Accidental Baby Bulimia

HumorMD Jr is really starting to pick up the pace with his developmental skills. One of his most recent discoveries are his extremities. He spent a good two days simply staring at his feet and following them as he moved them around. Previous to the foot discovery, he had already shown some interest in putting his hands in his mouth. We were already debating over when he would find out that his thumb can indeed extend from his fist and be placed conveniently in his mouth.

He has yet to figure the thumb thing out completely, but since losing interest in his feet, he has gone back to his hands with a vengeance. Little man can nearly get his entire fist into his mouth (impressive given his hand size for an infant) and does so on a regular basis. It is actually difficult to get his pacifier in his mouth sometimes because he is too busy sucking on his own fingers.

One nasty consequence of the finger thing is that he has discovered another even more primitive aspect of himself...his gag reflex. It turns out that if you place your entire hand in your mouth, then you stand a good chance of choking yourself. After a few unexplained spit ups, we finally caught him in the act gagging while he continued to chomp on his little digits.

In an effort to curb this behavior, I've been pretty actively watching him and replacing his fist with his pacifier or other approved baby chew toy whenever he goes for his own fingers. He finally seems to be getting the point and will simply go with whatever I provide. He wasn't a big fan at first though. He would actually let out a whimper and look at me like I stole his bottle. Ridiculous, right? Hopefully, he'll learn to trust his old man. No sense in vomiting on your own fingers when there's a good Sophie the Giraffe chew toy available.

Tigers, Tebow, and Time and a Half

The post Christmas blues have officially worn off in the HumorMD household. This was likely due to the fact that we worked straight through most of it! I'm in the hospital again this morning and Mrs. HumorMD is finishing up an overnight shift as well. My parents are in town helping us taking care of little guy today. After a little time at home today, we're off to a wedding tonight before I get to head back to the hospital to work the day shift on Sunday. Hopefully I'm not down for the invocation Sunday morning. If so and you're a church member reading this, fill in for me please!

On the sports front, college football is about to make its final push. Bowls with actual meaning will start up this week. My Clemson Tigers play LSU on Monday and you can bet I'll be in front of the TV for that one. Really excited about this game because its a chance for us to prove ourselves versus a quality opponent.

The NFL is also going to be interesting soon. The playoff are the one time in the NFL season when I'll actually watch all the games. I usually just skip around and find teams with certain players I like (i.e CJ Spiller, Tim Tebow). Ironically, those two guys are playing this Sunday. This is likely Tebow's last game as a Jet, and from all accounts that's a good thing for both sides. Hard to figure out how that whole fiasco went down. I don't blame Tebow for being upset about being passed over. He was lied to if he was told he was the backup all season and then didn't get to play when the number one guy is benched. By definition, the next man is up when number one is out. If that isn't you, then you weren't the back up.

I've wrestled with what to think about the rumor that he asked out of playing in certain packages. First, I don't know if its true. If it is true, then my final answer rests on what I would think if HumorMD Jr asked out of a certain play or position in rec league sports. In short, I wouldn't be happy. I'm trying to teach him to put the team first and help the team win in whatever way possible. If the coach lied to you, then that's on him. Your reaction is on you. Tebow has never had a problem with this in the past, and I hope it doesn't happen again. At least we know he's human now, right...

New Food: Bubble Gum

HumorMD Jr had a great experience over the holiday trying a new food. As you'll hear about in a future post, we spent a portion of Christmas Eve at the pediatrician's office with an ear infection (too traumatic to talk about now). We walked away with a prescription for some bubble gum flavored amoxicillin. I surely wish that I had such flavored medicines when I was a kid. Anyone that has ever tasted liquid amoxicillin or augmentin can tell you that you would rather just keep blowing your nose than have to taste that stuff multiple times per day.

I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical about the bubble gum flavor thing. We're talking about the kid that thinks the Rotavirus vaccine tastes like chocolate cake, so I didn't understand why we didn't just give him the original. Don't want to throw him off his game with the whole flavoring thing. Not to mention that it could ruin actual bubble gum. It's going to take him years to figure out that Big League Chew isn't medicine and that you shouldn't immediately swallow it. I don't want him to be the kid standing at second base calling out to the coach that he ran out of gum because he ate all he had. Embarrassing.

