November 28, 2007

First Day of School

You might as well call it school, even though we're talking about daycare.  It's been three months since my birth and Mama had to get back to work. I'm sure some of you are aghast at the thought of daycare and so was I, initially, but it really isn't so bad. First, we found the right place. Loch Haven is within walking distance of the hospital where Daddy and Mommy both
work, so it's convenient. The school has a great reputation - so good that the waiting list to get in was well over a year. We got lucky to be offered a spot so soon. Second, I'm in school only part-time: three days a week. Lastly, the staff really took great care of me the first day. All my needs are met, I learn to develop some social skills, it's a win-win situation. Yes, it was hard the first day. Mommy had to let go. I did a lot of crying initially. And yes, I'll probably come down with the sniffles now and then. But I believe a few hours in a different environment will make a positive impact on my development.


Mommy kisses me goodbye on my first day at Loch Haven, but Miss Wanda knows she can (and she did) take good care of me. Don't worry, I'll be fine.
 

November 26, 2007

Back to the Real Thing: Mamma's Milk

After two weeks on Alimentum (see Nov 6 post, below), Mommy & Daddy decided that it was the right time to get me back on breast milk. After all, they reasoned, any inflammation in my colon should have subsided, and we can get back to the detective work to find what food Mommy was eating that caused the allergy. In addition, the benefits of breast feeding are indisputable, and this also saves time by not having to pump and wash bottles.

Poor Mommy's diet is still extremely restricted, consisting of a diet free from dairy, soy, nuts, and eggs. She would add these restricted foods one at a time and assess to see whether there was any blood in my poop. And so far, one week after starting breast milk, I look OK. So Mommy has just started adding nuts to her diet and we will reassess. If after a week it looks good, she can start enjoying eggs, and so on. We think deep down that the allergen is in soy, but more work needs to be done. Must find the culprit without depriving Mommy of her gastronomical delights. It's a slow journey for Mommy, but I know we will get to our destination soon. Who knows, maybe pumpkin pie by Christmas?


After a feed at Yi-Por's home: "Mommy, I'm so happy to be back on breast milk and I'm sure you're happy as well. Thank you!"


November 25, 2007

A Very Thomson Thanksgiving

This weekend, I celebrated my very first Thanksgiving at Taylor Thomson’s home. The guests played Nintendo Wii and enjoyed wonderful traditional Thanksgiving fare, which Daddy got to enjoy. Mommy is still on a very limited diet, and I – well, at least, I'm back on breast milk (more about that in a future blog). Taylor is just about one year older than I am and he is running around the house like crazy. Imagine the possibilities that I will soon be able to realize in a few months – to run, jump, eat people food– it all sounds like so much fun. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!


I’m thankful for friends like Taylor. He’s the one who let me use his swing. I’m also thankful for the gift of sleep! Mommy & Daddy should give thanks for that as well – Mommy whispers “Amen!” to that.

November 19, 2007

Maddie and Me

On Saturday evening, I made a new friend, Maddie West. Take a look below, and tell me how old you think she is? Um-hmmm, that's what I thought! She's only eight months old! Let me tell you, she's a big eight-month old girl, and I doubt I'll get to her size until maybe I'm a year old. Maddie has a two-year old brother named Kai, who was adopted from Taiwan. Kai and Maddie's parents are John and Christy; their dad works together in the same department as my daddy, so that's how we got together. They had a lot of fun playing with my toys, and we had a great time that evening, but I'm still in the process of learning how to be sociable.




Top: Maddie & I strike a formal pose together...don’t we look happy together? Below: Maddie is amazed at how small my head is while Kai raises his hands to say “I didn't do it!”


November 18, 2007

I’m not a boy! I’m not a boy!

I’ve been in this world for weeks now, and passers-by still ask, “How old is he?” or “Is it a he or a she?” Come on now, can’t you folks tell by now? If you’d only look at my eyelashes and my fingers, it would be plain as day. And, hint, more than half my clothes are pink!


