G's Medical Insurance

I like G’s medical insurance plan.

 

Too bad I can’t keep it. 

 

The good policy we have is being eliminated.  Looks like I can start paying more money for a plan that covers less.

 

Thanks for nothing, “Affordable” Care Act.

 

Crazy Growth

A couple of weeks ago we tried on the Thomas the Train costume, and thankfully it fit. 
Ready for Halloween!


G's jeans were looking a little different on him lately.


A check-in with the costume proved that we are no longer ready for Halloween.  Check out the inch of pants sticking out from beneath the costume.

Seriously, this kid is growing. 

A quick check confirmed that he's now over 38" and 34 #.  That's another inch and 3 pounds in the last couple of months.


Most mothers whine over the trouble of switching over wardrobes as the seasons change.  I feel like I never stop switching to the next size larger.  I can't keep up.  Of course, I'm not complaining.  Grow, G, grow!

Culinary Progress

Ok.  This might not technically count as "progress" but it does make me happy.

This week I served a lovely dinner of chicken nuggets, with sides of honey & bbq sauce.  Not only did G eat the nuggets, but he tried both of the dips too.  His willingness to eat different foods has exploded.  It removes so much stress when the underweight toddler will actually consume food.  My days of blending pureed veggies into mac & cheese are over!

And - just for the record - in addition to the junk food, G also ate an apple AND an orange. 

Or, an "oh-jin," if you know what I mean.  It's all good.

 

p.s. In my previous post, I mentioned "two weeks."  It's actually more like six weeks.  Wishful thinking.



Growth

February 18th
Stretching up to Joseph's doorknob:

August 22nd

I asked him to stretch up to Joseph's doorknob.  He was willing:

although kind of puzzled about why I'd want him to stretch.

(Note: 6 months later, still no pants)

I recently measured him at 37" and 31#. 

That would mean - in the last 6 weeks - he grew 2" and no pounds.  Is that possible?

Weekend Review

(nothing exciting; just a review)


Amy was here working on my yard when I got home on Friday.  My flowers look amazing.  You should come check them out.

We got to visit Joseph on Saturday.  G was in heaven.  Joseph seemed so proud of G - introducing him to everyone: "This is my little brother."  Of course, G would give no one else the time of day.  They'd try to greet him, and he'd just grunt & flip his head away.  It's embarrassing to have a child with such horrible manners.  But.. I'm also not real eager to start encouraging him to warm up to strangers so I'll live with it for now.

At church today G sat through all of the songs.  A first.

He seems huge to me.  He's stronger & faster & more regulated & smarter about everything.  I posted about his weight, but I just realized how it compares to his history:

July 2009: 20 pounds

Jan. 2010: 20 pounds

July 2010: 31 pounds

Isn't that crazy?

He's getting more apt to play.. and sometimes to play independently!  Tonight he was doing his favorite - putting things in & taking them out.. and carrying around his loads, telling me he'd be "right back."  Over & over again.

I mowed the grass tonight.  For a long time, G pushed around his truck behind me.  But towards the end he was just done.  I ended up having to mow the final rows with one hand while using my other hand to hold hands with him.  So he's not that independent yet.

Explosion

That word - "explosion" - still makes me think of the days when I was cleaning sheets twice a day due to crazy diaper blow-outs.  But I'm not here now to talk about that.

We're seeing a language explosion.

Every day G is adding new words to his vocab! 

Now, you, the casual listener, might not recognize that "poo" refers to a "spoon" (or a fork, if we're being honest).  But I know - and I'm finding it very fun.

The only part that is not as fun is when the classic questions come at me for the quabillionth time.  This includes:
Wuz-za? (What's that?)  and  Ha Happen? (What happened?)

I'll illustrate with a popular discussion from my house:
G: Wuz-za?
Me: A wall.
G: Wuz-za?
Me: Wall.
G: Wuz-za?
Me: That is a wall.
G: Wuz-za?

No joke.  That discussion can last for hours (or so it seems).

But beyond that frustration it's pure fun around here.  Some language examples:

- G's word for "elbow" sounds identical to his word for "apple."  That one was figured out after he got very frustrated with me for repeatedly asking if he was hungry.
- I clapped for G the other night, and he insisted: "Bubble.  Bubble Mama."  I kept asking if he was ready for his bath, then finally realized he wanted me to add "Bravo" to my clapping.
- Yesterday he covered his eyes with his hands and announced: "Ideeg.  Ideeg Mama."  Because when your hands are over your eyes you're obviously "hiding."
- My most favorite G-ism is "Wat-ow!"  How often do you suppose I've warned him "Watch out!"

Really fun.

----------------------------------------------

And in other explosion news, I measured G tonight.  I think he's up to 35" and 31#.  If I'm right, that's an inch & a pound since my last check.  Onward!

July 7th

Two years ago today I met G for the first time.

I had gone to Haiti to meet my almost-two-year-old son.

The van pulled up with the visiting parents' children inside.  No car seats.  No seatbelts.  Just children.

Before I got to see G, one of the orphanage volunteers met me and warned, "He's small.  He's very small."

I've always been grateful that she eased my shock.

I'd never before met a two-year-old who couldn't support their weight on their little stick legs.

