Devyn had her 2 month check-up on Tuesday. She has grown like crazy! She is in the 80th percentile. The dr is very happy with her growth and her development. She asked a lot about her rash that we had been in about (when we saw the other pediatrician). I told her what the allergist said and she agreed. I felt justified that she agreed cutting out milk would help. She said that we should also try giving her probiotic drops and that I shouldn't eat butter either (in addition to milk and cheese..for some reason eggs don't bother her tummy). So after finding the expensive little drops we're hoping for some progress. I did read a study where 50% of babies improved from their mother not drinking milk. 95% (95!) of babies improved when their mother cut out milk and gave probiotic drops. Essentially they think these drops are the cure for colic and that's what pediatricians are recommending for colic now. We've been that rare case all too often and are hoping to be in that 95% this time.
As for Noah we discovered what seems to be a new allergy. Boo. We fed him a packet of instant oatmeal with his zyrtec mixed in on Sunday. This face all around his mouth broke out in hives. We thought maybe he was allergic to something in the zyrtec. Tuesday I fed him a packet of the same oatmeal without the zyrtec mixed in. The same thing happened. I guess he's allergic to something in the instant oatmeal. I'm guessing it's the dehydrated apples. Grr. The pediatrician agreed that it's probably the deydrated apples, but could be an additive in the oatmeal or just an irritation of the skin. The apples seeem to be the most likely candidate. She said that if I really want to try to feed him any the oatmeals like that to give them carefully and watch him. So, back to regular old oats it is. I would rather spend a couple of extra minutes making the old fashioned oats and not risk it. Too many times I read stories of kids having accidental exposure to an allergen or not getting help soon enough. It's also frustrating to hear there are still people who don't really think of it as a life or death situation. It absolutely is. I am not at all sorry that your kid can't have peanut butter and jelly at school. I am in no way sorry. When it means my kids life I will be his tireless advocate every time. Avoiding peanuts/nuts is hard enough. I don't need people dismissing the seriousness of it. So next time you hear someone complain how ridiculous it is that peanut butter isn't allowed please remind them that my child's life is much more important than the your child's desire to eat peanut butter. Get soy butter, people. Your child will survive. Mine may not if you sneak in peanut butter (I've heard of this happening). This may sound harsh, but it's reality. This is not a lifestyle choice. This is a real, true medical condition. Ok, enough about that.
Other than that the boys are hilarious these days. They got Curious George stuffed animals for their birthday. They LOVE them. They kiss them, put them in Devyn's swing, sleep with them, put them in a chair next to them at breakfast and offer them Cheerios...too funny. I'll post pictures sometime. For now I must go pick up the screaming Ms. Devyn.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
The allergist and 2 year check-up
We had 2 appointments this week. The first was the pediatrician. That was a great appointment. The boys were very cooperative! They were a little nervous, which actually helps. She said they all look great. Noah has grown like a weed and is now around 35" tall and 27 pounds. Aiden is in the middle at 34" and 24 pounds. Reese is still the peanut at 33" and 24 pounds. Noah is average for 2 years old (55th percentile) and Reese is tiny 15th percentile). It still amazes me that they were born so small and early. You would never know they were early. They are doing great developmentally as well. They don't have to go back until they turn 3. Yes! Although, we'll probably be back before then..illness tends to brings us back before our scheduled appointments. They are kids and they pick up germs like nobody's business. On a random note, whenever they ask how early they were I say they were born at 32 weeks, 5 days. They normally put them down as 32 week triplets, but I always remind them of the 5 days. Every day was a struggle, so I want credit for every day. They always look at me like I'm a little crazy, but anyone with multiples will definitely understand that!
The second appointment was the allergist. We talked about Noah most of the time. Thankfully we have had no incidents that required the epipen or any other intervention..yet. I'm sure at some point we'll be faced with a situation. I have a lot of nightmares about that and do a lot of praying that I'll respond quickly when it does happen. We also talked about his asthma and the fact that the nebulizer seems to really be helping keep it controlled. I asked his opinion about the increase in food allergies. He asked what I had read. I told him I read one about vaccines being the cause. He asked if I believed it and I said that I don't. He agreed and said it was complete nonsense. I also said I had read that the way our food is grown (gmo's) and processed were a factor and that I did believe that. He agreed that there could be some truth to that one. Scary, isn't it? I also have read the we don't give kids nuts early enough. He said there is a study about that and that you could read it either way. You can read it that we don't give them early enough or read the same study and gather that we should wait. The roasted vs. boiled nuts theory is probably not true either. Basically there is no good answer. He talked about the fact that the immune system is the most complex system in the body and trying to figure it out is extremely difficult. He said that all the blood tests that show allergies often show false positives and really don't give a true picture of the severity of allergies either. So knowing whether or not someone will react to a food is a guess. Scary!!! He said the fact that Noah's reaction was so severe the first time and the fact that he has asthma makes his an allergy that he'll live with forever. It's often difficult to know where it is safe to take Noah and where we should avoid. Dr. Wolf said it's always going to be a gamble no matter how careful we are. I think we should just become hermits. :)
I also asked him about Devyn. He didn't really want to look at her too much because she's so little and not his patient. He talked to me quite a bit about her, but wanted to make sure I talk more to our regular pediatrician. He said that at her age it's early to talk about an allergy. That being said he completely disagrees with the pediatrician we saw who said it was just excema and not related to food. He said the excema would have been on her face. It would have been somewhere that she could scratch which at this point would only be her face. He asked about our detergent and what we wash her with. I make my own detergent, so I know that's not it. We switched what we wash her with and it helped a little. I still notice a difference when I have milk. It absolutely gives her tummy aches and some sort of rash. He said to do some experimenting to figure it out. I told him I did and that I cut milk out of my diet. His words were, "Then I think you have your answer". He said that he disagrees with the pediatrician (not our regular one, the other dr. we saw) that it would be unlikely that it would be food. He said it's very likely and what I eat certainly does pass to her and can certainly cause all of this. That being said he wants me to mention all of it to the pediatrician and talk to her more about the rash. It's hard to say what the real cause is. She is looking better, but the rash is still there a little bit. She goes for her 2 month check-up on Tuesday and we'll talk more to our pediatrician at that appointment. Hopefully she can help with some suggestions or an idea of where to go next!
