Back Online

Well, we are back online. We just got internet in our place so I can finally update the news and pictures. Lucian's last weight measurement was almost 16 lbs! He is getting so big so fast. Hopefully I will be able to get my new set of pictures uploaded soon so I can post some. Hope you didn't miss us too much.

Pretty Kitty

Yesterday, for the first time, Lucian pet our kitty cat. They have had a long relationship. Lizzy, the very old kitty, incubated Lucian while he was still in the oven. Laying on top of the belly shelf was her favorite past time. I can't say that I always agreed with her on the aspect because, even though she is a relatively small feline, she still added extra weight. He would typically kick or punch her - she felt it was like a massage. Either way, she enjoyed laying on him. When he finally came home; she was intrigued but feeling neglected at the same time. All of the attention was going to the new arrival. She would always jump up and smell him to try to figure out what he was doing here. Well, yesterday, she jumped up onto the couch and demanded some attention, which I gladly gave her. Lucian, feeling left out, decided he wanted to be a part of it too. So I sat him on my lap while Lizzy was laying next to us on the couch. First, he reached his foot out and placed it on her back. She didn't seemed bothered by this at all. I wasn't sure how she would respond being such an old lady and all. Lucian leaned forward like he usually does while he is sitting, and I decided to see hat would happen. So I helped him lean a bit more towards the kitty. He reached his hand right on out like he watched mommy do and brushed along her fur. Then he became excited about this new discovery; petting and grabbing her fur. She loved every second and Lucian was covered in fur. What a glorious day! Can't wait to see how Newton is going to respond.

Welcome Feb.

Lucian has been doing more and more crunches in his eager adventure to be in the sitting position. I'm waiting for him to discover that he can grab his feet, which will later lead to inserting them into his mouth. Anyways, he does like when you support him in a seated position. Whenever I sit him up against something he tries to bend forward. He seems like he wants to do a forward tumble - I believe he is trying to face-plant. Luckily, it is never over hard surfaces.

Time to count down the days until Valentine's Day!

Approaching 13 weeks

Now that we are grasping objects we have some new favorite toys.

Likes: Dragonfly and Helicopter

Dislikes: Poor Mr. Snail, Dogs, Clashing pots and pans

I've been using cloth diapers on and off. They give him a cute little bulky pumpkin butt. Unfortunately, he tends to get mad at me when I put him in them. He likes his trim disposables at times. I think this may be a start to a complex... lets hope not. What a little stinker.

Comment

I updated the comment settings so anybody can comment on posts. I guess it wasn't working the other way. Also, I updated the picture section

My Own Entertainment

So I have been reading, for my own entertainment, a forum about vaccinations. I haven't quite made up my mind about them yet so I decided, during my research, to see what other parents are discussing about them. That's how I came across this forum that I have been reading. I'm not going to post the link because I'm sure there are several out there; this is a controversial topic. It is just interesting to see what people have to say about it and how several of them fight amongst each other about what is "best". Regardless of their opinions, it is reassuring to know that other people think about these things as well. I've seen several good arguments backed up by reasonable data (pro and against vacs) and I've seen several ignorant responses that show no use of common sense (I hate using the word ignorant, but some people will just do things without using their brain and sometimes deserve it). I don't believe that a doctor, regardless of their specialty, really have the vast knowledge about every single drug and vaccination out there to tell you what is and is not safe for whatever reasons. Honestly, they aren't really suppose to unless maybe they specialize in vaccinations or a certain category of drugs. I do expect them to be able to give me information and tell me where to look to get information on these types of things because they are a common occurrence. Unfortunately, that has not been my experience with the pediatrician.

I picked the pediatrician office that I did because they took my insurance and they didn't have a strict vaccination requirement, which several other places clearly did according to their websites. Since I haven't made up my mind about the vaccinations yet, I decided it was better to go the non forceful route - or - so I thought. After the problems I had with the electronic filing they had in their office (that has constantly screwed up his paperwork since day 1), the pediatrician seemed really nice. I really liked him; he seemed passionate and was really nice. He didn't even ream me when I told him I wasn't sure how I felt about vaccinations. He gave me a list of websites that I could go to for information and was more than happy to answer any questions I may have. I told him I was hoping to discuss it more at his next appointment. He gave me the date for the next appointment and told me we would most likely see him (because I asked if we would have the same Dr since it was a big office) unless he was unavailable for some reason. So we went on our way. The next appointment, to my surprise, was with a nurse practitioner. No one decided to inform me about this at all. She was okay but very distant and talked to me like I was a lemming with no knowledge of the world. I dealt with it for the appointment and when I went to schedule my next one I asked for my original pediatrician. They told me that he doesn't see families that do not get immunizations. Well - That would have been nice to know! So I dealt with the nurse practitioner, she was okay after all and didn't nag me about immunizations. Actually, she didn't really even bring them up - I guess they assume I just said no in general as an all or nothing deal. That was until the last appointment I had. First off I had a different initial nurse than usual who did Lucian's growth information. She was kind of mean actually. Foreign looking with an accent. She wasn't even the nurse practitioner who does his check up and she was giving me a hard time about not getting the Hep. B at birth. She was astonished that I would choose not to have this done and demanded to know why. So I told her I didn't find it necessary at that time, that I was not completely convinced on the matter, and that if I choose to vaccinate it will not be until he gets a little older when his immune system has matured more and can handle such a thing. She then was pissy for the rest of the time and was basically trying to convince me I was wrong for thinking that my child has an immature immune system (and she was working in a ped office? sucks). So after she was trying to convince me to consider it she asked if I would like information on immunizations. Of course I said yes because I'm researching the idea - as I explained previously. Well, a few days later I finally got to read this information. It was total crap and answered none of my questions - Thank you. Not to mention the information on it was from back in 2007-8. At least give me some updated information! Not to mention my main interest was on contracting statistics per population, how it contracts, and how the vaccine/immunization works to prevent it. Every single one basically said that a child contracts it from coming in contact with someone who has the illness already. Yes, but... how is it initially contracted. Where does this viral or bacterial component initially come from? I'd like to know how to initially avoid this problem. Why is this the only information given to concerned parents? We are, after all, the ones that need to make these decisions for our children. We want to do what is best, which requires as much of the details as possible. Thank you US medical system and government for apparently not making this information available and "assuming" that parents want to follow the regulatory immunization schedule and receive every single vaccine without worrying about the side effects, the long term effects, whether they actually work, or whether or not the benefits outweigh any possible risks. Not to mention whether or not we feel them to be absolutely necessary. The only thing available is out of date information, inconclusive information, lack of research, and unbearable, overwhelming doctors who aren't always looking out for your best interest. Thank you for not making my job any easier.

Anyone have any useful resources or information for me to look into? I just needed to vent a little about what I've been going through regarding this situation. At least the forums are entertaining. Meanwhile, I'm receiving a new nurse practitioner at the ped office. I'm going to request a doctor, if they refuse I'll be going to a new office.

Getting a Grip

We have been working on the Lucian's hand grip. Though he prefers to keep his hands constantly in a fist as if he is trying to punch someone in the face (not sure where he got that from), I have been getting him to open them more. Yesterday, for the first time, I got him to hold one of his rattles on his own and swing it around with no assistance from me. It was so much fun to watch because he was gripping it and swinging it around for a decent amount of time before he got sick of it. He was in a "wow" moment. Mark one success point down for mama.