One of my favorite parts of my day is when I go in to greet the girls in the morning when they wake up or when they are up from their naps. The usually standing in their beds, waiting for me. Their faces light up when they see me and sometimes I get, "mamamamama" or "mommy, mommy". In the mornings, especially, I often gather them up, head to the living room and have "big chair time". We snuggle in Ben's big chair until they clamor to get out and chase a kitty.
This morning, I was greeted by Natalie. She was, as usual, at the end of her bed. For visual imagining purposes...her bed is along the wall closest to the door with the end of the bed being just about two feet to my right when I walk through the door. It is also helpful to know that the end of her crib is solid - no bars to see through.
So, I walk in and am hit by the scent of poopies. This is not at all unusual. Mornings, between when Ben feeds them and they officially get up, is pooping time (also often after naps). So, smelling poops is pretty normal, but doesn't take away from the delight of the grins on their faces. Natalie is too my left an waiting for me. I say hello, and she offers me a gift - her diaper - full of poopy. Oh. Dear.
This is a first. I quickly realize she is completely naked. I peer in and expect the worst. Fortunately, it was a smaller pasty poopy and with the exception of a small spot of her bed, it appears most of the poopy has remained in her diaper. It's not even really on her that much.
I take her and start to clean her up, then decide for sanitary and safety reasons, the best course is simply a bath. I get Abby out, who has also pooped, but is still, thankfully wearing her diaper, clean her off and deposit both of them in the "ba-ba", as it is called. I clean Natalie up well first so as not to contaminate the bath water, then add Abby and let the fun begin.
I still have to strip her bed and wash everything in it. Poor Natalie now has NOTHING left in her bed. She's had a few throw ups the last few days and as unceremoniously lost each of her blankets, stuffed animals, etc as they have been puked on. She was down to a last random blankets and a few toys. Now, it all must go - to the wash, that is.
I'm actually pretty shocked I didn't have two naked girls. If there was ever a case of monkey see, monkey do, it's Natalie and Abby. I'm fully convinced Abby likely did everything she could to get her pajamas off too, but simply failed in her attempt.
So, it's just another day with Natalie and Abby in paradise - if paradise is naked poopy babies.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Doughnut Gatherer
http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/media/Minnesota-Monthly/June-2009/The-Doughnut-Gatherer/
A member of my preemie forum passed along this article about what happens when a food critic has a child who hates food. It's gotten quite a laugh on our forum both for it's witty writing style and the all-too-familiar struggle of a child who won't eat.
It made me think about the lengths we have gone to find foods the girls will eat. First of all, I have found myself feeding Natalie and Abby foods I always swore I never would. For instance, today, at Walmart, I bought them a 4-piece chicken nugget happy meal with apple wedges. Sadly, this is not an uncommon occurrence. McDonald's chicken nuggets are my fall back food when we are out and about. Usually, if I'm lucky, they will eat half of one each and a few french fries. Today, however, I am extraordinarily pleased to report that between the two of them the girls ate all the apple wedges and all four chicken nuggets (except the parts that were chewed up and spit out, thrown over board, or fell through the holes of the cart - probably at least one nugget total). Then they each ate a few of my fries too. I was pretty excited.
Here's a sampling of other things I have done in an effort to get them to eat:
* Spent 30 minutes on the cereal aisle trying to find the finger-food cereal whose serving (which they will never eat) is 120 calories instead of 110 calories. That way we can maximize the 4 or 5 pieces of cereal they might eat.
* Ditto on the yogurt aisle, baby food aisle, granola bar aisle, cookie aisle, and juice aisle.
* Left a store with $30 worth of food for the girls to try to discover later they wouldn't eat any of it.
* Found a food they would eat and offered it ad nauseum for as long as they would eat it. We did this with a yogurt they liked for a week or so; sausage which they used to eat but now only take a few bites; milk from a sippy cup - they stopped drinking milk from their sippy cups when we switched to soy - now they will only drink water, and Abby, some juice; granola bars - oats and honey, 95 calories each - they were eating 2 a day, begging for them like they were crack for about three weeks. The bars offered this morning on the way to PT were slightly nibbled on and discarded. I guess we are done with them. So far, the only food they haven't rejected from over-use is Ya-Ya's chicken and rice soup. More baby crack. They LOVE this stuff. I have to add, though, they will only eat Ya-Ya's. They won't touch it if I make it. Right now I am offering it 1 to 2 times a day and it's about the only thing they will eat right now at home.