Anyway, little man is taking it like a champ. No surprise there for anyone. I haven't tasted it myself, but the stuff surely does smell just like bubble gum. I was going to ask the pharmacist what other flavors could be arranged for when I get a sinus infection, but Mrs. HumorMD nixed that pretty quickly. I think it's an important question though. There are a lot more adults that can't swallow pills than you might think. I'm sure the number of people that take their medicine appropriately would also skyrocket if it tasted good. Can you imagine cholesterol medicine that tastes like creme brulee? It would be awesome. Instead of eating the real thing and shooting up their cholesterol, they can take the medicine and lower it. Add it to HumorMD Jr's franchising opportunities. We just want to make sure we lock up all the royalties right now.

P.S. Here is the updated list of favorite foods:

1. Formula (aka baby crack)
2. Liquid Tylenol
3. Rotavirus vaccine (same link as Tylenol)
4. Sophie the Giraffe
5. Amoxicillin
6. Bubble Gum

Storage Wars

I know you've heard of the show on TV called Storage Wars. On that show, people buy abandoned storage units so they can sell the contents for profit. After Christmas at the HumorMD household, we can likely fill up several units that those fine folks could sell for a handsome profit. In short, HumorMD Jr racked up. Its incredibly hard to find a toy appropriate for a 3 month old, but my family was up for the challenge. I think they all went to Toys-R-Us and asked to see every toy that either lights up or plays music.

HumorMD Jr loves them all, of course. He can just hang on to the miniature basketball, football, and soccer ball that he now has, and he gets a very intense look on his face when he tries to move one of them. We are trying to encourage him to use his left hand. Given the demand for left handed pitchers vs. right hand pitchers, we figure any good parent would keep this in mind when teaching him how to hold and throw a ball.

As far as the light up/musical toys, he about had a nervous breakdown when he figured out that he can press a button and make the toy light up. He's not strong or coordinated enough to accomplish this on his own on a consistent basis, but he lets out an infant scream of delight every time he manages to do it. His favorite, by far, is his Fun Pad. We like to call it the baby iPad because that's what it looks like to us. In his mind, it's probably more like "the greatest thing since I first saw a ceiling fan." He will stare at it, mesmerized, while it plays and then start rapidly pumping all four of his extremities when it ends. Pretty funny stuff.

That's just the beginning of the series of holiday recap posts that are coming down the pike. HumorMD Jr did quite a lot of new and exciting things. Here's a little sneak peek at things to expect:

• New Food: Bubble Gum
• Accidental Baby Bulimia
• The Second Illness
• HumorMD Jr's First Girlfriend

That should be enough to get us started. There really is no limit to the amount of material HumorMD Jr can provide if you spend a few days with him uninterrupted. The little guy is just that much fun. Stay tuned!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your day is filled with family, friends, and lots of love. I am spending the first part of my morning take care of some patients in the hospital, and then I will be headed out to spend time with my family. My parents are coming into town later but unfortunately I can't be with my extended family today. Our tradition when I was a kid was that I would read the Christmas story on Christmas Eve at my grandmother's house for everyone.

Since the HumorMD family can't be there this year, I've got the next best thing. Here is a video of an adorable 4 year old giving her version of the Christmas story. One day we'll get HumorMD Jr to give his version when he can read. Hope this video helps you enjoy celebrating Christ's birth today. Merry Christmas!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Good Saturday morning everyone! Per usual weekend routine when you're in residency, I'm in the hospital right now. I'll be here all day and night until tomorrow morning. Accordingly, I don't have much to talk about today. No matter as the HumorMD blog will be going into holiday mode after today. No posts tomorrow or Christmas Eve. There will be a Merry Christmas message posted Christmas Day that you can enjoy with your family. Otherwise, I hope everyone is out enjoying the season with your loved ones and celebrating Christ's birth.

This would not be a usual Saturday morning post without my college sports run down. Briefly, Duke is for real in case I haven't hammered that point home enough. They also just picked up one of the best recruits in the nation for next year. Coach K is a machine.

Speaking of machines, my Clemson Tigers played like robots versus Coastal Carolina. Coach Brownell apologized to the fans after the game, which I think was deserved. Hopefully this will serve as a wake up call to our players. Embarrasment has a way of doing that.

Today has a wonderful slate of college basketball games. The highlight in my view is Kansas vs. Ohio State. I'm hoping that I can get some down time here in the hospital to catch some of it. Don't really have an opinion on who wins, so I get to relax and just enjoy a good game.

Lastly, UNC plays McNeese St tonight. You might ask why I would even bring this game up? Well, UNC hasn't looked that hot recently, and losing this game could put them in a tailspin before our little holiday break. Crucial for the Tar Heels to win like they're supposed to. If not, look out for one of those "might not make the tournament" seasons that Roy Williams throws in every now and then.

