Pictures are coming! I swear it there are! Settlement on the old house got bumped up to this Wednesday so we have been busy trying to empty out that house and do any fix its needed (which basically means my picture hanging, curtain rod installing handyman/Big Zach is busy).
In other news I decided to take the plunge and start potty training Lu....finally. I have to tell you she looks sooooo cute in her little underpants. So far its going alright. The first day was easy peasy, not one accident. Day two brought 3 accidents and so far today shes done well but then again its only around 8 am. Lucy is a stubborn control freak so I am trying to be very relaxed and not push her because the whole project will end up down the drain if she senses I WANT her to use the potty so badly.
In my last post I forgot to share the extra good news and that is that Lucy has gained weight back up to 27lbs and is holding there. I decided to buy a medical scale to keep here at the house because the cost of the scale was less than what it was going to cost me in copays at the peds office to have her weighed every 2 weeks. Now I can just do it whenever I want!
Thanks for checking in on us!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Moved in
We are all moved in! We are settling into our new routine and trying to organize our new space. Moving is definitely not fun but it has been well worth it because the new house is beautiful. We have just a few more pictures to hang and items to put away before I take some photos to share.
Lucy is doing quite well. Our first night here it was not looking optimistic that she would willingly sleep in her new big girl bed. We had let her pick out her own bedding and put her old crib blanket on top of the bed thinking that she would feel excited about the transition, but she wasn't buying it. She cried and begged for us to take her home to her crib. I was concerned that it was going to be a long night. Surprisingly though, she slept right through the night in her bed! A very pleasant surprise.
Zachary, of course, loves his new room. Hes my easy going guy and just settles into where ever we are. He is enjoying the change(and the week break from homeschool I gave him so we can get unpacked).
Big Zach is enjoying his reduced commute time- down to just 10-15 mins from 45 mins at our old house.
And me? I LOVE my new kitchen. More cabinets than I can fill and loads of counter space overlooking the living room so I can watch the kids. What more can a mom ask for??
Pictures will come soon!
Lucy is doing quite well. Our first night here it was not looking optimistic that she would willingly sleep in her new big girl bed. We had let her pick out her own bedding and put her old crib blanket on top of the bed thinking that she would feel excited about the transition, but she wasn't buying it. She cried and begged for us to take her home to her crib. I was concerned that it was going to be a long night. Surprisingly though, she slept right through the night in her bed! A very pleasant surprise.
Zachary, of course, loves his new room. Hes my easy going guy and just settles into where ever we are. He is enjoying the change(and the week break from homeschool I gave him so we can get unpacked).
Big Zach is enjoying his reduced commute time- down to just 10-15 mins from 45 mins at our old house.
And me? I LOVE my new kitchen. More cabinets than I can fill and loads of counter space overlooking the living room so I can watch the kids. What more can a mom ask for??
Pictures will come soon!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Boy it has REALLY been a while.
Holy Geez! Where have I been? I cant believe its already February.
We have been so wrapped up in selling this house and prepping the new one that I just haven't given a moment to sitting down and writing in this blog. That's sad, because it really speaks volumes for how poorly I have handled all this stress. I would like to say that I endured this process with faith and trust that it was in God's hands and that He would see us through but unfortunately I have struggled every minute of everyday with all the uncertainty that clouds anything having to do with real estate.
We are nearing the finish line though and hopefully it will be a matter of days before our stressors have been greatly reduced.
So to catch everyone up to speed in an orderly fashion, a bulleted list:
We have been so wrapped up in selling this house and prepping the new one that I just haven't given a moment to sitting down and writing in this blog. That's sad, because it really speaks volumes for how poorly I have handled all this stress. I would like to say that I endured this process with faith and trust that it was in God's hands and that He would see us through but unfortunately I have struggled every minute of everyday with all the uncertainty that clouds anything having to do with real estate.
We are nearing the finish line though and hopefully it will be a matter of days before our stressors have been greatly reduced.
So to catch everyone up to speed in an orderly fashion, a bulleted list:
- Our house is under contract for the exact amount we needed, no more no less, and its WONDERFUL
- Our home inspection is Wednesday and you will find me huddled in a corner in the fetal position until then
- Bill, my father in law, surprised us by putting in new floors for our new house which brought all the work we did full circle so that the place truly looks done up
- We are setting up to move this weekend- rain, sleet, SNOW or shine
- Lucy renamed the dog Houndzo and shes actually responding to it
- We are scheduled to close on our current house sometime in the first weeks of March
- Once we are moved and unpacked I will post up pictures, I know that especially the family is eager to see how far we have come with the house
So there you have it. Now everyone is on the same page and all caught up! I am eager to get back to regularly blogging once we are moved in and no longer hopping between two houses! Thanks so much for checking in on us. More updates to come!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Long overdue update
Yeah I have been gone awhile. I have spent 6 days a week at the new house working and just haven't felt the energy to post. We should be moving very very soon, the house is really starting to look great.
