Another Walker/house update

I don't even know where to begin; so much is going on in our lives! So many of our friends and family have called and/or texted asking about Walker and the house and we haven't had enough quiet minutes to respond the way we would like to so I thought I'd do it here again.

As for Walker...
The day of his swallow test we switched from rice cereal to oatmeal because we'd heard it would be better on his tummy. Unfortunately we didn't see any difference and the oatmeal was even harder for him to get down. There is a reason babies aren't supposed to have anything other than breast milk or formula before six months of age-their poor little tummies and digestive systems just aren't developed and mature enough to handle it. So while thickening his bottles was helping some with the reflux, it was making his tummy hurt so bad that he screamed all day with gas pains and constipation. We were feeling so desperate at this point. I've been afraid to switch to Prilosec (a third and final medicine option) in fear of it not working as good and us taking steps back while giving it a two week trial. A friend of mine told me about taking her week old baby to a chiropractor for an adjustment and it healing her reflux. I've never necessarily had a reason to, but have always been very leery of chiropractors and the thought of taking my BABY to one really seemed out there so I didn't even consider it. I was texting with an old college friend one day about two weeks ago who I haven't seen or talked to in months and was filling her in on what's been going on with Walker. She told me they took their first child (who was born at 27 weeks) to a chiropractor when she only weighed five pounds and it also cured her reflux. Really trusting this friend and her maternal instincts and decisions, I thought it might be worth a shot. I called the same chiropractor she used and had an appointment scheduled for the following day. He was able to get a good look at Walker's spine without x-rays and said he was in fact out of alignment in several places. He explained to us how our spine really controls every part of our body and how certain things can be affected when out of alignment. It all seemed to make perfect sense but I still wasn't buying that it could fix our baby. He showed us what he would do to Walker to align him and let us feel what it would feel like to him. It didn't hurt at all so we decided we were willing to give it a try. Y'all! For the rest of the day Walker was the most peaceful and content he's been in two months. He NURSED for every single feeding the rest of the day. It was like a miracle! I was beginning to think my nursing days were over. He went back that Friday (a week ago today) for a second exam and two places needed adjusting again. Since the first adjustment we have only thickened ONE bottle, and that was before his second adjustment. We are so thankful that he has been eating better and I am so happy to be nursing him again and not having to plug up that dang pump every couple of hours!

I really thought if we could get the reflux under control Walker would be the most happy, content baby. Unfortunately he has still been very fussy. Despite him being off of rice and oatmeal, his tummy is still giving him a lot of issues. He screams out in gas pain a lot even though my diet has been extremely bland for over two months now. At this point I have to think the Prevacid is what's causing the trouble. Thankfully he naps great and has been giving us some eight hour stretches at night but he is usually crying or screaming most of the time he's awake. I'm lucky to catch a smile or two each day. He has a good day here and there and I get my hopes up that he's grown out of it but then it's back to screaming the next day. Because he is so fussy we don't make it out much and that has been very hard on Gray, who is used to being out and about most of the day. As hard as it's been, I know from experience with Gray that he will get better and this isn't an indication of what his personality will be like. I try to remind myself that the days are long but the years are so short. Here's hoping for a happier, more content fourth month of life.

As for the house...
We closed last Friday, praise the Lord!! It got pushed back several days because the sellers were out of town and weren't here to sign their part of the paperwork. Because of that, they agreed to let us in the house last Tuesday, which was our original closing date. The painter started that day is almost finished with the whole house now. The hallway, living room, dining room and both bathrooms were wall papered so we spent a lot of time last weekend tearing it down. We didn't even come close to finishing it. Paul started back to school Monday for teacher work days and is be gone every evening with soccer. I can't get anything done over there when the boys are with me so we had to pay someone (a family member a awesome handy man!) to finish it along with some other things we weren't going to have time to do before moving in. It's already looking so much better over there and it's been so exciting to see the transformation. Fresh paint and new lighting alone will make it seem like a brand new house.

We hope to start moving in next weekend and I can't wait to blog with some before and after pictures when I get some spare time-ha! Have I mentioned we've only packed one box?

Have a good weekend, y'all!

Walker update/house update

Walker had his swallow test yesterday at Brenner's Children's Hospital. It was a pretty simple test and he was a little champ. They basically just buckled him in a seat and x-rayed him as he took a bottle of pumped breast milk. The images showed that his milk is going to the right place and he is not aspirating at all. We are so thankful because it sounded like a swallowing dysfunction could be difficult to treat, mean all bottles (I'm still holding out hope that he will be able to nurse more regularly again), and last for at least a year.

