ML had his 18 month well baby visit yesterday.
I took a half day to bring him and was rewarded with several hours of ML being ML. This kid can be a holy terror, but he is as sweet as pie and funny and charming and beautiful.
In the waiting room at the pediatric practice, he was sweet and playful and looking for an audience. Making eyes at everyone that walked in, he would frequently stare at an individual until s/he locked eyes with him. And then once ML was sure they were all watching, he'd go on playing as if he didn't just command everyone's attention with his eyes and put himself on display. It was adorable to watch and hard to believe that the entire scene was contingent on my presence. He puts on a good act of "Mr. Independence". Even I am sometimes duped into believing the character sketch that he writes- that he would be this interactive among strangers, even if one of his parents wasn't present. But experience has taught me that he is shy when outnumber by strangers...
When it was time to go into the exam room, he tensed up a bit. He let me undress him and then when I put him on the scale, he started wailing. It was the first cue to him that something would be expected of him. He comforted quickly and easily and readjusted.
When Dr. L came in, ML made sweet faces, but was acting with subtle nervousness, pulling nervously at his diaper, etc. Then he relaxed a bit again. When ML relaxes, "Sr Destruction" will sometimes appear. He all but ransacked the exam room, around and around, opening cabinets, and drawers, doors and the garbage... Up, down, Up, down... crawling around, touching everything, pushing every button he could find, etc.
He did his tricks:
1) How old are you ML? (holds up one finger)
2) How much does Mommy/Mama love you (stretches his arms wide)
3) What does "cold" look like? (holds tight fists near his face, and shivers)
4) What does "hot" look like? (put hands in front of face like saying "stop" and forms "aaaaa" with his mouth)
5) Where's your belly, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, hair, etc (he points)
6) Give her "the Look" (he drops his chin to his neck, puts his lips into a pout, and looks up at you from under his forehead and bangs)
During the physical exam, started crying when she looked in his ears, and lost it after the vaccination was administered. I cuddled him and whispered that he was okay. I asked him to thank his doctor, and he quickly signed "thank you" through tear-streaked cheeks without a break in the whimpering. He recovered by the time he was dressed, and was back in full "ladies man mode" for our trip back through the waiting room. As we walked out, I heard a girl about 6 years old say, "I liked that boy, he was really cute."
The kid can tear a room apart in 3.5 seconds, but he really is a superstar!
Vital stats:
Weight: 25lbs, 10 oz (50th percentile)
Ht: 34" (90th percentile)
You
Showing posts with label Healthcare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthcare. Show all posts
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Come out, come out, wherever you are... Part 1
When you come from and live in New England, places like Texas are not easy to understand.
This is a BIG-BOTTOMED GIRL of a state. ("As big as Europe," I was told.) While I'm intelligent enough to know that there is diversity of thought and opinion in every region, my personal experiences lead me to generalize things about the average Texan... S/He:
This is a BIG-BOTTOMED GIRL of a state. ("As big as Europe," I was told.) While I'm intelligent enough to know that there is diversity of thought and opinion in every region, my personal experiences lead me to generalize things about the average Texan... S/He:
- Owns at least 3 shirts fashioned from or adorned with the American flag
- Would fist fight you over the statement, "All Americans were once immigrants."
- Thinks our president should be in jail (for some as yet undefined "crime")
- Has more friends that are convicted felons than friends that are Democrats
Not to say they aren't good people, I just think most Texans see things different than I do.
So far on this trip to Texas, I've come across a rash of folks who are afraid to say things that most of the people I hang with consider "facts". At this health care conference, for example, several people (including a few industry leaders) slowly and cautiously indicated to me that they (stutter, stammer) "Supported..." (swallow, deep cleansing breath) "health care reform" (pause with squinted eyes to see if my head was going to explode.) This tip-toeing around progressive politics is much more foreign to me than the accent or the climate.
It is uncomfortable- like being in the home of a woman who apologizes too much when she's serving you a delicious meal because she is used to the barrage of complaints that usually come from her husband.
On day one of the conference, I gave someone a reassuring, "Me too!" (about the “support health care reform” thing) But by day three I responded this way:
"I don't care what they say about Newton, I'm not embarrassed to say I “support” that gravity theory of his."The Texan nurse on the receiving end of my sarcasm looked at me quizzically and then giggled like we were co-conspirators at a toilet-papering event on Mischief Night.
