Soooo

I've been missing in action. Sorry! I've been spending time with the fam. Let me tell you something. They told me that M doesn't have a dairy intolerance. But I switched her to soy milk anyway, because I suspected that she did and that's how I roll. Anyway, all of her vomiting episodes have happened a day after she had more milk/dairy than normal. Since we made the switch to soy milk she hasn't thrown up ONCE. AWESOME.

A few things.

1) I'm still working on my Jacob post and I will put it up before Wednesday. It'll probably look something like this:

Thing is, I'm not done with it yet and we're looking at an imminent snowstorm. A REAL snowstorm instead of the usual spitting of snow that barely covers the grass. They're predicting 8 to 12 inches for us tonight. Yikes! That means Hubs and I will spend the night pushing people out of our ditch instead of writing wonderful blog posts.

2) I hate the snow this year. I usually love winter. I love wearing my big sweaters. I love soups and stews on a cold night. I love my big fluffy blankets and wearing my peacoat and crochet scarf everywhere. I even love snow, usually. But I hate it this year. It mocks me. Besides, it has been snowing every week for the past month. It's ridiculous. Usually we have one really good snow of a few inches. It's enough that I can plop M down in it and take a cute picture and go back inside with my hot chocolate maker. This year has been different, though. Then there are idiots who try to drive in it. Snow where I live is different. If it's on the road, then there's most definitely a layer of solid ice underneath it. Even snow chains aren't going to help in that. We live at the bottom of a hill and people try to climb that hill for hours every time it snows, but they can't make it so they roll back down. And where do they land when they roll back down? That's right. Our yard. So we have to push them out so the next moron who gives it a try doesn't hit their car. So that's what I'll be doing tonight instead of writing a lovely blog post.

3) There's a strong possibility that we'll lose power. Before we had a child it didn't bother me. Now it really bothers me because without electricity, we don't have heat. Our next house will have a fireplace. Anyway, I'm so nervous about keeping M warm enough if the power goes out. So if I don't update this weekend it's not because I'm dead. It's because either some idiot hit the power pole trying to drive on the ice, or the heavy snowfall caused broken branches, resulting in the power going off.

4) LOST is this coming Wednesday. I am so excited. Hubs said we should have a party, but I told him to shut his fool mouth. Where there are people there are people talking. And I don't want anyone talking during LOST this week.

Hopefully I can get the Jacob post done tomorrow. Much love to my blog buddies!

It's a new year

Newsflash

All of M's tests are back and they are NEGATIVE. That means she doesn't have: Crohn's, Celiac's, autoimmune disorders, food allergies, esophagus problems, stomach lining problems, intestinal problems. All of her food moves from her esophagus to her stomach to her intestines just as it's supposed to. This means that she probably has CVS. Our choices with CVS is to give her a medication every day to stop vomiting or just treat the vomiting when it happens. We'll probably go with the latter as I don't want her to take a medication every day for something that happens so sporadically. She's gone almost two months now with no vomiting. We're going to throw a no vomit party. For serious. She has a follow-up with a GI specialist this Friday. Then, hopefully, it's all over.


New Years Resolutions

I hate them, but here they are:

1) I resolve to NOT burn the house down with the butane cooking torch that Hubs got me for Christmas. I know, what was he thinking? Apparently he forgot that I'm something of a pyro. All of our food from now on will be cooked with a torch.

2) I resolve to keep the blog up and running because of LOST. Mostly because if I don't write down what I'm thinking I say it out loud and it irritates the Hubs. I'm also going to try to do one more character summary before the new season starts, so tell me who to summarize!

3) I resolve to not blog as much, even though I'm going to keep my blog. I will be doing occasional updates, but if I learned anything in 2009 it's that I need to shut the laptop and spend time with my family.

4) I resolve to launch the etsy store. I've been working on stock for the past few weeks and am thinking of opening soon.


And I have to blurb Lauren. Lauren is my awesome bloggy friend. We like the same books. She is so chic and stylish. She inspires me to wear something besides the sweatpants and bed hair I got so used to when I was a new mom. She also teaches me new words like "lamespice." I'm insanely jealous of her hair. Anyway, Lauren opened a new store where she sells her awesome headbands and you should go check it out! Busy Bee Shoppe Happy shopping, and may your head always be festive!

