At the beginning of the month (Labor Day Weekend) we tried switching D to soy because the reflux is just terrible. She balked at the taste, so we switched back to Similac Sensitive RS. She has had continued problems and was put on Prevacid about a week and a half ago, and it may be helping slightly. It takes up to 2 weeks for full effectiveness, so i'm still holding out hope.
By the way, have i mentioned how much i LOVE D's pedi? She's truly amazing. She calls, like, on her own without me calling first, to find out how D is doing. Once the test results came back, she decided to prescribe the Prevacid and change her formula again (this time to Similac Alimentum). TennCare (Medicaid) requires a special form for pre-authorization for the Prevacid, and WIC requires a special form for the formula. She stayed on a Friday night until 8 pm to get those forms faxed in and make sure they went through. Apparently the TennCare one took a long time, like hours. That's dedication!
So we decided to start D on the Alimentum even though WIC won't cover it until we can get to the office and get the coupons changed. It's twice as expensive, by the way. Well, not shockingly, D hates it. Almost as much as she hated soy. We started with 100%; no go. Then 50%, again no go. So i took it way down to 10% Alimentum and 90% RS, and she ate it but definitely didn't eat as much. We kept her on that for 2 days (and 2 long nights as she made up some of what she'd not eaten during the day at night). Then we went to 20%, and again she ate even less for 2 days. Then we tried 25% and she barely ate. Her little Buddha belly she'd been getting started shrinking, and that last fat roll on her legs i was so proud of went away. So, last night and today we went back to 100% old formula, and she has eaten more today, BUT she's back to having a bad night for reflux.
Sigh. It looks like the Alimentum, even at a low %, was helping her reflux and now that she's back on the old formula, she'll eat again but she'll hurt. You know, i knew parenting would be hard, but i thought it would be the extra work, the loss of freedom, the lack of sleep. Really it's the every day decisions of "Do i mix up 25% today or go back to the old formula?" and "Is it really okay to start solid foods early like the pedi wants to do?" that get to you and make you wonder if you're doing the right things.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
D update
TennCare finally approved her Prevacid prescription, so i picked that up this evening. Hopefully it will start to work very soon and she'll have a lot of relief. It could have just been a good night, but it seemed like it already had an effect tonight. She didn't fuss her evening bottles like she usually does.
In other news, i think she's in her 3 month growth spurt. She had started STTN right after being prescribed Zantac, around 2 months old, which was great. Then she got sick and slept in the swing, and transitioning back to the crib added usually one night waking, which isn't that big a deal and we can handle that for sure. But the last few nights she's been waking 2-3 times a night, and last night she woke every 2 hours again. And she woke *hungry* last night, not just fussy like some other nights (oh, she'll eat a little, but usually not voraciously; last night she ate 3-5 ounces per waking which is a full bottle each time!). This evening she ate a 6 ounce bottle, which i think is a record, followed by a 4 ounce bottle before bedtime. And settled right down, thank goodness!
And, my husband is still amazing! Last night i took all the night wakings (not knowing it would be so darn many lol) because his back/neck have been killing him for a few nights. i didn't put away the laundry last night though, because i was just too tired. Today, he put away the laundry AND the dishes (normally he starts the laundry and gets it in the drier before work, and i put it away, and same with the dishwasher). What a sweetie!
OK, and this is completely ridiculous but totally effective. D's crib is slanted so that she's not flat at night; this helps with reflux. She also sleeps on an inclined wedge, so there's even more incline to hopefully help that much more. And she sleeps on her side, swaddled. She fights the swaddle and sliiiiiides down the incline, which is scary for me. i followed someone's advice and put a heavy pillow under her, and it worked for a couple of nights but then i woke up to find her face pressed against the pillow! Big no-no! So i took a pillow case, filled it with dry white beans, dry black beans, dry lentils (basically emptied the cupboard of dry beans lol), and threw in some lavender buds for good measure, tied up the pillow case, and now i tuck it underneath her tushie at night. It really seems to be working this time! It's pretty ridiculous, though.
