So.. I started the Imuran and very quickly my body let us know that the drug was not going to work for me. I have a lower level of TMPT, which means I am at a intermediate risk for the Imuran causing bone marrow toxicity, which we found out about a few days after I started taking the meds. About the same time we found out about the TMPT levels, I all of a sudden at lots of bruises. I knew what they were all from, but it was all from bumps that should not have given me bruises. My rheumatologist had me stop taking the Imuran because the bruises, along with the extreme fatigue, were signed that my body couldn't handle it.
I went back in a few days later to discuss other treatment options. She gave me a few different options of chemo drugs for me to pick from, but her suggestion was to try methotrexate next. I had to wait for couple weeks for the Imuran to be completely out of my system and I had to wean Peyton from breastfeeding before I could start, so I had a bit to decide which option I wanted.
I started the weaning process with Peyton right away. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I really wasn't ready to be done nursing, and neither was he, but we have pushed through it and it's been a few days since he nursed! (For the record, I breastfed for a total of 64 months! And if you count the months twice that I was nursing two kiddos, it's 91 months! That's a lot of breastmilk!!!)
I decided to go with my doctor's suggestion of the methotrexate and took my first dose on Sunday night after Peyton nursed for the last time. I had an upset stomach on Monday for most of the day and Tuesday felt like I had gotten run over by a train until lunch time or so... so overall, the side effects haven't been too bad yet. Hopefully it stays that way. With methotrexate, you only take it once a week. From what I've read, lots of people have a day or two of feeling icky or off after taking it, but then are good the rest of the week.
Since I've last posted, I've also seen the cardiologist and the neurologist.
The cardiologist said that the calcium channel blocker I started taking the January appears to have helped resolved the arrhythmia and tachycardia I've been experiencing. So... for now, as long as I stay on that medicine, my heart seems to be good!
The neurologist upped my dose of the calcium channel blocker. While it has helped my heart and my everyday headaches, I'm still having more migraines and neuro issues than they would like. So far, I've been on the higher dose for a few weeks and I have noticed a difference in my neuropathy, tremors, and vision disturbances, and the migraines haven't been as horrible.. so I'm hopeful that as my body adjusts, I will see even more improvement. If not, we'll up my dose again and go from there. She also is pretty sure that once we get my lupus under control and my immune system leaves my CNS alone, that most of the neuro issues should go away and I should be able to stop taking some of the meds!
So.. for now, I'm hopeful that we have found a good treatment plan for the time being... and if it doesn't work, there are a whole lot more drugs to try.
I'm trusting in the fact that God's in control...even of my crazy out of control immune system!
Showing posts with label Doctors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doctors. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Lupus Update
It's been six months since I was diagnosed with Lupus.
Six months ago I started treatment with a medication called Plaquinel. It's an anti malarial drug that is often used to treat lupus. It helps protect organs from damage and can help "control" the immune system. After a few weeks, I started to see improvement in how I was feeling and was excited that the plaquinel seemed to be working and was hopeful that I wouldn't have to take other stronger (scarier) medicines.
Along with medicine and vitamins, I've made some other changes.
Because my kidneys were hurting often, it was suggested to increase my water intake. I stopped drinking anything besides water and one cup of coffee a day. Most days I drink between 125 and 150 oz of water (and I pee a lot!).
I've also learned that some foods make me not feel very good the next day, so I've be trying to avoid those and find some healthier options.
I started exercising on my good days and noticed my joints stopped hurting as bad. I'm now exercising six days a week most weeks and really notice if I miss more than one day in a row. I'm sleeping better too, which I'm pretty sure is a result of exercising!
Over time, I went from having an average of one "good" day a week to having a few bad days every couple weeks..... and I've lost over 30 lbs and down 3 pant sizes!
In the end of December, I had a follow up with my neurologist. I was having headaches still a few days a week, but thought I was only having migraines every few weeks. I was having some of the migraine symptoms (numbness and twitches) more often though. The neurologist explained that these are still migraines even though they don't have the pain and are most likely caused by my lupus. So, he wanted to start me on a medication called verapamil to help reduce my symptoms. So far, the medication seems to be helping some, but I'm assuming my dose is going to be upped when I go back in a few weeks.
In the beginning of January, I saw the cardiologist per the request of my rheumatologist. I was diagnosed with palpitations and tachycardia. My heart rate seems to not have any rhyme or reason. At times it's "normal" and other times its 180 bpm while I'm resting. He also said I most likely have vasculitis. He was going to suggest taking verapamil, but saw the neurologist had recently prescribed it. Verapamil can lower blood pressure, and since mine is normally low, he said the small starting dose was great and that we could slowly increase if needed to help my symptoms as long as it didn't lower my blood pressure too much. (It hasn't, I've been monitoring it every couple days at home.) He also ordered a heart monitor for me to wear for 30 days to see if we could get a better idea of what was going on with my heart. I finished my 30 days on Monday, and go back in a couple weeks to get the results of that.
In the middle of January, I saw the kidney specialist. My kidney function has been low, I've had lots of kidney pain, and a few kidney stones. He ordered some blood work and a 24 hour urine analysis. I'm still waiting for my kid to come in the mail, but hopefully in a few weeks, we'll have a little better idea of what's going on with my kidneys.
On Tuesday I had a follow up appointment with my rheumatologist. The plaquinel should be in full effect now and since I'm still having some pretty bad days, she thinks it's time to add another medication to my treatment. This morning I started a medication called Imuran. Imuran is an immunosuppressant and is considered a chemotherapy drug. Small doses of it are used to treat lupus in hopes of suppressing an over active immune system attacking healthy cells and tissues.
So... while I am feeling better most days, I'm still apparently pretty sick.
Being on an immunosuppressant is kind of scary. I can get sick very easily and even something as simple as a cold can get bad enough to put me in the hospital if I'm not careful. (So please don't share germs with me if you're sick!!) But... hopefully it won't make me feel too icky and it will help get my lupus under control and make me healthy again!
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Finally an Answer!
After months of tests, doctors appointments, horrible migraines, fatigue, a miscarriage, numbness and tingling, pain, and lots of other weird symptoms...and lots of questions without answers (or wrong answers)... I finally have an official diagnosis.
I have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or Lupus for short).
According to Google...
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks normal, healthy tissue. This results in symptoms such as inflammation, swelling, and damage to joints, skin, kidneys, blood, the heart, and lungs.
As of right now, my lupus is affecting my joints, my skin, my hair, my nervous system, my kidneys, my heart, and my white blood cells.
The rhuematologist says that my lupus would currently be classified as moderate on the spectrum from mild to server.
She has prescribe plaquenil to start with. I go back in 8 weeks for a follow up and to decide if the plaquenil is working or if we should try something else.
The plan is to try to get everything under control with meds and them use a more natural approach to keep it under control.
I have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or Lupus for short).
According to Google...
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks normal, healthy tissue. This results in symptoms such as inflammation, swelling, and damage to joints, skin, kidneys, blood, the heart, and lungs.
As of right now, my lupus is affecting my joints, my skin, my hair, my nervous system, my kidneys, my heart, and my white blood cells.
The rhuematologist says that my lupus would currently be classified as moderate on the spectrum from mild to server.
She has prescribe plaquenil to start with. I go back in 8 weeks for a follow up and to decide if the plaquenil is working or if we should try something else.
The plan is to try to get everything under control with meds and them use a more natural approach to keep it under control.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Six Doctors' Appointments in Two Weeks
After I was pregnant, but before we knew I was pregnant, we got some potentially scary news in results of blood work.
When I followed up with the neurologist (finally!) after my crazy migraine that caused me to be admitted to the hospital, I was diagnosed with hemiplegic migraines. It's basically a rare type of migraine that causes stroke like symptoms without the brain damage. Most of the time these migraines do not put you at a higher risk of a stroke. Sometimes people have them once every few years and other times once every few months. They can be caused by a wide range of things... some as simple as vitamin deficiencies... some some very complicated and complex disorders. The neurologist ordered several blood tests to see if we could get an idea of the cause of my migraines so that we could try to prevent another one from happening.
