Dave Dash

Predictable Unpredicatability: Weeks 5-7

2010-07-18T00:00:00-07:00

Predictable unpredictability: Week 5-7

I decided to cover three weeks at a time as things are becoming a bit more stable. As always, things have gotten considerably easier. Most things aren't worrying us. Most days have been considerably easier. There's still tough days where I feel like I can't console him, but we're usually able to figure things out.

Right now the real fright is the Whooping cough. Our pediatrician, who is normally calm and relaxed about everything, was very freaked out about the epidemic.

Katie's doing a fantastic job, despite having considerable breastfeeding woes.

We also have an issue with green stools, but Katie's been altering her diet so we should see some new results.

Here's some new things we've noticed halfway past the 4th trimester:

I put in a half-day in the office.
Katie can still cook like a champ!
Siddhartha smiles a lot, especially if you play games with him.
His hands seem more coordinated.
Often he wakes up without crying.
He's slept 7+ hours on a number of occasions and we can count on at least 4 hours.
He's over 10 lbs and 22 inches.
He flails his arms less when he's nursing.
We've been managing all on our own for over two weeks.
Katie drove to somewhere with nobody in the back seat to soothe the baby.
Katie's taken a bath and shower with him a few times.
He sleeps in his swing for quite some time.
We've gone out with him on a few occasions with no major troubles.

On Buying a Thermometer

2010-07-05T00:00:00-07:00

After talking to our doulas about thermometers, I decided it'd be best to get an in-ear thermometer. I didn't at first because I heard they were expensive - but this is a device that I'll be using regularly for the foreseeable future. Our doula has had her thermometer for 8 years.

The other thing I like about the in-ear thermometer is it takes just a few seconds. I'm not really into holding a thermometer in my kids bum for a few minutes. Holding it in their armpit is less dangerous, but still slow. The in-ear thermometer works in a few seconds.

It's apparently not accurate at a young age, but I'll be using this for years to come.

I found the Braun Thermoscan at Target. Hopefully I can resist measuring Sibi's temperature every day.

The Weight Resolutions

2009-01-02T00:00:00-08:00

Jim over at Hiawatha Cyclery inspired me to post my weight resolution.

Ever since my wedding two and a half year ago where I was at a significant low in terms of weight (160 lb.), I've been gaining, slowly and painfully. I'm at 186.2 lb.

Numbers say that this is close to being obese. Whereas just under 160 is "Normal Weight".

That's fine and dandy, and should be a good enough indicator... but the real indicator is this. If you have "normal weight" imagine wrapping your midsection several times around with rubber, 25-30 lb. should do it. This is known as the spare tire.

Not only are you walking around with this excess weight, you're also trying to sit comfortably with it, get up from sitting down with it. It turns doing anything into a chore. Not to mention I have high cholesterol, and I know this is one of those things I need to lower or "Very Bad Things" (tm) will happen.

I keep trying, and retrying ways to keep my weight under control, so this is just another concerted effort. It's not "new" for New Years, but maybe writing about it will help. I hope by the years end to be below 170lbs. This is an easier goal, and I'll probably adjust this number once I meet up with my doctor.

I keep good track of my weight, and I can see the trends it makes. For every day my trend weight falls below my target weight, I'll try to reassess and see what I can do to better my health. These usually are some combination of eating different and working out more.

repair self

2008-10-21T00:00:00-07:00

I haven't been completely happy with myself lately.

I am happy with my life in general, and external things. In fact, let me preface this post by saying that I'm happy with my wife, my friends and my family. Even my job is pretty good despite the oncoming layoffs which I hopefully won't be subjected to, but you never know.

I mainly see my intellectual and physical development hasn't been where I'd like, despite an urge to advance in both areas (i.e. in more simplified terms I'm getting dumber and fatter).

This post isn't meant to be a downer... my hope is I can improve on each of these aspects one by one. I think it's completely natural to have peaks and troughs in terms of personal development. I think it's when I identify a low that I make valiant efforts at trying to improve myself. Let's see how things go.

I'll attempt to post more details. One of the things I want to do is keep a better journal of my life, be it a blog or otherwise... it seems to be what all the cool kids are doing ... or were doing ;)

The Eyes Have It!

2006-10-29T00:00:00-07:00

For most of my adult life, I have had terrible vision in my left eye (the one affected by congenital ptosis). The "1-2" test that doctors and nurses have given me have always been a frustration. "1-2" what does it matter if I can barely read the third largest line on the eye chart.

I've been seeing the same eye doctor twice a year for a few years, and finally I asked, what can I do to improve my vision in the left eye. It's a simple question, but for some reason, it needed to be asked before something was to happen.

We did a much better "1-2" test where things didn't just go from blurry to blurry, but from blurry, to "oh my God, I can read." He wrote me a prescription that brought me up from 20/100 to 20/25. This is like a total upgrade to my life.

In the next week or two, my intent is to exchange my lenses at America's Best and try out my new vision. I'm very excited.

Silicon Implants

1999-07-28T00:00:00-07:00

I'm getting silicon implants.

I have what is known as congenital ptosis in my left eyelid. Basically Ptosis is a drooping of the upper eyelid.

When I was four I had surgery which fixed a significant ammount of problems that I did have with my eyelids. Around last year I felt that it was time to have more work done on my eye.

I met with the very doctor who worked on my eyes 15 years ago and we scheduled surgery. The processis basically adding a silicon sling within my eye that will keep my eye open like normal.

The surgery will take place next Tuesday (3 Aug).