ENT appointment: we have a date

The ENT appointment went really well on Thursday. The doctor was a hoot and very good. He took one look in Cooper's mouth and said the tonsils have to go. They will also be taking the adenoids as well. I explained to the doctor Cooper's history with anesthesia and the difficultly he has waking up and breathing on his own. He said that some of the trouble he had in the past could have been due in part to the tonsils. But, he said Dr. Hadeed(the pulmo) likes to keep his kids overnight for monitoring, so we will be staying in patient. I am very thankful for this. Cooper will have a pre-op with the pulmo on March 4, then the surgery itself will be March 5. We do not have a time yet, but we are expecting it will be early afternoon. For now, we just are trying to keep him comfortable and fed. He has been eating better. It seems to go in phases, every other day he eats well. The ENT said hungry is a good motivator, and they eat through the pain and discomfort. So I guess he eats one day, then isn't as hungry and takes a break, then is hungry the next day and eats again and so on and so forth. He is doing about 12oz of formula now and mostly potatoes and applesauce, but he is still having dirty and wet diapers, so I know he is fine. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. Don't expect too much from the blog until the surgery is over and he is recovered. I will be doing the 365 project, just late and missing some days, but I won't be doing the menu, at least for now.

An update

Cooper has not been well. The reflux is out of control. He is back on his full dose of Nexium and on breakthrough meds, but it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I don't know what to think. It hasn't been this bad in months. Honestly, I can't remember the last time he struggled like this. It is hard too, because his weight is great, so it is assumed that the reflux is fine. But that hasn't been the case. He has been choking on fluids, gagging and chocking on solids, spitting things out, and coughing like crazy. His throat really hurts. His stridor and raspy breath is like it was as an infant. Yesterday was terrible. He had his normal 6-7am bottle of 6oz. He never asked for breakfast, so I didn't give him anything except some rice cakes. Then around 11, I decided we would do oatmeal for lunch because that is easy to go down. He gagged and winced with each bite. It was so sad. After that, I fixed him a 6oz bottle. He got excited as usually when I shook it up and handed it to him. He tried to take a drink, but he literally couldn't. He couldn't do it; he just handed me the bottle back and went to play. It broke my heart. Then a little later, I tried it again. I thought I would rock him and get him ready for a nap. When I tried to give him his bottle, he pushed it away and covered his mouth. I tried it several more times throughout the day, and he would suck it, but let all the milk run out. He couldn't seem to get it down. The worse part was he always wanted it at first. He had a little chicken and applesauce for dinner, but I had to stop him once he started gagging and acting like he might vomit. So, he went to bed yesterday having only 6oz of formula; he usually has 18-24. Then this morning, he woke at 6, we gave him a 3oz bottle and he "dream fed" it all, then fell back asleep propted on my arm. He doesn't usually go back to sleep, so that was a little out of the ordinary. I hear him reflux, then I hear it again, and up comes the whole bottle, all over me and the bed. He choked and cried. The milk wasn't even warm; he threw it up pretty much instantly. After we changed the bed, he fell back asleep and slept for a little over an hour. I took him into the pedi first thing. His tonsils were huge. They were literally touching each other. He has no sign of infection or a virus. He does not act sick, he just doesn't feel well, if that makes any sense. The pedi said, "it is a mechanical issue, they need to come out." We set up an appointment with a local ENT. After about an hour of thinking it over, I realized he would have to be put to sleep to have his tonsils out. He does not do well with anesthesia. I spoke with the ENT's office and gave them a brief history. They said it would not be advisable for us to use them, so we will be going to the Children's hospital where his GI and pulmo are. I called the pulmo to ask their opinion about an ENT. The nurse gave me a name and agreed we absolutely needed to be there, not here. She said that the pulmo would likely want the tonsils out before doing anything else. She acted as if this is a pretty typical occurrence for kiddos with a story like Coop's. She gave me the name, and told me if I had any trouble getting in quickly, to call back and she would make the call. She also told me to tell them that Dr Hadeed thought he needed to be seen asap. She said that if/when he has surgery, Dr Hadeed would admit him and watch him overnight. This was a huge relief. I called the ENT's office and told them what had been going on. They gave me a March 9 appointment. I can't imagine waiting that long; he is miserable. I told her that he wasn't eating, and that Dr Hadeed's office said it was important he be seen soon and that the nurse said she would be happy to call. I told them how little he ate the past to days. After sitting on hold for several minutes, she came back with a February 19 appointment. That is Thursday. We just got back on Sunday night, but it is so good to get in quickly. They said if he needed surgery, we would meet with a surgery coordinator that day and get a date set up. I am ok with this. I feel that if he will need to get them out, let's do it now, so he doesn't have to suffer. I say, don't put off the inevidable. He had 6oz of Elecare today and about 8oz of applesauce, probably about 6oz of juice. Clearly not a good day of eating. Only one more day until the appointment.

