Friday, October 16, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Ups and Downs of this week (13th-19th sep )
Visit to Portland's Grotto
This week started with pleasant journey to grotto. We along with MIL visited Portland’s grotto. It was serene and pleasant place to visit though it was a cold day. I had taken winter jacket for NR but the hood of the jacket didn’t fit well and his ears were exposed to the cold air.
The elevator to reach top of hill was broken so we were asked to take shuttle. We anticipated the regular shuttle like mini van or bus and to our surprise we found out that shuttle was old 1980's car driven by aging monk in his late 80's. We asked him if we needed the car seat and he so casually said no it’s just nearby. Since this was our first visit we thought we are going to take some internal road within the sanctuary. No we were wrong. He drove us thru the regular Portland road to reach the top of the hill. Though the drive took just 10 minutes, I was completely uneasy knowing that NR is travelling on my lap than on his car seat. I am sure the old priest belongs to an era where babies travelled without car seat but as a parent I should have taken shrewd decision. Faith in god took over my rational thinking .
The upper level of the grotto had old building which housed all the 17 monks. It had beautiful and serene garden. They had a lovely viewing area. All of us enjoyed the quiet time over there including NR. Another old priest dropped us down in his new Honda minivan. We had our coffee and snacks in the gift shop and headed home.
Visit to ER
Monday NR slept little more than he used to it and the same trend followed on Tuesday. He had a runny nose which was normal since the climate changed so drastically that weekend from hot weather to cold weather. He puked a bit and thought it was due the cold and phlegm.
Tuesday evening CB and MIL took NR to the nearby play place while I took much needed break to my fave jaunt our library. When I came back, CB reported that NR threw up bit more than usual. I could just sense that NR was not feeling well though the temp was normal. That night NR slept with me in the bed so I can watch him carefully. Around 2.00am his temps shoot up and I gave Tylenol immediately. Temperature went down bit for couple of hours. When he woke up he had temp and I gave Tylenol as per the instruction given in the package. We called his pediatrician and got an earliest appt around 10.45 am. When the doc examined him he had temp around 102 but he was quite alert and normal. The doc suggested it might be viral infection and sent us home. I came home and gave Tylenol once but his temp came down and shot up again. He was also not taking his regular quota of food or milk. I researched the web and found combination of ibuprofen and Tylenol might bring the fever down. CB took off that day and stayed with us. Thank god for that.
NR usually likes to drink bottle lying on my lap. I gave recommended dosage of Ibuprofen after his 4.00pm feed. Right when I finished giving dosage and bit of water he had seizure. Since this was my first time, for a sec I never realized what was happening with him but MIL knew it instantly. NR had convulsion for less than two minutes but at one point his eyes fixated, he stopped breathing, turned blue and lay still. That was the horrible moment in my life. No mother should go thru this. MIL started screaming and praying so loudly to save him and CB broke down immediately. I don’t know what came on to me. My fears were overtaken by caution and begged CB to call 911 right away when it was happening. CB was lost fro words and could not correctly explain to the 911 operator what was happening. I was hinting the words seizure convulsion to him but my eyes and hands were doing everything necessary at that point. I put my fingers in his mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue and took the bite. I know now, that it was not the right way to handle but I was thankful I took all that pain. I sprayed some water on his feet and he came back within few minutes but he was in shock and started crying profusely.
The ER and the Medics from fire dept arrived within 5 minutes .By this time he was alright. They stripped him completely except diapers and took some relevant test(s). NR is so soft natured so even little loud sound will scare the hell out of him and now he was inconsolable. When I started to speak to the medics and I broke down completely. Looking back, I was thanking my guardian angel for keeping me so calm and collected which made me to focus on right things to do. They advised us to take him to ER since this was his first seizure to take some necessary test. ER insisted that NR ride in his car seat, so they fixed the car seat on the stretcher. This panicked NR more but I could not help him. I travelled with him in the ER van and NR never stopped crying. I sang him his favorite lullaby "Omanathingal kidavoo" during that time he stopped crying.
We reached the hospital and ER took freeway instead of local road(s). Since it was non emergency they did not have the siren on so we had to wait in the long queue in ramp leading to the freeway. When we reached the hospital, I requested the ER to take NR out of the car seat so I can hold him. The new place, new people scared him more and he kept crying non stop for next two hours. CB joined us shortly. The ER doc examined his eyes, tongue and ears. He questioned me like a FBI agent and I answered all his questions. He came to a conclusion that this was fiberile seizure and does not require any further tests. He asked us to go home and continue the Tylenol dosage.
