January 24th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
(Damien, New, Sergey, daycare)
Damien is really good at going pee-pee and poo-poo on the potty.
Sometimes he will just show up in the kitchen carrying a very full potty.
He is so proud, as he says “Damien went potty“.
Then I have to make sure I catch him, because the next thing he wants to do is flush it down the toilet, and in his zeal he wants to RUN, with the full potty. Usually I try to snatch it from his as soon as I can so I can help him carry it to the bath room.
Flushing the potty down the toilet is a big event for both Damien and Sergey, they will both come running, and we all gather round while Damien lifts the lid and mans the flush handle, they both watch to make sure everything “goes down the drain”, then Damien closes the lid, and I have to shoo Sergey out so I can clean up.
At daycare Damien is much more casual about going potty, possibly because they have a small kid sized toilet so there is no seperate potty to flush down. Damien does not have to be asked if he has to go potty, he just marches in when he needs to. Left to his own devices, he will do everything by himself (walk in, pants down, sit on tiolet, do his business, pants up, flush toilet, wash hands, ask for marshmellow). That last step is crucial.
nomally Damien does not defend himself from Sergey’s attacks, unless he is on the potty. In that case Damien will give Sergey a few verbal warnings “move away Sergey, move away”, and if that doesn’t work Sergey will get a quick shove, that wil push him back a few inches. Still considering that Sergey attacks usually by either poking Damien in the eye, or hitting him with a VCR tape, Damien’s response does not seem out of line.
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January 22nd, 2008 at 3:33 pm
(New, Sergey)
Sergey has been better for some time now but I have just been too lazy to let you guys know.
We had an appointment for last Friday, then Wednesday afternoon, then called to move the appointment to an earlier date. So we chose Thursday (apparently avoinding a life and death situation had we waited until Friday {more like someone wanted a three day weekend})
On Tursday, they take the splint off, and everyone seems to think Sergey is doing great, even though he is favoring the arm, he is using it, and is not really complaining about it being poked, and turned.
So no cast for Sergey, apparently his arm was never broken in the first place and the second doctor averreacted, when he saw a black line on the Xray, and made a bad call assuming it was fluid buildup due to a fracture, rather than due to Sergey’s tendon being poped back into place a two days earlier.
 Well Sergey is back to using his Right arm again, so now he can poke his brother in the eye with both hands.
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January 14th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
(New, Sergey, Vacation)
Grandpa Sergey was playing with Baby Sergey (I think this technically makes him “Sergey the Second†or “Sergey IIâ€.) there was some hand holding and some spinning involved. Then Sergey II, stopped using his right arm (he is right handed) so they took him to the doctor. Neither Olya nor I was there as this happened in So Cal after we had left, to recover at home. They all came back the next day and Sergey II was happy as a bug in a rug. We took him to Children’s hospital, and it turns out not only did he have Nursemaid’s Elbow, but also a small fracture in his elbow. So he will need a cast (a water proof one so he can go swimming and take baths). In three weeks or so Sergey II should be good as new.
The doctors and nurses mostly called him “Sir-Jeeâ€, rather than “S-Air-gayâ€, but we know who they meant.
So what is Nursemaid’s Elbow?
I am glad you asked because I am going to pad this post with the answer.
General
1. Radial head subluxed beneath orbicular ligament
Epidemiology
1. Most common between age 1-3 years
2. Rare after 6 years old
Mechanism
1. Results from longitudinal traction on hand
1a. Elbow extended
1b. forearm pronated
2. Often occurs when child lifted by wrist or hand
Symptoms and Signs
1. Audible snap may be heard with Radial Head Subluxation
2. Arm is held motionless at side
2a. Slight flexion
2b. Pronation
2c. Adduction
3. Radial Head tender
Radiology
1. Elbow XRay Normal
Management: Reduction
1. Technique
1a. Cup affected elbow with opposite hand
1b. Apply prEssure over radial head
1b1. Thumb in antecubital fossa
1c. Apply slight longitudinal traction by grasping wrist
1d. Supinate (palm up) and flex (to 90 degrees) forearm
1e. Palpable click felt with reduction
Management: Post-reduction
1. Child uses arm within 10-15 minutes
1a. Immobilization optional (Sling for 1-2 days)
2. Child fails to use arm after 15 minutes
2a. Obtain Elbow XRay to rule out concomitant Fracture
2b. Elbow XRay normal but child still not using arm
2b1. Posterior splint and sling
2b2. Re-evaluate in 24 hours
Well Sergey II does NOT like the sling, and has already tried to chew through his new splint that he got Saturday. He thinks it’s a fun game, as I try to stop him from gnawing at the bandages.
