A Second Opinion

I knew this, but I smiled greatly when I read a card we received in the mail tonight. Aunt Helen (ok, so she is my dad's aunt and my great-aunt) got our card before she sent one out to us. This was made evident by her comments. She said he was a "fantastic writer" and his photos are "just beautiful". I would have to concur. :-)

Jericho's first cereal

At Jericho's last well-child visit, the pediatrician urged me to start him on cereal slowly, like once a day for 2 weeks, then step it up to twice a day for 2 weeks. I was resistant because I hate the baby food stage. It is incredibly messy. I also was not in a rush because he is now 5 months old. The doctor told me to do this at 4 months old. Correct me if I'm wrong, but, when I was a kid, parents were told to start baby food at 6 months. What makes my kid any different from me (barring the gender, you smart-alick!)? Well, lately he has been resistant to nursing at times. I'm wondering if he will refuse to nurse after awhile. Because I'm afraid he'll wean himself before I start him on food, I gave him some tonight. Why tonight? I was interested in his reaction, and he was awake and hungry. He liked it. All I did was mix cereal with water. At first he turned up his nose because it was cold. Then he tasted it and decided he wanted more. In fact, I was trying to feed Gabriel at the same time. When I walked away for a moment, Jericho complained. I took that as a good sign. He wanted what I was giving him. We'll try it again tomorrow.

CJ's injuries

I found out that he was skiing in Winterpark, Colorado, so flying him to Denver must have been the choice for the nearest trauma center. I was told this evening that CJ broke his hip and his femur. The doctors put a rod in his leg and immobilized his hip so it will heal. They said that he would be dead if he wasn't wearing a helmet. He is on blood thinners to prevent a blood clot. I don't know when he will be allowed to go back home or even to an Illinois hospital. I thank God for the people who developed helmets, for my aunt, who taught him to have the sense to wear one, for the doctors who have the knowledge to help him, and for God for protecting him from a devastating or life-ending injury.