Oh Toodles!

if you have a young child like me, you probably watch more kid shows than adult ones. and you're probably glued to playhouse disney channel more than others because of mickey mouse (clubhouse). you even know each song lyrics and probably memorised the dialogues after watching the show over and over and over and over......

as much as i want to limit cayden's tv exposure, i cant. the tv is the only thing that can make him sit down in one place for a long period of time. that means, i can do other chores without worrying on what he'll be up to as soon as my back is turned. he only watches the disney playhouse channel (and +1), alternating between mickey mouse clubhouse, handy manny and special agent oso.

anyways, watching the mickey mouse clubhouse, you're probably familiar with toodles.

Once the problem of the episode has been explained, Mickey invites viewers to join him at the Mousekadoer, a giant Mickey-head-shaped computer whose main function is to distribute the day's Mousekatools, a collection of objects needed to solve the day's problem, to Mickey. Once the tools have been shown to Mickey on the Mousekadoer screen, they are quickly downloaded to Toodles, a small, Mickey-head-shaped flying extension of the Mousekadoer. By calling, "Oh Toodles!" Mickey summons him to pop up from where he is hiding and fly up to the screen so that the viewer can pick which tool Mickey needs for the current situation (wiki)

pic from google

now cayden thinks we have a toodles! one time, he wants me to change the channel (to +1) but the remote was on a table a few feet from where we were sitting. i told him to get it. he didnt want to get up so what did he do? he shouted, TOODLES!!!!! it was really a laugh-out-loud moment =D

another time, he came in to my bedroom and asked me to read him a book. i asked him to get his book from his room. instead of getting up, he again shouted TOODLES!! =D

if only there really is such a thing! (and handy helpers too!) but sorry, baby, you would have to do things yourself.

2M

kian turned 2 months old last saturday. he was weighed last thursday and he's already 6.2kg! no wonder my arms ache when i carry him! he can carry his head well already. he coos and smiles a lot when talked to...cute! he's a much easier baby than cayden was. i dont worry as much when i leave him with my mom because he can bottlefeed expressed milk (the guilt is still there, though!) - eventhough he complains at first! he sleeps well through the night, feeding only once or sometimes not at all =D. he's a light sleeper during the day, often waking up to his kuya's noise. but at night, he falls asleep by himself (no rocking, tapping nor singing needed). he's growing up way too fast!!!

All Clear!

i have a lump on my left breast. i've had it for more than 10 years - no pain, no discharge, no dimpling, movable and it didnt change in size or texture. i had it checked "informally" by my friend doctor (no tests done) and i was told it's benign. it didnt bother me. didnt worry me at all.

photo from beyondmedicine.co.uk

(fast forward to the present)
second day into breastfeeding kian, i felt a lump on my right breast. it didnt worry me at first because i am breastfeeding and it could just be some blocked ducts. i did some reading and followed everything that was advised - hot compress, massage, etc. even after doing everything that's listed, it didnt go away. 3, 4 weeks have passed, it's still there.

then i started worrying. for one, i have a very close friend who had a brush with breast cancer recently (fortunately, it was in it's earliest stage, didnt even make it to stage one) and had radiotherapy treatment after having the lump removed. secondly, it's not movable like the one on my left breast and it's not painful (which could easily have been mastitis or blocked duct). i did some research again, in case i missed something, i read that blocked ducts or mastitis should resolve within 2 weeks. i can still feel it on the 5th week!

i went to see my gp. she felt my breasts and armpits. she wasnt worried because she said it's likely to be just a blocked duct and will eventually go away by itself. the lump on my left breast, she said it's been there ages and didnt change so she said she wouldnt start worrying about it. still, she referred me to the breast clinic.

last thursday, i had the breast ultrasound (mammogram not advisable as that would just squeeze the milk out!). it was a doctor who did the scan (im not sure about her specialty) and she said she did not see anything worrying; even with my (true) lump.

earlier this afternoon was my appointment with a male specialist (who looks like Philip Seymour Hoffman!). i waited for more than an hour to be seen in less than 5 minutes! i was ushered in a room, asked to take my top off including my bra and to wear hospital gown. waited again for the consultant. when he came, he just felt my breasts and confirmed what the other doctor said - that there's nothing to worry about. the breast is just probably working hard in producing milk. for the proper lump, he said it's most likely benign bec it's been there ages already and im still ok. i wanted to complain about the wait but im too grateful to do that! i'd rather that than be seen for longer which would mean something's seriously wrong, right?

anyways, im really thankful that there's nothing to worry about. i thought, better be paranoid than leaving it till there's no more hope. so ladies, always be wary of your bodies. any concerns, no matter how trivial,  see a doctor! better safe than sorry!