Sergey II is getting really good with his left hand now, especially with the Hair grab, and the glasses snatch. While at the hospital Sergey snatched my glasses, then kindly tried to put them back. Now if only he would try to put the glasses around my eyes rather than into them. He did have a good sense of humor about it and laugh as Daddy said “Ouch! Crap! My eye, my eye. Help. Help.†I think Olya snickered as well but I couldn’t see because there was something in my eye.
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January 11th, 2008 at 10:52 am
(Damien, Dan, Parenting Tip, Sergey)
My Mom, Dan, and I took the boys to the Betty Brin Museum.
It seemed like the perfect thing to do on a cold winter day over the holidays. The only bad thing was that a lot of other people had the same idea.
When we got to the museum, there was a long line just to get to the ticket counter. It took almost an hour, but the wait was not the that bad for us, it was very bad for Damien and Sergey. They don’t know any of these people, and the weren’t allowed to run around.
Mom tried just putting Sergey on the floor when he didn’t want to be held, but the moment she took her eyes off him, he started off on his own voyage of discovery. Like a dummy I had forgotten the diaper bag at home, with all the food, toys, change of cloths, an diapers. But since we were already there, I decided to risk it, besides I didn’t want to loose my place in line.
Theater Area
The Puppet Show was one of the first places that we stopped at that the kids liked. They liked walking on the little stage, and listening to some of the kids try to give them “stage” advice and direction. Damien really liked the attention of the bigger kids, but he had no idea what they were trying to say (niether did I for that matter), but he did smile back at them.
Sergey and Damien both picked up a puppet that they liked, and proceeded to try and walk of with it. Well for Sergey it was more like drag off, but it was clear that they really liked puppets. From their perspective, it was like:
Sergey “Wow, look at this toy, it comes with it’s own handle for dragging around!”
Damien “Yeah, it’s like the perfect hybrid of Toy and Stick, this ROCKS!”
Sergey “Speaking of rocks, have you seen any?”
Damien “Not yet, but let me know if you find some, I want to put them in my mouth, just to annoy Dad.”
Well that is my best guess.
Toddler Area
Part of the problem is that our kids are still so young, good thing there was an area for three and under. This was set up like a backyard in the summer. There were fake trees, a slide, a rocking hourse (which the kids spent about half an hour each on, just as Mom, she was on rocking horse duty for almost an hour), things to bang one, another slide, crawling tunnels, and a sand box.
The sand box, had room for several kids, and it had lots of toy, like buckets, and shovels, scoops, and spinning wheels powered by sand being poured into them. I noticed that Damien kept licking the sand off his hands (let me just say “eeeeewwwww“). So I told him not to put sand in his mouth, and he was scooping sand and dumping it onto the spin wheel. So of course what does he do. He looks at me smiles, the licks the sand off his finger, and smiles again. “Next time you put sand in your mouth you are done playing in the sand box”, I say.
So he takes a big sccop of sand and pretends to pour it into the sand wheel then he smiles up at me and moves the scoop of sand to his head. Now Damien has been known to dump whole buckets of sand on his head, for fun, in the summer it is common for Damien to come home, with two or more table spoons of sand in each shoe. But this time Damien was going to shoe me who was boss, nobody tells him, he cant put sand in his mouth, including Daddy. That is when he tilted his head back, opened his mouth as wide as he could, and duped oever a cup of sand into his mouth. “Yummy” was probably what Damien wanted to think, but the reality of sand was too much fo rhis optomisim, and he begane spitting it out. True to my word I remeoved him from the sand box, and we went to the bathroom, to give his mouth a good cleaning.
Harley Motorcycle Fun Box
Harley has a Big box that is set up like a jungle gym for kids, and it has sevearl morotr cycle parts in it for kids to climb on and play on, both of the kids liked it. Damien played with the lights in a secret compartment, and Sergey practiced his climbing skills. When Damien go board with the lights he went off with Mom. Dan and I stayed to keep and eye on Sergey. There were two entraces to the big climing box, on opposite sides, so Dan watched one, and I watched the other. There may be a secret third exit, because after awhile I couldn’t see Sergey anymore. I went over to ask Dan if he could see him, but Dan was goone as well. Next thing I know Dan walks up to me carrying Sergey. Apparently Sergey snuck out and neither of us noticed, Dan said he looked around when he didn’t see Sergey climbing, and happened to notice him half way down the first flight of stairs, leading out of the museum. Good going Egale Eye.