That's all for now. Enjoy your weekend and Merry Christmas!

Looking Backwards

Maybe I over think things, but its pretty interesting how HumorMD Jr likes to be carried. He enjoys taking in his surroundings, so he prefers to be held upright on your shoulder with his head looking backwards. That way, he can charm whoever is behind you while you walk around. By the way, the added bonus here is that any spit up he decides to produce ends up on the ground behind you. Sorry lady in the check out line behind me. Just keep a safe distance, and you'll make it through just fine.

On a deeper level though, this set up is interesting. As HumorMD Jr's father, I'm thinking about what's coming for him. I'm constantly planning for his future and trying to prepare him for it. I know what's coming and what he needs to do right now to be ready. In short, I'm looking foward.

On the contrary, HumorMD Jr is looking back. He's looking back at me when I'm trying to get him to do Tummy Time, making sure that I'm there. He's looking back at me when I put him on his play mat so that he knows I think it's safe. All he knows is what he has done so far in life. He has to look to me for guidance on the future because I've been there, and he hasn't.

By now, you know what's coming. This entire thing is a metaphor for our relationship with God. In short, He knows and we don't. All we have to rely on personally is our limited experience stumbling around trying to figure things out. On the contrary, He knows it all. If we'll just let Him carry us, He'll take us the right way without us even being able to see where we're going.

Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You do I wait all the day long. Psalm 25:4-5

Think about that when you see a child being held looking back over his/her parent's shoulder. That's you. I know you think you're hot stuff and can handle it all like I do sometimes. The truth is you can't, and you need help. I could take this metaphor a step further and tie it in to HumorMD Jr's spit up, but I'll spare you today. Jesus always knew exactly when to end a proverb, and I'm trying to learn from the best!

Tummy Time Part 2

My previous post about Tummy Time should give you an idea about how well future Tummy Time episodes have gone. HumorMD Jr has continued to enjoy laying on his belly by drooling and tasting pillows. Mrs. HumorMD finally decided that she had had enough and upped the ante. We are now the proud owners of the Tummy Triangle. No pillows to lick here, which means we can finally try to focus on the task at hand.

We tried out our new contraption for the first time today. At first, he simply relaxed on it like he was tanning at the beach, which is his usual style. I decided that it was time to provide some instruction and lifted his head up so he could see himself in the mirror. This is a significant perk for HumorMD Jr as he loves to look at himself in the mirror (I know, I know. Not a good sign). Once he noticed that he could take in his own likeness, he actually did give it a little more effort! He managed to get his head up a bit for a few seconds at a time. Given our previous resounding failures, I'll take it!

Tummy Time did end in the way that it always does...crying. He finally decided he'd had enough of a workout and starting screaming. He was upset at me for a good two minutes for making him endure the torture. After giving me a look like I was the worst bully imaginable, he settled in on watching Mickey Mouse's Playhouse while sucking on his entire fist (hasn't figured out the thumb thing yet). At least he gets over things quickly. I've got a feeling that I'm going to have to be the bad guy quite a bit here so that we can get his little head under control. That's fine with me. No better time to start teaching him about hard work and never quitting. I'm sure he can draw on this when we move on to bigger and better challenges...like pee peeing in the potty. Big time stuff.

Crowds

You already heard about HumorMD Jr's first outing to a golf course yesterday. The wedding going on was a secondary event as well. Another reason for me wanting to focus HumorMD Jr on the golf course was that the noise quite simply was too much for him. We've noticed that HumorMD Jr is not big on interacting with more than about two people at a time. Needless to say, a wedding of 100 people is way above his personal limit.

This wasn't his first outing into a big crowd. We've been to several other birthday parties, church events, etc where he has displayed his displeasure at being social. Humor MD Jr has an odd method for rebelling though. Most kids would scream or cry. Not HumorMD Jr. He figures if we're trying to force him to be social than he will do the most anti-social thing possible...sleep. That's right. Little man passes right out in big crowds.

Sure, he's faking it sometimes. Most of the time though, he's honest to goodness asleep. Actually, he's probably a great indicator of how good a party you've got. Here's a little scale for you:

Awake-Funeral
Zoned Out-Senior Citizens Playing Bingo
Heavy Eyed-Kid's Birthday party
Faking Sleep-Decent party with DJ or live music
Asleep-Floor Thumping Good Time
REM Sleep-Rave

If you remember from my previous post about using babies to invite people to weddings, HumorMD Jr is building quite the entertainment franchise. I'm trying to get him to diversify to TV, but he's just not ready for that yet. Don't want to rush greatness.

