Derek's Birthday Bonanza (sort of)

Derek's birthday was really on June 28th, but I'm just now getting around to posting about it. He turned 30 this year and we celebrated by firing up his new grill for some tasty brats and a family outing to the community pool. I made a banana cake and per Derek's request did NOT decorate it at all. That was pretty much all that either of us had energy for (David's sleeping TERRIBLY lately) although I think part of him still wished we'd had more of a celebration for the big 30th.

I felt a little bit bad about that until I remembered what MY birthday this year had been like. Let's just say that since my birthday falls right in the middle of tax season there really wasn't much opportunity for festivities. Unless you count having a fussing and screaming baby strapped to you at all times and your one and only meal of the day consisting of gas station hot dogs.

Birthdays now are really just reminders that life is now about something much smaller than either of us right now. Unfortunately my camera battery died after taking only a couple pictures so we don't have many photos to commemorate the day. My camera battery will stay charged for months at a time so it's even more ironic that the same thing happened last year at Derek's birthday. I guess I need to be more prepared for special events.

As an unrelated side I did decorate another cake for Fathers Day but since I already did a dad's day post I'm tacking said cake pic on the end of this one. Enjoy.

Finding a Doctor Part 1: The PCP (Primary Care Provider)

I figure that it's time again for a non-David related post. In recent weeks I've had a few conversations about finding a good doctor. There's a lot of great physicians out there, but even as a nurse I still have difficulties knowing where to look at times. Dealing with as many doctors and their offices as I have has taught me a thing or two over the years though and since this is my blog I thought I'd pass my great wisdom along. This is how I go about finding a regular family practice doctor or pediatrician.

1. For most people one of their top concerns is making sure that doctors are true experts in their field. Some people do an interviewing screening process in which they ask things such as where they went to school, their GPA, MCAT scores, etc. This is not a good way to assess a doctor's competence. Unfortunately there really are no questions you can ask a doctor in advance to get a sense of medical expertise. Accepting this upfront will save you the stress of trying.

2. Decide what other things are most important to you based on your prior experience with doctors offices. I hate being rushed out the door before I get a chance to ask any questions so for me the number one thing is a provider that will take time to explain things to me. I also appreciate shorter wait times, friendly office staff, and the ability to fit me in when I need an appointment. If I call with a medical concern I prefer there to be a nurse (RN or LPN) to take my call rather than a medical assistant and I expect all my calls to be returned in a timely manner.

Other considerations may be: Should medications be prescribed as a first or last resort? Is it important that alternative therapies be instead of or in conjunction with traditional medicine? Do I want to be able to play an active role in choosing my treatment options or would I rather leave my care to my doctor's discretion? These are important things to think about but these will be much harder to gauge in advance because most doctors will fall somewhere in the gray area between the extremes (which is a good thing in my opinion).

3. Ask around. Chances are you have a friend who is happy with their family doctor or pediatrician. Find out who and why. Ask your friends about your list of considerations from above. They probably can't answer all your questions, but they should be able to give you a good start.

4. Once you've got a satisfactory referral make an appointment. Bring your list of considerations and get answers to all of the questions your friends could not answer satisfactorily. If you feel like it's a good fit for you then keep going. If not don't.

5. If you ever hit a point where you feel that your concerns aren't being taken seriously or that your problems are not being appropriately addressed you should get a second opinion. If the doctor simply seems to be ignoring your concerns you should start looking for another primary provider. If you have a specific health problem that's not getting fixed you should consider a specialist. Of course they may not be able to offer any more help (unfortunately we still can't fix everything), but it's worth a try.

Where's the Pause Button?

David's pants fit him perfectly today. Last week they were too long. Yesterday he needed help to sit on his own, but not anymore. His feet didn't used to lop over the arms of the chair when I rocked him. He's had his last bath in his baby tub, the one we've used since bringing him home. I hated seeing his full head of newborn hair fall out, but now that I'm used my bald baby I spot fuzzy tufts of real big boy hair sprouting up.

It's so hard to imagine David as anything but my tiny baby that part of me can't envision that he'll ever grow up. But he will. Much, much too soon from now I will find myself staring at a little toddler and realize that his baby days are over. He's half-way there already and I'm crying my eyes out thinking about it.

Happy Father's Day

I think we all agree that the role of fatherhood is rapidly evolving. I had a patient once who boasted that despite fathering seven children he had never once changed a diaper. Fast forward a few generations and dads are expected to play active roles in virtually all aspects of parenting from the delivery room on. Some fathers are even opting to stay at home full-time while the mother returns to work. While I don't think that would be a great solution for us, I know some families for which it works well and I'm glad they have that option.

