My friend Dr. Mia de Jesus-Estepa told me that she spent the greater part of her 2 y/o son's infant stage with him sleeping on their bed and not in the crib. To this day, her little boy transfers from his room to theirs when he wakes up during the night.

ME: "But you're a pediatrician. Shouldn't you be setting a good example?"

HER: "Believe me, I've tried everything."    

     Speaking of trying everything, here's my husband walking around the house with the stroller just to put Cougar to sleep. He loves motion but the rocker isn't very effective.


       We were initially lugging the baby carrier around but he's grown to Buddha proportions that it has become difficult to carry him in it. He's now a whopping 10 lbs., fed purely with breast milk. 


     The things we do just to put him to sleep! 

     My parents said I was the same, so this must be the beginning of atonement for my many sins ...   

mood: content tags: bruce cougar paulson, drew paulson

     It took us more than an hour to get seats in Brewers Sports Bar to watch the Pacquiao and Cotto duel. The Hispanics were out in full force. Husband told me to cheer for Pacquiao quietly because we might get into a fight.  

     This was my view. We were right in front of the plasma TVs!


     Our fear was unfounded because it turns out that a lot of the Hispanics are supporting Pacquiao. We watched in awe as Pacquiao connected 50% of his power punches. 

     In the latter rounds, a bloodied Cotto with a broken nose was prancing in the ring like a dancing queen while Pacquiao was charging mercilessly like a bull. Cotto's wife left three-fourths of the way with their son. I'm glad she did that --- otherwise, her kid would need psychotherapy from the trauma of seeing his father get beaten up.   

    The match was stopped by the referee with 55 seconds to go on the 12th round. 

    After seeing how Cotto's face looked like minced pastrami, husband and I have decided that Cougar won't be a boxer. Over my dead body. 

mood: jubilant tags: boxing, manny pacquiao

     The Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto fight is tonight!!! Husband and I are going to Brewers bar to watch it because we're cheap and don't want to shell out for pay-per-view it's more fun to watch it with other people.

     If Pacquiao wins, he'll be making history as the first boxer to win a title in 7 divisions. 

     Incidentally, here's Pacquiao singing "Sometimes When We Touch" on Jimmy Kimmel Live just in case you missed it. I think that's a first as well --- a boxer singing on a talk show!     
     Confession #1: I watched it 3 times. Husband was like, "I can't believe you're listening to that."

     Confession #2: I've been singing the same song to lull Cougar to sleep.

mood: busy tags: boxing, manny pacquiao

     I used to think that Carrie Prejean was just being honest when she opposed gay marriage during the Miss Universe beauty pageant last April 2009 but I stand corrected. She's either a loony toon or just plain dumb!!! Just watch how she made a spectacle of herself on Larry King Live.

     There's a story behind her being pissed off but that's beside the point. She sure doesn't know how to conduct herself in interviews.

     The best part is, after calling Larry "extremely inappropriate" (Why? Was he fondling himself?) and saying "I'm about to leave your show", she sits there with a smile on her face like as if she's in a restaurant waiting for her order. Talk about AWKWARD.

mood: busy tags: carrie prejean

     I must be sleep-deprived and seeing stars, but I could swear Nicole Kidman's mammary glands weren't this supersonic before.
 
 
     Plastic surgery or push-up bra? Or is she still lactating? Such important questions that need pondering in the same magnitude as congressional debates.
 
     Real or not, they sure are being squished by the dress that from here, I can almost hear them cry for "Help!"

mood: amused tags: nicole kidman

     Cougar goes through diapers like candy.


     I wonder how the less fortunate can afford it!
 
     At the rate we're going, we'll soon need some bailout money.

mood: cheerful tags: babies, bruce cougar paulson

     Just earlier this year, the three of us were pregnant ...


     We're all trying to lose the excess weight. I have 15 more pounds to go.

     The important thing is, everything that's dark is becoming pink again :-) 

mood: chipper tags: dr. adrienne gutierrez, dr. jem evangelista, pregnancy

     We were in the Ocotillo seafood buffet in the Quechan Casino the other night when my husband suddenly turned red in the face after a couple of bites. He's always had difficulty in swallowing big pills and has experienced at least 3 episodes in his life when he had symptoms of esophageal spasm that resolved with rest, so I initially didn't think that it was anything serious. I happily continued eating king crabs while he went out several times to get some fresh air, unaware that he had been retching in the bathroom with no relief.

      And then I noticed the beer.

      I knew that something was wrong when he didn't even touch his drink. He looked uncomfortable and flushed so I excused ourselves from that night's company to go home. I asked my husband if he wanted to swing by the ER but he refused.

     At 3 AM, husband gave up on sleep and told me that he was going to the ER. He was still retching and couldn't keep anything down. He had not eaten, drank, nor slept. He was supposed to work that morning but was going in as a patient.

     You can't imagine how I felt in those hours. I had a sick husband and a crying baby in my arms. I couldn't even drive him to the ER  because the nanny doesn't come in till 7 AM. I was THISCLOSE to crying as well.   

     I later got a call from my husband that the endoscopy team was mobilized to come in. It was a Saturday but the gastroenterologist scheduled him for the procedure first thing that morning because of findings in his lateral neck X-ray that seemed to suggest a foreign body obstruction. He asked me to come pick him up because he'll be too sedated to drive.

     I was unprepared for the findings. It's one thing to live with these occasional symptoms, it's another to really know what's wrong. He has a distal esophageal stricture that makes the orifice smaller than the pinky finger and the endoscope unable to pass through. He will have to undergo a repeat endoscopy for dilation in a month. He also has eosinophilic esophagitis which makes the esophagus as stiff as a lead pipe. To top it all off, there was mashed potato that was sitting on top of the stricture.

     No wonder he was so miserable.

     And so was I. (I lied. I did cry.) 

mood: aggravated tags: husbandry

     As a song goes: "If a picture paints a thousand words ..." 
 

     Enjoy the moment, hon. Fifteen years from now, he'll be wrecking your car.

mood: awake tags: bruce cougar paulson, drew paulson, husbandry

     My son was 4 weeks old yesterday.
4 days old
2 weeks old 
4 weeks old

     So we're discovering that parenthood is not just about coos, hugs and lullabies. It's also about endless diaper changes, peeing on your face at 3 o'clock in the morning, scarcity of sleep, every 1 1/2-2 hour feedings, colic, blocked milk ducts and mastitis.   

     And then some.

mood: quixotic tags: babies, bruce cougar paulson, parenthood