Shortly after I had the blood work, I got a call from a nurse explaining that I had a few vitamin deficiencies. The neurologist called in some prescription supplements and I thought I was good.
A few days later I got another called explaining that my ANA was very high, meaning that I have some sort of auto immune disorder. Based on some of the other results, the neurologist thought that I most likely have lupus and was referring me to see a rheumatologist.
Then a few days later I got another phone call. This time explaining that I have a MTHFR gene mutation. Apparently this mutation can cause several different issues. The neurologist referred me to a hematologist for father testing.
It was kind of scary when I found out I was pregnant shortly after we found out all of this other stuff, but didn't really have any solid answers yet. My OB was very reassuring and explained that none of these issues are something that could cause harm to the baby or me as long as we know about them. She told me that it would be considered a high risk pregnancy, but I shouldn't worry.
Thursday August 4th
I had a follow up appointment my OB in regards to my miscarriage. She said it appeared that my body was doing what it was supposed to and aside from the migraines and back pain, that all was well. Both the migraines and back pain are most likely a result of my hormone levels dropping quickly, so hopefully both will disappear soon.
She said as far as the miscarriage, she couldn't say for sure without testing, but most likely because of the timing, it was a chromosomal issue with the baby. She explained that any auto immune issue or MTHFR mutation complication normally doesn't pregnant a problem until closer to the end of the first trimester if left untreated. If we want to try for another baby, her suggestion is to wait until we have official diagnosis from the hematologist and rheumatologist so that we official know what we are dealing with and how to treat it. So.. we shall wait and see...
Monday August 8
I had a follow up today with the hand surgeon. I'm still having lots of pain in my hand that I had surgery on in April. He thinks that I have a lot of extra scar tissue (most likely caused by whatever is going on with my immune system) that is causing the pain and the decreased range of motion. I've also been having lots of numbness and he's concerned that there is a pinched nerve either in my wrist or my elbow. He put in ordered for an EMG to see what is going on with my nerves. Hopefully after that we'll have some answers and came back my hand more useful again.
Wednesday August 10
Today I saw the hematologist about the MTHFR gene mutation. Apparently research used to show that these gene mutation increased risk of blot clots and all sorts of other things. Recently though, thoughts have changed. The newest research shows that with certain conditions its important to know if you have the MTHFR gene mutation, but unless you have these conditions it's nothing to worry about according to the hematologist.
Thursday August 11
Today I had an EMG on my left arm to see if there was nerve damage causing the numbness and tingling my my hand. The good news is that all the nerves in my hand/arm are all good. The bad news is that I got zapped and poked and still don't have any answers.
Monday August 15
I had a follow up with the neurologist today. I'm still having headaches on and off and the meds they had me on to make headaches go away just made me fall asleep, but I still woke up with a headache. She gave me a different medicine to try for when I have headaches, but as of right now she doesn't want to try anything else to prevent the headaches until I see the rheumatologist to see what he has to say. She says she has a feeling that once I start treatment for whatever is going on with my immune system that my headaches will go away.
We also talked about what the hematologist said about the gene mutation. She said that because I have crazy migraines, that knowing I have the gene mutation can be helpful in treating them. For example, there are a few headache rescue medicines I've tried that make me really sick... and they make me sick because of the gene mutation, so we know we need to avoid that whole class of drugs to treat my headaches.
Thursday August 18
Today I saw the rheumatologist. First I talked to the nurse practitioner...for almost an hour. She asked lots of question and went over all of the blood work that I've had done up until this point. She then did an exam and checked out all of my joints and asked more questions. Then she went and talked to the doctor a minute and they both came in and talked to me.
The thought is that I probably have lupus, but we aren't to the point yet when I can have an official diagnosis. There's a long list of symptoms and tests that can be positive for a lupus diagnosis, and a patient needs to have at least eleven of them before an official diagnosis can be made. I currently have quite a few, but am not at eleven yet. They ordered more blood tests that are very specific to lupus and ordered x-rays of all of my joints. Some of the blood tests take about two weeks for results to come back, so I go back in three weeks to go over all of the results and hopefully get some answers and a treatment plan.
She explained that they will treat me regardless of an official lupus diagnosis or not because my ANA is so high, but she wants to wait until she has all of the other results back and can see the big picture before decided what the best treatment would be.
After my appointment I went to the lab where I had way too many vials of blood drawn. And then I had way too many x-rays taken.
Hopefully in three weeks we will have some answers, can start treatment, and start feeling better. After my appointment today, I think lots of the issues that I've been having the past year and have a half could be by whatever autoimmune issues I am having... everything from the fatigue, soreness and stiffness, numbness in my hands and feet, rashes and itching, sleep problems, headaches and migraines, and so on...
When I followed up with the neurologist (finally!) after my crazy migraine that caused me to be admitted to the hospital, I was diagnosed with hemiplegic migraines. It's basically a rare type of migraine that causes stroke like symptoms without the brain damage. Most of the time these migraines do not put you at a higher risk of a stroke. Sometimes people have them once every few years and other times once every few months. They can be caused by a wide range of things... some as simple as vitamin deficiencies... some some very complicated and complex disorders. The neurologist ordered several blood tests to see if we could get an idea of the cause of my migraines so that we could try to prevent another one from happening.
Shortly after I had the blood work, I got a call from a nurse explaining that I had a few vitamin deficiencies. The neurologist called in some prescription supplements and I thought I was good.
A few days later I got another called explaining that my ANA was very high, meaning that I have some sort of auto immune disorder. Based on some of the other results, the neurologist thought that I most likely have lupus and was referring me to see a rheumatologist.
Then a few days later I got another phone call. This time explaining that I have a MTHFR gene mutation. Apparently this mutation can cause several different issues. The neurologist referred me to a hematologist for father testing.
It was kind of scary when I found out I was pregnant shortly after we found out all of this other stuff, but didn't really have any solid answers yet. My OB was very reassuring and explained that none of these issues are something that could cause harm to the baby or me as long as we know about them. She told me that it would be considered a high risk pregnancy, but I shouldn't worry.
Thursday August 4th
I had a follow up appointment my OB in regards to my miscarriage. She said it appeared that my body was doing what it was supposed to and aside from the migraines and back pain, that all was well. Both the migraines and back pain are most likely a result of my hormone levels dropping quickly, so hopefully both will disappear soon.
She said as far as the miscarriage, she couldn't say for sure without testing, but most likely because of the timing, it was a chromosomal issue with the baby. She explained that any auto immune issue or MTHFR mutation complication normally doesn't pregnant a problem until closer to the end of the first trimester if left untreated. If we want to try for another baby, her suggestion is to wait until we have official diagnosis from the hematologist and rheumatologist so that we official know what we are dealing with and how to treat it. So.. we shall wait and see...
Monday August 8
I had a follow up today with the hand surgeon. I'm still having lots of pain in my hand that I had surgery on in April. He thinks that I have a lot of extra scar tissue (most likely caused by whatever is going on with my immune system) that is causing the pain and the decreased range of motion. I've also been having lots of numbness and he's concerned that there is a pinched nerve either in my wrist or my elbow. He put in ordered for an EMG to see what is going on with my nerves. Hopefully after that we'll have some answers and came back my hand more useful again.
Wednesday August 10
Today I saw the hematologist about the MTHFR gene mutation. Apparently research used to show that these gene mutation increased risk of blot clots and all sorts of other things. Recently though, thoughts have changed. The newest research shows that with certain conditions its important to know if you have the MTHFR gene mutation, but unless you have these conditions it's nothing to worry about according to the hematologist.
Thursday August 11
Today I had an EMG on my left arm to see if there was nerve damage causing the numbness and tingling my my hand. The good news is that all the nerves in my hand/arm are all good. The bad news is that I got zapped and poked and still don't have any answers.
