Appointment marathon week recap

Matthew took Dylan to Dr. Endo on Monday and he claims it was uneventful. You know I hate missing a Dylan appointment right? After thinking about it and having several discussions with each other I think we've decided to keep Dylan on the small side. Basically, she's a bit of a handful to manage, she's deceptively strong and, while normally not a big problem, when she's in the throws of a big fit, she's not afraid to use all she's got. Right now she's got a boogie nose and she's not the most pleasant little person when she's tired and can't breath through her nose. We can rock her to sleep when she feels well, but when she's sick we try and she full on arches her back and kicks her feet. Yes, I love that she throws a good girl fit, buuuut... it wouldn't be so fun if she weighed 80 pounds!

Matthew said he mentioned this to Dr. Endo and she doesn't want to rock the boat at this time, so we are waiting for a few months. It's hard to walk to the line of not sacrificing muscle to not have her grow I assume but I don't know the specifics and wasn't there to join the discussion. For now, for the second time in the row, her meds stay the same. She is also on the same dose of thyroid meds that she's been on forever and apparently it's such a small dose she may not need to be on that either. Since everything's the same, no labs, no poke... Dad lucked out.

I took Asher to the ENT Tuesday and it was very quick. Aunt Eden gets the prize, she guessed it was a granuloma. She was right, specifically it's a Pyogenic Granuloma. The doctor came in and looked at the pictures that I took of it and then checked him out and said that's what it was. It's funny, doctors say things kind of in passing and I want to get the exact name... I just like to look up more information about it, wiki is our friend. The top of his mouth had some sort of trauma, a cut perhaps? And newborns bodies are already growing in overdrive, so... In response his little body sent in the troops to fix the little trauma and basically overcompensated and sent too much. So this tissue grew out. He was thankful for the pictures because all that's left it a little red spot on the roof of Asher's mouth.

It was gross. But, it's healed over and it shouldn't be a problem. If it's persistent they can address it but it most likely won't ever come back. Thank goodness! Yuck!

Asher weighs a whopping 11 lbs, 8 oz and he's 22 inches long, big... Already! He's not so chubby, he's just long and all torso! So big, too big, he's out of the 0-3 month clothes. I looked at Ian's chart though (I only have his, bummer) and he was 12.4 and 23 inches at two months so it looks like Asher's on the same track. At some point Ian slowed the growth though, I am convinced Asher's going to catch up to him... soon!

Monday the whole family went to the Museum of Natural History and, all but the sand and water table, it was a bit over Duncan's head (literally and figuratively, man dinosaurs were big... Ha!). So, we did our thing and went through it, checking it all out but it didn't really take that long. So after Daddy and Duncan went on an "adventure" and went to the discovery museum while I went home with the littles. It seemed like they had a lot of fun. Sorry we missed it, but the rest of the family can only handle so much "adventure".

Jess came over on Monday for knitting night and brought presents for all of the kids. She just doesn't want them to be jealous of Asher's birthday present so she hooks them all up, and hooks them up good! I think if we keep having kids Jess and Steve will go broke. The last birthday blanket turned into the woobie of choice, we will see how this goes. Also, a carseat cover, she said she isn't sure how the fourth kid doesn't already have one but alas, he doesn't so he got one. I will tell you how the twins didn't get one... they were brand new and people weren't making them yet, and they were pricey (and I am cheap) and we would have had to get TWO. Ian I have no excuse for though.

And Duncan's been wheeling around his brand new Thomas "packpack" for four days and counting. He's nuts with it... jumping off the couch onto pillow with it along for the ride. So odd. But, a sure sign that it's a big hit!

Since I mentioned Dylan losing that weight I have been trying to get a call into the GI doctor. She is great and she takes calls every morning from 9-10. Me remembering to call her is a different story and her line not being busy... yet another. Anyway, miraculously, I remembered to call her this morning not just once (the first few calls the line was busy), but again a half hour later!

I told her I was concerned about Dylan's weight. Right now we water down her Peptamin, a: because she can't handle the thickness and b: because after we started cathing we saw she needed more water. Dr. GI suggested adding two ounces of Peptamin to that feed. Isn't she funny? Oh my... so funny... hahah. 9 ounces? Bwahha! You see, I am already kind of dreading feeding Dylan lately because she's coughy and she's been throwing up so much. I seriously dread it, which makes me sad... but adding more? Uhm... yea, no.

