Generosity...

...or is it empathy? You decide.

After my work and Alek's chinese playgroup we met for dinner at a Bethesda restaurant, Matuba. Sushi (for Susan and I) and tempura-donburi for Alek. Dinner went well, Alek ate a fair number of edamame and rice so we got dessert, vanilla ice cream topped with sweet red beans (adzuki) and three spoons. Alek didn't much care for the beans, but vanilla ice cream is always a hit. We took turns digging pieces off the main scoop. Near the end, I accidentally dropped a spoonful back in the bowl. Alek laughed as his spoon dove towards my easy prey. So cute, I let him have it without a fight and reached for iced green tea. Only to be interupted by a high pitched "Baba"? As I turned, an spoon dripping with ice cream soup approached my face at an arkward angle. "Baba eat it?" Of course, I had to try, such an unanticipated fathers day gift has to be acknowledged. We both beamed with pride.

But wait there's more! This afternoon, Alek was having a snack as we watched some TV after nap. Cheerios to be precise. At some point he climbed up on the couch and handed me a cheerio, "Baba eat it"? Of course, I would. Only after I started chewing did Alek say, "That one dropped on ground". Gee Thanks! With mild amusement, I reminded myself that it's the thought that counts but what was he thinking? Was that generosity...or humor?

Dental Debutante

Finally, we have gotten around to bringing Alek to a dentist. I say finally because the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists say the first visit should happen as soon as the first tooth erupts. For Alek, that would have been at seven months. No business plan in that recommendation (note sarcasm). Conversely, the American Academy of Pediatricians recommendation was a visit at three years.

Anyways, Alek went to this particular practice with his pre-school, so he knew that we would have to take an elevator to get there and that the waiting room was designed to emulate a 1940s bus station complete with child sized Greyhound Bus. These inducements certainly created enough excitement to get us out the door for our 8AM Saturday appointment (very little waiting and easy to schedule), for both last and this Saturday's visits.

The first visit last week, was mostly a get to know you. The main theater is a big open room with four chairs and a big toy box in the corner. They let us in for a bit and Alek got comfortable playing with the toys. Eventually he noticed a big boy getting his teeth cleaned and serruptitiously watched that until the dentist came in. She talked with Susan and I about our concerns, Alek watched that too.

Then came the arkward part, getting a kicking non-compliant Alek into the oversized, reclined dental chair so the dentists could somehow examine his teeth. Fortunately, the dentists had other ideas. Here's what happened, Alek straddled Susan's lap, facing her. Slowly, keeping eye and fifi contact she lowered Alek back onto her and the doctors lap. Alek calmly and willingly open his mouth while the doctor checked his teeth with her fingers a mirror and a scary looking pick. The dentists trick was to not move too fast and frame upcoming events in terms Alek would find familiar. For example, when introducing the pick she asked Alek if he could hear the music and then proceeded to tap his incisors.

The non-ordeal was quickly over. Along the way, our concerns were addressed. Alek has 20 fully formed carie-less teeth, well spaced and straight. He jaw has placed his teeth well. There is a very slight protrusion of his right front incisor that seems to be a consequence of thumb sucking but the dentists remains far more unconcerned than anti-thumb commentors I have encountered. The dentist also thought the perception that Alek's teeth are a wee bit discolored to be a result of looking too hard. On a scale of 1 perfect to 10 horrendous dental health she gave Alek a 1.5!

We went back again this past Saturday for the actual cleaning. This involved a dental tech gently brushing Alek's teeth, with a bubblegum flavored toothpaste/fluoride polish. This time he willingly reclined in the chair and even wore sunglasses to maintain his coolness factor. The dentist came in, impressed by Alek's willingness to sit in the chair, and reiterated her prior diagnosis.

So the low sugar diet and daily brushing regimen are paying off and we can all look forward to a pleasant check-up in December.

8-(2-amino-2-phenyl-acetyl)amino-4-methyl-7-oxo-2-thia-6-azabicyclo [4.2.0]oct-4-ene-5-carboxylic acid...

aka Cefalexin, 375 milligrams per 7.5 milliliters twice per day for 10 days. Grape Bubblegum flavored. We made an emergency early morning visit to the doctor on Wednesday to confirm our suspicions from the night before and because the symptoms were more advanced after a nights incubation. On the drive there Alek and I talked about how I knew it was ouchy but that it was important for Alek to remain calm and still so the doctor could do his job quickly and well. Sure enough both the resident and the doctor agreed that a swollen, red, tender to the touch penis with purulent discharge was the sign of a not so nascent urinary tract infection (UTI), although a lack of fever suggested it was not so advanced.

This is a first for us. In his first three years Alek had never had a symptomatic UTI, so what's different now? Recently, we have been encouraging Alek to use the potty. Everything is going well. A quick tutorial with Elmo via the net quickly framed the appropirate behavior. Soon Alek was running to the potty whenever he had a pee-pee feeling and smiling with accomplishment and pride as he ritually announced his recent success. However, time is of the essence and Alek hasn't quite mastered the task of pulling down his pants, taking off his diaper and then straddling the saddle-like "Once Upon a Potty". The solution to this challenge was simple enough, while at home, we let Alek go bare from the waist down, that way there is no impediment to mounting the potty. In hindsight, we now realize another we had also removed the impediment preventing an in depth investigation of the elastic properties of the human penis. Combine this with increased exposure to the environment and possibly an excessive amount bubble bath and we seem to have a good recipe for UTI.

We aren't relying totally on Cefalexin to do the job. Alek takes daily, low soap, soaking baths, drinks more water, eats more blueberries and is drinking a little bit of penis juice everyday. In hindsight, perhaps that wasn't such a good substitute name for cranberry juice, but at the time it seemed to help establish the notion in his mind that the juice specifically helps with the ouchies. More scientifically, it is thought the a large non-dialyzable component competes with bacteria for adhesion to the epithelium. Or the acidity of small weak acids such as quinic, malic and citric acid inhibit bacterial growth. Or that it is the phenolic Proanthocyanindins which inhibit adherence. Whichever of these hypotheses prevails is not so important at the moment. Now, two days into the treatment regimen, the symptoms described above have diminished and there is no apparent dysuria. None the less, we will continue with the remaining 8 days of antibiotics to ensure the infection does not recur and that resistance does not develop. And if you're wondering he'll be wearing a diapy or underpants for a while.