When Matt read my post on Chick-Fil-A there were ZERO comments, and I believe he took it as a sign that nobody gives a flying flip about my views on the BEST fast food restaurant EVAH. Well, 84 comments and counting - so IN HIS FACE! I knew you gals wouldn't play when it comes to CFA. (I didn't mean for that to rhyme. That, my friends, is just an added bonus - from me to you).
So I got eight and a half hours of sleep last night. That's right. Count 'em. Eight and a half. I was asleep by 11, Jonah woke up at 4:30 to eat, ate a full four ounces peacefully (Matt must have the touch. It hasn't happened before or since) while I pumped, was wide awake still at 5:30, but we put him back in bed and turned on his mobile, he fell asleep on his own, and didn't wake up again until 8:30. Pretty amazing. I feel like a new person. He's only slept through the night once, but I consider 11 to 4:30 sleeping through the night enough that it counts. A girl could get used to this.
Except for that one feeding, he's still crying, fussing, and flailing through all his feedings. I'm not eating dairy, but am still giving him old milk. A blog reader wrote and told me that milk proteins and lactose stay in breast milk up to two weeks after you've last had it, so I guess this will be a longer endeavor than first anticipated. I'm going to keep giving him old milk until I'm sure I'm fairly lactose free, and then I'll give him fresh milk to see if it makes a difference. I don't think it's lactose intolerance though. His poops are normal and he's not spitting up a lot. I think it's really bad acid reflux combined with the fact that he's probably got some blisters in his throat. Can you imagine??? He's now on Prevacid twice a day and Zantac three times a day trying to get it under control. He has an appt scheduled with a GI doctor at Brenner's on June 24th. I hate him being on that much medication, but he's in so much pain when he eats. I may try to give him a soy formula bottle later today, just to see if that makes a difference... just in case.
We have two friends, Greg and Monica, who take a date night every Tuesday night. They get a sitter and then head out. Well, they've decided to spend some of their date nights with us, so last night they came over after dressing change. We got take-out Japanese and just hung around the house. Probably not so exciting to them, but SO GREAT to me. Monica and I went to pick up the food, and just those few minutes out on a beautiful summer evening did me so much good. It's been 90 degrees here the last couple days, so Jonah and I have been home bound. It makes for some very long days, and I get really stir-crazy. I'm really dreading official summer and the hot days of July and August. I don't even feel like I can take him indoor places if a feeding is coming up, because of the scene it is. It would draw lots of attention, and I'm just not in the market for lots of attention when we go out in public.
Speaking of Greg and Monica, their daughter, Madison, will be celebrating her first birthday this Saturday, so Jonah will be attending his very first birthday party. It's supposed to be a much cooler day, but they will also have their house open to guests if it's too hot for baby Jonut. Monica and I went through our pregnancies together (when I was pregnant with Gabe), so we've always had a special bond, and I'm so excited to see Maddie turning 1-year-old. I just can't believe it. It will be fun to see her change and grow and to imagine Gabe the same age. Anyway, they're wonderful friends, and I'm so glad we got to hang out last night (social interaction - woot woot!), and we can't wait for the birthday party Saturday. Hopefully Jonah will cooperate. I'd hate to have to leave him behind as an extra special birthday gift. (Just kidding, of course.)
On the magnet front, I have yet to see one as I drive around Kernersville. I'm so excited for the day when I'm driving around and see one on a car of a non-family member. (Beware strangers, I will stop you and give you a hug). I know they're out there. A lady from Jacksonville emailed to let us know she had seen one on another car in Jacksonville. Florida. Crazy. Oh, I've been meaning to tell you to take your magnet off your car before you go through a car wash. We have a certain family member (not to mention any names... Aunt Melanie) who lost hers that way. I would hate for you guys to have to buy a second magnet to replace a car wash casualty. Hmmm... On second thought, make sure you leave your magnet on your car when you go through a car wash. They're really dirty and could use a good scrubbin'. Seriously.
Beach Vacation Countdown: 31 days
Okay, end of random post. The pump has deemed that my "free time" is up. Back to the front lines.
Happy Wednesday. (It is Wednesday, right?)