Nothing like watching a bunch of liberals coming out of the closet about their causes.
Still, I understand, because while here, I've found myself experiencing something I haven't in a long time: Hesitation to reveal my sexual orientation. When you first come out of the closet, the decision of how or when or IF to come out is a major aspect of every new conversation (though the person you are conversing with might never know you are doing all this debating and sweating in your mind.) In CT, MA, and 3 other states there is full marriage equality. When I meet new people, and they ask about my family or they bring up their spouse, I say, “my wife... our sons...” we all move on to the next thing.
This is a huge change in the last 6 to 7 years... It is a change in the world, but not a change in Katy's and my behavior, necessarily. She was the same when I met her over 11 years ago- comfortable in her own skin, unapologetic, not needing to soft-shoe around her identity or our budding relationship. This is one of the things that attracted me to her. Both of us agreeing on how we would communicate (who we are and exactly how we are related to each other) to the world. Meeting her and agreeing on this "code of communication" is how I got to live the life I wanted to live.
People who think the gay population should stay in the closet have a warped perception of what coming out entails... Coming out as heterosexual, for example, happens anytime you reference a “wife,” “husband,” boyfriend, girlfriend, your wedding, anniversary, your children, your grandchildren, your pregnancy...
Here's my personal code:
I am not ashamed of who I am or who I love
I am a little ashamed that it took me realizing I was gay to realize just how freaking homophobic the world is
I don't believe for one second that God is ashamed of me either
If your version of “God” has a problem with me, all you need to know is that my version of “God” doesn't – end of story
I don't need to tell you about my wife and kids, but probably a lot of the time, I want to... They are awesome, after all!
If the conversation turns towards families, and I have to hear about yours, you're sure as hell going to hear about mine
I come out to people because it is the one sure-fucking-fire way to find other gay people
I will not behave in a way that makes a closeted person in a crowd feel there is not an ally present for him/her, if that makes me “too open” tough shit.
If some usually-silent alarm goes off inside my head that makes me want to hide my sexual orientation, I try to quickly determine why... (Am I in personal danger somehow?) If it is to protect your feelings or your bad politics, or to let you defame God's good name right in front of me... I pretty much come out, or at a minimum, walk right away from you.
I will not be UNcomfortable so that you can be more comfortable... If my brain is spinning, “Should I say something? Should I say something? When should I say something?” That is a red flag for me that it is time to say something
I will give you the benefit of the doubt
I will not be rude, or aggressive, try to put blame on you, or not be generous with you...
In the moment, I try not to judge you for your ignorance. I try to educate you. This may sound arrogant, “Why am I 'teaching' you after all???” But if you are not gay and you are talking to a gay person about gay issues, you should probably do more listening than talking. It is just a sound guiding principle.
If you are going to keep saying ignorant things to my face, you are going to get the debate of your life (that may include some elevated vocal volume)
I try to ask myself: WTFWJD?
When Katy and I went to Las Vegas about 5 years ago, we were at the gate of an airline waiting to board. Katy had a hat on and was playing a video game on her phone. I struck up a conversation with the 50-60 year old dude next to me who was from Texas and was in LV for some type of shooting competition – I know, right?1? So stereotypical, huh?!? I wish he wasn't pushing his lifestyle choices on me!!!
Anyway, I know a little about guns and so I kept asking him questions about ammo and qualifications, scoring, types of weapons used (not necessarily in that order.) It was very pleasant, I learned quite a bit and then he started asking me questions- what were we doing in Vegas, where was I from, etc. Katy looked up from under the visor of her baseball cap and said, “Can you give me some money? I'm going to get a drink.” Lord knows that was probably the only time I've ever been the money holder on a trip together, but it was enough for the dude to finally understand how we were related.
“Is that your daughter?” he asked without any hint of apology.
I almost choked on the wad of dip I had tucked into my cheek while chatting the dude up (What?!? it was before you could Facebook friend someone!?!) and said, “Um no... that's my wife.”
DUH... WINNING
This guy got all red in the face and before I realized that I should have “protected his delicate sensibilities” by staying in the closet and NOT throwing my “lifestyle choices” up towards his redNECK, he attempted a lecture that began and ended with: “I do not believe in that... that is not something that I-I-I-I am not going to... because I do not believe in...”
