Oh man! Where to start.
It's hard to potty train a tubie. You can't bribe him with candy, he hates stickers, {sensory crap.} I'd go broke buying him toys each time, so what do we do? We cheer! Annoyingly. He LOVES it. He pees/poops, we clap and say "Good boy, That's awesome, Your so big!" Something like that. He gets this big cheesy grin, like yep I rock, I do. ;)
We have been working on potty training for a while now. He is almost 2.5 yrs old. He has never really gotten it until recently. I have to remind him to 'tinkle,' but he gets right on there and does it. {We rock a lil kid potty in our living room. Don't judge, lol.}
There have been times he will randomly go on his own without me reminding him. Though last night he was sitting on Albert watching Nina and the Goodnight Show, {Nina is one happy chic I tell ya.} and he was so engrossed in Nina, he peed all over Albert. It was quite funny, though Albert didn't find it funny. Noah said and I am quoting here, "Oh crap." Man, he cracks me up. It happens, what can I say. Here's the kick in the ass, he will not go if he has on underwear. Nope. He pees right in them. So what's a girl to do? We let him run around pantless..unless we go somewhere of course. We have to start working on wearing underwear, but he is dry almost most of the day, with an accident here or there, but for the past 2 days good, up until the we pee on dad part last night.We also have to move the potty to the bathroom.
Things to work on, but he is doing really well. I thought he would never be potty trained. He is doing ok. Pretty proud of my lil man. He currently just finished going on his own and I wasn't paying attention and he started dancing and clapping.....his own lil cheering team. We went to flush it and now he is dancing saying "bye poop, bye...see ya."
Love this kid. <3 If anyone has tips advice, please share!
So Silly
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Brock's eating..... Baby Led Weaning Style
Where's the jar foods? What are you feeding him? You CAN'T feed him that, he's a baby. I have gotten a lot for comments on how we feed Brock, some good, a lot of judgements and I am sure some just think I am plain lazy.
We don't do baby jar foods often here for a number of reasons. {Disclaimer here: I have been known to crack open a jar of pears and let Brock feed himself with them when we were running low on real foods, my emergency stock.} We do about 98% Baby Led Weaning with Brock. It's pretty simple. We offer him food that is offered to him in appropriate ways...such as some of his 1st real foods were, sweet potato sticks. I cooked them until soft, cut them into hand holdable sizes, put some butter on and gave them to him. Broccoli was great because it already had a "handle." He made the funniest faces with broccoli. Avocados cut into sticks, apples, pears, banana's.....Basically anything that was soft and mushable with gums.
How we got started: We did the initial jar foods at first and he ate them ok. He loved veggies more than fruits. I was happy to have a kid eat! It was amazing to watch him open his mouth wanting them! It was a first for us. ;) As a month went by he wanted less and less solids and started grabbing food off our plates and sucking on them. Of course I was like " no buddy your going to choke." {I will get into choking/gagging in a min} But he always did ok with it...he did gag some, nothing crazy or scary. Anyway--it was one day he went like 3 days without any soilds, he refused, shut his mouth, turned his head. Out of frustration I gave him a preloaded spoons of some baby jar stuff and he ate the whole thing by himself! humm.... I saw pictures about BLW, but didn't really think about it. One day I just put a piece of toast on his tray, buttered and jellied...he ate it! A while slice...all while saying MMMMMM....so cute. Then I threw a banana up there, he ate some of it, gagged a little, but was ok. He loved being in control and me not trying to sneak a spoon in of stuff he didn't like. He was eating so much better. So, Brock made himself a BLWer. I mean really, what's better jar foods or real foods with flavors and seasonings? Some of the jar stuff is kinda bland.
Now I know a lot of people will think OMG he is going to CHOKE! I was one! Yes he gags on stuff every now and then.....He gets too big a piece, but he quickly brings it back up. He is learning. Does he gag now at almost 8 months? Yes at times. Yesterday bc he shoved his finger in his mouth too far....gagged some and looked at me like WTH mom! Lesson learned, did he shove his finger in there any more, no. There is a HUGE difference in gagging vs choking. My husband wasn't very excited about BLW, but Brock wouldn't eat jars, he simply refused. He still gets nervous when he gags, I hear, "Umm babe, come here, come here now, Brock's choking, gaggin I mean, oh he got it, good job buddy." If he does gag on too big of a piece, I have confidence he will get it back up, me panicking and sweeping my finger in his mouth is just going it make it worse, I could jam the food down his mouth further if I did. Of course he still gets his milk. He typically takes 6-7 oz 4-6 times a day or more if he wants. I always offer milk before solids. He needs his milk more than foods. His diet is still 90% milk.