The second appointment was the allergist. We talked about Noah most of the time. Thankfully we have had no incidents that required the epipen or any other intervention..yet. I'm sure at some point we'll be faced with a situation. I have a lot of nightmares about that and do a lot of praying that I'll respond quickly when it does happen. We also talked about his asthma and the fact that the nebulizer seems to really be helping keep it controlled. I asked his opinion about the increase in food allergies. He asked what I had read. I told him I read one about vaccines being the cause. He asked if I believed it and I said that I don't. He agreed and said it was complete nonsense. I also said I had read that the way our food is grown (gmo's) and processed were a factor and that I did believe that. He agreed that there could be some truth to that one. Scary, isn't it? I also have read the we don't give kids nuts early enough. He said there is a study about that and that you could read it either way. You can read it that we don't give them early enough or read the same study and gather that we should wait. The roasted vs. boiled nuts theory is probably not true either. Basically there is no good answer. He talked about the fact that the immune system is the most complex system in the body and trying to figure it out is extremely difficult. He said that all the blood tests that show allergies often show false positives and really don't give a true picture of the severity of allergies either. So knowing whether or not someone will react to a food is a guess. Scary!!! He said the fact that Noah's reaction was so severe the first time and the fact that he has asthma makes his an allergy that he'll live with forever. It's often difficult to know where it is safe to take Noah and where we should avoid. Dr. Wolf said it's always going to be a gamble no matter how careful we are. I think we should just become hermits. :)
I also asked him about Devyn. He didn't really want to look at her too much because she's so little and not his patient. He talked to me quite a bit about her, but wanted to make sure I talk more to our regular pediatrician. He said that at her age it's early to talk about an allergy. That being said he completely disagrees with the pediatrician we saw who said it was just excema and not related to food. He said the excema would have been on her face. It would have been somewhere that she could scratch which at this point would only be her face. He asked about our detergent and what we wash her with. I make my own detergent, so I know that's not it. We switched what we wash her with and it helped a little. I still notice a difference when I have milk. It absolutely gives her tummy aches and some sort of rash. He said to do some experimenting to figure it out. I told him I did and that I cut milk out of my diet. His words were, "Then I think you have your answer". He said that he disagrees with the pediatrician (not our regular one, the other dr. we saw) that it would be unlikely that it would be food. He said it's very likely and what I eat certainly does pass to her and can certainly cause all of this. That being said he wants me to mention all of it to the pediatrician and talk to her more about the rash. It's hard to say what the real cause is. She is looking better, but the rash is still there a little bit. She goes for her 2 month check-up on Tuesday and we'll talk more to our pediatrician at that appointment. Hopefully she can help with some suggestions or an idea of where to go next!
Friday, August 16, 2013
Get real
I'm tired. That's just reality. Devyn is not a great baby. She has terrible gas and is crabby quite often. I'm trying to cut dairy out of my diet and that seems to be helping a bit. I feel bad for her because she's uncomfortable so often. Oddly enough nights tend to be better than days. She might go 3-4 hours between feedings the first time around at night..although it depends on the night..and then it's back to every 2 hours. It's still way better than being up with 3 little baby boys at night! :) I took her to the dr. on Monday because she has a rash all over her body that started on her face. We had to see the partner dr. because ours is on vacation. He said it's just really bad excema and that she has extremely sensitive skin. He said to be sure I don't keep her to warm and to bathe her every day. Yuck. I hate giving baths. But I don't want her to be miserable, so I do it. I asked about the constant discomfort and he says it's normal. We're not buying it. I'll talk to the pediatrician more Monday when I take the boys for their 2 year check-up and the allergist Tuesday when I take Noah for his check-up there. Maybe they'll have some ideas of what could be going on.
