Well, i cancelled Easton's surgery that was scheduled for yesterday. Something in my mommy brain had been nagging me for a couple weeks that it just wasn't the right thing to do. We decided that he is still really little (age wise not size wise!) and that it was possibly a lot for him to go thru. Plus, in the last week or so, he has been making improvements with his eating (although, every time i blog that he is doing good, he does a 180) and we didn't want the surgery to possibly set him back. If we decide to do it later, we can. We also switched OT's for Easton, AGAIN! His new OT is SUPER nice & he seems to really respond to her. She uses a different approach and since he had pretty drastically regressed while seeing the other OT, we decided that time is of the essence and let's see if someone else will have better luck with him. So, again, I am holding my breath. BUT!!! His GI stuff seems to have cleared up, which has made a big diference and (drumroll...) he is now crawling! Not exceptional at it yet, but he can get from here to there pretty well now.
Grayson, is doing well. He has been pretty crabby the past week or so & I am hoping it is just do to his molars and a possible growth spurt. He is eating non-stop!! My God, it's like having a teenager in the house. But he seems to SLOWLY be snapping out of it. He is at sort of a plateau with his speech but his SLP says that's typical and due probably in part to his teething & growth spurt.
We have been trying to cut costs around here and are thinking of getting a different vehicle. 1-to lower our payments & 2-to find something with better mileage-Expeditions aren't exactly "green" as far as that goes. I absolutely LOVE our vehicle but Ryan has been trying hard to sell me on a *gulp* mini-van. I just cannot come to terms with driving a mini-van. I always said "over my dead body will i drive a mini-van" and here i am looking at them online. *Sighs* I may have to bite the bullet on this one. I am stalling as long as i can.
P.S. I added new pics to the Flickr slideshow
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Sick & tired (literally)
It has been a busy couple of weeks! The boys have been circulating colds back and forth & with Mommy. So needless to say, we have all been crabby & tired.
I took Easton to ENT @ Children's Hospital on Monday. We didn't really get any answers but he is scheduled for ear tube surgery on Feb. 25th. While he is asleep for the surgery, they are going to do several things besides the tube insertion that should give us some answers. They are going to do a biopsy of his esophagus to check for inflammation/irritation that the reflux may have caused. They are going to check his adenoids & if they are too large, they will remove them. The doctor doesn't think this is likely because when he looked at his throat he said his tonsils were pretty small and i guess that can be an indication. (see below for better explanation)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenoidectomy
They are also going to check for a laryngeal cleft. (see below for a better explanation)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laryngeal_cleft
If they do find a cleft (they suspect it would be a Type 1), they are going to do what is called a "voice gel injection". They inject a gel substance that essentially "fills" the void (cleft) and over a few months, the gel breaks down & gets absorbed by the body. If that IS the problem with his feeding, choking, etc., this should solve the problem temporarily. If the problem comes back after the gel is gone, then they will have to do a permanent repair.
However...although i am hesitant to count my proverbial chickens, since Thursday, he has been eating his solids (which, as of Monday, he wouldn't touch). Yesterday & today he ate whole containers with no problem. So if this continues, i may postpone his surgery altogether. We had had so many problems made worse by traditonal medicine that if all is well, i may elect to leave well enough alone.
I took E to my holistic doctor on Wednesday and she found a yeast present in his gut & started him on some natural drops to get rid of it. She also put him on a couple other supplements & low & behold, the NEXT DAY, things started to improve. He's mood & eating have improved so much in the last few days, it's amazing. (knock on wood)
Now, Grayson. That little man is doing soooo AWESOME with his speech therapy, ironically, i don't even have words. :-) I updated his word list (on the left side of the screen), it is unbelieveable. Still no "mama" but so many others, i'm trying not to think about that. His speech therapist(SLP) was so astounded on Thursday! He is just so smart & so sweet & even with his cold & 2 molars coming in, he is just one of the best kids you could ask for!! We are going to be starting (I think) what is called PECS, picture exchange communication system. That way, he will have little pictures he can point to to communicate better at home & while we are out. Although his SLP doesn't think is is absolutely necessary, I think it will help since he has a hard time with some of the signs, due to his fine motor delay.
Otherwise, I have the 2 most awesome boys in the world. I am really hoping things are on the up & up with E, because i feel like we haven't been able to enjoy each other much becuase he's been so sick the last few months.
We have our HomExpo this weekend for Kleenaire and so far things are going really well. Except that i lost my voice today but we have booked a bunch of work already and another day to go tomorrow! So, i am exhausted, think i might actually try to take a bubble bath, first one in over a year, *sighs*.
P.S. I will put more pictures up on here soon.
I took Easton to ENT @ Children's Hospital on Monday. We didn't really get any answers but he is scheduled for ear tube surgery on Feb. 25th. While he is asleep for the surgery, they are going to do several things besides the tube insertion that should give us some answers. They are going to do a biopsy of his esophagus to check for inflammation/irritation that the reflux may have caused. They are going to check his adenoids & if they are too large, they will remove them. The doctor doesn't think this is likely because when he looked at his throat he said his tonsils were pretty small and i guess that can be an indication. (see below for better explanation)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenoidectomy
They are also going to check for a laryngeal cleft. (see below for a better explanation)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laryngeal_cleft
If they do find a cleft (they suspect it would be a Type 1), they are going to do what is called a "voice gel injection". They inject a gel substance that essentially "fills" the void (cleft) and over a few months, the gel breaks down & gets absorbed by the body. If that IS the problem with his feeding, choking, etc., this should solve the problem temporarily. If the problem comes back after the gel is gone, then they will have to do a permanent repair.