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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45 comments:
Just a comment on the feedings...my son did NOT like frozen/thawed breast milk (WHAT??). My pediatrician told me there isn't really a difference between fresh and frozen, but my little guy sure could tell. While he would guzzle down a freshly pumped bottle (I pumped exclusively with both of my kids), he began squirming, fussing, and fighting every bottle that contained frozen milk. I tried to get tricky with him and mix fresh with the frozen, and if there was too much frozen milk he would refuse. After weeks and weeks of trying, I eventually had to give up as it wasn't worth the torture I put him through every time feeding time rolled around and we switched over to formula. It KILLED ME to throw away bags and bags of frozen milk (I can't even tell you how many I had, but let's just say I still have some in there almost a year later because it hurt too much to throw it away all at once!). I hope you are able to find the solution to Jonah's eating problems, and I hope he isn't as picky about frozen milk as my son was! I love reading your blog (love your sense of humor!), and your little Jonah is oh so sweet.
Oh it'so hard when you're in the process of ruling things out, but I will tell you that acid reflux is the devil!! I have it, my husband has it and my daughter. it has caused us all a lot of problems. I ended up in the ER thinking I was having a heart attack. My husband threw up daily and my daughter had to give up a voice scholarship because of the effects on her vocal cords. When you find the right combo of medicine though, he will be a different baby. The prevacid family( specifically protonix)works for me but not the hubby and daughter; and prilosec works for them, but does nothing for me. I'm sure it's very different for a baby, but water is our friend. Don't know if any of this will be helpful, but just wanted to give you our perspective.
We are praying for your family.
Robin
Be on the lookout for a silver Suzuki in K-Vegas! I have your magnet! And I too go to Target often with my little one!
We went through the dairy thing too.... the sadder news is not the two week thing but that dairy is in everything. Chick fil a is out of your diet as are french fries from McD's and most breads and lunch meats contain dairy. I've been doing it for 4 weeks now and the diet is terrible... however the product of a happy baby is well worth it. Just make sure that you are not eating dairy without knowing it.... I made that mistake for 2 weeks before I realized and had to start all over. (Also, most babies who are allergic to dairy are also allergic to soy.) Praying for you through all of Johan's problems but also for God's guidance in finding food that you CAN eat.
As far as getting out during the summer heat... you could try going to the mall during the day and just walking him in the stroller. At feeding time, Macy's has a big restroom with a lounge on the second (or is it third?) floor near the kitchen stuff. JC Penney has one too on the second floor on the east side between the women's clothes and the lingerie. And Belk has an entire baby changing room area in the kid's section. And! If you ever venture down to Concord Mills, they have an entire family restroom area / nursing room that is secured, it is near the food court on the west side. The things you learn with a screaming kid!
Hanes mall that is :)
Not sure if this is a viable option for you or not, but there is something called "Pink Magic Mouthwash" that is used for kids who have thrush, fever blisters, hand/foot/mouth virus, cancer etc. It's a combination of benadryl, mylanta, lidocaine etc and is mixed by a pharmacist. It's safe to swallow (although I'm not sure how much is safe to swallow or at what age). If he's got blisters in his throat maybe something like that might help right before he eats?
Also, I have a WONDERFUL friend who is a licensed lactation consultant who would probably be willing to consult with you regarding any breast feeding issues or questions about what might be passing to him in your milk that he's having issues with.
Watch out for the soy spit up! It STAINS! Ashleigh did well on it though, along with the Zantac. (stinky!!! poop, too)
Yup, Wednesday all day! Hump day. Around here the kids will tell you they have just 5 days of school (and the kindergartner would say you could count that on one hand....she's brillant!). We had to move to fresh only with our breast expression. I did all babies on some sort of pumped milk. Too much to explain all that. However, we noticed that there was a difference when they had the milk that was frozen and the milk that was "fresh." Just a thought. I am praying and hoping that feedings improve. I know it would make life so much easier. Thanks for sharing and for letting us peep in. He is just so darn cute. I would not mind you "forgetting" him at our house! I did find that I had to take like EVERYTHING out of the diet and add things back one at a time. My youngest had HUGE reactions to broccoli. All sorts of things could be at work. Happy hunting down clues! Jennifer in Southeast, NC
I was going to mention Magic Mouthwash - my dad used it during radiation treatment and said it was good stuff. (I think you've mentioned it before, too... haven't you?)
