2nd Birthday - Bounty #1

[Jeremy] This is the first post of what will be a number of posts about Ethan's second birthday. Although the second year landmark is just a day, it seems like so much has changed in Ethan's life the past week or so. On Thursday (6/24/10), all three of us (Jody, Ethan, and myself) embarked on a trip back to my home state of Pennsylvania for the wedding of Jared Greece (a very good friend of mine from childhood).

It just so happens that Jared's wedding was on Ethan's birthday. As a result, on this trip, Ethan has been showered with so many wonderful and thoughtful birthday presents that we are were wonderfully overwhelmed. There are a number of presents which I am sure will be in his life for a long time, but the first to be highlighted in this blog is his new wooden tea set. It was a gift from our dear, dear friends Mark, Debbie, Maeve, and Jude in Madison, Wi. The day after we got back from our trip, I showed Ethan his new tea set before taking him to his one day this week at the childcare center.

Bring on Summer

I am done with my first year of medical school! I am exhausted and also feeling quite proud. For all the long hours and the endless onslaught of information, for all the time spent away from these sweet guys, I never considered not continuing in med school or taking a break (until there is another baby, that is) until yesterday, as I was studying for my last final. I had the distinct sense that I do not want to keep going in this way, day after day. Convenient, as I don't need to keep going this way any longer. I can take a good long break this summer! I trust that this feeling will abate with some old fashioned R and R.

How will I wile away these summer days? Playing, reading, splashing in the sprinkler, and doing two projects related to school but also related to service and fun (1: consulting on a breastfeeding education program for HIV+ women in Haiti and 2: teaching anatomy to Physician Assistant students).

As for the boys, Jeremy graduated from his teacher certification program this week and is hoping to teach middle school or high school English this fall. Ethan is a crazy toddler, just beginning to use the potty, talking ALOT, eating constantly, and starting to really notice his peers. He has a special love for Paul, a little French boy in our neighborhood, and Jacob, another kiddo at school. It is so sweet to see Ethan follow these kids around, trying to share toys and snacks, taking the first steps towards building friendships. I hope that in the midst of all the turnover of the Dartmouth community, we can find some consistency for Ethan as he makes and keeps his buddies.



Ethan's best friend, of course, is Nana. Books, toys, puzzles, splashing in rain puddles, going to the grocery store, getting cozy behind the crib - if it's with Nana, it's pure joy.

Ear update

Just wanted to let you know that Ethan's ears have been great. He has had only one round of runny ears since the surgery (just like a runny nose, except when it comes out of your ears it just seems wrong) which we treat like an ear infection - but now only with ear drops and no oral antibiotics. He didn't lose any sleep, get feverish or seem bothered by the infection at all. This is SO MUCH better than the days of screaming-crying-not-eating-fever hell we were experiencing every couple of weeks. Woo hoo!

Snacks

Snacktime is the only time Ethan sits down long enough for me to take pictures, so it is well documented. By the way, he really likes blueberries.

And goldfish.

Spring Update

I apologize for our temporary disappearance. We have had a very challenging few months. I continue to do well academically and to spend a good amount of time with Ethan, and occasionally do laundry and dishes, exercise, or go on a date with Jeremy. But to make it all happen, our schedule is FULL from sun-up to well past sun-down. The pace is wearing, especially on Jeremy, and the added stresses of Ethan's never-ending ear infections and our eldery Subaru falling apart at the seams has really been tapping our emotional reserves. The warm weather and sunshine are a desperately-needed balm for our tired spirits.

As for the ears:

Before the scheduled surgery date, I was having many second thoughts. We took Ethan to a chiropractor in February and the little guy went an entire month without an ear infection. I had hopes the chiropractic and dumb luck had combined to keep his ears healthy. Throughout the week before the surgery, I kept oscillating about whether the tubes were still necessary and whether the risks of surgery were worth it. Our pediatrician thought it was crazy not to do the tubes, with Ethan's history of nasty complications. But I still wasn't sure.

Then, three days before the surgery, Ethan got a cold. By Monday morning he was too sick with cold/cough/fever for anesthesia and he did not get his tubes. As has been the pattern since November, this cold lead to an ear infection and another perforated ear drum. This time he got thrush as well, thanks to the antibiotics killing off his "good bacteria" and letting the yeast grow wild. As soon as he got off the antibiotics 10 days later, he got another ear infection, which he is now recovering from. Jeremy, Nana and I have spent alot of time rocking and singing to the sick little fella while he sweats and sleeps and cries and generally feels crummy. We rescheduled the surgery for April 12th and I feel much more certain that this is the right choice.

The other things Ethan is doing:

In the brief days and weeks between infections, Ethan has been making incredible developmental strides.

He is making his first sentences: Mama down! More cheese! Bye Bye Da Da!

He's trying new foods: strawberries, tofu and peanut butter sandwiches are a few new favorites.

He's saying lots of new words: pieces - to indicate that he wants his food cut up into small bits - laundry, keys, picture, jammies, yogurt, outside, slide, singing, fish, turtle, dirty, chair, shirt and Paul, Conner, Matt, Audrey, Jacob (the names of friends and careproviders at daycare and in the neighborhood).

He's also waking up more at night and fighting going down for nap and bed. I'm not sure the cause. Maybe life is too exciting to leave for the night, or his ears hurt too much, or he's gotten used to lots and lots of singing and snuggling before bed since he's been so sick. Whatever the cause, once we get the tubes we are going to do more sleep teaching (read: crying) in the hopes that we can all get the sleep we need to cope with our busy days.

In other news:

Jeremy's film "MultiCo" was accepted to the Wisconsin Film Festival (scroll down to see the blurb). This film was like a second child for two years of our lives, keeping Jeremy up late night after night, editing while Ethan snoozed in the corner. I am so proud of Jeremy's hard work and so excited that the film will have an audience beyond our home.

Pictures:

Our camera was on the fritz for a while, but it has been resurrected in time to capture the first amazingly warm spring days.

Please observe the curls. I'm pleased that Jeremy and I will be passing along a jew-fro to the first born son.

Distressed by a dirty hand

Still fascinated by the shovel, even with the snow long gone

Running away

Please let me into the storage closet!

And this is how we unwind before bed...

Ear tubes

Ethan has been plagued with ear infections since Thanksgiving, when his first-ever ear infection came paired with mastoiditis and perforated eardrums in both ears. He's been off and on antibiotics since and he's ruptured the right eardrum twice again since. The fluid behind the eardrum just doesn't seem to go away.

So today we made a visit to the ENT clinic and (surprise!) they recommended ear tubes. Ear tubes are apparently the most common childhood surgery and, while they don't necessary reduce ear infections, they do provide the opportunity to treat infections locally with drops, rather than with oral antibiotics that wreak havoc on the whole body. They also minimize the risk of permanent damage to the eardrum or middle ear, which could affect hearing. So, I was convinced and scheduled the surgery for March 15th. If anyone has any stories to share, we'd love to hear them.

Bundled Up