Soy That's What it Is?

When Everett was nine months old he started throwing up every day or every other day. We saw 2 different doctors who suggested he had a sensitive gag reflex and the other said he had reflux. I wasn't convinced, the reflux meds did not work and the throwing up continued. I started thinking maybe he was allergic to dairy (since I knew a lot of kids who are) so I started substituting soy milk. That he threw up immediately. I talked to a friend at a family get together and she said, "maybe he is allergic to soy" which I had never even considered. We started avoiding it and he does better but still throws up about every 4-5 days. So I think there might be something else he is not tolerating. Other symptoms he has which might or might not be related are he coughs every day and it is common for him to have a gurgle in his throat. And randomly he broke out in hives last Sunday ( I gave him corn chex for the first time, but who knows??, I am scared to give him anything new!). Anyway, maybe there are others of you that have dealt with kids with these symptoms. Since we are not going to be able to see an allergist until the summer (insurance reasons) any advice would be great.

H: Mom, my arm is feeling much better. We can take this off now (referring to the cast).

Me: Um, actually Hudson you have to have it on for a month or longer.

H: Hmmm. Is that like 70 minutes?

Me: No, a lot longer.

This is going to be a long haul. Any ideas on what to do with a four-year-old with a cast? The Dr's ruled out "running, jumping, climbing, sand, and water." When I told Hudson that he started running as fast as he could around the room.

So I guess a lot of drawing, coloring, tv, and saran wrapping the cast. I was really hoping for an aquaplast cast (waterproof, which he had with his last broken arm) but they wouldn't give us one b/c he has above elbow (so was his last one). Oh, well. There are MUCH worse things in life. We will survive.

Colles Fracture

Well it started off as a great day. I dropped H off at preschool/joyschool and Sadie, E, and I were off to meet my sister for a little shopping. After a couple hours Sadie couldn't hold herself together anymore so I cut the trip short and decided to just wait in front of H's preschool until he got out (about 15 min early). A few minutes after I arrived my friend was carrying H and waving me to him. She said he fell off the tramp and his arm did not look good. I took one look and knew it was broken. There was a bow in the middle of his forearm. We wrapped it to his chest, dropped E and S off at Amy's (thank you so much Amy) and we were off the the ER. Hudson was not crying this whole time, he was in shock and very pale.

They gave him some morphine soon after we got there and after about a half hour he was feeling good. He had an IV in his right hand that was resting on a small pillow and as soon as the meds kicked in he said "this pillow feels really good."

We then got X-Rays and here are the results...

You can see that both bones are broken. We then waited four hours for pediatric orthopedics to come. During that time a volunteer asked H if he would like to play some video games. Which of course he said yes. So he and I played Shrek for the next four hours. It was mind numbing. At that point I was really wishing I would have stuck a book in my bag. I was grateful however that H was distracted during that time.

The orthopedic doc came and said they would set his arm. They gave H some meds that would make him forget the event and control the pain, plus he already had the morphine. This type of anesthesia doesn't put them completely under, he would still have his eyes open during the procedure. He put a chair to the side for me and said I could step out when the meds took effect if I wanted to. Typically I would love to see a procedure like this, but there is something about seeing your own child go through it. I could feel my heart starting to pound and my hands getting cold, so I stepped out.

It only took about 5 min and they called me back in. For the next 2-3 hours we stayed in recovery and this was probably the worst part b/c H was starving and all they would give him was popsicles (to make sure he could keep fluids down). Typically he would love getting endless popsicles, but not today. He kept telling me over and over he wanted dinner and I just kept telling him we would have to wait a while.

We finally were checked out and they sent him home with PBJ sandwhich, fish crackers, Gatorade, teddy grahams, and juice and he was very happy. He tried to convince me to let him eat there, but I told him other people needed the room. I couldn't believe he wanted to stay.

He slept great last night and has barely complained at all. The next few days we will just be bumming around the house. Dr's orders.

His first request this morning was that I get ALL of his snacks and toys from the "hostible" and put them right next to him. When I didn't pull all of them out he said "where are the fish crackers? oh, and that other sticker, all of it mom."

Saturday we go in and get his "real" cast. And by the way this is H's THIRD broken arm. This is the worst of the three and hopefully the last. And no I don't abuse him and as far as we know he does not have brittle bones. Yes, he drinks milk.

Thank goodness for good doctors, medication, friends, and family. Looks like everything is going to be just fine.

Baby Rett Turns 1!

Everett turned one on March 20th! It is always amazing to me how fast a year goes by and how much they grow and become their own little person, each so unique.

Everett was the best surprise we could have ever imagined. He has been such a blessing in our family with his sweet and fun personality. Hudson loves to make him laugh and Sadie always takes care of him and says "I love my baby Everett, he's my baby."

He is a busy kid and into everything (of course!). His favorite things to do are throw magnets off the fridge, crawl into the bathroom as I chase after him, play "chase" with Hudson and Sadie (he crawls to chase them as they run, seems unfair, but he loves it.),pull silverware out of the dishwasher as I do dishes, turn the computer off when we are working on it, pick up small objects and put them in his mouth, turning the tv on and off, crawling up the stairs, biting anything and everyone, and pulling all of the tissue out of the tissue box.

Happy first birthday baby, we love you!!!

You can view more photos from the party by clicking the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/25073893@N08/?saved=1

Positivity

Steve says I need to be more positive about AZ, so here is a list of the things I like about it...

1. Flip flops can be worn year round, works for me.
2. Citrus trees are everywhere. Out our back door I pick grapefruit, tangelos, and oranges, yum. Soon to come...peaches.
3. The roads have light reflectors, so the lanes light up at night. Neat.
4. I do love looking up in the sky and seeing palm trees, it gives the feeling of living by the beach.
5. The shopping cannot be beat. Everything you need is just around the corner.
6. There is apparently hiking, I have heard of people going, but I have not yet discovered where. So that must be good, I will let you know.
7. You can trick-or-treat without a snowsuit under your costume, or over. I remember as a kid going door to door in the snow and if you didn't want them to ask you what you were you had to wear your costume over your coat.
8. You can find snow only 2 hours away. Better than nothing.
9. You can go for a jog outside most months of the year.
10. You never have to deal with snow on the roads.

It's nice here, really.

Me: "Hudson, what do you want for a snack?"

Hudson: "High Fructose Corn Syrup."

I'm trying to teach him that high fructose corn syrup is not healthy, maybe I'm going a little overboard.

The heat is on...

Well, it's official. Natalee, the kids, and I will suffer through at least one entire summer here in the Valley of the Sun. Today I decided take an internship with Intel's finance group in Chandler, AZ. This will be my first experience working with a company larger than 250 employees, so I'm sure it will be a little bit of a culture shock for me, but I'm really looking forward to the experience. Wish us luck in surviving the 110+ degree weather!!! Any tips?