Monday August 15
I had a follow up with the neurologist today. I'm still having headaches on and off and the meds they had me on to make headaches go away just made me fall asleep, but I still woke up with a headache. She gave me a different medicine to try for when I have headaches, but as of right now she doesn't want to try anything else to prevent the headaches until I see the rheumatologist to see what he has to say. She says she has a feeling that once I start treatment for whatever is going on with my immune system that my headaches will go away.
We also talked about what the hematologist said about the gene mutation. She said that because I have crazy migraines, that knowing I have the gene mutation can be helpful in treating them. For example, there are a few headache rescue medicines I've tried that make me really sick... and they make me sick because of the gene mutation, so we know we need to avoid that whole class of drugs to treat my headaches.
Thursday August 18
Today I saw the rheumatologist. First I talked to the nurse practitioner...for almost an hour. She asked lots of question and went over all of the blood work that I've had done up until this point. She then did an exam and checked out all of my joints and asked more questions. Then she went and talked to the doctor a minute and they both came in and talked to me.
The thought is that I probably have lupus, but we aren't to the point yet when I can have an official diagnosis. There's a long list of symptoms and tests that can be positive for a lupus diagnosis, and a patient needs to have at least eleven of them before an official diagnosis can be made. I currently have quite a few, but am not at eleven yet. They ordered more blood tests that are very specific to lupus and ordered x-rays of all of my joints. Some of the blood tests take about two weeks for results to come back, so I go back in three weeks to go over all of the results and hopefully get some answers and a treatment plan.
She explained that they will treat me regardless of an official lupus diagnosis or not because my ANA is so high, but she wants to wait until she has all of the other results back and can see the big picture before decided what the best treatment would be.
After my appointment I went to the lab where I had way too many vials of blood drawn. And then I had way too many x-rays taken.
Hopefully in three weeks we will have some answers, can start treatment, and start feeling better. After my appointment today, I think lots of the issues that I've been having the past year and have a half could be by whatever autoimmune issues I am having... everything from the fatigue, soreness and stiffness, numbness in my hands and feet, rashes and itching, sleep problems, headaches and migraines, and so on...
Monday, August 15, 2016
Update on Kyle's Legs
We had a follow up appointment with the orthopedic surgeon about Kyle's femoral anterversion today.
We've been doing lots of physical therapy.. both at therapy and at home for the past couple months.
Kyle seems to be complaining less about his legs hurting unless we are doing lots of walking or he's on his feet more than normal.
The doctor said that there appears to be no change in the rotation of his femurs since our last visit, which isn't good, but it isn't bad either.
At this point, there still really isn't anything to do besides therapy.... and wait for Kyle's bones to get bigger so we can do the surgery to correct the problem. (His bones should be big enough when he's 7 or 8 years old.)
We are going to continue to do therapy at home.
The doctor suggested to try to keep a stroller handy when we go to the zoo or other places that require lots of walking so that Kyle can have breaks from walking if needed.
He suggested to continue to use motrin as needed for pain relief and also suggested to try ice and heat.
We are also going to have Kyle's vitamin D levels checked because sometimes a deficiency can cause bone pain in kids.
We've been doing lots of physical therapy.. both at therapy and at home for the past couple months.
Kyle seems to be complaining less about his legs hurting unless we are doing lots of walking or he's on his feet more than normal.
The doctor said that there appears to be no change in the rotation of his femurs since our last visit, which isn't good, but it isn't bad either.
At this point, there still really isn't anything to do besides therapy.... and wait for Kyle's bones to get bigger so we can do the surgery to correct the problem. (His bones should be big enough when he's 7 or 8 years old.)
We are going to continue to do therapy at home.
The doctor suggested to try to keep a stroller handy when we go to the zoo or other places that require lots of walking so that Kyle can have breaks from walking if needed.
He suggested to continue to use motrin as needed for pain relief and also suggested to try ice and heat.
We are also going to have Kyle's vitamin D levels checked because sometimes a deficiency can cause bone pain in kids.
Friday, August 5, 2016
6 Weeks.
6 weeks.
That's how long this little baby lived in my womb.
6 weeks.
Only a week and a half were we aware of the baby.
I puked for no reason on Monday after we got back from Chicago. I figured I was pregnant. A few days later I finally took a pregnancy test and sure enough, it was positive.
Friday I went to the doctor to have a dating ultrasound because my periods still haven't been regular since having Peyton (because I'm still nursing him). From the ultrasound, they guess was that the baby was about five and a half weeks. They gave me and estimated due date of March 14th and planned on bringing me back in 10 days to do another ultrasound to confirm the due date.
On Tuesday night, I started spotting a little. Wednesday morning I was more... so I called and talked to the nurse at my OB's office. The radiologist had read my ultrasound and noted that I had a hematoma near the implantation site, which would explain the spotting.
Thursday I was bleeding more, so I called and asked if I could come in for another ultrasound. The nurse sounded hopeful on the phone because I was still puking lots... but I kind of already knew that the baby was gone.
The ultrasound tech didn't say much... so I knew it was bad news.
The doctor said that the baby probably died on Monday based on measurements. She wanted me to get blood work to confirm my HCG levels were dropping, but was pretty sure I was miscarrying.
Saturday my labs were posted online and sure enough, my HCG levels dropped, which confirmed.
I was pretty miserable both emotionally and physically on Saturday and Sunday. I was having contractions and cramping on and off and lots of bleeding.
Sunday afternoon around 3:00 the gestational sac with the baby inside was passed.
I was hoping that once the baby was out, that I would start to feel better, but the contractions, cramping, and bleeding continued for several days.
On Thursday, we took the baby to the funeral home for cremation. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the baby at first, but I knew for sure that I didn't want to just flush the baby... it wasn't a dead goldfish. And I knew I didn't wan to bury the baby in a backyard because the baby wasn't a pet (and who knows how long we will live here). The baby was a human being...created in the imagine of God. I felt that the baby, even though only a few weeks developed, deserved something more. Then someone mentioned that most funeral homes will do cremation free of charge for miscarried and stillborn babies and that sounded like a good option for me. It sounds weird, but having Michael's ashes around bring me comfort, so hopefully having the baby's ashes around will also bring me comfort.
The following Thursday, I was able to pick up the baby's ashes from the funeral home.
This morning we talked to Emily, Kyle, Colby, and Peyton about the baby. We told them that God had put another baby in mommy's belly, but the baby died before it had much of a chance to grow. We explained that once the baby came out, we got a small bag of ashes like we have Bumpa's box.
As a family we went to Build A Bear and made a bear for the baby. All four kids picked out little hearts and put them inside. We also put the baby's ashes inside. Now we have a very special bear to help us remember the baby.
We've had lots of conversations about the baby this morning. The kids are all pretty sure the baby was a boy (I was thinking the baby was a boy too!). Kyle and Emily have talked about the baby being in Heaven with Bumpa. Emily has talked about the other baby we lost too (Kyle and Emily's triplet). Colby is kind of confused as to why the baby is now in the bear's belly instead of mommy's, but eventually he'll understand.
While we never got to actually meet our baby, the baby is still apart of our family. We still lost another child. God created life inside of me, and while that life only lasted for a short while, it was still a life. Still a child. Still loved. We are a family of eight. Four kids here with us to raise and watch grow up and two waiting in Heaven for us.
While death is never okay and was never supposed to be apart of the plan, God is still in control and sees the big picture. God intentionally created this baby even though He knew the plan for the baby. God has a purpose for the baby's short life... and someday we may know what that purpose was or we may never know, but we do have hope in a good God who is sovereign over all things. We have hope in a God who always works for the good of those who love Him, even when it doesn't seem that way to us. We have hope...
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen! Romans 11:36
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Kyle's Legs
For a few years we've known that Kyle's legs were as straight as they should be.