However...although i am hesitant to count my proverbial chickens, since Thursday, he has been eating his solids (which, as of Monday, he wouldn't touch). Yesterday & today he ate whole containers with no problem. So if this continues, i may postpone his surgery altogether. We had had so many problems made worse by traditonal medicine that if all is well, i may elect to leave well enough alone.
I took E to my holistic doctor on Wednesday and she found a yeast present in his gut & started him on some natural drops to get rid of it. She also put him on a couple other supplements & low & behold, the NEXT DAY, things started to improve. He's mood & eating have improved so much in the last few days, it's amazing. (knock on wood)
Now, Grayson. That little man is doing soooo AWESOME with his speech therapy, ironically, i don't even have words. :-) I updated his word list (on the left side of the screen), it is unbelieveable. Still no "mama" but so many others, i'm trying not to think about that. His speech therapist(SLP) was so astounded on Thursday! He is just so smart & so sweet & even with his cold & 2 molars coming in, he is just one of the best kids you could ask for!! We are going to be starting (I think) what is called PECS, picture exchange communication system. That way, he will have little pictures he can point to to communicate better at home & while we are out. Although his SLP doesn't think is is absolutely necessary, I think it will help since he has a hard time with some of the signs, due to his fine motor delay.
Otherwise, I have the 2 most awesome boys in the world. I am really hoping things are on the up & up with E, because i feel like we haven't been able to enjoy each other much becuase he's been so sick the last few months.
We have our HomExpo this weekend for Kleenaire and so far things are going really well. Except that i lost my voice today but we have booked a bunch of work already and another day to go tomorrow! So, i am exhausted, think i might actually try to take a bubble bath, first one in over a year, *sighs*.
P.S. I will put more pictures up on here soon.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The winter of our discontent...
Ryan & I have been trying to adjust and cope with the news of Gray's diagnosis. Mission is FAR from accomplished. I can't even begin to express my gratefulness for everyone's support & encouragement. It came when we needed it most and we will continue to need it. So to everyone (you know who you are) thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
The combination of Gray's diagnosis, Easton still being sick, etc. (i'll get back to that), this freaking weather!, lack of work/money, needless to say, it is really testing our marriage down to every last fiber. So far tho, everyone's still alive so i guess we should just build on that. :-)
Easton's feeding has again taken a nosedive. He did make some progress but we are now at a point where he won't eat solids/baby food at all. Great. Arrrrrgh!!! He is up as we speak (yes it's 11pm) because he's decided he wants to stay up & watch last night's Tosh with us, instead of sleep. Can't really blame him, he's freaking hilarious (Tosh). He's actually giggling so loud i'm a little nervous that he's going to wake up Gray. Anyway, i digress. I have spoken to his OT & she & I have agreed to take a break from the feeding stuff, let him have his bottles (he took 48+ oz. yesterday!) and wait until he is better. He is still fighting this sinus infection or whatever it is. It wouldn't be my kid if the antibiotic didn't upset his tummy which I'm sure is contributing to the lack of appetite.*sighs* We have an appointment with ENT at children's on Monday to: 1) see if we really should consider tubes, 2) see if he has enlarged adenoids (similar to tonsils-which of course,Gray does so it wouldn't be a surprise) which is contributing to his feeding issues & 3) there was something else but i can't remember right now. He has also decided he doesn't want to sleep so I am working off 3 hours sleep and what's left of my coffee buzz.
Gray is Gray. Sweet, hilarious, busy, all that great stuff. I will continue to add to his "word list" here on the blog. The newest ones will be at the top.
I have been wearing the rosary Gram gave me (with the drops of blessed water from Lourdes-in the back of the cross) around my neck. I explained to Gray that it keeps Jesus and the Holy Mother close to me because i really need their help right now. he seemed to accept that. :-)
It all sounds bad & depressing but we are plugging along trying to find the joy & happiness in all the other daily activities & enjoying spending time with the boys who BOTH are truly a blast. Fun and energetic & entertaining little boys.
The combination of Gray's diagnosis, Easton still being sick, etc. (i'll get back to that), this freaking weather!, lack of work/money, needless to say, it is really testing our marriage down to every last fiber. So far tho, everyone's still alive so i guess we should just build on that. :-)
Easton's feeding has again taken a nosedive. He did make some progress but we are now at a point where he won't eat solids/baby food at all. Great. Arrrrrgh!!! He is up as we speak (yes it's 11pm) because he's decided he wants to stay up & watch last night's Tosh with us, instead of sleep. Can't really blame him, he's freaking hilarious (Tosh). He's actually giggling so loud i'm a little nervous that he's going to wake up Gray. Anyway, i digress. I have spoken to his OT & she & I have agreed to take a break from the feeding stuff, let him have his bottles (he took 48+ oz. yesterday!) and wait until he is better. He is still fighting this sinus infection or whatever it is. It wouldn't be my kid if the antibiotic didn't upset his tummy which I'm sure is contributing to the lack of appetite.*sighs* We have an appointment with ENT at children's on Monday to: 1) see if we really should consider tubes, 2) see if he has enlarged adenoids (similar to tonsils-which of course,Gray does so it wouldn't be a surprise) which is contributing to his feeding issues & 3) there was something else but i can't remember right now. He has also decided he doesn't want to sleep so I am working off 3 hours sleep and what's left of my coffee buzz.
Gray is Gray. Sweet, hilarious, busy, all that great stuff. I will continue to add to his "word list" here on the blog. The newest ones will be at the top.
I have been wearing the rosary Gram gave me (with the drops of blessed water from Lourdes-in the back of the cross) around my neck. I explained to Gray that it keeps Jesus and the Holy Mother close to me because i really need their help right now. he seemed to accept that. :-)
It all sounds bad & depressing but we are plugging along trying to find the joy & happiness in all the other daily activities & enjoying spending time with the boys who BOTH are truly a blast. Fun and energetic & entertaining little boys.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)