D had her pedi GI appointment today. i guess you could say it went well, once we actually got in (they required our foster parent paperwork, which surprised us as we've never needed it before, and we didn't have it with us, so we had to place an emergency call to the caseworker to have it faxed... and we waited about an hour for it. i can't complain, though, since she did do us a favor.).
They are increasing her Zantac dose slightly per weight gain, and increasing her Prevacid from once daily to twice daily. i expect that to help a lot. They're also going to do a swallow study to see if there's any physiological problem causing this, referring her to an Ear, Nose, and Throat for a scope to check for laryngomalacia, and referring her to a food therapist who will work with her on the food aversion problems.
Laryngomalacia = similar to the tracheomalacia that was ruled out a month or two ago when she had the big upper GI study (and other X-rays), but instead of the trachea collapsing upon inhale, it's the larynx. Why it wasn't ruled out, too (or ruled in), i cannot say, perhaps it needs different tests? At any rate, apparently it's very common with reflux and again they almost never do surgery or any treatment other than treat the reflux.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Disappointment
So the insurance thing sucks. We've had to wait until Jan 1 for my Lapex surgery because DH's insurance doesn't have out-of-network coverage. There was an out-of-network option, but i didn't realize and he didn't realize and we didn't get it. My insurance at work sucks, so i opted out of it last year. And the surgeon is out-of-network, and we can't afford tens of thousands of dollars in cash. So... we figured we would wait until the open enrollment and change to something with out-of-network coverage and get the surgery after the beginning of the year.
Guess what? His insurance is going to suck even worse than my option at work. For out-of-network it will be an $8k cash outlay basically. For mine i think it will be $4k cash. So now i'm not sure if i will be having surgery in January. Or when i will be able to. i'll have to find out how the two insurances would work if we had double-coverage, but i'm pretty sure it would be $4k outlay minimum.
i'm trying to digest this right now. It's very depressing. i don't understand insurance well enough to know what to do, but i feel like melting into a big puddle of tears. i'm in enough pain 2 out of every 3 days that i can't do some of the things i used to enjoy (i.e. horseback ride, take long walks, so many things), and i know it will only get worse.
Right now, i don't know what to do but put my ready-made Etsy items on sale. i'm going to put a thing or two on sale every week at a steep discount (no discount for custom items obviously as i'd have to buy new supplies), and hope people keep coming back to see the new item :). Just in time for Christmas? Come one, come all. Big sale. Okay, i'm done. i've already made myself sick.
Guess what? His insurance is going to suck even worse than my option at work. For out-of-network it will be an $8k cash outlay basically. For mine i think it will be $4k cash. So now i'm not sure if i will be having surgery in January. Or when i will be able to. i'll have to find out how the two insurances would work if we had double-coverage, but i'm pretty sure it would be $4k outlay minimum.
i'm trying to digest this right now. It's very depressing. i don't understand insurance well enough to know what to do, but i feel like melting into a big puddle of tears. i'm in enough pain 2 out of every 3 days that i can't do some of the things i used to enjoy (i.e. horseback ride, take long walks, so many things), and i know it will only get worse.
Right now, i don't know what to do but put my ready-made Etsy items on sale. i'm going to put a thing or two on sale every week at a steep discount (no discount for custom items obviously as i'd have to buy new supplies), and hope people keep coming back to see the new item :). Just in time for Christmas? Come one, come all. Big sale. Okay, i'm done. i've already made myself sick.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Just say no (to the swine flu)
So, we (well, really Alan since he's the only one who can care for her currently) were braced for a long, hard night of a baby who would wake a lot. She was up kind of late and not very tired, and we were stressed. Guess what? She STTN! i'm sure it was because she was in her swing, but we'll take it!
This morning she didn't have a fever, but Alan took her to the doctor, who said she does not have the flu. Yay! She has bronchialitis (basically a chest cold) and yesterday was probably the worst day. So that's very good news! Sadly, i still can't love on her, but maybe i won't be contagious much longer. i think not anyway :).
The other good news is that D was weighed and is still growing, despite her fighting EVERY SINGLE BOTTLE we (or daycare) give her. Poor thing! Reflux is torture, i tell you (when it's severe anyway). She's gained a little over a pound and a half in 3 weeks, and is now between 25 and 50 percentile on the growth chart. She started out off the charts below 5%! Yay!