She said we need to get Dylan into the office to get a better feeding plan for her. She checked her calendar and suggested Monday at 12:30. That's pretty soon for her. If you're a patient you can usually get in in a month or two, non-patient expect a 6-8 month wait. She's a busy lady. So we took it and hopefully we can formulate a plan to get Dylan a little plumper. I dread them telling me she needs to be on slow feeds at night, dread it... and I am trying to take steps to avoid a pump.

Matthew brought a cool growth chart from the Endo that had plotted every time she's been weighed since she turned 2 so you could see that she hasn't weighed 22 lbs since December (right before she got really sick) and that she hasn't gained it back. I can't find it though, I am hoping no one threw it away... maybe Dr. GI will print one for us.

Duncan went to the dentist with his dad today and they were gone a split second. I swear, it was wicked fast! Pretty funny since he was so excited he was bouncing off the walls all morning! He apparently liked the gas... Matthew said it made him very mellow. He had a great time... I guess that's why they fill the cavities when they are tiny spots in kids so they don't have to get a shot and aren't in pain, therefore they are willing to keep going. Worked this time. Got that over with, until next time Dr. Dentist, until next time.

My cute boy under the influence! (Do you know what these pictures mean? They mean my husband loves me, loads. Not only so I could see what happened when I wasn't there, but also so I could blog about it. He's the best!)


He looks so little in this big chair!!


Laying on dad the flash made him furrow his brow. This is the last time he could wear this outfit unless I was willing to cut off the feet! Boo!


The new "My baby EAT your baby!" Asher's 6 weeks, Owen's 2, amazing!


Owen still wants to be in the womb! Asher's over it.

Chatting it up...


Dylie got the super-fabulous leg warmers from Aunt Jane, they are so adorable in all of their mis-matchiness. We are so lucky to have such crafty people around us!


Not my first choice of outfits but cute with anything!

Asher enjoying the iPad (This is Baby Shapes...)

Stopping for lunch, how do you ruin a grilled cheese? These people did it. Terrible.


Not eating (because it wasn't candy you know...)

Everyone stopped for lunch, no matter the method.

Watching the tornado


He wasn't interested when he thought it was just sand but when he noticed that water was part of the equation he was all over it!

I really had to work for this... thank heavens for free media, it probably took 25 pics...


To get two smiles.


Too bad my kids aren't cute or anything...

And... proof that we haven't mastered the "Smile for the camera" quite yet... exhibit a)


Exhibit b)

I have been informed...

That my blogging is slacking for the week. And here I thought I was on top of things because I posted twice last week. There's just not much to report, I swear, I don't even have many pictures!

The D's had their dentist appointment and, bless his heart, Duncan has two cavities! In spite of our regular brushing, is that ridiculous? Let me answer YES, his teeth are only a year old! The kid is a sugar monster... and on top of that he got my bad teeth with weak enamel and low valleys! (I remember a dentist explaining to me that teeth have peaks and valleys and my valleys are exceptionally low... an easy place to get cavities.) They will be filling two little spots and then drilling the valleys and filling them and then doing the sealant. So yea, uhmm... not exactly a beaming proud mom at this point!

When we got in the car Matthew was so funny. He said "Listen... I know I give him a bunch of candy... but he got his sweet tooth from you!" Those were his exact words, why would I change them around when the exact words are so funny? So I explained to him that yes, he did indeed get my sweet tooth, but he can't exactly drive to the store for candy! The kid would have no access to it if not for his dad! (And Aunt Ami... and well, grandma...) I only give him a small treat after potty, other than that I can be found telling Matthew under my breath that Matthew's going to have to pay for his gastric bypass at 13! And now, teeth...

So, regardless of who's responsible for what portion, Dad is taking him back to the dentist for the fillings next Thursday. They are so small that they plan to just give him nitrous and no shot or sedation or anything. I am sorry I will miss the nitrous. But, have I mentioned mouth things oog me out? Matthew might just be on dental duty the entirety of our children's childhoods.

Dylan's teeth looked fabulous of course. This dentist was different than the last one and he was kind of laughing at her single front tooth, in her mouth and the x-ray. It's pretty cute.

