Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Did that seriously just happen?!
My oldest turns three in May. She is beautiful, smart, resourceful, funny, and stubborn. That last quality has had her on and off the potty training wagon for almost a year and half. These past few months, however, it has really been clicking. So, this week we took the daytime diapers away. When she is awake, she has to wear underwear.
This hasn't been too much of a big deal to her, until tonight ... when she had to poop. She asked for a diaper. ... "Only babies wear diapers during the day." ... You could see the response in her eyes "that's ok. I'll just hold it until I get a diaper." ... Only she couldn't.
After a rocky start, she had success! She repeatedly apologized for not pooping in her diaper. It took three tries, but I finally got her to understand that the potty chair is supposed to hold poop and potty. Once she understood that, she was very proud of her success. She needed to show it to dad. "Daaaad! M has something that she wants to shoooow yooooou!!"
A victory dance later, we were in the bathroom, ready to flush her poop. She wanted to wave goodbye to it ... and blew it a kiss. She wanted to give it a snuggle ... but changed her mind when she learned that it would leave poop on her dress. We eventually flushed it, so it could go on the "slide" to the sewer. (I really don't hope that comes back to bite me.)
Once everything was cleaned up, we celebrated with some pop rocks. The smile on her face when she figured out that chewing them makes them pop louder was absolutely priceless!
This hasn't been too much of a big deal to her, until tonight ... when she had to poop. She asked for a diaper. ... "Only babies wear diapers during the day." ... You could see the response in her eyes "that's ok. I'll just hold it until I get a diaper." ... Only she couldn't.
After a rocky start, she had success! She repeatedly apologized for not pooping in her diaper. It took three tries, but I finally got her to understand that the potty chair is supposed to hold poop and potty. Once she understood that, she was very proud of her success. She needed to show it to dad. "Daaaad! M has something that she wants to shoooow yooooou!!"
A victory dance later, we were in the bathroom, ready to flush her poop. She wanted to wave goodbye to it ... and blew it a kiss. She wanted to give it a snuggle ... but changed her mind when she learned that it would leave poop on her dress. We eventually flushed it, so it could go on the "slide" to the sewer. (I really don't hope that comes back to bite me.)
Once everything was cleaned up, we celebrated with some pop rocks. The smile on her face when she figured out that chewing them makes them pop louder was absolutely priceless!
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Has SIDS been demystified?
I found this article and thought it was pretty cool. If you would like to read it for yourself, you can find it here.
A study was conducted by the Rhode Island department of health that connected SIDS to a particular type of inner ear damage. What that study concluded was that babies with this type of inner ear damage have a hard time waking up when they experience a build up of carbon dioxide in the body. Since they don't wake, they don't shift positions or cry and the carbon dioxide continues to build until they suffocate.
Side note: A build up of carbon dioxide will occur anytime you are not breathing normally. This includes any time you have a cold, are too hot (so your body pants to cool down), or your nose and mouth are partially blocked (head under covers, arm in front of face, etc). Normally it is not a big deal. You will either take a deep breath or move and the problem is solved.
A pediatric anesthesiologist took that study and went a little further. He damaged the inner ear of some mice in a similar manner to what the study found. He then lightly put them to sleep using anesthesia. The mice which had their inner ear damaged were more difficult to wake up than mice without the damage.
He is currently seeking funding for the next step. He has test he hopes will detect this inner ear damage, and identify babies that have a greater risk for SIDS. He would like to use it as part of the newborn hearing test that is routinely done to see if the test is able to identify the babies that have a larger than normal SIDS risk factor.
A study was conducted by the Rhode Island department of health that connected SIDS to a particular type of inner ear damage. What that study concluded was that babies with this type of inner ear damage have a hard time waking up when they experience a build up of carbon dioxide in the body. Since they don't wake, they don't shift positions or cry and the carbon dioxide continues to build until they suffocate.
Side note: A build up of carbon dioxide will occur anytime you are not breathing normally. This includes any time you have a cold, are too hot (so your body pants to cool down), or your nose and mouth are partially blocked (head under covers, arm in front of face, etc). Normally it is not a big deal. You will either take a deep breath or move and the problem is solved.
