Delicious Babies

Ethan and his new friend Maisie Margaret Bates

The Great NorthEast

All three of us spent the first week of May in good ol' New England. While Jeremy and I attended admissions events at Dartmouth Medical School on our first Friday and Saturday in NH, Ethan rediscovered his estranged love, Nana, and discovered for the first time his new love, Guinness, Nana's sweet, old pooch. Ethan tried to sneak up on Guinness when she was resting; he chased after her as she hobbled down the hall on arthritic legs; he screeched with glee when she emerged from her doggie bed each morning. And when she finally allowed a curious little pat from Ethan, he was completely engrossed.

At Dartmouth, we saw a brilliant presentation by Elliot Fisher. His research addresses the "paradox of plenty". Specifically, he tries to find out why, in the areas of the US where we spend the most money on health care (including more doctor visits, more employed doctors, more hospital admissions, more medical procedures), we find the worst health outcomes. I am not sure if I will pursue a Master's in Public Health while in medical school, but if I do, this is the guy I want to study with. Judging my Jeremy's reaction to the presentation, I think he might want to study with Dr. Fisher too!

Throughout the following week, Jeremy made four 4-hour trips to the area surrounding Dartmouth to meet with the folks at the Upper Valley Educator's Institute and to interview with teachers at a few local schools. The driving was exhausting, made worse by the hours of nighttime fussiness that Ethan continues to dish out. Fortunately, on the final Upper Valley excursion, Jeremy met an excellent 8th grade English teacher who has agreed to mentor him this fall.

We spent the second weekend of our trip in Providence, RI being wined and dined by the Brown Medical School admissions team. While Jeremy and I did some hard-core mingling with students and faculty, Nana and Ethan explored Federal Hill, Providence's Italian neighborhood.

We returned to Wisconsin with a terribly difficult decision to make. Both schools are truely fantastic and I was incredibly honored and privileged to be accepted to both. In the end, I had to choose one. At 11 PM on the night before my final decision was due, Jeremy and I settled on Dartmouth. We will both be able to move forward with our educations there (Jeremy as a student-teacher, me as a student-doctor). The natural surroundings are beautiful and will give us easy access to tranquil, healing respite when time-outs from work and school become necessary. And the proximity to grandparents can't be beat. NH here we come!

Family Time

A-okay

Ethan made it through surgery without any complications. He still has a catheter, he's uncomfortable and his bits are almost unrecognizable, but he's safe and healthy. Now, it's back to nursing, pain medication and napping for us...

A Little Glimpse of Spring

The past two weeks our weather here has been wild... sunny and warm one day... snowing the next. On one warm day this week, I opened our computer room up for the spring season (took out the orange armchair and removed the towel from the bottom of the door to the porch). Ethan spend a good long while looking out into the bright sun (and was cute doing it).

-Jeremy

Diaper Free

In an effort to reign in a recent diaper rash, wee Ethan has been spending much more time bare bottomed. Personally, I think those little buns are too cute for words.

Before

On April 7th Ethan will have his hypospadias and chordee repaired at the children's hospital in Madison. Here's a document of the happy, naked boy in all his gonzo glory before the surgery.