We came home and even after two such dosages his fever was coming down and shooting up. I called his pediatrician around 3.00am on Wednesday and expressed my concern. He asked me to give ibuprofen 2.5 mg (dosage as per package is 1.875). I was reluctant to give him that medication and narrated the whole incident which happened after ibuprofen dosage. I asked why Ibuprofen dosage was higher than Tylenol. Tylenol dosage as per instruction in the box is .4 mg for kids under 2 yrs whereas Ibuprofen is 1.875. That’s when he told me that I need to give 1.6mg of Tylenol and 0.4 mg was not adequate to bring his fever down. I really wished he should have asked me about the dosage when we visited him 20 hrs before coz this heart breaking incident very well could have been avoided. I could have saved my baby from the entire trauma he underwent.
After the required dosage NR's fever came down. He started taking solid food and milk. As of Saturday I had taken him off of Tylenol dosage as per his doc’s instruction. The H1N1 swine test results came in Saturday as negative which was a big relief. I am so thankful to god for watching over us.
I learnt how to handle this situation correctly from doctors. I need to start on the higher dosage of medication as soon his fever starts and never to cover him from head to toe when he has high fever which I usually did.
Thanks to all the prayers NR is doing well and back to his own naughty world. He is still weak and lost weight due to this ordeal and I have decided to watch him carefully for next week.
Think of us in your prayers. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of - is my favorite quote from the poem I learnt in high school years.
This week started with pleasant journey to grotto. We along with MIL visited Portland’s grotto. It was serene and pleasant place to visit though it was a cold day. I had taken winter jacket for NR but the hood of the jacket didn’t fit well and his ears were exposed to the cold air.
The elevator to reach top of hill was broken so we were asked to take shuttle. We anticipated the regular shuttle like mini van or bus and to our surprise we found out that shuttle was old 1980's car driven by aging monk in his late 80's. We asked him if we needed the car seat and he so casually said no it’s just nearby. Since this was our first visit we thought we are going to take some internal road within the sanctuary. No we were wrong. He drove us thru the regular Portland road to reach the top of the hill. Though the drive took just 10 minutes, I was completely uneasy knowing that NR is travelling on my lap than on his car seat. I am sure the old priest belongs to an era where babies travelled without car seat but as a parent I should have taken shrewd decision. Faith in god took over my rational thinking .
The upper level of the grotto had old building which housed all the 17 monks. It had beautiful and serene garden. They had a lovely viewing area. All of us enjoyed the quiet time over there including NR. Another old priest dropped us down in his new Honda minivan. We had our coffee and snacks in the gift shop and headed home.
Visit to ER
Monday NR slept little more than he used to it and the same trend followed on Tuesday. He had a runny nose which was normal since the climate changed so drastically that weekend from hot weather to cold weather. He puked a bit and thought it was due the cold and phlegm.
Tuesday evening CB and MIL took NR to the nearby play place while I took much needed break to my fave jaunt our library. When I came back, CB reported that NR threw up bit more than usual. I could just sense that NR was not feeling well though the temp was normal. That night NR slept with me in the bed so I can watch him carefully. Around 2.00am his temps shoot up and I gave Tylenol immediately. Temperature went down bit for couple of hours. When he woke up he had temp and I gave Tylenol as per the instruction given in the package. We called his pediatrician and got an earliest appt around 10.45 am. When the doc examined him he had temp around 102 but he was quite alert and normal. The doc suggested it might be viral infection and sent us home. I came home and gave Tylenol once but his temp came down and shot up again. He was also not taking his regular quota of food or milk. I researched the web and found combination of ibuprofen and Tylenol might bring the fever down. CB took off that day and stayed with us. Thank god for that.
NR usually likes to drink bottle lying on my lap. I gave recommended dosage of Ibuprofen after his 4.00pm feed. Right when I finished giving dosage and bit of water he had seizure. Since this was my first time, for a sec I never realized what was happening with him but MIL knew it instantly. NR had convulsion for less than two minutes but at one point his eyes fixated, he stopped breathing, turned blue and lay still. That was the horrible moment in my life. No mother should go thru this. MIL started screaming and praying so loudly to save him and CB broke down immediately. I don’t know what came on to me. My fears were overtaken by caution and begged CB to call 911 right away when it was happening. CB was lost fro words and could not correctly explain to the 911 operator what was happening. I was hinting the words seizure convulsion to him but my eyes and hands were doing everything necessary at that point. I put my fingers in his mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue and took the bite. I know now, that it was not the right way to handle but I was thankful I took all that pain. I sprayed some water on his feet and he came back within few minutes but he was in shock and started crying profusely.
The ER and the Medics from fire dept arrived within 5 minutes .By this time he was alright. They stripped him completely except diapers and took some relevant test(s). NR is so soft natured so even little loud sound will scare the hell out of him and now he was inconsolable. When I started to speak to the medics and I broke down completely. Looking back, I was thanking my guardian angel for keeping me so calm and collected which made me to focus on right things to do. They advised us to take him to ER since this was his first seizure to take some necessary test. ER insisted that NR ride in his car seat, so they fixed the car seat on the stretcher. This panicked NR more but I could not help him. I travelled with him in the ER van and NR never stopped crying. I sang him his favorite lullaby "Omanathingal kidavoo" during that time he stopped crying.
