Little Dude - 11 Months

Age: 11 months

Weight and height: 16 pounds, 3 ounces and 28 inches long.  In January, he had pneumonia and RSV and wasn't able to handle his regular volumes of food so he lost some weight.  He was down to 15', 14", but thankfully he's starting to put some of that weight back on now.

Wearing size: Size 3 diapers and 9-12 month clothes. 

Likes: He loves attention and is total little flirt with the sweetest smile.  He loves army crawling around the house and bugging the big kids. 

Dislikes: He really hates it when I do his G Tube and skin care every morning-not because it hurts, but because he can't roll over and play when I'm doing it.  He also hates his skin care routine because he strongly dislikes having his hands, arms, and head touched and moved around.  To get him to lay still and stop fighting me, I play a Youtube video on my tablet for him to watch while I'm taking care of his tube (he's a big fan of Peter Hollens, Lindsey Stirling, and Baby Einstein). 

Eating habits: He gets four bottles a day with 5 ounces of water and 3 scoops of the Alimentum formula which is concentrated for lower volume.  I start each feeding by offering the bottle and whatever he doesn't eat is tube fed.  He drinks approximately 50% of his formula.  He eats pureed baby food 2 times a day which I add a teaspoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of rice cereal to for added calories.  He had been doing well with gluten free baby puffs, but in the last month, has been throwing up every time he has anything more than purees.  I'm attributing that to being sick which makes him even more gaggy than usual. 

Sleeping habits: He takes a morning nap from about 9:30 am to 10:30 and an afternoon nap from about 1 pm to 3 or 4 pm.  He sleeps okay at night, but does still wake up several times.  He usually goes right back to sleep when I give him his pacifier.

 
Milestones: He finally learned how to sit unsupported!!  This was a milestone that we've been working on for months and he finally got strong enough to be able to do it.
    
Miscellaneous: He was sick for ALL of January with pneumonia and RSV.  It was a very long, very difficult month for both of us.  He was hospitalized for one night, had three emergency room visits, and saw a doctor several times.  He also was on three different antibiotics.  I'm so glad he's finally feeling better from that, but his lungs are already sounding junky again so I know that something else is starting up. 
We have started taking him to a different health care system because we felt that it was time for some fresh eyes on him.  I really loved some of his doctors at Mayo and we're going to miss them, but it's much better for all of his care to be at one place to avoid confusion so he has all new specialists now.  The best part is that his new primary care doctor is a genetic specialist and is very good at caring for medically complex children. 




Thank you for stopping by my blog! I appreciate each of my readers and would love to connect with you on Facebook and Instagram!

 

Feeding Tube Awareness Week

Today starts Feeding Tube Awareness Week!  This time last year, I had no idea that I would be raising awareness for Little Dude and hadn't even heard of Feeding Tube Awareness week.

This week, I will be posting about tube feeding here on my blog and on social media.  If you have any questions at all about tube feeding or Little Dude, now is the time to ask them!  There are no dumb questions!  Just remember, a year ago, I knew nothing about tube feeding either :)

And to close this blog post, here's a picture of my favorite tubie!

Thank you for stopping by my blog! I appreciate each of my readers and would love to connect with you on Facebook and Instagram!

A Few of My Favorite (Tubie) Things!

In the 8 months since Little Dude got his G Tube, I've found some resources and products that have made this whole thing easier and wanted to share them with other tubie families as well.

You can read an updated version of this post on my new blog, Sunshine and Spoons!

Loving My Body Even When I Hate It

I've always hated my mid-section.  I remember asking my mom if I was fat when I was 6 or 7 because I didn't like how much my stomach stuck out.  Even at my thinnest, I never had a flat stomach.  At 10 months postpartum with my fourth child, I have to be very careful how I dress so my stomach doesn't make me look pregnant.  After being pregnant four times, my stomach is saggy, wrinkled, and covered in ugly stretch marks.

Last week, Princess came in my room to ask me something while I was getting dressed and I saw her staring at my stomach.  After a minute, she asked me this question, "Mommy, why does your tummy look funny and fat?"

Ouch.

Don't you love how kids say exactly what they're thinking?

In that moment, I had a choice.  I could pass my insecurities about my looks on to my impressionable daughter or I could teach her that even when something doesn't look perfect, it can still be beautiful.

I smiled at her and said, "God gave me four babies that grew in my tummy and made it really big.  Do you remember how big my tummy was when Little Dude was still in it?"

Princess nodded.

"My tummy might look a little funny now, but when I see it, I think about how lucky I am that God gave me FOUR babies.  I love my tummy because it's where you and your brothers and sister grew until you were big and strong enough to come out."