Quietly, I cut him off: “I don't care what you believe in...”
I said it in the neutral but friendly tone of a waitress who is really saying, “It doesn't matter to me if you'll be dining alone” when she asks, “Are you waiting for anyone else to join you?”
He stared at me, trying to figure out what to say next- I guess he was used to telling others that he “didn't believe in the gays” but perhaps he wasn't used to actually talking to one, or one that talked back.
All at once, I wanted to reach over and gently lift his chin, so that his mouth wasn't hanging open in that embarrassing way. Instead, I raised my eyebrows and gave him that “Don't get mad at me, that's just the way life is” shrug that I inherited from my dad. I told the dude:
“You asked who she was, and that's who she is... It doesn't matter what you believe in.”
I might have been more openly hostile, but honestly, I was so thrown off by the postulation that I was old enough to be Katy's parent. I was like, “DUDE... How bad do I look?!?” It was this reaction that I was making a conscious effort to censor. I have to say, I was very nonchalant in my delivery. I wanted him to feel and believe my apathy. Hidden behind my yawn-worthy response there was of course something simmering. Something like:
I don't give a corn-fed-turkey shit if you approve or me or not!?! I am real. (Pause. Pause.) You and your beliefs are immaterial in this matter... You don't even get a vote!!!But I held that in and just stared at him... Poor, big dinosaur about to go extinct and no one's even had the courage to tell him...
We weren't staring each other down exactly, but I was definitely looking at him to see if this was over or if he had more to say. And for his part, I guess, he might have been waiting to see if I was going to take this further too. And finally, he said, “Well.” And I said “Mmm” and we ended the eye contact before it caused one of both animals to bare our teeth.
After a few silent moments next to each other, Katy came bounding back with a soft drink, and I grudgingly noted how much she looked like a middle-schooler all bouncy, and casual, and what-not. Then a few minutes later the dude -blinked- piping up with some small talk about the weather forecast.
Score one for the bitches.
The first thing is, all these years later, I can't believe the audacity of that guy..
But then too, I also am still kind of proud of the balls on me ;)
I learned an important lesson that day. When coming out to strangers- the worst case scenario is actually kind of fun!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
You catch your breath and winter starts again...
Since I last wrote, our family has been through the ringer a little bit.
Tuesday night, I couldn't wait to watch the State of the Union Address (SOTU). I am a little bit of a political junkie and the SOTU is like the Superbowl to me (especially with a Dem in the White house). I even had this "live blogging" idea going where instead of driving Katy absolutely nutty by exposing her to my internal dialogue, I would write it to the blog in real time.
But something was up with ML- he was breathing too fast and audibly wheezing, and had hurled the contents of his stomach all over 2 different rooms after the hot steam shower I gave him. Katy and I were both already exhausted from commuting to and from work in the winter weather and 4 separate full body clean ups on 2 children. Katy announced, "I think I have to go to bed," and I replied, "I think I do too." Then my wife passed out from the shock of seeing me wave a white flag in the face of exhaustion. When she came to, we headed upstairs and our little boy woke up not but a few minutes later pretty uncomfortable. He seemed a little warm, but it was definitely his breathing that was freaking us out. We put it off and put it off b/c who wants to bring their 16 month old out into the cold night to get him checked out at the ER? We could have headed there at 8 or 9pm, but by 11:30 pm, we couldn't deny that he was breathing too fast, retracting, wheezing, not able to sleep, and it was getting worse. I called my mom to come sit with JB and we packed the little hyperventilator up.
There is an ER 10 minutes away that I would take myself to in a heartbeat, but it is not a children's hospital, to get there means a 3o minute drive. It is tempting, but I know I will never (if it is in my power) take a kid of mine to a hospital that is not a children's hospital. We were triaged in minutes and then given a number to wait - which is surprisingly reassuring when you have a sick baby. We were taken into a room within 15 to 20 minutes, and were there about 2 hours. They gave him some respiratory treatments which made him all jittery and tachycardic, but pretty much stopped the wheezing. They suctioned him, which did nothing but hurt his moms and piss him off. They said: "Probably RSV," and "Bronchiolits" and sent him home on albuterol.
