Pilgrims at Oak Ridge

One thing I do love about my new phone is the great camera it has - I love that I can snap quick pictures all the time, since I've always got it with me. So here are some recent favs: Judah, in his adorable outfit his dad dressed him in: Judah meeting his first donkey, a very friendly fellow named Jacob: Judah and sweet Corrie: Judah likes his evening calisthenics:

For the grandmas.... Our first attempt at food - as you can see, he wasn't really in to it. Maybe in a few more weeks....

I've never really been into the latest fads. Or the hottest, newest, greatest gadget. I'm not exactly a Luddite, but I just don't really like spending big bucks to get the fanciest new thing. All my cell phones have always been whatever I could get for free. So you can imagine how shocked and excited I was when I found out my new job was going to buy me... gulp... a new iPhone. Although I've known for a few months that we were supposed to get them, I always had this little doubt in my mind that they must not mean to buy one for me, the one who works part time. But a few weeks ago, as I was taking care of some paperwork at the office, our office manager handed me a sleek, small white box. Inside was the coolest thing I've ever been given. I must admit - it's a thing of beauty. So svelte and slick. We were mainly given them so we could access our EMR from the phone since it's not accessible from everywhere in the hospital. I didn't actually do that thi...

I've now left Judah in an actual nursery twice this week. Once on friday at a women's bible study I'm planning on getting involved with, and once today. The "nursery" at our church consists of me laying Judah down in the crib and going into the service and listening for him to cry. There are no other kids. No nursery workers. On the one hand, I can focus much better at church when he's not there, but it's also not easy leaving him. Tonight I was worried for part of the service - wondering if he was ok. And I never know how much to say to the nursery person - both times I felt like I needed to at least mention the cloth diapers, but what else? Am I supposed to tell them what he likes to do? It was another mom in the nursery, one with several kids, so she probably knows kids better than me. I felt silly saying that he likes to get in the exersaucer or just lay on the floor and grab at things, but I did anyway. I'm not sure how I...

Jeff and I went tonight to the ordination service of a good friend. I'm not sure I've actually ever been to one, but I enjoyed seeing Jonathan finally get ordained after months and months of study and preparation. A few scattered thoughts: 1. Being there reminded me, just a little, of how I used to feel going to baby showers. Even though I know that God is good and his plan is perfect , I still had this twinge of feeling like this should have been Jeff's ordination service. Of wondering why it was them and not us. 2. It did make me hope for the day when it would be us , hugging at front at the end of the service. And would be him , surrounded by a group of elders, praying over him. I can't wait for that day. 3. As much as I love our little church and am so thankful for where we are, I do miss singing in the midst of a big congregation. There is nothing like being surrounded by the full, rich sound of a hundred voices together. It made me long for heaven where there wil...

Judah has been eating like mad this past week. I can't tell if he's teething, having a growth spurt, or if my milk supply isn't keeping up with him. He woke up last night at 2 am and seemed to be starving. I felt on his gums this morning, but I'm not really seeing much. Two days ago he woke up at 2 and then again at 4:30. He hasn't done that in weeks. I did seem to pump out less than I have in the past when I was at work this week. But right after Judah was born, I was pumping ALL the time - so much that I had an overabundance of milk in my freezer. Eventually I just stopped pumping except when I was working, so I think my supply just sort of dwindled to only what Judah was actually eating. This week I've gone back to pumping after Judah eats, to try to increase my supply. I'm not sure it's really working yet. One thing that had changed recently was that I was eating less and losing weight a little more quickly. So earlier this week I decided to take a b...

I really love my job. I've written several times before about how I think being a doctor is great , and how much I love the people I work with. Like any profession, though, there are a few bad apples out there. Some doctors, especially subspecialists, seem to think that because they have done residency, fellowship, and maybe additional subspecialty training, they have permission to treat everyone else around them like their inferiors. Sadly, the place this is most felt is usually in academic medicine. The attending was treated badly when he was a resident, so he treats his own residents badly. They, in turn, often treat the medical students badly. And then when everyone has graduated, the cycle sometimes starts over again. I had to call a certain subspecialist yesterday to ask for a consult about two of my patients. He grilled me about them and gave me a hard time for calling him, questioning me as to why he was needed. At the end of our brief conversation he said, "Well, I...

