Reflux Update

We took "A" back the GI at Children’s Hospital earlier in the week and have made a few changes. The good news is that "A" gained 7oz in a month and she is happy and talkative. The bad news is that her reflux is still really bad. After we started solids we had to stop them because they were making is so that she didn't sleep at night. Once we stopped them her sleep got a little better but it still wasn't where it was prior to solids. The GI told us that she wasn't 100% sure that the solids were only to blame for her lack of sleeping but to stay off of them while we figure out what the cause is. We decided to start her on Zantac once a day in addition to her Pravacid. We will try this for 2 weeks and see if it helps. If not then I will go off of soy and see if that helps. I am really hoping that the Zantac will help because I don't know what I will do if I have to go off of soy too. I am already missing milk so much and to get rid of soy too, I might just loose it.

Saturday while running errands we decided to stop and have lunch as we were all hungry and we weren't close to being done. We decided to stop at Panda Express for lunch. I had been there before and had asked the people if the food I was interested in had milk, they told me "no." I thought I was safe and I ordered. I really enjoyed it and didn't think anything else until that night. "A" was very fussy and just wasn't herself, I thought that maybe it was from being in the car all day, but it just wasn't right. I decided to look up the food on Panda Express's website and low and behold 3/4 of what I got had milk in it! Who would think that orange chicken and honey walnut shrimp has milk in it? I know that I didn't! So "A" hasn't had a good night sleep for now going on 2 nights. Knowing her it will last a few more before she starts feeling better.

Anyways, I know that things are going to get better even if that means that I have to go off of soy too.

End of the Quarter

Fall quarter is finally over and I am so happy that I did okay. I am sure that I could have done better, if I had better study skills but those are not my strong suit. I ended up with 2 A's and 1 C, which was okay as the C was in Political Science, which was a really hard class for me, especially with my lack of study skills. I really have Carl to thank for these grades, without him I know that I would not be able to do it and I know that I would either quit or done much worse. There were many days when I just wanted to quit school, but he was always there to support me and make sure that I did what I needed to do and got through it.

I know that next quarter will be better, I have a better handle on life with "A" and "D". I am also taking all legal courses so that hopefully will make it a little easier and I will hopefully not feel as out of place.

Children's GI

We took "A" to the Gastroenterologist at Seattle Children's Hospital the other day and I am so impressed with how they treated us and what they said. The doctor that we met was really nice and took the time to answer all of my questions, make sure that I understood what reflux is, understood the next step and was just overall awesome.

We ended up doing an upper GI series. It was not half as bad as I expected it to be. The hardest part was her being strapped to a board for the photos to be taken. She drank the barium from a syringe like a champ and barely cried. She did not like being rocked back and forth or upside down in order for the barium to coat her tummy but she still did okay. The results of the series were that there were no structural anomalies, but they are unable to tell from this test whether or not she has reflux, but we know that she does.

The doctor did recommend that we start her on solids, so two days before she turned six months she started solids. She did fine with the oatmeal, as I was afraid that rice cereal might constipate her as was also a risk from the barium. No such problems. This has made it a little more difficult to go with only baby-led weaning, which is when you skip the mushy foods and give the baby finger foods to eat. We are going to go that route for the main part but we still want her to have the cereal as it is supposed to help with her reflux.

Review of the Hevea Star and Moon Orthodontic Pacifier

I was given a wonderful opportunity to review a product that is brand new to the US. The product you ask? It is a 100% natural rubber binky, aka pacifier. The binky was the Star & Moon Orthodontic Pacifier by Hevea USA. There are so many positives to this binky that I was hoping that "A" would love it. Sadly she is not the biggest fan of it for sucking purposes, but she does enjoy chewing on it. She has never been adventurous when it comes to trying new binky's but I was really hoping that she would like this one.

There are many things that I like about this binky even if she isn't its biggest fan. I love the feel of the 100% natural rubber latex, it is so soft. I really like that it is only one piece I just washed it with soap and water and boiled it for a few minutes and squeezed the water out of the tip and it was ready to go. It is orthodontic shaped which I have heard good things about, but that is the part that "A" has a problem with. I also like that the packaging is recycled and biodegradable. On a more cosmetic side I like that it is natural rubber colored, it doesn't have all the colors and dyes like some binky's on the market do and it is gender neutral.