I am going to pick up my magnet from EgoHR - but was running too late this morning to stop in... Planning to take our magnet on vacay later this summer, and I'll be sure to send a picture!
I live in Jacksonville, Florida and am proudly sporting my magnet on the back of my uber-cool minivan. Wonder if it was me they saw? How cool is that!
I can't wait until someone stops me to ask what EB is so we can "get this train a movin" even faster, to quote a special lady.
Take care!
I cut out 'everything' I ate with my daughter while I pumped and fed her...milk, onions, almost all fresh veggies, etc. Nothing helped.
Many doctors disagree, so this is my own experience...but my doctor told me to weight the breastmilk down with SMALL amounts of rice cereal. It did WONDERS for my girl's reflux. I guess the concept is the Breast Milk weighted down stays down deeper in the belly, therfore hurting the throat less when baby refluxes.
I remember I gave her some in all her bottles (but not too much to make her constipated) at first. Then when she seemed better I cut out the cereal in all of her 'awake' bottles and only weighted down the bottles that she would take before a nap or night time. I also had to buy nipples with bigger holes.
Good luck, it is so hard when it hurts them to EAT. Poor guy.
Aww..its funny to see another mommy named Monica and her daughter named Madison like me and Monica..I know I'm weird with that sort of stuff...I hope Jonah has fun at the birthday party!
I love reading your posts. Always give me a good laugh. Everything that you have going on, and somehow you seem to make my day.
Happy Wednesday, Patrice! Hope the reflux issues get better. My second and 3rd children both battled it - we used Zantac and also some special medicine that actually had to be compounded at the pharmacy. The name escapes me now (I can't believe that!) but I can find out if you need me to. I'm sure the GI doc will have better advice than I would, anyway!
SO glad you got lots of sleep last night - isn't it funny how the definition of "lots of sleep" changes after you have children? Hope the trend continues! We've been having lots of mid-night storms here in TX lately, so we've had several visits from our 5-year old (whom I've dubbed the Midnight Wanderer). Maybe tonight will be storm-free!
We're rockin' the magnet in McKinney, TX! And as always, praying for you, Matt and sweet Jonah!
Love,
Laura
Love your post, love Jonah's tricks and love CFA! Jesus rocks, bless you guys.
I love reading the 'random' posts - I'm glad to hear that Jonah slept through the night, he evidently needed the rest like mommy! :)
I posted a comment a while back regarding a study being done at the University of Minnesota on EB patients. I wonder every day if you found any information there - regarding their supposed 'cure' for EB?
I check your blog every day and I wish we had a Chik-Filet nearby us...it sounds GREAT!! We live in the boonies!
Continuing to send prayers your way!
Hey! It's my first time leaving a comment! I've been reading since day one. I check it every morning when I get to work. I'm friends with quite a few people that go to your church, and I've just been praying for your family so much! I've purchased a magnent the other day, so I should be getting it soon. I'm always in Kville, so hopefully you'll see it soon!! I'm always at Target so that's a likely place to meet, haha! Take care, and know that LOTS of people are praying! :-) --Michelle from Wallburg
I have seen a couple of Jonah's magnets cruising the streets of Jacksonville and I bought mine yesterday!!!
Mylicon drops helped both of my kids...even more than taking out dairy or changing my diet. Costco is a cheap place to get them.
from a fellow CFA lover.
I just love reading your blog...I am amazed at everything you do and the spirit in which you do it. God definitely chose the right parents for Jonah. He is in my prayers as are you!
**I think it would be fun if people took picts of the back of their vehicles with the magnets and posted them!**
The magnets are supposed to go on the car?!? I get it, awareness not raised much when it is on the fridge. Ok, I feel so stupid...
I LOVE the last comment!! Made me laugh!!!
I can not even imagine how miserable poor little Jonah is when eating with blisters in his throat. I suffer from an auto-immune disease (Crohn's disease) that does all crazy stuff with my immune system and one of the things I get the pleasure of enduring are horrible canker sores. I will get up to 10 at a time, and they cause these horrible ulcerated holes in my mouth and eating, talking, even just breathing hurt so bad at times. I even had one in my throat once, and I just remember it being so miserable. I can't imagine poor little Jonah having to endure anything similar to that, and I'm sure his is much worse! I will be saying even more prayers for healing of those mouth sores!