In other news, i think she's in her 3 month growth spurt. She had started STTN right after being prescribed Zantac, around 2 months old, which was great. Then she got sick and slept in the swing, and transitioning back to the crib added usually one night waking, which isn't that big a deal and we can handle that for sure. But the last few nights she's been waking 2-3 times a night, and last night she woke every 2 hours again. And she woke *hungry* last night, not just fussy like some other nights (oh, she'll eat a little, but usually not voraciously; last night she ate 3-5 ounces per waking which is a full bottle each time!). This evening she ate a 6 ounce bottle, which i think is a record, followed by a 4 ounce bottle before bedtime. And settled right down, thank goodness!
And, my husband is still amazing! Last night i took all the night wakings (not knowing it would be so darn many lol) because his back/neck have been killing him for a few nights. i didn't put away the laundry last night though, because i was just too tired. Today, he put away the laundry AND the dishes (normally he starts the laundry and gets it in the drier before work, and i put it away, and same with the dishwasher). What a sweetie!
OK, and this is completely ridiculous but totally effective. D's crib is slanted so that she's not flat at night; this helps with reflux. She also sleeps on an inclined wedge, so there's even more incline to hopefully help that much more. And she sleeps on her side, swaddled. She fights the swaddle and sliiiiiides down the incline, which is scary for me. i followed someone's advice and put a heavy pillow under her, and it worked for a couple of nights but then i woke up to find her face pressed against the pillow! Big no-no! So i took a pillow case, filled it with dry white beans, dry black beans, dry lentils (basically emptied the cupboard of dry beans lol), and threw in some lavender buds for good measure, tied up the pillow case, and now i tuck it underneath her tushie at night. It really seems to be working this time! It's pretty ridiculous, though.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
BEST husband EVER!!!
Yesterday i checked my email and we had another request from a caseworker to visit today. This seems to happen a lot, where they want to come with little to no notice, and i'm not a fan of this. Especially after i over-extended myself a bit last weekend and could tell my body was trying to tell me that i needed to slow down a little. (i have Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder, which is very much like Lupus, and it's been in remission for about 3 1/2 years, which is awesome, but occasionally my body tells me to chill out, and since i don't want a full blown attack again, i listen. i try not to take advantage of it, but i definitely listen and obey when my body tells me this.)
Now, it's not like the house was disgusting or anything. We don't let it get that bad. BUT we'd come in on Monday from shopping and left some stuff lying around on the kitchen counters, i'd come home on Tuesday and started a craft project at the kitchen table and left some stuff out where it doesn't belong, including a power drill which MIGHT not look great lying around, etc. i have needed to clean the master bath for a while and just never got to it; i was going to do it on Monday but the over-extending got in the way. The living room was fine, but the dogs had dragged some mud in and stained the carpet we steam-cleaned about 2 weeks ago, so it needed to be spot-cleaned again. And if you're doing that, you might as well dust really well and vacuum first, versus dusting after. You get the idea. And on top of that, we bought a new Sleep Number bed and it was delivered yesterday. So just a LOT to get done yesterday for a caseworker visit today.
i decided to take 1/2 day off from work and come home and clean, then get D from daycare early and have the caseworker come by. When i got home today, i found that Alan had dusted, vacuumed, AND steam cleaned. And not just spot cleaned, either! He did a wonderful job, too! So all i had to do was tidy the kitchen and give the bathroom a "lick and a promise" as my mom used to say. Needless to say, D and i had a good afternoon pretty much vegging around. i got my chores done while she napped, and now that she's in bed, i'm FREE for the rest of the evening. AMAZING! Figured i'd blog some and maybe get some exercise in before a steamy hot bath and a good book and a new bed. Yay!
