Another GI appt and the Pumpkin Patch

Here's the latest on Miles... since me being dairy-free did not help Miles' constipation, we have to try him on formula only (Nutramigen) for 2 weeks. I can either wean totally and be done with nursing or pump & dump for those two weeks. If he is not better in 2 weeks, Miles will have to have a biopsy. I'm just going to assume that he will be much, much better in a few weeks and we will be done with all this frustration.

On a happier note, we went to the pumpkin patch at the Dallas Arboretum on Tuesday with several friends. We all had a great time and the kiddos ran and ran and ran! They were quite worn out when we got home (and so was mommy)!! As a really funny side note, Mace calls pumpkins "penguins". I corrected him a few times, but it is so cute, I'm just letting him say it. By next year, he probably will not do it and I will miss him innocence!

(Mason and Dylan Jo playing in the hay maze. They sorta missed the concept and climbed over the hay bales rather than running around them. They were very cute though!!!)

Miles rolled over!

I forgot to post that Miles rolled over for the first time this past weekend. Saturday morning I put him on his tummy and over he went. He has tried over and over and over lately but didn't quite make it. This time he did. Yea Miles! We are working on our first tooth (bottom right). Hopefully we'll be able to report on that soon! I'll put up video of him soon.

"Be Patient"

This weekend, Miles was sitting in his highchair screaming because Mommy was not getting his cereal and pears ready quite fast enough. I realized that Mason (an incredibly impatient 2-year-old) was singing the "Be Patient" song to Miles. This was so funny and ironic to me in several ways: 1) Mason is never patient. 2) Miles is rarely impatient. 3) I had no idea that Mason listened to me when I sing it to him. 4) I had no idea that Mason knew the words to the song (see below)!
Be Patient. Be Patient. Don't be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient you only start to worry.
Remember, remember, that God is patient too.
Just think of all the times when others have to wait for you.

Mason also tells Miles to "stop screaming Miles" when Miles starts "talking" (which is more like a scream to get noticed). I guess most 2-year-olds prefer to tell others what to do rather than actually follow rules themselves.

On another note, we have quite a busy week. Tomorrow we are going to the Dallas Arboretum to see the beautiful fall flowers, pumpkins, and petting zoo. I have a follow-up appointment with Miles' GI doctor scheduled for Wednesday morning. I am going to push to have him tested for the milk allergy before I commit to any further plan of action. Thursday will be Miles' first day at school (Mother's Day Out). Mommy will finally get some alone time. I am not sure I will know what to do with all my free time!! I'll be posting pictures (from the Arboretum, not the doctor visit) and updates as time allows.

Maybe it is a milk allergy

OK. I admit it. As I thought about Miles' diagnosis of having a cow's milk allergy, I was skeptical. Everything I have read shows different signs (diarrhea, etc). But, I decided to give it a try and put myself on a dairy-free diet. I won't go into the pain and frustration that this diet has caused me because I would do anything for my boys. I have been dairy-free since October 13th (except for one minor glitch yesterday-oops!). Miles has pooped 1-2 times a day since Friday. 5 days in a row is a huge deal for him! I also started putting ground flax-seed in his cereal, so I am going to stop that and see what happens. I don't know which is the "cause" of the pooping - dairy-free diet or flax-seed.

Now, I have to decide how long he is going to continue nursing. I always have said I'd nurse around 6 months (or until teething gets the better of me). He will be 5 months on Friday. I am willing to stay dairy-free but worry that if I slip-up again and have something "forbidden" that I will feel responsible if he gets constipated. Why do we, as moms, always feel guilty about every decision we make and feel guilty over the other options available to us (I'll feel guilty if I nurse and slip-up and I'll feel guilty if I wean him)?

Mason has hit a "fun" new phase in the last few days. Back-talking has begun. He also has this look he has started giving me that I am sure I will see again when he is a teenager. In fact, I didn't expect to get this look for another 8-10 years. It's that look of "mom, have no idea what you are saying and I resent you for trying to correct me or tell me what to do". He is making me crazy with this attitude. If anyone has suggestions on how best to handle the backtalking, I would love to hear them. Time-outs and taking away toys/priviledges does not seem to be working so far.

Miles update - Test complete

Miles came through the test like a champ. He did not fuss at all and was a perfect angel! We were able to be in with him the entire time and I held his hands and talked to him to keep him occupied.