A pediatric anesthesiologist took that study and went a little further. He damaged the inner ear of some mice in a similar manner to what the study found. He then lightly put them to sleep using anesthesia. The mice which had their inner ear damaged were more difficult to wake up than mice without the damage.
He is currently seeking funding for the next step. He has test he hopes will detect this inner ear damage, and identify babies that have a greater risk for SIDS. He would like to use it as part of the newborn hearing test that is routinely done to see if the test is able to identify the babies that have a larger than normal SIDS risk factor.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Saturday, June 7, 2014
I'm not crazy; the beets were tested.
For years I've told people that beets taste like dirt, no matter how carefully they are scrubbed before cooking. I finally gave up when I got tired of being told that it was all in my imagination. Well ... it turns out that science has finally backed me up! (I knew I liked science.)
If you want to visit the home of this lovely poster, click here. There, you will find this quote:
"Geosmin is also present in beetroot, and responsible for its earth flavour. Additionally, the presence of geosmin in water can cause an unpleasant, muddy taste."
So, thank you science! I am officially a little less crazy now!
"Geosmin is also present in beetroot, and responsible for its earth flavour. Additionally, the presence of geosmin in water can cause an unpleasant, muddy taste."
So, thank you science! I am officially a little less crazy now!
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Periodic Table Song
Hey! There is a new and improved periodic table song!! Check it out and make your inner geek happy.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Goodbye 2013
I've decided to try something new this year. Instead of making up crazy New Year's resolutions, I am going to share some of my favorite memories of 2013. So, in no particular order, here are a few of my favorite memories from the past year that stand out tall.
1. The first night we took down M's crib, she slept all night long without waking us up. When I did wake up, I found my self face-to-face with her, as she stood at the side our bed.
2. One weekend morning, I was trying to squeeze a little more sleep out of the day by hiding under the blankets. (Nick had gotten up with M and was getting her breakfast.) M comes into our room and sees me hiding in bed ... promptly yells "RAWRRRR!" and runs out of the room.
3. The first time I put bubbles in M's bath, she absolutely refused to get in it. She insisted that the tub be completely drained (and rinsed out) before being filled again. It took me three days ... and getting in with her ... to get her to take a bubble bath. Then, for the next three weeks, she refused to take a bath unless it had bubbles in it.
4. These first steps at home: (Sorry for the video quality, cell phones don't take the best video.)
5. At the Ellis family reunion, Nick and I left M with the grandparents and various cousins, aunts and uncles and went on a date. We saw Star Trek and bought new shorts. Nick chose kaki and I got camouflage. That night at dinner (I was wearing my new shorts) I heard a girl in line behind me say "She's wearing camouflage, and she's a girl." .... I really am sorry for whoever's point I ruined, but it was all I could do at the time not to start laughing.
1. The first night we took down M's crib, she slept all night long without waking us up. When I did wake up, I found my self face-to-face with her, as she stood at the side our bed.
2. One weekend morning, I was trying to squeeze a little more sleep out of the day by hiding under the blankets. (Nick had gotten up with M and was getting her breakfast.) M comes into our room and sees me hiding in bed ... promptly yells "RAWRRRR!" and runs out of the room.
3. The first time I put bubbles in M's bath, she absolutely refused to get in it. She insisted that the tub be completely drained (and rinsed out) before being filled again. It took me three days ... and getting in with her ... to get her to take a bubble bath. Then, for the next three weeks, she refused to take a bath unless it had bubbles in it.
4. These first steps at home: (Sorry for the video quality, cell phones don't take the best video.)
5. At the Ellis family reunion, Nick and I left M with the grandparents and various cousins, aunts and uncles and went on a date. We saw Star Trek and bought new shorts. Nick chose kaki and I got camouflage. That night at dinner (I was wearing my new shorts) I heard a girl in line behind me say "She's wearing camouflage, and she's a girl." .... I really am sorry for whoever's point I ruined, but it was all I could do at the time not to start laughing.
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