Moses' Allergy Update

I have been poor at updating since Moses was born. I had been breastfeeding him religiously until he started having bloody diarrhea like his sisters used to. I knew it was food allergy. I had been told that most kids don’t present with food allergy when breastfeeding since so little of the food protein actually passes through breast milk. But alas, I guess my kids are hypersensitive to food proteins.

I was put on a strict diet: NO dairy, corn, pork, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, gluten, fish, shellfish for a month and a half. His bloody poopies went away but his eczema continued. And it was bad. Head to toe. No letting up. He was still in our room and he would scratch and scratch ALL night long. He couldn’t sleep. And he didn’t nap during the day either.

We saw several doctors over the course of 3 months – the pediatrician, my allergist, and a GI doctor. When he hit 5 months old and my strict diet showed no improvement in his skin, the GI doc told me we had to switch to formula. I was devastated but I wanted to do what was best for him (even though it broke my heart that we wouldn't have our “special” time anymore). He got bloody poopies on the Alimentum so we switched to the prescription hypoallergenic formula, EleCare. It took awhile to transition (breastmilk is sweet, this formula tastes like wet saltines smell, bleh). He was on the formula for a month with NO improvement in his skin. By now my milk had dried up so I couldn't go back to breastfeeding. I was even MORE devastated that I had quit “for no reason.” I realize now I can’t dwell on it, have to move forward, it is what it is.

Anyway, the GI doc ran some other tests to make sure his liver was functioning well, and it was. She told me she wanted me to see the pediatric allergist at Johns Hopkins – Dr. Wood – not only does he focus just on pediatric patients but he’s an expert in food allergies. That was the end of January and his first available appointment wasn't until April 2! Let me tell you between the Johns Hopkins GI doc and the JH pediatric allergist – they've drained our wallets – but you pay for quality care, right? Oh what we do for our kids – I guess it's mother’s guilt for giving them allergies in the first place.

We went to the appointment with Dr. Wood. He was a very nice and informative. Actually, for the first time, even since the girls were diagnosed with their allergies, I feel more knowledgeable about it all. He gave me an awesome regimen for helping Moses eczema – and it has been working like a charm! We have an arsenal of steroid creams and an Rx for Hydroxyzine that we only use when necessary (he said Zyrtec doesn't help with the itchy skin). I mean he still gets itchy but nothing like before! He’s even slept through the night a couple times! Let’s hope it becomes regular at some point J

We also had blood work for his food allergies. First, the good news: he tested NEGATIVE for corn and pork – whew! The bad news, he tested POSITIVE for: dairy, wheat, oats, soy, peas, sesame seeds, peanuts. Seems horrible, but most of these are readily labeled – so much easier than dealing with a corn allergy. I’m just so thankful it’s not corn!!!

We are to strictly avoid the dairy, peanuts and soy for now. The other ones were low-levels so we can wait until later to try them and see if he can handle them – if he has a reaction – then of course we will avoid them. For right now I’m cutting out peas because he was super itchy and rashy a couple weeks ago when we were giving him peas. And in the past week his skin is looking much better, so all of the pea protein has finally flushed out of his system, and he’s looking better.

Right now the nurse said we are to introduce the fruits first, one at a time: apples, bananas, pears, peaches, the typical baby fruits. Then move to yellow/orange veggies, of which he’s already had: squash, carrots and sweet potatoes. Then we can introduce rice cereal, since rice is the least allergenic of the grains. After that we can intro meats. By then he’ll be about a year old and we can reassess his formula/milk situation and see where to go from there.

He’ll have another allergy test at 18 months. She’s mostly worried about his peanut allergy, the other ones he can outgrow eventually, most by 5 years old. Being as we already have twins with SEVERE peanut allergies – we know what we’re dealing with – just wish we didn't have to deal with it. Poor kiddos. And poor mommy and daddy having to watch them at the playground or at the farm and make sure no kids have left peanut butter smears on the slides or toys, etc. Blah. Or last weekend when I was on the playground at the farm with the girls and another mom was eating peanuts and throwing the shells on the ground. We had to high-tail it out of there. I carry the epi-pens with me at all times. Just hoping they all don’t have a reaction at the same time – I don’t want to act out Sophie’s Choice between 3 kids if I’m solo.