Also in exciting and awesome news, my e-friend Bio sent us a package! i'll take and post pics soon i hope, but she sent 3 amazing things she hand knitted. She made an adorable pink stuffed elephant that D already loves, and the cutest booties for D. And a little something for me... fingerless mittens that are kind of cable-knit (she's probably shuddering reading this because i am clueless about terminology), but the detailing actually forms little owls! Those who know me, and especially Alan, know that owls are very important to us. When Alan turned 6, i gave him a stuffed owl he named Owlbert for his birthday. This was the first non-family gift he ever got, and he's treasured it since. He actually has a couple of hundred stuffed owls as he's gotten one for almost every Christmas and birthday since! (And he's old, so that's a LOT of owls lol). This girl is truly an amazing knitter and an amazing friend. Thanks, Bio!
Now, it's not like the house was disgusting or anything. We don't let it get that bad. BUT we'd come in on Monday from shopping and left some stuff lying around on the kitchen counters, i'd come home on Tuesday and started a craft project at the kitchen table and left some stuff out where it doesn't belong, including a power drill which MIGHT not look great lying around, etc. i have needed to clean the master bath for a while and just never got to it; i was going to do it on Monday but the over-extending got in the way. The living room was fine, but the dogs had dragged some mud in and stained the carpet we steam-cleaned about 2 weeks ago, so it needed to be spot-cleaned again. And if you're doing that, you might as well dust really well and vacuum first, versus dusting after. You get the idea. And on top of that, we bought a new Sleep Number bed and it was delivered yesterday. So just a LOT to get done yesterday for a caseworker visit today.
i decided to take 1/2 day off from work and come home and clean, then get D from daycare early and have the caseworker come by. When i got home today, i found that Alan had dusted, vacuumed, AND steam cleaned. And not just spot cleaned, either! He did a wonderful job, too! So all i had to do was tidy the kitchen and give the bathroom a "lick and a promise" as my mom used to say. Needless to say, D and i had a good afternoon pretty much vegging around. i got my chores done while she napped, and now that she's in bed, i'm FREE for the rest of the evening. AMAZING! Figured i'd blog some and maybe get some exercise in before a steamy hot bath and a good book and a new bed. Yay!
Also in exciting and awesome news, my e-friend Bio sent us a package! i'll take and post pics soon i hope, but she sent 3 amazing things she hand knitted. She made an adorable pink stuffed elephant that D already loves, and the cutest booties for D. And a little something for me... fingerless mittens that are kind of cable-knit (she's probably shuddering reading this because i am clueless about terminology), but the detailing actually forms little owls! Those who know me, and especially Alan, know that owls are very important to us. When Alan turned 6, i gave him a stuffed owl he named Owlbert for his birthday. This was the first non-family gift he ever got, and he's treasured it since. He actually has a couple of hundred stuffed owls as he's gotten one for almost every Christmas and birthday since! (And he's old, so that's a LOT of owls lol). This girl is truly an amazing knitter and an amazing friend. Thanks, Bio!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
i find this a little sad and a lot cute
At the family reunion on Sunday, my 8 year old nephew approached me and D and asked where D came from. i said, "What do you mean?" He repeated, "Where did she come from?" i'm thinking, "Am i going to have to have a birds and bees talk with him HERE?" He said, "You know, like what country did she come from?"
Society's message is that all adopted kids come from other countries. Which is sad. Of course, he doesn't know better, so it's pretty cute and sweet all the same.
i just said, "Not all adopted kids come from other countries." Which prompted a brief conversation amongst my relatives who overheard about adoption myths. So it was productive in a way.
