medical

Fri - September 23, 2005

Sick Daze 2005

No sooner than the equinox hits and we're sidelined by some kind of illness. Melisa and I both were home sick on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week. Thursday lulled us into a false sense of recovery, from which we relapsed today.

Justin, fortunately, has only been afflicted by a cough (for a couple weeks now) and a runny nose. So far, so good.

Posted at 08:41 PM Read More

Sat - September 3, 2005

Haircut

With the big #2 coming up—birthday that is—it's time to get Justin ready for it. Today he got a haircut. He sat on Mommy's lap for the first half, and on my lap for the 2nd half.

Not so bad; handsome devil.

Posted at 09:43 PM Read More

Thu - July 21, 2005

Dentist Visit

Justin went to the dentist to get his tooth checked. We dodged a bullet there, since his tooth has tightened up and there's no sign of root damage or damage to his permanent tooth buds from that little incident a couple months ago. Whew!

Afterwards the dentist checked all the rest of his teeth that he would have had checked at his 2-year-old checkup, and the hygienist cleaned his teeth. He cried a little as she scraped the tartar off, but he was very good. We learned some new techniques for cleaning, and Justin has been cooperating by letting us use an electric toothbrush. Good little kid.

Posted at 10:37 PM Read More

Tue - June 28, 2005

"Bwee"

The funny business is starting, as justin says 5-6 words at opportune times. One of which was when he walked in on me when i was going to the bathroom. He walked over to where I was standing and said "bubbles."

"Bwee" is justin's word for binky and butterfly, I suppose because his binkies have little butterfly-like wings on them. The other night at the video store he ran over to a scary looking box for the movie Mosquito Man (be sure to click "see larger picture"), and he was smiling and and yelling "bwee!" So cute!

This week's words:

"bwee" (for binky & butterfly, and, it turns out, airplane)
Mama, Dada
Nana, Pa (practiced for this week)
bug (yeah, we see lots of those here)
cracker (also for circle)
bubbles (bubble bath, balloon)
ball
boo-boo (scraped his knee)
no (the answer to every question)

Posted at 10:51 PM Read More

The 6 Simple Machines

Justin has mastered the inclined plane. He's been a fan of the wheel for a long time, what with his love of toy cars, but he hasn't really put them to use as a tool. Today, however, he lifted the end of a 5' length of Hot Wheels track and released a car down it, and it shot across the floor at a giggle-inspiring clip.

The other 5 simple machines are: Screw, Pulley, Lever, Wheel & Axle, Wedge. I'll keep you informed as to his progress through them.

PS: Today it rained in the morning and was gray all day. You can tell when the humidity hits 100% because it gets foggy.

Physicist in the making...

Posted at 10:48 PM Read More

Tue - June 7, 2005

Cracker

Justin's first word is "cracker." He pronounces it very clearly, better than any other word. He also says "circle" with a similar pronunciation, probably because most of his crackers are round. And its his favorite food. He also says "bee" and "car" sometimes. And he has a word for Play-Doh, but it sounds more like "boooah."

People are suggesting that Justin isn't talking more than he is because he can sign for most of the things he wants. For example, he looked tired tonight, so we asked him whether he wanted to read books or go straight to bed, and he opted for bed by giving the sign instead of saying anything. He went right to sleep. Research has shown that's not how it works, but lately we've been having doubts. Sometimes he seems lazy or uninterested in speaking, but he's still quite vocal. So the house isn't as quiet as you may think.

Posted at 09:05 PM Read More

Thu - May 19, 2005

Does This Count?

After his bath one evening, Justin gave Melisa a hug and said "ma ma" and then hugged me and said "da da." Then he hugged Mommy again and said "ma ma ma" and me again, saying "da da da." He alternated and incremented up to 5 before just breaking down in a barrage of "ma ma ma ..." Sure, it's counting in the way horses count, but I thought it was pretty cool to see him make up a little game.

Which means he can count higher than many of the people I drive alongside of on the freeway.

Two! Can you count to 2 ?!?! Go!!!

Posted at 08:41 PM Read More

Sat - May 14, 2005

"Passizno"

Justin's word of the day is "passizno." We have no idea what it means.

He signed for "helicopter" when he heard one out his window this evening. At first it was "airplane," but I said "helicopter" and he changed his sign. I had to look it up to be sure.