The First Golf Course Trip

This past Sunday was a big day in HumorMD Jr's little life. It was his first trip to a golf course. Incidentally, we were also attending a wedding at the time, but that's not what's really important here. The moment was totally lost on me until we were driving down the main drive to the club house, and I saw him gazing out at the driving range. I gave myself a figurative kick in the rear. What kind of dad forgets about the first time taking his son to a golf course?

Fortunately, I recovered quickly. We parked, and I immediately took him over to show him the bag drop. We then moved to the golf cart drop as I explained that you always take your clubs to your car before turning in the cart. Mrs. HumorMD was getting a bit irritated at this point because we needed to get to the reception. I relented and we went upstairs into the clubhouse.

Of course, part of the reason that I relented was that going up to the second floor of the clubhouse gave us a great view of the 10th fairway and green. I pointed out the water hazard and how to always look for your ball when it goes there because you can find tons of free golf balls there. I showed him the fairway as well, which was unnaturally green for this time of year. Last we looked at the green. Drive for show and putt for dough. The green always slopes down towards the water. Hopefully he'll remember that and putt better than his old man. Doesn't do you a bit of good to be within 10 feet of the pin and miss the putt.

This entire description of what I showed him is notable for one thing that I purposefully left out. I intentionally made no mention of the rough. I figure if I don't mention it, he'll think it doesn't exist and never wind up there. You'll think me later, little buddy, I promise.

The wedding was beautiful by the way, in case you were wondering. The ceremony was just off the tenth green under a tree in front of the aforementioned water hazard. HumorMD Jr has already figured out that set up may not be ideal. Who wants to start out your married life in the rough, right next to the water, with a tree blocking your angle to the green? I'm sure we can find some beautiful views in the fairway. Surely would be better to HumorMD Jr's eye...

Batteries

HumorMD Jr's Christmas is quickly coming together. There are multiple challenges with buying Christmas gifts for a 12 week old. He isn't really old enough for most of the toys out there, and he can only focus on one thing at a time in thirty second increments. We have stood in several Babies-R-Us lines throughout this process, and I have noticed something new this year.

Every time we make it through the sea of people to the cash register, we are greeted with the number of batteries our purchases require before we get our total. This has a twofold effect. The first is to boost sales as I'm sure that prompts people to buy batteries on the spot. The second for me, personally, is a bit of buyer's remorse. Think about this from my perspective. I've just spent a sizable chunk of of my life savings, and now you're telling me that I have to dip into my 401k in order to pay for all the batteries to make these toys function. It's kind of like dunking in my face and then going into the stands to taunt my mother. One is a good move, but the second is just unacceptable.

To combat this retail unsportsmanlike conduct, I have concocted a holiday plan of my own. Every time I am reminded of the extra amount I need to spend on batteries by a cashier, I'm going to ask for a price check on the item requiring batteries. If feeling sufficiency irritated, I may even produce a coupon after getting that price check. Nothing slows down a check out line like the dreaded price check. If carried out to full effect, this will totally negate the sales bump the stores are getting from this battery ploy. Think about it. Can the store make any extra money on batteries while I'm price checking HumorMD's new Rocktivity table or diaper rash cream? I don't think so my friend.

Lastly and most importantly, today is HumorMD Jr's 3 month birthday! Happy Birthday buddy!

Post Call

Post will be short today as I am finishing up my overnight call in the hospital this morning. I've been at work since 6:30 AM yesterday and will still be here for a few more hours. Working that long is not fun, but its part of the job. Its much harder now that HumorMD Jr is at home wondering where Dad is. I've informed his Mom that she should turn on the Premier League games so that he can have his Saturday morning soccer fix. Hopefully that will be happening.

Though I have been busy over the past 24 hours, I have seen the horrific events in Connecticut. My heart goes out to those families that lost loved ones there. There simply isn't anything I can say to ease their pain, but everyone I have talked to is thinking and praying for them. I'm doing the same while holding my own little family tight.

Otherwise, there isn't much on my plate today. I'll spend several hours napping this afternoon and hopefully enjoy some time off tomorrow. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

My Son Bruised My Chest

HumorMD Jr is going to be able to squat entire buildings in the weight room when he gets older. How do I know this? Because he already injured his old man by kicking him in the chest. Yes, you read that right. The 12 week old kicked me so hard that he bruised me. Embarrassed and proud all at the same time. I'm an emotional basket case.