Princess smiled as she said, "You're pretty lucky, Mommy!  It's good that your tummy looks like that because now you have me!"


So, do I wish my stomach was flat and not covered in stretch marks and wrinkles? You bet!  But, thanks to Princess's question, I can finally see my stomach as something other than ugly. 

Where Have I Been?

Today is Princess's 7th birthday, and I'll be writing a birthday post about her soon (or eventually...hopefully before she turns 8). 

So far, I've failed miserably at my 2015 goals.  I haven't so much as started to think about doing any of the things on my list.

Here's why...

No, he hasn't been in the hospital all this time-he was actually only there for one night.  However, it's been a terrible year for him health-wise.  He started getting sick on December 31st and ended up with pneumonia.  Just for fun, he was on amoxicillin for a double ear infection when he came down with pneumonia.  The ER doctor switched him to a stronger antibiotic and in a few days, he seemed to be on the mend.  He had 2-3 good days when I was mentally cheering for myself for getting him through pneumonia without a stay in the hospital...and then he got RSV which is what landed him, you guessed it, in the hospital.  However, the doctor that read the x-ray mis-diagnosed him with worsening pneumonia despite being on his second antibiotic of the year, and put him on an even stronger antibiotic before discharging him from the hospital with retractions while breathing, a fever, and a high heart rate.  We took him to Urgent Care at a different hospital the next morning (January 18th), and they did what the first hospital should've done right away-run a test for RSV.  It came back positive and, while we've managed to stay out of the hospital, he's been at the doctor twice this week already because of worsening breathing and has been throwing up quite a bit.  Thankfully, the G Tube allows us to keep him hydrated by giving him small amounts of formula or Pedialyte more frequently.  The doctor told us that we just need to make it past days 5-7 and then RSV typically starts getting better.  Yesterday was day 7 so hopefully Little Dude will start improving now!  I miss my happy little boy.


Things that happen when your baby has been sick with pneumonia and/or RSV for 23 days....

Your daughter wakes up on her birthday and excitedly asks you where the treats are for her to bring to school today.  You hype up a package of oreos that you quickly dig out of your "sanity" stash before stuffing it into her backpack.

Your house is a disaster and your laundry is "this" close to being classified as a national disaster.

You have to call your mom on the way home from taking the baby to the doctor because you keep falling asleep while driving.

You have significant mom guilt over the fact that your three oldest kids have spent the last three weeks being shuffled from one person to the next while you are at the doctor's office, ER, or hospital with their baby brother.  The mom guilt is worse because it's your oldest child's birthday this month, and you keep remembering that Little Man's birthday last year fell right in the middle of a nine day hospital stay with Little Dude.

The extent of your social media presence is an occasional update for family on Facebook and quick pictures on Instagram (if you want updates on Little Dude, IG is where you want to be!)

It's January 22nd and so far this year, you've only left the house to go places with medical personnel and equipment.  And church.  Once, in between the pneumonia and RSV.

Your almost-potty trained 2 year old will have a regression so bad that you're going to have to start the whole process over again.  Someday.  Definitely not right now.

You keep thinking, "It can only go up from here, right?" and then remember that you have a medically complex child...

Little Dude - 10 Months

Age: 10 months

Weight and height: 16 pounds, 11 ounces and 28 inches long.  He lost a little weight while he was sick this past month.

Wearing size: Size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes. 

Likes: He's very sociable and LOVES attention.  He loves being on the floor to play and army crawl around and he's obsessed with paper, which is not good because he eats it and then chokes on it. 

Dislikes: He really hates it when I do his G Tube and skin care every morning-not because it hurts, but because he can't roll over and play when I'm doing it.  He also hates his skin care routine because he strongly dislikes having his hands, arms, and head touched and manipulated.  To get him to lay still and stop fighting me, I play a Youtube video on my tablet for him to watch while I'm taking care of his tube (he's a big fan of Peter Hollens, Lindsey Stirling, and Baby Einstein).  His sensitivity to the other kids had been disappearing, but being sick so much lately has set him back and he doesn't tolerate them being near him very well right now.

Eating habits: He gets five bottles a day with 5.5 ounces of water and 3 scoops of the Alimentum formula.  He drinks about 50% of his formula throughout the day, and the rest is tube fed.  He gets pureed baby food 1-2 times a day, and I just started giving him gluten free baby puffs which he seems to like.  
     

Sleeping habits: He takes a morning nap from about 9:30 am to 10:30 when I wake him up for his next feeding.  He's such a light sleeper that when I try to tube feed him so he can sleep longer, he wakes up anyways.  He stays up until after his 1:30 feeding and then sleeps until his 4:30 feeding.  He's dropped the third nap of the day and goes to bed around 8 pm at night after his 7:30 feeding.  
Milestones: He's getting better at sitting on his own and is able to do it for about 60 seconds now before tipping over.  He's really good at army crawling and leans to his right side to avoid putting pressure on his G Tube.  We're working on getting him up on his hands and knees, but he's not very interested in that.
    