Speaking of mouth things... whatever that thing was in Asher's mouth is gone, it's been gone since the next day, I think, I am trying to remember the timing. It just deflated and fell off, so yes, very much like a blood blister in a quickly healing mouth. There's a red mark and a spot that's raised up there so I am still going to the appointment. I have pictures, I need to find out what it is.

Charlotte's birthday party was Saturday and Duncan and Dylan got to pet a real bunny! Dylan LOVED it! We were totally outnumbered at this thing and Dylan didn't get to be as involved as I would have liked (daddy was in charge of Ian and Dylan while I was feeding Asher). Oh well, Duncan had a blast and now we know Shannon and Tracy have a cotton candy maker (dangerous... did I mention I had a sweet tooth?).

The appointment line up next week is Dr. Endo on Monday where Matthew will be flying solo, there and to the lab after. It's easier for him to take her than me to take Dylan and Asher so off he goes. We might do something fun as a family that day, so Matthew's taking it off. We will see if the stars align and we can all go out.

Tuesday is Asher at the ENT.

Wednesday is my OB follow-up (Which means Asher is 7 weeks, boo). LouAnn has all three of the big kids while I go, lucky lady. Which means I will be walking out the door and hour before my appointment to make sure I am on time. Good times.

Thursday is the Dentist.

Big appointment week, but nothing too crazy. It will be good for the kids to get out of the house since next week is their spring break. I had no idea until Shelly told me this morning so it's a good thing she mentioned it. She told me to try not to go crazy! Too late my friend, too late.

That's it, that's all I got.

I tried to get a picture of my boys, by myself. This was as good as it got! Not too bad, but not my best work. (Where's Jill when you need her?)


Bigs and littles... click on it, take a look at that eye color and weigh in. Am I getting a blue eyed boy?


My shower sitter. He will sit in the bouncey seat and watch TV while I am in the shower. He's at the upper limit and his bum probably touches the floor but he feels big anyway.


Dylan not cooperating for a St. Patty's day photo shoot.


She's still cute though.


Trying not to wake up.

Thumbs up to cardio!

Took Dylan to Dr. Cardio and it went great. So much better than expected! I had been wishing all along that we didn't get any surprises. Too often we take these kids to some random follow up appointment and are given some new word to go home and Google. So, off we went knowing that based on our last Cardio appointment this outpatient surgery was immanent.

We left bright and early... Boo. Dumped the older boys on Ami with messy pants and all (sorry!). We had just whipped them right out of bed, stuck them in their seats and drove off. We were still five minutes late! (We are always late!)

Her Echo was fine, Asher was demanding but Matthew had the situation handled. I really didn't even get to participate. After we met with her teeny tiny Dr. Cardio (This gal is so teeny... she's adorable, pocket sized... I bet she's worked really hard to not be thought of like that. I mean it strictly as a compliment of course).

Dr. Cardio said her ASD looked "Significantly smaller" than it was before! REALLY? Her right ventricle is still enlarged, which is expected, it will take some time to get back down to normal, but the ASD is small. So small it may not even need to BE repaired at all! So we go back in two years. TWO. To see what it looks like and if the right ventricle is still enlarged. If it's still enlarged it's an indication that it's working harder than it should have to and we will take a look at repairing then.

Is that crazy? I am telling you... She is living right! Must be!

Also - she lost over a pound when she was sick for a week and puking everything up. Dislike. She only weighed 21 lbs Wednesday. She's weighed 22 for MONTHS and now 21. So not good. As long as everyone plays along I am going to try and feed her every 3 hours and 45 minutes and try to get a whole additional feeding in every day. This requires daddy's cooperation since he will be giving her a midnight feeding.

Funny that little Dylan, her influence shows up everywhere. Ian and his cousin Mallori walk on their knees... well they attempt to, they aren't nearly as good at it as Dylan but they both do it. I told Jill "You know this is not a normal thing, it's not something they watch for developmentally." We were laughing about it. She said that someone in her family was like "What the...?" and she said "Wait, let me explain..." Cute little Dylan makes her mark again! Strike that, I saw Mal last night, she's VERY good at it! Ha! Jill was saying the knees of her clothes get so dirty and I told her she was preaching! I hear that! Mal is just getting into the clothes that Dylan's been knee walking in for a year, so the clothes will already show some wear on the knees.