This morning she didn't have a fever, but Alan took her to the doctor, who said she does not have the flu. Yay! She has bronchialitis (basically a chest cold) and yesterday was probably the worst day. So that's very good news! Sadly, i still can't love on her, but maybe i won't be contagious much longer. i think not anyway :).
The other good news is that D was weighed and is still growing, despite her fighting EVERY SINGLE BOTTLE we (or daycare) give her. Poor thing! Reflux is torture, i tell you (when it's severe anyway). She's gained a little over a pound and a half in 3 weeks, and is now between 25 and 50 percentile on the growth chart. She started out off the charts below 5%! Yay!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
H1N1?
Ugh, what a week.
Sunday D started coughing again. She's seriously been sick every other week since she started daycare. And because i have a weak immune system, i've gotten everything she's gotten. So, i got the seasonal flu shot like a month ago, and was holding out on the H1N1 vaccine until the injection came out. (The nasal thing is live and the shot is killed, and i'd rather have the killed all things considered, young baby, weak immune system, etc).
Monday i started not feeling great. Nasal congestion and such. i got home and felt worn down. i stayed up until Alan got home and when i stood up, i felt like i was dying. i took my temp before bed and it was 99.7 i think (can't remember for sure, but above 99 but below 1oo). i wasn't tooo worried.
All night i felt awful. Tossed and turned, moaned and groaned. Poor D coughed and coughed on the monitor all night, too. When i got up Tuesday morning, i took my temp and it was 100.4. D didn't have a fever, 98-something normal. i called in to work and went to the Walgreen's clinic (different one from the story a month or so ago, but not a much better story).
The NP didn't want to give me the flu test. She said she knew i had the flu from my symptoms and fever (which had gotten as high as 101.2 pre-Tylenol), and given my weak immune system she was going to give me Tamiflu regardless. She said the test has a 30% false negative rate. i wanted to KNOW, because it might affect how i deal with D (if we should try to get her preventative Tamiflu or something...), with daycare, whether Alan would need to take time off from work, etc. i didn't see the harm in taking the test. She argued with me, was rather harsh IMO (i.e. treated me like i was an idiot), eventually made me almost cry, then raising her voice and saying over and over again "You do not need to cry!" Let's just say i'm never going back to a Take Care clinic and will likely transfer my Rx's from Walgreens period. Ugh!
Anyway, she finally did the test. She also did the strep test. And she made a big damn deal about how she was going to do EVERYTHING for me. Both Influenza A/B tests and the Strep A test were negative. But, she gave me Tamiflu anyway, telling me she was sure i had the flu. And since i had the seasonal vax, i can only assume it's H1N1, so we have been treating it as such. We called the pediatrician, who never called us back. i've been avoiding her and everything she touches for 48 hours.
i haven't held my baby in 2 days. i have only seen her across the room. It just hurts so much! i've been so careful. And now...
A few hours ago her temp went up to 99.4. Then 100.4. We called the on-call doctor, who said to give Tylenol (we already had) and make an appointment for the morning. She said not to go to the ER unless the temp went up to 102 with Tylenol or her breathing became labored.
And i STILL can't hold my baby because i'm not 100% sure it's the same thing. It's weird that she's had the symptoms so long and only now getting a fever, and the symptoms worsening. i guess she could have a cold and now the flu. But i don't want to take chances. Poor Pre-Toddler D! Poor Alan trying to care for us both, too.
Sunday D started coughing again. She's seriously been sick every other week since she started daycare. And because i have a weak immune system, i've gotten everything she's gotten. So, i got the seasonal flu shot like a month ago, and was holding out on the H1N1 vaccine until the injection came out. (The nasal thing is live and the shot is killed, and i'd rather have the killed all things considered, young baby, weak immune system, etc).
Monday i started not feeling great. Nasal congestion and such. i got home and felt worn down. i stayed up until Alan got home and when i stood up, i felt like i was dying. i took my temp before bed and it was 99.7 i think (can't remember for sure, but above 99 but below 1oo). i wasn't tooo worried.
All night i felt awful. Tossed and turned, moaned and groaned. Poor D coughed and coughed on the monitor all night, too. When i got up Tuesday morning, i took my temp and it was 100.4. D didn't have a fever, 98-something normal. i called in to work and went to the Walgreen's clinic (different one from the story a month or so ago, but not a much better story).