Here is a sample day for him:
B Fast- He has never taken much milk for B-fast, ever. He MAY take 3-4 oz, then toast, cheerios, and yogurt, some fruit slices...whatever we have, bananas, apples, pear slices, whatever. If he eats his solids awesome, if not oh well. He is loving pre-loaded spoons of applesauce. He is really good at getting it to his mouth.
Bottle at 10am 7oz
lunch at 12:30ish: Turkey slices, avocado slices, Cheese, Crackers...this kid <3 crackers! with his milk offered in a sippy or bottle, which ever he wants.
Bottle at 2:00 7oz
Snack around 5ish: He just recently started eating goldfish crackers whole. He loves them.
Bottle at 6 7oz
Dinner what ever we are having, in his size pieces. The other day it was bbq chicken, cut into hand held sizes, peas and carrots.
Bottle about 6 oz and bed.
Does he eat well every day, no. Some days are better than others. Do I always offer this much, no, just bc I offer it doesn't mean he eats it all. Have I been known to help him get food in? Sure, if he turns his head or spits it out, so be it. He didn't want it. We have adapted it to work for us. Is it messy? YEP, sure is, but it's really cute to watch them eat.
Just because we feed him like this doesn't mean we are lazy or harming him in any way. He is fine, happy and smiley. We have been to dinner at people's houses and they thought his food was too big for him and ripped it up into tiny, tiny pieces. He couldn't even pick them up. Please, let me feed him. If it's too tiny he can't get it. His pincer grasp is getting good, but not that good yet. I know what works best for his little hands.
If jar foods works for you and your baby--great! I would still give Brock jar foods if he wanted them, he just won't take them and honestly by this point, I wouldn't go back, plus I am pretty sure he wouldn't eat them. Do I hate jar food and think its the devil? Not at all. After Noah, whatever works to get them to eat, is our motto! This is what works for Brock and how he eats the best.
He is happy--and on the flip side, Noah watches him eat sometimes and tries some of Brock's food too so he can eat like Brock. Always a plus! Maybe he will want to eat like Brock too! Wouldn't that be nice!
We don't do baby jar foods often here for a number of reasons. {Disclaimer here: I have been known to crack open a jar of pears and let Brock feed himself with them when we were running low on real foods, my emergency stock.} We do about 98% Baby Led Weaning with Brock. It's pretty simple. We offer him food that is offered to him in appropriate ways...such as some of his 1st real foods were, sweet potato sticks. I cooked them until soft, cut them into hand holdable sizes, put some butter on and gave them to him. Broccoli was great because it already had a "handle." He made the funniest faces with broccoli. Avocados cut into sticks, apples, pears, banana's.....Basically anything that was soft and mushable with gums.
How we got started: We did the initial jar foods at first and he ate them ok. He loved veggies more than fruits. I was happy to have a kid eat! It was amazing to watch him open his mouth wanting them! It was a first for us. ;) As a month went by he wanted less and less solids and started grabbing food off our plates and sucking on them. Of course I was like " no buddy your going to choke." {I will get into choking/gagging in a min} But he always did ok with it...he did gag some, nothing crazy or scary. Anyway--it was one day he went like 3 days without any soilds, he refused, shut his mouth, turned his head. Out of frustration I gave him a preloaded spoons of some baby jar stuff and he ate the whole thing by himself! humm.... I saw pictures about BLW, but didn't really think about it. One day I just put a piece of toast on his tray, buttered and jellied...he ate it! A while slice...all while saying MMMMMM....so cute. Then I threw a banana up there, he ate some of it, gagged a little, but was ok. He loved being in control and me not trying to sneak a spoon in of stuff he didn't like. He was eating so much better. So, Brock made himself a BLWer. I mean really, what's better jar foods or real foods with flavors and seasonings? Some of the jar stuff is kinda bland.