They do not think it is Hirschsprungs's Disease. They would have to do a biopsy to fully rule that out. But, his colon is longer than normal, which can cause constipation. They don't know if it was always longer or if it stretched when he has been constipated to accommodate the extra poop. I did find out that there is a test they can do to test for the milk allergy, so I will be asking for that before we go on the new formula and totally wean him.

The only difficult part of the test was trying to get him to poop out the barium at the end. He was pretty unhappy about us trying to get him to go. That was the only time he cried. As of almost 2 hours later, he has not pooped out most of the barium still, so I am going to have a nasty mess on my hands sometime today!! They wanted to get it out while we were there so that they could get an x-ray of him "empty", but he was only about 1/3 empty.

Thanks to everyone for the prayers and thoughts. They were appreciated and kept me sane this week. I hope to talk to the doctor tomorrow and see where we go from here.

Mason

I have been focused on Miles lately and all his health issues that I often do not post about Mason's progress. So, today is all about Mason. I took some pictures of both boys yesterday and as I was looking back through them, I realized that my "baby" is quickly becoming a boy. I tell him all the time that he is a big boy or he needs to act like a big boy. But, I didn't quite get that he is a big boy. He gives me this look from time to time that is much more "mom" than "mommy". He sometimes calls me mom and that drives me crazy!!

He loves to dance and sing. He sings his "ABC's" (but usually leaves out the letter J -- I think on purpose). He knows most of his colors but usually gives me the wrong color the first time he is asked because he knows it drives me crazy! We are working on learning letters by sight now. His favorite books are "Go, Dog, Go!" and "Go, Train, Go!" by Dr. Seuss (notice a theme -- he is ALWAYS on the G-O. I blame his daddy!). He will spontaneously start quoting large portions of each book while he is playing. He rarely will do this if asked, you just have to catch him doing it. He is a little shy at first, but quickly warms up and loves attention. He is into making animal noises lately and the new favorite is the elephant. He loves to play with our neighbor's son, Chris. They are going to get into much trouble together in the next several years, I am quite sure. And, he is always loyal to his best-friend, Dylan Jo. He asks to play with her and they get each other through the difficult drop-off time at Mother's Day Out.

Our neighbor bought a golf cart and all the neighborhood kids love to ride in it. Yesterday, he let Mason drive it for the first time. It is a pretty scary glimpse of things to come in about 12 years when Mason gets his learners permit! Click the arrow on the video below to see him driving (the man in the video is our neighbor, David)!!!

Enjoy the pictures of our little man and baby (for now) Miles! I will post more tomorrow after we get finished with Miles' test to let everyone know how he (and Mommy and Daddy) is doing.

Yucky day

Today is a yucky day. The weather is dreary (but actually finally getting fall-like). My mood apparently matches the weather. Just kinda blah.

The boys and Iwent to the library for toddler story time. Mason really seemed to enjoy it. They had a Peruvian man there and he played some flutes, drums and other instruments from Peru. Mason liked the music and seemed to enjoy dancing and clapping with the music. Miles also had a good time - it was his first (of many) library trip.

The dairy-free diet is coming along. I have decided that everything has some form of dairy in it. All comfort foods do, all convenience foods do and anything that is satisfying has dairy foods in it. If it were not for the fact that it is for my son's health, I would have ditched it after the first meal! But, I am on day 4 and am slowly adjusting... I guess. One more funny story for the baby book and to tell when he is a teenager to his friends/dates. So far, it does not seem to have impacted Miles' tummy, but I am still holding out hope.

Hope everyone is having a great day! I just heard Mason calling for me -- naptime is apparently over.

Miles update - first GI appointment

We took Miles to the GI doctor on Friday and he wants us to rule out the possibility of a milk allergy. So, we have changed his cereal and formula (Nutramigen) and eliminated all dairy from my diet as long as he is still nursing. This eliminated most of the things that I usually eat including almost all "convenience foods" and most breakfast foods. So, if it turns out to be a milk allergy, we will be weaning pretty quickly!

But, we are also going to have a test done on Thursday morning at 9:30AM to rule out the possiblity of another condition. I am sure that it is going to be fine, but the anticipation of having our 4-month old baby having a horrible sounding test is stressing me out a bit. And, no comfort foods to make me feel better.... so, I am learning new ways to deal, I guess. He also gave us 2 new medicines for the reflux. So far, no change on that front. But, he also said that if it is a milk allergy, dairy in my diet could be making the spitting-up worse.

