Lions, Tigers and Bears!
Today we spent the day in Denver. It was such a beautiful day. We had a picnic at Denver City Park then spent some time at the Denver Zoo. Izzy had a blast looking at all the different animals and pointing them out for us. It’s so fun seeing things through her eyes! (Click on the picture to see all our pictures from the zoo)
After the zoo we met up with my good friends from the Springs Julie and Alan, and Elisha and Ryan plus their two little girls. We had hung out at a park then had dinner in Denver. It was so good to catch up with them in person. Now if they all only lived closer to us…. =)
Color
Our house finally has some color to it! I’m so pleased with how our colors turned out. It’s always nerve wrecking to pick out colors because you are kinda stuck with them unless you want to pay the money to repaint. The last thing to go on is the exterior stone. Can’t wait to see it come together!
Normal
Yesterday Izzy and I went back to the lab for the GGT test. She did so well with the first time she had her blood drawn that I thought she would do great this time too. Not so. I think she remembered what they did to her last time, so the second they started cleaning her arm she started screaming. Poor girl.
Good news is that the GGT test came back normal so right now, no worries about liver disease. I hope that the probiotics and prune juice will keep her colon nice and clean and help keep away these vomiting episodes. We will go back in 6 weeks to repeat the very first test we did to check her alkaline phosphatase levels again to make sure they are as normal as they can be for a child of her age.
Thanks everyone for your prayers and comments. I’m glad that we did these tests to rule out anything serious. It’s better to be safe than sorry, especially when mother’s intuition kicks in with that feeling that something’s not right.
Beautiful Weekend
Today was another puke free day! Yesterday, there was just one puke at the park, which may have been due to a coughing fit, swings or whatever else is going on. This weekend was gorgeous here in Fort Collins, so we spent some time outside at a couple parks. Here are some pictures.
Say What?
Puke free day! I’m so happy and my washer and dryer are glad for the break I’m sure.
Our pediatrician called earlier this evening. I felt like he was talking a foreign language, so instead of asking for a translation right then I just took lots of notes and asked him to spell a bunch of things. Now that I have done my research here’s what I have to share.
Izzy’s x-rays were somewhat normal. They just revealed that she really needed to poop! The back up in her colon could have been contributing to vomiting, so to make sure she’s not backed up the pediatrician recommended putting her on a probiotic in the form of Activia yogurt and adding prune juice to her diet.
It’s the blood work that came back with one abnormality. It showed that there was an elevated level of alkaline phosphatase. Alkaline phosphatase is found in the liver. If too much of it is released into the blood stream it could be an indicator of liver or bone disease.
Because Izzy has had these random spells of vomiting, our pediatrician is ordering another test called the GGT. The GGT test will check for liver disease which may explain the vomiting. He also mentioned transient hyperphosphatasia, which I didn’t find much on but from what I can gather it’s a condition where the levels of alkaline phosphatase is elevated for a period of time, then normalize on their own, then elevate again, etc. What causes that I’m not clear on, maybe it’s tied to liver disease?
If the GGT test does detect something our next step would be to do an ultrasound of the liver. We should have results of the GGT test on Monday. For now though “… do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)
Rough Day
Yesterday was a rough day. I came down with some sort of stomach bug that had me out of commission the entire day. I spent plenty of time hunched over a toilet and in bed with a fever. Luke was on Izzy duty which proved to be rough. She threw up two or three times yesterday, so they both went through several changes of clothes. I felt bad that I couldn’t pull myself out of bed to help with the mayhem, but Luke survived like a champ… even though he was wiped by the end of the day.
I don’t know how mom’s do it if they don’t have any help available. What do they do if they get sick and can’t take care of their child? I suppose some moms could take their child into daycare, but what if they’re sick and their child is sick? Then what? I don’t know what I would have done if Luke hadn’t been around to take care of Izzy.
Today I’m 85% better. I still feel little remnants from yesterday but well enough to hang out with Izzy.