Now I know a lot of people will think OMG he is going to CHOKE! I was one! Yes he gags on stuff every now and then.....He gets too big a piece, but he quickly brings it back up. He is learning. Does he gag now at almost 8 months? Yes at times. Yesterday bc he shoved his finger in his mouth too far....gagged some and looked at me like WTH mom! Lesson learned, did he shove his finger in there any more, no. There is a HUGE difference in gagging vs choking. My husband wasn't very excited about BLW, but Brock wouldn't eat jars, he simply refused. He still gets nervous when he gags, I hear, "Umm babe, come here, come here now, Brock's choking, gaggin I mean, oh he got it, good job buddy." If he does gag on too big of a piece, I have confidence he will get it back up, me panicking and sweeping my finger in his mouth is just going it make it worse, I could jam the food down his mouth further if I did. Of course he still gets his milk. He typically takes 6-7 oz 4-6 times a day or more if he wants. I always offer milk before solids. He needs his milk more than foods. His diet is still 90% milk.
Here is a sample day for him:
B Fast- He has never taken much milk for B-fast, ever. He MAY take 3-4 oz, then toast, cheerios, and yogurt, some fruit slices...whatever we have, bananas, apples, pear slices, whatever. If he eats his solids awesome, if not oh well. He is loving pre-loaded spoons of applesauce. He is really good at getting it to his mouth.
Bottle at 10am 7oz
lunch at 12:30ish: Turkey slices, avocado slices, Cheese, Crackers...this kid <3 crackers! with his milk offered in a sippy or bottle, which ever he wants.
Bottle at 2:00 7oz
Snack around 5ish: He just recently started eating goldfish crackers whole. He loves them.
Bottle at 6 7oz
Dinner what ever we are having, in his size pieces. The other day it was bbq chicken, cut into hand held sizes, peas and carrots.
Bottle about 6 oz and bed.
Does he eat well every day, no. Some days are better than others. Do I always offer this much, no, just bc I offer it doesn't mean he eats it all. Have I been known to help him get food in? Sure, if he turns his head or spits it out, so be it. He didn't want it. We have adapted it to work for us. Is it messy? YEP, sure is, but it's really cute to watch them eat.
Just because we feed him like this doesn't mean we are lazy or harming him in any way. He is fine, happy and smiley. We have been to dinner at people's houses and they thought his food was too big for him and ripped it up into tiny, tiny pieces. He couldn't even pick them up. Please, let me feed him. If it's too tiny he can't get it. His pincer grasp is getting good, but not that good yet. I know what works best for his little hands.
If jar foods works for you and your baby--great! I would still give Brock jar foods if he wanted them, he just won't take them and honestly by this point, I wouldn't go back, plus I am pretty sure he wouldn't eat them. Do I hate jar food and think its the devil? Not at all. After Noah, whatever works to get them to eat, is our motto! This is what works for Brock and how he eats the best.
He is happy--and on the flip side, Noah watches him eat sometimes and tries some of Brock's food too so he can eat like Brock. Always a plus! Maybe he will want to eat like Brock too! Wouldn't that be nice!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Marriage & Undiagnosed Children
Married life isn't always easy. Then you have kids and it can make things more complicated. You may have different parenting styles and have to learn to mesh both styles together to make that one that works for both of you and of course, the child. I mean, what are the marriage statistics today...1 in 2 marriages end in divorce. So, basically you got a 50/50 chance of it working in your favor. It takes work and patience.
Now throw in a child with special needs and you have a whole new world open up. The stress of having a child, in our case, with unknown issue, is unreal. You have to live it to know how it is. You have a new world of extra pediatrician appointments, specialists, therapies, hospital stays, surgeries...it goes on and on. It's not a few times a month, it can be weeks of appointments, non stop, every single day, it's draining.
Just accepting that you have a child with special needs is hard. No one wants something to be wrong with their baby. You and your partner may come to terms with it in different ways. I was vocal. I cried, yelled, rejoiced in the tiny things....my husband was quiet and didn't say much. I would beg him to talk about it, he wouldn't. He would just say, "it is what it is." Very true, but when you see your infant starving, bones sticking out with not one Dr that can help you, that's not what I wanted to hear. I wanted him to say, "Ya you know what, I am scared too." He never did. He kept it all in, bottled up.Taking Noah to his Dr appointments he would be the one to hold Noah down while they did the blood work. I couldn't, made me sick to my stomach. Nothing hurts more than watching your baby held down while they do procedures to them. It hurts your soul. You know they don't understand, but you also realize your not going to stop searching for answers. Giving up is not an option, but deep inside you know this isn't how it's suppose to be.
