The House of Doo

The House of Doo

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Mommy Advice

Okay, this is a total "mom post."  If you don't want to read about diapers or whatever, just skip this one.  ;)

I need some advice.  Colt is a super pee-r.  When he was really small and began sleeping through the night, we had problems with him peeing through his diaper and he and his pjs would be soaked by morning.  We tried all kinds of things and finally the only thing that worked was buying the Pampers Extra Protection diapers - one size bigger than his normal every day diaper.  It leaked occasionally, but only if he'd had a drink before bed. 

Well, we are having that problem again.  He wakes up soaked.  Not just a little damp, but soaked in pee from ankles to neck.  :(  I feel so very guilty every single day.  Plus, we're washing a lot of sheets.  Now, Colt is in a size 6 diaper.  The biggest one you can buy in a store. They make Cruisers in a size 7, but not the Extra Protection ones. I finally found some Cruisers size 7s on Pampers' website and paid over $50 for a box shipped to my house hoping he could wear that at night and it would help.  I was wrong.  :( 

We've tried Pull-ups, Huggies Overnights (or whatever they are called), and every other kind of diaper I know of.  Potty-training is not an option right now, he's just not there.

Does anyone have any suggestions???  Should I wake him up in the middle of the night to change him and risk creating a bad nightly wake-up habit?  Is it worse for me to let him sleep in pee?  I'm so frustrated.  Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!!!  I am desperate!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

New blog...

My weekend is officially over, which means it's my blogging day!  I know you're excited.  Right?  ......  Right?  ;)  Ha. 

We had a really good weekend at our house.  Friday night was a much needed Girls' Night Out and I got to spend some time out with my girlfriends.  Ryan was on Colt duty, but they got to spend the evening out with Jody and Ricky at Mellow Mushroom, so they had fun too.  :)  While out, Julie and Ricky shared a secret...they are going to be parents!  I am thrilled for them to know the love of a parent, but I am selfishly thrilled that some of my friends will have a baby too!  It's hard to be the only one with a child, though the good friends stuck around even though our lives changed so drastically.  I am thankful for that.  :) 

On Saturday, Ryan and I took Colt to have his hair cut again.  It went just as well as the first time, surprisingly.  I thought maybe the first time Colt just didn't know what to think and this time he would know what was happening and not want to participate.  I was wrong.  He was good, again.  He looks so handsome and grown up with his hair cut.  It makes me proud and sad at the same time.  After his haircut, we took him over to the mall to play on the indoor playground.  It was absolutely PACKED, which is usually a bad thing with Colt.  He's so timid around other kids sometimes that he won't play when there are that many kids.  Again, I was wrong.  He played his little heart out.  There's one particular play thing (for lack of better words) that I've never been able to get him to play on...it has steps up and a slide down.  He won't voluntarily climb up it, so if you pick him up to put him on it, he cries to get down.  I'm not sure why that one scares him.  Anyway, Saturday, he climbed right up it, though timidly at first.  Ryan got him to slide down it, holding his hand and in a few minutes, he was climbing up and sliding down with no help!  Just like the other kids.  It doesn't sound like much I am sure, but it was a big deal in the life of Colt and his parents.  :)  He's always so reserved with those places, so for him to let loose and run around felt like such a success!  :)  We got brave that day and didn't take the stroller into the mall.  Colt was so good and held our hands all the way through the mall without a fit and without running away.  Ha.  Funny the things you get excited about when you become a parent.  ;)

He had such a great time!
 
 
Sunday, we went to church in the morning and in the evening.  I have said it before and I will say it again, our interim pastor is amazing.  I don't ever find myself thinking about what's for lunch or anything else.  I get sucked in every time. 

Yesterday, Colt and I made our usual Monday run to the grocery store.  I swear, my kid loves to go to the grocery store!  He is so good and always wants to hold whatever I pick up to put in the buggy.  You've got to watch him though, he's sneaky and will reach and grab the grapes or blueberries and eat them if you turn away.  Ha.  We had another nice weather day and after the store, we played outside with the dogs.  Colt got to swing and climb and slide on his playset.  The dogs even joined him!  Well, on the climbing part.  ;)  I've got a couple of cute pictures of them playing. 

Colt looks so grown up here. :(

They're racing! 

I finally got a picture with him where he's looking!
 