Though we are very thankful for the good news we got yesterday, we are still hoping there is an answer to why our sweet boy is still having so much trouble with feedings. He almost never nurses anymore, which still makes me so sad. I miss the sweet bonding experience and quite frankly, I HATE pumping and am having a really hard time finding it possible to do so every couple of hours during the day. But for now I'm going to keep trying.

Walker's overall temperament is still getting better and he is much more content, even the witching hours are starting to improve. But feedings are still really inconsistent. Sometimes he takes a bottle with no problem but usually it's a fight to get it down and sometimes takes almost an hour. You can imagine how difficult that is with a two year old on my hands!

At Walker's well visit the doctor told us to increase the amount of rice cereal in his bottles substantially. The bottles seemed
to be going down a little better but within just a day or two he was constipated (I'm guessing from all the iron in the cereal) and screaming out with really bad gas. We have switched to oatmeal now and are hoping that gets better but haven't seemed to get the amount of oatmeal and correct bottle nipple size down pat for him. It's either flowing out too fast and he screams or it's too thick and he is ticked that he can't get it out. Ahhh! One day we will figure this out, surely! I'm not sure what the next steps are yet. We are probably going to give Prilosec a try, it's a third and final medicine option for reflux. We may be referred to a GI specialist as well.

Being at Brenner's yesterday was another reminder and perspective that this is such a minor issue. Though it's frustrating for Walker and for us, it's not anything life threatening and we are just so thankful for that.

Now for an update on the new house...we had to walk away last week while negotiating with the sellers over the inspection list regarding repairs. It was so nerve racking! Thankfully within a short time they came back to us with something acceptable. All major road blocks in that department are cleared now and we are scheduled to close next Friday! They are actually going to let us in on Tuesday (original closing date) to start cleaning and tearing down wall paper. We ordered our paint yesterday and the painter will start next week. It's starting to feel real and we are really getting excited. We still haven't packed one box and I've yet to find a minute to start. We are going to be relying a lot on family and friends to help and are so thankful for the time we know they are willing to spend helping us in this crazy time.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us. We know this crazy season of life is so brief in the grand scheme of things. God is more than good!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Walker-Two months

Baby boy was two months old on Tuesday, the 29th. He had a pretty rough second month of life with lots of fussy days and a difficult time with feedings. His overall temperament has been much better the last two weeks and feedings have gotten better for the most part over the last week. We are finally getting more smiles and he is actually content to just sit in his bouncer or be on his play mat. He is getting mostly pumped bottles thickened with rice cereal to help with his reflux. My boy likes milkshakes-can you blame him? He has only been nursing once or twice a day and some days not even that much. It makes my heart so sad but I don't want to nurse him bad enough to make it painful for him and frustrating for the both of us. We went to the doctor yesterday for his two month well visit and growth stats. He had his first shots which resulted in the longest silent cry I've ever seen. It broke my Mommy heart! The doctor was pleased with his growth and we will check in after his swallowing test, which is scheduled for this Wednesday.

Now more about our chunky monkey at two months...

weighs 13 pounds, 8 ounces (75th %tile). Gray was 12.1 at two months.

is 23 and a half inches long-up two and a half inches since birth! (70th %tile). Gray was 24 inches at two months.

has a head measurement of 40.4 centimeters (84th %tile)

wears size 3 month clothes and size 2 diapers

still sleeps swaddled at night and for most long naps if we are home

takes two long naps a day, usually in his swing and sometimes a third one or either lots of dosing in the late afternoons/early evenings

is starting to give us more consistent 5-6 hour stretches at night (praise the Lord!!!). He usually goes down for the night around 9:30 or 10:00 and on a good night sleeps until 3:00 or 4:00 and goes back to sleep until 7:00/7:30. We had hoped he would be sleeping consistently in his crib by this point but will only sleep in an upright position and until we get his reflux or whatever else is going on under control we aren't pushing the crib. My friend Meredith let us borrow her rock n play and he sleeps in that at night.

takes four ounces with rice cereal in his bottles

is on 3mL of Prevacid twice a day for reflux

smiles at Mommy and Daddy's voices and if we touch his nose and lips. He smiled at Gray for the first time this week and I don't know who was happier, Mommy or big brother! :)

loves lights, ceiling fans and his mobile

is getting better about being a content car rider (PTL again!!)

loves the bath

loves tummy time and even falls asleep on his tummy sometimes

I really think we are going to have a very happy and content baby once we can get these feedings figured out.

Bustin out of these 3 months jeans

I don't think they look alike here, but we've been seeing a lot more of Gray in Walker as he gets older. Both are just so handsome and perfect and we are so blessed.

Gray 2 months/Walker 2 months


 

I''ll post next week with results from Walker's swallowing test and an update on the new house.