Interaction A: "How are you feeling today?" I ask my patient when I go into her room. She's a thin black woman, wearing glasses that I would say are too large for her face. Today the thin white sheet is pulled up around her chin. Yesterday she was sitting up in her chair. Her blue night cap is covering her head, its thin ruffle framing her face. "I feel pretty droozy." Interaction B: "Is your tummy hurting?" I repeat, my voice nearly at a yell because she couldn't hear me the first time I asked. She is curled up in bed, her frail limbs contracted from years of being bedridden. Her hair is soft and white. I push softly on her stomach, watching her face to make sure she doesn't wince. She looks up at me, her mouth an open hollow from her lack of teeth. "I didn't know I had a funny bone in my stomach," she replies in her garbled speech, her eyes crinkling up, as if she's trying to smile. It takes me a minute to decipher exactly ...

I think the hardest part about working (for me) is just how tired I get. I'd love to go to bed early, but since I do a dream feed with Judah at 10:30 or 11, I can't really go to bed before then, and then I'm up again by 5:30 so I can feed him before I go to work. It's just not enough sleep for me. Thankfully, I finished my work today before noon, managed to catch most of an excellent sermon at church, and then even got a nap during Judah's nap this afternoon. I'm on call tomorrow, so maybe I'll have a slow afternoon and can sneak in another nap then. Of course, it's all worth it to me - I wouldn't give up nursing Judah for anything, and I do love my other job, too. I'm just happy I only do this 1 week at a time. Just 4 more days until I'm off again....

Judah finally got stable enough to put in his exersaucer. He seems to really enjoy it. For some unknown reason, his favorite part of it is this green stalk that sticks up with a leaf on top. (His concentrating face...)

We're about 1 week in to our cloth diaper experiment. I'd heard lots of good things about them, mostly from my SIL, Melanie. Before Judah was born I had basically decided I wanted to use them, but Melanie very wisely told me that I should wait a few months, at least until I finished with residency. She definitely made the right call on that one - it would have been hard to do cloth diapers when he was still a pooping machine and I was working a lot. But I'm really enjoying them now. It's nice not worrying about running out or having to run to the store to get more. I'm washing them about every other day, though I'm getting a few more and will then have enough to wash every third day if I need to. We're still working the kinks out of the cloth diaper routine, but overall I think I really like them. One of my favorite things about them is how cute they are: (Isn't my rainbow pretty??) And I love that there are no cartoon characters involved. The other big...

Since I just started another work week, here's some pictures to keep the blog updated. Ashlyn was so precious with Judah - she took every chance she could to help. She loved helping me give him a bath, and always had very helpful suggestions as to what I should do with him. She most often wanted me to put him into his swing, but the bouncy seat was maybe her next favorite suggestion. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of her in the baby swing - she just crawled right into it one afternoon. She also enjoyed sitting in the bumbo, another feat I somehow didn't capture on film. She did look exceedingly cute in her life jacket, something I did manage to catch on film. Judah HATED his. I put it on him and he immediately started crying and screaming. So I took it off and held him and tried (unsuccessfully) to avoid thinking about him drowning if there was a boating accident. He and I stayed home on the second day of boating, both so that he could get a better nap and so that his momma ...

As you can see, we all had a great time....

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and I have actually read some really, really good books. One of the benefits of spending more time at home, I guess, is that I have more time to read. In case anyone else is looking for something good to read, you could try one of these out: 1. The Help - This book and the next one are hands down the best books I've read in several years. An enlightening look at life among society women and their black housekeepers in Jackson, MS in the 1960s. Wonderfully told and good to the end. I'm a book cheapskate and prefer checking books out of the library, but I bought this one in hardback and am glad I did. 2. Cutting for Stone - I bought this one mostly because I knew it had been written by a doctor, and it also had some good reviews on Amazon. I found it to be incredible - the author manages to weave medical knowledge and practice right into the story in a poetic way. Maybe if you are squeamish or non-medical this wouldn't appeal to ...

Judah had his first play date today. He and I went up to Greenville to hang out with Skylar and Bing. Bing was my doctor and was there when he was born . I got to deliver Skylar . Skylar is 4 months older than Judah, and she kept trying to use him as leverage so she could pull up to stand. Judah just sort of laid there and looked at her. I think they're going to be great friends.

