2nd Chiropractor Visit, Puking, Alternative Medicine & Brutal Honesty

Went much better!

Noah still flipped out when the dr put up his x ray....will he always be scarred by them? I hope not, it has to get better. Anyways, the chiro mentioned starting him on Aloe Vera juice. I don't know much about this, but it is suppose to help with inflammation and his thinking was all the vomiting makes his throat sore, so this might help. Despite our best efforts and trying every med and trick under the sun, Noah still vomits daily. No matter what we do, we can not get him to stop fully. A lot is behavioral, so hopefully as he gets older this will get better. Both boys got adjusted. Brock just sat there like a little champ and liked it, he has one LOUD pop, I was surprised by it. Didn't faze Brockie in the least and he was finished pretty fast. Noah did sit on the table and was ok with it. Him and the dr have to work on their relationship. lol. He said Noah was very tight and he also has a few loud pops. Noah was in a MUCH better mood after his adjustments. He gave all the ladies there a hug by, he may be a bit of a flirt.

Noah is suppose to go 3 times a week for 3 weeks, then 2 times per week for 4 weeks then once a week for 6 weeks. THEN, {still with me?} 2 times a month for 4 months and finally 1 time a month for 5 months. Whoa, a lot of visits, so Noah better learn to like it...little booger. Brock is mainly for maintenance. He is suppose to go twice a week for 3 weeks then once a week for 4 weeks, then eventually once a month for 7 months. It's really nice bc it's literally 3 minutes up the road.

We have tried tons of meds to help Noah, none which have done anything significant for him, so now we are looking more into alternative meds. DH and I were talking ab it and if it's non invasive and can possibly help him feel better, why not? I have been doing a lot of research on chiropractics and kids and have gotten nothing but good feedback on it. I have talked to several moms who take their kids and love it. Of course at any point if Noah seems absolutely miserable, then we would stop. I just can't stop looking for things to try to help him. I refuse to give up and say, "sorry buddy, this is as good as it gets." It's not. There has to be SOMETHING out there. There has to be a reason. There has to be something someone is missing. My duty as his mom is to help him and by damn I will. I am not giving up. I am SO thankful he is so happy and loving and sweet as he is with all the crap he goes thru. Can you imagine puking 3-5 times a day since you were 4 months old??? He will puke, which looks horrid bc he has a nissen, so he sounds like he throwing up his stomach, he gets all red, and sweats and shakes at times, his eyes water and get bloodshot. He will do this for a min to 3-5 mins. It's exhausting for him. then he gets RIGHT back up and plays like oh, this is what kids do....this is normal. How miserable that must be, what that feels like? How his throat feels from puking so much. It's all he knows. He doesn't know different. It's his life. I refuse for that to be his life. Would you accept that for your child? No, you wouldn't.

We have gotten some negative feedback from people about taking the boys to the chiropractor. Really? I don't see the big deal. Come to think of it, we have gotten lots of feedback from people about lots of things in the past 2.5 yrs. Imagine having a non eater with "issues" then getting pregnant again! Wow, the feedback from that was insane. "Your having ANOTHER one...Noah's not eating." really? I haven't noticed. "How are you going to afford another child, you stay home with Noah." ugh People have really said these things.

I guess it's fair game if I post on FB about my life. People can comment, but I ask one thing before you judge us or say something dumb like, "well, I could get him to eat/he'd eat for me." {Which I effin' despise that line, if you can get him to eat, DO IT! I'd LOVE for you to! BY ALL MEANS!} Walk in our shoes for a week, hell a few days would be sufficient, THEN, and only then, can you tell me what you think. Or how I am going to far trying different things. Oh, and if your going to say it, don't say it behind my back, tell me. Don't tell me I am hurting him by taking him to the chiro. How I am 'risking his "being." Just because he looks "good/normal" doesn't mean he is. EVERYONE could use an adjustment. Why not try something easy like a chiro. if it may help? Frustrating.

We may not have the means to go do things we use to, funds are tight, I'm not going to lie, it's not easy, it strains relationships, friendships, family. You find out who your true friends are. Dr appointments, therapy, making formula, I NEVER thought I'd have to still be making my 2.5 year old formula everyday. It sucks. Brutal honesty, I don't like feeding Noah thru his tube. I wish SO badly he would just eat. It's so simple right? You put food in chew and swallow, simple. Not for him and it breaks my heart to watch him struggle with something that should have been so natural for him. There are days I still do the WHY ME crap. Why him? Why can't things be easy? Why does everything for him have to be 20X's harder? I am also thankful for Noah's tube, I wish he would eat yes, but I am very thankful he has it and I can feed him & he thrives.Then I know, there are people who have it much harder than us They fight diseases they never should have to and are so much stronger than I will ever dream of being. They are examples of how people should be. They go through so much pain and yet, so happy, full of life. That puts things back in perspective for us. Yeah, him not eating sucks big time, but it could be worse.

I love my boys more than anything in this world. I wouldn't trade them for anything. They make me so happy and watching them grow is amazing. There is nothing more amazing then Noah coming up with a smile and saying, "I love you mommy." Or going to get Brock in the morning he and gets a huge smile on his face & is so happy to see me. The random cuddles throughout the day with both boys. These are the things to keep on going for. To get Noah better. To take the bad, but then have them do something so small as giggle and everything is right in your world.....even if it's only a few minutes.