Lucy had her follow up appointment with the GI today. I will say right off the bat very little was accomplished in terms of solidifying a cause for Lucy's issues and deciding where to go from here. We decided to hold off on the g-tube since Lucy's linear(height) growth has remained on somewhat of a curve. We are going to continue with height and weight checks every 2 weeks in order to establish her NEW curve and then review the situation in 3 months.
At the moment Dr G thinks that Lucy has a "motility" problem- her stomach is just not emptying fast enough and its to a point that its causing a problem. Testing for a motility problem would involve yet another endoscopy and placement of a probe into her stomach, so for now we will hold out in the hopes that Lucy will not continue to deteriorate. If at the end of 3 months Lucy has failed to improve then we will consider testing and then probably place a GJ tube(tube that will pump formula below her stomach).
The big question on every one's mind is, what is causing this motility problem? Lucy's scope didn't reveal enough inflammation to have caused this issue, so Dr G suspects that this is simply the way her stomach functions. He brought up the possibility that Lucy could have a Mitochondrial Disorder. Dr G even considered getting Lucy started on the "mito cocktail" of supplements a child with a mitochondrial disorder would need, but safely assumed she would not be able to tolerate such treatment.
Towards the end of our visit we discussed the issues Lucy has been having with headaches. He was quite concerned about it because the anemia she deals with is not severe enough to cause these headaches. He was suggesting we see the new headache clinic at the hospital and have the neuro specialist there give his take on the possibility of a mito disorder and get the ball rolling towards diagnosis.
I am not exactly sure of how I feel about it all. Mitochondrial disorder can be a scary thing, its something that little is known about and can also be degenerative. Testing is long and arduous. I don't know if I am eager to pursue a diagnosis and all the testing it requires if its not something ALL of our doctors agree upon. So the first thing I am likely to do is speak to our pediatrician about it. Our pediatrician is usually right on target and very practical so I trust her words the most out of all our doctors.
As always, thank you for checking in on Lu. Bare with us during the move, once we are in and settled I promise to post more regularly!
Lucy had her follow up appointment with the GI today. I will say right off the bat very little was accomplished in terms of solidifying a cause for Lucy's issues and deciding where to go from here. We decided to hold off on the g-tube since Lucy's linear(height) growth has remained on somewhat of a curve. We are going to continue with height and weight checks every 2 weeks in order to establish her NEW curve and then review the situation in 3 months.
At the moment Dr G thinks that Lucy has a "motility" problem- her stomach is just not emptying fast enough and its to a point that its causing a problem. Testing for a motility problem would involve yet another endoscopy and placement of a probe into her stomach, so for now we will hold out in the hopes that Lucy will not continue to deteriorate. If at the end of 3 months Lucy has failed to improve then we will consider testing and then probably place a GJ tube(tube that will pump formula below her stomach).
The big question on every one's mind is, what is causing this motility problem? Lucy's scope didn't reveal enough inflammation to have caused this issue, so Dr G suspects that this is simply the way her stomach functions. He brought up the possibility that Lucy could have a Mitochondrial Disorder. Dr G even considered getting Lucy started on the "mito cocktail" of supplements a child with a mitochondrial disorder would need, but safely assumed she would not be able to tolerate such treatment.
Towards the end of our visit we discussed the issues Lucy has been having with headaches. He was quite concerned about it because the anemia she deals with is not severe enough to cause these headaches. He was suggesting we see the new headache clinic at the hospital and have the neuro specialist there give his take on the possibility of a mito disorder and get the ball rolling towards diagnosis.
I am not exactly sure of how I feel about it all. Mitochondrial disorder can be a scary thing, its something that little is known about and can also be degenerative. Testing is long and arduous. I don't know if I am eager to pursue a diagnosis and all the testing it requires if its not something ALL of our doctors agree upon. So the first thing I am likely to do is speak to our pediatrician about it. Our pediatrician is usually right on target and very practical so I trust her words the most out of all our doctors.
As always, thank you for checking in on Lu. Bare with us during the move, once we are in and settled I promise to post more regularly!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Update
I figured I would post really quick. The next few days should be VERY busy with a three day weekend coming up. The contractors have finished their work on the new house so all that's left are the projects we need to finish- dump runs, painting, cleaning, and fixing odd and ends. We are going to try and use every moment we can to get the work done. We've been at this project since October technically and its time to stick a fork in it I think!