The boys has an AWESOME 2nd birthday! The weekend of their birthday we took them to a restaurant with trains for breakfast (I can't remember if I posted about that..again, tired). Last weekend we had their party, which was great, and then took them to a splash pad by our house on Sunday after church. They loved it! It was a lot of fun! I really wanted to write a post entitled, "Your kid is a jerk.". There was a really mean older kid who was being mean to the boys and rude to me. I think being tired made it worse. I decided against writing an entire post about it. Parent your kids people or they'll turn out to be jerks as adults. Sorry, rant over. I'm learning how to protect my boys and how to let them deal with mean people. It's a hard balance. I want to knock over every kid that's mean to them, but I know it's not helpful. Ok, I'm really done now.
I've been thinking about lots of different posts, which I still hope to get to, such as: hidden blessings (remembering that when my boys are naughty and plotting together that this is normal development and I should be grateful for that), why I won't be mother of the year (because some days I just stink at my job of being a mom-that's real life!), and things not to say to parents of multiples (I hope you're done!-yes we've heard that MANY times!). Hopefully I get around to writing all these at some point.
The boys has an AWESOME 2nd birthday! The weekend of their birthday we took them to a restaurant with trains for breakfast (I can't remember if I posted about that..again, tired). Last weekend we had their party, which was great, and then took them to a splash pad by our house on Sunday after church. They loved it! It was a lot of fun! I really wanted to write a post entitled, "Your kid is a jerk.". There was a really mean older kid who was being mean to the boys and rude to me. I think being tired made it worse. I decided against writing an entire post about it. Parent your kids people or they'll turn out to be jerks as adults. Sorry, rant over. I'm learning how to protect my boys and how to let them deal with mean people. It's a hard balance. I want to knock over every kid that's mean to them, but I know it's not helpful. Ok, I'm really done now.
I've been thinking about lots of different posts, which I still hope to get to, such as: hidden blessings (remembering that when my boys are naughty and plotting together that this is normal development and I should be grateful for that), why I won't be mother of the year (because some days I just stink at my job of being a mom-that's real life!), and things not to say to parents of multiples (I hope you're done!-yes we've heard that MANY times!). Hopefully I get around to writing all these at some point.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Golden
Today the boys turn 2!! That means today is their golden birthday. I almost can't believe it. I can still see the day they were born so clearly in my head. There were at least 30 people crammed into the operating room and people looking in the window on the door to see them being born. I can also remember being surprised when the dr. said, "Here comes baby A!" and not knowing that they had even started. Suddenly Aiden was filling the room with a loud cry. No surprise there..he's still really loud. :) Then came little Noah, which is ironic because he's by far the biggest now. Finally Reese came and his cry was so quiet we couldn't really hear it. I was so worried about him. He's still the one that makes me worry all the time.
2 years later they're busy playing with trains and having conversations with each other. I can't believe it. My babies aren't really babies any more. Honestly, I'm relieved. I'm not worried that they'll just forget to keep breathing, wondering if they're eating enough and thinking about how terribly long the night is (although..more on that later). It never gets easier to have 3 at once, it just gets different (if that makes sense). Now the hard part is so different..tantrums, potty training and general stubborn behavior. I love every age and right now I love how verbal they are and how much they learn every day.
As for nights. Ms. Devyn is not the easiest baby. I think that's putting it nicely. She has reflux and has a crampy tummy. It makes for fussy days and often uncomfortable nights. Not to mention she wants to eat constantly because it feels good on her reflux. So I have to try to keep her happy without letting her eat all the time. She has some serious rolls starting on her legs! :) It's pretty darn cute to have rolly legs when you're a baby. She is one month old as of last Saturday and smiled at me for the first time. I suppose I shouldn't be so flattered though. I caught her smiling at the ceiling fan last night.
Now I'm off to spend a day with my 3 crazy 2 year old boys. It's raining like crazy and they are all yelling, "It's raining!" out the window. I suppose we'll just have to have fun inside today. Happy Birthday to my 3 favorite little boys. We often wonder what life was like before them and decide it must have been really boring. They bring so much joy and craziness to our life.
2 years later they're busy playing with trains and having conversations with each other. I can't believe it. My babies aren't really babies any more. Honestly, I'm relieved. I'm not worried that they'll just forget to keep breathing, wondering if they're eating enough and thinking about how terribly long the night is (although..more on that later). It never gets easier to have 3 at once, it just gets different (if that makes sense). Now the hard part is so different..tantrums, potty training and general stubborn behavior. I love every age and right now I love how verbal they are and how much they learn every day.
As for nights. Ms. Devyn is not the easiest baby. I think that's putting it nicely. She has reflux and has a crampy tummy. It makes for fussy days and often uncomfortable nights. Not to mention she wants to eat constantly because it feels good on her reflux. So I have to try to keep her happy without letting her eat all the time. She has some serious rolls starting on her legs! :) It's pretty darn cute to have rolly legs when you're a baby. She is one month old as of last Saturday and smiled at me for the first time. I suppose I shouldn't be so flattered though. I caught her smiling at the ceiling fan last night.
Now I'm off to spend a day with my 3 crazy 2 year old boys. It's raining like crazy and they are all yelling, "It's raining!" out the window. I suppose we'll just have to have fun inside today. Happy Birthday to my 3 favorite little boys. We often wonder what life was like before them and decide it must have been really boring. They bring so much joy and craziness to our life.
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