Oh a side-note, if the soy formula doesn't make a difference I recommend trying Similac Alimentum. It is ridiculously expensive (we get samples from the dr all the time) and if it is determined that it helps him you can probably get a prescription for it too. My little guy has a dairy protein sensitivity and it did the trick for him. If you want to give it a try, just call up your doctor's office and they should have some samples for you to pick up and try.
~Amy
Reflux is horrible. I have to take percocet for the pain it gives me...luckily I found out that anxiety is the main source of it, making the acid back up into my esophagus. Weird.
You know, my daughter is 11 days older than Jonah. That would be so sweet if we could have playdates and stuff...but I wouldn't want my daughter near little Jonah because she grabs faces...hard, lol. She's a meanie :) Love your blog!
Patrice, your family's message reaches farther than you may know! I am proudly displaying my magnent here in Sacramento, California and have been able to use it as a teaching tool for people around me (I am a nanny and have talked with the children, shown them your blog, pictures of Jonah, etc.)
God bless you and your family!
Just got home from Mason's and read your sweet post regarding your evening with Greg and Monica. More tears. More pride. I must admit...they are pretty special to share their date night time with you. I am sure they enjoyed their evening as much as you did. Looking forward to seeing you at Maddie's birthday party. I'll help you where I can. Hope you got the voice mail message I left today. If not call me. And just for the record...I loved the Chick-Fil-A comments and was so glad that God laid that fast food location on my heart for Monday. See you Saturday.
Aunt Sandy
Tell me when & where to be in Kernersville & you can see the blue magnet on the back of a red camry.
I agree with Jonah, I don't like hot weather either, so maybe you need to "forget him" & leave him with me (hahah) we'll drop that ac down to 70 degrees & chill out. Hopefully it is going to cool off tomorrow thru the weekend.
Jonah was too, too much in that video trying to mimmick his daddy==he was a hoot--better than CFA & that is GOOOOOODDDD
I am so happy to hear that you & Matt are getting some social time--that way you don;t feel so shut in.
Thank you for the birth annoucement...it is on my file cabinet along with another magnet.
oh, by the way for the lady that has her magnet on the fridge--that is why you buy more than 1 to spread them around.
Take care, glad you got some sleep (hope Matt did too) and know that you, Matt, Gabe & Jonah are part of my extended family & I love all of you.
Love, kisses, hugs & smoochies to Jonah & many, many prayers
Please pray for this family.
http://babybolte.blogspot.com/
It stinks that feedings are such a struggle. As you mentioned, I can't imagine having blisters in my throat. How painful!
I'm so glad you got to get out, and what wonderful friends you have. I don't know what I'd do without my girlfriends, and I can imagine that when you're basically homebound such fellowship becomes even more essential. Keep it up!
I, too, adore Chic-fil-A, as do my little girls. Always fresh food, always great service, always a good time.
I did buy a magnet from you but have not received one. It's been several weeks. I hope I get mine sometime soon!
Have a wonderful Thursday.
--Kelley in GA
I've been reading your blog DAILY (which is saying a lot really...for me) for a while now and I never post because I see so many comments and I wonder if you really have the time (ha) to wade through them.
We adopted our daughter in February and battled terrible reflux. If one more person suggested that I just keep her upright after feeding, I might have bashed his/her nose in.
I DREADED feeding her. It was this twisting, arching, crying, screaming mess. The best times were when she would just fret a bit. She has been on the double dose of Prevacid for quite a while now.
Here is what helped us:
*Mylanta/Maalox - talk to your doc about this and if s/he approves it, talk dosages. In OUR case, we were allowed up to 2ccs/2-3 oz bottle (I THINK) and it made a HUGE difference.
*Rice cereal. Spitting up wasn't even a huge issue for us, but in a moment of desperation (even the ped was rattled by the hissy fit she witnessed), she told us to add cereal to the bottle. I know this is controversial, but we started this at 8w (maybe earlier??)...we do 1 t./ounce and I swear this is what has made the biggest difference in our baby. It's unbelievable.