Look at me! It’s obvious that I'm a girl! Well, obvious to me, anyway.

November 17, 2007

Emi's Fan Club

What a lucky girl I am to have a fan club! Pictured below are two doting fans that just HAVE to see me periodically; they tell me they will go through withdrawals if they don't. I respectfully call them “Yi-por” Serena and “Ti-ti” Joan.  Both of them work with Mommy in the Florida Hospital Medical Education Department. Yi-por, whose name means Chinese Grand-aunt, just returned from a three-week trip to London and Malaysia, so she was going through some major withdrawals. Ti-ti is short for “Savta,” which means Jewish Grandma. Ti-ti would find any excuse to see me, but she has a hard time finding her way to my home by herself, so she came along with Yi-por.


Two of my favorite visitors: Yi-por and Ti-ti.  What a diverse culture we live in!


November 16, 2007

Finger-Lickin’ Good

As I approach 3 months of age now, I've made at least one discovery as to why I have fingers. Haven’t quite yet made the connection that I can purposefully grasp objects, but I found that they are great for one thing. Sucking! Mommy has mixed feelings about it; sucking my fingers definitely sooth me down to sleep, but she doesn’t want this to become so common that fingers become raw either. I say, let's strike a balance between the two! Even Daddy has whispered to Mommy that putting me to sleep has been easier the last few days. Admit it, you like it!


You can't see my thumb, but I'm signing "I love you" to my parents


November 10, 2007

Enjoying the Sleep In

Weekends mean one great thing: both Daddy and Mommy are here with me. In fact, they did something they rarely do–they took me an entire 3 feet from my bassinet to their bed and put me in between them! Then, they each started taking photos; I guess they thought I was cute or something. The point is, it was just real nice to snuggle up between them on a cold morning when neither of them have to rush to work or do anything. Just real nice.













November 7, 2007

Nice Hair Day

This photo was taken just before a bath and shampoo. I really enjoy getting clean, not to mention the personal attention. Mommy used some petroleum jelly on my hair to remove this thing called “cradle cap.” She thought this could also double up as a styling product.


What do you think of my snazzy hair?


November 6, 2007

From Breast to Bottle

So far it has been three weeks and I still have small amounts blood in my poop. My gastroenterologist said it is definitely a food allergy to something Mommy was eating, but to what? Poor Mommy. She gave up dairy, then soy, then nuts...soon there will be nothing for her to eat. So finally, mommy stopped breastfeeding me temporarily and switched me to an awful-tasting product called Alimentum. This powder is made up of broken-down proteins that are supposed to remove any type of allergic response. All I know is that it took me awhile to get used to it. (sigh) I still miss the real thing, but I think it's working. Poop has changed from yellow to brown and no blood is present.  We'll see how this goes for a week and then, hopefully, give mommy's natural milk another shot and identify the offending agent. Pleeease, no formula unless absolutely necessary!


Hey, I could have shown you a picture of my blood-tinged poopy diaper, but I think you'd prefer this.


November 3, 2007

Caught Praying

There are times when I need help from a Higher Power. Mommy caught me with my eyes closed and fingers interlocked. If only I had the strength to kneel, it would complete the picture...

“And help Daddy and Mommy to be more patient with me, and yes, although it's the only way I can communicate with them, help me not to cry so much...In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.”


November 1, 2007

With My Oncologist

Last week I had a checkup with Dr. Selsky, my oncologist. “Oncologist” sounds like a cool word. How many of my contemporaries can say that they have an oncologist? Of course, not that they want one. Anyway, for a doctor who has the power to make patients lose their hair, he's pretty nice. He dresses casually to make me feel at ease and wears this neat-looking cap. Daddy says we should call it a kippah. Good news was that I was OK from his standpoint. We just need to get a CT scan done in December, just to make sure that there is no recurrence of that ugly neuroblastoma.


What's up, doc?

(c) 2007 Vincent Hsu