Overall this is a very well made product that I would recommend to anyone. We will be trying out one of their Panda Teether’s soon.

Be sure to check out their facebook page to find out about their new sales.

Here are a few of the stock pictures:

New Happenings

So much has happened in the 11 days since I have written. I am still super busy with school but finally got one of my big papers done. That was a huge relief.

DeShawn is sounding out words and starting to really read. He loves to write and has found new love for his Leapfrog Tag Reading System. We have to get him to go to bed sooner as he likes to lay there and read forever. He comes home and writes a bunch of words and rhymes. I am so proud of him. He is growing up so fast right before my eyes. I never imagined that he would do this well in school. I was so afraid for him to go to public school and fall through the cracks but so far he is doing outstanding.

Amari is not sleeping. She is waking up about every hour regardless of whether she is in her crib or our bed with me. She wants to eat sometimes but other times she just screams and cries. We have an appointment at Swedish's GI. Other than that she is doing well. She is rolling all over and trying to sit by herself.

We bought a new car seat to see if she would like riding in the car more, but it only seems to help marginally. It is our first Britax. It is the Marathon 70 and it is adorable and we got a great deal on it. Here she is when we were trying it out in the house.

Little Update....

Life is kicking my butt these days. I am super busy with school and falling behind which I hate, but is so typical for me, which makes it even worse. I started out so determined to stay on top of it and here I am way behind in my reading. Thank goodness for Carl, he is such a great guy that is helping so much around here but I know it is stressful for him to have to do so much and I just hope I can get it together soon and help a little more around here.

"D" is still doing wonderful in school and comes home with so much knowledge. We are having some trouble with him in the evenings, he seems to be getting grumpy around 6:00 and I am thinking it is because he is hungry and getting tired so we are going to have to start getting him to bed a little earlier. He actually read part of a book to me the other night. I almost cried. He sounded out the words and read them to me. He is only 5 and I didn't expect this for quite a while! My baby boy is growing up so fast.

"A" is having troubles with her reflux again and we are going to be taking her to Children's for an evaluation, I have to schedule that soon. SHe was doing so well and then it was like overnight she started spitting up a lot again and crying out in pain. She is still sleeping better thought which is a huge plus for all of us. I hate the thought of her in pain and there is nothing that I can do to help her. It doesn't seem to be waking her up so that is awesome and laying flat doesn't seem to bother her, as long as she has been upright for long enough. Although sometimes after she wakes up from a nap she will spit up even though she hasn't eaten for an hour or two.

I have sold a few of the diapers and I am super happy about that but I would love for them to all be gone now. I am still having a hard time getting rid of them but I love having the money in my PayPal account to hopefully buy something nice, like maybe more diapers. :)

I just bought my first woven wrap and I cannot wait to try it out. I bought if off the Babywearing Swap on Baby Center, which is a an awesome place to get all kinds of advice and buy some great things.

Letting go....

I have decided that it is time to let go of some of my diapers, well I guess they are actually "A"'s, but still. I am having a very hard time accepting that I will not have any more children, at least in the foreseeable future, and I feel like I am finally letting go of that hope. "A" is growing up so fast, she has moved up to size medium in most of her diapers and we need to get rid of the ones that are too small.

I hate that I am having such a hard time getting rid of the diapers. I mean they hold her poop and pee, why is it so hard to get rid of them? It isn't like I would save disposable diapers, so why do I feel like I am getting rid of something so important. I know that I tend to keep everything and that may also be a part of it, but I also feel like I am getting rid of part of her. I know that is totally illogical but I cannot help it.

All these people that I know are pregnant and I love seeing them happy but I feel so disappointed with myself. I feel like I have failed. I cannot explain it as I know in my head that I have a wonderful family and having more children would be risking my life and the future of my children, that they could possibly run the risk of living without a mother and I am not willing to risk it. I remember after I had "D" and only sort of feeling like I wanted another baby when I saw my friends having babies, but not until he was quite a bit older than "A".

I have posted the diapers that are too small for her on Craigslist and I hope that they sell fast so I don't have time to reconsider it. I have decided that once they sell I will buy a new wrap and some more diapers, as a way to cope with it.

If anyone has any words of advice I would love to hear them right about now… :-)