Around the time turned 2 we saw an orthopedic surgeon about them for the first time. At the time, the doctor told us that his femurs were rotated some, but it was something he should grow out of. At that time, he told us to come back if he started to have pain or issues walking.
Then last fall, Kyle started complaining about his knees hurting and he was tripping often, so we went back to the ortho. He sent Kyle to physical therapy to try to strengthen his legs in hopes of alleviating some of the pain and improve his coordination. Physical therapy helped a lot. He stopped complaining about his knees hurting constantly and was tripping less. When we followed up with the ortho after therapy, he was very happy with the improvement and had hopes that Kyle's legs would straighten as he grew.
A couple months ago, Kyle started complaining again, tripping over his feet constantly, and it was pretty painful to watch him walk because of how much his toes point in. We went back to the ortho and his reaction was a little different this time. He took a bunch of measurements and the rotation of Kyle's femurs have gotten a lot worse than they were last fall before therapy. The doctor said that Kyle is going to need surgery. He has femoral anterversion...basically the lower half of his femurs are rotated in. This puts pressure on his knees and turns his feet in. Most kids gradually grow out of this, but Kyle's rotation seems to be getting worse. The surgery to correct the ration involves breaking Kyle's femurs and correcting the alignment, and then putting plates and screws in his femurs to hold everything in place while it heals. But.. we have to wait to do surgery. The surgical screws only come so small, so we have to wait for Kyle's femurs to be big enough for the screws. The ortho said he thinks Kyle will be big enough something around eight or nine years old.
In the meantime, we are doing more physical therapy. The goals in therapy are to strengthen Kyle's legs and improve his coordination and gait. Hopefully in doing these to things, Kyle will have less knee pain and will trip less over his own feet. Sounds like he probably will be in and out of therapy until he is big enough to have the correcting surgery.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Mommy's Trip to the Hospital
Last night as we were finishing up dinner, I started having floaters and other vision issues. I took some Tylenol thinking a headache was coming. A few minutes later, Kyle was trying to talk to me and I couldn't get the words out of my mouth to respond and my vision was pretty much gone.
After a few minutes, my peripheral vision started to return and I could get enough words out to let Brent know I needed to go to the ER.
Luckily, my mom was at our house for dinner and to hang out with Brent went to a board meeting. Brent stayed home with the kids and my mom took me to the ER in Ionia.
Once we got to the ER, a nurse took me back to triage shortly after we got there. I was able to speak normal again and my vision was good when I was talking to her. I had an EKG done and then was sent back to the waiting room until their was a room available.
Once back in the waiting room, I started having issues with my speech and vision again, but my vision never got as bad as it had originally.
When they finally got me back to a room, things started to happen kind of quickly. The nurse started an IV and drew some blood and the doctor was in. Their guess was that I was having some sort of weird migraine, but because I was still having lots of trouble speaking and my blood pressure was very high, they ordered a stroke work up and were treating me as if I was having a stroke.
Techs came and got my quickly to do a CT and chest x-ray. They got a urine sample and did a finger prick to test my sugar.
Then we waited for results. And I was still having a hard time getting my words out for the most part.
Finally, all of the results came back negative, but because I was still having delayed speech at this point, the neurologist thought it was best they continued to monitor me for a stroke until I could have imaging done with contrast. They called an ambulance and transferred me to the main hospital in Lansing.
When I got to Lansing and to my room, I got frustrated as I had to try to explain what was going on because I was still having a really hard time getting my words out.
The resident came and spend a bunch of time checking me all over and talking to me. His gut feeling was the same as everyone else that I was having a really bad migraine, but he really wanted to order a CT and MRI with contrast to rule out a stroke for sure. He also order magnesium for my IV to "help the migraine go away."
At this point, I still didn't have any head pain, just a bit of pressure behind my eyes... and the speech delay.
About 1:00 am I had my CT after an adventure that included getting lost with the nurses in the radiology department.
Around 2:00 am, I was finally settled back into my room and my magnesium had finished. A little while later, I could FINALLY speak normal again!! And I got to sleep in short bit. The nurses had to check my vitals every hour!
I slept on and off until 6:00 or so when they started to get my ready to go to MRI. Around this time, my head started to hurt...
After my MRI I hung out in my room until my mom got here... and then a short while later Brent and the kids got here.
Around lunch time the doctors came in for rounds and said all the test came back normal... meaning NO STROKE!
The official diagnosis is a complex atypical migraine with aura. They explained that these type of migraines not only cause stroke like symptoms, but they also can cause strokes and I am at risk for having a stroke now. Their recommendations to to take magnesium daily and to follow up with a neurologist specialized in headaches.
They also explained that if I started to have vision issues that aren't going away or start to having any issues speaking again, that I need to head to the ER quickly for the determination to be made if I am having a stroke or just another migraine.
Apparently all the concussion I had in high school are a contributing factor... so be careful and don't get hit in the head!!!
It's now almost dinner time and sounded like the nurse would have my discharge papers soon. I'm exhausted and have a little bit of a headache, but am so thankful that I can SEE and TALK without issue!! And so very thankful to go home and cuddle my kiddos!!
After a few minutes, my peripheral vision started to return and I could get enough words out to let Brent know I needed to go to the ER.
Luckily, my mom was at our house for dinner and to hang out with Brent went to a board meeting. Brent stayed home with the kids and my mom took me to the ER in Ionia.
Once we got to the ER, a nurse took me back to triage shortly after we got there. I was able to speak normal again and my vision was good when I was talking to her. I had an EKG done and then was sent back to the waiting room until their was a room available.
Once back in the waiting room, I started having issues with my speech and vision again, but my vision never got as bad as it had originally.
When they finally got me back to a room, things started to happen kind of quickly. The nurse started an IV and drew some blood and the doctor was in. Their guess was that I was having some sort of weird migraine, but because I was still having lots of trouble speaking and my blood pressure was very high, they ordered a stroke work up and were treating me as if I was having a stroke.
Techs came and got my quickly to do a CT and chest x-ray. They got a urine sample and did a finger prick to test my sugar.
Then we waited for results. And I was still having a hard time getting my words out for the most part.
Finally, all of the results came back negative, but because I was still having delayed speech at this point, the neurologist thought it was best they continued to monitor me for a stroke until I could have imaging done with contrast. They called an ambulance and transferred me to the main hospital in Lansing.
When I got to Lansing and to my room, I got frustrated as I had to try to explain what was going on because I was still having a really hard time getting my words out.
The resident came and spend a bunch of time checking me all over and talking to me. His gut feeling was the same as everyone else that I was having a really bad migraine, but he really wanted to order a CT and MRI with contrast to rule out a stroke for sure. He also order magnesium for my IV to "help the migraine go away."
At this point, I still didn't have any head pain, just a bit of pressure behind my eyes... and the speech delay.
About 1:00 am I had my CT after an adventure that included getting lost with the nurses in the radiology department.
Around 2:00 am, I was finally settled back into my room and my magnesium had finished. A little while later, I could FINALLY speak normal again!! And I got to sleep in short bit. The nurses had to check my vitals every hour!
I slept on and off until 6:00 or so when they started to get my ready to go to MRI. Around this time, my head started to hurt...
After my MRI I hung out in my room until my mom got here... and then a short while later Brent and the kids got here.
Around lunch time the doctors came in for rounds and said all the test came back normal... meaning NO STROKE!
The official diagnosis is a complex atypical migraine with aura. They explained that these type of migraines not only cause stroke like symptoms, but they also can cause strokes and I am at risk for having a stroke now. Their recommendations to to take magnesium daily and to follow up with a neurologist specialized in headaches.
They also explained that if I started to have vision issues that aren't going away or start to having any issues speaking again, that I need to head to the ER quickly for the determination to be made if I am having a stroke or just another migraine.
Apparently all the concussion I had in high school are a contributing factor... so be careful and don't get hit in the head!!!
