Trent's First Trip To The ER

We've just returned from Trent's first trip to the emergency room. Trent was having difficulty retaining fluids and was becoming dehydrated, so his pediatrician recommended taking him in to the ER to receive intravenous fluids. So, Trent had an IV put in his arm and we had to keep him calm and still for a couple of hours while he took on fluid. He seems much better now, and we've been able to get some oral hydration solution into him without him bringing it back up. On bad news side, Tina appears to be coming down with the stomach flu now.

Trent's First Illness

Trent has gotten through his first eight months of life without an illness. Now in his eighth month he's come down with some sort of stomach flu. He's been suffering from diarrhea and vomiting. To his credit, he's been a real trooper. He's been mostly cheerful despite spewing formula all over himself on several occasions. The main challenge now is to find some way to keep him hydrated until the virus runs its course.

Trent's Progress

Trent seems to be on the verge of crawling. He can already go pretty much anywhere he wants by crawling on his stomach. He gets up into the crawling position and tries to take that first move forward and collapses back onto his stomach and crawls from there. He also is so close to being able to get himself into a sitting position. He can jack himself up onto one arm. If he could just get an inch or two higher, he'd fall into a sitting position. If I stand him up against the Superyard, he can grab a hold and stand up by himself for brief periods of time. Trent has also shown signs of playing Peek-a-boo. When given a cloth, he will sometimes cover his face with it and then pull it back quickly while laughing hilariously. It's hard to tell whether he's doing it as part of a game or not, but he does repeat the behavior, which seems like an indication. One last new behavior to mention, Trent now guestures with his arms to indicate that he'd like to be handed off to someone he sees nearby.

Eve, Epidurals, and Evangelicals

Given the evidence that epidurals are effective and that they have no known downside, I favor women having the option to use epidurals to manage labor pain. During the Terri Schiavo incident and the following discussion about society flouting the will of God, it occurred to me that epidurals should be a real problem for anyone who felt God's will was being flouted. Genesis 3:16 says, "To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children." This is part of Eve's punishment for that incident with the apple. An epidural will surely reduce your pain in childbearing. Well, in most cases at least. So, wouldn't seem that in a strict interpretation sort of way that using one would be directly flouting the will of God? Luckily, I'm not a strict interpretation sort of guy, so my advice is go right ahead and manage the pain. But, if you are a strict interpretationist and you use an epidural, I reserve the right to call you a hypocrite.

Icons of Trent's Youth?

Every generation has icons of its youth. My generation had those little people with the spherical heads and the cylindrical bodies. They sat on the little bus and bumped up and down as the wheels turned. And then there was the Fisher Price barnyard set with whatever animal sound that was supposed to be when you opened the bard door. A cow? Wounded rhinoceros? I think maybe for Trent's generation it might be this rug with a streets and buildings. Does every kid have one of these? Trent and I also just returned from Babies 'R Us with a Superyard XT. Well, two of them actually. This allows me to create a baby coral within which I can create a relatively safe environment for Trent to explore without my having to provide continuous supervision. For instance, I can create this blog entry while only have to glance over at him every minte or so. He seem very happy. Inside the fence lying on top of his rug.

Trent's New Tricks

Trent has developed a few new tricks. He can now roll pretty much wherever he wants to go. He does seem to be following some sort of plan. I don't think he's just randomly ending up grabbing a hold of the cat's food dish. He can push himself up from the waist forward on his hands. He can make small forward progress by pushing up and then pushing forward with his feet. I think I've seen him momentarily push himself into the crawling position. It's a weird feeling sometimes. You think you see him do something and then second guess yourself thinking you just imagined it. He really loves the cats. He always has a smile for his mommy, but any time a cat crosses his field of vision he just smiles and laughs. He has taken to sleeping with his legs tucked up underneath his body. This has the effect of pushing his butt up into the air. It always makes me laugh. He really is a pretty well-natured happy little guy. Maybe he's even an extravert. Hard to imagine where he got that gene. I think my maternal grandmother was an extravert, but she's the only one I can think of in the family. Sometimes, I think I hear him say something. Like el-oh. Sometimes, he even says it at a time that's appropriate, like when I walk into his room in the morning to get him out of bed. That I'm probably just imagining.

Three Long Months

Tina is three weeks into a three month stint doing consults for the nephrology department. I don't claim to understand the organization. My best understanding is that she's responsible for dealing with questions and cases presented by other departments that might be nephrological. This means that she leaves for work very early in the morning and returns home, on a good day, about 13 hours later. Normally people don't get scheduled for three months in a row, but I guess this is paying off the karmic debt for maternity leave last year. Sometimes, while on consults, she is also on call. Which means that if anything happens that requires nephrological attention during off hours, she has to deal with that as well. As a fellow, she does get to come home while she's on call, but if a situation arises that needs a doctor, she has to go into the hospital. It's a pretty tough gig. Only one year and three months to go until...whatever Tina plans to do after her fellowship.