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!

We have been sick!

So, I know it has been for ever since I updated. We have all been through the ringer lately. Cooper cut both of his bottom teeth in five days. This caused a major reflux flare up, so that made for a really rough week. We have since increased his prevacid dose and that really seems to have helped. Then, the next week, I came down with bronchitis followed by a nasty bladder infection which landed me in the ER Saturday. Now, Cooper's git the upper respiratory junk. All that and Curtis worked an extra night shift all week last week and started class this week. Needless to say, we have been busy. This makes for a lot of updating to , so please bare with me. Cooper is officially a "mover and a shaker!" It has been fun and exhausting. I took him to the doctor today and he weighed 16lbs 1oz! This was fully clothed, but I'd say he's probably 15.5 naked. I'll take it! We are slowly working on foods. He does great with pears, apples, and peas, but everything else we've tried has been a no-go. We added carrots this week, but the jury is still out on that one. We are going to the chiropractor quite frequent and have a new found love of whole body healing. I plan to post a full chiro post later to encourage any non-believers.

Many Firsts

On Saturday morning, I was surprised to find that the tooth that had broke through the gums a few weeks ago was finally out. It is very sharp might I add. He is chewing, no wait, gnawing, on everything so I am sure there are more teeth that will quickly follow. He has also started scooting a lot these days. He can pretty much get to anything he wants now, just give him a handful of carpet to pull on and a few minutes, and he'll be there. Yesterday we had his 6 month pictures made. The photographer asked if he was sitting yet. I told her not really, but sometimes he can "prop sit" on his arms. She told me to sit him up, so I did, but he would not lean forward. She asked me to move my arm and she would try and snap the picture before he fell over. I laughed to myself knowing he would immediately fall, but did it any how just to humor her. Wouldn't you know he just sat there. I was shocked. He continued to sit for many more adorable photos, which I will be posting as soon as I get them. We even got a few shots of him standing, yes standing, holding on to a wash barrel. I tell you, he never ceases to amaze me. All of these moments have been very bitter sweet. I am so so so happy he is doing so well, and is able to do things I thought he might never do, but I am somewhat sad that my baby is growing up. It is so hard to look back on what we have been through. But, man am I happy we have made it to this point. I love this child unlike I ever knew possible. He is the world to us. I am so glad God has given us the chance to raise him in this life. May we always do our best.

You know you have a sick baby when...

Cooper totally conked out at lunch time today while Curtis was feeding him applesauce. He was actually in between bites. He had just started to feed him; they didn't even make it through half the jar. Poor little guy. He clearly doesn't feel too well. He also cut his first tooth today. The teething has been really rough on us all. I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband who will get up early with Cooper so I can have an extra hour of sleep. I'm pretty sure I could not survive this otherwise. Hopefully teething and the cold will pass soon, and we can get back to being happy!

One week down...

I am now on my second week of the elimination diet. Only one more week until I get to start adding foods back. I will probably start with oats. Our life has changed dramatically over the past week. We have a new, much healthier baby. He is teething which is generally a nightmare for every baby, but even worse for refluxers, but he is doing surprisingly well. I mean, he defiantly still refluxes and needs meds for now, but nothing like one month ago. I am getting used to the diet as well, and what it has done for Cooper makes it well worth it. I just wish someone would have told me to do this 4 months ago. I considered it, but never had great encouragement from his docs, so I just figured that it wouldn't make that much of a difference. I now know we are clearly dealing with some food allergies here. He has also gone from 6-10 stools a day to 1-2 a day, often skipping a day as a breastfed baby should. We also know Cooper can't eat butternut squash or rice yet as they lead to a really hard night. We tried green beans yesterday, and our night was awful, but I think it may have been the teeth. We will lay of them for now anyhow. As you see, I have a much more positive attitude now that I am seeing the fruits of my labor. It is so nice to know I can finally do something to help my baby!

4 months old!

I can't believe Cooper is 4 months old, but at the same time, he has been through so much in such a short time. We are so incredibly blessed to have him and are reminded of that daily. He is getting so big, but he's still very small. He has started to teeth, so remember us in your prayers. The reflux symptoms are generally worse when babies teeth, so it has been rough. He has been waking between 4 and 5am screaming for at least an hour. This is really beginning to take a toll on up all. We elevated his bed tonight, so hopefully that will help and I am going to move to the recliner after he wakes. We tried this last night and it worked, so hopefully it will again tonight. The only trouble with that is we have to take him off the monitor because it won't reach the chair. We realize teething is a battle for all parents and know we will make it through. This is his four month photo taken in a tree at the park on Saturday. He looks so sweet!

I think I jinxed it!

So I decided to brag to the doctor and all of you about how well Cooper has been doing lately. Big mistake! I am pretty sure that I have jinxed it now. We have had three bad days in a row. On Wednesday, he was good during the morning and afternoon, but that evening he screamed for hours. Curtis tried to give him a bottle, but he was not very interested. He had not had one in a few weeks and acted like, "what the heck is this!" He finally took about an once and a half, then nursed and went to sleep. Yesterday he was fussy most of the day, and the evening was horrible. This morning, he has cried a lot, but is finally napping after at least an hour screaming fit. I think he may be trying to teeth, and from what I have read, the reflux is more severe when they are teething. He seems so little to teeth, but lots of babies do it for months. Great! Hopefully things will get better so we can have a peaceful Easter weekend.