This week's healthy menu

Monday: Something frozen. My freezer is filled to the brim, so I need to make some room. Plus, I have loads of laundry from our trip, and don't see how I will make it to the store today, so frozen leftovers it is.

Tuesday: Chicken Fajitas. Thinly slice boneless skinless chicken breast into pieces. Do several breasts, a few extras for later in the week. Season part of the chicken with fajita seasoning and lime juice. Slice up an onion and a couple of peppers. Toss it all in a skillet in some oil and cook until golden brown and chicken is cooked through. Serve with beans, rice, salsa, avocado, and corn tortillas. In another pan, cook up the rest of the chicken seasoned with just a little s&p. Cooking it all at the same time will save time later in the week.

Wednesday: Pork chops with apples and onions. In the crock pot, place pork chops, thinly sliced apples and onions, cover with water and season with s&p. Shake up a little cornstarch and add that for thickener. Cook until tender. Serve over brown rice and with a green veggie, maybe green beans with mushrooms.

Thursday: Strawberry spinach salad. Thinly slice strawberries, toast up some walnuts, and heat up the reserved chicken from earlier in the week. Serve over fresh baby spinach. I will make a balsamic vinaigrette to top it.

Friday: Fajita Soup. Add the leftover fajita meat and veggies to some gf chicken broth. Add the leftover rice and beans(likely black beans). Add a can of corn and what ever else sounds good. Simmer, then top with avocado and toasted corn tortillas.

Saturday: Steak. I have some frozen steaks, so I will grill those. Asparagus is on sale this week, so we will have that and oven roasted potatoes to go with it. For the potatoes, cut red potatoes into wedges and toss with olive oil, garlic, dill and s&p. Roast in the oven until tender and golden.

Sunday: Grilled pork chops and stir fry veggies. It will be a quick lunch after church. It's pretty straight forward.

Project 365: 2/9-2/15

Sorry it is a day late. We did not get in from our trip until very late, and I was way too tired to upload photos. I took a picture on Wednesday with my cell, but can't figure how to get it uploaded, maybe later in the week I'll add it. So, I finally got a new camera this week! Lets see if you can guess what day I got it. Who am I kidding, this won't be hard.

February 9: It is stock show time. Cooper really liked the animals. The goats were his favorite, because they were right at his level. He was not scared at all. He kept putting his hand in the cage and trying to pet them. Sometimes he surprises me.

February 10: I had a valentines scrapbook party for my mom friends. This was the yummy spread!

February 12: These valentines M&Ms were looking oh so lovely in a crystal bowl leftover from my party. I just had to snap a shot.

February 13: Cooper looking cute as ever playing while we got packed for our trip.

February 14: Well this isn't the cute valentines picture I was hoping for. It just never happened, but it is a picture pf Cooper's adorable spring wardrobe. We hit sale's pay dirt while in the metroplex!

February 15: Cooper watching his daddy load up the car. I LOVE this picture.

Ok, now leave a comment with your guess, and I'll let you know if you were right. I'm sure you will be.