So I totally forgot to mention that we had company last week. Grandma Shirley had a last minute appointment and she came over and brought us dinner. She said it would probably be easier than going out with all the kids and she was right! It was fun, always good to see my grandma!

Asher started smiling, real genuine smiles, in response to me talking to him. I saw the first one last Monday and then it was confirmed on Tuesday. He's looking quite a bit like Duncan these days... except those eyes... he might be the blue eyed one in the family. I've been wrong before though (Duncan).

Speaking of the littlest one, he's got something crazy going on in his mouth. Like a blood blister on the roof of his mouth, but big...long. Let me tell you, I saw it and freaked right out. Mouth things freak me out... I am already totally ooged at the 79 baby teeth that I will have to deal with at some point. (Matthew's says the fact that I have them counted out is very telling.) Anyway... I took him to the Ped who had no idea what it was and referred me to an ENT. He did say it wasn't a big deal, just that it will have to go, and if it's a Hemangioma he couldn't do it because of the potential for bleeding. My favorite nurse called me today to follow up (my own Dr. wasn't there yesterday) and I was telling her about it and she said finger and toe injuries freak her out. We decided that everyone has their something!

So we made an appointment with Dylan's ENT, they "Squoze" him in... so his appointment is on the 29th. Forever away! In the meantime, it's totally deflated and will probably be gone (I hope...).

Duncanism time - The other day he was standing by me and he grabbed my necklace (We have had countless conversations about the necklace!)

Him, "That your necklace?"
Me, "Yep, that's my necklace! It's a diamond!"
Him, "No, it's a circle!"

In my face!

Also - Thursday I was talking to him about school and he said something about his teachers, I thought he said Angry... I said "Your teachers are angry?" and he said "Oh no! My teachers aren't angry! They are happy!" I think what was so darn cute is that he was shocked that I could possible say his teachers were angry!

He also told me Asher's eyes were broken today.

Last night we said goodbye to Melissa, Aaron and their three girls as they packed up the moving van. Bummer right?! Boo hoo. We have a few blessings and a baptism the second week of April so we will see them again soon.

My baby EAT your baby!! (Amazing what over 4 pounds does on a newborn right?) Still both so tiny though, I mean, this is on my couch cushion.


Buddies


Both of them were trying as hard as they could to roll over, I bet if we left them they would have done it too... they were close!


Wait - I think one of those belongs to us. Uhmm... NOPE! Carry on! (My mom's going to get after me for saying that!)


Jared is seriously such a good sport. (You should have seen him bust out of this like the Hulk.)


Peas in a Pod

C-ya 10th Percentile!

I took Ian to his well child check on Friday and he grew... a little. He's 29.7 inches and 20.6 lbs. That puts him allllmost in the 15th percentile for height and in about the 5th for weight, but weight for height is 25th percentile. He is growing, that's good. As we learned with Dylan, it's not about where in the curve you are (or are not ;) ) but that you are making your own curve.

The doctor asked about his words, or lack thereof and was really funny about it. I told him Ian understands everything he just doesn't say anything himself. I told him the other day to "Get that banana and hand it to mom." He looked at me, picked up the little chunk of banana and held his hand out to me. He's so funny! The doctor said that most third children tend to talk later than the others. In fact, he said it was his third child he remembers taking to the Pediatrician and saying "We tell people this is normal right? Right?" So funny.

I forgot an update on Dylan's bed. She no longer gets out of it, in fact that in and out business only lasted one single night. I am not sure why... the goal was to put her pillow on that end of the bed so she didn't find the exit. She kind of hangs out south of the pillow and is just fine. That and her brilliant father totally found a trick. Pitch black darkness. We have the black out curtains in there, and we took away the night light. Not only does she not get out of bed, she doesn't even get up in the early morning hours on most days! She must wake up and just be bored and go back to sleep. Whatever it is, it's glorious. And I am sure her dad agrees since he is the one getting up to change her now... I am usually up with the other one!

How funny that I just went to get Dylan out of bed from her nap and she was already out playing... Hmmf.

