Catching Up on Casey's Activities

I noticed that it has been more than a month from the last time I posted about Casey. She is exactly 2 years 6 months and 7 days now. She has become a talker, a good eater, a good dancer, and a good singer.

She says "deloom" for ballon.
Her Daddy calls her Miss Independent
She calls her dad's mom Mama
She calls her mom's mom Lola
She calls her mom's dad Papay
She calls her mom's brother Owa (for Kuya)
She remembers Kuya Josh, Ate Chloe and Jose.
She remembers Ate Chloe telling her to always tie her hair.

When Casey was born, I made a lens about her life in Squidoo. Unfortunately Squidoo closed but I hope I can recover that article in Hubpages where Squidoo moved all their content to.

I went home to the province last week of August

Casey is a Happy, Terrible-Two Baby

Casey is 2 years and half and she is a "terrible two" baby, feisty and independent-minded.


It is a challenge raising a two-year old very independent-minded, very confident baby who knows exactly what she wants. 

Wikipedia's descriptions of a terrible two kid perfectly fit Casey to a tee:

Casey is often defiant; shouting "no" to everything she doesn't approve of.
She is very bossy, demanding from everyone and expects immediate attention by crying. Casey is very clever in using crying to get the attention she wants. 
Casey is very impatient.

Why Modern-Day Parenting Is in Crisis

 

"5 Reasons Modern-Day Parenting Is in Crisis, According to a British Nanny" is an article written by Emma Jenner that I've just recently read which identifies 5 reasons why modern-day parents could be raising children who might grow up as self-centered, spoiled, selfish, and rude adults. The five reasons as described by the author are:

 1. We always want to please our children. Parents especially us, moms, always want to please our children, we always want to give what they want.
2. We don't discipline our children. The author is saying that children nowadays lack discipline because we do not do our part to discipline them.
3. People in the community don't care as much anymore.
4. We are teaching kids not to be patient.
5. Some parents forget that they have their own needs to meet, too.

You can read the article in full here.

 

My Son Had ABO Incompatibility - What Is This Blood Disorder?

The day after I gave birth to my eldest son, Casey's uncle and godfather, his doctor visited me in my room and informed me that my baby boy had jaundice which caused his skin to turn yellowish. I asked why it turned yellow and she said it was because his bilirubin count was way past the normal count and that he had to be placed under a bililight to reduce the amount of bilirubin in the baby's body.

I then asked the lady doctor what happens if the amount of bilirubin did not go down. What's the next step? She said, the baby will have to undergo a blood transfusion to completely clean his blood and stop the yellowing of the skin. I asked her what's causing all these and she said my baby had ABO incompatibility. She explained that me and my baby had different blood types which was the root cause of the blood disorder that affected my baby.

As a first time mom, I wondered what all those medical terms mean. Jaundice. Bilirubin. Bililight. ABO incompatibility. The brief time the pediatrician spent in my room when she did her daily rounds was not enough to ask her more questions about my baby's illness. Maybe I was just too excited about the coming of this baby boy who we waited for almost three years to finally come into this world. The idea of a transfusion I just placed at the back of my mind. It will happen if it must happen. But thank God it did not happen. He was making great progress in the nursery room with his bilirubin count gradually decreasing.

However, we had to go home without him because his pediatrician wanted the yellowing of the skin completely gone before he leaves the hospital. After four days we went back to the hospital to finally pick up our baby in the nursery.  

So, what is ABO incompatibility?  ABO stands for blood types A, B and O. ABO incompatibility usually happens to mothers who have O blood types because they are the type that produce large amounts of the lgG antibodies that cause hemolysis or the breaking of red blood cells. The incompatibility happens when the mother who has blood type O gives birth to a baby who has blood type A, B or AB.

Blood type O mothers have anti-A and anti-B antibodies in their blood. When a woman is pregnant with a type A, B or AB baby, the antibodies get in contact with the placenta that protects the baby. These antibodies attack the red blood cells and cause them to break and spill into the surrounding environment. The break down of red blood cells causes anemia and  jaundice or the yellowing of the skin as well as increases the amount of bilirubin in the body.