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September 30, 2003
September 30, 2003
18 & ½ Months
The Audiologist
We took Cameron to a new audiologist a couple of weeks ago in order to follow up with his hearing aids (that he refuses to wear). I was so glad we did because for the first time in a long time, we left the office feeling reassured that Cameron was just fine. This audiologist actually works in the practice where Cameron’s ENT is, and we really liked her a lot. We discussed with her how Cameron refuses to wear his hearing aids but that yet, little by little, he is saying more and more “words.” She observed Cameron and asked him little questions and gave him commands all of which he seemed to follow. She told us that from what little she could tell, Cameron seemed to be progressing just like any average 18 month old and so far, his speech seems perfectly normal. She said with regard to him not wearing the hearing aids, we shouldn’t try to force him, that this would only make it worse. She said when he is ready to wear them he will, and that in general, boys are much more stubborn about wearing them anyway. When we left, the audiologist gave Cameron a little sticker and after she handed it to him, he said “Ank U.” (Thank you). The audiologist commented that most three year olds won’t say that, but I guess because every time Cameron does ANYTHING at all, like hands us something from the dishwasher or a book or a toy or whatever, we always say “Thank you!” in an animated way in an effort to teach him the phrase. Hmmm. Guess it paid off.
Surgery
We also scheduled Cameron’s surgery for his ears for October 22. He will have surgery to remove the ear pits permanently. Apparently, it is a minor surgery and he will therefore be an outpatient which made me very happy because the thought of my baby in the hospital overnight was not pleasant. The good news about the surgery, aside from the fact that there is very little pain and discomfort, is that our ENT is also a plastic surgeon, so he said he will be able to pull the incision up into the crease of the ear so there will be no visible scar. I don’t really care about that but it’s nice that this is the case. The doctor said Cam should be as good as new a few days after the surgery, and that he won’t even have bandages, just some dissolvable stitches.
Toilet Training in the Works
I mentioned before that Cameron is always handing us things, and this is true. But interestingly enough, he just started a new “trick” and that is handing us a diaper whenever he needs to be changed. So, more than ever I think he is truly ready to be seriously toilet trained. We had been working with him on again and off again but then we would go to CT or to my parents or we’d have guests and it is nearly impossible to toilet train a child with all these sorts of interruptions. Plus, being unable to predict when Cameron will go to the bathroom (due to his erratic consumption of food), makes it hard to know when to sit him on the potty. However, starting this month, we are going to really make an effort to get serious. It would be nice if he could be completely trained by the time he was 2. Ok, you can stop laughing now – I know I am being ridiculously hopeful or optimistic, but I might as well set my sights high and maybe that way we won’t fall too short of our goal.
Bike Helmet Law?
I have a question about bike helmets. I mentioned a while back that we had gotten Cameron a bike trailer to ride in and that we had also gotten him a helmet, which we had thought was the law. But every time we see little kids in the backs of these trailers, we never see them wearing helmets. So, my question is 1) Is it the law that a child has to wear a bike helmet while riding in a bike trailer and 2) if not, is it really necessary that they wear them? Cameron absolutely hates the helmet (he hates anything that touches his head) and because of this, it is hard to take him out on the bike because he is miserable. We only ride on the sidewalks and bike paths but not in the street or near cars so I am wondering if it is really necessary since it is nearly impossible to tip the thing over. Obviously a helmet is added protection but is it overkill (for riding in a trailer)? Anyone’s thoughts???
Chocolate Sucks
Let’s see, what else about the little guy for this update…oh yeah. We discovered he is like his mother and is not a chocolate lover AT ALL. I was baking a cake last Saturday, devil’s food with chocolate icing. (We had been invited to friends’ for dinner and I had offered to bring dessert. When I had asked what kind of cake they liked, they requested chocolate/chocolate but that never would have been my first choice). I personally like yellow cake with cream cheese frosting, but anyway…while I was frosting the cake, Cameron was lingering about, sort of eyeing me and looking like he wanted to taste what I was making. So, I held out the spoon with a teeny little lump of frosting on it and asked him if he wanted to taste it. He opened his mouth and I sort of scraped the frosting against the roof of his mouth. I watched his expression change from confusion to misery while his eyes started to tear up as his mouth realized the flavor. That lump of chocolate sat on his teeth and tongue for ten minutes while he whined to himself on the floor. I figured I would let him give it a chance before I removed it myself but he was just not having it. I finally just reached in and scooped the whole mess out but there was still some on his teeth. When Cam realized there was still some on his teeth, he whined some more. Remind me never to give this child chocolate again. I should have known better, he hates chocolate Pediasure as well.