Here's what we have coming up:
 
We start back with speech therapy next Wednesday.  We'll be going to the clinic and they'll work on speech and eating.  I said before, Colt has a hard time eating sometimes.  He doesn't chew very well and chokes/gags easily, so they're going to work on that too.  I am anxious to get back into the therapy, but I am not nearly as excited this time as I was before.  I hope we like the new therapist as much as our last one.  We shall see.

One more thing.  I'm not sure if I will get to blog before next Monday, but if not, keep us in your prayers next week.  Monday we have our neurologist appointment to see if there is a reason why Colt isn't talking.  I used to be sure that it was stubbornness, but I'm just not sure anymore.  There seems to be no progress and he is/we are getting frustrated.  I don't know what they will do but am sure they'll schedule tests and stuff to be done.  I do not look forward to that.  For a child his age, they have to be put to sleep and that is always hard.  Maybe it won't come to that, but that is my fear.  Anyhoo, that's what we have going on this next week. 

I'll leave you with this picture.  ;)
 
 
I hope everyone is doing well.  You know I will update you soon.  ;) 

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Our first ER visit.

It's Tuesday, blogging day!  It has been a busy weekend for us.  Included in that busy weekend was our very first emergency room visit. 

Sunday afternoon, Colt woke up from his nap wheezing a bit.  We thought it was just chest congestion of some sort, but took him to my dad and Judy's house to let them listen.  It got better the longer he was awake, so we went on to church.  Luckily, he was the only one in the nursery that night.  The wheezing turned into more of a high-pitched squealy wheeze before bed.  We gave him some Mucinex and decided to check him periodically through the night.  That wasn't necessary because he woke up about 10:30, trying to scream but not really making any noise.  When we got him up, he was gasping for breath and literally fighting to breathe.  He was reaching out and grabbing at the air like he was trying to pull it in his lungs.  It was horrifying.  This coming from someone with asthma, who knows exactly what that feels like.  It had to be terrifying for him, because he's too young to understand.  We rushed to T.C. Thompson, then seeing the people in the ER, ran down to the Urgent Care.  As soon as they heard him, they told us to go back upstairs and we didn't even have to wait.  Honestly, that scared me because then I knew how important it was.  Anyway, they immediately decided he had a bad case of the croup.  He's had the croup before, but it was NOTHING like this.  They gave him a breathing treatment and a long-lasting one dose steroid and we had to wait two hours to make sure the wheezing wasn't going to come back.  They said it was concerning because of the severity of the wheeze while he was resting, not just when he coughed or cried.  So the steroids worked and at 4 a.m. we got to go home.  Ryan had to be at work at 5:30, so he got absolutely no sleep, Colt slept about 4 hours and I got the same. 

Yesterday was our stay at home sick day.  We decided to play outside because the ER doc said cold air would be good.  He had a good time swinging, running around, climbing, sliding, and rolling in the grass.  At least he got some energy out.  The rest of the day he was clingy and snuggly, which I didn't mind at all.  Overall, we had a really good sick day. He wheezed some throughout the day, but it wasn't terrible.  Last night, it came on again, just slightly less than Sunday night.  We took him outside on the coldest night we have had thus far, and it did help, but he coughed and wheezed all night.  :/  Poor kid.  I can handle coughs and snot, but that wheezing makes me paranoid. I took him to the pediatrician earlier today.  Colt's doctor wasn't impressed with the steroids they gave him at the ER (neither am I!) and gave us some oral steroids to take for the next 3 days.  I sent today's dose back to his Mimi's with him and he has already taken and thrown up both pills for today's dose.  So.  We're down 1 day with no benefit.  Boo!  Looks like we're back at square 1.  Hopefully it will take care of itself sooner than later. 
I caught Colt with Mr. Potatohead's teeth in his mouth. ;)

Not feeling good :(

Actually, he might be feeling better ;)

Oh yes, definitely better!  Swings fix everything!

Someone LOVES to lay in the grass, even crunchy winter grass! :)

Saturday (this was pre-sickness!), we made a spur of the moment evening trip to Bounce-A-Lot Playhouse, a local inflatable play place.  We were just trying to get Colt out of the house and that place is only $3 to get in for him, so it would be cheap fun.  Except, he hated it.  Granted it was crowded with bigger kids running around all crazy, so I could see how it would be intimidating.  Ryan even climbed in some of the inflatables with him, but he was not impressed. 

Playing!
 I realize this post wasn't a lot of interesting, but this is what's going on with us right now.  Also, we're in the market for a house in Flintstone, and will be ready to sell ours in the next few months.  If anyone is looking for a cute, almost brand new house in a good neighborhood, let me know! ;) 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Down in the dumps.