Update

This has been a bad week. M hasn't gotten sick anymore, but we had a lot of tests this week. She had a gastric emptying exam on Wednesday. It was so bad, it was just really long. Today she had an upper GI and blood tests. For the upper GI, they had to strap her to the table, so her ankles, knees, waist, and chest were strapped down. Then they pulled her arms above her head and strapped her wrists, then taped her head down. Then I had to stand there and make her drink her chocolate barium while they did the X-rays. It wasn't much fun for either of us. Luckily the test was short. Then we did the blood test. They missed the vein in her right arm, so they ended up having to stick her in her left. That was a nightmare. But she got a balloon, stickers, a new toy, a puzzle, a book, and chocolate ice cream out of it.

The gastric emptying exam will tell us if there's something wrong with the opening at the bottom of her stomach where it empties into the intestine. The upper GI will tell us if she has a problem in her esophagus, stomach lining, or if her intestines/colon are twisted or out of place. The blood tests are a more comprehensive RAST panel and more intestinal disorders.

If the GI specialists gets an abnormal report from the tests they'll call us by Wednesday. If everything is normal we won't hear from them. She has a follow-up appointment with the GI specialist on the 8th.

Hubs and I had a talk and we've decided that if they don't find anything from these tests that we're going to go with the CVS diagnosis. These tests will rule out any severe problems, so we don't feel the need to continue to put her through rigorous tests if it could be as simple as she has a crazy sensitive gag reflex. What they'll probably do is stop the testing and observe her, meaning we'll have to return to the specialist once a year for a check up. I'll update if we hear anything before Wednesday. After Christmas I'll decide for sure about the LOST updates. As long as she's well then I'll probably do them. I can't skip out on the last season. :)

If you don't hear from me before Christmas, Merry Christmas to all of you!

Update

We went to the GI specialist today where they ruled out Chrohn's disease (HUGE RELIEF). They said they think she has a condition called Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, but they're not 100% certain. Unfortunately the only way to diagnose CVS is to rule a bunch of other stuff out. So we're having more tests done. Next week she'll have more blood panels done then she'll have an upper GI exam and a Gastric Emptying Scan. If anything on those tests comes back abnormal her specialist will notify us immediately. If everything come back normal I think they will probably go with the CVS diagnosis. The doctor is pretty sure that's what's causing it, though, sure enough to go ahead and start treating her for CVS, because it's just 1/2 tsp of medication per day. Next week is going to be a really rough week. She's already terrified of doctors now, and I know dragging her to the lab two or three times next week is not going to go over well. Besides the blood draw I'm most worried about the upper GI exam because she has to drink a cupful of barium. Have you ever drank barium? It's like liquid chalk. It's not going to be much fun to force a two year old to down that and I honestly don't know if I'll be able to.

I'll have to take M to the tests by myself because they only allow one parent in the lab. Hopefully we'll have some news by our appointment on January 8th.

I've been considering my blog the last few days and if all of this blows over by the time LOST starts back up in February I may go ahead and blog until the season's over. It is the final season after all. But it will hinge on M's health at that point. I'll keep you all posted.

update

M has an appointment with a GI specialist on the 10th. I wish I could write a happy blog post and be all funny, but I seriously can't right now. Thank you for reading anyway.

M update - kind of

We had a good Thanksgiving and still have not heard the results of the RAST test. M ate and didn't throw up so I was happy. We should hear results later today or Monday. I have a feeling in my gut that the RAST will come back normal, which means on to a pediatric GI specialist, CT scans of the intestines, tubes down throats, and more blood tests. It's not fair.

I have decided that I'm definitely ending the blog. I won't delete it until I can let everyone know what's wrong, but I feel I have no other choice. She needs me, plain and simple. I need to focus on my family and my daughter. I'll miss the blog, especially when LOST comes back on in February, but I don't know what else to do.

If you're a member of one of my mommy communities I will try to check in there occasionally, or you can e-mail me at allkindsofcreativeATgmail.com

I'll miss everyone I've gotten to know through my blog. There are countless other wonderful blogs out there to read. I know a lot of people who have kids who are sick blog about it as an outlet and I think that's wonderful, but I just can't do that. I'm not made that way. If you really want updates on M, though, e-mail me at the address above and I'll tell you any information that I may have.

Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog, even though it's not that much to look at. You're all pretty awesome and I'll miss you.

ETA: Her doctor just called and she has no food allergies, so we go to the GI specialist next week.

M update

Most of her tests came back today and they were all normal. All that's left is the food allergy test and it's still pending. The nurse is supposed to call me as soon as they have the results. If the RAST is normal then it's on to a pediatric GI specialist.