he is having high blood pressure issues. His doctor did not put him on blood pressure meds but lectured him on the need to exercise to work on it. Yes, Nate looks AWFUL. It's exactly how I would expect him to look right now. His wife is dying and his children are never going to understand why. Life is hell for Nate. He doesn't need to make it hell for anyone else while doing it, but yeah he's supposed to look like crap.

[flyawaystray]

I hope I didn't sound insensitive. To me, it really is that beard and a little but of sun damage. My mom has it and looks older for her age as well. I grew up on the beach, but I stay out of the sun for the most part now. Without that beard, Nate looks 5 years younger.

I have hypertension. I have this disorder where I make too much adrenaline (specifically norepinephrine), and I've been on blood pressure pills for a while. I'm not even out of my 20's. It sucks. Without pills, my bp is something like 200/110-120.

Is your husband's bp better now?

[lilwriter85]

I'm not aware of a lack of pigmentation caused by being a micro-preemie. I have actually wondered on more than one occassion if Gwen is albino and whether they have even investigated the possibility of it. She LOOKS albino far more than any other micro-preemie I've seen before, and I've seen a lot of them.

As for how aged Nate looks, on that I have to come to his defense, in spite of my frustration and lack of love for his behaviors and how he's handling Tricia's disease.

I have always looked VERY young for my age. I just have a young, ageless face. I could have passed for 25 when I was 14 and I was looked like 18 when I was 30. Except, the last two years of Micah's life aged me. I got my first grey hair after his doctors started telling me they were out of ideas to keep him alive. I only had four, until the week he died. I cannot tell you how many I have now. That week, there were too many to count and I immediately got serious about using henna to dye my hair. I'm only mid-30s and those two years of my son dying aged me at least 10 years. The stress and constant cortisol levels caused me to put on weight and refused to let me take any of it off. I got wrinkles I never had before. My skin looked sallow and yellow. I've gotten skin tags. Most of what happend is starting to reverse now. I cannot get the grey to go away. I just dye it. The wrinkles are back to fine and the sallow skin looks better and doesn't break out now that I have spent the last six months aggressively working to re-stabilize my health. My hair is still falling out, consequence of my thyroid crashing the month after Micah died. It's slowing but once we get it totally stable it will take me forever to grow it back in, if it even will.

So yes, he is going to look aged. It's incredibly stressful and emotional to lose someone you love. They say that your health will tank as your loved one dies and any pre-existing conditions you have will go completely haywire. That is exactly what we have experienced. My ppor DH went completely grey on his beard, went more salt than pepper on his head and for the first time in his ENTIRE life, he is having high blood pressure issues. His doctor did not put him on blood pressure meds but lectured him on the need to exercise to work on it. Yes, Nate looks AWFUL. It's exactly how I would expect him to look right now. His wife is dying and his children are never going to understand why. Life is hell for Nate. He doesn't need to make it hell for anyone else while doing it, but yeah he's supposed to look like crap.

I agree with a lot of your post, the stress of Tricia's illness has probably aged Nate. But I sometimes think hatefulness ages people. We have see her with ZsuZsu.

[lilwriter85]

I hope I didn't sound insensitive. To me, it really is that beard and a little but of sun damage. My mom has it and looks older for her age as well. I grew up on the beach, but I stay out of the sun for the most part now. Without that beard, Nate looks 5 years younger.

I have hypertension. I have this disorder where I make too much adrenaline (specifically norepinephrine), and I've been on blood pressure pills for a while. I'm not even out of my 20's. It sucks. Without pills, my bp is something like 200/110-120.

Is your husband's bp better now?

For me, I think the way Nate looks might be a combination of stress, sun damage, a hateful attitude, and the beard. I agreed with a lot of what CL said about stress aging people. At the same Nate probably doesn't take good care of his skin and like I said in another post, sometimes hatefulness can age a person too.

[So Says I]

chaotic life, not that this holds a roman candle to what you've been through, but my older (by 14 years) sister had a stroke at the age of 18, and my mother started going rapidly gray. I was 4 at the time, but can remember my mom's sudden, rapid aging clearly. Facing the serious, or fatal, illness of a loved one can truly cause rapid visual aging in a caregiver and other loved ones.