It's now almost dinner time and sounded like the nurse would have my discharge papers soon. I'm exhausted and have a little bit of a headache, but am so thankful that I can SEE and TALK without issue!! And so very thankful to go home and cuddle my kiddos!!
Daddy Broke Kyle's Jaw
In the end of February, Kyle ran into Brent's hip with his mouth. There was blood... and more blood...and more blood...and more blood. And Kyle's tooth was laying flat. We pushed his tooth back to "normal" but it still bothered him and any time his bonked his face, his tooth moved around.
A few days later we went to the dentist. They took some xrays and determined that his tooth itself was okay, but the little groovy thing in his jaw that helps hold his tooth in place was broken. They were hoping it would heal on it's own.
A few days later we went back to the dentist because it wasn't getting any better. They ended up "splinting" the tooth by bonding it to the teeth on either side in hopes that holding the tooth still would help heal everything and that we could save the tooth.
After a couple weeks, it was determined that the splint wasn't working and the tooth needed to come out... which meant Kyle had to go see the oral surgeon.
On Monday we finally got in to see the oral surgeon. Kyle was very excited all the way there that he was finally going to get his tooth out. Then when we got there, he started to get a little anxious about it. He was pretty cute. But once they gave him some laughing gas, he calmed right down... and the tooth came out with issue.
Now he loves showing off his hole! And has a cute lisp when he talks!!
A few days later we went to the dentist. They took some xrays and determined that his tooth itself was okay, but the little groovy thing in his jaw that helps hold his tooth in place was broken. They were hoping it would heal on it's own.
A few days later we went back to the dentist because it wasn't getting any better. They ended up "splinting" the tooth by bonding it to the teeth on either side in hopes that holding the tooth still would help heal everything and that we could save the tooth.
After a couple weeks, it was determined that the splint wasn't working and the tooth needed to come out... which meant Kyle had to go see the oral surgeon.
On Monday we finally got in to see the oral surgeon. Kyle was very excited all the way there that he was finally going to get his tooth out. Then when we got there, he started to get a little anxious about it. He was pretty cute. But once they gave him some laughing gas, he calmed right down... and the tooth came out with issue.
Now he loves showing off his hole! And has a cute lisp when he talks!!
Friday, April 8, 2016
15 months old and a well visit
Peyton was 15 months old yesterday....but I nene got around to writing a post or taking pictures because I was pretty sick.
Speaking of sick....Peyton is sick too. He has an upper respiratory infection and a double ear infection. We went to redicare on Tuesday and they put in on antibiotics, but because his ears are still red, his regular doctor is changing the antibiotic to something strong. And because this is the second ear infection in a month, we are going back to have his ears checked in three weeks and if there are any more infections in the near future, we'll be referred to the ent to talk about tubes.
Peyton is growing up so fast....but only slowly growing. He weighed in at 20lbs even and measured 30 inches long today. Both right about the 12th percentile. Even though he's low on try charts, he's big for a Eubank kid!
Peyton is learning so much. He doesn't really say much yet, but is good at pointing and shreeking to let us know what he wants. He's pretty good at following directions and following what the other kids are doing.
It seemed like for a long time we struggled to get Peyton to eat, but we are past those days. Peyton loves food. The only time we really struggle to get him to eat now is when he can't have what everyone else is eating or something close to it.
Peyton loves to play with whatever toys everyone else is....and TV remotes. He used to love the remote control cars, but recently they have terrified him. But he still loves regular toy cars, and books, and stuffed animals, and play food....and whatever his siblings are playing with that they don't want to share with him.
Peyton has turned into a little monkey. He loves to climb on everything and anything he can....including the kitchen table!
Peyton is still nursing on demand during the day, but typically nurses when he wakes up, before nap time, after nap time, and before bed. Sometimes he sleeps all night long....Sometimes he still wakes up and wants to nurse in the middle of the night.
We are still having issues with Peyton not being terrified of people. He's slowly starting to get better, but he still likes to cling to mommy or daddy if there are other people around.
I'll try to take some pictures later, but no promises! Life is kind of crazy with four kiddos to keep up with!
Speaking of sick....Peyton is sick too. He has an upper respiratory infection and a double ear infection. We went to redicare on Tuesday and they put in on antibiotics, but because his ears are still red, his regular doctor is changing the antibiotic to something strong. And because this is the second ear infection in a month, we are going back to have his ears checked in three weeks and if there are any more infections in the near future, we'll be referred to the ent to talk about tubes.
Peyton is growing up so fast....but only slowly growing. He weighed in at 20lbs even and measured 30 inches long today. Both right about the 12th percentile. Even though he's low on try charts, he's big for a Eubank kid!
Peyton is learning so much. He doesn't really say much yet, but is good at pointing and shreeking to let us know what he wants. He's pretty good at following directions and following what the other kids are doing.
It seemed like for a long time we struggled to get Peyton to eat, but we are past those days. Peyton loves food. The only time we really struggle to get him to eat now is when he can't have what everyone else is eating or something close to it.
Peyton loves to play with whatever toys everyone else is....and TV remotes. He used to love the remote control cars, but recently they have terrified him. But he still loves regular toy cars, and books, and stuffed animals, and play food....and whatever his siblings are playing with that they don't want to share with him.
Peyton has turned into a little monkey. He loves to climb on everything and anything he can....including the kitchen table!
Peyton is still nursing on demand during the day, but typically nurses when he wakes up, before nap time, after nap time, and before bed. Sometimes he sleeps all night long....Sometimes he still wakes up and wants to nurse in the middle of the night.
We are still having issues with Peyton not being terrified of people. He's slowly starting to get better, but he still likes to cling to mommy or daddy if there are other people around.
I'll try to take some pictures later, but no promises! Life is kind of crazy with four kiddos to keep up with!
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Kyle is FIVE!!
Kyle is FIVE!!!!
Kyle is my big mommy's boy!
Kyle loves to make people smile and loves to give mommy cuddles! He's also pretty good at have loud obnoxious meltdowns for crazy stuff.
Kyle seems to enjoy being around other kids and interacting with people, but tends to thrive when he has quiet time by himself. He loves to work on projects alone... or with a little help from mommy and daddy. He's discovered that if he goes into his room and closes the door, he normally can get 20 minutes or so of alone time before one of his brothers find him.
Kyle doesn't seem to enjoy some parts of school as much as his sister, but is constantly asking to "do school." He loves to work on "bear books" and other school activity books. It amazes me how much he gets done (and does right!) with very little help! When it comes to working on reading and writing, he doesn't seem to have much interest... but when rattles off words like its no big deal that he's reading. He loves to play on the computer too... but still struggles with using the mouse!
Kyle loves to do things with his hands. He loves to work on puzzles and build things. He wants to know how things work and how they are all put together. I think he's going to be the kid that tears things apart just so he can see if he can put them back together.
Kyle amazes me when it comes to his knowledge about cars. He can point out different parts and explain what they do. He got a model engine for his birthday that we've been putting together and it's crazy how much he knows! (He knows more about cars than Daddy for sure!!!)
Kyle also loves to play with dinosaurs, cars, and Paw Patrol stuff. He has a great imagination!
Kyle enjoys sleeping... and would probably sleep a lot more if he didn't share a room with Colby. When Colby lets him take a nap, Kyle will easily sleep for three hours in the afternoon and he's typically the first kid climbing in bed at night. He comes running into our room every morning at 8:00am when his "clock wakes up."
We discovered in January that Kyle has a penicillin allergy. Thankfully his reaction was only hives, but the doctor said if he gets it again that his reaction will probably come on faster and be worse. Hopefully we can just keep him away from it and won't have to worry about it!
Kyle broke part of his jaw a few weeks ago. He ran into Daddy's hip and chipped part of his jaw that helps hold teeth in place. Only one tooth was loose. Luckily, the tooth had no damage. It's currently bonded to the teeth on either side of it to hold it into place while his jaw heals. We go back to the dentist in a few days to get the bonding taken off.
Kyle is my big mommy's boy!