I am not going to sit here and say our marriage was easy or is easy. There have been times when it would have been easier to walk out and not look back. Not that I didn't love him, but it was so hard, so stressful, the unknown, walking out would have been the easiest thing to do. I thought he didn't understand me, he thought I didn't understand him, we wouldn't talk to each other much, because nothing we said helped each other. We blamed each other for things that didn't make any sense. We didn't have time alone...what's that? Our world was Noah and Drs. There wasn't time for us. We didn't have money to go out to dinner a lot for "us" time. We were living on my husbands income because I had to stay home with Noah. This alone added a ton of stress.
It's not been easy or fun at times, that's for sure, but he has started to talk more about what he's feeling, which is nice. We have tried to make more time for us, which doesn't always happen, but is nice when it does happen, though we end up talking about the kids. Go figure. We still have issues to work on, but what married couple has that perfect marriage? I have never met one.
No matter what, I am glad I have someone to share my good days, bad days, fears, happiness with. Someone who gets it. I can't imagine not having my kids, no matter how chaotic it can get at times. I know I speak for both of us when I say, we can have to worse day ever and the kids can smile and our day is instantly better. The kids smiles, hugs, & laughter make our world better even on the worse days.
Now throw in a child with special needs and you have a whole new world open up. The stress of having a child, in our case, with unknown issue, is unreal. You have to live it to know how it is. You have a new world of extra pediatrician appointments, specialists, therapies, hospital stays, surgeries...it goes on and on. It's not a few times a month, it can be weeks of appointments, non stop, every single day, it's draining.
Just accepting that you have a child with special needs is hard. No one wants something to be wrong with their baby. You and your partner may come to terms with it in different ways. I was vocal. I cried, yelled, rejoiced in the tiny things....my husband was quiet and didn't say much. I would beg him to talk about it, he wouldn't. He would just say, "it is what it is." Very true, but when you see your infant starving, bones sticking out with not one Dr that can help you, that's not what I wanted to hear. I wanted him to say, "Ya you know what, I am scared too." He never did. He kept it all in, bottled up.Taking Noah to his Dr appointments he would be the one to hold Noah down while they did the blood work. I couldn't, made me sick to my stomach. Nothing hurts more than watching your baby held down while they do procedures to them. It hurts your soul. You know they don't understand, but you also realize your not going to stop searching for answers. Giving up is not an option, but deep inside you know this isn't how it's suppose to be.
I am not going to sit here and say our marriage was easy or is easy. There have been times when it would have been easier to walk out and not look back. Not that I didn't love him, but it was so hard, so stressful, the unknown, walking out would have been the easiest thing to do. I thought he didn't understand me, he thought I didn't understand him, we wouldn't talk to each other much, because nothing we said helped each other. We blamed each other for things that didn't make any sense. We didn't have time alone...what's that? Our world was Noah and Drs. There wasn't time for us. We didn't have money to go out to dinner a lot for "us" time. We were living on my husbands income because I had to stay home with Noah. This alone added a ton of stress.
It's not been easy or fun at times, that's for sure, but he has started to talk more about what he's feeling, which is nice. We have tried to make more time for us, which doesn't always happen, but is nice when it does happen, though we end up talking about the kids. Go figure. We still have issues to work on, but what married couple has that perfect marriage? I have never met one.
No matter what, I am glad I have someone to share my good days, bad days, fears, happiness with. Someone who gets it. I can't imagine not having my kids, no matter how chaotic it can get at times. I know I speak for both of us when I say, we can have to worse day ever and the kids can smile and our day is instantly better. The kids smiles, hugs, & laughter make our world better even on the worse days.
Monday, November 14, 2011
"You need to get out & have a break." Letting the boys spend the nightout
So, I have been told in the past week, a few times, I need a break...{umm thanks, is it showing?} I would love the kids to spend the night, if they were a bit easier and I wasn't so neurotic.
I admit it, I am insanely anal about their feeding schedules and meds and them in general. I hate their schedules messed up; I have a schedule for a reason, keeps things going in an orderly fashion. I also have this overwhelming feeling of dread that if something were to happen to them while they were spending the night out, just bc I 'needed' a break, I would feel horrible. I would be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mommy. {that's one of my favorite kid books, well not mommy...moving on.}
Let's be honest, my kids are a handful & the only time Noah has spent the night out once when I had my C section with Brock & I hated it. I wanted DH to stay home with him and I even left the hospital a few days early so he wouldn't have to stay the night out again & he was at his grandmas!
