Four Months

"I'll see you in four months."

Words so sweet they nearly made me cry.  Jonah saw his allergist today and really impressed him with how well he was doing.  So much so in fact that the doctor said that other than having Jonah's normal blood work done, he was good to go for FOUR WHOLE MONTHS!!  That is like Thanksgiving time or something, every time I think about it I smile...four months!

Jonah has an appointment with the gastrointerologist in a couple of weeks and I am thinking that they are going to completely release him.  We are not having near the issues with diarrhea that we were having back a few months ago.

After the gastrointerologist, then we just have to see the dermatologist.  I don't see us getting an all clear there anytime soon, but at least he is maintaining well and has not had too many flares in the past few weeks.

Thank you God for your miracles.  Hearing four months today was a special gift!

Diets

We did not make a New Year's resolution to loose weight. Maybe we should have, but alas, we did not. We have however had a change in diet for the entire family that has resulted in a few shed pounds.
Jonah's new and very restrictive diet has changed the way that I cook, therefore changing the way that we eat, and helped Noah to lose six pounds in the past few weeks. (Yay Noah!!) Having to eliminate preservatives has forced us to eat at home and forced me to come up with creative ways to use fresh ingredients.
I just wish that the diet was doing Jonah some good as well. Unfortunately, he seems to be getting worse instead of better and we are going to have to see another gastroenterologist to have some more testing done. At this time, his symptoms seem to be pointing to Celiac Disease, but there are a whole host of other things that it could be as well. His pediatrician put him on another round of steroids this past week, and they seem to be helping his skin if nothing else.
Hopefully we will get an appointment with the specialist soon and get Jonah some much needed relief.

Back To The Basics

I'm sure most of you know that Jonah is my challenge. The poor kid's skin looks like it has been dipped in acid most of the time and he has vomited or had diarrhea every day for all of his nearly 27 months of life. We have seen allergists, dermatologists, and gastroenterologists. He has had skin tests, blood tests, ultrasounds, esophageal studies, an endoscopy, and a colonoscopy. The list of prescription medicines and creams that we have tried are too numerous to list. All of the doctors, tests and medicines really have not given us much help or for that matter even much more information than we had already figured out on our own. We do know that Jonah is very allergic to any form of eggs, has a rare genetic skin condition that no one knows anything about, and has rather severe eczema. I have to say that our pediatrician has been diligent in trying to find something to help Jonah. I am always hopeful when we find something new to try, praying that it will be just what we need, but sadly we have never found much to really help.

After a weekend of bloody diarrhea, Jonah ended up back at the pediatrician's office. He believes that due to Jonah's tendencies toward developing allergies, that there is something obscure that Jonah is ingesting throwing his body off balance. The many allergy tests that Jonah has had only show eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish as allergens. We of course avoid all of those items, but there is something else that we have not figured out yet. It could be as simple as a preservative or seasoning that is added to any food that he eats.

That brings us to our new approach. Jonah is on a very limited diet. Since Monday he has only had rice, bananas, apples, bread, milk, and water. Today he had his first "normal" BM!!! We will add in one whole food every few days, making sure that there is no reaction to it. After we get a variety of whole foods re-introduced, we will then begin other things watching closely for any changes that may develop.

I can already tell that his tummy is not hurting as much as it once was, because he is not complaining nearly as much as before. I know that it is going to be a long process, but I also know that it will be well worth the trouble if it helps even a bit.

Say It Ain't So!

Micah had his four month check up today. As I sat there in the exam room waiting on the doctor to come in, I found something in Micah's mouth. Yep, he is getting his first tooth! SLOW DOWN ALREADY!!!! It's to early...I'm not ready...but, I guess this isn't about me at all.
In other Micah news, he continues to thrive. He weighs 16lbs. 1oz. and is 25 inches long. He got nasty vaccines today but only cried a little. (Too bad Noah doesn't take a few lessons from him.) He is right on track with all of his "four month accomplishments" such as controlling his head movements, grasping for objects, vocalizing, and sitting with support.
The doctor seems to think that as blue as his eyes are, they are going to stay blue. That is very interesting to me as I have brown eyes, Joe has green eyes, and both of our other boys have eyes the color of chocolate! Micah is going to really stick out with his blue eyes...especially since his hair has a hint of red. Where did Joe and I come up with a red haired, blue eyed baby?

Kid Updates

All three boys had appointments with the pediatrician on Friday. I almost cancelled from fears of taking them into a doctor's office and contracting swine flu, but we used about half of a bottle of germ-x and all came out unscathed.

Micah was seen for his two month check-up and had to get vaccines. He got three shots and one oral vaccine. So far he has not had any problems from the shots, but the oral vaccine gave him a really bad tummy ache. Micah was stripped down to nothing but a dry diaper and weighed in at 13lbs. 13oz. and was 24 inches long. He is in the 85th percentile for his weight and height. Finally, after three long weeks he is now on 100% breast milk. No more yucky formula for us. I was concerned that he would have forgotten how to nurse after having a bottle for so long, but he latched right on like he had never even stopped.