Miscellaneous: January is a very busy month for Little Dude with MANY doctors' appointments at Mayo.  We will be at the clinic 1-3 times a week with him and he has multiple appointments on quite a few of those days.   




Thank you for stopping by my blog! I appreciate each of my readers and would love to connect with you on Facebook and Instagram!

My Word of the Year

This is the first year I've picked a word of the year.  I wasn't going to, but after seeing a post on Instagram about someone else's word of the year, one word kept popping into in my head.

Growth.

This year will be a year for growth for me, for my family, and for my businesses.

I can't wait to see Little Dude to grow in health, in developmental milestones, and physically.

I have hope that Star will grow after barely gaining any weight or height for over a year.

I have plans to grow my businesses-my pattern shop, my boutique, and my blog.

I want to encourage Princess to grow in her love for reading.

I want my whole family to grow in their love for God.


If you have a word of the year for 2015, please share it with me!  I'd love to see what you've come up with.

Goals for 2015

I don't set New Year's Resolutions, but I do have some goals I'd like to work on this next year.
 

Personal goals:
1. Lose weight and get in shape

• Exercise 4 times a week
• Watch portion control
• Cut back on the amount of soda I drink.  I used to never drink soda, but during my pregnancy with Little Dude, I had major cravings for it all the time and still haven't kicked the habit.

2. Read books and watch movies from my must read/see list.  I have a Pinterest board I add books and movies to whenever I hear about them so I won't forget them later.  The problem is that I never remember to check my Pinterest board.

3. I'm not the world's best cook, but I have quite a few easy--to-make recipes I've developed since getting married (and especially since having kids.) that I'd like to put into a cookbook, partly for my own use, but also to sell as an E-book.  I'd like to have it done by 2016.

Financial:

1. I'd like to be earning $500 a month by the end of the year or earn at least $5000 this year. 

• Write some more patterns for Little Owl Patterns
• Get more products into Annalie's Baby Boutique and work on promoting it better
• Get back into earning Amazon gift cards with my earning websites
• Continue writing articles for the county newspaper and subbing at the local library
• Work on monetizing my blog-don't worry, this won't change my blog!

2. Save money.  I tried doing the 52 week money saving challenge last year, but never had the right amount of cash at the right time so I gave it up a couple of months into it.  Instead, anytime I end up with a $5 bill, I put it in my change jar.  I only started doing that a few months ago, but if I do it for all of 2015, I should be able to save up a decent amount of money.  Don't tell Hubby, but I'm saving up for a trip for our 10th anniversary in 2016.  

3. I have a whole list of money saving tips that I plan to start incorporating into our daily life.  I'll publish a post of the list soon.

Family:
1. Make at least 3 pieces of clothing for each child.  I barely had time to sew anything in 2014 and I really miss being able to make things for my kids.

2. Do attitude charts with the 2 oldest kids.  An attitude chart is basically an empty chart.  Everytime a child has a good attitude about cleaning up his or her toys, getting ready for bed, etc, he or she will get a sticker on their chart.  When the chart is filled up, they get to pick out a toy at the dollar store. 

3. Do a marriage challenge.  I don't have one picked out yet, but I'm thinking of possibly doing the Love Dare.  Do you have something you could recommend?

4. Do character building with kids.  Each week, we'll focus on another character trait from the list.  My sister also plans to do this with her kids.

5. Have 1 tv-free week a month.  This doesn't apply to Hubby as I know he'd never go for it, but the kids will be doing it.  I tried it a few times this year and it helped to "reset" their attitudes about watching tv.

Home:
1. Do the 52 week organizing challenge.

2. Keep the house reasonably clean by continuing to use the Motivated Moms app.

What are your goals or resolutions for 2015?

Random Monday - December 29, 2014

I can't believe that this is my last Random Monday post for 2014!  2015 is just 2 days away and I'm getting my "Goals for 2015" post ready to publish. 

I finally added a Special Needs Parenting page to my blog which includes Little Dude's story, links to posts about him, links to posts I've written about special needs parenting, and links to other websites that I've really found helpful. 

On Christmas Eve night, I made crockpot beef stew for supper.  It was delicious and I certainly didn't mind eating leftovers for several days after that.  The two oldest kids had slightly different opinions though...Little Man would only eat it if he could cover his eyes and pretend it was something else like chocolate chip cookie ice cream cotton candy.  Princess happily ate it, but halfway through she made this comment: "It tastes like dirt but I'm still eating it!"

