The (not-so-lovely) Bucket.

I do believe my child is now trained to vomit in his "throw-up bucket." Sad, isn't it? And also quite wonderful, in a depressing way? When he coughs just a bit, he runs and grabs his bucket and holds it in front of his face. (He always coughs before vomiting.) He hasn't successfully thrown up in it without help, though. But it's just a matter of time. He calls it his "throw-up bucket" and everything. I mean, it's sad enough that my 24-month-old's vocabulary contains the word "throw-up." But I think my life just became a little bit easier. Less wardrobe changes, thus less laundry. Less scrubbing of the floor on my hands and knees. If vomit must be a part of our everyday life (which it has been for the last two months), then this just made my life a little bit easier. Thank you, Bucket.

A lovely afternoon at the aviary!

My dad (who is a pilot) had a 4-hour layover in Salt Lake City, so Caleb and I drove up to meet him and spend a few hours at the aviary! It was INCREDIBLE! Caleb liked it more than the zoo! I liked it more than the zoo, too, because we were the ONLY customers there! Caleb learned how to say "eagle" and "peacock." And his favorite part, other than just spending time with Granddad, was feeding the ducks:

Happy Dayday Cal-ba!

(That's how Caleb says, "Happy birthday"--"Happy Dayday.")

My little boy turned two years old on the 12th! It was a wonderful day. I did everything I could think of to make it special for him, since he couldn't have a birthday cake and since I didn't feel comfortable having a "party" for him if I couldn't serve our guests food, and there was NO way I was going to serve food if the guest of honor couldn't have any!

As I was saying, it was wonderful. We woke the birthday boy up by presenting him with balloons (an obsession of his). He LOVED them, and they'll stay floating for a while, so he will get a lot of enjoyment out of them!

Then, after filling his tummy, we hopped in the car to drive to the Rec. Center to swim with his friend, Nash! He threw up in the car (thankfully in a bowl, so he didn't get his fancy birthday outfit yucky) which was nice, since he inhaled some pool water later and had a few good coughing fits. I did NOT want him to throw up in the pool!

The pool at the Rec. Center was incredible! They had a great little toddler area where Caleb could comfortably wade. They had water slides that were perfect for him to go down with Auntie Jenna (Nash's favorite part). I was swimming, too, but I don't have enough lap space lately to be able to go down the slide with Caleb. :) Caleb loved to just stand by the end of the slide and get splashed by everyone who came down. He laughed and laughed! And we enjoyed a lovely little lazy river. The hour that we were there just flew by! We'll definitely have to go back. It was really affordable, too, especially for how much they have to offer!

We planned on getting back home with enough time to give Caleb a horse ride, but we spent too much time swimming! So next we opened presents with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunties. Caleb has really improved his present-opening technique! It was so fun to watch him. He got a lot of books (which he wanted to read right away) and some great toys that he isn't even tired of yet!! Amazing, isn't it? We all did a great job giving presents. :)

Then we put two matches in an apple and sang "Happy Birthday" to him! Caleb knew just what to do (we had practiced blowing out matches), and when Daddy was lighting the matches, Caleb blew the flame out! So we had to light it again. When he blew the matches in the apple out, and we all cheered, he clapped with us with a big ol' grin on his face and said, "again?"

After nap time we went to a church dinner, then came home and played with the new toys. :) Right before bed, Caleb helped Daddy unload the dishwasher--another one of Caleb's favorite activities. :) I planned to have the dishes clean and ready for him to put away, as a special birthday treat! The only thing that I could have done to make the day better would have been to fold a load of laundry with Caleb's "help," too, but I was just too tired for that one.

It was such a wonderful day for all of us! Even if Caleb won't remember it, I will! And he certainly enjoyed it as much as possible for a little two-year-old! In fact, he didn't even need to go in time-out a single time! I don't know what these "terrible two's" are that everyone talks about...psh.... ;) (No need to tell me "just wait"...I know, I know! Everyone gets their time!)