Cooper's GI appointment

Sorry it took me a bit to get this update to you, I hadn't had a chance to get online. So are you ready for the great part, the weight part!? Cooper weighed 22 pounds (naked weight) which put him in the 50th percentile, you heard me right, 50th! He went from below the 5th a little over 2 months ago, all the way to the 50th. Amazing what a high cal, hypo allergenic formula can do. He said to continue the full dose of the meds and keep attempting to add new foods one at a time. All his blood tests came back negative, but the GI said that means nothing because he has never been exposed to those foods, and we will continue to hold off on the top 8. We will retest for allergies at his next appointment in 6 months. I let the GI listen to the recording of Cooper's breathing from the other night. His words were, "that is quite impressive." He asked when we see the pulmo and I told him he had been released unless we needed him. He said he would call Dr. Hadeed(pulmo), and see if we needed to go see him. I also discussed the tonsils with him and he said he did not believe it was soley the reflux, but after seeing Cooper gaging and choking on some rice chex he advised we consult with ENT, so we will discuss that with the pedi soon. All in all it was a great visit, by far the best we have ever had.

A quick update on the Coopster

Well, I was beginning to realize how long it had been since I posted about Cooper's health. That is the reason I started this blog, but he had been doing so well lately that there had been nothing to report. January was a terrific month. He wasn't sick once. The only time we went to the doctor was for a vaccine. This was probably the first month in his entire life he hadn't gone in for a sick visit. February started out well, and I even thought he might be able to go off his meds soon, but hadn't spoke it for fear of a jinx. But, then the reflux really flared up with teething, and then he got bronchitis, so he is now back to the full dose and extra carafate for the breakthrough. Last night was just awful. His breathing sounded like it did as an infant. I recorded it for the pedi to hear. He looked at his throat and found his tonsils were very swollen, explaining the increased stridor last night. He believes it is due to the increased reflux and mucus from being sick, but that there was no current infection. I asked if he thought reflux kids were more prone to needing there tonsils removed, and he said "tonsils, andnoinds, more ear infections, wheezing, asthma, ect." Of corse, this is just in his opinoin from what he has seen, but it all makes since to me. So, that could be in our future. But we will take it with a grain of salt. We are just so thankfu to have a very healthy boy these days compared to one year ago. He goes to the GI tomorrow, so I will update with an offical weight and POA then.

This week's healthy menu

Cooper has his appointment with the GI this week, so we will be out of town and eating out a couple of days. This week is going to be very simple as I have so much going on.

Monday: Mom's goulash. It isn't really goulash at all, but that is what we always called it. This was one of my absolute favorites growing up, so I thought I'd make it for my gang. (well, actually just for Curtis and I because Coop can't have it.) It is so easy. Brown up some ground meat, I'll probably use turkey, but use what ever you prefer. Add a can of ranch style beans, a can of corn drained, a can of tomatoes drained and a small can of tomato sauce, Mix together and let it get all bubbly. That's it. I told you it was easy.

Tuesday: I'm having a Valentine's party for my MOMS club friends, so no dinner tonight, just snacks. I'll be making chocolate covered strawberries, hummus with veggies and corn crisps, and probably something else, but I'm not sure what. To make the strawberries dairy free, use Enjoy Life semi sweet morsels and melt in the microwave with a little canola oil. Stir in 30sec intervals until melted. Dip dry strawberries and set on wax paper until the chocolate sets. I may sprinkle a few with slivered almonds and coconut. For the hummus, I mix one can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans, a clove of garlic, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper in the food processor. Stream in olive oil until well blended. Sever with carrots, celery, pepper strips and corn crisps. For the crisps, cut corn tortillas into triangles. Place on a oiled cookie sheet and then spay with cooking spray and sprinkle with sea salt. Toast in a 400* oven. Don't take your eyes off them, or they will burn. I'm going to make some sort of punch too. Probably a cranberry juice blend with san pellegrino and frozen berries floating in it.

Wednesday: Crockpot chicken. Place several pieces of chicken in the crockpot with onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Season to your liking and add water to cover. Let cook all day, until falling apart.

Thursday: Chicken salad. Take the leftover chiken and shread it (or you can mix everything in the food processor). Add mayo and one spoonful of cool whip. Mix all together. Add in celery, grapes, pecans, s&p to taste. Serve wraped in a big piece of Romaine.

Friday: Off to the doctor. We will probably have pei wei for one meal because they have some gluten free options, and I love it!

Saturday: Still out of town. Not sure what we'll be eating.

Sunday: I will probably cook some sort of nice dinner for us for a late Valentine's Day. Either pork tenderloin roasted in the oven or steaks.