Society's message is that all adopted kids come from other countries. Which is sad. Of course, he doesn't know better, so it's pretty cute and sweet all the same.
i just said, "Not all adopted kids come from other countries." Which prompted a brief conversation amongst my relatives who overheard about adoption myths. So it was productive in a way.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Family Reunion
Yesterday was my family reunion on my mom's side. My mom was one of 5 kids (7 but 2 died as babies), and the only girl. i think 4 of the siblings were represented (though only two are still alive), plus two spouses of the deceased sibs were there, including my dad. One uncle had one son (who hosted the event, and his 2 grown daughters were there). One uncle had 3 kids, and 2 of them were there (one with a grandchild, but none of those kids were there). One uncle had EIGHT kids, and 5 of them were there with their combo of 9 kids. My mom had 4 kids and we were all there with 9 out of 10 of the grandkids. And the other uncle had i think 1 daughter, but he's an alcoholic and i never saw him much growing up.
Altogether there must have been 50 people there, if not more. It was fun, but overwhelming. i haven't been to the reunion in about 7 years i think, but wanted to get started again for D's sake.
D (we decided to go ahead and use her to-be-post-adoptive name of Charlotte to avoid confusion) did very well. She was certainly the hit of the party. i was proud to show her off, and i was thrilled to hear my cousin, who's a lactation consultant, tell me how far ahead of her milestones she is and how well cared for she is (even if she's eating that poison bottled up and sold under the name of formula lol). i also found out this cousin lives where i work, and her hospital is just a couple of miles up the road. i'm hoping we can grab a short lunch sometimes.
But boy am i wiped out!
Altogether there must have been 50 people there, if not more. It was fun, but overwhelming. i haven't been to the reunion in about 7 years i think, but wanted to get started again for D's sake.
D (we decided to go ahead and use her to-be-post-adoptive name of Charlotte to avoid confusion) did very well. She was certainly the hit of the party. i was proud to show her off, and i was thrilled to hear my cousin, who's a lactation consultant, tell me how far ahead of her milestones she is and how well cared for she is (even if she's eating that poison bottled up and sold under the name of formula lol). i also found out this cousin lives where i work, and her hospital is just a couple of miles up the road. i'm hoping we can grab a short lunch sometimes.
But boy am i wiped out!
Friday, September 4, 2009
From optimist to pessimist
i've noticed a change in me over the last few months. i used to be distinctly a half-glass-full type. Now i've turned into more of a "something bad will happen" type :(. i know what it is; it's being a mommy. Which is a WONDERFUL thing overall, but it has made me a worrier. Someone said that having a child is choosing to let your heart walk around outside your skin for the next 18 years. Yup. Truer words never spoken.
So it's not surprising that i was worried sick about today's tests. Not just what they may find, but also how she would handle it. First we thought it was going to be a scope procedure, which meant sedation, which scared me to death. Then we found out it's not a scope procedure but an upper GI, which is much better, but it meant she had to fast for 4 hours and then drink barium. i've had to drink barium twice and it is NASTY! So that made me nervous.
Well, she handled it like a trooper. She really is the world's best baby. i was so afraid we'd have 2 hours or more of straight crying from hunger because she normally eats every 2 hours (and of course they never run on time with tests so i figured another half hour at least in the waiting room). To make matters worse, she wouldn't even eat much this morning (from being sleepy and having to get up early).
Don't get me wrong, she had her fussy moments. But really that's all it was. Just fuss, not a lot of tears and crying. Which is unusual when she's hungry; it's really the only time she's fussy or cry-y. i really think God sent some of His mojo juice into her tummy to calm her (as requested).
As for the test results, well it was pretty much what we expected. The official report won't be out until next week, but we were in the room and could watch the monitor, and they did tell us what they saw (i love it when they do that instead of the old "We're not allowed to say anything" line). First they took X-ray videos of her breathing and didn't see any sign of her trachea collapsing, so that's really good news. Then they did a barium study (which shockingly she did not complain about eating, which makes me think formula must really taste terrible!) and watched the white barium in the bottle go down her esophagus and into her stomach, and then into her small intesting in a big black streak. We didn't see anything that looked odd, and neither did the doctors.