Luke found puke in Izzy’s crib this morning so I decided it was time for another call to the doctor, who then sent us over to the local hospital for x-rays and blood work to see if there’s anything abnormal that pops up that could explain the vomiting. Izzy did great during both x-rays and blood work. She only cried a little while they were drawing blood. I do have to collect a urine sample from her. Still working on that one! It’s a hard thing to do with an infant. They did send me home with a pediatric urine sample collector which is basically a bag that you stick on the child. Still, really difficult thing to collect! Maybe I’ll have better luck tomorrow.
I’m not sure when results of the test will be ready, but I’m sure I’ll hear from the pediatrician once he receives them.
Again, prayers are appreciated. I think Izzy is on the last bit of this vomiting phase, but we would love for this to not happen again.
Frustration
Izzy’s sick again. She’s had the sniffles for almost 2 weeks, which then led into a cough at the end of last week, then this weekend she started vomiting…again. It seems as if every month she has a week where she vomits and doesn’t eat, then is okay for two or three weeks. Today we went to the another doctor because I wasn’t convinced by the previous doctor’s quick diagnosis of “reflux”.
Overall her checkup was “unremarkable” according to the doctor. He agreed that it was strange that Izzy has these vomiting spells every month but couldn’t say what is causing these spells. It doesn’t seem like reflux, it’s not food allergies, it could be associated with these little colds she’s gotten however there are times when she’s had a vomiting spell and hasn’t had any sort of cold or virus.
I’m probably more frustrated now after going to the doctor and coming back with no answers than I was before going to the doctor!
Our first course of action is prayer…God is the Creator and healer of all things. We believe that God can heal, so please pray with us that Izzy will stop having these vomiting spells. Our second course of action if the vomiting continues is to take some x-rays and do blood work and see if anything turns up in those.
We’ll keep everyone posted as time goes on, but for now, please pray. It’s so frustrating when you don’t know what’s wrong with your child and can’t do anything to make it go away.
CPR Weekend
On Saturday me and another mom from my mom’s group attended an adult and infant CPR and AED class at a local hospital. The class was 4 hours on Saturday morning and at the end of it we received a two year certification. We practiced on Bob the mannequin and Baby Anne the infant mannequin. CPR is such a good skill to have. Granted I may not be able to save a life, but now I feel more comfortable performing CPR if needed. By the way, if you ever hear anyone ask you to get an AED, they’re talking about an automated external defibrillator which can usually be found in public places and is marked by a big heart.
Here’s a picture of Izzy taken this weekend. What a cool girl. Bummer that she’d never keep those glasses on though!
This is how Izzy is dressed today. This is what happens when mom doesn’t lay out an outfit and is behind on laundry and when dad gets to pick out clothes.
Getting Crafty
I use to make jewelry. That was, before Izzy joined our family. After making my charm bracelet the other night I remembered how good it was to design and make something with my hands. So, inspired by some crafty moms I started making baby bows tonight. Not that Izzy will wear them (she likes to pull them out). I’m trying to decide whether to sell them. I’m still thinking about it, but for the meantime here are some pics of my baby bows.
Excuse the somewhat blurry pictures. I’d like to blame our camera, but I’m thinking it’s user error!
Our Little Guppy
Izzy and I have been going to swim lessons through the parks and recreation department of Fort Collins. I was so impressed to find affordable lessons through the city and to see that they had great public activity centers that include everything from indoor swimming pools to ice rinks. Amazing really!
We have 3 more lessons to go in the “Guppies” class, after which Izzy can go to the “Advanced Guppies” class. I’ll probably wait on that class until she’s around 18 months so that she can get the most out of that class. Luke came to class with us today and took some pictures of me and our little guppy.
In class we sing some songs that have swimming motions that go with it and try to practice kicking, floating and paddling with our arms. Izzy has a blast and has kicking down pretty good! Now just add some arms and she may be swimming soon.