* Allowed them, heck, encouraged them to eat foods full of sugar, high fructose corn syrup (which is, of course, okay in moderation), additives, and ingredients I couldn't pronounce because they had the most calories. Chicken nuggets dipped in copious amounts of BBQ sauce, various fruit/granola/cereal/cookie bars, ice cream, and the past few days, the German Chocolate cake I made for my mom's birthday.
* Added butter, olive oil, duocal, and benecalorie to perfectly good foods to turn them into oily messes in hopes that each of the expected 4 bites will have as many calories as possible. I even added a scoop of duocal to their water two days ago.
*Actually bemoaned the fact that my girls love fruit: peaches, apples, cantelope, grapes, bananas...they eat them up. Of course, fruit has very few calories.
* Much to my horror, I have two two-year olds that still get 4 bottles a day. Never in my wildest dreams...well, at least they are sucking on pacifiers all day. (They rejected those since they were several months old. I'm sure they knew they would benefit their sucking reflex and possibly help them eat better.)
What is it they say...never say never...
A member of my preemie forum passed along this article about what happens when a food critic has a child who hates food. It's gotten quite a laugh on our forum both for it's witty writing style and the all-too-familiar struggle of a child who won't eat.
It made me think about the lengths we have gone to find foods the girls will eat. First of all, I have found myself feeding Natalie and Abby foods I always swore I never would. For instance, today, at Walmart, I bought them a 4-piece chicken nugget happy meal with apple wedges. Sadly, this is not an uncommon occurrence. McDonald's chicken nuggets are my fall back food when we are out and about. Usually, if I'm lucky, they will eat half of one each and a few french fries. Today, however, I am extraordinarily pleased to report that between the two of them the girls ate all the apple wedges and all four chicken nuggets (except the parts that were chewed up and spit out, thrown over board, or fell through the holes of the cart - probably at least one nugget total). Then they each ate a few of my fries too. I was pretty excited.
Here's a sampling of other things I have done in an effort to get them to eat:
* Spent 30 minutes on the cereal aisle trying to find the finger-food cereal whose serving (which they will never eat) is 120 calories instead of 110 calories. That way we can maximize the 4 or 5 pieces of cereal they might eat.
* Ditto on the yogurt aisle, baby food aisle, granola bar aisle, cookie aisle, and juice aisle.
* Left a store with $30 worth of food for the girls to try to discover later they wouldn't eat any of it.
* Found a food they would eat and offered it ad nauseum for as long as they would eat it. We did this with a yogurt they liked for a week or so; sausage which they used to eat but now only take a few bites; milk from a sippy cup - they stopped drinking milk from their sippy cups when we switched to soy - now they will only drink water, and Abby, some juice; granola bars - oats and honey, 95 calories each - they were eating 2 a day, begging for them like they were crack for about three weeks. The bars offered this morning on the way to PT were slightly nibbled on and discarded. I guess we are done with them. So far, the only food they haven't rejected from over-use is Ya-Ya's chicken and rice soup. More baby crack. They LOVE this stuff. I have to add, though, they will only eat Ya-Ya's. They won't touch it if I make it. Right now I am offering it 1 to 2 times a day and it's about the only thing they will eat right now at home.
* Allowed them, heck, encouraged them to eat foods full of sugar, high fructose corn syrup (which is, of course, okay in moderation), additives, and ingredients I couldn't pronounce because they had the most calories. Chicken nuggets dipped in copious amounts of BBQ sauce, various fruit/granola/cereal/cookie bars, ice cream, and the past few days, the German Chocolate cake I made for my mom's birthday.
* Added butter, olive oil, duocal, and benecalorie to perfectly good foods to turn them into oily messes in hopes that each of the expected 4 bites will have as many calories as possible. I even added a scoop of duocal to their water two days ago.
*Actually bemoaned the fact that my girls love fruit: peaches, apples, cantelope, grapes, bananas...they eat them up. Of course, fruit has very few calories.