Stay tuned for updates on Caleb's growth and such. He has a well-child appointment with the pediatrician on Thursday, so I'll update you after that! For now, I'll leave you with this thought: all of his clothes are size 12 months. :)

The things that make motherhood so sweet:

• I opened the google chrome browser and Caleb saw the Angry Birds icon and said, "Angy Birds!" How he learned what Angry Birds was, I may never know.
• Caleb loves to count. More specifically, he loves to identify when there is more than one of something, i.e., "TWO puntins!" (pumpkins). Sometimes, if there is more than two of something, he'll say, "A lot of puntins!" Just yesterday we realized that he knows that when there is more than one of something, you put an "s" on the end. "A dog" vs. "Two dogs."
• The other day he looked out the window and saw the horses. He knows Hank's name, and when he saw Laci, he said, "TWO Hanks!" It reminded me of the time when my niece was little and said, "I have two Auntie Jenna's, only one's an Auntie Anna." (Remember, Jenna is my identical twin sister.) Too cute.
• Caleb is getting very good at forming more complex sentences. A few common examples: "I see d temple!," "Where'd d temple go?," "A puntin with a face!," "Uh, oh, I dropped d pad," "Uh-oh, I made a mess."
• He is in love with LDS temples. We have a picture of a Temple on a small card, and every time he finds it he brings it to me and says, "Adain?" (again) because he wants me to sing the child's song "I love to see the temple." While I sing, he carefully puts the picture on the floor and looks at it as he dances (more like sways) to the gentle music. One day, after it was dark, we decided to drive by the brightly-lit Temple to see what he thought. He recognized it right away. From then on, every time he would see an LDS church building (they are all over the place, and they have spires on the top), he would shout, "I SEE D TEMPLE!" He has since learned that it's a church that he sees, so now he excitedly proclaims, "I see a church!"
• Nate has a co-worker named Pearce. Every time Pearce comes over, he will find an item (a blanket, a box, a book) and ask Caleb what it is. Caleb will answer correctly, and Pearce will say, "No, it's a hat!" and put it on Caleb's head. Then he will ask Caleb what the item is again, and Caleb will usually say, "A hat." A few days ago, Pearce was visiting along with a friend. His friend asked Caleb what the dog was, and Caleb answered, "A hat!" Ummm...I wouldn't suggest putting Meggie on your head, Dear Caleb, although it was very clever of you to make that association.
• Caleb loves to look at my belly to say "hi" to the baby. After saying "hi," he will wave to the baby and say, "Bye-bye, Baby. Yuv you." (love you) and give my belly a kiss and insist that I pull my shirt back down immediately. The other day, Nate was bathing Caleb, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and Caleb was copying everything that Nate did. So, Nate took his shirt off and did a nice, loud Tarzan impression, banging his chest with his fists while singing/shouting, "OooooOooooooOooooo." Caleb watched him do this, and when Nate was done, in a very unimpressed tone Caleb said, "Bye-bye, Baby," and continued to play in the bath. Yep, he wanted Nate to put his shirt back on immediately.
• Caleb has become a little bit of a snuggler lately. He's been much too busy most of his life to make time to snuggle with Mommy, so I've been enjoying it. If I am laying on the couch, as I often do, he will come to me and say, "Up?" So, I pick him up and lay him in front of me, sort of in a spooning way. He will lay there for about two seconds and then say, "Uh-oh, blanket," or, "Uh-oh, cup." Then he will hop down, grab his blanket and cup, and come back to me and say, "Up?" He must snuggle with his blanket and cup (even though he hardly ever drinks from his cup).
• He has learned the difference between little and big. He loves his "yittle blanket," (little blanket), a soft blanket made of four blanket squares. He also loves to put his two pumpkins next to each other and identify them as Yittle Puntin and Big Puntin.
• Caleb pronounces all of the "L" sounds at the beginning of words with a "Y" sound. Yittle, Yight, Yeaves, Yove.
• Caleb loves to identify things that are "yuty," (yucky). We have a mesh laundry bag of dirty button pads (the soft fabric pads that we put around his g-tube to protect the skin from the booger-like discharge), and he loves to point to it and say, "Yuty pads." Just today he noticed some dirt on the floor and told me it was, "yuty." When he throws up and we have to change his clothes, he says, "bye-bye yuty shirt." We always know when he's done throwing up because he says, "Bye-bye, yuty."
• One of Caleb's favorite games is, "Where'd Caleb go?" He will run behind the couch and say, "Where'd Cal-ba go?" When he comes back around to the front of the couch he explodes with laughter and quickly runs away to play again. And yes, he pronounces his name "Cal-ba." It sounds a lot like "cowboy."
• When I sneeze, Caleb says, "Achoo, Mommy." I think he thinks he's saying "bless you." Close enough, right?
• He loves the movie Finding Nemo lately. He calls it "Nemo Fish." Now he calls our pet fish "Sunshine Fish."
• Caleb can identify, almost flawlessly, the following colors of crayons: blue, green, orange, yellow, purple, red, brown, pink, and silver. But he can't identify the color of anything that isn't a crayon. He tries, but he gets it wrong almost every time.
• Caleb knows that the baby's room is the baby's room. When he walks by the door, he says, "Bye-bye, baby room."
• He knows that "bye-bye" and "see ya" are synonymous. He also uses dog, doggie, puppy, and puppy dog interchangeably. Same with horse and horsie; rabbit, bunny, and bunny rabbit; etc.
• When we are doing something to Caleb that hurts him (wiping him after a dirty diaper when he has a diaper rash, cleaning around his feeding tube when it's sore), he cries, but he says in a very tough way, "Bye-bye OWie! See ya, OWie!" over and over, through his tears, as if he's demanding that the owie go bye-bye. He is one of the toughest, strongest people I know.
• He knows that a kiss always makes an owie better.
• When we tube feed him in the middle of the night, sometimes he wakes up just enough to look at us and smile. We whisper, "I love you," and he whispers back, "Yove you." Melts my heart.