And the stats for Moses at his appointment on April 2 at 8 months 1 day old – 22 lbs. 11 oz. (90^th percentile) but I didn't get his length, I forgot!

Easter Weekend

Oh we had a fun weekend with my folks. I was off from work monday and tuesday as well. Woohoo!

Saturday we did a lot of store hopping. I needed to get new sneakers for the girls and my parents wanted to treat them. We went to several different stores but alas, the girls tend to want the same style and it's hard to find 2 in the same size or for them to agree on a pair for that matter. We ended up at Walmart and got them some sparkly leopard print sneakers with lights! oooooohhh we love those shoes. And they are wearing size 9 now! Wow, so crazy how big they are getting.

On Sunday we went to my aunt's house for a mini-family reunion/baby shower for Carrie. Uncle Rawknee had bought some dresses for the girls on Saturday, so the festivities on Sunday were the perfect reason for the girls to parade around in them. It was nice to see everyone again. The girls enjoyed putting their stuffed bunnies under their dresses and pretending to be pregnant like Aunt Carrie. Too cute. I can't believe another baby will be joining the family in less than a week now. Crazy! Uncle Eug and Aunt Jane were able to make a visit and enjoy the craziness of all the little ones we having running around Aunt Sig's house now. Between Ben, the girls, Moses and Ajanja. Kids galore. It was nice to see them, and looking happy and healthy I might add! Yay!! Aside from eagerly snuggling Aunt Tiana, Moses had some serious stranger-danger to just about everyone else, so Richard happily took him downstairs, away from folks (gave daddy a chance to catch up on some NCAA and hockey, so he didn't suffer too bad).

Monday morning Francie wasn't feeling so well. She complained about her belly. I changed her diaper and she had mucous filled, bloody, diarrhea poopy - typical of a food allergy reaction. Given that we had eaten several different things on Sunday, at home and at Aunt Sig's, I wasn't sure of the exact culprit. She felt better later though. I'm assuming it was something soy. Right now, we're thinking it was pancake mix because she felt yucky again on Tuesday and that's the only common denominator between the two days. I read the label but ya know, companies are only required to notify on the ingredients, not if the product was produced on equipment shared with potential allergens. So who knows. Anywho, no more pancakes unless they're from scratch!

With her "belly ouch" gone, we headed out to the petting farm up the road from us. It's the first week they were open. Moses stayed home with daddy. The farm wasn't crowded and it was such a beautiful day. Right now is when all the little babies are being born so we saw a couple babies, but I saw some goat mamas hauling some big ole bellies so I know there will be more babies on the way. Sooooo cute! The girls showed grandpa all around the farm (it was his first time there). Then we went on our first hayride! We went through the whole Enchanted Forest. And we went through the Pine Tree Maze for the first time. All in all, it was a good little field trip.

Yesterday Richard and I took Moses for his first allergy appointment at Johns Hopkins. We had exhausted all the testing the GI doc could do and she preferred that he see an allergist that specializes in children only and, specifically, food allergies. That was back in January and the first appointment available was yesterday. Crazy, right? Anywho, it was a very informative visit. It's nice to finally talk to someone who knows the ins and outs of food allergies and seemed to actually feel my pain. I feel more confident in general going forward. He ordered new blood tests for Moses. Oh of course Moses cried, but got over it pretty quickly. We should know the results in 7-10 days. Anywho, he said that if Moses shows an acute allergy to corn it could explain why his eczema has continued - the main ingredient in EleCare (his super expensive "hypoallergenic" formula) is corn. I told him I relayed my corn concern to the GI doc and she said the formula shouldn't bother him. He said, well it is a heavily processed corn but a small amount of protein can always remain and if he's highly allergic, he will have a reaction. He said corn is a terrible one to have though, so let's hope not! So I'm trying to not get overly concerned before we even know the results.

On the plus side, the doc said most food allergies and eczema are outgrown by 5 years old. He said it's not like turning off a light switch, it's a gradual thing, but that it eventually gets better (except for peanuts - they stick around forever). He said that while there is no magic cure for eczema, they can try to improve comfort to 80%. He said if anyone had to choose between eczema and asthma, asthma would be the lesser of two evils because asthma can be controlled with the various treatments available, where as there is no set cure/treatment for eczema. So now I'm armed with an arsenal of steroid creams and a detailed plan of action. He said, theoretically I can use the same eczema treatment plan on the girls. I feel so empowered. So here goes!