When we left around noon, there was no line what so ever, next time we sould come after the kids nap, that should be a Parenting Tip.
2 Comments
January 10th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
(Damien, New, Parenting Tip)
One morning when Damien was awake before us (I guess that doesn’t really narrow it down much), he got into bed with us and started playing on the bed as we were waking up. Playing for Damien usually involves running around, so he was running back and forth on our bed, stepping over us as he went.
On one trip he um tripped, on my (how best to put this, delicate subject) Mr. Happy, who was also awake before I was.
Damien thought that I was playing with him, and had tripped him on purpose. That is when he noticed Mr. happy pitching tent under the sheets, and decided to play with him. Not the running back and forth play that I had mentioned earlier, more of the “let’s see what happens when I bash it with a toy tractor, and jump on it” kind of play.
Needless to say neither I nor Mr. Happy were happy about this turn of events.
I have developed a new Parenting Tip: Always protecting Mr. Happy whenever Damien (or any other child for that matter) gets in the bed. You will thank me later. 
3 Comments
January 9th, 2008 at 9:11 am
(Animals, work)
I have been finding mouse turds on my desk and tables in my office. They are usually next to cables such as phone, speakers and the printer. I am thinking that they are climbing up the cables to get to the desk.
I have made an attempt to never leave food on my desk once I noticed the mice were coming. But they still keep coming.
So I bought some mouse traps and set one by the phone, and one behind the printer.
The next day the one by the phone was still set, but the one behind the printer had caught a mouse. Looks like it died instantly, from a crushed skull. I was unable to pull it free from the trap, so I just threw both out after wrapping them in a plastic bag.
I remembered that I had found mouse nests in peoples PC, at the office, and that there was an opening in the back of the printer. So I wanted to see if that is where the mouse was living. I opened up the paper tray but there was some resistance, but not more that I would expect from an old printer. When I pushed the paper tray back in there was a rustling noise from the back of the printer. There was now a small pile of cough drops behind the printer still in their wrappers. Looks like this was a mouse home, or a mouse food silo. There are even little mouse tooth marks on some of the cough drops.
The traps are still up, I guess we’ll find out if he was working alone, or had help.
*** UPDATE ***
Traps empty this morning, maybe there was only one.
2 Comments
January 8th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
(Damien, New, Sergey)
Well Damien is being potty trained.
 Mostly by Grandma and Grandpa from Russia.
Since they were home with him all week they just decided that they would get him underpants, and start putting him on the potty.
At first Damien was NOT interested in underpants, until Grandpa showed Damien that he was wearing underpants, then Damien wanted underpants to be like Grandpa.
At first it did not go very well, then I remembered that Uncle Alan (Damiens God Father) used M&Ms to reward his kids when they went peepy on the potty.
So I asked Damien if he wanted to go poopy in the potty? “No” was his reply, with vigorus head shaking.
Then I asked him if he wanted a candy cane (a Damien favorite)? “Yes” he said with a big smile on his lips.
So I told him that if he wanted a candy cane he had to go poopy on the potty. Damien marched stright to the potty with determinatoin of a soldier on his face, he pulled down his pants and underpants and sat of the potty until he squeezed out a little poopy nugget, then he asked for his candy cane.
About a week later we went to SoCal for vacation. 2 hour drive to air port, 1 hour on the plane waiting for baggage to be loaded properly, 4 hour flight, 1 hour drive to Olya’s counsin’s house. As soon as we got to the house Damien said “Potty, I want to go potty”. we didn’t bring our potty chair with us and they didn’t have one, so I helped him balance on the big person potty, and he did his business. He also still had a dry diaper on, so he held his peepy for 8 hours, I would say he is well on his way.
We did get him a potty chair for vacation, and he is using it like a champ even waking up at night to use it.
All we have to work on now is his timing.
The Damien way:
1. Drop Pants to ankels
2. Say ” want to go potty”
3. Shuffle off to potty
Sergey will be easier to train I think because he watches Damien go and he and Damien both love to watch the poopy and peepy get flushed down the toilet, Damien gets mad if he is not allowed to flush his own peepy or poopy.
Sergey will even sit on the potty on his own even though he is wearing a diaper, so it looks like he is getting the idea.
11 Comments