The NP didn't want to give me the flu test. She said she knew i had the flu from my symptoms and fever (which had gotten as high as 101.2 pre-Tylenol), and given my weak immune system she was going to give me Tamiflu regardless. She said the test has a 30% false negative rate. i wanted to KNOW, because it might affect how i deal with D (if we should try to get her preventative Tamiflu or something...), with daycare, whether Alan would need to take time off from work, etc. i didn't see the harm in taking the test. She argued with me, was rather harsh IMO (i.e. treated me like i was an idiot), eventually made me almost cry, then raising her voice and saying over and over again "You do not need to cry!" Let's just say i'm never going back to a Take Care clinic and will likely transfer my Rx's from Walgreens period. Ugh!
Anyway, she finally did the test. She also did the strep test. And she made a big damn deal about how she was going to do EVERYTHING for me. Both Influenza A/B tests and the Strep A test were negative. But, she gave me Tamiflu anyway, telling me she was sure i had the flu. And since i had the seasonal vax, i can only assume it's H1N1, so we have been treating it as such. We called the pediatrician, who never called us back. i've been avoiding her and everything she touches for 48 hours.
i haven't held my baby in 2 days. i have only seen her across the room. It just hurts so much! i've been so careful. And now...
A few hours ago her temp went up to 99.4. Then 100.4. We called the on-call doctor, who said to give Tylenol (we already had) and make an appointment for the morning. She said not to go to the ER unless the temp went up to 102 with Tylenol or her breathing became labored.
And i STILL can't hold my baby because i'm not 100% sure it's the same thing. It's weird that she's had the symptoms so long and only now getting a fever, and the symptoms worsening. i guess she could have a cold and now the flu. But i don't want to take chances. Poor Pre-Toddler D! Poor Alan trying to care for us both, too.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Come to laugh, stay to pray
Probably my favorite Thomas Hardy quote ever. Why? Because it shows that even in the 19th century, not everyone went to church and there was a (not tiny) group who shunned organized religion.
After yesterday's post from "D", i'm guessing some of you think i'm crazy for putting a 4 month old on the toilet. And, maybe i am. i think this would qualify as a "Come to laugh, stay to pray" situation.
There's this line of thought called "Elimination Communication", which in my mind is probably THE stupidest phrase i've ever heard lol. Basically it's about concentrating on the baby's signals for when s/he needs to "eliminate" (ugh, there it is again) and starting toilet learning early. Well, to say i'm not totally on board would be putting it mildly. And the website i saw first on the topic doesn't help. The image of a 6 month old being held over a toilet, cheeks spread, well... not appealing to me. And when i realized that D mostly pooped while eating, ha ha! No way was i going to try to balance her over a toilet in one hand with a bottle in the other!
The one thing i thought was appealing about the concept of EC was that it provided positive experiences on a potty seat for babies, so that there's no huge transition when they're a toddler and going through the big potty training ordeal. If you provide positive experiences all along, little by little, it will be more natural for baby to slowly learn the concept of what a potty is for instead of having it thrown in their face at 18 months of age. So... when D was about 3 months old, i bought her a potty seat: the kind that fits over the regular toilet. And i put her on it usually about 7 or 8 times a week, once a day weekdays but skipping days occasionally, and a few times a day on weekends, for maybe 1-2 minutes at a time, usually before bathtime. And we've had very few "catches"; probably 2 total in the last 6 weeks. Considering how rarely i actually attempt "EC" (if you can call my complete laziness EC), i'm not surprised at our lack of success.
i am completely surprised by the success this weekend, though! Yesterday i put D on the potty 4 times, 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. And she peed in the potty 3 times! And the one she didn't pee pee, she actually peed before i got her on the toilet as i took her diaper off, so i can't really call that a failure (maybe a laundry problem lol). Today she's already gone twice out of two attempts. Now, i have no idea if she's "getting it", or if i'm "getting it", or if we've just been lucky or whatever. But it's still pretty neat that we've saved a few diapers, and for someone who really would like to cloth diaper (but whose husband thinks it's gross), saving even a few diapers feels like a success :).
After yesterday's post from "D", i'm guessing some of you think i'm crazy for putting a 4 month old on the toilet. And, maybe i am. i think this would qualify as a "Come to laugh, stay to pray" situation.
There's this line of thought called "Elimination Communication", which in my mind is probably THE stupidest phrase i've ever heard lol. Basically it's about concentrating on the baby's signals for when s/he needs to "eliminate" (ugh, there it is again) and starting toilet learning early. Well, to say i'm not totally on board would be putting it mildly. And the website i saw first on the topic doesn't help. The image of a 6 month old being held over a toilet, cheeks spread, well... not appealing to me. And when i realized that D mostly pooped while eating, ha ha! No way was i going to try to balance her over a toilet in one hand with a bottle in the other!