The doc said, as we have been accostomed to hearing between our girls and Moses, that most kids with food allergy suffer from malnutrition or failure to thrive -- but just as our children have been unfortunately blessed with food allergy genes, they have been equally blessed with "hearty" genes and grow reallllllyyyyy well despite the allergies. So that's good.

Moses turned 8 months old on Monday. Yesterday he weighed in at 22 lbs. 11 oz. (it was on a full stomach mind you). I didn't catch his length, but he's definitely longer than the girls were at this age. Big boy. And he's officially wearing 18 month clothes now which are fitting perfect length and width-wise. Insane. The girls were on the same track when they were his age (quite a bit shorter though, used to have to roll up shirt sleeves and pant legs). The girls have definitely thinned out since hitting 2 years old. I'm assuming Moses will do the same, so I'm not overly concerned about obesity issues, but keeping an eye on him just the same.

Us girls - grandma, Francie, Gracie and I - went to Target on Tuesday night to get some hooks to hang some decorations on Moses' bedroom wall (yes, we hope to get him in his OWN room this weekend! Finally!!). We walked by the kids clothes on the way to the back of the store and the girls were fawning over the dresses. Oh I have total girly girls. I guess Sunday just opened up a whole new world of dresses for them. Of course grandma couldn't resist and asked them which ones they wanted. They were so cute and holding the dresses up to each other and saying "ooooooo so pretty!" Funny girls. My mom also bought them some little kid nail polish so they were actually able to paint their toenails AND their fingernails. Oh man, are we colorful.

My parents left yesterday. It's lonely without them. Can't wait for them to visit again! I definitely appreciated the extra help around the house. 

Black Mold Attacks Again!

Due to Grace’s severe dust allergies we finally had someone come to clean the air ducts in the house. I had them cleaned the day after we bought the house because the previous owner had a dog. At the time though, our HVAC unit was basically new. So I figured it was a good idea to get it all cleaned again since we had done a lot of dusty construction projects since we bought the house. We have a service contract with BGE Home but they wanted to charge $350 for full house and only 10 vents. So I scanned through a dozen flyers for duct cleaning companies and this one seemed to have the most honest advertising ($245 for full house and 15 vents). So when the guy arrived I took him to the basement to check out the main unit.

We have a whole house humidifier that we’ve never used and I thought I might want to try it out. He said no problem and he opened it up. It was COVERED in black mold. I was scared as crap. I asked him if that was because we never used it so the moisture just sat in there. He said he thought it was indicative of a bigger problem. I thought, Crap. So he opens up our main unit and sure enough. Black mold EVERY WHERE. So black mold on the incoming and outgoing. The air coil… covered in black mold. He said I shouldn’t even be running my furnace with that much on there, it’s just blowing spores everywhere. We had the windows replaced upstairs due to a black mold problem. Now I know where that black mold was coming from. Crap crap crap.
Richard popped home from work and the guy showed him all the mold. He said he couldn’t clean the ducts without cleaning the mold first but that mold remediation is expensive. Oh great. I said, well what if it grows back, how long would it take? He said sometimes it’s six months but that our basement is really “moist.” It could be sooner. We had known about our moisture problem in the basement due to plumbing we had done a couple years back and the plumber said we had a lot of pipe condensation and we should get a dehumidifier for the basement. Doh. Hindsight is always 20-20. The duct-cleaning guy said he could install a UV light apparatus that would purify the air and prevent mold from growing (but that cost money too). Anywho, long story short, we couldn’t in all good consciousness leave the mold. So we elected to get everything done: the mold remediation, the duct cleaning, and the UV light purifier system installation.