Kyle loves to make people smile and loves to give mommy cuddles! He's also pretty good at have loud obnoxious meltdowns for crazy stuff.
Kyle seems to enjoy being around other kids and interacting with people, but tends to thrive when he has quiet time by himself. He loves to work on projects alone... or with a little help from mommy and daddy. He's discovered that if he goes into his room and closes the door, he normally can get 20 minutes or so of alone time before one of his brothers find him.
Kyle doesn't seem to enjoy some parts of school as much as his sister, but is constantly asking to "do school." He loves to work on "bear books" and other school activity books. It amazes me how much he gets done (and does right!) with very little help! When it comes to working on reading and writing, he doesn't seem to have much interest... but when rattles off words like its no big deal that he's reading. He loves to play on the computer too... but still struggles with using the mouse!
Kyle loves to do things with his hands. He loves to work on puzzles and build things. He wants to know how things work and how they are all put together. I think he's going to be the kid that tears things apart just so he can see if he can put them back together.
Kyle amazes me when it comes to his knowledge about cars. He can point out different parts and explain what they do. He got a model engine for his birthday that we've been putting together and it's crazy how much he knows! (He knows more about cars than Daddy for sure!!!)
Kyle also loves to play with dinosaurs, cars, and Paw Patrol stuff. He has a great imagination!
Kyle enjoys sleeping... and would probably sleep a lot more if he didn't share a room with Colby. When Colby lets him take a nap, Kyle will easily sleep for three hours in the afternoon and he's typically the first kid climbing in bed at night. He comes running into our room every morning at 8:00am when his "clock wakes up."
We discovered in January that Kyle has a penicillin allergy. Thankfully his reaction was only hives, but the doctor said if he gets it again that his reaction will probably come on faster and be worse. Hopefully we can just keep him away from it and won't have to worry about it!
Kyle broke part of his jaw a few weeks ago. He ran into Daddy's hip and chipped part of his jaw that helps hold teeth in place. Only one tooth was loose. Luckily, the tooth had no damage. It's currently bonded to the teeth on either side of it to hold it into place while his jaw heals. We go back to the dentist in a few days to get the bonding taken off.
Monday, February 8, 2016
13 Months Old!!
I never got around to writing a post yesterday, but I did think about it a time or two when I was working on the "Pumpkin Car" or driving home.
Peyton was thirteen months old yesterday!! It still doesn't seem possible that he's a year old. I know I saw it often, but it's crazy how quickly kids grow up!
Peyton has become very opinionated...he knows what he wants and isn't to fond of being told no. He doesn't say much, but has coming very good at letting us know what he wants and how he feels. He says "ehh" and points when he wants something. And has meltdowns when he doesn't get what he wants.
Peyton is always on the go. He doesn't sit still and play in one spot for very long. He walks around looking for new stuff to explore and other things to get into.
Peyton is still nursing, but I'm trying to start to get it to be more of a schedule and less on demand. He typically nurses in the morning, after lunch, after nap, and before bed...and whenever he wakes up at night.
In the past few weeks, Peyton has started to finally really get the hang of eating table food. This is both good and bad... It's good because he's eating more and exploring new foods. It's bad because he always wants what everyone else is having...which he gets.. unless it has something in it he's allergic too. Meals around here are going to start becoming meals that can be allergy free so Peyton can eat what everyone else is having with just a little modification.
We had a follow up appointment last week with the allergist. I have tried eggs baked into things, and he seems to do fine with that. So was told to continue doing that, but still not to give him plain eggs. Was also told we could continue to give him small amounts of soy as tolerated, but it was recommended not to give him lots of it. As far as dairy goes, we still are to keep it all completely away from him. I told her about the incident a while ago when Peyton got a hold of Colby's milk cup and started having breathing issues and she said it sounds likes he started to have an anaphylactic reaction and giving him the benadryl right away slowed down the processes and allowed his body to recover. Luckily though, he still doesn't react to anything I eat, so that gives us hope that he isn't very sensitive to his allergens and that he'll out grow them!
Peyton also had his one year well visit not too long ago. He was 29 inches, 19lbs 12 oz, and his head is 46 cm around. He's growing!! All checked out well for this appointment.
Peyton loves to play with whatever his siblings are playing with, but he's also starting to enjoy playing by himself too. He likes cars...and drives them around making car noises! He has started coloring when the big kids are. He really like to eat the crayons, but he also likes to make marks on the paper.
Peyton is still very attached to mommy, but is slowly getting better. He is starting to like grandparents, aunts, and uncles more often then not. He has also started interacting a little more with some of the teens when he goes to youth group with us.
Sleeping is not one of Peyton's favorite things. He does take a decent nap in his crib most days, he still is struggling to sleep through the night most of the time. It seems like most nights he's awake at least twice and wanting to nurse. Hopefully now that he's finally starting to eat more table food, he won't be so hungry at night and will sleep a little better.
Peyton is an amazing little man. It's fun watching him grow and seeing his personality start to shine through more and more!
Peyton was thirteen months old yesterday!! It still doesn't seem possible that he's a year old. I know I saw it often, but it's crazy how quickly kids grow up!
Peyton has become very opinionated...he knows what he wants and isn't to fond of being told no. He doesn't say much, but has coming very good at letting us know what he wants and how he feels. He says "ehh" and points when he wants something. And has meltdowns when he doesn't get what he wants.
Peyton is always on the go. He doesn't sit still and play in one spot for very long. He walks around looking for new stuff to explore and other things to get into.
Peyton is still nursing, but I'm trying to start to get it to be more of a schedule and less on demand. He typically nurses in the morning, after lunch, after nap, and before bed...and whenever he wakes up at night.
In the past few weeks, Peyton has started to finally really get the hang of eating table food. This is both good and bad... It's good because he's eating more and exploring new foods. It's bad because he always wants what everyone else is having...which he gets.. unless it has something in it he's allergic too. Meals around here are going to start becoming meals that can be allergy free so Peyton can eat what everyone else is having with just a little modification.
We had a follow up appointment last week with the allergist. I have tried eggs baked into things, and he seems to do fine with that. So was told to continue doing that, but still not to give him plain eggs. Was also told we could continue to give him small amounts of soy as tolerated, but it was recommended not to give him lots of it. As far as dairy goes, we still are to keep it all completely away from him. I told her about the incident a while ago when Peyton got a hold of Colby's milk cup and started having breathing issues and she said it sounds likes he started to have an anaphylactic reaction and giving him the benadryl right away slowed down the processes and allowed his body to recover. Luckily though, he still doesn't react to anything I eat, so that gives us hope that he isn't very sensitive to his allergens and that he'll out grow them!
Peyton also had his one year well visit not too long ago. He was 29 inches, 19lbs 12 oz, and his head is 46 cm around. He's growing!! All checked out well for this appointment.
Peyton loves to play with whatever his siblings are playing with, but he's also starting to enjoy playing by himself too. He likes cars...and drives them around making car noises! He has started coloring when the big kids are. He really like to eat the crayons, but he also likes to make marks on the paper.
Peyton is still very attached to mommy, but is slowly getting better. He is starting to like grandparents, aunts, and uncles more often then not. He has also started interacting a little more with some of the teens when he goes to youth group with us.
Sleeping is not one of Peyton's favorite things. He does take a decent nap in his crib most days, he still is struggling to sleep through the night most of the time. It seems like most nights he's awake at least twice and wanting to nurse. Hopefully now that he's finally starting to eat more table food, he won't be so hungry at night and will sleep a little better.
Peyton is an amazing little man. It's fun watching him grow and seeing his personality start to shine through more and more!
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Colby is Three!!!
Colby turned three a few days ago! He's growing up way to fast!
Some of Colby's favorite things are the color yellow, Spiderman, Tow Mater, and noodles. Colby loves to play with his brothers and sister and do whatever they are doing. He's shown a real interest lately in playing games.. and actually plays right and takes turns!
