Internal Medicine

I just started my internal medicine rotation and I've never been so sad. Maybe I was spoiled during my peds rotation, having such a terrific schedule. Now, I'm back to leaving the house at 5:30 and getting home after 6 pm. On call nights I get home at 9 pm and I have a regular day the next day. I miss my family so much, all the time. I have a day off today and next saturday, and that's it until November 19.

Today we played a very nice game of whiffle ball. The teams were: Mom, Uncle Mack, and Ate Korina vs Dad, Theo, Kuya Alex, Kuya Alonso, and Auntie Silen. Theo served to handicap his team, since Dad had to bat and run with Theo in his arms. Kuya Alonso had fun with batting, but once he hit the ball, he had no interest in base running. We played to either two outs or three runs, and even with those limits, we still only made it through two innings. It wasn't really the kind of game where you could keep score, but we did get to run around and holler quite a bit.

This is the kind of stuff I think of doing when I'm at the hospital working. The whole surgery idea is going down the drain real fast.

Where did Theo get hummus?

Ted noticed a mess where Theo was standing and some goop on his hand. It looked like he got his hand in some hummus. The question is...where did Theo get the hummus?! I think Theo has a hidden stash of hummus!

Picture taken on October 17, 2004

Picture taken on October 17, 2004
Originally uploaded by SoupieShorts.

We went to a pumpkin patch on Theo's actual birthday. We took a hayride to the pumpkin patch where Theo had a great time looking at pumpkins and eating dirt (Ah, the joys of having a small boy who can finally walk!) Later we went through a corn maze and looked at farm animals. There is a lot of sun in this picture, but it is the only picture that had Mommy in it. Anyway, the sun in the picture goes to show what a beautiful day it was.

Picture taken on October 17, 2004

Picture taken on October 17, 2004
Originally uploaded by SoupieShorts.

This photo is pretty self-explanatory. It was pretty hard getting a photo where everyone is looking the right direction. In fact, in this picture, birthday boy is still trying to figure out how to get Kuya Alex's slice of pizza.

A good birthday party for a one-year-old

I was going back and forth about whether to throw a birthday party for Theo or not. The thing is, Theo won't really understand what's going on. He would probably ignore all the children who attend. At this point, a party would serve only two purposes: to make the parents feel better and to amass gifts. I don't need a party to make me feel like a good parent, and while Theo can appreciate gifts and new things one at a time, multiple gifts would just clutter our house. It seems like a lot of craziness with very little return.

But Dad and I figured out what to do. We brought a cake and party favors to his daycare during lunch time. It was like an instant party, because there were 8 children there to sing happy birthday. (Actually, only 6 because one apparently was on permanent time-out and the other was only one and a half years old.) We lit the candle, sang the song, Theo attempted to put the flame out with his finger (anyway, he doesn't even know how to blow properly), we ate the cake, passed out party favors, and then we were done. The whole thing took about 15-20 minutes, which was perfect. Kids really have short attention spans anyway, and as we expected, Theo didn't care about anything except the pleasant surprise of having his parents there during lunch time. Also, no parent had to deal with the extra task of buying a gift and driving their child to and from my house. The only person who had to go out of her way was the daycare provider, and we'll figure out how to thank her.

Theo playing in the castle

Theo playing in the castle
Originally uploaded by SoupieShorts.

The blog is starting to look a little boring. Here's a picture of Theo playing in the toy that his Gramma got him for his first birthday (which is actually still coming up.)

Where is Theo?

Today Theo did something that Dad and I consider to be a major accomplishment, and as I sit here typing I realize, man, it really isn't going to sound like a big deal.

For the past couple of months, Theo has sorta been responding to his name. Usually he'll look up when we call him, but sometimes he's busy doing something and doesn't respond right away. Anyway, although it hasn't been entirely consistent, we still assumed that he was at least familiar with his own name.

Also, for the past few weeks, Theo has been getting better and better at pointing out me and his dad. For example, I'll ask, "Where's Mama?" and usually he'll think for a second and sometimes he'll look around but eventually he'll point at me and say, "There!" If you ask "Where is Dada?" he'll look for Dad and point at him and say, "There!" Sometimes he'll get it wrong though. One time we gave him a pop quiz--he got Mama and Kuya right, but when we asked where is Dada, he pointed to his high chair tray and said "There!" and clapped his hands because he was pleased with himself.