Dylan's Echo and Cardiologist appointment is this week, we are following up on the ASD. Her doctor once described it as 'significant', in fact, it was significant enough for her to have already made the call that Dylan will need surgery to repair it. Often they close on their own. From what I understand the surgery will be outpatient and it will involved inserting this thing that they will use to 'plug the hole' up through that major artery in her leg. Should be a fairly simple surgery... should be. I will know more after this appointment.

Some major news in Matthew's family Uncle Aaron and Aunt Melissa are going to be moving out of state, 9 hours away (but who's counting). They are out of here on Wednesday (boo) because Aaron starts his new job on Monday. It's not going to be a forever thing... but it will be for a while. Thank goodness for three day weekends, I am sure they will have that road home memorized like the back of their hand. Aaron's been over here working on the railing around the porch almost non-stop for a week since this has been so sudden. It's looking AWESOME and I can't wait to see it done... if only it being done didn't mean that it will be moving time. (Boo, again.)

Also Uncle Michael and Aunt Megan "went to the hospital to pick up their baby" on Saturday. Baby Owen Micheal is our newest cousin... this would make a grand total of 26 nieces and nephews for me! 24 on Matthew's side, 2 on mine. (Ha!) Baby Owen is adorable, he looks a lot like his mom, and not a lot like Uncle Michael... yet. He's itty bitty at a whopping 6 lbs, 2 ounces... 20 inches long. (For the record, that would be the same length as Ian but 2 and a half pounds less!)

Ian was wearing Duncan's very cool flame cape the other day and really liking it... I had an idea. So I called LouAnn and told her that, should she choose to make Ian a cape, his favorite fabric is minki!

The next day Ian had a new cape. It. Is. Awesome.

Really.

Pictures cannot accurately convey just how awesome this cape is.

The other day when my sister was here she was wearing some jeans with holes in them. Duncan was VERY worried about her jeans! They were broken. He really wouldn't let it go "Your pants are broken Beth? They have holes? They are broken? You got to fix them Beth? So I offered to let him fix them and he ran off and got the tape.


Cousin "Ba-Kell" Came over to see us a couple of times while her dad is working outside. This particular day she was SUPER helpful because Asher wanted to be back in the womb and she held him until he fell asleep.


Kiko and Asher, chillin playing with the iPad.

Duncan keeping Aaron company for lunch.

Brothers

Duncan really wanted me to take a picture once he realized that's what I was doing. But then he kept gabbing through it.... by the time his mouth was closed Asher's eyes were crossed. So this is what we get!

Snoozin'

No post for a week?

Sheesh, what have I been doing for a whole week?! Where are my priorities people?! I tell you what I have been doing, laundry people! LAUNDRY!

First - I missed the "Spread the word to end the word day" which was on March 2nd. I am sure I would have had something very profound and important to say about starting to try and eliminate the word 'retard' from your vocabulary... Okay, I probably wouldn't have. The truth is, I notice when people use it... and wince. I wince for my friends who have special needs kids in school and really care that people stop using it. I might even kiddingly mention not saying it, especially if it's said in my own house... But, I didn't feel too strongly about it. Until I read what someone else had written about it. Her post was much more profound and important than mine could ever be and it stirred up some strong emotions.

I would encourage you to hop on over to Love That Max to check it out if you have the time. Really. I promise if you read it you won't feel the same about the r-word. Here's the link.

If you ask people not to use to word retard.

On to other things. Egads! Dylan's Cardiology appointment was due in February! I knew we were late, but... all I remembered was that we were supposed to follow up at three and a half, apparently slightly before that. Oh well, it's scheduled for this month, hooray!

Unfortunately we had to cancel the D's dentist appointment that was scheduled because we had to coordinate an Echocardiogram, EKG as well as the appointment so we just grabbed the first one they had. I rescheduled the appointment for the dentist for the next week.

It's a crazy appointment month, Cardiologist, Endocrinologist, Dentist, Ian's Well-Child, my post-partum check up. Egads, too many things too coordinate!

Asher's great, he's a wee bit urpy but all of my kids have been but Dylan so you know, we roll with it. Extra time getting all the bubble out, sleeping in the bouncey seat, we manage. He's super cute.