Then they had us feed her the rest of the barium (2 oz) and did some more X-rays to look for reflux. And boy did she oblige! Poor girl apparently has some pretty wicked reflux. And every time her breathing got bad, the reflux episode was really strong, so it could well be related :(. i sure wish i knew how to help this girl. We knew she had reflux but didn't know it was quite this severe. Not sure what they'll say next week, but for now we're going to switch her over to soy formula which several people have said is good for reflux.
The littlest one has been eating and sleeping pretty much the rest of today so far. Poor thing must be exhausted! i'm just trying to cuddle my girl as much as possible.
So it's not surprising that i was worried sick about today's tests. Not just what they may find, but also how she would handle it. First we thought it was going to be a scope procedure, which meant sedation, which scared me to death. Then we found out it's not a scope procedure but an upper GI, which is much better, but it meant she had to fast for 4 hours and then drink barium. i've had to drink barium twice and it is NASTY! So that made me nervous.
Well, she handled it like a trooper. She really is the world's best baby. i was so afraid we'd have 2 hours or more of straight crying from hunger because she normally eats every 2 hours (and of course they never run on time with tests so i figured another half hour at least in the waiting room). To make matters worse, she wouldn't even eat much this morning (from being sleepy and having to get up early).
Don't get me wrong, she had her fussy moments. But really that's all it was. Just fuss, not a lot of tears and crying. Which is unusual when she's hungry; it's really the only time she's fussy or cry-y. i really think God sent some of His mojo juice into her tummy to calm her (as requested).
As for the test results, well it was pretty much what we expected. The official report won't be out until next week, but we were in the room and could watch the monitor, and they did tell us what they saw (i love it when they do that instead of the old "We're not allowed to say anything" line). First they took X-ray videos of her breathing and didn't see any sign of her trachea collapsing, so that's really good news. Then they did a barium study (which shockingly she did not complain about eating, which makes me think formula must really taste terrible!) and watched the white barium in the bottle go down her esophagus and into her stomach, and then into her small intesting in a big black streak. We didn't see anything that looked odd, and neither did the doctors.
Then they had us feed her the rest of the barium (2 oz) and did some more X-rays to look for reflux. And boy did she oblige! Poor girl apparently has some pretty wicked reflux. And every time her breathing got bad, the reflux episode was really strong, so it could well be related :(. i sure wish i knew how to help this girl. We knew she had reflux but didn't know it was quite this severe. Not sure what they'll say next week, but for now we're going to switch her over to soy formula which several people have said is good for reflux.
The littlest one has been eating and sleeping pretty much the rest of today so far. Poor thing must be exhausted! i'm just trying to cuddle my girl as much as possible.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Friday
i had D on my back in the Beco Butterfly after our evening walk, rinsing out the daycare bottles to put in the dishwasher, when the house phone rings. We never use the house phone. Unfortunately, Alan listed it when he signed us up for the phone, so the only people who call are salesmen (ugh) and DCS. But the caller ID said "Vanderbilt", so i decided to answer.
It was an automated "reminder" that D has her scope procedure on Friday at 10:10 am (Central Time). Neither of us knew it was Friday as the doctor's office never called to say they scheduled it. Luckily i have Friday off from work, so i can take her. But i am SO SCARED! i know it's a minor procedure and i've had tons of more serious procedures and they weren't even a big deal, but this is a teeny tiny 10 pound baby! MY teeny tiny 10 pound baby! :(
Think of my girl on Friday, and say a prayer, please. And say one for me that i don't go insane waiting for it to be over.
It was an automated "reminder" that D has her scope procedure on Friday at 10:10 am (Central Time). Neither of us knew it was Friday as the doctor's office never called to say they scheduled it. Luckily i have Friday off from work, so i can take her. But i am SO SCARED! i know it's a minor procedure and i've had tons of more serious procedures and they weren't even a big deal, but this is a teeny tiny 10 pound baby! MY teeny tiny 10 pound baby! :(
Think of my girl on Friday, and say a prayer, please. And say one for me that i don't go insane waiting for it to be over.
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