Monday, July 27, 2009

It's on the list....

To my two dear friends who have no boys, this is why mothers of boys have that "the lights are on, but nobody's home" look in their eyes, even years after all the boys have left the premises.

I had every intention of updating this site tonight, but after:

driving 4 hours while entertaining a 2 year old in a 2 seater roadster before the sun came up,

attending the first day of PT when said 2 year old and PT are trying to decide who's boss,

catching up with and commenting on all the facebook friends I love and adore and can't wait to wake up and hear from each morning,

doing 6 loads of laundry and making changing sheets on all the beds to prepare for the next round of guests,

cooking a meatloaf, mash potatoes, corn and biscuits for hungry baby daddy that just arrived from offshore,

watering the plants that were sizzling in the 105 degree Texas heat with no water for 4 days while caretaker was living the life of Riley (who is he anyway, and why has he not written a book?),

going to Yoga to further enlighten oneself so as not to guilt generation currently being reared,

I am too dadgum tired to be creative and download the 10,000 pictures I took of my adorable, beautiful, healthy grandsons this weekend. Even though my favorite thing in the whole wide world is showing them off and sharing them with the world.

Maybe tomorrow.

O.K. Here's a sneak preview.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Probiotics

When Bryan came to stay with us, he had a runny nose almost constantly. It seemed as though anything he put into his mouth or near his nose set off an allergic reaction and the un-ending cycle of his nose pouring, then drying up. And every trip outside ended up with stuffy eyes, runny nose, etc. Pink eye seemed to be at least a bi-monthly visitor to his immune system. He had battled chronic constipation since the day he came home from the hospital, and had recently been in the E.R., as the constipation became so severe he had to have medical intervention to help him with it. The kid simply could not catch a break. This on top of all his "major" medical issues...hydrocephalus, resulting in a shunt and hypotonia which causes him developmental delays in his gross motor skills. He rarely felt well an entire day, much less a whole week without something setting him back.

As soon as Bryan went back to see his old pediatrician here in Houston - after giving us instructions and medication to get everything else cleared up, she handed me 2 boxes of powdered probiotics and said, "Give this to him...it will change things".

Now, I have a dear friend who has been using supplements for a while - and if you know me, you know I am not a vitamin, supplement, type person. I've just never been one to take a lot of stuff...I rarely even take a tylenol. At this point, I was willing to try anything. And the fact that Bryan's pediatrician - who I absolutely love and trust more than any doctor we've ever encountered - not only recommended it but handed it out in her office - was enough for me to try it.

That was nearly two months ago. Immediately, I noticed Bryan was having regular bowel movements - at least once a day, which he has NEVER done previously. (Now once a day the majority of the time, at least every other day). Once he healed from what was going on at the time, Bryan has not had one bout with allergies, not even one runny nose. No pink eye. No ear infection. No cold, cough or bugs. And all of this while recovering from major surgery. This is the longest he has ever gone without some type of infection or complication.

While the probiotics have not changed Bryan's major issues, I believe they have enabled him to stay well throughout his recovery which has helped him become a little stronger every day. I'm sharing this because it seems lately I have heard so many LP parents out there discussing the latest bug their child has picked up - and if this has helped us I am hoping it will help you too.

If you are interested, please email me and I will give you more information on what we use - or just ask your pediatrician if it might be helpful to your child. I'm sure they can point you in the right direction. There is LOTS of research on the internet as well. It has changed Bryan's life so much that I had to share our experience with everyone.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Family, Friends and Faces

My "sick of the hospital" face....



My "seafood" face.....see....it's Goldfish...

*disclaimer - Grampa taught me this trick....YaYa says its not nice.
My "what! no more cake?" face....

My "YaYa always gives in...more cake!" face...


My "too much cake and punch - after baby shower" face...

How 'bout those adorable legs???


My Auntie Shel...who is teaching me Kung Fu.
My friend Collier....who teaches me about Scooby Doo....

My Tia Gretchen....who loves me more than Paula Deen cake.....

My Mommy and Me on Easter Sunday......'nuff said.



























Friday, April 10, 2009

Boy, am I tired!

For those of you that don't know, Bryan is staying with us for a while so he can be closer to his doctors and get the medical care he needs to get on his feet....literally and physically. Bryan has been with us for 2 weeks now and we have been doing the follow up for his shunt and getting everything else switched to Houston. ENT, PT, etc. Right now the hunt is on for a great nanny to come in and help out my daughter Shelby, who is currently caring for Bryan while I'm at work (and doing a GREAT job of it). Shelby is due with her first child May 28th, so the clock is ticking away. I have an interview today with a young lady who is an early childhood specialist student in her junior year and she is planning her masters in OT. I'm really hoping she is the one.....

So, this week we put up 2, two, TWO cribs at our house, rearranged the entire place and babyproofed everything. Wow....talk about life changing. We absolutely love having Bryan with us. He is making great progress, finally, and is starting to gain some weight back and sleep through the night. He had some complications after surgery that would probably be considered minor, but all of it really got him down and he was weak, lost weight, and lost all of the skills he had recently aquired during his month or so with the PT. Hopefully he will be able to pick them all back up quickly...and reach our goal of walking by the end of summer.