Speaking of urpy, my poor little girl is sick again. Between the 'rhea and the pukes she's a big mess. I am just glad that it's both ends because when she throws up this bad I start to wonder about reflux and have other concerns so I will deal with the 'rhea as reassurance it's a bug or something. Matthew and I were up at 2:00 the morning of my birthday giving her a bath. When we went to bed (Asher was awake still...) Matthew commented that we make a good team if we don't try to get any sleep! It was a two person job anyway!

Her motility has really slowed with this bug that she has... we cannot get any food in this little person! Normally if she's sick it slows for a day or two but we are going on a full week of less than normal feed amounts. She is far too skinny for this! Yet, if we push it in, up it comes, like a very impressive fountain.

Because her eyes were a little goopy too I ran her over to Trina's house to rule out an ear infection. Trina might regret telling me she has an otoscope and is prepared to use it! It's far easier to run over there, leave everyone in the car and run a kid in for a minute or two than it would be to get to the doctor! (For that I dedicate this purple blog to her...)

And, for super cuteness, we sat down for dinner the other night and Duncan reminded us that we needed to 'fold our arms.' So Matthew helped him do the prayer.

"Dear Heavenly Father"
"Dear Heavenly Fah-der"
"Thank you for our family"
"Thank you for our family"
"Please bless this food"
"Please bless this food... ...and my ketchup"

Matthew and I tried not to crack up too much while they finished the prayer. Loving that he's starting to say the prayer himself! And his ketchup will bring many blessings I am sure.

I had a super wonderful birthday last week. The evening of my birthday Shannon and Tracy came over for a raclette dinner. Not sure how it happened, raclette dinners are a TON of work and there it was, catered... DELISH. Big fat thanks to Shannon who did some crazy running around to buy and prepare... I don't think Matthew realized how much work goes in to that type of dinner. It was soooo good though, next time we will definatly help prepare, I promise... (Men!)

Friday Bob and Beth brought me a homemade lunch. We eat out so much he figured a homemade meal would be a better treat, and it was! Yum! (Duncan also made us pray then too...). That night dinner at mom's house.

We got a visit from Trina and Steve on Saturday. She hadn't been feeling well and had yet to meet Asher. I will consider it a special birthday visit though since there was a present involved! (woot!)

On Saturday mom and Bob watched the kids and we went out to dinner with Jessica and Steve, also DELISH. We decided dinner's are the way to do birthdays, especially with this group since we are all pretty spoiled rotten. As if that wasnt enough when we walked out she handed me a beautiful cake that her sister made! The decorations were fondant, but the icing and filling were vanilla buttercream.

The cake was gorgeous, and it taste as good as it looked! Amazing! This is her website if we have any locals needing a cake or party favors. My Favorite Cake Place.

The cakes are beautiful and delicious... we were fortunate to get the cupcake leftovers from her open house a few weeks ago and Suzie (our resident dessert expert) said it was the best Red Velvet that she has ever had!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

The bummer news of the week is that me, in all my brilliance, left the freezer door open... last Monday. Matthew found it on Saturday. YUCK. And what a waste... It was kind of sickening thinking about how much money in food was wasted. He's so sweet though, because he had already asked me to lock it every time and after he found it he said "So do I talk to you again about locking the freezer or [something else that I must not have listened to because I can't remember]" and I told him he should do whatever makes him feel better since I already elt bad about it.

He left to go feed Dylan and came back and apoligized for snapping at me. (Which he totally didn't do, he's such a nice guy!) Then he went down and cleaned it all up.

I suppose a forced clean out of the freezer was due... but ughhh at wasted food.

Chillin' on Aunt Beth (the pictures with her in them she wouldn't approve of... she looks like she is being coy.)

We had Melissa cut her hair off, not that you can tell in this picture...

Uncle Aaron is working on a railing for our front porch. It was very fascinating.

Very

My yummy cake!

Can't really tell here either. This chick is HARD to get a good picture of, I tried all morning.

Dylie saliva and dog hair, both risks when you come to our house.

The funny part of this picture is Ian with Duncan's jammy bottoms around his neck in the background. Since we started the around the neck thing, everything goes around the neck. There's usually some item of clothing or a blanket there.

He's faking it, I promise. He looked quite pleasant in the next shot!

You would almost think he could read right?