* Much to my horror, I have two two-year olds that still get 4 bottles a day. Never in my wildest dreams...well, at least they are sucking on pacifiers all day. (They rejected those since they were several months old. I'm sure they knew they would benefit their sucking reflex and possibly help them eat better.)
What is it they say...never say never...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Doctors Visits Recap
Our doctor blitz is over. Here's the run down...
PT/Brace Eval - Not as bad as I thought. They fitted Abby for some FPO's - not sure what that stands for, but basically, braces. But, they weren't nearly as bad as I imagined. I was thinking something like "Forest Gump", and they are really this molded plastic. Because her problems are mild, they didn't actually cast her for custom braces, but are going to go with the generic type. The therapist, Julie, wasn't even sure if she needed them. She thought they might be able to correct it with PT. Even if she needs them, she may just get shoe inserts instead of the kind that come up to mid-calf. Their purpose is mostly to prevent her from walking on the ball of her feet.
We set up weekly PT for Tuesdays. So, we had our first one yesterday. Abby seemed to love it. PT at this age is cleverly disguised as play therapy. Climbing, playing, throwing, etc. It's an hour at an inside park! Julie is wonderful as well. Abby took right to her.
You may be asking what Natalie is doing during this time. Well, she is actually supposed to sit and watch. It's really my job to keep her entertained and out of the way with books or a toy. It is relaxed enough that she can join in every now and then, but the time is really for Abby. Fortunately, Natalie is pretty agreeable. If the situation were reversed, Abby would be freaking out trying to play too.
Speech eval: This was actually moved to Thursday, but went great. They therapist, Melissa, was very interesting and we actually spent a good bit of time discussing their eating issues and newly discussed milk issues. She talked about the "ecology" of a child and how if you fix that, many other things fall into place. For instance, the girls have gotten sick numerous times since January. Each time, they experienced significant weight loss. If you think about it and they've had this milk protein allergy all this time, it means that their immune system has been working overtime ALL the time trying to attack and deal with the milk. So, they have basically been immune compromised all this time. It's no wonder they have had problems fighting off simple colds. It was very interesting and she gave me a lot to think about.
Oh, and they qualified for speech as well:-) She thought they would respond very well. Already in the past few days they've added the words off and on. They add new words almost every day. We are still waiting on the details of when we start.
Pulmonology and X-Ray - A waste of time. Natalie and Abby did a PFT(Pulmonary Function Test). They had to blow in a tube to test their lung capacity and they tracked their blood oxygen level. It was pretty useless. I don't think they actually hit the number they were supposed to, but they are TWO. They don't even know how to blow. What breath they emitted had more to do with how hard they were crying. The X-ray was easy and it looked good, so Natalie's lungs are fine, too.
The only good thing I can say is that we were actually in and out of Duke in under an hour and a half!
Ear Appointment and Hearing Tests - Also a waste of time - and a waste of $40. Their hearing is perfect, and their ears looked perfect. The doctor was not at all concerned with only a couple of ear infections. He said if they start getting 6 a year, to come back. On the bright side, the doctor, Dr. Hulka at NC EENT, was wonderful. Very, very nice, and also a father of 3 year old twins.
and finally, 2 Year Peds Check-up - I have mixed feelings about this visit. Mostly, I think I'd like my $40 back on this one too. On the up side, the doctor was very pleased with their weight gain and I didn't hear anything else about g-tubes. Natalie weighed in at 21# 12oz and Abby 21#14oz and both were 33 inches tall. I kind-of expected them to weigh more, really, especially since at home that morning Natalie weighed 22#3oz and Abby 21#15oz. But, it was enough for the doctor to be happy. On the flip side, I was a little miffed with her blase' attitude over the milk issue. I wanted to know why no one had suggested we try dairy-free in the past two years. She sort of shrugged and said they didn't have the classic signs, like blood in the stool or severe Esma. I took a moment to point out the bumps that covered their arms and legs - which have improved in the past three weeks. I'm quite sure I had pointed them out to various doctors during all our visits since January. Her response was to ask me what we were putting on it. I guess difficulty gaining weight, daily vomiting, and my observations that they sometimes threw up partially digested pedisure 8-12 hours later didn't spark any fires that something might be going on.