We may be a large chunk of money in the hole BUT you wouldn’t believe the difference. I cried this morning. Moses slept the whole night without snoring and I didn’t have to use any nose drops (which I usually have to constantly give him). And his eczema is looking better. It’s too much of a coincidence to not be related to getting that crap cleaned out. On the plus side as well is that our upstairs is warm again!
Needless to say, I’m glad we procrastinated on buying Xmas gifts since all our savings is going to financing this… but a healthy house, with healthy kids is the best Christmas gift ever. God, that sounds so sappy. You just wouldn’t believe how guilty Richard and I felt that the kids (and the nanny) have been breathing this crap in every day, ALL DAY long. I’m just glad it’s clean now and we know to keep an eye on it. Now our plan is to work on the moisture producers in the house. Hopefully with a tax return we can pay off this cleaning and afford to buy a dehumidifier for the basement and maybe think about venting the bathrooms and the stove hood to the outside.
On a happier note from yesterday, my bosses gave us their 2-year old pre-lit artificial Xmas tree for free! And I found a nickel on the ground at the gas station! So the day wasn’t a total bust!
Now for that Powerball! ;-)

Introducing Our New Addition...

We are happy to announce our newest family member...

Moses Ogwang Wacha

Born August 1, 2012 at 5:01 p.m.

(via scheduled c-section at 37 weeks)

8 lbs. 3 oz. and 20 inches long

Mommy and baby Mo

Big sisters! Gracie (holding Moses) and Francie.

Proud papa with his hands full!

Our stay in the hospital was relatively "normal" this time around. It is nice to have baby in-room instead of in the NICU, that's for sure! He came home with mommy and we're all tired, but happy.

Happy 2 Years Old!

Happy 2 Years Old (yesterday) to my "baby" girls. My how time has flown by. What will the next year have in store (especially with a new baby brother on the way in a couple weeks!)?

We're Having A...

BOY! We're excited to add a boy into the mix and hope his big sisters will be equally as excited once he arrives. Everything looks great for the little guy so far. Had my OB check-up and, assuming I don't have any complications, we'll try and schedule the c-section for 37 weeks (August 1st-ish). Yay!

Mild Winter!

Grace (left) and Frances (right)

Gracie

Francie

And Baby Makes 5!

5 people in our family, that is.

Well, we're expecting again! I've had two ultrasounds -- no mistaking -- it's just ONE baby this time. The 40 week due date is August 22. Due to my prior fibroid surgery and previous c-section I'm considered "high risk" again and will deliver between 36 and 37 weeks. That puts my delivery between July 25 and August 1.

This will be our last pregnancy, not only because I'm sooo done being preggers, but it's also doctor's orders given my previous surgeries and coming c-section.

We're more excited now that the news is out. We will find out the sex at the end of March. We're thinking it's a girl. Just a feeling...

A Year and a Half!

Belated post on the girls turning a year and a half old on January 18. They had their 18 month check up at that time and are doing fine.

Grace’s stats:
25 pounds 10 ounces (70th percentile)
32 ½ inches tall (75th percentile)
48.5 cm head circumference (90th percentile! Hahaha)

Frances’ stats:
26 pounds 4 ounces (75th percentile)
32 ½ inches tall (75th percentile)
47.5 cm head circumference (80th percentile hehehe)

We had noticed a hard spot on Frances' heal awhile back (probably August). But thought it was a callous or something. And subsequently forgot to ask about it at the 15 month checkup, so I remembered to ask at this one. The pediatrician thought it might be a wart! Poor Frances. Too much playing at the playground and library without shoes or socks on this summer. Lesson learned. So anyway, Richard took her to the dermatologist who confirmed the diagnosis and said the treatments available are too painful. So either we subject her to crazy pain or she rides out the wart pain until it disappears on its own (whenever that is). In the meantime she had been limping from an injury to her other foot. Turns out it was a sprain. But we're better from that now.

The dermatologist also prescribed a steriod cream for the girls' eczema. The hydrocortisone just wasn't cutting it. We had some horrible horrible eczema in the diaper area that resulted in numerous "horror" scenes of us finding blood on crib railings and sheets from the girls (especially Frances) just itching and itching. Poor babies and poor, helpless mommy and daddy too! But this cream has been AMAZING. So happy now :-) And we don't have to use it everyday. Whew!