You might wonder what inspired such a show of strength from little man? That would be our Saturday morning soccer viewing. The Premier League comes on in the morning (maybe a few of you actually know that). We've discovered over the past few weekends that HumorMD Jr loves to watch soccer. He will watch the entire game and kick his own legs every time he sees someone kick the ball on the TV. It's pretty remarkable to watch.

This past Saturday, I decided to get down in front of him while this was going on. As it turns out, Chelsea went on a breakaway and HumorMD Jr went nuts. I was leaning over him making faces when he planted his right heel directly in my sternum. It knocked me back for a second, which was fortunate since it allowed me to see Chelsea score. I'm not sure if little buddy was happy that Chelsea scored or mad at me for partially blocking his view. Regardless, he gave me everything he's got, and I did not get down in front of him until the game was off.

Mrs. HumorMD was actually very excited about this entire series of events. She is trying to ensure that he latches on to a sport that involves few injuries. So far, the leaders are baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, badminton, and dodgeball (no wrenches unlike the movie). Football is somewhere near the bottom. That might be good for the short term as well. Can you imagine if I had to go to the hospital because my 12 week old tried to cut block me when I walked by? The guys at work would never let me live that down.

Hat Training

I've already told you about HumorMD Jr's hatred for winter clothes. This inclination of his extends to hats as well. This presents a problem during cold weather. He already hates blankets and thick clothes. The little guy is going to freeze to death if we have to add hats to the black list. Consequently, we have introduced him to hat training.

Hat training is somewhat like desensitization for those familiar with medicine. You gradually expose someone to higher and higher doses of something they're allergic to so that they can eventually tolerate it. The same concept applies with hat training. We are giving him increasing amounts of time wearing a hat each day. So far, we're up to about 5 minutes. He has spent every second of that grunting and violently shaking his head from side to side so far. Promising, I know.

It probably doesn't help that his old man really hates hats. I only wear them when I haven't showered in days or if I'm on a construction site that requires hard hats to decrease the risk of death from falling objects. Accordingly, I've adopted the role of bad cop for this entire hat training fiasco. Mrs. HumorMD encourages him and says nice things, and I stand behind her making scary faces. Occasionally I let loose an ear splitting scream to better get my point across. I figure he should be presented with both options equally so he can choose for himself. I can't help it that he sides with me. The facts are the facts, and there's nothing I can do about that.

Dr. Google

When you first start out as a doctor, you're very nervous about letting people know that you are absolutely clueless. I can recall many a time that I made an excuse to leave the room as an intern so that I could go look up something. Patients already look at you with a suspicious eye since they know you're new. If they catch you trying to figure out the dose of insulin you should give them on Google, its adios amigos.

As I've progressed through residency, I'm much less shy about using my tools to my advantage. Smartphones have taken over as the must have resident resource. Residents twenty years ago would carry around huge books in their pockets as reference. I have all of that plus more in the palm of my hand. I can even order dinner and text my wife while I look something up. Pretty cool in my opinion.

As a consequence, I've huddled around my iPhone with several patients to look up an answer we're seeking. I've found my patients to be much more trusting of me when I will simply admit that there are some things that I don't know. It helps that I have had some attending physicians that I work under model this well. When you are exchanging journal articles with patients like some of them are, then you have a reached a new level of patient physician collaboration. There are a lot of times that answers are hard to find or not cut and dry, and I enjoy my job much more when I can simply be honest about that.

I don't think that this iDoc revolution is going to change any time soon. If anything, technology is going to come into the exam room more and more. It's our responsibility as doctors to figure out how to appropriately use it so that its helpful and not a hindrance to our relationship with our patients. By the time HumorMD Jr is in med school (haha, we'll see!), I'm hoping that we'll have the technology to simply record the appointment and transcribe it into a note for the medical record. I'm sure people are working on this. If not, I thought of it first and am awaiting my royalty check. 60% of all sales will do. Don't want to get too greedy.

Seriously though, don't freak out when your doctor pulls out his smartphone or fires up the computer in front of you. He has the entire medical literature at his fingertips. Let him use it. Would you rather he be confidently wrong or humbly correct? I'll take the humility all day, and so should you.

The First Illness

Well, it finally happened. We knew it was coming at some point. HumorMD Jr got sick. With all of the bugs that Mrs. HumorMD and I are around on a daily basis, it was only a matter of time. We both come down with an upper respiratory virus this past week, and it wasn't long before little man was sniffling. I'll preface the rest of this post by saying that he's perfectly fine. A few sniffles remain but he is well on his way to recovery.