Soon Derek will be transitioning to a four-day work week while I step up my hours for my job. This translates into a lot more quality father/son time which I think will be a good thing for all of us. As much as I love being with David I also miss my patients and the social interaction I get at work. On the other hand Derek's been putting in a lot of hours between work and studying for the CPA exam so it really will be nice for him to have that time to bond with David without me hovering over him (I admit to being slightly overprotective at times). Happy Father's Day Derek! The past few months have been a steep learning curve at times but you're doing a wonderful job and David's lucky to have you. And Dad, if you're reading I think you did a great job as well and I really lucked out myself! Happy Father's Day to all the rest of you dads out there too.

6 Months and Loving Life

6 months

5 months

4 months

3 months

2 months

Sorry I've been such a slacker lately about posting. Also apologies to those of you who have sent me emails I haven't responded to yet. I've been effectively offline in the past few weeks for various reasons such as illness and trying to tackle several projects in the house and yard at once (hopefully I'll be able to post on that soon).

David is now 6 months old and learning and growing each day. As the picture shows David's sitting up straight rather than leaning back into the chair. He can sit pretty good now for several minutes at a time but can't be left alone yet because at any given moment he'll lunge backward or to the side and topple over. He's almost there though. Seeing as he's now wearing the 12 month clothing it's no surprise that he's still at the top of the growth charts. At his 6 month check-up he was in the 96th percentile for height and the 80th for weight. I was a little concerned that his weight is becoming less proportionate for his height but the doctor noted that David seems more active that many babies his age and probably burns a lot of calories in his jumperoo and flailing around. He's perfectly normal though and has hit all of the developmental milestones for babies his age and then some so we're happy.

This week he's also tried some baby food other than rice cereal. Seeing how he wolfs down his cereal every night I expected him to love the sweet potatoes I fed him, but the response was kind of lukewarm. The next few days I tried mixing it with breastmilk and cereal which went better, but he still only wanted a few bites. I tried banana too because supposedly it tastes pretty close to breastmilk but that too was only interesting for a few bites. I guess he just needs some time to get used to different foods. I did make my own baby food which was actually fairly quick and painless, although 2 sweet potatoes go much farther than I expected. I think I filled 10 containers with it so I hope he learns to like them.

PA Family Vacation

We spent the week of Memorial Day with Derek's family in PA and David finally got to meet the rest of his family. There were a few rough parts (like the fact that both David and I got sick) but mostly we enjoyed seeing everyone. Here's a quick recap of how things went.

We stayed with Derek's mom and Jim. Jim's niece and her family were also visiting at the same time which made for a full house, but their almost 1 year old twins were fun to watch toddling around. It occurred to me that David is already half-way there and while it's fun to watch him grow it's hard to realize that his baby days are numbered. Here's some highlights from the trip:
We got to meet David's cousin Alexandra! She's only 4 weeks younger than David and very, very cute. The babies had fun looking each other over although David kept trying to claw his cousin's face. I enjoyed seeing how different their little personalities already are. Ally will be content sometimes to just quietly sit or lay and look around and play with a toy. I've heard that baby boys tend to be more active in general and while I'm not sure if that holds up in general it's definitely the case with David. Next to Ally he was like a baby high on crack, constantly flailing and flopping around. I'm excited to have met our first niece though.David went for his first swim ever. Grandma Ingrid has a pool at her house so we took David in for his first dip. He enjoyed getting his feet wet, but wasn't so thrilled about wading in. Unfortunately that water still a little bit cold, but at least he got to try out his new swimsuit.Pop-Pop took David on his first tractor ride. My father-in-law collects old Allis Chalmer garden tractors so of course he had to take his grandbabies for a little ride. David lunged for the steering wheel right away. I guess he wanted to drive.David also saw his first baseball game. We saw the Ironpigs (minor league for the Phillies) play although we were rained out toward the end and had to leave early.

Mommy had fun at the baby clothing outlets with Aunt Erica, especially The Children's Place. We found lots of great deals and David is well-outfitted for the summer now.

Yummy Curry

I can guarantee this isn't an authentic recipe because I've made many modifications of my own, but it is tasty and easy. The flavor is most like that of Thai curries.

2 T olive oil
1 lb chicken cut into pieces
2 T curry powder
1/4 t cinnamon
1 chopped onion
1 small zucchini chopped
1 small summer squash chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrots (I use frozen sliced)
1 can low-fat coconut milk (14 oz?)
1/2 can chicken broth (14 0z?)
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
fresh torn basil
slivered almonds or cashews

Heat oil in large skillet and cook chicken until lightly browned. Add onion, curry powder, and cinnamon. When onion is clear add chopped vegies and saute for a couple minutes. Stir in all other ingredients except basil and nuts and simmer for 5-7 minutes. If desired you may use a little corn starch to thicken base. Serve over rice and top with basil and nuts.

I can't remember the exact sizes for the cans of broth and coconut milk, but they are a standard soup can size. When cooking the rice I use the leftover chicken broth to substitute some of the water to give it a little more flavor. Also this is not a very spicy curry. For those that desire more heat you can add red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to taste with the other spices.