The girls are changing so much. The pediatrician said the language explosion occurs between 18 and 24 months and man-o-man it's like a light switch turned on. A lot of the change is verbal, they can say more things. A lot is cognitive; they understand so much and can point out so many items when you ask where x, y, z is. Grace is so crazy good at that. Frances loves counting. Albeit, not in order. She has favorite numbers to say: 2, 4 and 8. Funny girl.

They also are playing with each other so much more now. It is so amusing. They like our Michael Jackson CD and love to hold hands and dance to the music. So cute. I know, need videos - but they stop everytime we bring the camera out!

Frances likes the song "Bad." She sings along, "I'm bad, I'm bad..." It's so funny. You can ask her, "Frances, are you bad?" And she says, "I'm bad." Hahaha. So cute.

We are also getting practice at "timeout." Trying to ween them out of the whole "the world revolves around me" phase. It's hard, but so far timeout is working - we'll see how long that lasts! Ha.

We put them on the scale last night and they both weighed 27 lbs. 2 oz. Chunky monkeys!

A Thing Or Two About Twins - National Geographic Magazine

Interesting National Geographic Magazine article several people have recommended to me, "A Thing or Two About Twins"

Teaser: "Twins could reveal how genes and the environment interact to make us who we are."

There are a couple links to photo galleries of twins on the left side of the article.

Sisterly Love? And Cousins Galore!

So I was playing in the hallway with the girls yesterday. They were having a grand old time, laughing and giggling. Grace was laughing extra hard - ya know, head thrown back and everything - and she lost her balance and went face first into the door trim, subsequently bounced off, and fell on the floor. Hard. It looked painful. So I wasn't surprised when she started crying. She wrapped her arms around my legs, sobbing, and I rubbed her head saying "Awww. It's okay Gracie. You're okay. I know it hurt. Awww poor baby."

Frances immediately comes up behind Grace and puts her chubby little hand up to the back of Grace's head and starts moving it back and forth over Grace's hair and commences to say "Awww. Awww. Awww." It was the funniest thing. It was all I could do to refrain from laughing - I didn't want Grace to think I was laughing at her misfortune (development note: we have embarrassment issues now).

So after a quick consoling from myself and Frances, Grace was back off running. Then I hear Richard ask, "Annie, what's on Grace's face?" And sure enough she rounds the corner of the kitchen with a big bloody smile. Literally. She got a big ol' busted lip from her ordeal. Poor girl. She's a trooper though.

So who knows if Frances really felt sympathy towards Grace or whether she was just copying mommy? Usually when one falls and cries, the other immediately performs their best fake fall and cry (also very very amusing).

Fun times with the Wacha girls.

And we're excited to hear we have a new baby cousin on the way. My how the family is growing all of a sudden!? Can't wait to meet Baby Songha this summer! Congrats Tiana and Sega!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Richard and Frances & Ann and Grace

Oh November, where did you go?



Francie hamming it up and Grace chilling in the background.

 November flew right by! I added some pictures to the 15 month album on my Photos Page, as well as added a 16 month album. I have also added 4 videos on my Video Page.

We went to Aunt Signe and Uncle Freddy's house for the annual November birthday celebration. We saw all of our family and got to play with cousin Ben again.

Over Veterans Day weekend we enjoyed a visit by our godmother, Aunt Amy. We played in the leaves, explored the trails, and had lots of fun! It was wayyyy too short, but we were glad Aunt Amy made it down to visit :-)

We turned 16 months old on the 18th. Wow.

And on Turkey Day we welcomed Grandma and Grandpa Parry, Uncle Tommy, Aunt Amber, and cousins Isaak and Savannah. It was a great visit. Nice to have lots of help and distractions in the house. I of course enjoyed as much baby time with Savannah as I could -- only had a couple instances of jealousy with the girls. Savannah is soooooo cute! And such a good baby! And Isaak was so fun reading his bear hunt book - like seriously, he could probably read it, he's a genius, I swear. Oh! And Aunt Violet came for a visit as well. And even though she had been travelling since the day before, she still had lots of energy to deal with all of us hehehe. Uncle Rawknee came too and Uncle Paul.

And then November was over. Just like that!

Happy (Belated) Halloween!