We got home at about 3am. My dad had come by on his way home from work to keep my mom company and was shoveling our driveway when we pulled in. My eyes were rolling in my head by then, but we all slept only a few hours before Katy had to get up and go to work. I got JB off to school- walked him to the door with ML bundled in my arms and shouted a goodbye without actually crossing the threshold of the day care- not wanted to spread germs. Then I spent the day trying to console a very unhappy boy.
ML is not what we call a snuggle-bug. That is not to say he isn't sweet. He is a sweetie. But he won't sit in your lap for more than a few seconds. One of his favorite games is begging to get up on your lap and then wiggling right off again ad infinitum. But these last 2 days, he would just sit on your lap and/or rest his head on your shoulder, breathing at a rate of 39-48 breaths a minute. (Which, trust me, is alarmingly fast). He was lethargic and only a little interested in food, drink, or sleep. He just wanted to sit, stare ahead, and breathe. It was pathetic and scary. At some point in the day, I was too tired to stay awake with him, so I put him in bed with me and we both slept on and off for a few hours... It was decidedly un-ML-behavior... that he was just content to lay there and play with my hands or hair when he wasn't sleeping.
Last night, he was also restless and feverish, as high as 102.5. But this am, he was better and wanting to run around a little again. I fought the elements to get to work, and Katy took a snow day/sick kid day to be home. She got him to the doctor who checked to be sure there was no obvious infection that the ER might have missed. He screamed and cried b/c now he really hates medical personnel...
This has been a long week. But one that has made me feel grateful in this exhaustion.
We have broken the record for the most snowfall in one month - I can't find the exact number, but I think it is 54". And guess what, there is more snow headed here this weekend. Frankly, I've been loving it. I really have. And the more people complain about it... that just makes me love it more. But today... so tired... so spent from worrying and caring for the boy and you look out the window and calling it 12" is conservative. I was not looking forward to the battle of the driveway.
And then the neighbor, Tom, comes over with his snow blower...
What's a 4-letter word for a neighbor that comes over at 8am with a snow blower???
H-E-R-O
SRSLY- that guy has no idea how much we needed that.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
ML newsletter 7 mths old
Dear ML,
Today you are 7 months old.
You are a cutie pie with a lot of nicknames: M-bug, Hoss, Twitch, M to the L.O., among others. In the last 3 weeks, you have gone from barely sitting up and not rolling over at all, to an entirely mobile entity. We can't keep down. You can roll from back to tummy from either your right or left side. You are stable and trustworthy sitting up. Even if you fall, you pick your head up to avoid any noggin' bashing. You can roll (though not as frequently) from your belly to your back. You get up on your knees in a crawling position and rock back and forth. You are creeping backwards. And if we walk away for more than a few minutes, you will end up backing yourself under one of the couches or tables.
You are a strong little boy, ML. You can see it in your neck and shoulders- how high you lift them off the ground (for several months now). But anyone who gets their hands on you feels it in your grip, in your sturdy movements, in the way you will not bend at the waist if you want to be in a "standing" position. Dr. L called your development "robust" and said your are very advanced in your motor skills and your developmental milestones.
Your language is pretty good too. You've got the da-da-da down... the ba-ba-ba, the bbbbrrrrbrbrbr, ooo, ooo ooo, and lots of others. It is very cute.
You are happy boy- a giggler- and are just starting to be particular about who you prefer. You love your parents but your brother is your favorite. You follow him everywhere. You laugh at his antics and there are a few things that he does just to get a rise out of you. One is saying "BOO" at various volumes- never fails to get you to smile; another is grabbing your hands and doing a little jig - never fails to get a giggle. Your Mama swears that when JB is paying attention to you, you give us this look that says, "Get lost you two... I'd like some alone time with my big bro..."
You listen to him too. When you get upset, he often is successful in comforting you: "It's okay, ML, don't worry, ML." And when you see him crying, your face contorts as if your world is coming crashing down. It is really astounding. We don't think we are imagining the intensity of this relationship. We wrote about it here, and we will try not to project our desires onto your fraternal relationship... but we do love how you both seem to love each other. We think your excellent relationship with your brother has a lot to do with your temperament. You allow for his attention-hogging ways and you seem to know on some level that this is the guy who will be there for you for the long haul.