Also, there are very few ppl who feel comfortable keeping Noah. He has certain meds he has to have a certain times---2 meds that are 3 times a day each and he has a ton of allergy meds to take and his neb not to mention his eating! It takes a huge suitcase just for him alone! I know my mom doesn't like having him hooked up at night---bc the tubing is long and she is scared it will get wrapped around his neck or something. I use to be scared of it to, but you get use to it. I mean, that understandable, plus you have to make his formula and get his pump set up, tape his tubing just right so it doesn't pull on his feeding tube-- Not to mention his gaggin, retching puking business. Why would I want to throw that on anyone when I know how much of a pain in the ass it is????
Then there is Brock. Oh, Brockie. He eats, BUT will only eat for certain people. He will not eat for his daddy, just me, only me, not anyone else, but me, did I say me? He will let my mom feed him sometimes though. When I say he won't eat, I don't mean he will take half the bottle, I mean he screams bloody freaking murder until he gags himself...don't be jealous. :) I can pick him up and he will stop immediately. Brat-o-roni. He also is very fond of his mommy right now....a lot. I love that he loves me, but MAN, he will crawl to my leg pull him and JUST WHINE until I hold him, then he is happy and smiley when I do. I don't see the allure in being held all day. I would think it would be more fun to go and play, especially now that he can crawl and pull up, but nope...that would be too easy, my house doesn't do easy. Plus, he is only 7 months old!
So the moral is, I can't have them go spend the night if all I am going to do is worry about both boys not eating/eating and them fussy being bad, meds...and such......that's not really a break, not like I am going to sleep better with them gone, I will still wake up, but worse, I can't go check to make sure they are breathing. Do any of you still do that? {{Hell Noah is 2 and I still go in at night to make sure I can hear his breathing...when does that stop????}} Sometimes Brock is in such a deep sleep I have to jostle him to make him move some bc I can't see his chest going up and down. I can't go to bed until they are asleep and double checking that they are indeed breathing.
I told, you, I am nuts, I admit it & besides it's not like I have a line of people wanting my kids to spend the night......maybe one day when things settle down some, me included.
I admit it, I am insanely anal about their feeding schedules and meds and them in general. I hate their schedules messed up; I have a schedule for a reason, keeps things going in an orderly fashion. I also have this overwhelming feeling of dread that if something were to happen to them while they were spending the night out, just bc I 'needed' a break, I would feel horrible. I would be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mommy. {that's one of my favorite kid books, well not mommy...moving on.}
Let's be honest, my kids are a handful & the only time Noah has spent the night out once when I had my C section with Brock & I hated it. I wanted DH to stay home with him and I even left the hospital a few days early so he wouldn't have to stay the night out again & he was at his grandmas!
Also, there are very few ppl who feel comfortable keeping Noah. He has certain meds he has to have a certain times---2 meds that are 3 times a day each and he has a ton of allergy meds to take and his neb not to mention his eating! It takes a huge suitcase just for him alone! I know my mom doesn't like having him hooked up at night---bc the tubing is long and she is scared it will get wrapped around his neck or something. I use to be scared of it to, but you get use to it. I mean, that understandable, plus you have to make his formula and get his pump set up, tape his tubing just right so it doesn't pull on his feeding tube-- Not to mention his gaggin, retching puking business. Why would I want to throw that on anyone when I know how much of a pain in the ass it is????
Then there is Brock. Oh, Brockie. He eats, BUT will only eat for certain people. He will not eat for his daddy, just me, only me, not anyone else, but me, did I say me? He will let my mom feed him sometimes though. When I say he won't eat, I don't mean he will take half the bottle, I mean he screams bloody freaking murder until he gags himself...don't be jealous. :) I can pick him up and he will stop immediately. Brat-o-roni. He also is very fond of his mommy right now....a lot. I love that he loves me, but MAN, he will crawl to my leg pull him and JUST WHINE until I hold him, then he is happy and smiley when I do. I don't see the allure in being held all day. I would think it would be more fun to go and play, especially now that he can crawl and pull up, but nope...that would be too easy, my house doesn't do easy. Plus, he is only 7 months old!
