Contrary to popular belief...

...I have not fallen off the face of the earth; I have just become increasingly busy with my 9 month old boy! Oh, all the happening I need to share. I'm not even sure where to begin. I guess we will start with Cooper's ever growing vocabulary. He now says mama, dada, gigi, has a sound for Nicko(our dog, this is usually a loud, almost yelling sound. Can't imagine where he got that from!?!), bye bye, and I'm sure there is more that I'm missing. As far as motor skills go, he is doing great. He is bear crawling EVERYWHERE and pulling up and cruising too. This week he has started standing for a few seconds on his own, but as soon as he realizes what he is doing, he bends his knees and eases to the ground. His fine motor skills have developed really well also. He has the pincer grasp down and can self feed finger food quite well; he also claps and waves. We are working on the baby signs for "more" and "please," but he has yet to do them on his own. There is nothing cuter than a baby signing "more please," so hopefully he will pick it up soon.

Now for the health update: Cooper is doing really well, but we are still really struggling with food. He had his pulmonology appointment 2 weeks ago, and it went great. He was released from their care! We are welcome to come back if any issue arises, but we do not have to come back. I was very excited about that. Dr. Hadeed agreed that seeing a pedi GI about Cooper's food intolerances would be a good next step. We have had quite a heavy reflux flare up, curdled spit up, very sour breath, and I'm just not sure what else to do for him. This is why I think the GI might be good. I am so fearful to try new foods with him, because it seems like when I do, it usually fails. And he suffers. I had not added a new food for him in quite some time, and decided I needed to. So, I thought peaches would be good. They are a mild nectar fruit, and I have been eating them for months now without any problem for him. The first time he had them, it seemed to go ok. The next time I offered them, he only ate a few bites and the refused the rest. I think he knew they were going to make him sick. About 20 minutes later, he was on his back having his diaper changed, and peached started coming out his nose. Then, later that day in the car, he choked very bad and was gasping for air. He quickly caught his breath, but not before scary me half to death. His chest sounds very junky on the days when the reflux is bothering him too. I'm just kind of at a loss on how to help him. He has been teething and has recently cut the top 2 teeth, and due to the extra saliva, reflux is often worse during teething.

He had his 9 month well check on Tuesday, and I left feeling incredibly frustrated. I had decided to delay some of Cooper's vaccination and split them up. Since we know he has allergies, I wanted to make sure we could tell what he is reacting to, if he were to have a reaction. I basically got treated as if I were a neglectful parent, wanting my child to be infected with some terrible rare disease. Honestly, since when does the parent who takes the extra time to do the research and make the tough decisions about her child's health, become the bad guy. I never said I wasn't going to vaccinate Cooper, I just don't want to give him 5 shots at a time. The nurse even told me, "it is only 3 sticks" as if that were the reason I was declining some of the vaccines. Seriously, that was the least of my concerns. So, since I wanted to make sure he had the DTaP, I had to give him DTap, HIB, and polio because they only have a combination injection at that office. I was not happy about this at all, and now I regret him having it at all. I should not be bullied into giving my baby vaccinations! Then the doctor came in. He was very pleased with Cooper's growth. He was 17lbs9oz which keeps him right at the 5th percentile, which I am completely satisfied with. Rising above that dreaded line was a huge feat for us, and it's fine by me if he's sitting on it, as long as he doesn't drop below it again. I can't recall his height, but he stayed in the 75th percentile for that. He's going to be tall and thin like his daddy! I discussed with the doctor my concern with Cooper's food issues, and expressed my interest in seeing a pedi GI. He told me he believed Cooper had food induce antephialtics that presents with digestive issues. He said most kids out grow it. I told him I was concerned with what to feed him, and that I am unsure how he will be able to rely on food for his main source of nutrition versus breasmilk. He said if I was concerned about how to feed him, I should see a nutritionist, not a GI. It is not that I don't know how to feed him, it is that I am unsure of what to feed him, that is why I want him to see a GI. The main thing he eats right now is peas! There are a few other things he can tolerate, but it seems that peas are his favorite, and I just don't know where to go from here. I told him of the recent increase in reflux, and he said we could add back axid, but I haven't filled the rx yet. I just don't really want to give him med, at least not until we see another doctor. I think for now, I am going to have a consult with another pedi, and see what he would recommend and then go from there. Oh the decisions!