Darn ears!

Sam's been screaming bloody murder throughout the night and sleeping worse than usual. Usual isn't great anyway, so it's been fun. Today at day care he was inconsolable and this was day two of not eating (although fortunately he always continues to drink) so in to the Dr. we went again - yup we are averaging 3 office visits per month between sick kid, well child, and specialists visits.

The ear infection we started treating two weeks ago never really cleared up. Additionally one tube has now worked its way out and the other is clogged (no doubt causing the screaming). Our regular ped was not available and this one suggested we try an antibiotic that didn't ever work for us last fall. I'm not sure I agree, but we'll give it a try and if he's still grumpy in three days take him back for another look and to change course of treatment. I don't know what other antibiotic options we have at this point. The shots have worked in the past, but I guess those have a high probability of causing resistant bacteria strains so they don't want to use them too often.

We see our ENT on the 15th but I may call and get it pushed up since we know at least one tube is no longer functioning.

Try as I might, I can't talk myself into chiropractic treatment for him, though they claim to fix (permanently) ear infection. A friend just sent me a link to acupuncture for ear infections. The Chinese theory is actually that it relates to digestive issues - which makes sense in his case since he does have allergies. At this point I figure any kind of witch doctory is worth a look as we don't seem to be getting anywhere with western medicine.

Poor kid. I feel horrible for him. With all these bouts of illness (which include several days of non eating with each bad spell) and a limited diet due to his allergies - well he hasn't really gained any weight in three months, unless you count the weight he re-gained after losing during his nearly pneumonia bout.

He's such a happy guy despite this. I just want to be able to make him feel good.

Lately

Here's a rundown of everything going on in our house lately:
 - Sam. Walking. Everywhere
 - Upsetting our entire schedule Springing Forward
 - A couple nice weather days and playing at parks
 - Bridie getting up at 4:30 (almost) every morning and going to the gym
 - Impromptu CA trip May 3 - 7 (39.99 Allegiant tix!!)
 - Getting Gavin to eat his vegetables
 - Sam recovering from yet another ear infection. Started a new stuffy nose before the antibiotics ran out. Waiting for the next infection to surface.
 - Gavin staying in his bed all night for a week straight. Then not for the following week.
 - Sam yet to sleep on his own
 - Wii Carnival Mini Golf
 - Birthday parties. LOTS of 6 yr old birthday parties.
 - Gavin and Sam getting even more joy out of each other now that Sam is mobile
 - Showers. Sam is obsessed with taking showers and Gavin's new thing is showering all by himself.
 - Force feeding Gavin vegetables

I think that's all we have. I am so excited for our upcoming vacation!

Gavin Conversation

Once again, Gavin wins. We were talking about middle names, so I told him how Mom and Dad met in high school in English class and we really liked the book "The Great Gatsby", and that's how he got his middle name.

Gavin: Did all the people in high school have kids?

Mom: No, people in high school didn't have kids, and neither did Mom and Dad - you weren't born yet.

Gavin: Oh - then where was I?

Mom: (stumped)

Pictures

Gavin, Ski Pro

Last week I took Gavin skiing in Boone - his first ever time skiing.

I bought him an hour private ski lesson to start out with (imagine my surprise when we got there and his lift ticket and equipment rental was free!). Once I saw that he was comfortable with his instructor and that she was good with him, I took off and skied some, and came back occasionally to peek on him. After 45 minutes was up, he was still struggling to assume the snowplow position, so I bought a second hour.

Best decision ever! By the end of the second hour he was down the bunny hill without falling. So she took him on the green hill and I tagged along behind to see how she helped him on and off the lift. She skied backwards while he snowplowed down the hill - with a few falls. Our time was up, so Gavin and I were on our own! We went down a couple times and then broke for lunch. At that point I had perfected my backwards skiing technique and Gavin was perfecting his snowplow, so after lunch I skied in front a bit and snapped some pics. Then I skied behind him - no falls!

He begged and begged to go down the next steepest hill. So off we went. He was doing great until he got a little out of control and fell and went up in a poof of snow. Which he thought was "so awesome!" After making it down that one without falling, we headed for the harder hills yet - the first run down he was so fast that I had to go full speed to catch up with him! And he didn't fall!

We had such a great time. The private lesson was the best $50 spent as there was no way we would have been patient enough with each other to teach him that. It was so great to do something that I really love with him, and to see how much fun he had doing it. By the time we left he had been going strong for 5 1/2 hours!

I Can't Win

Sorry for the prolonged silence from our camp - to say that life has been hectic lately is a bit of an understatement.

Sam recovered from his bout of near pneumonia and was quite happy to return to day care. I took him to an allergist where it was determined by skin test that he is allergic to milk, eggs, cashews, almonds, and peanuts. The strongest reactions were to eggs and cashews. We are awaiting blood test results to determine severity. So the vaccines that were delayed at his 1 yr check up due to illness were partially further delayed - as the MMR vaccine contains egg so we have to make ANOTHER appt and have the shot administered at the allergist's office in case he has a negative reaction. And no more flu shots for this kid. So we pulled all offending foods from his diet (including his beloved almond milk).

Then this weekend he was hit with yet another ear infection (and for those keeping track, yes, it's only been 4 weeks since his last ear infection started and two weeks that he's been healthy). Screaming in pain at night gooey ear drainage infection. I feel so horrible for him.

Today his back breaks out with ezcema (which is an odd place) and this evening I notice his tummy is covered in hives. And I can't pinpoint what it is. Next step is to eliminate soy, wait for everything to be clear, try it again and see if that is the issue (not everything may show up on the skin test). Poor kid. I felt horrible for all the good eats he's missing out on as I made a separate pan of lasagna with no cheese or egg. Which is basically just noodles, meat, and marinara. He doesn't seem to notice or mind his alternative menu (yet).

Gavin slept for an hour and a half at KTC before grandma picked him up (not like him). Take his temp and it's 102 and he keeps saying his tummy hurts and then hurls all over his blankets tonight. Yup - I totally jinxed it because just today I was telling someone how healthy he's been and how he hasn't gotten sick in two years and that I just know Sam will outgrow the ear infections too if we just get past this winter.

And back to Sam, come to find out the rice milk I've been giving him is notorious for being cross-contaminated with allergenic foods. Almond, soy, and cow's milk are already out (he didn't test positive for soy, but the test can easily have false negatives and he screamed in pain twice when I tried it last - enough confirmation for me), then I come to find out what I have been giving him is probably not the best for him either.

And we don't have a lot of options given our lack of health food chains (Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc).

So, you see, it just feels like every move I make, I just can't win. I'm lucky, really, if this is the worst of my problems, I know it's nothing compared to what other people go through with kids. But man, is it discouraging to do what you think is the right thing for your kids only to find out