Posted at 08:24 PM Read More

Sun - May 1, 2005

MaMaDaDa

Now it's clear that in certain instances, "dada" really does mean Dad, and he's throwing in "mama" as well. And pointing at the correct person when he says it! He's been saying "uh-oh" in the appropriate context for several weeks now.

This weekend was particularly fun. He had his haircut, and afterward he and I went to the park. On Sunday he really seemed like he wanted to play with me, rather than just play by himself. We went to Costco and Home Depot (he loves Home Depot) and then to a couple parks on the way home to test out some playground equipment and tire him out. You can tell it was fun because we all came home with sand in our shoes.

UPDATE: Today he pointed at our mean 16-year-old cat, Oreo, and it sounded like he said "bitty."

Posted at 08:39 PM Read More

Sat - April 30, 2005

Shorn At Last

Melisa was getting her hair cut styled today, so we thought we could bring Justin along and have his ears lowered. He has recently discovered that he can grab his hair and pull it out front to where he can see it, so it's high time to get it cut. Plus, more and more refer to him as "her."

Pam is an expert and was very careful to not let him twitch and impale himself on the scissors, and Justin was quite calm about it. At first. As it went on, he was less happy. Luckily Pam move quickly and in just a few minutes he looked like a whole new boy.

Baby hair evidently has nerves running right through it. But they heal fast.

Posted at 09:40 PM Read More

Fri - April 1, 2005

Major League Side Effects

One of the medicines used to treat Justin's croup this week was a new steroid that was supposed to reduce swelling in the larynx. Unfortunately it affects some growth hormone levels, which mainly control hair and teeth. It's still growing—the teeth about as fast as fingernails. We'll have to file them down every so often. Doc says it's just his baby teeth affected; his grownup teeth will be fine.

Can't wait till he's 7.

Posted at 12:51 AM Read More

Wed - March 30, 2005

</croup>

Justin is sleeping peacefully, without the wheezing, stridor, or difficult breathing. We're all breathing easy now. He still has a cold/cough thing, but that croup is nasty business for something with such a funny name.

Posted at 10:08 PM Read More

Tue - March 29, 2005

Rx: Ice Cream

Back to the shop today, because the "croup" is more difficult breathing and less barking cough. He's wheezing like the little penguin in Toy Story. The diagnosis, however, remains croup (Laryngotracheobronchitis) and, being a virus, just has to play itself out. Doc says cool things are good. Have ice cream or popsicle or shake or smoothie. An airbath outside or in front of the open freezer was actually recommended. Funny, cuz my boss has been saying that for weeks: cool humidifier, sit outside in the evenings, etc., to chill out the croup. Nothing like modern medicine, eh? Hopefully he won't get so bad that we have to take him to the hospital tonight to get some real modern medicine. It gets worse at night.

He looks extra weird because he moved his eyes during 1/3 sec. exposure.

Posted at 08:16 PM Read More

Mon - March 28, 2005

C. Everett Croup

His fever is down today, but Justin is still feeling cruddy. We took him into the shop today for the diagnosis—croup—and there's not much we can do about it. Being a viral thing, all we can do is treat its symptoms, mostly the sore throat, since cough syrup doesn't even help for that type of cough. At least nowadays he'll happily take Motrin or Dimetapp without fighting it, like he used to.

He hasn't slept all day. Wouldn't go down for a nap. His poor mother is run ragged. I guess since he slept most of yesterday, he's all rested up for a day of running around with his mommy. He didn't feel good the whole day, but was pretty energetic for most of it. Now we're going to give him a steamy bath and fire up the humidifier for his room.

We had heard of croup before, but hadn't heard it. If Justin talked, he'd have laryngitis now too. When we ask him what sound an owl makes, he can't say "oooh oooh". And he breathes like Darth Vader—and especially sounds like him over the squawkbox.

Posted at 08:34 PM Read More

Sun - March 27, 2005

Blah Day

Justin got a 102° fever last night and had it all day today. He cried when he coughed—we figure he has a sore throat too. He sounds horrible. His voice sounds very strange. He had 3 naps of a couple hours each, and just woke up a few minutes ago looking and acting a lot better. He's asking for drink, too, so that's good. We didn't expect that he'd be going to school tomorrow, but maybe he'll improve. A friend of ours put us on the alert for some kind of hoof-and-mouth disease. We'll have to look it up on our newly discovered medical encyclopædia.

Posted at 08:26 PM Read More

1 Year Checkup + Baby Training