Francie and Gracie

We didn't dress the girls up for Halloween or go "Trick or Treating." Honestly, most people do it at this age for the enjoyment of us older folks - because really, what 15 month old is really going to "get" the concept of it all? I can just imagine a tantrum about 15 seconds after donning a costume. But we're not total bummers, we took the girls out a couple weekends ago to take pictures in some Halloween shirts I had bought them (see above picture).

They say "Will Trade Sister for CANDY" -- and it really does look like they mean it.

15 Month Checkup

First things first, I've added a few more photos to the 14th Month album link on my Photos page, as well as a link to a new 15 month album.

Enjoying the Fall foliage at Centennial Park

Today, we had our 15 month check up. We did fine. Didn't like shots, but that is to be expected. Here are our current stats:

Grace
Weight: 24 lbs. 6 1/2 oz. (75th percentile)
Height: 31 in. (70th percentile)

Frances
Weight: 24 lbs. 4 1/2 oz. (70th percentile)
Height: 31 in. (70th percentile)

I can't remember head circumference, but I know they are big! haha.

Over the weekend Uncle Rawknee came to visit and we went back to Clarks Elioak Farm. Frances was as giddy as ever. Nobody yelled "quirrel" at the animals this time. But Frances had her crazy happy feet going and was screaching at the animals in excitment. She was petting the goats (mostly hitting, I had to tell her "gentle" like she even understands). Grace remained apprehensive as she was on our last visit. She did not want to touch any animals. So we're making our rounds and Frances' interest is peaked by a cow mooing in her pen. So we walk over to the fence and the cow walks right up to Frances and moos in her face. Frances stumbled backwards in shock and fell over. And then commenced the meltdown. It took about 5 minutes to calm her down. I took her back to the cows to show her that they were just mooing for food -- so that she wouldn't be scared of them. Whatever, she wanted to move on. So we went to the pigs and then to the donkey. Well, it was just not Frances' day because that donkey started hee-hawing with its eyes bulging, teeth baring, and tongue hanging. She went into super meltdown mode and from then on wanted NOTHING to do with animals. I even tried taking her back to the goats and chickens (her fav part) and she wouldn't let me put her down without clinging to me. I felt horrible. Hopefully she'll forget about the whole thing and not be scarred for life.

We also went to the park a lot this weekend. Trying to get a lot of outdoor time in before winter :-)

15 Months Old and a New Baby Cousin!

We turned 15 months old today and got a new baby cousin as a present! Yay! AND it is also Grandpa Parry's birthday today, so an extra special birthday for him as well. Yay for everybody!

Welcome baby cousin Savannah we look forward to play dates with you and cousin Isaak!

Congratulations to Uncle Tommy, Aunt Amber and cousin Isaak on your new addition :-)


Tom, Amber, Isaak and Savannah



Baby Savannah and her big brother Isaak

Clarks Elioak Farm

First things first: I FINALLY uploaded some pictures and a few videos (see the respective Videos and Photos pages for links.)

Having been holed up in the house with colds for the past week, we ventured out to Clarks Elioak Farm, just a short ride (about 5 mins) up the road. They have a petting farm, an Enchanted Forest of fairy tales, and a pine tree maze. It's so much fun! (See pictures from our trip in the "14th Month" album on my Photos page.)

Frances LOVED the animals. Right away she was exploring and yelling and so excited.

Grace was a bit more reserved to start. She didn't know what to think but she eventually warmed up. The funniest part was that they would point and shout at each animal, "quirrel! quirrel!" I guess I should mention that we have A LOT of squirrels around our house, so everytime we go outside we see them and the girls shout "quirrel!" It was so funny, they had everybody laughing. I guess we should have known this issue yesterday when we saw deer on the backyard and the girls shouted "quirrel" then too. Ah well. We do have books with other animals in them, I guess quirrel is the easiest word for them to say now. They say dog, gat (for cat) and duck, but we didn't see any of those. hahaha.

Tomorrow, Frances has a follow up with the GI doctor. She's slowly switching to Neocate Jr., a hypoallergenic toddler formula. For the amount she drinks, we would pay close to 600 dollars a month! But we appealed to the insurance company and now we pay only 50 dollars! Thank God. That was a bit of a worrisome month wondering how we were going to pay for the nutrition she needed.

Other than that, we're doing well and staying very, very busy with two toddlers under foot.

