Doctors

I had to put in a photo, because he is so cute!

       Let me start out by saying that we have GREAT healthcare coverage through the military, and I am 100% grateful for it.  Still, I get very annoyed by the referral system they have in place.  We live very close to the base hospital, which we use for all our healthcare needs, for Helo and ourselves.  He has a fantastic pediatrician who we fell in love with, when he introduced himself while I was waiting to deliver Helo.  (He makes me feel old though, considering he is 3 years younger than me) Anyway, Helo was born with a minor medical condition that, at the time, may or may not have required surgery.  We were referred to and off-base provider at Dayton Children's.  It took 3 months to get in to see this physician. Helo's condition, which I would rather not mention, in case he reads this one day.  This specific situation required a "if it hasn't taken care of itself by the 12 month mark, we will schedule surgery".  Well, it has not taken care of itself, so I called our pediatric clinic so that they would put in the referral.  All visits to Dr.s not in your clinic require a referral, whether on base or not.  Well, I get a phone call 3 days after the request stating that I needed to speak to the referral office. The kind lady proceeded to tell me that I would be seen on base. I nicely explained to her that we needed to be seen with our original provider because even though they had a physician who cared for adults in this situation, they did not have one that took care of infants and children.  I was placed on hold for about 2 minutes, after which she came back on the line and said that, "no, you will be seen on base because you were only referred to Children's because they did not have an appointment available on base."  I then told her that, no we were seen off base because they did not have a pediatric Dr. for this area of care.  She said, that they would refer me to Children's if they could not care for Helo.  So I clarified my question by asking if they NOW had a Dr that was a pediatric specialist. She replied yes, they have always had one.  I then told her, no that was incorrect because our pediatrician, specifically sent us to Children's because they did not have a pediatric specialist.  At this point, I am getting really annoyed, cuz I remember everything, when it comes to my child's health care, not to mention I write everything down.  She continued with her explanation that I would be seen on base, at which point I said " continuity of health care huh? I am sorry, I know it is not your fault, but I get sick of seeing someone different all the time, and having to re-explain myself and what is going on every time!"  This seems to be a recurring problem.  You get referred from one place to the next, for specific things to be taken care of, only to have each person wanting to tell you something different or have a different solution, meanwhile, nothing is getting done.  We'll see how this goes. I have to tell you all though, I am going to blow a gasket (internally, hopefully) of they tell me that I indeed need to go to Children's for Helo.  Time wasting is one of my pet peeves. Plus it seems to take MONTHS to get in to see the Dr. at Children's. Pray for me ya'll. Imma lose it if I get told what I already know.  On a side note, I will humbly apologize if I am wrong!

Helo's Landing Pad (A journal of my son's flight path through life.): SLEEP!!!

Helo's Landing Pad (A journal of my son's flight path through life.): SLEEP!!!: I have the most wonderful little man in the whole world, but when it comes to sleep, he is a fickle boy. It must be virtually dark,...

SLEEP!!!

       I have the most wonderful little man in the whole world,  but when it comes to sleep, he is a fickle boy.  It must be virtually dark, and he can not have the use of his hands!  Helo is 7 months old, and we still swaddle him for sleep! The problem we are running into now, is that he is growing out of the swaddlers FAST!!!  If he has access to his hands, he scratches his face, and knocks his paci out of his mouth and will not sleep.  Ok moms, don't freak when I say this, but I put my baby in the closet and close the door for naps.  We have a monitor, so we hear everything he does.  The darkness allows him to nap.  What am I going to do when he outgrows all these little tricks we have?  I rue the day!
      

       Well, I have some hope! As I was writing my blog post yesterday, Helo was in front of me playing on the floor, suddenly what do I see? My bubbin totally passed out on his own. Being the photo freak that I am,  I had to get photos. Isn't he the cutest?

Reading to my son

     Helo and I have many things that we like to do together on a daily basis.  Reading is one of them. Even though they are only basic books, like colors and bugs, I believe it is a necessary thing to encourage his development. Plus, I can't get enough of the look on his face when I turn the page!  I know that reading is one of my favorite things to do, when I get free time. I hope to instill that love in him as well.  Am I wrong for not wanting my son to sit in front of the TV when he gets older? My parents strictly limited my TV watching and we didn't have money for the latest gaming system when I was young, so that was out as well. They encouraged me to read.  I LOVED my trips to the library, and I would come home with STACKS of books, that would be finished in a week! I think I was the only kid getting in trouble for being up till 3am reading. (Not watching TV or playing Nintendo) 
       I want Helo to be outside running around, or riding his bike or doing something active, if he is not reading.  Not that he will NEVER be allowed to sit in front of the boob tube, or play video games (I have a husband really into them).  I believe that reading encourages the expansion and development of vocabulary, imagination and learning in general.  Now, I am going to step off my soap box for a bit, and say that TV can be useful tool in learning, and keeping a mothers sanity.  Helo right now, is in love with Yo Gabba Gabba, and I let him watch endless amounts of it, because it lets me get stuff done around the house.  So, I can't claim total TV silence. In the meantime, my favorite time of the day will be reading after breakfast, and Goodnight Moon before bed. 

