Thankfully my son spent most of Sunday night with his mother, so he didn’t see Canada lose to the US in their last game of the preliminary round at the Olympics. I don’t think a two-month old needs to be subjected to that much negative energy.
Victor and I did watch the early game on Sunday, in which Russia beat the Czech Republic 5-3, but only because his mommy had to run some errands for a few hours. Otherwise I probably would have slept most of the day… I’ve had a major toothache since Saturday night.
It’s my last large molar on the lower left side. It was supposed to be pulled over a year ago, but the infection went away and — as they were freezing my face — I decided to keep it. So far the Advil and OraGel are keeping the edge off, but I basically spent all of Sunday waiting for the time when I could take the next Advil.
It really is the last one. If it gets pulled I’ll have to get a partial denture.
But I shouldn’t be complaining about pain… Victor got his vaccinations on Friday. I missed it because of a miscommunication with his mother. I thought it was just a checkup / weighing in session. They shoot the vaccines into the kids thigh, but Victor took it all like a little dude. My girlfriend said he cried when they went in, but calmed right down afterwards.
There was a slight up-tick in his temperature for a few hours, but so far no autism. Fingers crossed.
He did have a toxic crap, however. Back when we had his circumcision done the nurses had to light candles in the washroom because Victor filled his diaper. Then he had gas so bad they had to open the main door and set up a fan. On Friday, according to my girlfriend, they had to do it all over again.
Seeing as how those are the only two times Victor has been there, I’m wondering if they think we’re feeding him sauerkraut and goats milk.
It was ironic timing for Victors vaccinations. I spent most of the past ten days trying to write something about the anti-vaccination movement — they think vaccines cause autism, and mimic the anti-mental health movement’s advocacy methods. I finally, finally, managed to finish it Friday morning around 4am, which caused me to sleep until the early afternoon, which meant I missed the call regarding my sons vaccinations.
I’ve missed a few appointments recently. My girlfriend takes Victor to a local church every Tuesday to have him weighed, and checked out by a nurse. It’s also a gathering with other local mothers and their infants. She’s been doing it since Victor was born, but I haven’t been to one yet because… well, it’s at 9am, and she told me I don’t have to go.
Neither seems like a decent reason.
I only spent a couple of days with Victor this week. I have an excuse, I’m just not sure about the quality. I spent most of the week in a truly foul mood because I was so frustrated with how the anti-vaccine post wasn’t coming together. I spent a lot of time banging on my desk and swearing.
I get temperamental like that when I can’t get the words to sit right. I’m still not happy with the piece — I hate the lede — but it’s done.
So Victor and I didn’t have a lot of time for movies and music. I did download the entire Pink Floyd discography while he was here. So now his huge brain has taken in “Atom Heart Mother”, “A Saucerful Of Secrets”, “Meddle” and “The Final Cut.” So far we seem to have the same taste in music, which is a good start in any relationship.
He also seems to like ‘Supertramp’ and ‘The Cardigans’. I think this coming week will have more Canadian content. Maybe some Oscar Peterson… maybe some French Canadian stuff.
The two of us watched “Catch-22” on Saturday night. His mom fell asleep on my couch around the time Yossarian saves the Italian town by dumping his bombs in the Mediterranean.
Weird factoid… Susanne Benton, the exceptionally beautiful actress who played Orson Welles’ girlfriend in Catch-22, was born on February 3, just like me. It’s nice to have that as an ice breaker if we ever meet.
Victor and I also saw “The Blues Brothers” again. I think he’s getting to be a serious Cab Calloway fan.
My son and his mom also watched “Charly”, the Cliff Robertson movie about a “retarded” man who undergoes surgery and becomes a genius. It’s a love story I rented for Valentines Day. I still haven’t seen it… my girlfriend liked the story, but got freaked out at the 1968 special effects.
Sweet fucking Jesus my mouth hurts.
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...salted lithium. 
I just want to say I always look forward to the Little Victor Sunday updates. You seem to have a knack for fatherhood, and I love how you write about it.
Sorry about the tooth.
Good thing about little babies: they only cry as long as it hurts so as soon as the hurt is gone, the crying is gone. Wait til he’s older and learns manipulation, that’s when it gets tough 🙂
He is such a cutie! I love that your mom saved the snowsuit!
You did a good job on the autism post, not to worry about how it should have read, it’s there for thought now.
The Wakefield Lancet abstract being retracted in my opinion was a good idea, and actually it was the base for many to wrongly stop vaccinating their kids.
The base of the MMR with a mercury content is what most people directed their concerns with, I think.
There is no cure for autism, just coping skills to be learned for the various spectrum ability. Behavior can be a problem in some severe cases, of which I tend to not like seeing kids drugged for a chemical restraint, such as some that I teach who are on Risperdal for that reason only. I saw more aggression in those kids on that drug than before they were medicated, but I digress.
My youngest who is on the autistic spectrum and experiences sporadic psychosis is a complex human being, and the one of three kids who DID have a reaction to the MMR at age 2 months, which is partly why I could spend day and night researching the how and why of what and who she is, and I have!
Anyway, I’d be tempted to get the tooth pulled, but I am terrified of the dentist chair. I need nitrous just for a cleaning!
I liked your post on vaccines. We did not give our son his MMR booster that was due this year because he already has a plethora of brain issues, including previous seizures, and we don’t want to risk any more. The MMR has been tied to causing seizures in some people.
Little Victor is adorable.
The school district where I work and where my kids all attended school require the vaccines to enter Kindergarten and middle school; you’d have to bring in a “religious” reason for not having the vaccine to enter the schools.
So many of the psych meds cause seizures as possible side effects, it’s all a crap shoot it seems we play with our health and this stuff.
Having measles, mumps and rubella come back full force as a result of non-vaccinated kids is a very large risk, and it has played out with dangerous consequences in college settings, where outbreaks occur and students have died as a result.
Just saw an article yesterday on a connection made between advanced maternal and paternal ages and autism. The report did state that advanced age only accounts for a small percentage in the rise of autism, but it is a link they have found. How old is Jenny, I wonder? And daddy?
Your writing is great, as usual.
Sorry for your tooth pain .
I feel your pain. My tooth started hurting Friday night and by my emergency appointment Monday I had wished to die several times. Now I’ve got Tylenol with codein and am feeling better. On another note, I love that you have introduced little V to Pink Floyd. Floyd will always be special to me. I hope he enjoys them too. Good luck with your tooth dear friend.
You sound like such a great father…my husband wouldn’t be caught DEAD near a pediatrician. He cries if the kids cry….
Lindsey Petersen
http://5kidswdisabilities.wordpress.com
Thanks Lindsay, that’s very kind of you to say that. Believe me, though, when Victor’s crying there’s a piece of me that wants to as well. Thanks for commenting, that’s quite a blog you have.
This is kind of a weird forum for discussing vaccines and psych drugs, but I guess I started it myself with my little joke.
If we’re ever able to get past the Wakefield / McCarthy bullshit — and apparently 1 in 4 American parents can’t — there have been dozens of studies over the past decade showing a clear genetic component to autism.
The Johns Hopkins Gazette (2009): “About 90 percent of autism spectrum disorders have suspected genetic causes…”
What’s happening now is researchers are trying to pinpoint the genes which are turned on, or off, which directly cause autism.
Hi bromac… it’s weird, I was just mentioning a research study showing children with “older” fathers are more likely to have manic depression. It wasn’t a causal study, just a weird statistical anomaly which I hope doesn’t come true — according to the study, I’d be classified as “older”.
Thanks, to everyone, for commenting…