We reached the hospital and ER took freeway instead of local road(s). Since it was non emergency they did not have the siren on so we had to wait in the long queue in ramp leading to the freeway. When we reached the hospital, I requested the ER to take NR out of the car seat so I can hold him. The new place, new people scared him more and he kept crying non stop for next two hours. CB joined us shortly. The ER doc examined his eyes, tongue and ears. He questioned me like a FBI agent and I answered all his questions. He came to a conclusion that this was fiberile seizure and does not require any further tests. He asked us to go home and continue the Tylenol dosage.
We came home and even after two such dosages his fever was coming down and shooting up. I called his pediatrician around 3.00am on Wednesday and expressed my concern. He asked me to give ibuprofen 2.5 mg (dosage as per package is 1.875). I was reluctant to give him that medication and narrated the whole incident which happened after ibuprofen dosage. I asked why Ibuprofen dosage was higher than Tylenol. Tylenol dosage as per instruction in the box is .4 mg for kids under 2 yrs whereas Ibuprofen is 1.875. That’s when he told me that I need to give 1.6mg of Tylenol and 0.4 mg was not adequate to bring his fever down. I really wished he should have asked me about the dosage when we visited him 20 hrs before coz this heart breaking incident very well could have been avoided. I could have saved my baby from the entire trauma he underwent.
After the required dosage NR's fever came down. He started taking solid food and milk. As of Saturday I had taken him off of Tylenol dosage as per his doc’s instruction. The H1N1 swine test results came in Saturday as negative which was a big relief. I am so thankful to god for watching over us.
I learnt how to handle this situation correctly from doctors. I need to start on the higher dosage of medication as soon his fever starts and never to cover him from head to toe when he has high fever which I usually did.
Thanks to all the prayers NR is doing well and back to his own naughty world. He is still weak and lost weight due to this ordeal and I have decided to watch him carefully for next week.
Think of us in your prayers. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of - is my favorite quote from the poem I learnt in high school years.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Dog is boy's best friend
Dog is man's boy's best friend
Ok Ok.Go ahead and judge me for giving this toy to my son. Well , it was never meant for him. CS won this toy (for the first time ever since I knew him) playing some silly games in the Portland Rose festival fair circa 2005.
All these years this doggy majestically sat at the back seat of my car (never took it out of my car). At times it scared the hell out of me, when I opened the back door to keep my laptop on those late night working days.
Somebody (read sleep deprived appa) brought this toy indoors when we brought NR home from hospital. Then that somebody entertained the son with the ugly dog all the time. Now that some body's son is head over heels in love with this dog. The ugly dog gets umpteen kisses (I mean real french kisses) and hugs from the little guy every single day. It's funny to watch my son admiring and adoring this ugly dog. When ever anybody says the word dog in the house or in TV, he runs crawls to get his dog.
It's not a secret from where he inherited this love for puppies. Mom had puppies from 4th grade (Kaisy then Dipsy then Neema). I was heart broken when my last dog died and never wanted to get another pup again. But I have been warming up to the idea of getting a dog for quiet some time (quiet some time is last 4-5 yrs and CB puts his foot down and says no . He knew he will ultimately end up being the dogs official care taker)
Pappa had a wonderful time with his dog Micky for 13 yrs in life. The two people who visits papa regularly in his dreams are - his Ammuma and his dog Micky. There was a time when pappa had 5 dogs at a time under one roof ( I have no idea how my MIL managed to feed 4 humans and 4 dogs three hot meals daily). As per MIL, Micky is CB's first girl friend . And yes it was coz that overly possesive female dog never allowed me to talk to CB peacefully even for minute when I used to visit him in his house.
Now mamma is happy (letting out a wicked smile) that this little boy will melt his pappa's heart to get him a dog for his 5th birthday. That somebody's wife is determined to train her son to melt his dad's heart to get her wish fulfilled .
NR's first India day
NR attended his first India day celebrations at the pioneer square at Portland downtown on Sunday . He had fun riding in Max train (his fav choo choo train) an was very friendly with every body and got quite few new fans with his dimpled smile. This was his first major outing . I was not sure how he is going to react to the big crowd but behaved quite well. He was a happy kid the whole time .
During our return journey in max he just shouted when the train stopped at the station and got the attention of every passenger. Little did people know that 3 month old NR used to do the same stuff when our car stopped at the signals .