       This is for you my littlest love, the gift of the love of books and literature.  I hope you love them as much or more than I do. They will serve you well in this life, as only a reader knows.  

Attack of the vampire baby!

       Hello all! I think I should have named my son "Lestat", as in Lestat from the Anne Rice vampire novels! Ever since growing in those 2 teeth, he thinks it enables him to bite anything within reaching distance of those cute little teeth. My first experience came while snuggling him this morning after a bottle. He apparently thinks that meat and milk go together. I picked him up snuggled him, during which he proceeded to make an animalistic sound, grab my neck and bite it. I guess snuggling was not on the agenda. After yelling "ouch"! He looked at me as if to say, "You watch the Vampire Diaries, don't you? I thought you liked that sort of thing?" How could he know that neck biting is for lovers, or fantasy roleplay only? Well, he still doesn't get it. Geez! I can't understand why? He is, after all, 7 months old now. KIDDING PEOPLE!!! Oh well, I guess I will have to continue to keep him out of sunlight, lest he burst into flame. (or sparkle if you enjoy THAT version of cute vampire)

Belated Introduction

       For anyone who may be reading this, and doesn't know me. I should have perhaps, begun this blog with an introduction, instead of a graphic tale of poop.  My name is Angela, and I am 33 year old first time mother.  Currently, our family lives in the Dayton, Ohio area. This specific blog is meant to be a record of things that happen while my son Helo, is growing up. 

       Helo popped into this world via C-section in July of 2011, after more than 3 years of trying to conceive. He was my angel boy from the moment he was born. His father and I could not be prouder. 

I should have started earlier, and I meant to, but things got put off, and so here I am starting 7 months into the game! I hope you enjoy reading my posts, and glancing at my photos.  Thanks for taking time to "land" here. 

Teething and Poop

So, here I am, almost 7 months into my son's life, and I have started to be one of "those" people. You know the ones that regale the know web-based world with tales from their daily life and the antics of their child. Well, if you don't like it...don't read it! (Insert smiley face here)

Teething season has come upon us with a VENGEANCE! When I say we, I do mean we. All of us mothers/fathers (who are we kidding....mothers), know that when a child teethes, it causes all of us pain. Just in different ways.  I call teething as season, because in Helo's case, it seems as though it is going to be an ongoing thing. Not just getting teeth here and there with a break in between tooth cutting. Anyway, back the the joys of teething.

My poor little bubbin can not seem to escape the things that come with popping teeth. You know, all the things Dr.'s say "are not related to teething". Things like, runny poop, fever, rashes etc. While rashes have not happened in and of themselves, his BM as become like nuclear waste! Super stinky, and very irritating to his skin. All in all, he is dealing well. Mommy on the other hand is not. I am ready for this to be over already. My days have been divided up into two sections....poopy and not-poopy.

This oh so special day started off o.k.  Helo woke up with a smile on his face (he should, he was the one sleeping all night). Mommy gets up rather exhausted, but happy because that is what baby smiles do to you, if you are human at all. Mommy throws some Yo Gabba Gabba on the telly so she can prepare a bottle. Said bottle is sucked down vigorously and followed up with a grateful smile, fart, and belch.  All is well in Huffington. For those of you wondering, that is what I call the realm of our home. Still tired, I sit down to check out some FB....(sniff, sniff).....I smell a foul odor in the air.  I look over and what do I see? POOH-SPLOSION........POOH-ACALYPSE!! My son bouncing happily in his own feces. The stuff is EVERYWHERE! On his bouncy seat,  the towels under his feet, his leg, his toes, his belly...He doesn't care...it's warm and gooshy! Sigh, time to get back to the real world of being a mom. One sink bath, and clean diaper later, it is off to the floor play gym for some tummy time. So here I am 10 smelly diapers, and 2 teeth later, writing about the poopy section of my day. Oh well, at least I know he takes after his father in one way!!

After all is said and done, I wouldn't trade my son  for anything in this life!  The smelly, the funny, and the painful are all part of this wonderful thing called GROWTH!! No photos of this experience....too stinky!!