You have been eating baby food since your five month "birthday". You are on combination, stage two food now. Having conquered rice and oat cereal, squash, carrots, peas, apples, pears, you are now eating spinach and potatoes, rice and squash and other yummy combination foods. It is almost time for mommy to whip out the old cook book and make some beans and rice and "barely seasoned chicken" mush. You started out slow with the eating. The first month, it seemed like you hated it. Even now, we have to be patient and take our time b/c you get interested in everything else when you are in that highchair and we are trying to feed you.
When it comes to your bottle, you love that thing! Pretty much on command, it is 6 oz of formula, every 3 hours during the day. Sometimes we give you 8oz in the morning or right before bed. When we start getting the bottle ready, you get insistent and demanding: "uhh uh, uhh uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH..." on and on until you get that thing in your mouth. Since you were a tiny little thing (well, let's face it you were never really a tiny, little thing, but) since you were very young, you are a terrific burper... Mommy likes to just sit you up with your belly resting on your lap and you give out an enormous UUUUUUrRRRRPPP! without even any back pats.
Despite earlier reports, you are a very good sleeper. It is only very recently that your staccato sleeping patterns have become prolonged and scheduled. Your mama excitedly reported to me this AM that, "ML has two real, scheduled naps now!!!" She never thought this would happen as most of her maternity leave was spent trying to get a whole lot of stuff done in the 20 minutes several times a day that you took a little cat nap. (Every time, being an eternal optimist, she imagined this would be the time you would sleep for one hour or maybe TWO hours. Her maternity leave- it should be said- had it's share of disappointments.)
I wrote a little bit about it here, but there was a time several weeks ago when your mama and your mommy thought they might lose their minds because we were all waking up every hour or 2 around the clock. Whenever your binki fell out, you would scream and cry out in heart break. After spending about $50 on books (between the book store and library late fees) we admitted our failings and settled on a solution. Tracy Hogg taught us that everything you were going thru was our fault. You had no idea how to settle yourself into sleep. We really screwed you up by 1) Being too attentive to your tiny noises and little discomforts, 2) Letting you fall asleep in our or other people's arms too often, 3) not providing the appropriate setting for you to learn to soothe yourself. Essentially, whenever that binki came out of your mouth when you were asleep and you made the tiniest noise, we snuck in there and wordlessly replaced for you. We basically taught you that binki's stay in mouths thru magical cascades of events that cannot be controlled... We taught you (through our sprite movements and our lightening-quick binki replacement actions)that you have no power over that binki or your body... AND also that if your binki falls out of your mouth while you sleep, the only logical explanation is that there is something VERY WRONG WITH THE WORLD!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
So, i was told (by the books) that I had to break you.
And teach you how to care for yourself.
This is hard for a mom to do. Hard for a mom to do to a six month old. Hard for moms that endured the hospitalization of their six week old to remember. And let's face it, really impossible for that softy you will learn to call, "Mama".
So you and i spent 3 nights alone together. And I'm proud of us... we both came out of it happier, more accomplished, and (most importantly) sleeping better. You learned how to look for, hold, and manipulate your binki; how to put it in your mouth, and that if you happen to wake up without a binki in your mouth... THAT is a situation that can be remedied and the help of an adult is not even necessary. You also learned that a crib is a place to go into in order to settle down and fall asleep, not a place that you are placed in after you have fallen asleep only to wake up a few hours later wondering, "WHERE THE HELL AM I, AND WHERE IS MY BINKI?!?"
So, lately, you have been sleeping like a champ. And your moms have been very careful not to run in too soon if you start crying in the middle of the night. We take turns holding eachother back. It should be said, sweet boy, we are still trying to figure out all of the ways you getting sick and our weeklong stay in the hospital affected us. Your moms have some degree of PTSD. It is weird how worried we still are about you, even though all indications show you to be in perfect health and ideal develpment.
You have been doing amazing in day care. We are getting ready to change you and your cousins to a new school. It was not an easy move. One that came after things at your current school continued to move in an undesirable direction. We are just happy that you and your brother and cousins will all make the move together. Those girls adore you!!! We see them with you and we worry they will literally smother you with love. Especially Cameron, she can't get enough of ML!!!
