The Weils In The Wild

Here's just a few pics of our 4th of July campout. It was David's first camping trip and while he enjoyed spending so much time outdoors I definitely don't plan to attempt it again until next year. Even at home he's been sleeping really poorly at night so we opted to stay in a tent to spare everyone else David's nighttime screaming (as opposed to my parents' trailer). There wasn't really room for us and the playpen in the tent so Derek and I got killer leg cramps from having to sleep so scrunched up. Then it wound up being so cold that we had to put David in our sleeping bag anyway. And yes he still was up every couple hours screaming which isn't too different to what he does at home now, but it's alot more miserable to have to deal with it somewhere else.

So for now I think we're going to plan more daytime outings and try to avoid overnighters. We still managed to have some fun though. We managed to go on a short hike together and enjoy some incredible scenery. Then later Grandma watched David while Derek and I managed to get out for dinner and a fireworks show. I hope everyone else had a great 4th of July.

Lucky Seven, Months That Is

I know I've been a blog slacker lately and I apologize. This past month David's been learning and growing at an amazing rate. A month ago he wanted nothing to do with the baby food I urged him to try. Now he devours any kind of pureed vegie or fruit, his favorite being the frozen mango, pineapple and coconut frozen sorbet I made. I have to admit though that he only got a couple feedings from that because Derek and I loved it so much too. He's started to dabble a little in table food too like fig newtons, crackers, biscuits, ect. He's even starting to get the hang of the pincer grasp so while theoretically he could feed himself, ironically food is the only thing he does not try to shove in his mouth. He would much rather mash food in his fist and throw the crumbs on the floor or smear food on his tray.

My favorite skill he's aquired recently are his "dancing" and "singing." If we play upbeat music he'll start bouncing his little diapered bottem and bopping his head for all he's worth. A few times he's even tried to sing along (I think) although his little concert of howls and squeals bears only the loosest resemblence to any type of melody.

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.