The main symptom that HumorMD Jr had was nasal congestion. I discovered his problem at night when he woke up snorting like a pig. We're well schooled in the fine art of nasal irrigation and bulb suction, so I started in on his nasal cavities. Little man was not very happy about this. No one gets very excited about being held down and having saline squirted up your nose. Usually, one bulb syringe episode will last him for days. He woke up needing another round about 3 hours later.

That was pretty much our routine for the next 24 hours. Irrigation and suction followed by not letting him lie flat and then repeat. HumorMD Jr handled it all like a champ. He continued to devour bottles like a tiger attacking its prey. He can also sleep in almost any position, so staying upright wasn't a problem at all for him. He never had a fever during the whole ordeal. In my professional view, this is an indicator of a superior immune system. Maybe he's really a superhero.

Reflecting on this episode, I'm glad we got it over with now. HumorMD Jr is at a real risk of getting ignored later in life when he feels sick. With both of his parents being doctors, he's pretty much going to have to be falling over before we take it seriously. Most parents just come pick up their child when the school nurse calls to say that they're sick. We'll just phone in some orders and say call us back if that doesn't work.

Kicked Out of Church

A time comes when every infant has to take his or her rightful place in the nursery. HumorMD Jr experienced that this Sunday. Our church is very understanding of newborns in the service, but I don't want him sitting there grunting, crying and generally distracting everyone else. He started whimpering after the opening hymn, and I made the decision to semi-gracefully exit after communion.

I say only semi-gracefully because he had already starting crying and it was during the middle of the prayer. My mother-in-law had been holding him during all of this. A family friend leaned forward and said rather loudly that she must not be doing it right. As hilarious as that was, it just meant I had to make an even hastier exit than planned so I didn't laugh out loud. I got a lot of of one eyed looks from adults with their heads bowed on the way out. If you're one of those one eyed adults reading this, yes I saw you open your eye (singular of course). God saw it too. You do with that what you will.

As it turns out, HumorMD Jr is a big fan of the nursery. I took him in there, sat down in a rocking chair, and he passed out immediately. There were some little boys building block towers and then loudly destroying them, but that never phased him. We remained in that chair for the duration of the service. It was probably his favorite trip to church to date.

Although little man didn't check out his surroundings much, I'm sure he's going to like it in there. There's everything a little boy could want: nice people, blocks, trains, and Mr. Potato Head. I watched the block destroyers put Mr. Potato Head's arms on backwards for about 10 minutes before I helped them out. Then I taught them the word double jointed before leaving. Nothing like a little medical education to close out a landmark Sunday. We're looking forward to next week!

Move Over Heisman, Round Ball is Here

Happy Saturday to everyone. A great day of college hoops awaits for HumorMD Jr and I. There's only one matchup of two top 25 teams today, but this is the first Saturday where the basketball schedule is full. HumorMD Jr will be checking out the Blue Devils again today at 3:15. We'll see if they can take care of business against Temple and continue their argument for being number one in the nation.

My Clemson Tigers take on the number eight ranked Arizona Wildcats. I'm really looking forward to this game. Clemson doesn't have the offensive firepower that most teams do, but we do possess a good defensive mentality that keeps us in games we otherwise shouldn't be in. If we can keep this to a low scoring affair, then we have a chance with some well timed buckets.

The only top 25 matchup that I alluded to earlier is Illinois at Gonzaga at 10PM. That's a little bit past HumorMD Jr's bedtime, so I'm not sure we'll catch that one. Maybe we can DVR it for him, and he can check it out during his morning bottle time.

The only football related item today is the Heisman Trophy. Klein, Te'o, and Manziel are the guys. Klein is third in my opinion. This will come down to Te'o vs. Manziel. I wouldn't have a problem with either of them. Both have played well and bring something unique to the table (defensive player vs. freshman). Given what I know, I'm going to stick my money on Te'o. He's already won the other player of the year awards, plays for Notre Dame, and is an upperclassmen. All of these attributes typically bode well for a Heisman finalist.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend. I will be back in the hospital tomorrow morning unfortunately, which means I will likely not be saying the opening prayer during church as scheduled (ahh resident life). However, I should be able to spend some time with HumorMD Jr and Mrs. HumorMD later on in the afternoon. Now, on to the laundry!

P.S. Forgot to mentioned the Army vs. Navy game today. How dumb am I? Yes, you should watch that. Future military leaders playing football. Just might be worth your time if you're into the whole duty and honor thing.

Mom, I'm Coughing!