So the moral is, I can't have them go spend the night if all I am going to do is worry about both boys not eating/eating and them fussy being bad, meds...and such......that's not really a break, not like I am going to sleep better with them gone, I will still wake up, but worse, I can't go check to make sure they are breathing. Do any of you still do that? {{Hell Noah is 2 and I still go in at night to make sure I can hear his breathing...when does that stop????}} Sometimes Brock is in such a deep sleep I have to jostle him to make him move some bc I can't see his chest going up and down. I can't go to bed until they are asleep and double checking that they are indeed breathing.
I told, you, I am nuts, I admit it & besides it's not like I have a line of people wanting my kids to spend the night......maybe one day when things settle down some, me included.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
One Step Foward, 4,687 Steps Backwards
Sigh.
What a day. Noah was finally well enough to go to feeding therapy, where he was a turd. He was tired and has a nagging cough and he was simply a brat. Everything was "NO, GO away, then towards the end....Night night, go to bed." He was so tired, but no reason to be a shitball. So nothing happened at feeding therapy, but he managed to "kiss" a cookie. And the crowd goes wild....not so much. Blah. He is a gagging, coughing, retching, puking mess. His emptying has gone to nothing & his cough sounds yucky. I am so over this sick kid stuff. I think we are working on day 4 or 5 of sick babies.
He was doing so well feed wise. He was doing about 6 blended diet boluses a day, no pump at night bc we were doing them around the clock, well now he isn't emptying.... yet again. For instance, I fed him 4 oz at 12:00 pm, at 4:30pm he still had more than an ounce in his belly. I know being sick can hinder this, but I wish it didn't, it sets us back weeks, literally. We worked so hard to get him off his J feeds, took months and now a cold has set us back. Frustrating. We aren't getting nearly enough BD in him to count for anything and he's lost a little over a pound. Which isn't much in retrospect, but lil man weighs the same as he did January 2011. He has some play room, weight wise lets be honest, but he needs to gain something. It's been too long without anything. So I am sure the dietician will be less than impressed when we meet with her again. So, back to night feeds it is. We are running him at 50mls/hr and hoping he can handle that. Since he's been off so long we have to work him back up to his rate he was at before which was 80mls/hr. So, it's like he does really well for a month, MAYBE 2, then it's back to the mess that got us there in the 1st place. Never thought I'd still have to make formula for my 2 year old. =( and BTW I am SO sick of Vanilla Elecare smell....I open a can and about gag now. Yuck.
Brock has been a pain today too. I am not sure what his deal is, maybe to add more stress to momma bc she doesn't quite have enough. He has decided he is going to go from taking 6.5-7.5oz bottles to 4-5 oz bottles....really kid? really? I don't need this. I need you to EAT! Gobble it up, be a pig.....please. He really could benefit from an overnight gain of about 2 lbs. I wish I could just pass some of mine off to them....then we would all be happy. It looks to me like his top teeth are swollen and working their way in, so I am blaming that....hoping once they pop thru more he will be more content. He doesn't even want to eat solids...he use to love them. Now, not so much. This morning he ate a little oatmeal, like a bite of egg, and and couple sucks of an orange....that was it. Lunch, nothing, snackish, he had literally one cheeto...tho he went to town on that one. {don't judge me.} dinner he sucked on some BBQ chicken and like 2 peas and maybe 8 baby spoonfuls of yogurt. Of course he had his bottles in there..."food before one is just for fun"....whatever...I want him to eat. He is super congested and all boogery, so it makes taking his bottle harder. He hates the bulb syringe, lemme tell ya! I have never met a kid who liked one. Thankfully, lil poophead let daddy feed him his night time bottle, normally it's mommy only....ever....who can feed him...so it's a nice break when he lets someone else feed him.
Come to think of it, both my kids are brats today.....sigh. Luckily they are cute.
I do love my kids more than anything and it's amazing to watch them grow and learn things. Brock is crawling lots more each day and I was just looking at Noah today and he is getting to be such a big guy! What happened to my baby??? *tear* His infant stage sucked, we didn't get time to enjoy it, the whole time it was trying to find out what was wrong with him, testing and hospitals..no fun. We try to remember to relax with Brock and take it a day at a time. Though when he fights eating, it makes it tougher...listen up kiddos....no more coughing & puking and make tomorrow smoother for all.
Here's to hoping tomorrow is easier!