Of course, they are doing fine in every other way. She ordered a blood draw to go ahead and test for allergies to milk, soy and eggs. That wasn't fun at all. They missed Abby's vein in her arm and were rooting around for it while she cried and cried. They finally tried a different vein in her wrist. Poor thing was so upset her nose bleed a little. Natalie's draw was much less traumatic. In a way, it was unnecessary since they can only test those three things and I plan on seeing a pediatric allergist for a full panel. So, they'll have to do it again anyway.
So, it's been busy. We now have PT on Tuesdays, Feeding on Wednesday, and Play Therapy on Thursdays. Once we add Speech, we will really have a party!
PT/Brace Eval - Not as bad as I thought. They fitted Abby for some FPO's - not sure what that stands for, but basically, braces. But, they weren't nearly as bad as I imagined. I was thinking something like "Forest Gump", and they are really this molded plastic. Because her problems are mild, they didn't actually cast her for custom braces, but are going to go with the generic type. The therapist, Julie, wasn't even sure if she needed them. She thought they might be able to correct it with PT. Even if she needs them, she may just get shoe inserts instead of the kind that come up to mid-calf. Their purpose is mostly to prevent her from walking on the ball of her feet.
We set up weekly PT for Tuesdays. So, we had our first one yesterday. Abby seemed to love it. PT at this age is cleverly disguised as play therapy. Climbing, playing, throwing, etc. It's an hour at an inside park! Julie is wonderful as well. Abby took right to her.
You may be asking what Natalie is doing during this time. Well, she is actually supposed to sit and watch. It's really my job to keep her entertained and out of the way with books or a toy. It is relaxed enough that she can join in every now and then, but the time is really for Abby. Fortunately, Natalie is pretty agreeable. If the situation were reversed, Abby would be freaking out trying to play too.
Speech eval: This was actually moved to Thursday, but went great. They therapist, Melissa, was very interesting and we actually spent a good bit of time discussing their eating issues and newly discussed milk issues. She talked about the "ecology" of a child and how if you fix that, many other things fall into place. For instance, the girls have gotten sick numerous times since January. Each time, they experienced significant weight loss. If you think about it and they've had this milk protein allergy all this time, it means that their immune system has been working overtime ALL the time trying to attack and deal with the milk. So, they have basically been immune compromised all this time. It's no wonder they have had problems fighting off simple colds. It was very interesting and she gave me a lot to think about.
Oh, and they qualified for speech as well:-) She thought they would respond very well. Already in the past few days they've added the words off and on. They add new words almost every day. We are still waiting on the details of when we start.
Pulmonology and X-Ray - A waste of time. Natalie and Abby did a PFT(Pulmonary Function Test). They had to blow in a tube to test their lung capacity and they tracked their blood oxygen level. It was pretty useless. I don't think they actually hit the number they were supposed to, but they are TWO. They don't even know how to blow. What breath they emitted had more to do with how hard they were crying. The X-ray was easy and it looked good, so Natalie's lungs are fine, too.
The only good thing I can say is that we were actually in and out of Duke in under an hour and a half!
Ear Appointment and Hearing Tests - Also a waste of time - and a waste of $40. Their hearing is perfect, and their ears looked perfect. The doctor was not at all concerned with only a couple of ear infections. He said if they start getting 6 a year, to come back. On the bright side, the doctor, Dr. Hulka at NC EENT, was wonderful. Very, very nice, and also a father of 3 year old twins.
and finally, 2 Year Peds Check-up - I have mixed feelings about this visit. Mostly, I think I'd like my $40 back on this one too. On the up side, the doctor was very pleased with their weight gain and I didn't hear anything else about g-tubes. Natalie weighed in at 21# 12oz and Abby 21#14oz and both were 33 inches tall. I kind-of expected them to weigh more, really, especially since at home that morning Natalie weighed 22#3oz and Abby 21#15oz. But, it was enough for the doctor to be happy. On the flip side, I was a little miffed with her blase' attitude over the milk issue. I wanted to know why no one had suggested we try dairy-free in the past two years. She sort of shrugged and said they didn't have the classic signs, like blood in the stool or severe Esma. I took a moment to point out the bumps that covered their arms and legs - which have improved in the past three weeks. I'm quite sure I had pointed them out to various doctors during all our visits since January. Her response was to ask me what we were putting on it. I guess difficulty gaining weight, daily vomiting, and my observations that they sometimes threw up partially digested pedisure 8-12 hours later didn't spark any fires that something might be going on.