On a good note, Miles is his normal, happy self. And, he won't remember any of this is happening! Thanks to everyone that e-mailed over the weekend and that have kept us in their prayers. We would ask for them again this week and especially Thursday morning!

The marathon that wasn't

Sunday, October 7th. Chicago, IL.
The 30th Anniversary of the Chicago marathon.
5 months of training.
90 degree weather. In Chicago. In October.
Yes, that is correct.
Last year, the weather was low 40's with rain/snow.
Who knew there would be a random heat wave.
Long story short..... Eric did not qualify for Boston. The weather was against him and the other 40,000 people that trained months and months for this one event on this one day. Fortunately, the White Rock marathon in Dallas is 8 weeks away. He'll try again and I am confident he will succeed. The most importany thing is that he is healthy and we are home with our two precious boys. A 35-year old man with 3 children died at the race on Sunday. Hundreds were treated or hospitalized because of dehydration or heat stroke. Eric was fortunate and so are we that he is healthy. On a happy note, we spent a fabulous weekend with our precious niece, Emilyn (oh yeah, and her parents). She is getting so big and loves to stand, talk, smile and let Auntie Kendra dress her up! That was so much fun -- pink and bows and ruffle-bottom bloomers!! And, the boys stayed in Dallas with the grandparents. They had a fabulous time (of course) and so did mommy and daddy. It was nice to have some time away from potty training, diapers, drool, crying, and all the other fun baby/toddler antics. I missed them more than I can say but am recharged and happy that we decided to take some time away. I even read books with words and no pictures! We watched movies on the plane other than Thomas or Disney. All in all it was a great weekend for overall!
Later this week, I will be calling Miles' pediatrician for a referral to a pediatric GI doctor. He showed signs of improvement with his pooping but he has again stopped going. His last poop was Saturday. He did go a tiny bit yesterday, but it was definitely not 3 days worth. Please keep us all in your prayers. I am extremely nervous about what they will find and also anxious to have answers to so many unanswered questions. I will continue posting about his progress and any upcoming appointments.

Hope everyone has a fabulous last half of the week. Keep in touch!
Kendra

Calvary First Baptist Church

Early this morning, Calvary First Baptist Church was destroyed by a fire. My brothers and their families attend that church. Kelley and Tara were married in that church. Some of their babies were dedicated there. It is a very sad day. But, they are committed to rebuilding and have a positive attitude about the whole thing.
Please keep the church family and the pastor, Bro. Mac Costlow, in your thoughts and prayers.

A new week!

It is a new week and a time to start fresh, right? It has already been a little tiresome and it's only Tuesday! Ugh!! Mason was a little sick over the weekend - just a little cough and he lost his voice. And, have I mentioned that we are in the middle of the "terrible 2's"? He can be the sweetest kid in the world and then he can turn - on a dime - into some other person's kid. My kid wouldn't act like that, right? :) I won't go into the details (so as to not have the world know all the bad things that happen behind closed doors), but potty-training regression, hitting (the neighbor's kid with a toy shovel- long story there!!!), and lots of back-talking have been involved.

Miles has recovered from his shots. We have started cereal and his constipation has not gotten better (in fact it is worse), so unless things change drastically over the next week (the goal is to have him poop at least once a day), I will be calling our pediatrician back early next week. He will then be sending us to a GI specialist. Please keep Miles (and mommy) in your prayers about this. With "food" in his system, he is getting much crankier much faster than he did with just milk. He has not pooped since Saturday and is getting quite fussy about it. I think that I would be too!!!

Eric will be running his third marathon (yes, a full 26.2 miles) on Sunday. I am so proud of him and his dedication to something so difficult (mentally and physically). He made it through the training this year with no injuries (last year he had a stress fracture in his leg)! I'll post his finishing time and some pics early next week. If you are really interested, you can go to:
http://www.chicagomarathon.com/CMS400Min/Chicago_Marathon/spectators_volunteers/index.aspx?id=510
and register to receive updates on his progress at three points during the race.

Thanks for reading and for the great comments!

(Update: As I finished posting this, I thought .... "what's that smell??? MASON!!! Did you pooh-pooh? No? Huh..... MILES!!! YEA!!!" Yes, Miles finally pooped. Who knew THAT would be something to celebrate rather than dread. Yes, what a weird life I lead these days!)