The Whitest Teeth
And speaking of teeth, I did take Cam to the dentist to have the iron stains removed from his teeth. I sat in the dentist’s chair with Cam lying back against my torso while the dentist cleaned his teeth. Cameron was not at all thrilled (putting it lightly) but he let the dentist (Dr. R) do the cleaning. Dr. R was really great, I just love this guy, he is so patient and even more important, he understands, recognizes and indulges my obsession with white teeth! GRIN. He took a little cleaning paste and in literally 1 minute had cleaned all of Cameron’s teeth to a sparkling white. Mind you, I did honestly think they were very white before but nothing like they are now. Go ahead - ask me if I am happy. Hell YES. So from now on, I mix Cameron’s vitamins in with his Pediasure and this way, there is no more risk of staining.
A Glimpse at the Future? (shudder…)
About a week ago, Charles and I were out running errands and while we were out, we stopped by the store to quickly pick up a few things. Charles ran in while I stayed in the car with Cameron. I happened to be parked close to the store in a parking space that was right up against the storefront and in front of my car were a group of prepubescent boys. They looked to be, oh, I don’t know – 13 or 14 years old. They were all dressed in a very Abercrombie & Fitch-like fashion, clearly spoiled (from the looks of their cell phones, gadgetry, clothing and shoes) and they were laughing and cursing up a storm. All of a sudden, a woman in a very expensive car pulls up and lets her son out so that he can go hang out with his friends. As he leaves the car, the boy turns around and looks at his mother who is watching him walk to the curb and screams “What?!” (As if to say, “What the hell do you want? Beat it!”). The mother lowers the window and screams out “Get over here – NOW!” The boy, clearly pissed off, sighs and sucks his teeth and storms back to the car where his mother probably and hopefully, told him to lose that sorry attitude. After she pulled off, he ran back to his buddies and says, “Man – she is such a F---ing B----!!!! I hope she F---ing dies, man!” So, here I am sitting in my car with my little baby in the back, smiling and laughing and saying “Mam!” “Mam!” “Mam!” and squealing in delight every time I turn around to look at him and I am thinking, “Oh man... is this what my little baby is going to turn into???? Is this what I have to look forward to in 13 years? I seriously hope not. I can’t sit here and preach that if you discipline your kids and give them structure and love them enough, this sort of scene will never happen, because I just don’t know if that is true. But it is scary to think about, it really is. Because the thought of Cameron ever referring to me like that, even behind my back, is just so depressing.
Don’t Blame The Victim
Before closing this entry, I had to comment on just one more thing. And let’s face it, you knew I was going to, you probably skipped right to the end to get to it, didn’t you? (SMILE). Anyway, I wanted to very briefly say something about the unfortunate little mishap that occurred at Megan’s house a couple of weeks ago, of which I am sure most people at this point are aware. The fact that two unwanted individuals, former diary writers, took it upon themselves to come to Megan’s house, take a picture of themselves (one of them giving the finger), and then posting it on their personal website is unfortunate. It is what it is and it’s been discussed to death, that is not what I want to talk about here. But one thing that was mentioned regarding the whole mess really bothered me and that was the fact that somehow, oddly enough, some people found that she brought it on herself by posting her family name and town of residence in her entries. Some even said it was stupid of her to do so. Well, this is pretty much where I start to get annoyed. I am not going to sit here and say Megan was exercising extreme caution by revealing her name and city on the internet, but I don’t think she “asked” for this to happen by doing so. To me, this is the same type of argument some people use when a woman is raped and then they blame the victim because she was out alone, or at night or was scantily clad, etc. Ridiculous. Ludicrous. INSULTING. In this particular case, was it the safest thing for Megan to do? No. Arguably not. Is she to blame for doing so? HELL no. Yes, there is always the option of exercising absolute safety and caution in whatever you do in life, but 1) that is a tad unrealistic, and 2) don’t blame the victim for not being able to predict the unthinkable. I don’t care what you say, but you’ll never convince me that it was foreseeable that two people would come to Megan’s house and perform such an act of stupidity. However, it was a good lesson for everyone involved, so maybe all in all, it was a good thing. When I first started on this site, I had no clue at all how many people actually read it. I had no clue all our personal lives touched so many people in so many ways, good and bad. It’s scary when you think about it, isn’t it? You have more exposure on this site than you would get being interviewed on the local news. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
And that’s all I have to say about that….
By the way, I have updated Cameron’s website with new pictures (and have taken most of the old ones down). If you are interested in catching a glimpse of that “bloomin onion” he’s got growing on that little skull of his, his website is:
www.babiesonline.com/babies/s/swiss/
All the best,
Corinne and Cam
Born 3/15/02
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