G was very small, but he still had spirit.  Gobs of spirit.  Even at that first visit, he was FUNNY. 

That hasn't changed.

Have I mentioned how exceedingly grateful I am to have him home?

Wild Child

Did I mention that G was in the ER on Saturday? 

So, if I told you that he almost ended up in the ER again on Monday, would you think "thank goodness the child made it safely through Sunday"?  Or is that just the way I'm thinking these days?

Yes, on Monday, the boy flew out of my room, rounded the corner, and collided face-first with the metal closet door.  As I peered into his bloody little mouth, I saw white bits down by his gums.  Those would be teeth bits.  I've never seen teeth bits before.  G certainly is providing a new glimpse into parenting for me.

It's hard to tell, but his bottom front left tooth is definitely chipped, and I think the one next to it is also chipped.  His teeth are pretty bad to start with, so it's hard to be sure of the new damage.

The dentist has pronounced G fine, and G is not complaining, so I'm feeling free to take a light-hearted tone.  But there is a part of me that worries: exactly how accident-prone can one boy be?


p.s. I can't make a real announcement until my sister & bro-in-law have a chance to do it, but it's possible that my new little niece/nephew has arrived safely in our world :)

Another First!

I know you're thinking that I just baked chicken for the first time.  But no - not yet for that.  See the wristband?...

Today was G's first trip to the Emergency Room!  Didn't take long for that.  Although, at the rate he has accidents, I'm sure it's not too surprising.

The 3 of us were outside.  G was mostly standing around because he still doesn't really "get" independent imaginative play.  Joseph was cutting branches and I was bagging them.  Suddenly G started SCREAMING & rubbing at his eye, which he would not open. 

(Skipping the boring middle of the story)

We end up in the ER, G with his eye numbed.  The doc has the eyelid flipped, and he finds the "foreign body therein!"  It was a speck.  Seriously, a speck.  The size of a period.  Crazy to see how much trouble a speck can cause.

Soon we'll see how crazy the cost of speck-removal is.

Being in that hospital in our cozy suburb is weird to me.  It's so much like (I imagine) a luxury spa would be.  Tranquil environment, plenty of staff there to serve you, polite capability everywhere.  Today, being there with G, made the experience even more weird.  Do you know that when someone goes to a hospital in Haiti they'd better have a friend there to take care of them?  Assuming that they are seen, the friend will be responsible for providing any food & water.  They need to bring their own medical supplies for any treatment that's done.  I've heard this information from multiple sources and believe it to be true.. before the earthquake.  I don't know what it's like now.  I know that the people of Haiti still desperately need help. 

And I know I'm very glad that G is home, safe.

Desperation Dinner

Question: If you KNOW that your child will only eat noodles for dinner... 

and you decide to doctor the noodles with a swamp-green concoction (pureed black beans & spinach & other things I've forgotten now)...

and he does eat & eat it (while picking out the strategically left-in sacrificial asparagus pieces)...

then is the meal still as gross as it appears?

Answer: Yes.  Absolutely.  It doesn't get any more gross.  And we may be eating it again soon.

The Belly, 3 months in

G's doctor said that it'll just take time - and good food - for his belly to shrink more into proportion.

Can you tell how much more meat.. and muscle.. he has on his legs?  Love that!  I watched him powering up a ladder at the park today & was amazed.

Growth

Update:  I measured him myself today.  He's at 34".

We had another doctor visit this week. They said G now weighs 28# and is 37". That would mean that in the past 3 weeks, he gained only 1 pound, and grew 4 1/2 inches.

???

Genius

So, if your child will not eat any meat/eggs/nuts (unless it's meat cooked by Bapi & covered in gravy) - then you could puree a hard-boiled egg AND puree in some cheese... and use that to make grilled cheese, which the child WILL eat.  Ha!  Score one for Mom.

Today's Doctor Visit

While driving home from G's doctor appointment today, I wrote a funny post for you in my head. It was about... how mindful I am of the gawking & comments G & I will receive in Chicago... so how mindful I am to make sure that he looks his best before we set out... and how the gorgeous weather allowed me to drive into the city with the windows down!... and how I had to take my 3-year-old into the center of attention with him not wearing shoes because, when I arrived his shoes had disappeared. I figured out that while I was driving, he was throwing them out the window! When confronted, he laughed at me as if the whole thing was hilarious.

Only, when I got home, his shoes were just inside the door. Where I had apparently left them.

At least he had pants on.



He had his first vaccination today (plus two miserable blood draws), and seems to be doing well. He is no longer terrified to stand on a scale - and he's up to 27 pounds! The doctor gave me a growth chart from WHO, which shows the average size, worldwide, for children - not just the average size of US children. G is nowhere near the bottom of the US chart. But on the WHO chart he has a nice head size (important), he's in the bottom quarter for weight, and he's off-the-charts-low (still) for height. We learned lots at the doctor... including that it's time for me to obtain more stool samples! I'm feeling confident in my newly-developed abilities to accomplish that task. We shall see.

Comparison

G is 9 days older than Meredith.

Gaining

Check out this change!

21# was G's weight last July
21# was his weight when he came home
22.5# was his weight after just 2 weeks!