I'm having one of those days where I probably shouldn't be blogging, but here I am behind the computer anyway.  Honestly, I am having one of those weeks, but you get it.  It seems as though nothing is going the way I hoped.  You know those times?  Everyone does, I know.  It's not only that, but I am going through that phase (at least I hope it's a phase) where I just feel lost.  I can't get into all of it, for fear of putting my foot in my mouth, but boy, I hope things change soon. 

I found out on Tuesday that it looks like we won't be getting back into Flintstone this year, after all.  I am heartbroken, again, but I keep telling myself there is a reason.  I've never been one to believe that "everything happens for a reason" but maybe there is one this time.  I'm not so sure.   I tried so hard not to get my hopes up for fear of this, but just couldn't help myself.  I kind of thought it seemed so simple and easy because God had set it up.  Obviously, I was wrong.  How are you supposed to know when to just wait and trust God to handle things or when to be pro-active??  Sometimes, waiting seems like laziness.  When do you know???  I am so confused.  :(

The new speech therapist we were supposed to get called on Tuesday, too.  She can only see Colt on the days that I work, because she is in a different county on my off days.  So.  That's disappointing.  We're going to try to see the Speech Pathologist at the clinic, but there is no guarantee that she will have an opening, since we didn't jump on the chance in the beginning.  Our case manager was supposed to call yesterday, but she's out of town, so she may be behind.  I am getting very discouraged here.  Ryan and I both keep dreaming (a few times a week) that Colt says words, but it seems we are going backward again.  We did get a new sign, "potty", and he used it last night after he pooped, so that was exciting for us.  We obviously need some excitement in our lives if we get excited over that.  How do you get a child who can't talk to tell you he has to potty?  The sign, I guess, but I don't know how to talk to him about how to tell me BEFORE he goes potty.  Ryan and I have been trying to teach Colt the sign for "I love you" but it involves too many fingers for now.  We do it anyway.  We're still stuck at the "progress plateau." This is the point where I always get discouraged and want to quit.  However, I can't quit on Colt, so we'll push on and hope for some words!

Most of my readers probably live around here, but if you don't, we've been having some seriously rainy weather around here lately.  I mean, solid rain for as long as I can remember.  It is really getting old and I love a good rainy day or two.  I don't know if my mood is due to the dreariness or not, but for the past week or two, I have been in a terrible funk.  I don't want to get up and once I am up, I feel like I just fumble through the day.  Yesterday, I had this great idea to get out of the house and go to the mall to let Colt play on the indoor play area.  He played about 20 minutes, then tugged my arm to leave.  He's never done that.  Maybe he is in the funk too.  :( While at the play area, I found myself looking around at all the other moms, in their little groups, skinny and dressed all cute and there I was, without a shower in yesterday's jeans.  I felt so out of place and lost.  All the other moms seemed to "get it."  I don't "get it."  Bah.  Maybe it's just the weather getting me down or maybe I really have no idea what I am doing.  I'm seriously leaning toward the latter.

Colt has also been waking up religiously at 3:30 in the morning, for no apparent reason.  When he wakes up, I lie there for a good hour or more after he goes back to sleep, tossing and turning with all those terrible thoughts that come to you in the middle of the night.  You know, the bad ones that make you feel even worse about yourself.  I hate those.  Why do they always haunt you in the middle of the night?  Sigh.  I think if Colt didn't wake up, I would sleep okay.  I hope he gets out of his funk soon too, maybe it will help me with mine.  I am exhausted and down in the dumps.  Say a little happy prayer for us, if you get a chance.  It would be greatly appreciated.


The only sunshine I have seen in far too long.


The highlight of my week...Dad's cows got out.  I got all 4 of them back in the fence.  By myself.


Take that.  Moo.
 

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Allergist/Speech update and a rambling.

I'll try to give a quick update on the situations I mentioned in my last blog, but you guys know I am a bit long-winded.

Yesterday, we had our last speech therapy session with Jaime.  We are so sad to have to say goodbye, but we're happy that her new job will be better for her and her family.  She helped us make a decision on which speech therapy path to choose next and we chose to continue our in-home visits with a new therapist.  The new lady's name is Betty and she is an older lady from what I hear.  They say she is very nurturing and "grandmother-ly" but also tough.  I am okay with that.  Colt hasn't been cooperative at all the last few therapy sessions.  He is a little TOO independent and isn't wanting to sit down and concentrate, making it hard to make any progress with him.  He's so big that it is hard to make him do anything he doesn't want to do.  I know that will only get harder as he gets bigger, so I hope to be able to figure out a way to make him more apt to do what you want and less of what he wants without taking away his personality.  How do you do that?  Is it just because he is two??  Anyway, as of right now, I do not know when our new sessions will be, I just know they will be with Betty and will be at our home. 