*I would tell you about all of the formulas we have tried but you are BFing...
Reflux is absolutely terrible. Good luck. Oh - Soy constipated our little one...just a forewarning, just in case!!
Love your blog, love your CFA post.
I have a prayer request for a blog friend, Kristy has lost two newborn baby boys and just had a baby girl this week. She seems to have similar sounding skin problems as Jonah (not trying to diagnose anything. I was hoping you might be interested in reading her blog and praying for her. I will also be passing your blog on to her. Blog: http://babybolte.blogspot.com
Her email address is on her blog under her Mother's day post dated May 9th. (Didn't want to post her email directly on here.)
Hugs and Prayers
Rachel in PA
yay! I am SO so happy for you that Jonah is letting you sleep!
I really love your writing- and your sense of humor! I sure God gave it to you so that you could get through some really trying times.
I had to laugh about your chic-fil-a post- we had JUST talked about them in church on Sunday. How cool is that!?!
~Em
I keep thinking, wouldn't it be cool to see another car with a Jonah magnet on it!!!!
Ellen from LI
chick-fil-a . . . i am sure i would love it, but we haven't got it here in seattle, nor in las vegas (where i am on extending stay with my mom who has had a stroke and heart attack.) but you certainly have me wishing i could find one somewhere! however, we do have 'in-and-out burger' which is the best.
Hi there! There's another blog I have been following for quite some time and they had a precious baby girl this weekend. It looks like they may be in for some rough roads ahead (not that they haven't had their fair share already as you will see) but her post today reminded me of your story. If you could spare a minute, could you please check out her blog and send up some prayers?
http://babybolte.blogspot.com Thank you!!
Oops - looks like someone has already linked you to this. Sorry for the double post!!
Have you tried giving him fresh pumped milk? If not try it and see what happens. Some women's milk (learned this the hard way) breaks down when frozen and gets a bitter taste to it. I ended up having to dump 50+ ounces of frozen milk. I even went so far as to taste it and then understood why my son was having a fit when his dad tried to feed it to him!
Kat
My least favorite thing to do is go grocery shopping so I don't go into Kvegas too often. But look for a Gold Aztec and it will probably be me. I got my magnet on the back. Have a wonderful day!
I love my magnet and you better give me a hug when you see it! I live in King, but come to Kernersville on occasion . . . so be on the lookout for a maroon Ford Taurus (not many of those, uh?)with a Jonah magnet!!!!!
Love,
Sandy Moore
my son was really fussy during feedings too. my dr said to try similac alimentum and it worked wonders. it is expensive but well worth it. i have an almost full container of it if you want to try it (he does not need it any longer)
greenpanel@yahoo.com
Love to hear I'm not the only mom who gets a little squirrel-y staying home. My kiddos are older, and we homeschool, but about once a week my husband comes home, watches me cooking dinner for about 5 minutes and says "You need to get out of the house. Go get coffee." Or something to that effect. I usually call a friend and joke that I've been kicked out of the house again, but I'm SO thankful that my hubby can see when I'm feeling caged! :)
Speaking ov the Jonah Magnet....I was in line @ Chick-Filet, (my fav. too) the other day and Karen Pumphrey saw my car and she said, I knew that was you because of your Jonah magnet on the back! So many people have commented on it and I am so proud to tell them all about Jonah! My daughter told me the other day that I acted like he was my baby!!!!!!!!!
Had not seen the chick-filet video...love it! And love the birth announcement too!
Hi! My son was diagnosed with severe acid reflux and he was silently aspirating it. This ended up sending him into full cardiac and pulmonary arrest. Not saying that the same thing could/would happen to Jonah, but the reflux thing can be super serious. When you go see the GI doctor, request an upper GI study if they don't offer it. This will let you know how severe it is, and how high of a risk he has for aspiration. Feel free to e-mail me if you want any other info! joyemullis@hotmail.com
By far the most important releasing stimulus to the human infant is the sense of touch. The skin of a new baby is far more sensitive than that of an adult. It flushes and mottles at every sensation. It is through his kinesthetic awareness, through being touched and moved and handled, and through the things that touch his sensitive mouth, that a baby first locates himself and makes contact with reality.
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