HumorMD Jr is rapidly learning how to work the system. As most new parents do, we respond to every little cry and movement fairly rapidly. Consequently, he not only expects us to respond quickly to his needs, but he also will use our attentiveness against us. His best work by far is when he coughs.

Now, HumorMD Jr probably has coughed about four times in his entire life to date. Each one has been a full scale production. After each expectoration, he turns and looks at his mother as if the world has just ended. A small cry will usually follow and Mom or Dad comes running. In case you were wondering, he's always fine by the time we get there. He'll even usually break out a smile for our efforts once we reach him.

Mrs. HumorMD has dubbed this the "I'm coughing!" face, which I think is appropriate. What HumorMD Jr doesn't understand yet is that he doesn't have to break out the drama for us to pay attention to him. He'll be quite the actor if every bodily function is accompanied with this type of theatrics.

While most of you laugh at HumorMD Jr, you actually do the same thing. How many of us regularly do things that we believe we must do to get God's attention? We think we must act a certain way, choose a certain career, or obtain a certain level of piety. None of this is true of course. We are valuable to God because we are his creation made for a relationship with Him. That's it. In the same way, HumorMD Jr is valuable to me because he is my son. Nothing he does could change that.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-7

Remember where your worth lies and that nothing you do will increase or decrease it. There's no need to break out the "I'm coughing" face for God.


P.S. HumorMD Jr's GI tract conquered another outfit while I was writing this. If you thought the "I'm coughing" face was bad, you should see this...
 

Remember, Remember the 5th of December

Yesterday was a big day in the Internal Medicine world. Unbeknownst to any of you, an entirely new crop of doctors that will provide care for patients with heart disease, cancer, kidney disease, GI illnesses, arthritis, and lung problems was selected yesterday (amongst many others). In case you were wondering, that pretty much covers everyone in the entire world at some point in their life. Yesterday was subspecialty Match Day.

Match Day for medical students gets a lot more press than the subspecialty version. I've seen national news reports showing medical students opening their letters on a stage telling them where they will be doing residency. For medicine residents doing subspecialties, it is not nearly that dramatic. Most of them simply opened their emails at noon yesterday to find out their fate. All adults will probably see one of these folks at some point in your life. Your newly minted cardiologist is probably walking around a hospital right now proudly telling their colleagues where they are going for their training.

You might ask why I'm broadcasting this. Why should you care? There's no way for you to know which one will be your doctor one day. My point is fairly simple. Residency is hard. Those who have never done it can't understand the accomplishment that comes with finishing and moving on to the next challenge that awaits. For third year residents, Match Day yesterday signaled more than the start of the next phase. It meant nearing the completion of a very large step in their lives.

So if you know a resident that matched yesterday, join me in congratulating them. They have worked many long hours to get there. HumorMD Jr has already given out a congratulatory present or two as a matter of fact. I'll let you figure out which end it came from...

Tummy Time

Since Mrs. HumorMD is a pediatrician, there are certain mandated activities that HumorMD Jr has to do to ensure that he maintains a proper developmental trajectory. One of these is tummy time. What is this? Mandated time spent on his belly with a pillow under his head. The idea is that he has to lift his head to see anything, which will help him develop his head holding skills. I'm sure this works very well with many kids, but HumorMD Jr has thrown a wrench into this whole process. He loves being on his tummy.

He would lay there all day with his head on the pillow if you let him. He must enjoy scoping out the flooring in our house because he stares at the ground about one inch from his face and just cackles. Additionally, he's decided that repeatedly licking the pillow is an excellent use of tummy time. We have no idea why he thinks the pillow tastes so good, but he would have gone through an entire box of lollipops at this point with all the tongue action that's been going on.

We have made multiple attempts to redirect his efforts but have been unsuccessful so far. I tried pushing the pillow further under him, but that just resulted in him repeatedly face planting into the carpet. He greatly enjoyed this by the way. I moved the pillow the opposite way, but that just gave him easier access to licking the pillow. We have yet to come up with any other solution, and I'm pretty sure that we won't.

Mrs. HumorMD is naturally very concerned about this. Personally, I figure that when he finds something more interesting than the floor or licking the pillow then he will look up. For now, I like to think that we are developing his tasting skills. Who can say that they can differentiate between multiple brands of pillow based on taste alone? In the race for unique marketable skills, we are just innovative parents giving our kid a reason to hold his head high...well, you know what I mean.

Hey Santa, Lose the Fan!