Of late he shouts when he needs to get attention thanks to his grandma. He will stand and roll the car, blocks, bottles on the coffee tables and drops everything down. When he can't retrieve the stuff from nooks and corners he will let a wild mogli shout out and his grandma runs to him to like a slave to make him happy. He started this wild behavior to get his granny's (who has 90% hearing loss) attention sitting just few cms from him . I have no clue how I am going to change this behavior which is becoming a nuisance these days.
He went into deep slumber in his car seat during our return journy .Mom and Dad had a undisturbed decent night sleep .
Monday, August 17, 2009
What do Cave women and present day Modern women have in common
They love to get answers to these questions : )
1. Why mothers are not made to be super women with 8 senses?
2. Why can't the new born/babies have the brain of 5 year old at least?
If we get answers or get these wishes granted lot of mothers will have simple easy going life and we won't be blogging about our daily pursuit with the baby : ) I suppose ?
Though I am blessed with the baby who is not tantrum prone yet :( ) but raising him is a real challenge. Even making him learn new simple skills like making him eat little coarse food or make him drink water has become a demanding and draining task .
NR is 16 months old and still refusing to drink water and thinks water is for fun . He just drink one small tiny itty bitty sip and blows raspberries with the water . I sit with him patiently for at least 10 -15 minutes wit his straw cup but he always checks the boundary of my patience. I sit there thinking this is something he needs to learn and I need to exercise predominantly higher degree of patience. But I am getting tired. Not drinking water or juice and wheat cerelac caused bad constipation and thanks to my - I need to find solution mode , I tried lot of fiber based foods which helped him.
He wants to eat only pureed food . He just adamantly rejects the chunky food by simply throwing up every thing he eats. I thought it was just a phase and it will go away. But this phase has not ended even after 4 months. He chokes on tiny pieces of solid food and we had to call 911 two weeks back because of one such choking incident. I gave a tubular cracker which are meant for 9 month old and when I turned for few sec he stuffed the entire piece in his mouth and choked. I did the stupid mistake of putting my fingers to take the food out ,which scared the hell out of him . He turned completely red and did the usual - I don't want to breath - Cry . I was petrified and still I am . But after this incident I learnt the correct way of helping kids when they choke- thanks to this youtube video .
Parenting is supposed to be easy right? Not when you living alone with no family or neighbourly support. (My MIL was the one who caused this panic seeing him shovel the whole cracker otherwise he would have just spit it out). I am learning the traits of the trade every day being a mom.
Hoping this post will bring tear in my eyes when I read it after twenty years. Tears not because it was emotional but for being so so so stupid and ill equipped to raise a baby on my own.
I am sure million of years ago there was cave women/mother just like me asking these questions to god .
I am learning the art of parenting but at times it scares the hell out of me. Am I alone in feeling so?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
My Fave Song
Lyrics and Translation:(Thanks to http://movinghandtypes.blogspot.com/ )
Uyirum neeye udalum neeye uravum neeye thaaye (2)
The very life,the very form,the very relationship is you Mom
Uyirum neeye udalum neeye uravum neeye thaaye (2)
The very life,the very form,the very relationship is you Mom
Un udalil sumandhu uyirai pagirndhu uruvam tharuvaai neeye (2)
You took care of me in your womb sharing your life and soul with me to make me get this form.
Un kaNNil vazhiyum oru thuLi podhum Kadalum urugum thaaye
A drop of tear from yr eyes is enough to make the ocean overflow
A drop of tear from yr eyes is enough to make the ocean overflow
Un kaaladi mattum tharuvai thaaye Sorgam enbadhum poyye
Your lotus feet are enough to make me believe heaven is a myth.
Your lotus feet are enough to make me believe heaven is a myth.
PeNNai padaithaan maNNai padaitthaan katrum oliyum mazhaiyum padaitthaan (2)
He created a woman,the five elements
Boomikku adhanaal nimmadhi illai (2) Sami thavitthan thaayai padaitthan
Because of which there was no peace and then he decided to create a Mom
Because of which there was no peace and then he decided to create a Mom
I never get tired of watching these movies
Tamil - Poovey poochoodava , Michael madana kamarajan, Avvai shanmugi
Malayalam : Nokkathaa Dhoorathu Kannum Nattu, His highness Abdullah, Swathi thirunal
Hindi : 1942 love story, QSQT, Hum aapke hain kaun, DDLJ
Whenever I talk about QSQT I think about friend SRGC . He is a srilankan graduate student we befriended when we lived in Kansas state. In a typical srilankan tamil accent he says "QSQT - oh antha "Kaiya mathu kala mathu " padama ?. Sorry you can enjoy this joke only if you understand tamil : ).
English : Benhur, Gods must be crazy, Abyss , Willow , Pretty woman, Brave heart, Notting Hill, Micky Blue Eyes, Fools rush in
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