Due to Mateo’s unexpected illness and hospitalization, our expenses just shot up several notches higher. This coupled with the fact that I am always late for work trying to balance baby duties, house chores, and work compounds our problem. With my deductions from lates equalling that of an absence or 2, my paycheck is considerably reduced. Huhu!Moreover, our groceries are not what they used to be. What used to be a P1,500 grocery trip for 2 weeks has now climbed up to almost P2,500 with the inclusion of Mateo’s milk and diapers. (A kilo of milk lasts him only 2 weeks even when alternated with breastfeeding. He’s a real milk monster.) And yesterday, our groceries even reached a record high P3,800. Huhuhu! This happened because we finally bought him a stroller. We couldn’t carry him anymore because our arms are giving out from his weight. We couldn’t finish our grocery-shopping with him in our arms so there… we bought one. (just when we thought our expenses couldn’t get any worse)

Well you know what they say. When the going gets tough… buy a stroller!!!

Yesterday, my son became familiar with the painful world of medicine…

Just before 7 am, he was subjected to a medical procedure that urologists call VCUG (Voiding Cystourethrography). The name sounds scary and the whole procedure is even scarier. It entails administering a dye (for contrast) using a catheter. (Talk about torture!) An X-ray machine then determines the path of the dye through the bladder. This test is supposed to check if the urine inside the body flows the way it’s supposed to. If there are abnormalities in the kidney, ureters, or bladder, the urine would flow abnormally. Fortunately for Mateo, the results of his VCUG cleared out any possibility of structural abnormalities. The diagnosis - his UTI was caused by his immature bladder (which was apparently still normal for his age).Thank goodness my son won’t be undergoing any surgery. Yehey! We were so relieved. The doctor expects his bladder to work better as he ages, but to prevent a second infection though, he recommends circumcision ASAP. He also prescribed an antibiotic for a whole year to make sure Mateo’s UTI does not recur. Huhu!!!

After his VCUG, we went to Mateo’s pedia right away. We weren’t actually planning on giving him a shot but when his pedia saw that he was ready, he was given his second vaccination (Hepa B). Afterwards, upon reading the results of his VCUG, his pedia even suggested that he undergoes circumcision that same afternoon. My poor kid! He just got a shot in the leg right after getting catheterized and now he faces circumcision. Wawa naman! Worried of what might happen, andrea and I just decided to give Mateo some time to recuperate from the whole ordeal first. We decided to postpone the circumcision.

Anyway, andrea and I are thankful that the worst is over. At least Mateo will not be facing a major surgery anytime soon. With regards to the circumcision however, every man has to go through it. The only thing I regret is not being able to talk to him about it father-to-son.