The one thing i thought was appealing about the concept of EC was that it provided positive experiences on a potty seat for babies, so that there's no huge transition when they're a toddler and going through the big potty training ordeal. If you provide positive experiences all along, little by little, it will be more natural for baby to slowly learn the concept of what a potty is for instead of having it thrown in their face at 18 months of age. So... when D was about 3 months old, i bought her a potty seat: the kind that fits over the regular toilet. And i put her on it usually about 7 or 8 times a week, once a day weekdays but skipping days occasionally, and a few times a day on weekends, for maybe 1-2 minutes at a time, usually before bathtime. And we've had very few "catches"; probably 2 total in the last 6 weeks. Considering how rarely i actually attempt "EC" (if you can call my complete laziness EC), i'm not surprised at our lack of success.
i am completely surprised by the success this weekend, though! Yesterday i put D on the potty 4 times, 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. And she peed in the potty 3 times! And the one she didn't pee pee, she actually peed before i got her on the toilet as i took her diaper off, so i can't really call that a failure (maybe a laundry problem lol). Today she's already gone twice out of two attempts. Now, i have no idea if she's "getting it", or if i'm "getting it", or if we've just been lucky or whatever. But it's still pretty neat that we've saved a few diapers, and for someone who really would like to cloth diaper (but whose husband thinks it's gross), saving even a few diapers feels like a success :).
Saturday, October 17, 2009
My day so far
Hello adoring public, it is me, Baby D. Actually, I wanted to talk about that nickname. I feel that, as I am no longer a baby, I should not be called Baby D. I mean, I can sit up practically unassisted. I think I am nearly a toddler, so I should be called a Pre-Toddler. Pre-Toddler D. What do you think?
I'm going to tell you about my day. It's pretty exciting so far. I barely got any sleep and was up 5 times last night. Finally I let Mommee get some sleep until 8:30. Then I ate just a few ounces of food, and then I went pee pee on the toilet and got dressed in my "Daddy loves me" outfit. Then I puked all over my "Daddy loves me" outfit, went pee pee in the toilet again, and got dressed in my blue kitty cat hoodie outfit. Then I puked on Mommee, but didn't mess up my hoodie, so I was happy about that.
After Daddee got up, we went to the Mexican restaurant where I saw my favorite waitress, Home Depot to buy me neat new stuff for my house, and then to Kohl's where Mommee exchanges some clothes she'd bought herself for some clothes for me. Yippee! Here's my new Christmas outfit:
Isn't it BEE-YOO-TEE-FULL?!?
Well, I thought I would say hellooo to you adoring fans and remind you that I am no longer Baby D but prefer to be called Pre-Toddler D. Thank you.
I'm going to tell you about my day. It's pretty exciting so far. I barely got any sleep and was up 5 times last night. Finally I let Mommee get some sleep until 8:30. Then I ate just a few ounces of food, and then I went pee pee on the toilet and got dressed in my "Daddy loves me" outfit. Then I puked all over my "Daddy loves me" outfit, went pee pee in the toilet again, and got dressed in my blue kitty cat hoodie outfit. Then I puked on Mommee, but didn't mess up my hoodie, so I was happy about that.
After Daddee got up, we went to the Mexican restaurant where I saw my favorite waitress, Home Depot to buy me neat new stuff for my house, and then to Kohl's where Mommee exchanges some clothes she'd bought herself for some clothes for me. Yippee! Here's my new Christmas outfit:
Isn't it BEE-YOO-TEE-FULL?!?
Well, I thought I would say hellooo to you adoring fans and remind you that I am no longer Baby D but prefer to be called Pre-Toddler D. Thank you.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sort of depressed
Some of it for no real reason, some of it because i'm in a lot of endo pain, some of it for good reason. So we'll skip the first two and move on to the real reason.
i think the reflux is still causing D a lot of problems, only now it's earlier in the day when she doesn't have as much medication in her system. Which is also the time in the day when she's at daycare and there's nothing significant that i can do about it. Aaaaaaah!
For a while there, D had been eating 15 oz of formula at daycare. Which is about 45% of her daily formula intake, so not too bad. She eats disproportionately more in the evenings with me, but i think that's because i just sit with her and work through the back arching and the grunting and the pushing of the bottle out of her mouth with her hands. Alan probably doesn't have time in the mornings and daycare doesn't know how.