Colby has been doing some school stuff. We've worked a lot on numbers, letters, shapes, and colors. He knows all the basic shapes and colors. He can recognize most upper case letters and can sing the ABCs. He can count to ten most of the time.
Two wees ago, we found out that Colby is officially food allergy free!! We went for his yearly appointment with the allergist and they did repeat allergy testing for all of the food that he was allergic too and he didn't have any reactions! Colby has been enjoying trying things like peanut butter and snickers!! The only medical explanation the doctors can give is extended breastfeeding... he was only given a 5% chance of out growing his food allergies when they were diagnosed shortly before his first birthday. Colby still does have several environmental allergies and asthma, but those seem easier to deal with than food allergies.
As of his birthday, Colby is done breastfeeding. I am kind of sad that he's done, but excited at the same time!
Colby had his well visit with the doctor the day after his birthday. He is 35 inches tall and weights 27.5 lbs. He's still small for his age, but growing at this own rate. They doctor is pretty sure his tubes are gone from his ears, but it's typical for them to fall out after a year or so and not be noticed. Hopefully he won't get any more ear infections. Other than some dry skin and asthma issues, Colby is healthy!
Colby isn't a big fan of sleeping. We struggle to get him to take afternoon rests and he struggles to stay quiet in the morning until his clock wakes up. Most evenings, he's pretty crabby and its obvious that he isn't getting as much sleep as he needs... but the kid just won't rest.
Colby is out sticker boy and tries to live up to his nickname every day! He is a very strong willed child and likes things done his way and only wants to do what he wants to do! He's also very sweet and loves all of us so much. He loves cuddles, and hugs and kisses! He is a pretty amazing little man and we are excited to see what awesome things God has in store for him!
Here are Colby's answers to the questions we've been asking every six months...
Here are some pictures from his birthday party.
Some of Colby's favorite things are the color yellow, Spiderman, Tow Mater, and noodles. Colby loves to play with his brothers and sister and do whatever they are doing. He's shown a real interest lately in playing games.. and actually plays right and takes turns!
Colby has been doing some school stuff. We've worked a lot on numbers, letters, shapes, and colors. He knows all the basic shapes and colors. He can recognize most upper case letters and can sing the ABCs. He can count to ten most of the time.
Two wees ago, we found out that Colby is officially food allergy free!! We went for his yearly appointment with the allergist and they did repeat allergy testing for all of the food that he was allergic too and he didn't have any reactions! Colby has been enjoying trying things like peanut butter and snickers!! The only medical explanation the doctors can give is extended breastfeeding... he was only given a 5% chance of out growing his food allergies when they were diagnosed shortly before his first birthday. Colby still does have several environmental allergies and asthma, but those seem easier to deal with than food allergies.
As of his birthday, Colby is done breastfeeding. I am kind of sad that he's done, but excited at the same time!
Colby had his well visit with the doctor the day after his birthday. He is 35 inches tall and weights 27.5 lbs. He's still small for his age, but growing at this own rate. They doctor is pretty sure his tubes are gone from his ears, but it's typical for them to fall out after a year or so and not be noticed. Hopefully he won't get any more ear infections. Other than some dry skin and asthma issues, Colby is healthy!
Colby isn't a big fan of sleeping. We struggle to get him to take afternoon rests and he struggles to stay quiet in the morning until his clock wakes up. Most evenings, he's pretty crabby and its obvious that he isn't getting as much sleep as he needs... but the kid just won't rest.
Colby is out sticker boy and tries to live up to his nickname every day! He is a very strong willed child and likes things done his way and only wants to do what he wants to do! He's also very sweet and loves all of us so much. He loves cuddles, and hugs and kisses! He is a pretty amazing little man and we are excited to see what awesome things God has in store for him!
Here are Colby's answers to the questions we've been asking every six months...
| Colby | |
| What is your name? | Polby |
| How old are you? | Don’t Know… I'm Four |
| What is your favorite color? | Yellow |
| What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? | O's |
| What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? | Taco Noodles |
| What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner? | Taco Noodles |
| What is your favorite snack to eat? | Fruit Snacks |
| What is your favorite fruit? | Strawberries |
| What is your favorite vegetable? | Carrots |
| What is your favorite thing to drink? | Pop |
| What is your favorite animal? | Lion |
| What is your favorite toy to play with? | All toys |
| What is your favorite book to read? | All of them |
| Where do you like to go? | Froggie Place (Catch Air) |
| What is your favorite song? | Twinkle Twinkle |
| Who is your best friend? | Megan |
| What is your favorite thing to watch on tv? | All of them |
| What do you want to be when you grow up? | Nobody |
| What is your favorite thing to do outside? | Chalk |
| What is your favorite thing to wear? | Lots of things |
| Who is your favorite person? | Mommy |
Here are some pictures from his birthday party.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
9 Month Well Visit
Peyton had his nine month well visit yesterday.
He was 27.5 inches tall, 17 lbs 10 oz, and his head is 45.3 cm around.
Everything checked out well. We are going to go see the allergist for allergy testing though since he has had some reactions to a few different foods.
He was 27.5 inches tall, 17 lbs 10 oz, and his head is 45.3 cm around.
Everything checked out well. We are going to go see the allergist for allergy testing though since he has had some reactions to a few different foods.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Doctors Doctors and more Doctors
Kyle's Cellulitis
Last Thursday Kyle had a massive welt on his leg from a bug bite. He had some Benadryl, some cream, and some ice and it wasn't getting any better, so we went to the doctor. He was diagnosed with cellulitis and put on antibiotics and steroid cream. We were told that if it got any worse to give them a call or if it wasn't better by Saturday to call.
Saturday morning, the original spot was pretty much gone, but he had a new spot of cellulitis. I called and talked to the nurse at our pediatrician office and was told to draw a line around the spot and if it got any bigger or if he started to run a fever to take him to the ER. Saturday afternoon we ended up going to the ER because the spot kept growing. The ER doctor said that it wasn't to the point where he needed IV antibiotics yet, but his suspicion was the oral antibiotics were doing their jobs because the first spot went away. He said to keep doing what we were doing and to come back if Kyle started to run a fever.
Luckily, Sunday morning he woke up with no more cellulitis...just a bunch of big mosquito bites.
Colby's Ears
In the beginning of last week, Colby started pulling on his ears. There wasn't any drainage, so I was pretty sure he didn't have an infection. We used a flashlight to look in his ears and coud see chunks of wax, so I called and made an appointment with the ENT for him to get his ears cleaned out.
Friday morning we went to the ENT and he cleaned LOTS of hard wax out of Colby's ears. After Colby kept saying "ears all better!"
Colby's ears just make lots of hard wax and there's not a whole lot we can do about it while he has tubes besides go to the ENT every few months and get it cleaned out. Once his tubes are out, we can use drops to soften the wax and can clean it out at home.
WIC
Yesterday, all four kids had a WIC visit and were weighed and measured.
Emily - 29 lbs, 3 ft 2 in
Kyle - 30 lbs 7 oz, 3 ft 5 in
Colby - 25 lbs 4 oz, 2 ft 9 in
Peyton - 15 lbs 6 oz, 2 ft 2 in
Peyton's Six Month Well Check
Peyton also had his six month check up yesterday. All of his measurements were the same as at WIC. :)
He's growing well and developing like he shoud. We are continuing with his meds for his reflux and talked about starting solids. We are going to stick with just fruits and veggies for a long time and very slowly introduce new foods. Typically it's recommend to wait 3 to 5 days in between new foods, but we are going to wait 7 to 10 days. He said if we had any signs of allergic reactions to let him know and we would do allergy testing sooner rather than later.
Last Thursday Kyle had a massive welt on his leg from a bug bite. He had some Benadryl, some cream, and some ice and it wasn't getting any better, so we went to the doctor. He was diagnosed with cellulitis and put on antibiotics and steroid cream. We were told that if it got any worse to give them a call or if it wasn't better by Saturday to call.