Of course, they are doing fine in every other way. She ordered a blood draw to go ahead and test for allergies to milk, soy and eggs. That wasn't fun at all. They missed Abby's vein in her arm and were rooting around for it while she cried and cried. They finally tried a different vein in her wrist. Poor thing was so upset her nose bleed a little. Natalie's draw was much less traumatic. In a way, it was unnecessary since they can only test those three things and I plan on seeing a pediatric allergist for a full panel. So, they'll have to do it again anyway.
So, it's been busy. We now have PT on Tuesdays, Feeding on Wednesday, and Play Therapy on Thursdays. Once we add Speech, we will really have a party!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Weight Chart - Here We Come!!
Oh.My.Goodness.Gracious. I can not believe how much weight Natalie and Abby are gaining. It's really unbelievable.
Weighing in today:
Abby - 21# 2.5oz
and (and this is crazy), NATALIE - 21# 9.5oz
Can you believe it????
Let's take a moment to review. We started with Soy Wednesday evening, May 19 - two weeks ago. Just recovering from yet another weight siphoning illness, Natalie was a pitiful 19# 10.5 oz. Abby was at 20 pounds even. Do the math. In two weeks, Natalie has gained one ounce shy of an unbelievable TWO POUNDS. TWO pounds!!!! Abby has gained an also impressive One pound, 2.5 ounces.
To truly understand how impressive this is, you have to know that two year olds generally gain about 4 pounds - a year. What we are seeing is more along the lines of eight gain for an infant - when they are supposed to gain about 8 oz a week. It pretty amazing.
Needless to say, we are definately sticking with soy for a while. I am now ordering something called Bright Beginnings Soy. It's just like pedisure in that is is a complete nutrition and has about 240 calories per 8 oz. It's not available, however, in stores. I have to order it. That may actually turn into a good thing. Running to Target all the time meant every time I went I just HAD to buy something else - groceries, etc. Staying out of Target and Walmart will probably be good for our checkbook. Shipping is free from the place I am using (www. diapers.com) and they arrive very quickly. It's kind of nice having it simply arrive at my door:-)
We need to hit 22 pounds to make the weight chart at 3%. We have an appointment with the ped (who is going to be absolutely amazed) next Tuesday. I think we have a pretty good shot - especially with Natalie. Woo hoooooooooooooooooo.
Weighing in today:
Abby - 21# 2.5oz
and (and this is crazy), NATALIE - 21# 9.5oz
Can you believe it????
Let's take a moment to review. We started with Soy Wednesday evening, May 19 - two weeks ago. Just recovering from yet another weight siphoning illness, Natalie was a pitiful 19# 10.5 oz. Abby was at 20 pounds even. Do the math. In two weeks, Natalie has gained one ounce shy of an unbelievable TWO POUNDS. TWO pounds!!!! Abby has gained an also impressive One pound, 2.5 ounces.
To truly understand how impressive this is, you have to know that two year olds generally gain about 4 pounds - a year. What we are seeing is more along the lines of eight gain for an infant - when they are supposed to gain about 8 oz a week. It pretty amazing.
Needless to say, we are definately sticking with soy for a while. I am now ordering something called Bright Beginnings Soy. It's just like pedisure in that is is a complete nutrition and has about 240 calories per 8 oz. It's not available, however, in stores. I have to order it. That may actually turn into a good thing. Running to Target all the time meant every time I went I just HAD to buy something else - groceries, etc. Staying out of Target and Walmart will probably be good for our checkbook. Shipping is free from the place I am using (www. diapers.com) and they arrive very quickly. It's kind of nice having it simply arrive at my door:-)
We need to hit 22 pounds to make the weight chart at 3%. We have an appointment with the ped (who is going to be absolutely amazed) next Tuesday. I think we have a pretty good shot - especially with Natalie. Woo hoooooooooooooooooo.
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