:)

Another random pregnancy update!

33 weeks 3 days (today)

There is no rhyme or reason to these updates. It's just when I think about taking a picture and actually get around to finding time to blog (ok, ok, I could find time if I made time, it's just harder to prioritize these days).

I didn't realize how big I have gotten until I saw this picture that Nate just took. Ummm...is that a torpedo hiding under my shirt? When did that happen?

And I'm pretty sure the baby has "dropped," whatever that means. I woke up one morning (actually about a week and a half ago) and I felt like my belly had changed a little bit. I could tell just by looking in the mirror that the baby wasn't sitting as high as he used to. I'm not worried about it being a warning that I'll go into labor soon, because I certainly didn't drop with Caleb until I was in labor and started pushing. I carried him really high the whole time.

Speaking of labor, my doctor told me that my progesterone shot at 32 weeks 5 days would be my last one. I was under the impression that my last shot would be at 36 weeks, but I was too excited thinking about not having to poke myself in the rear with a needle every week that I didn't think to ask any questions. But everyone I've talked to says that their last shot is/was at 36 weeks, and it seems that most people deliver 2-2.5 weeks after their last shot. Soooo, I'm not comfortable with having my baby next week. I think I'll go ahead and give myself just one more shot and go from there. That should take me to 36 1/2 weeks, at least.

Speaking of not having a baby yet, I'm totally not ready to have a baby yet! I mean, technically I'm ready. I have diapers and clothes and a place for the baby to sleep. But I'm just not uncomfortable enough to want this to end! Sure, there are times when this little guy naps in my ribs (but I just push him right back out, he gives an objective kick, and then we both settle into a more agreeable position). And sure, I have a hard time sleeping (but seriously, it's not because I'm uncomfortable. I just can't sleep!). But it's really not bad. I'm in no way miserable. I'll have to reevaluate that one in a few weeks too, I suppose. :)

Well, ok, there are two parts about being this far along in my pregnancy that aren't all too enjoyable. One is the pelvic pain. Youch! It's like the whole 26 pounds that I've gained is resting right on my pelvic bones and whenever I'm vertical it just aches. The other less-than-wonderful part about being this far along is that I can't bend over. If I try to put my socks on, I have a contraction. If I try to pick up the crayon that Caleb drops on the floor, I have a contraction. If I try to get up off of the couch, I have a contraction. I have to think about what I do before I do it, because it just might cause yet another really painful contraction. I feel a little bit like an old woman who can't get up if she bends over. But the nice thing is that some day, most likely in a month or so, I won't feel like an old woman any more! I will be able to play on the floor with my little boys and keep up with them and not think "ugh" every time I have to do a little task! That doesn't happen if you really are getting old! I get to be young again! Isn't that splendid?

I made it to the 30s!

Taken today, at 30 weeks 3 days.

I'm in the 30s! That's a big deal! All of the doctors and nurses say, "As long as you can make it to the 30s...." I can't believe that I have less than ten weeks left in my pregnancy! I can't believe that I have less than seven weeks before I'm full-term! I can't believe that my baby weighs over three pounds at this point!

Nate and I are getting to the point where we're really excited to meet this little guy! We're patient enough to wait ten more weeks, but still!

I've felt him hiccup twice now, which is something I never felt Caleb do.

I'm having a hard time crossing my legs and putting my socks on.