I ended up running out of Lucy's iron. I have to order it from a special lab and their shipping always takes light years longer than I would expect so we ran out before her new batch arrived. In the time she was without her iron Lucy didn't vomit once. Sooooo now I am not sure what to do while I wait for her GI appointment on the 15th. I started her back up on about 1/2 the dose she actually needs yesterday, but I doubt it will be enough to get her out of the anemia. She still looks really pale so I would be surprised if her blood work in January doesn't reveal any anemia.
That's all for now! Thanks for checking in!
I ended up running out of Lucy's iron. I have to order it from a special lab and their shipping always takes light years longer than I would expect so we ran out before her new batch arrived. In the time she was without her iron Lucy didn't vomit once. Sooooo now I am not sure what to do while I wait for her GI appointment on the 15th. I started her back up on about 1/2 the dose she actually needs yesterday, but I doubt it will be enough to get her out of the anemia. She still looks really pale so I would be surprised if her blood work in January doesn't reveal any anemia.
That's all for now! Thanks for checking in!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Christmas
So I finally have a moment to sit down since Christmas. It was wonderful but exhausting!
We definitely had an amazing holiday. We were blessed in far more ways than I can even count this past month and its hard to take in. I had anticipated this year would be a pretty horrible Christmas with money being so tight, a massive project on our new house going on, and trying to sell our current house all in the midst of Lucy's health issues- but I was wrong. Instead we were blessed with so much family time, thoughtfulness, and some extremely generous gifts that seemed to come up unexpectedly out of surprise. Zach and I have nothing left to do but sit back in awe and feel so grateful. Even in the hardest of times we can only see so clearly how truly lucky we are and be deeply amazed at the generosity of our loved ones. There is no Christmas gift better than that.
To all of our family and friends- Thank you all so much for going so far out of your way to make this year so very special. Thank you all so much for the date nights, outings, gifts, laughs, hugs, stories, and smiles. You have blessed us in a time we needed it the most and it certainly did not go unnoticed. We deeply appreciate everything you have done.
*I will post up some holiday pics when I have the chance. We received a new laptop and I don't have my photo software uploaded just yet!
We definitely had an amazing holiday. We were blessed in far more ways than I can even count this past month and its hard to take in. I had anticipated this year would be a pretty horrible Christmas with money being so tight, a massive project on our new house going on, and trying to sell our current house all in the midst of Lucy's health issues- but I was wrong. Instead we were blessed with so much family time, thoughtfulness, and some extremely generous gifts that seemed to come up unexpectedly out of surprise. Zach and I have nothing left to do but sit back in awe and feel so grateful. Even in the hardest of times we can only see so clearly how truly lucky we are and be deeply amazed at the generosity of our loved ones. There is no Christmas gift better than that.
To all of our family and friends- Thank you all so much for going so far out of your way to make this year so very special. Thank you all so much for the date nights, outings, gifts, laughs, hugs, stories, and smiles. You have blessed us in a time we needed it the most and it certainly did not go unnoticed. We deeply appreciate everything you have done.
*I will post up some holiday pics when I have the chance. We received a new laptop and I don't have my photo software uploaded just yet!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Lucy has broken into a routine of casually projectile vomiting just once a day, pretty much everyday. She runs around, playing, and then suddenly stops, runs to the sink, vomits, and then goes back to playing. Its a bit strange. Shes been having mild stomach pain and some funky diapers so I am unsure what the exact problem is. It could be the iron supplement, however it strictly contains elemental iron and no additives so if it is in fact the iron then an alternative treatment will have to be figured out to treat her anemia. Then again, it may very well not be the iron. Since removing the lollipops Lucy has gone back to trying to put everything under the sun in her mouth. I am leaning more towards the iron as our culprit because the longer she remains on it the more consistent her symptoms become. Time will tell us what the answer is here.
Our next GI appointment is in roughly 3 weeks which will hopefully be enough time for me to figure out what our issue is or to at least get an idea of what our issue is. If its the iron we need to be totally positive because if she remains anemic she will likely need iron injections to get up where she needs to be.
Thank you for checking in on Lucy!
Our next GI appointment is in roughly 3 weeks which will hopefully be enough time for me to figure out what our issue is or to at least get an idea of what our issue is. If its the iron we need to be totally positive because if she remains anemic she will likely need iron injections to get up where she needs to be.
Thank you for checking in on Lucy!
The perfect holiday picture...
Thats the closest I could get to a picture perfect photo of the kids in front of our Christmas tree. Enjoy.Thursday, December 17, 2009
Happy Birthday, Lucy!!!
Tomorrow, when Lucy gets out of bed, she will be 3!!! That seems so grown up. I guess I will finally have to stop referring to her as "The Baby" and telling Zachary that he needs to be patient with Lu's antics because shes a baby. I will have to find another excuse to explain this precocious diva's misbehavior!