HumorMD Jr took his second trip to see Santa over the weekend. His first visit was solo but this one was with his little cousins. I say little because they are all little to me, but they are older than him. Our main objective was pictures this time although I heard the other slipping in some extra gift ideas. The pictures went relatively well given that you had to get the attention of an infant plus three young girls all at once. HumorMD Jr discovered beards and spent several minutes with his face in it trying to get a good feel. Maybe he's thinking about not shaving in the future.

Our biggest problem came at the beginning when little man noticed something above his head. Kris Kringle apparently had been getting warm in his woolen red suit in the South Carolina and had decided to flip on the overhead fan. This created a real conundrum for HumorMD Jr. Do I look at all of my relative yelling my name or the one thing in this world that I can stare at for over five minutes? HumorMD Jr loves himself a good fan, so we lost that battle for awhile.

The photographer even remarked that all the kids kept looking at the fan. No one seemed to entertain the obvious solution...turn the fan off! Even I, the novice parent, knew that there was no way any infant was going to look at the camera with the whirling machine of infant hypnosis above. It's just like putting the Seahorse up there and expecting him to not look at it.

So for all dedicated Santas everywhere that are snapping photos that will be on Christmas cards and in scrapbooks for decades to come, please please give us parents a chance. Stock up on ice packs, rig up an AC unit behind you, or even go bold and get a Santa suit made that can breathe a little. But whatever you do, lose the fan!

Infant Essentials: How to Eat a Giraffe

I have goals for what I want to teach HumorMD Jr as he grows up. Faith, integrity, determination, and courage are few examples of the attributes that I hope I can instill in him. Before embarking on these lofty goals however, we must start with the basics. This past week, we have been working on his eating skills. He has come a long way in his first 11 weeks of life. Previously, more formula would end up on him than in him. That is no longer the case. He is steadily increasing the amount that he takes, and our next major step will likely be when to introduce solid food.

Some of you are the medical type and know that the recommendation is to not introduce solids before 6 months. Well, we broke that here in the HumorMD household. May I introduce you to HumorMD Jr's first solid food...Sophie. If you click on the link, you will notice something about Sophie. She's a giraffe. Mrs. HumorMD picked up Sophie several weeks ago. I'll have to admit that I made fun of this a bit. I didn't see the point of a female rubber chew toy shaped like a giraffe for a little boy. To be honest, it reminded me more of a dog toy.

Little man has taken to it like white on rice though. He will hold on to things if you put them in his hand now. After getting a firm grasp on Sophie, it took him less than five minutes to get that thing to his mouth and starting gnawing. He's not cutting teeth yet, but he should have some good strong gums by the time that rolls around.

Given his obvious love for this plastic toy, we have officially dubbed it his first solid food. As review, let's go back through the now updated list of HumorMD Jr's favorite foods:

1. Formula (aka baby crack)
2. Liquid Tylenol
3. Rotavirus vaccine (same link as Tylenol)
4. Sophie the Giraffe

That's the makings of quite a list there. Can't wait to see what we add next!

Championship Saturday

As broken up as HumorMD Jr is that our Tigers aren’t playing this weekend, both he and I are excited about today. It’s conference championship  Saturday, and some great games await us. First, congrats to the Stanford Cardinals. Love what they have done with that program. My home conference game, the ACC, features Florida State vs. Georgia Tech. I will pay attention because it is the ACC, but the only word to describe it can be disappointing. When one team in your conference championship is getting a waiver to play in a bowl game in case they end up with a losing record, then you have a problem.

The game of the day is the SEC championship of course. A berth in the national championship game is on the line. I don’t have a preference between the Bulldogs and the Tide. I’m simply looking forward to watching some good football. Still undecided if I will pull for the winner of this game or Notre Dame in the national championship. This would traditionally be a no brainer as any Southerner worth his salt pulls should root against the Irish in that situation. The ACC has created a problem for me though with this recent agreement to make Notre Dame a semi-member. I’ll keep you updated on whether geographic or conference loyalty wins out.

Only the bowls remain for college football today, which means we are fully shifting gears to college basketball. My previous warning to other teams to not overlook Duke has now been upgraded to a full scale alert. After watching them come back against Ohio State I just have one thing to say…those jokers are good. I believe the Duke/UNC game will be painful for the Tar Heels as they most definitely cannot hang with them right now. My assessment of NC State is becoming more tempered. The Wolfpack have not looked as good of late. Still plenty of time to right the ship, but they might want to slow down that hype train for right now.

Hope all of you enjoy the day as much as HumorMD Jr and I will! Plenty of good things to come next week including HumorMD Jr’s battle with Sophie the rubber giraffe. Stay tuned for details!