At your six month visit 2 weeks ago, you were 19 lbs 6 oz; 27 1/4 inches. That puts you in the 75th percentile for height and 80th percentile for weight. We say you are big, but that is pretty similar to your brother. This is what he looked like at 7 months.
We love spending our days and nights with you... You are a wonderful little boy!
All our love,
Mommy and Mama
Today you are 7 months old.
You are a cutie pie with a lot of nicknames: M-bug, Hoss, Twitch, M to the L.O., among others. In the last 3 weeks, you have gone from barely sitting up and not rolling over at all, to an entirely mobile entity. We can't keep down. You can roll from back to tummy from either your right or left side. You are stable and trustworthy sitting up. Even if you fall, you pick your head up to avoid any noggin' bashing. You can roll (though not as frequently) from your belly to your back. You get up on your knees in a crawling position and rock back and forth. You are creeping backwards. And if we walk away for more than a few minutes, you will end up backing yourself under one of the couches or tables.
You are a strong little boy, ML. You can see it in your neck and shoulders- how high you lift them off the ground (for several months now). But anyone who gets their hands on you feels it in your grip, in your sturdy movements, in the way you will not bend at the waist if you want to be in a "standing" position. Dr. L called your development "robust" and said your are very advanced in your motor skills and your developmental milestones.
Your language is pretty good too. You've got the da-da-da down... the ba-ba-ba, the bbbbrrrrbrbrbr, ooo, ooo ooo, and lots of others. It is very cute.
You are happy boy- a giggler- and are just starting to be particular about who you prefer. You love your parents but your brother is your favorite. You follow him everywhere. You laugh at his antics and there are a few things that he does just to get a rise out of you. One is saying "BOO" at various volumes- never fails to get you to smile; another is grabbing your hands and doing a little jig - never fails to get a giggle. Your Mama swears that when JB is paying attention to you, you give us this look that says, "Get lost you two... I'd like some alone time with my big bro..."
You listen to him too. When you get upset, he often is successful in comforting you: "It's okay, ML, don't worry, ML." And when you see him crying, your face contorts as if your world is coming crashing down. It is really astounding. We don't think we are imagining the intensity of this relationship. We wrote about it here, and we will try not to project our desires onto your fraternal relationship... but we do love how you both seem to love each other. We think your excellent relationship with your brother has a lot to do with your temperament. You allow for his attention-hogging ways and you seem to know on some level that this is the guy who will be there for you for the long haul.
You have been eating baby food since your five month "birthday". You are on combination, stage two food now. Having conquered rice and oat cereal, squash, carrots, peas, apples, pears, you are now eating spinach and potatoes, rice and squash and other yummy combination foods. It is almost time for mommy to whip out the old cook book and make some beans and rice and "barely seasoned chicken" mush. You started out slow with the eating. The first month, it seemed like you hated it. Even now, we have to be patient and take our time b/c you get interested in everything else when you are in that highchair and we are trying to feed you.
When it comes to your bottle, you love that thing! Pretty much on command, it is 6 oz of formula, every 3 hours during the day. Sometimes we give you 8oz in the morning or right before bed. When we start getting the bottle ready, you get insistent and demanding: "uhh uh, uhh uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH..." on and on until you get that thing in your mouth. Since you were a tiny little thing (well, let's face it you were never really a tiny, little thing, but) since you were very young, you are a terrific burper... Mommy likes to just sit you up with your belly resting on your lap and you give out an enormous UUUUUUrRRRRPPP! without even any back pats.
Despite earlier reports, you are a very good sleeper. It is only very recently that your staccato sleeping patterns have become prolonged and scheduled. Your mama excitedly reported to me this AM that, "ML has two real, scheduled naps now!!!" She never thought this would happen as most of her maternity leave was spent trying to get a whole lot of stuff done in the 20 minutes several times a day that you took a little cat nap. (Every time, being an eternal optimist, she imagined this would be the time you would sleep for one hour or maybe TWO hours. Her maternity leave- it should be said- had it's share of disappointments.)