This year has been a roller coaster, as has been the previous years. We have had periods of running on high that were a blessing and we have had clear periods of running on low(which is where we have been the last few months). We've seen some major improvements with Lucy's dermatographism and environmental reactions this year, which is a huge gift. But as it stands now we see nothing but a decline in her GI health. I have complete faith that she will turn around and get back on track, but having patience during the wait is a challenge when your child is losing weight.
I wonder exactly what this year will bring. How long will things continue to decline and just how good will things get once she pulls out? I just never know what God has in store for us with each year. When I was pregnant with Lucy I never dreamed that anything at all could be wrong with her. Heck, even when she started vomiting in the nursery after being born I still never thought something could be wrong with my baby- after all, other people have babies with problems, not mine.
Life with Lucy has truly been a learning experience for us all in so many many ways and I will never take that for granted. I will never take my little girl for granted. With each passing day I see my little girl as more and more of an amazing miracle. I am so very proud to be her mother.
Every time someone says that I do such a great job as a mother I simply think, "Its this child. Shes doing a great job." Shes a fighter. She doesn't wallow, complain, or pout. She gets up everyday and plays like any other kid despite having a case of the "stomach flu", despite being deprived of food of any kind, despite the social isolation. She never gives up, quits, or gives out on me. She has a strength that I admire.
As an infant all of her days, weeks, and months were a blur to me. Everyday was the same monotonous drone of watching my baby suffer in agony with no cure in sight. Feeding my daughter was enough to bring me to tears on any given day. She would curl her precious lips around her bottle, breath rapidly, then cry out in pain with a whimper that ripped my heart out. During her feedings the most I could get into her was an ounce at a time before she would begin to choke, gag, and vomit. But an hour later she was always willing to try again, and every hour after that she would try again and again and again in order to get the nutrition that her body so desperately needed. So that is what we did, feed around the clock. Miraculously Lucy avoided a g-tube when the doctors couldn't hold any optimism at all that she could avoid it.
I know that no matter what comes Lucy's way, she will work harder than I can imagine to overcome it- shes been doing it since birth. I have no idea what this next year will bring for Lucy. I have no idea exactly what I will post about on her 4th birthday. I know that at every birthday I post that I am amazed by my child, and I predict that next year I will post the same because I am truly amazed everyday by my daughter and the many gifts she has brought to our life.
This year has been a roller coaster, as has been the previous years. We have had periods of running on high that were a blessing and we have had clear periods of running on low(which is where we have been the last few months). We've seen some major improvements with Lucy's dermatographism and environmental reactions this year, which is a huge gift. But as it stands now we see nothing but a decline in her GI health. I have complete faith that she will turn around and get back on track, but having patience during the wait is a challenge when your child is losing weight.
I wonder exactly what this year will bring. How long will things continue to decline and just how good will things get once she pulls out? I just never know what God has in store for us with each year. When I was pregnant with Lucy I never dreamed that anything at all could be wrong with her. Heck, even when she started vomiting in the nursery after being born I still never thought something could be wrong with my baby- after all, other people have babies with problems, not mine.
Life with Lucy has truly been a learning experience for us all in so many many ways and I will never take that for granted. I will never take my little girl for granted. With each passing day I see my little girl as more and more of an amazing miracle. I am so very proud to be her mother.
Every time someone says that I do such a great job as a mother I simply think, "Its this child. Shes doing a great job." Shes a fighter. She doesn't wallow, complain, or pout. She gets up everyday and plays like any other kid despite having a case of the "stomach flu", despite being deprived of food of any kind, despite the social isolation. She never gives up, quits, or gives out on me. She has a strength that I admire.
As an infant all of her days, weeks, and months were a blur to me. Everyday was the same monotonous drone of watching my baby suffer in agony with no cure in sight. Feeding my daughter was enough to bring me to tears on any given day. She would curl her precious lips around her bottle, breath rapidly, then cry out in pain with a whimper that ripped my heart out. During her feedings the most I could get into her was an ounce at a time before she would begin to choke, gag, and vomit. But an hour later she was always willing to try again, and every hour after that she would try again and again and again in order to get the nutrition that her body so desperately needed. So that is what we did, feed around the clock. Miraculously Lucy avoided a g-tube when the doctors couldn't hold any optimism at all that she could avoid it.
I know that no matter what comes Lucy's way, she will work harder than I can imagine to overcome it- shes been doing it since birth. I have no idea what this next year will bring for Lucy. I have no idea exactly what I will post about on her 4th birthday. I know that at every birthday I post that I am amazed by my child, and I predict that next year I will post the same because I am truly amazed everyday by my daughter and the many gifts she has brought to our life.
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