Attack of the Baby Walkers!

The girls are officially walking now! There had been tentative steps here and there for a couple weeks and then voila we just started walking across the livingroom. Tuesday night Grace was walking across the livingroom, the dining room, and their bedroom. And loving it, in Gracezilla fashion. Frances was more apprehensive. The nanny thought maybe another couple of weeks before Frances started doing floor length laps. But yesterday she was walking all over the place. Crazy how fast they learn.

13 months, 3 weeks = the beginning of some serious physical workouts for mommy, daddy, and nanny chasing after two toddlers.

Note to self: Gotta find some kid leashes (I sympathize with those parents now)!

UPDATED to add walking video (from 14 months):

Jabberjaws and Waddles

UPDATE: In the evening Grace took her first steps! Yay! I feel like a horrible mother because I don't remember the actual day when Frances took her first steps, but it was the last week of July, right before she got sick, so you can imagine how side-tracked we got pretty quickly. Now that she's regaining her strength maybe she'll give it another go!

We love talking now.

Grace's vocabulary is growing: stop, go, up, down, dada, chomp, baby, quack, done, ball and hello.
Frances' vocabulary is growing as well: stop, go, up, dada, done, ball and hello.

They like requesting stuff by holding out their hands and signaling what they want. They understand when we say belly, walk, stand, cheerios (one of their fav words), etc. etc.

We're doing a lot of standing up by ourselves without any assistance. And we like to do it for long periods of time. And we're really proud of ourselves. Mommy, daddy, and nanny are happy too, albeit afraid of what it will lead to: two mobile toddlers! We shall wait and see...

Grace loves to take off her own shirt (you have to help her with her arms but she likes taking it off from there). She also loves handing you her diaper, so you can wrap it up for Mr. Trash Can. Nice girl.

It's so crazy how fast kids learn and change.

We're in the process of researching and visiting daycares to prepare for next summer when the girls turn 2. Wow, what a headache. And we have to cross fingers they'll have two slots open in the same age group at the same time. And then worrying about Frances' food allergy issues. And of course the ultimate issue: finances. Arrggghhh can't wait to get it figured out!

Allergies, Chicken Pox, and Everything in Between

The stuff you want to sign up for as a parent: the first time your baby calls you “mama."
The stuff you don’t want to sign up for as a parent: illnesses - be they mild or severe – they all suck!

The last few weeks have been eventful. It all started after the girls' 12 month checkup. The Wednesday following, Grace and Frances had both developed some bumps but we thought they were mosquito bites. Frances' appetite began waning (very, very unusual for her). We thought maybe she was just teething extra badly (some molars were coming in). Between Wednesday and Thursday she only ate a couple spoons of applesauce and a cookie. Nothing more. However, by that Friday, she was refusing fluids as well and was throwing up – A LOT. A dilemma...

Was she just plain sick?

Was she having a soy allergy (we had been trying to introduce her to soy milk and were just 2 days shy of 2 full weeks on soy)?

Was she having a reaction to one of the vaccines she received?

By the time I got home from work she was just a lump of clay on the living room floor. She had a low grade fever – just shy of 101 – nothing dangerous. But her lips were so dry and her eyes were all sunken and she just laid there without moving. Every time I tried to pick her up, she’d throw up. But she had nothing left in her belly so it was that bile stuff and violent dry heaves. Poor baby. So I called the pediatrician and she said to take her to ER.