Ok, I think this is the final vacation post! But there were just too many beautiful sites not to add a few more.... We ate dinner one night at a place called The Friendly Fisherman. I decided I should have lobster, since that's sort of the quintessential cape cod dinner. I then decided that in the future, I'll let someone else do all the peeling and cracking - regular lobster just really isn't worth all that trouble. We ate ice cream at this place that has been open since the 1800s. It was delicious. More beautiful scenery..... I would definitely love to go back sometime when we have a little more time. There were other things I would have enjoyed doing that we just didn't have time for, like a whale-watching cruise and biking on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Maybe next time....

Since having a baby, I've noticed that the first question people ask you about your baby after finding out their name, age, and gender, is inevitably, "Is he sleeping through the night?", or some variation. People seem obsessed with having babies that sleep through the night. As I sit here typing, sweet Judah is sleeping. When I first started the post, he was down for a nap, and now he's down for the night. It's a nice feeling, knowing that I have a few moments to myself while he is getting rested. So I sort of get this obsession- it's exhausting getting up with your baby at night. And when you're breastfeeding, you really never get more than 2 or 3 hours of sleep in one stretch right at the beginning, since you are the only one who can feed the baby. It's also wonderful knowing that you can get them into bed during the day and have a few minutes to shower, vacuum, or rest yourself. But I also feel that people are sometimes a little too obsessed wit...

We've got fun company this week - Dave, Hannah, Jackson, and Ashlyn! We're having fun and staying busy, so here's a quick post so the blog isn't totally neglected. Hopefully I can get some photos up soon - I'm sure Grandma wants pictures of her grandbabies all together! But until then... Some great recipes I've made recently: 1. Shrimp and quinoa salad - This is probably my favorite new recipe I've made recently. I've been wanting to find some good and healthy recipes, and this fit the bill. It uses quinoa, which is this great grain that is really high in fiber and protein. I didn't have asparagus, but did add green onions and fresh cherry tomatoes from our garden. I'm definitely making this one again sometime soon. 2. Cucumber Salad - This was a quick and easy recipe I found to use up some cucumbers from our garden, along with fresh dill. It's basically like a quick pickle, but incredibly fresh and crunchy. I made mine with plenty of the r...

Cape Cod is beautiful. The beaches are different, there, too. The water is pretty chilly - although if we'd had more time I probably would have still gotten in. We visited one beach on the ocean side - the Cape Cod National Seashore, and then another beach on the bay side. National Seashore: Beach on the bay side of Cape Cod:

We did a bit of what Jeff and I decided to call "Nerd Tourism" - i.e. seeing things that normal people might not enjoy but we really loved. Because we are nerds. First up, the Boston Public Library, easily the coolest library I've ever been in. I wanted to wander these halls and find books for hours, but alas, we had other places to go. Next up, Harvard... I'm not sure why but I just felt smarter when I was there. We also checked out Walden Pond. It was surprisingly people-filled and also very big. More like a lake than a "pond." Last stop, Plymouth. We checked out Plymouth rock (much smaller than expected) and saw the Mayflower II. Judah is going to have lots of fun with us when he's older....

We made it home today. As much as I love vacation, coming home is always wonderful. We had a great time on our trip. A few more photos, these all from the freedom trail: Inside Faneuil Hall . Fountain with Park Street Church behind it. Jeff in front of Paul Revere's house. His tomb. Statue of St. Francis of Assisi, outside of Old North church, of "one if by land and two if by sea" fame.

Here's one thing we did today.... (Yes...that is both Jeff and Judah wearing Cubs gear to the Red Sox game, but that is how we roll....)

1 week: 8 weeks: 16 weeks:

So here are the stats: Weight: 15.1 pounds (56%) Height: 26 inches (81%) Head: 18 inches (95%) - yep, still my boy.... The nurse who measured his head actually came back to measure it again once she saw where it was on the graph - she was surprised it was so high. And the repeat: exactly the same. He just keeps getting more fun. He's a lot more vocal (as evidenced by the videos) and loves holding onto things and looking around. He likes tummy time a lot more and can roll over both directions, although he doesn't do it very often. I think he's just kind of lazy - he knows that if he fusses enough when he's on his stomach, eventually his mom will just turn him over herself. We're also getting into a better routine, and he's getting better at going down for naps and at night. He's not really napping in his swing anymore, which I'm happy about. The swing was wonderful and I wouldn't have done it any different since that was initially the only place we co...

You know you are a part of both a medical family and big medical community when, upon seeing your baby, the comment most often heard is, "Wow - that would be a great vein to put an IV in...." And I have to admit - I've had the same thought....