Jonah was seen for his eighteen month check-up. He did not have to get any vaccines, but had to have blood taken to check his iron and to do a lead test. Both of those came back just fine. Fully dressed down to his shoes, he weighed right at 27lbs. He is my skinny minny! His eczema seems to be changing. Instead of an all over condition, it is developing into patches over his body. This is actually a good sign that may mean it will at least be easier to control and maybe soon go away all together.

Noah was seen for a weight check. We are taking him every three months just so the doctor can monitor his weight so we can take steps to prevent it from becoming an issue in the future. He weighed 86lbs. which puts him in the 99.99th percentile. The doctor was pleased because that is actually an improvement from the last time we were there. Hopefully things will continue to improve now that we have nice enough weather to enjoy outdoor activities.

So that was our Friday. I think it will be the last time that I plan to have all three boys seen at one time. It is nice to only have to make one trip, but boy is it hectic trying to control all three boys while paying attention to what the doctor is saying.

Dr. Visits

Yesterday was Jonah's appointment with the dermatologist at MUSC. We had really been looking forward to this visit in hopes that there would be something new that we had not already tried to heal his skin. Turns out we have tried everything and the suggestions that we got yesterday were things that we have been trying for over a year that have not yet helped. At this point I am sick of hearing doctors tell me what I already know, so I think we are done with dermatologists for a while. Hopefully Jonah will outgrow the eczema soon.
Micah has still been sniffling and his left eye has just been a mess with yucky stuff running out of it and nearly sealing it shut. Since we were already in Charleston yesterday, I took him by to see our pediatrician. Turns out there is not really much they can do for the congestion, but he has a plugged tear duct in his left eye that has become infected. We got a prescription for some antibiotics to put in his eye that should clear up the infection soon and the tear duct (hopefully) will heal on its own.
On a good note...Micah is now at 21 and 1/2 inches and weighs well over ten pounds. It seems like Micah is growing up so much faster than my other two did. I guess it is sort of like time going faster the older you get. I haven't figured out how to slow it down yet!

Circumcision

I have come to the conclusion that Micah is very modest. (Although I have no idea how a modest person ended up in this household.) He really does not like to be naked. Everytime you take Micah's diaper off to change him, he screams. Well, he usually pees all over everything and everyone first then screams.
Today was Micah's circumcision. I had been dreading this day all week, but probably not as much as Micah would have dreaded it had he known what he was in for. Dr. Wheaton seemed confident that Micah would not "fuss" during the procedure because he would be numb and not even realize what was happening. I tried to tell him otherwise, but he would not listen. I knew that as soon as the Doctor got Micah's clothes off he would start screaming. Dr. Wheaton actually gave me the option of staying in the room to watch. Um, no thanks, I'm good in the waiting room.
Sure enough, as soon as we got to the waiting room, the screams started. At first it was "Hey put my clothes back on." Then it was, "I am really getting ticked." Then they turned to, "Get your hands off me...but first put my clothes back on." Finally the procedure was over and the screams turned to, "I just want my Mommy."
Dr. Wheaton seemed really shocked that Micah screamed like he did. I tried to warn him, but I have discovered that doctors think they know everything. Mothers can't possibly know their own children, right?
Thankfully it is all over now and Micah is doing just fine. He is all swaddled up and sleeping peacefully. I plan to take it easy with him the weekend and not have him out and about being passed from person to person. It seems like it will be a good weekend to stay in and 'veg' out since the weathermen are calling for rain until Tuesday.
By the way, Micah was weighed again at his appointment today. My baby has gained back the three ounces he lost in the hospital as well as another five ounces on top of that. He weighed in at nine pounds eight ounces today and measured twenty and a half inches long. That is a half an inch longer than at birth. They really do grow up too fast. I will have a ten pounder before long!

Dr. Visit

I just got back from the visit with my OBGYN. The baby is growing and is doing fine. I have still not gained any weight, but I have not lost any since my last visit either. I had a lot of blood drawn, and we should get the AFP test results back by the end of the week. The results indicated a need for further testing with both Noah and Jonah, so I am a little anxious about them.
They did an ultrasound and yes, the baby did cooperate. The technician was able to tell what we are having, but Joe isn't home yet, so I'm not telling all of you. You will just have to wait! A little suspense never hurt anyone.

Only One Baby!

Yesterday was my first doctor's appointment. The doctor did an ultrasound and we could see the tiny little heart just beating away. To Noah's disappointment, there was only one baby to be found. We could not tell the gender of the baby yet, and I forgot to ask when I would be having another ultrasound. All in all, the baby and I were healthy and everything is right on schedule.