I had the gestational diabetes test, which I never had with Caleb, and I passed! I was honestly a little worried, because Caleb was a bit big for a 27-weeker, but since he was born with his eyelids fused shut they thought he might actually be earlier than 27 weeks (although I'm pretty sure his due date was right on and he was just one of the few 27-weekers who couldn't open his eyes). Anyway, in the back of my mind I was worried that I had gestational diabetes with Caleb, and that I could have it again. But I don't! Whew! That's a HUGE relief, because I'm having a hard time putting down the candy corn!

I'm genuinely having a difficult time sleeping. Part of it may be that I have to use the bathroom in the night (at least once, sometimes twice). Part of it may be that I need to give Caleb an extra feeding at 3-4AM. Part of it is definitely the sore hips--sometimes I'm glad to get out of bed in the night, because walking around makes my hips ache less. Sometimes it's the heartburn. Sometimes it's the nausea. Sometimes I'm just too darn hot (I don't use blankets any more. Nate gets them all to himself). But most of the time I just can't sleep. I don't know why. I'm not really uncomfortable. I just toss and turn. It's a pain. I'm seriously considering sleep aids.

I'm slightly anemic. The nurse said that they like to see iron levels at 60.1 or higher, and mine is at 54.6. It's weird; I've never had low iron before! She said that some people can be so anemic that they're on the verge of needing a blood transfusion, and not be able to tell at all. But some people can be slightly on the low side, and have no energy whatsoever. I thought I was tired because...well...I'm pregnant and I have an almost-2-year-old who has unlimited energy. But if I can get some more iron in my diet and subsequently get some energy, wouldn't that be nice!!!??? So I've been eating lots of iron-fortified cereals and trying to eat more meat. And I'm still tired. I plan on talking to my doctor this week about taking an extra iron pill.

I'm on the quest for another doctor again. This darn receptionist made me cry for a second time! She scheduled me for the 17th, but told me that my appointment was for the 10th. She even wrote me a reminder card that had the 10th on it. So Nate worked from home so he could watch Caleb and I got up early and drove 20 minutes, just to be turned away. It was very frustrating. And the doctor that I've seen for my last two visits seems a little...absent-minded, to put it nicely. He told me two completely different things at each visit, and on two different topics, too. I'm not convinced that he knows what he's talking about. AND he forgot to listen to my baby's heartbeat! Umm...that's pretty much why I go to these appointments! There has GOT to be someone out there who cares about me and my baby a little more than that office does.

Anyway...at this point, I feel like we could handle having a baby early, if that's how it had to go (although I would really, really like to go at least another month or two). But only once we get Caleb's vomiting problem under control. I don't think I could handle anything extra on my plate until the vomiting stops. I'll be calling the GI doc again on Monday to see what to try next.

Wish us luck! With the vomiting AND the pregnancy!

Will it ever end?

Pre-diagnosis, Caleb's only symptoms of anything being wrong were an unwillingness to eat, occasional vomiting of huge amounts, and poor weight gain (which goes hand-in-hand with the prior two symptoms).

During the one-month trial with appetite stimulants (pre-diagnosis), vomiting increased. After the one-month trial with steroids (post-diagnosis) vomiting increased to the point of needing IV fluids.

After going on the elemental diet with the NG tube, vomiting almost completely disappeared. After g-tube surgery, vomiting was practically nonexistent.

After getting a very tiny cold, vomiting increased drastically. After the cold went away, vomiting continued. After waiting a few weeks, we decided that we couldn't sit back, do laundry, and scrub the carpets in hopes that the vomiting would go away on its own.

We tried a medication for vomiting. We tried slowing down the rate at which his feeding goes into his stomach. We tried making sure that he NEVER had more than 7 ounces of formula in his stomach at a time (that's the cool thing about the g-tube--we can check the residuals from his last meal and see just how fast he is digesting his food, so we can make sure that we aren't overfilling him). We tried elevating the head of his bed so his reflux wouldn't be so bad while laying down. We stopped giving him foods orally, because every time we did he would throw up. Calories and weight gain are more important at this point than eating skills. We'll work on eating later. And today we tried doing a continuous feed (where I keep him attached to the feeding pump all day so the formula can be slowly pumped in). So far he has thrown up twice in the past few hours.

I'm lost. I don't know what else to do. I thought this would solve all of our problems, not create new ones. I don't know how much longer I can handle watching my child projectile vomit uncontrollably.

:(