I wrote a little bit about it here, but there was a time several weeks ago when your mama and your mommy thought they might lose their minds because we were all waking up every hour or 2 around the clock. Whenever your binki fell out, you would scream and cry out in heart break. After spending about $50 on books (between the book store and library late fees) we admitted our failings and settled on a solution. Tracy Hogg taught us that everything you were going thru was our fault. You had no idea how to settle yourself into sleep. We really screwed you up by 1) Being too attentive to your tiny noises and little discomforts, 2) Letting you fall asleep in our or other people's arms too often, 3) not providing the appropriate setting for you to learn to soothe yourself. Essentially, whenever that binki came out of your mouth when you were asleep and you made the tiniest noise, we snuck in there and wordlessly replaced for you. We basically taught you that binki's stay in mouths thru magical cascades of events that cannot be controlled... We taught you (through our sprite movements and our lightening-quick binki replacement actions)that you have no power over that binki or your body... AND also that if your binki falls out of your mouth while you sleep, the only logical explanation is that there is something VERY WRONG WITH THE WORLD!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
So, i was told (by the books) that I had to break you.
And teach you how to care for yourself.
This is hard for a mom to do. Hard for a mom to do to a six month old. Hard for moms that endured the hospitalization of their six week old to remember. And let's face it, really impossible for that softy you will learn to call, "Mama".
So you and i spent 3 nights alone together. And I'm proud of us... we both came out of it happier, more accomplished, and (most importantly) sleeping better. You learned how to look for, hold, and manipulate your binki; how to put it in your mouth, and that if you happen to wake up without a binki in your mouth... THAT is a situation that can be remedied and the help of an adult is not even necessary. You also learned that a crib is a place to go into in order to settle down and fall asleep, not a place that you are placed in after you have fallen asleep only to wake up a few hours later wondering, "WHERE THE HELL AM I, AND WHERE IS MY BINKI?!?"
So, lately, you have been sleeping like a champ. And your moms have been very careful not to run in too soon if you start crying in the middle of the night. We take turns holding eachother back. It should be said, sweet boy, we are still trying to figure out all of the ways you getting sick and our weeklong stay in the hospital affected us. Your moms have some degree of PTSD. It is weird how worried we still are about you, even though all indications show you to be in perfect health and ideal develpment.
You have been doing amazing in day care. We are getting ready to change you and your cousins to a new school. It was not an easy move. One that came after things at your current school continued to move in an undesirable direction. We are just happy that you and your brother and cousins will all make the move together. Those girls adore you!!! We see them with you and we worry they will literally smother you with love. Especially Cameron, she can't get enough of ML!!!
At your six month visit 2 weeks ago, you were 19 lbs 6 oz; 27 1/4 inches. That puts you in the 75th percentile for height and 80th percentile for weight. We say you are big, but that is pretty similar to your brother. This is what he looked like at 7 months.
We love spending our days and nights with you... You are a wonderful little boy!
All our love,
Mommy and Mama
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Health care reform...
Has passed!
As Joe Biden says:
I hope obstructionists do this all year: vow they will stop something that passes like 34 hours later. Way to seal the deal, Speaker Pelosi, YOU ROCK
As Joe Biden says:
I hope obstructionists do this all year: vow they will stop something that passes like 34 hours later. Way to seal the deal, Speaker Pelosi, YOU ROCK
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Politics as (un)usual
Dear Obstructionists: Claiming this watered-down bill is a "GOVERNMENT TAKE-OVER OF HEALTH CARE" is about as accurate as saying that parents who buy sunscreen for their children are "TAKING OVER THE SOLAR SYSTEM"
I'm watching CSPAN. I can't believe all the antics...
I wish there were lie detector tests so you could see if they actually BELIEVE the lies they tell.
Also, there should be immediate fact checking based on data... it is weird how you can re-write history in a statement on the floor of the house of representatives and it simply goes, uncorrected into the record.
I hope this thing passes.
I also hope I can get my sorry A$$ to bed soon...
(It's like a car accident, I can't look away.)
I'm watching CSPAN. I can't believe all the antics...
I wish there were lie detector tests so you could see if they actually BELIEVE the lies they tell.
Also, there should be immediate fact checking based on data... it is weird how you can re-write history in a statement on the floor of the house of representatives and it simply goes, uncorrected into the record.
I hope this thing passes.
I also hope I can get my sorry A$$ to bed soon...
(It's like a car accident, I can't look away.)
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