Yesterday afternoon, Colt had an appointment with Dr. Younger, the allergist.  I may have mentioned this in the last post, but Dr. Younger has been my allergist since I was younger (ha!) than Colt.  It has been a LONG time.  We had a second skin test done due to the rashes he gets when he eats.  He obviously hated it, but luckily Ryan was there to help hold him down.  After the eye doctor incident where I had to lay him on the floor and straddle him just to get eye dilation drops in his eyes, I refuse to go alone.  He is too strong for me at two years old.  Anyway, they tested him for 38 different allergens, including all kinds of nuts, vegetables, fruits, grains, etc.  The poor kid had marker and little holes all over his back.  The last time I had a skin test, I had 74.  Not fun, especially if you are allergic.  The places itch like mad and you can't scratch it for 20 minutes.  Those are the longest 20 minutes ever.  Amazingly, Colt wasn't allergic to any of them.  Not a single one.  I am very thankful for that.  Dr. Younger thinks that Colt just has very sensitive skin, like his mommy.  He said it could be the beginnings of eczema or atopic dermatitis, both of which I have, but maybe it won't get worse.  Some things just irritate his skin, for him it seems to be certain foods, but he isn't technically allergic.  So he can eat them, they just shouldn't touch his skin.  This is common with ketchup or tomato-based products for many people.  So, that is our answer to the skin rashes.  No allergies, just easily irritated.  We treat it with Benadryl cream or something similar, just like we have been. 

The past few days I have really begun to believe that Ryan and I are both suffering from SAD.  Seasonal Affective Disorder.  It's basically a kind of depression that comes in the winter months and is very common.  It's not like normal depression, but you just kind of feel blah, and want to do nothing but eat and sleep.  It's brought on by the lack of sunshine and short days/long nights.  Yesterday evening all either of us could do was talk about how sleepy and tired we were.  We got in the bed as soon as Colt did at 8:45.  This morning, it was all I could do to get up and I am still in that "sleep fog."  You know the one.  Blah.  I like winter when it SNOWS, but seeing as the high on Saturday is 73, I don't see any of that in my future.  I suppose I am ready for spring, so Colt and I can get out. I was so excited to be able to take him to the playground on Saturday, but go figure, it's going to rain.  Maybe we'll go anyway.  That may cure our SAD.  ;)  Seriously though, anyone else feeling this??? 

I'll leave you with a picture of Colt and his obsession with putting stickers on his face.  He is my only source of sunshine lately, I figure I'll share!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

New Year Update!

I haven't posted in so long that I don't have a clue where to begin this blog post! I feel like so much has happened, but now that I sit down to document it somehow, my mind is blank. Please forgive me if when I ramble and jump around out of order. Let's see...I think I last posted right after Christmas.

We have since celebrated the new year. Last Thursday I had the intention of posting about 2012 and what I was looking forward to in 2013, but I kind of lost my motivation. I was supposed to work Thursday (for the first time in a week!) but ended up going to the walk-in clinic because I just knew I had the flu. I hurt all over like someone had beat me with a hammer, had the chills, and a terrible sore throat. It felt like a combination of the flu and a sinus infection. I ended up waiting 3 hours to see someone. I contemplated leaving a few times, but knew I was legitimately sick so I stuck it out. A strep test, a flu test, and 3 hours later, I was right. The flu and a sinus infection. I got a prescription for Tamiflu and a Z-Pack and went home to rest. Thursday was kind of rough, but Friday was better. By Saturday, I was almost completely over it. I had the flu about 4 years ago and it was AWFUL. This was absolutely nothing like that. The only complaints I had were body aches, fever, and a throat that felt like I was trying to swallow a cheese grater. No runny/stuffy nose, no cough, nothing else. So either I caught it early and the Tamiflu helped or I had a really weak strain. Either way, I am thankful it wasn't bad. So. That is part of the reason I am so far behind.