If he doesn't know the answer, he'll start guessing. He'll point to anything and say, "There!" We haven't had much luck with "Where is Theo?" First of all, even when he take his hand and try to get him to point to himself, he won't point and he'll try to wrestle his hand free. Second of all, it just didn't seem like he knew where Theo was.

So what was his big accomplishment? Tonight we asked him "Where is Mama?" and "Where is Dada?" and he answered quickly and correctly. So we threw in a "Where is Theo?" He looked around, thought for a moment, and then POINTED TO HIMSELF and said, "There!"

Things that make Theo cranky

Last night Theo was very cranky. For more than an hour, he was whining and complaining and wouldn't let me set him down--this is unusual behavior for him. Usually when Theo is cranky it means one of two things: either he's hungry or he's tired, but it was fairly early in the evening, and we had just eaten dinner. I decided that he hadn't eaten enough, so I gave him 4 extra ounces of formula to drink, and he downed it pretty quickly. It seemed to put him in a better mood, he even crawled over to his toys and started playing again. He let out a huge burp. Then, before I knew it, he was barfing all over the carpet. It was really impressive, tons of milk with fairly large and recognizable bits of pear and banana. Dad picked him up and gave him a bath, and I scrubbed the carpet clean.

This was especially upsetting for me because of my obsession with him being too skinny. (Read my first post.)

Anyway, the lesson I learned was, when Theo is cranky, he really does have a good reason for being cranky. I'm pretty sure I'm not so fun to be around when I need to vomit.

My thoughts on putting a child to sleep, and other things

I am really going to miss doing my pediatrics rotation. I have SO much time. Right now I go in to work at 9 am and leave by 5 pm, and I have at least an hour lunch break in between. In fact, today I had a two and a half hour lunch break, which I used to research osteomyelitis.

Our apartment finally looks like we've moved in. Theodore's room still needs a bit of work, but at least I can envision the final product. Before, I just felt overwhelmed, like we'd never figure out where everything was going to go. Unfortunately, it looks like the bicycles are going to take up permanent residence in the bathtub (the OTHER bathtub...we have one for bathing in). It's really getting to be a wonderful place for him to play in. With everything set up the way it is, I don't have to worry much about him getting into something he shouldn't get into.

So last night Theo had a hard time sleeping. Current thinking in the U.S. is that kids need to learn to sleep on their own by 4 months or so, and the way you do it is by leaving them in their cribs and letting them cry to sleep. I have mixed feelings about this, just because why should I expect my one year old to be happy about sleeping by himself when I in my mid-twenties hate sleeping alone? Now granted, if I am on call at the hospital or if Dad is on a business trip, I'll make it without standing up in my bed and screaming. But I can imagine Theo's thoughts on the matter: "Hey, how come Mom and Dad get to sleep together in the big soft bed, and I have to sleep by myself in this crib with a stiff mattress with nobody to hug me?" It really is unfair, I'd say. Well, yesterday, Theo was a very good boy. He was good at daycare, he ate all his food, he played quietly by himself at home when I needed to cook dinner, he didn't throw any tantrums, he smiled and giggled at all the right times, he didn't eat any bits of paper, he practiced walking, he used the plastic baseball bat to hit the plastic baseball (and nothing else), and he answered correctly when I asked him where are the lights. The only trouble was when it was time to sleep--he screamed when we left him in his crib, until finally we picked him up and he promptly relaxed and shnuffled to sleep. No extra fighting, it was like he just wanted to be around us. And I'm thinking, I guess he might get spoiled, but man, all he wants is to be snuggled, that's all he asked for the whole day! To me it was a fair trade.

Mommy Has A Cold

I've been meaning to put a blog together for a while. Now that I'm stuck at home with a cold, and Theo has just started his nap, I can finally do it. I guess I'll jump right in.

I've been worried about Theo's weight. I think I'm not feeding him enough. I feel ridiculous having this problem, since he is not a picky eater. He'll eat almost anything you put in front of him; the only things I've seen him reject consistently are potatoes and apples. I suppose this has been a concern since he was born, since he was in the NICU for a week and he had trouble learning how to nurse. I always knew that he ate less than some babies, but I still thought it was right for him. Now I'm discovering that there are 2 month old children who can down 6 ounce bottles every 4 hours...Theo is almost a year old and he generally takes only 4 ounces at a time. I know there was a time when even 2 ounces was a struggle. He will have his 1 year check up soon, and I'm waiting for the pediatrician to tell me that everything is fine. If he says so, then I'll quit worrying and sneaking safflower oil in his food.