What a day. Noah was finally well enough to go to feeding therapy, where he was a turd. He was tired and has a nagging cough and he was simply a brat. Everything was "NO, GO away, then towards the end....Night night, go to bed." He was so tired, but no reason to be a shitball. So nothing happened at feeding therapy, but he managed to "kiss" a cookie. And the crowd goes wild....not so much. Blah. He is a gagging, coughing, retching, puking mess. His emptying has gone to nothing & his cough sounds yucky. I am so over this sick kid stuff. I think we are working on day 4 or 5 of sick babies.
He was doing so well feed wise. He was doing about 6 blended diet boluses a day, no pump at night bc we were doing them around the clock, well now he isn't emptying.... yet again. For instance, I fed him 4 oz at 12:00 pm, at 4:30pm he still had more than an ounce in his belly. I know being sick can hinder this, but I wish it didn't, it sets us back weeks, literally. We worked so hard to get him off his J feeds, took months and now a cold has set us back. Frustrating. We aren't getting nearly enough BD in him to count for anything and he's lost a little over a pound. Which isn't much in retrospect, but lil man weighs the same as he did January 2011. He has some play room, weight wise lets be honest, but he needs to gain something. It's been too long without anything. So I am sure the dietician will be less than impressed when we meet with her again. So, back to night feeds it is. We are running him at 50mls/hr and hoping he can handle that. Since he's been off so long we have to work him back up to his rate he was at before which was 80mls/hr. So, it's like he does really well for a month, MAYBE 2, then it's back to the mess that got us there in the 1st place. Never thought I'd still have to make formula for my 2 year old. =( and BTW I am SO sick of Vanilla Elecare smell....I open a can and about gag now. Yuck.
Brock has been a pain today too. I am not sure what his deal is, maybe to add more stress to momma bc she doesn't quite have enough. He has decided he is going to go from taking 6.5-7.5oz bottles to 4-5 oz bottles....really kid? really? I don't need this. I need you to EAT! Gobble it up, be a pig.....please. He really could benefit from an overnight gain of about 2 lbs. I wish I could just pass some of mine off to them....then we would all be happy. It looks to me like his top teeth are swollen and working their way in, so I am blaming that....hoping once they pop thru more he will be more content. He doesn't even want to eat solids...he use to love them. Now, not so much. This morning he ate a little oatmeal, like a bite of egg, and and couple sucks of an orange....that was it. Lunch, nothing, snackish, he had literally one cheeto...tho he went to town on that one. {don't judge me.} dinner he sucked on some BBQ chicken and like 2 peas and maybe 8 baby spoonfuls of yogurt. Of course he had his bottles in there..."food before one is just for fun"....whatever...I want him to eat. He is super congested and all boogery, so it makes taking his bottle harder. He hates the bulb syringe, lemme tell ya! I have never met a kid who liked one. Thankfully, lil poophead let daddy feed him his night time bottle, normally it's mommy only....ever....who can feed him...so it's a nice break when he lets someone else feed him.
Come to think of it, both my kids are brats today.....sigh. Luckily they are cute.
I do love my kids more than anything and it's amazing to watch them grow and learn things. Brock is crawling lots more each day and I was just looking at Noah today and he is getting to be such a big guy! What happened to my baby??? *tear* His infant stage sucked, we didn't get time to enjoy it, the whole time it was trying to find out what was wrong with him, testing and hospitals..no fun. We try to remember to relax with Brock and take it a day at a time. Though when he fights eating, it makes it tougher...listen up kiddos....no more coughing & puking and make tomorrow smoother for all.