Last Wednesday was our first speech therapy session of the new year. Colt was pretty uncooperative for the first half, but finally got into it for the second half of the session. I may have mentioned this in the last post, but Colt has been making the "Ma" sound along with the sign for "More" and the "Pa" sound with the sign for "Please." He is consistently saying "Puh, puh" when he wants something. That warms my heart every time. It's hard when he asks for something I don't want him to have, like a snack before dinner, when he does his little sign and looks so sweet at me saying "Puh, puh..." I want to reward him every time! So far though, that's all we've gotten. We are unable to get other vowel sounds still. No "eee" or "oh" or "I" or strong "a" sounds. It's a bit discouraging because the first few weeks, he made huge strides with the signing and new sounds and it seems like we have hit a bit of a plateau. I am hoping that changes soon. I am still so anxious to hear that precious little voice. :)

For those of you that know me well, you know I have had terrible allergies since I was Colt's age. I have taken allergy shots off and on for over 20 years, with a few years of "breaks" in between. I take them now, two shots a week and have for about 3 years this time. I also have a severe peanut allergy, like the kind that can kill you. I had never had an accidental ingestion until I was pregnant with Colt. Go figure. I was about 6 months pregnant and ate at a local Japanese hibachi type restaurants and somehow got some type of nut in my food. I knew it immediately after two bites, and told Ryan we had to go. I have an Epi-Pen, but being pregnant, I wasn't sure if I could use it. I have never had to use it before, so I was scared. We called my dad (go figure, he always knows what to do!) and he told me to call my allergy doctor. Luckily, they have an emergency line and called my doc. I have seen this doctor since I was Colt's age and think of him almost as family. He called me immediately and talked to Ryan on the phone. In the meantime, I am throwing up out the side of the car and my throat is closing up, so I couldn't breathe. My doctor sent me to Erlanger because they have a children's hospital seeing as I was pregnant. He called ahead so I wouldn't have to wait and Ryan rushed me to the ER doing at least 90 on the interstate. My blood pressure was scary high, I was getting very little oxygen and I was pregnant. It was terrifying. Anyway, they hooked me up to oxygen and gave me the strongest dose of Benadryl through IV possible. It worked almost immediately and obviously, Colt and I are fine now. ANYWAY, all that to say, I have been absolutely paranoid about Colt having the same issues as me. We had him tested before he was a year old, but he didn't test positive for anything. My doctor told me that really he was too young and allergies don't develop until after a few exposures to an allergen. So, here we are today. I have mentioned before that Colt has had a face rash that occurs when he eats sometimes, and we finally narrowed it down to cinnamon. He hasn't had cinnamon in about 3 weeks and about a week and a half ago, he got the worst rash yet. We had eaten at Shogun for lunch (where we've eaten numerous times), then immediately brought him home to take a nap. When he got up from his nap, his face was terribly broken out. The day before it happened at the mexican restaurant we have eaten at more than 25 times at least. 







Anyway, we have another allergy skin test tomorrow. We're changing insurance companies and having a bit of a hard time getting our cards and stuff, so hopefully we'll be able to go. I want to find out what's causing this because it's frustrating for one, but I am afraid it will turn into a more serious reaction and I won't know what's causing it. So. Sorry for the book there.

I just got off the phone with our speech therapy case manager. She told me that our beloved speech therapist got a sort of promotion and won't be doing our therapy anymore. :( This breaks my heart. Now we have a choice of an older lady who will come to our home, or a new person who is an actual Speech Pathologist who also specializes in children who have problems eating. I know no one believes that Colt has eating issues, but it's really the WAY he eats. He doesn't chew very well and tends to choke and throw up a lot. Granted, the throwing up has almost completely stopped, because they taught us how to "talk him out of it." It was like the only way he knew to not choke was to throw up. Now we can kind of talk him down and he can just cough it out. Anyway, that's his "eating issue." The Speech Pathologist doesn't do home visits, so we'll have to take him to the clinic every week. I am afraid of that because it is a new place, so he will be more stimulated by new toys and surroundings, making him less likely to sit down and concentrate. Decisions, decisions.

I hope everyone has a wonderful year and that it was better than the last.  This year I hope to hear Colt say "I love you!" and we plan to be back in Flintstone!  Those two things are what I am looking forward to most.  :)
 
*Updated*

Here are some pictures of our past week or so. :)



Love this face!
 
Happy boy!

His buddy, Tanner.

I made banana oatmeal muffins...from scratch!

My little innovator.

Tucker's workout plan.

Brownies in the bathtub!

Home.  :)

Good morning, world!