Happy Mother's Day!

For some reason blogger was acting up on Thursday, and it wouldn't let me add the last few pictures I wanted to share... I also said that I was eager to take Mac and Paisley's stool sample to the GI to learn if they had blood from being exposed to dairy. 

Here are the two pictures I wanted to share:

I took the tests to the GI Friday, and oh. my. word... Let me tell you that I was so nervous! I felt like I was taking a pregnancy test, haha! Seriously! So guess what!???! I CAN EAT DAIRY and SOY! Ahhh!! HUGE deal in my life.... except I'm pretty nervous to start eating it. It's weird... after being told for so long that I can't have something, now I have the freedom to eat it... and I'm apprehensive. Look what I enjoyed first... I was quite disappointed by my body's reaction... after a few bites I started feeling sick :o( I guess it'll take a while to freely eat dairy again. Our pediatrician said cooked dairy is easier on the system than "raw" dairy so I'll stick with that for now.

 Funny... I ate several of these without a problem. ;o)

Yesterday we had three cookouts, and they were so much fun! The first was a celebration of all the babies that TRM was a part of, the second was a neighborhood gathering, and the third was with friends at Meghan and Josh's house to celebrate the birth of sweet baby Charlie :o) 

*Please lift baby Charlie up in your prayers. He's a bit early in entering our world, but he's doing great so far! Charlie was one week old yesterday, and he was born in his 27 week of gestation. He's so beautiful, and we are honored to be with Meghan and Josh during this time. Praise Jesus that Charlie is breathing on his own and without any brain bleeds! I'll share Meghan's blog once she gets it all set up. 

 

 It's Mother's Day!!! Pictures are much more fun than our words, so here they are!

 

 If you know me, you know I love coffee- especially coffee with 'fancy creamer' in it. I've been without the creamers since August so now that I can have them, my brother brought me a few, ha!

 Paisley sat up on her own today!! She went from laying down to sitting up, and I found her like this!

Casey sent me this ecard this morning... Too funny.  

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers out there!!!! What a blessing it is to be a mama this year! :o)

Tooth Watch 2012

We have not one, we have TWO teeth budding from Paisley's bottom gums. Here is a pic from Monday next to a pic I took this morning:

Big girl!! She's handled teething pretty well. She does seem more sensitive, though. If I walk by and she thinks I'm going to pick her up, she melts. Normally Paisley will just cry and console herself. Not while teething. She has been waking up in the middle of the night to talk for about 20 minutes. She ends up being at the opposite end of her bed during her solo "conversation". 

Yesterday Mac pulled her hair. This didn't help her new sensitivity. Notice the frazzled hair. :o(

 Look how sweet these babies were during nap :o) I just love them.

 

Feeling better and ready for small group :o)

We went to the GI today, and I get to try introducing Mac and Paisley to dairy! Eeeek! Dr. Devoid said that at 8 months it's a 70/30 ratio of babies with protein intolerance. So I'll give them 2 oz tomorrow, 4 oz the next day, and continue this trend for a week and test their stool on day 7 to check for blood. Let's hope it stays clear, and that Mac and Paisley don't have any adverse reactions. 

Paisley's liver enzymes remain elevated (I posted earlier that they were normal, but the other liver tests were normal- the tests for something seriously wrong). We will go back this month for labs again. If the enzyme levels remain high for the next few labs, we will be having a biopsy. :o(

We have the race this weekend! Big race, a 5K, ha! 

Today's highlight is the birth of Stella Paige McKaig :o)

Welcome, sweet girl! 

-ashley

Sweet Potatoes!!

At the 6 month check up, Paisley was given the okay to start foods. We really had the go ahead at the 4 month appointment, but we chose to wait and see what the GI (gastroenterologist) recommended. We were advised to wait until blood was out of their stool before introducing anything new. Paisley was clear of blood 3 weeks after I eliminated eggs and tree nuts, and Mac was right behind her. What a praise!? Their tender bellies are healing! 

Here are pictures I took of the first bites of sweet potatoes :o)

Paisley puts her thumb in her mouth between bites.. So she doesn't have as many pictures because we ended up with sweet potatoes all over our hands. She does like them, though! She eats about half a jar at each "meal". I still give them cereal also.

 Mac wasn't a fan of the sweet potatoes at first.... he actually gagged the first time, but he's become quite the sweet potato fan, I promise. Over the two feedings, he eats two 4 oz jars a day! I took pictures of his new expressions during meals. 

Sweet babies!! I will keep them on the same food for a week and then introduce them to winter squash on Wednesday! 

-ashley

We Have the New "Colic"

We took Mac and Paisley to the GI doctor today. It was a follow up for Paisley, and a first time visit for Mac. Since they were almost 2 weeks old, I have been on a dairy and soy free diet due to protein intolerances in their GI systems. An intolerance is different from an allergy in that they should grow out of this. According to our GI doc, 30% of infants have this intolerance, and 90% outgrow it by age 1. So I refer to this intolerance as the new colic... The intolerance makes them fussy, often difficult to feed, and irritable. Basically what we've known as "colic" could easily be this intolerance. (The intolerance is tested through baby stool, which contains blood. This blood is usually not visible as a red matter but as mucus consistency.)

Even a few years ago doctors would put a baby on soy when cow milk was causing "colic". Now it's been discovered that the soy protein is broken down similar to a cow's milk protein, and the body often is unable to differentiate between the two (also in other animal milks such as goat, sheep, etc). So without cow milk and soy, what do we drink with our beloved cereal????? Ahhh, the world of random milks... coconut, almond, and rice.

We took Paisley to the GI 3 weeks ago for the intolerance (because we couldn't get a blood free stool sample) and for her low weight gain. She was gaining, but not as much as the pediatrician would like. After he educated me, we came to the conclusion that I needed to cut out other proteins that are also too complex for an immature gut to absorb. These proteins are found in eggs and tree nuts. Yep, you read it right... I had/have to eliminate dairy, soy, eggs, and tree nuts... Pre-pregnancy jeans, here I come! (if only it were that easy). Plus we were going to add Neocate to a bottle before bed to increase calories.

Here's a pictoral break down of the proteins and amino acid chains...

Today I brought stool samples from each week since we initially saw the GI doc. Mac still has a small trace of blood, but Paisley is blood free!!! Woo hoo!! What a relief?! It was very discouraging to not have blood-free stools, but now it's paying off. 

We started cereal today, and we will be giving them cereal twice a day. The doctor wants us to stick to rice cereal to avoid any complications with their systems. We go for lab work next month, and hopefully we will be introducing Mac and Paisley to fruits and veggies here shortly! So guess what I'm doing after this?? Shopping for high chairs!

In the mean time, look at these pics... You think we may be teething? :o)

And I must show you our first pairs of shoes... :o)

I hope you're still awake after reading about our appointment, haha!

-ashley