Frustrating Dietitian Appointment

Noah met with his dietitian yesterday, he has lost almost 2 lbs since last January. He was a hefty 32lbs 14oz, now he is down to 31 even. Height was 38.5." Which is still 50% for weight, but we don't want him losing weight, even with room to spare. We were ok with him holding steady because he was a chunk, but now he has lost. I am very obnoxious with counting the calories in his blend and have a food scale that tells me how many calories are in certain foods to make sure I am right and not just guesing and then possibly under guessing how many calories are in his blends.

We have transitioned from full J feeds to small blended diet boluses and hooked up at night, to larger BD boluses. Our calorie goal was 1,400 a day, which isn't cutting it anymore. 1,400 is a crazy number for a 2 year old. On a BD we have always had to go higher than on just formula alone. That's a ton of calories though. Granted Noah is super active and always going, it just seems at that many calories he should be gaining something. We also have to factor in the he was doing 2-3 day food trails & his calories were slashed in half, obviously that doesn't help in weight gain. I remember at one point, Noah was about 8 months old he was gaining fast on a ridiculously low number of calories per day, but he wasn't active at all and he was only on Neocate & Duocal. Now it's just the opposite.

Noah still has a lot of trouble with volume. He can do ok with 6oz boluses, but anything after that he just vomits up. Plus his digestions is a bit wonky at times. Some days he does great, others, the food just sits and sits. He also can't eat every 3 hrs, his food won't digest fast enough to do this. So,then we can't get in the right number of calories or he has to be hooked up to his formula and pump.

Noah was also cleared for dairy, which was something he was allergic/intolerance to at one point. We have added some back in slowly and he is back to being really mucousy. I am talking vomiting up his entire feed, even though he has a nissen, or he just vomits all day, multiple times, 5-8 times. Sucks. So, we are going to cut that back out and see if that improves. When he is congested he has a really tough time handling feeds. He starts coughing which almost always leads to vomit. He is not sick, he is happy, playing, so we are going to nix milk and see if it helps any.

Our new goal is to go to 1,600 calories a day. That's more than mine! We are going to be doing half BD and the other half on his pump, bc like I said, volume is our enemy and I can't make his blend the right amount of calories and volume at this point. If we add more oil, which is an easy way to get calories up without adding much volume, it's too fatty and he has a hard time digesting that. Our other goal is to slowly up his BD boluses and hopefully wean off the pump. This can take ages though. 5-10mls, not even half an oz, can be j-u-s-t too much ....its crazy. At one point I would love to be able to push 8 oz and not think twice....though that seems like a long time down the road.

Boys Chiropractor Visit and The X Ray Fiasco

So, I have been doing some research and decided to take the boys to the chiropractor. There are so many health benefits of taking young children, so I thought what they heck...and did it today.

 The office was so nice and the staff was amazing with the boys. Couldn't have asked for nicer people. We met with the chiro and he examines their backs and necks. Then he wanted Noah to have an X Ray of his back so he can see things better. So, I take Noah into the X Ray room, {I am sure there is a proper name for this.} and that is when it becomes a nightmare. Noah starts crying and running out of the room saying NO NO NO. I thought ok round 2, same results. Sigh....he kept saying NO tube, No Tube....he thought he was getting a tube change, which he HATES...he is literally shaking and crying, can't catch his breath.... it was ugly. We took a long break, tried again, same result....finally he stood there for about 3.5 seconds and the staff took the pic and we prayed for the best. LUCKILY it was great! Thank God.

We re-met with the Chiro and he said Brock was a little out of place in his lower back, but nothing major. Noah on the other hand was a hot mess.....am I shocked, not at all....what else do I expect with my lil man?? His neck is all wonky--his upper back is a huge mess. The Chiro said from coughing and gagging, retching, can cause it...then his hips were out of line. Since Noah decided to loose his mind on the x ray and it took ages, over an hr, they dr didn't have time to actually do any adjusting on any kid. We have an appt on Friday and I am hoping it goes smoother....we are going to do a lot of talking about it and hoping, wishing, praying, he likes it......

New Pediatrician Visit

So, today we had an appointment with a new Ped. We have been having some issues with their old pediatrician so it was time to move on. We found her through Noah's dietician and I am so happy that we went. She was amazing. The boys seemed to like her a lot. Noah use to scream and cry when getting his ears checked, this time he just sat there and talked to her. Huge for him. Her staff was super nice and there was zero waiting for her to come in. We have waited over 35 for his old ped.


One thing I really liked was she weighed Brock, but didn't plot it on that dreaded chart. She said he was perfect and was developing at a great rate. I hate how much the old ped was, " he is kinda low on the %tile." Their new Ped, Dr White, was all, "look at him, he's crawling and pulling up, standing alone at times, babbling....I don't need a %tile to tell me anything, he says it all." LOVE it. I love how she looks at him and not the damn chart. She did do a blood draw to check his levels and I was thinking Brock was going to scream, nope, he just sat there while they did it. Didn't cry, didn't pull away, nothing. I was impressed. I have strong kids! ;)


She listened and took notes during Noah's history, which took a good 20 mins . She wants to see his medical records from Cincinnati Children's. I am not expecting her to find the missing clue everyone else has, but a pair of fresh eyes will be nice.


I never once felt rush or pressured into anything. She feels parents know the kids best and let them decided....of course if she thinks otherwise she will tell you, but it's your choice what you want your child to have or not have. It's nice that she lets you choose what is best vs. going exactly by the book. She also doesn't dull out antibiotics unless they truly need them. I like that. She is into natural healing vs meds. We don't go back until Brock is 1 and Noah is 3!


All in all, it is way worth a 35 minute drive to get to her. I will recommend her to everyone!