Here's to hoping tomorrow is easier!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Allergist Appointment--Old Pics, and Brockstar's Weight and Crawling
Noah had another follow up at the allergist today, he was such a good boy there despite not feeling the greatest. The allergist swears we will see results from the allergy shots...we have been on them since May 2011 and nothing, I mean not a single thing has improved...We have upped his Zyrtec, he is on Nasonex, Singular, Pulmicort, Albuterol as needed and allergy shots 2-3 times a week & he gets 2 shots each time...all this and no improvements. He says we are working our way up to the right vial to see improvements....sigh....well it's taking ages! He also says Noah is not diagnosed with Asthma quite yet, but he is thinking that with some of his other symptoms--it will be. Umm, isn't that more of you are or your not kinda thing??? So, that has me perplexed....he also wants to get another blood level for his food allergies he tested positive for....Milk, Rice, Oats & Peanuts. He reacted badly to Peanuts and he said being allergic to Rice and Oats is not common..so is not eating...my kid takes the not so common path...hell, normal is boring.. ;-) That huge welp is peanuts...he's never even touched a peanut, much less has eaten a peanut. It was huge. This wasn't today, this was 1/2011...he is due to be retested soon. That was a crappy day, lemme tell ya. Then he got 15 injects in each arm after that...to say Noah was unhappy is an understatement. Brock is halfway-almost crawling...He is so close! Noah didn't crawl until 11.89999 months...not joke..so seeing Brock do it at 7 months is insane, but I'm loving it! We are trying to fatten Brock up bc he is so skinny...He eats, but is skinny as a rail. He is super long though...he is never going to be that chunky lil baby....He is 27.5" and only 16 lbs! He is freaking tiny! Of course I am crazy and count his calories, I mean who does that, that isn't normal...I mean, it's not...I know this, yet everyday, I have a notebook with how much he eats and how many cals it is. Seriously, I am nuts! Noah has done me in. I HAVE to get him to chunk up...On average is gaining only about a 1 lb a month. He is on high calorie milk, normal formula is 20kcal/oz, Brock's is 24kcal/oz. He is SO active though. He is never still, never--I blame that too. Though I am glad he moves, unlike his brother who was happy to sit for months and months......He is still haniing out on the same %tile on that dreaded chart though..I'm pretty sure they didn't have those back when I was a baby and put so much 'weight' {no pun intended..ok maybe a lil'} on them. I hate when we go and the nurse plots him, they are like, "oh he is so long, {pause, wait for it} and skinny!" No way! I didn't know...sigh Anyhoo..I STILL haven't gotten his 6 months shots, I have to do that too. he had a fever, then I forgot, then he got super sick, so I am behind...I have to get on those...I really hate Vax's. They make me so nervous. Really, I think he is going to be that ONE statistic you hear about on the news.
Ok, well Brock needs to eat, {a 6.5 oz bottle, which is aprox: 156cals BTW......} FYI ;)
Here he is moving it......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlfSCu4Plic
Saturday, November 5, 2011
What's worse than a sick baby.....2 sick babies.
Yesterday was a l-o-n-g day.
Both boys are sick. Noah had a fever all day, ranging from 100.6-102.6. Poor Brock was a worse off, his fever spiked to 103.8! Stupid pediatrician office was less than helpful. They wouldn't tell me anything, whether to go to ER, make an appointment, how much Motrin he could have. All I got was, " a nurse can call you back in 2 hrs." yep, 2 hours with a 7 month old and a 103.8 fever. I was so mad. I ended up giving him some Motrin and his fever was down in 20 mins thankfully. They both have been fever free since 2 am, but look terrible. Poor Noah's allergies are a mess. He's eyes are horrible. He gets these terrible allergy eyes and his eye drops don't help, plus he loves them so. (note the sarcasm) it's a Pita to get then in. If you walked by my house while I was putting them in, you would think I was ripping his toenails off, nope just eye drops.
Oh, Noah asked to go to bed last night at 6:30pm. Asked to go to bed. He was sound asleep, no joke by 6:35.
Both are up playing, so hopefully the worst is past us.
Here is a pic of his eyes & Brock playing happily!
Both boys are sick. Noah had a fever all day, ranging from 100.6-102.6. Poor Brock was a worse off, his fever spiked to 103.8! Stupid pediatrician office was less than helpful. They wouldn't tell me anything, whether to go to ER, make an appointment, how much Motrin he could have. All I got was, " a nurse can call you back in 2 hrs." yep, 2 hours with a 7 month old and a 103.8 fever. I was so mad. I ended up giving him some Motrin and his fever was down in 20 mins thankfully. They both have been fever free since 2 am, but look terrible. Poor Noah's allergies are a mess. He's eyes are horrible. He gets these terrible allergy eyes and his eye drops don't help, plus he loves them so. (note the sarcasm) it's a Pita to get then in. If you walked by my house while I was putting them in, you would think I was ripping his toenails off, nope just eye drops.
Oh, Noah asked to go to bed last night at 6:30pm. Asked to go to bed. He was sound asleep, no joke by 6:35.
Both are up playing, so hopefully the worst is past us.
Here is a pic of his eyes & Brock playing happily!
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