Saturday morning, the original spot was pretty much gone, but he had a new spot of cellulitis. I called and talked to the nurse at our pediatrician office and was told to draw a line around the spot and if it got any bigger or if he started to run a fever to take him to the ER. Saturday afternoon we ended up going to the ER because the spot kept growing. The ER doctor said that it wasn't to the point where he needed IV antibiotics yet, but his suspicion was the oral antibiotics were doing their jobs because the first spot went away. He said to keep doing what we were doing and to come back if Kyle started to run a fever.
Luckily, Sunday morning he woke up with no more cellulitis...just a bunch of big mosquito bites.
Colby's Ears
In the beginning of last week, Colby started pulling on his ears. There wasn't any drainage, so I was pretty sure he didn't have an infection. We used a flashlight to look in his ears and coud see chunks of wax, so I called and made an appointment with the ENT for him to get his ears cleaned out.
Friday morning we went to the ENT and he cleaned LOTS of hard wax out of Colby's ears. After Colby kept saying "ears all better!"
Colby's ears just make lots of hard wax and there's not a whole lot we can do about it while he has tubes besides go to the ENT every few months and get it cleaned out. Once his tubes are out, we can use drops to soften the wax and can clean it out at home.
WIC
Yesterday, all four kids had a WIC visit and were weighed and measured.
Emily - 29 lbs, 3 ft 2 in
Kyle - 30 lbs 7 oz, 3 ft 5 in
Colby - 25 lbs 4 oz, 2 ft 9 in
Peyton - 15 lbs 6 oz, 2 ft 2 in
Peyton's Six Month Well Check
Peyton also had his six month check up yesterday. All of his measurements were the same as at WIC. :)
He's growing well and developing like he shoud. We are continuing with his meds for his reflux and talked about starting solids. We are going to stick with just fruits and veggies for a long time and very slowly introduce new foods. Typically it's recommend to wait 3 to 5 days in between new foods, but we are going to wait 7 to 10 days. He said if we had any signs of allergic reactions to let him know and we would do allergy testing sooner rather than later.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Colby Update
Potty Training
Colby is pretty much completely potty trained. About two weeks after he started wearing underwear during the day, he started keeping his diaper dry at night at at rest time. So now he is in underwear 100% of the time!
The only down side to this is he uses it as an excuse to get out of bed during rest time. He often stands at his door yelling and if someone doesn't come help him go to the bathroom right away, he goes on the floor. He has started taking his pants and underwear off, so normally there is just a mess on the floor... but most of the time it's poop. :(
Allergies
After give days of the new dosages of allergy meds, Colby was still wheezing a lot and having a hard time catching his breathe, so I called the doctor back on Wednesday. She ordered a nebulizer for him and he's doing breathing treatments with albuterol. Currently we are doing both morning and night time treatments and it seems to be helping a great deal. The allergist said to to do two treatments a day or a week and then cut back to just night time treatments. Once we feel he's doing better, we can cut back to as needed.
He does really well with the treatments... he sits really still and holds his mask to his face. I think he likes watching the "smoke!"
Weight Gain
After his weight check in the beginning of April, we bought a scale so that we could check Colby's weight often at home. He is still very slowly gaining weight... according to our scale he's up about half a pound in the past six weeks!
Colby is pretty much completely potty trained. About two weeks after he started wearing underwear during the day, he started keeping his diaper dry at night at at rest time. So now he is in underwear 100% of the time!
The only down side to this is he uses it as an excuse to get out of bed during rest time. He often stands at his door yelling and if someone doesn't come help him go to the bathroom right away, he goes on the floor. He has started taking his pants and underwear off, so normally there is just a mess on the floor... but most of the time it's poop. :(
Allergies
After give days of the new dosages of allergy meds, Colby was still wheezing a lot and having a hard time catching his breathe, so I called the doctor back on Wednesday. She ordered a nebulizer for him and he's doing breathing treatments with albuterol. Currently we are doing both morning and night time treatments and it seems to be helping a great deal. The allergist said to to do two treatments a day or a week and then cut back to just night time treatments. Once we feel he's doing better, we can cut back to as needed.
He does really well with the treatments... he sits really still and holds his mask to his face. I think he likes watching the "smoke!"
Weight Gain
After his weight check in the beginning of April, we bought a scale so that we could check Colby's weight often at home. He is still very slowly gaining weight... according to our scale he's up about half a pound in the past six weeks!
Peyton's Four Month Check Up
Last Monday, Peyton had a well check.
Peyton was 12lbs 12oz...24 inches long...and had a head circumference of 41.1cm.
He seems huge, but he's in between where Kyle and Colby were at four months... so he's really not that big... 10th percentile for weight and I don't remember what he said for height.
No real concerns for Peyton. His GERD seems to be under control well with his meds, so we are just going to continue doing what we are doing for that. He's growing and eating well and everything else!
Back in February when he was in the hospital (the first time... for the crazy high fever), they did an ultrasound and found that one of his kidney's had some inflammation. There really wasn't much concern about it and they were pretty sure it was just caused by him being sick. But... we are doing a follow up ultrasound this upcoming Monday just to double check that all is well.
Peyton was 12lbs 12oz...24 inches long...and had a head circumference of 41.1cm.
He seems huge, but he's in between where Kyle and Colby were at four months... so he's really not that big... 10th percentile for weight and I don't remember what he said for height.
No real concerns for Peyton. His GERD seems to be under control well with his meds, so we are just going to continue doing what we are doing for that. He's growing and eating well and everything else!
Back in February when he was in the hospital (the first time... for the crazy high fever), they did an ultrasound and found that one of his kidney's had some inflammation. There really wasn't much concern about it and they were pretty sure it was just caused by him being sick. But... we are doing a follow up ultrasound this upcoming Monday just to double check that all is well.
Friday, May 8, 2015
Colby's Allergies
Colby has been congested, coughing, wheezing, and so on from this lovely spring weather.
Last week we started his allergy meds again, but they really haven't seemed to help...
So we went to the allergist today....
We are going to stick with the same three oral meds we used last year, but use updated dosages for his current age/weight. We are going to try it for a week and see how he does. If he's still wheezy and coughing next week, we'll also add a daily breathing treatment.
He's pretty much allergic to everything and anything alive outside...grass, trees, weeds, flowers.... And bees...
Last week we started his allergy meds again, but they really haven't seemed to help...
So we went to the allergist today....
We are going to stick with the same three oral meds we used last year, but use updated dosages for his current age/weight. We are going to try it for a week and see how he does. If he's still wheezy and coughing next week, we'll also add a daily breathing treatment.
He's pretty much allergic to everything and anything alive outside...grass, trees, weeds, flowers.... And bees...
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Kyle's Yearly Heart Check Up
On Monday, Kyle had his yearly cardiology appointment.
All went well.
His heart is growing like it should.
The VSD is still the exact same size.
We are supposed to follow up in a year for another echo and check up.
All went well.
His heart is growing like it should.
The VSD is still the exact same size.
We are supposed to follow up in a year for another echo and check up.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Peyton's Two Month Well Visit
On Tuesday, Peyton his has two month well visit.
All checked out good. He's growing and developing as he should!
The only concern was that his reflux seems to be getting worse. So we adjusted his meds for his weight and there isn't an improvement in a week or so, I'm supposed to call and the doctor will prescribe something stronger. So far, after two days, the new dosage seems to be helping.
Peyton's stats..
Weight - 10 lbs 2 oz
Height - 21.75 inches
Head - 38.25 cm
All checked out good. He's growing and developing as he should!
The only concern was that his reflux seems to be getting worse. So we adjusted his meds for his weight and there isn't an improvement in a week or so, I'm supposed to call and the doctor will prescribe something stronger. So far, after two days, the new dosage seems to be helping.
Peyton's stats..
Weight - 10 lbs 2 oz
Height - 21.75 inches
Head - 38.25 cm
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