Okay, so 15 oz at daycare is good. But the last week or so, she's been eating more like 10-12 oz of formula at daycare. Not as good, because i've noticed if she doesn't get enough food in her during the day, she'll add a night feeding by waking up. She wakes up once a night every night, which we can handle, but it's more difficult if she's waking 2-3 times a night. So i try to keep her up later to finish those last few ounces, which isn't always so great, to say the least. (As an aside, she is currently fast asleep in her jumperoo, where i put her to KEEP HER AWAKE lol).
So, again, 15 oz at daycare is good. 10-12 is not so good, but has been happening lately. Today, she ate 5. Five whole whopping stinking ounces in a 7.5 hour period. i seriously want to cry, because i know that means more night wakings. And i tried to keep her awake, but as you can tell from my previous comment, that didn't work so well.
i really don't know what to do. Daycare can't add cereal to her bottle legally (state law), which is what i do when it's bad at night. Pedi thinks it will get better as she eats more solids, but she hates cereal with a spoon. Weird, since she gets tons of it in bottles. i started cheating and tried fruits and veggies mixed in, which i REALLY didn't want to do until she was AT LEAST 5 months, preferably 6 months. But again, i don't know what to do! This is the stuff that makes parenting hard! These little decisions that seem so big. Anyway, she doesn't like bananas, she doesn't like avocado. She likes squash. Yeah, squash. Little weirdo lol. So i mix squash in with formula and cereal and she'll eat like 6 or 8 bites, which isn't so bad but really isn't going to do a lot of good just yet.
So, the only thing i know to try is to have daycare feed her some solids also. Which means mixing it up the night before with the bottles. And i'll call the pedi tomorrow to see what she suggests. i thought the Prevacid had been working so well, and it has, but apparently only at night.
That, hormones, and pain ad up to a tearful fred. Who dreads waking a million times tonight. And who really wonders how long a baby can sleep slumped over a jumperoo. But then, i've fallen asleep at punk rock concerts, so who am i to judge?
i think the reflux is still causing D a lot of problems, only now it's earlier in the day when she doesn't have as much medication in her system. Which is also the time in the day when she's at daycare and there's nothing significant that i can do about it. Aaaaaaah!
For a while there, D had been eating 15 oz of formula at daycare. Which is about 45% of her daily formula intake, so not too bad. She eats disproportionately more in the evenings with me, but i think that's because i just sit with her and work through the back arching and the grunting and the pushing of the bottle out of her mouth with her hands. Alan probably doesn't have time in the mornings and daycare doesn't know how.
Okay, so 15 oz at daycare is good. But the last week or so, she's been eating more like 10-12 oz of formula at daycare. Not as good, because i've noticed if she doesn't get enough food in her during the day, she'll add a night feeding by waking up. She wakes up once a night every night, which we can handle, but it's more difficult if she's waking 2-3 times a night. So i try to keep her up later to finish those last few ounces, which isn't always so great, to say the least. (As an aside, she is currently fast asleep in her jumperoo, where i put her to KEEP HER AWAKE lol).
So, again, 15 oz at daycare is good. 10-12 is not so good, but has been happening lately. Today, she ate 5. Five whole whopping stinking ounces in a 7.5 hour period. i seriously want to cry, because i know that means more night wakings. And i tried to keep her awake, but as you can tell from my previous comment, that didn't work so well.
i really don't know what to do. Daycare can't add cereal to her bottle legally (state law), which is what i do when it's bad at night. Pedi thinks it will get better as she eats more solids, but she hates cereal with a spoon. Weird, since she gets tons of it in bottles. i started cheating and tried fruits and veggies mixed in, which i REALLY didn't want to do until she was AT LEAST 5 months, preferably 6 months. But again, i don't know what to do! This is the stuff that makes parenting hard! These little decisions that seem so big. Anyway, she doesn't like bananas, she doesn't like avocado. She likes squash. Yeah, squash. Little weirdo lol. So i mix squash in with formula and cereal and she'll eat like 6 or 8 bites, which isn't so bad but really isn't going to do a lot of good just yet.
So, the only thing i know to try is to have daycare feed her some solids also. Which means mixing it up the night before with the bottles. And i'll call the pedi tomorrow to see what she suggests. i thought the Prevacid had been working so well, and it has, but apparently only at night.
That, hormones, and pain ad up to a tearful fred. Who dreads waking a million times tonight. And who really wonders how long a baby can sleep slumped over a jumperoo. But then, i've fallen asleep at punk rock concerts, so who am i to judge?
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