I spent 6 hours organizing and going through the kids' toys, games, and craft supplies on Saturday night.  Goodwill will be pleased with our generous donation, I think.  I'm planning to buy a lock for the closet where most of the toys are going to be stored from here on out.  #mommastiredofthemess

Hubby's grandma found this hat in her basement while cleaning it out.  It used to be Hubby's dad's hat when he was a baby.

What's something you've done this past week? 

Christmas 2014

This was our year to drive 6 hours to visit Hubby's extended family for Christmas, but Little Dude doesn't do well in the car and is easily over-stimulated so we decided to stay home this year.  It was nice to relax at home with the kids and Hubby and thankfully, no one was sick so we were all able to enjoy the day.

We opened gifts first thing in the morning.  Star loved unwrapping the gifts, but had no interest in actually opening the boxes until Hubby showed her that there were toys inside.  In the afternoon, the two little ones napped while the two big kids played with their new toys.  Hubby and I played John Deere monopoly which he easily won.  Let's just say that I don't have future plans to go into the real estate market.

For dinner that evening, I made a 13 pound ham (not surprisingly, there were a LOT of leftovers), mashed potatoes and ham gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and mince pie.

Princess received a Ramona and Beezus dvd, a Frozen easy reader book, a Tardis ornament, and a personalized ballerina ornament in her stocking.  She also got a wooden sewing machine, an Elsa doll, a stick horse, a set of horse figurines, and a coloring Elsa puzzle.  She loved them all, but was especially excited to open the Elsa doll on Christmas Eve.  Her reaction of, "Mommy!!!  How did you know I wanted this?!?" cracked me up since it's all she's been talking about  for months.


















Little Man got a Rio dvd, a Jake and the Neverland Pirates book, a Handy Manny ornament, and a Dalek ornament in his stocking.  He also got a stick dragon, a wooden combine with two heads, an Olaf beanie baby, an Olaf shirt, and a toolset.  His favorites are definitely the stick dragon and the combine.  While driving his combine yesterday, he turned to me and announced, "I'm going to go harvest some weed!"  Um, buddy, I think you mean "wheat."
















Star received an Ice Age dvd, a Doc McStuffins book, an owl ornament, and a Fisher Price telephone ornament in her stocking.  She also received a stick horse, a wooden camera, an Anna doll, a Leapfrog Scout dog (which she's enamored with since it says her name), and Doc McStuffins hopscotch squares.  Her favorite gift is the stick horse though and she loves riding it around the house.  Despite the look on her face, she was happy about her gifts, she just didn't want to pose with them.   
















I got one picture of her with her gifts and then I got this...






























Little Dude wasn't overly impressed with the whole gift opening thing, but has been having fun playing with his new toys.  In his stocking, he received a Happy Feet dvd, a Brown Bear Brown Bear board book, a First Christmas ornament, and a Sven the Reindeer ornament.  He also received an Infantino elephant, a set of stacking cups, a V Tech Catch Me Kitty (which incidentally, doesn't work on shag carpet with which my entire upstairs is covered), a wooden airplane, and a toy phone.  His favorite gift is the stacking cups, but once he learns to sit up, he'll have more fun with the elephant.



























We have some Christmas traditions that we enjoyed this year...

We hung up a stocking for Jesus and whenever someone did something kind for someone else, we wrote it on a piece of paper and put it in the stocking as a gift for Jesus.  I emptied it out to read the papers with the kids and was blown away by how many papers Princess had added on her own, all addressed, "To God."  She's really been making an effort to show God's love to others.

We had our Christmas Eve reading party sans Hubby who is, sadly, not a book lover.  We read Christmas books together, drank hot chocolate (which Little Man says he doesn't like so we called it cocoa instead), and ate cookies.

I took pictures of each of the kids with their gifts as a record of what they received.  It's fun to look back and remember when they got something or look back and think, "hey, whatever happened to that toy?" 

The kids got a dvd, a book, and a Christmas ornament in their stockings.  Actually, I had a forgetful moment and ended up getting them each two ornaments this year.  Oh well.  Next year, I plan to start a tradition of getting/ them pajamas to open on Christmas Eve.  Obviously, that's a totally original idea, haha.

I made small photo books for each of the grandparents at walmart.com with pictures of the kids from this past year.  Hubby looked through one before I wrapped it and wryly remarked that Little Dude must be my favorite child.  No, but he is the one who stays still for the camera the longest.  Next year, I plan to make custom Chatbooks (look for the app on your smart device) for the grandparents with my Instagram pictures which will over double the amount of pictures I can include plus they will cost less. 


How was your Christmas?  What are some fun traditions you had this year?