Fortunately, my mom was still here helping us out while the nanny was on vacation. She stayed home with Grace while Richard and I trekked off to the hospital with Frances. So we get to the ER and they get her in a room pretty quickly. They can tell right away that she’s dehydrated. So they decide to give her IV fluids. Now getting an IV into the arm of a squirming, unhappy baby is not easy (and babies have that extra fat which inhibits searching for veins, being dehydrated doesn't help either) – so the nurses requested that mom and dad help hold her down. Richard subsequently left the room, without notice. So I had to hold her legs and arm down and try to reassure her – the reassuring part being next to impossible. So she was screaming and crying of course because it hurt and she was scared and I was singing to her and talking to her in a fruitless attempt at distraction. Emotionally I was doing really well, since I knew this was to make her feel better. Then it happened… she screamed, “Ma! Ma! Ma!” A knife went straight through my heart. And then I felt horrible. Why? Because that was the FIRST time she called me mom. I felt so horrible because she was clearly seeking my help and I couldn’t do anything to help her, instead, I was aiding in the “torture.” I know that is completely illogical, but really, logic seems to fly out the window when it comes to your child being in distress. Logically, I know that by getting her the IV I was helping her to feel better. Illogically, I wanted to fix her by saying “presto!” Richard returned to the room when she shouted “Da!” They got the IV in right when he was coming up to the bed. He reached to scoop her up for comforting and I admit I was selfish and kept her to myself for comforting – hey, I figured I didn’t want her to view me as the torturer and daddy as her savior. Yes, totally, totally, totally selfish, I know that’s wrong. And for those of you wondering, yes, Richard did feel bad for leaving the room.

So anyway, that’s one reason I hate illnesses and now a very traumatizing way (for me at least) to remember the first time she called me mom.

The ER doctor and nurse assured us it was a stomach virus that we'd just have to wait out. By Saturday she was doing much better and by Sunday, even better still. So on Monday, Richard gave her a bit of milk in the morning. A couple hours later the nanny calls because Frances was throwing up again. I left work early and took that Tuesday off as well to help get her back to keeping the Pedialyte down. We called the pediatrician's office again and they said there was a stomach virus going around that’s taking 2 weeks to clear up and just to keep her on a bland diet with pedialyte for a few more days.

Meanwhile the bumps we noticed a week back have scabbed over, and some new ones appear on Grace. We now suspect Chicken Pox. They got the vaccine at their 12 month checkup and the doctor said they could get it from the vaccine. The nurse at the pediatrician's office confirms the chicken pox diagnosis for Grace on Thursday. By Saturday, a full week and a half after Frances first started feeling yucky, we decide to try (for the second time) introducing a bit of milk back into her diet. Grandma and Grandpa who had left town for the week had returned just in time for her to start vomiting all over again (poor Richard got drenched, Linda Blair-style). It is at this point we conlude the vomiting is indeed an allergic reaction to soy.

After input from 5 medical professionals (pediatrician, ER doc, 3 nurses), who all assured Richard and I that Frances' illness was in no way allergy or vaccine related, we discover that those were in fact the culprits. We did the calculations as to when the bumps first appeared on both girls. Grace had far more and they started the same Wednesday that Frances' appetite started to disappear. At that point, Frances had a couple bumps. And then the day after we took Frances to the ER I noticed a big red welt on her thigh, and asked my parents if they thought it was a spider bite because there were two small bumps in it. I thought maybe that was making her sick. My mom noted that was where she got her vaccines. And Grace got the same big welt where her vaccines were too! So Frances' low grade fever was probably attributable to the chicken pox and she just happened to be unfortunate enough to have her soy allergy present itself at the exact same time! Poor girl.

Anyway, we starved her for a week and a half for nothing. But I can't be completely angry with the doctors, it's hard to diagnose an infant -- hell, it took us a week and a half to figure it all out and we're with her all the time. It's still so frustrating when they completely rule out otherwise plausible explanations. Ah well. And Richard kept saying "soy allergy" and I kept saying "no" because all the medical professionals said "no way." I guess we've learned to trust our instincts. Nobody knows your child better than you do.

So now Frances is back on her hypoallergenic formula and right as rain. She had been our little “chubbette,” but due to her illness, lost considerable weight. She looks so skinny to us. At the ER visit she weighed in at 22 ¼ pounds - that’s a whole pound and a quarter down from her 12 month checkup the week before! We're guestimating that she probably lost at least 2 pounds during the whole ordeal, which is a lot for someone so little.

So now, Frances is on a dairy, soy and egg free diet. The allergist said the stricter we are about elminating all potential sources of allergen, the quicker she could grow out of them. Cross fingers! We're reassured by the fact that Grace has outgrown her milk allergy and is on whole cow's milk now. As for the chicken pox, Grace had several more appear on Monday of this week but hopefully this is the last batch. Thanks to it being the mild version from the vaccine, it has been pretty "easy." Frances only had a few pox and the fever. Grace had more pox but no fever. Interesting.