Will and Charlie...

Finally Fall...

A haggard looking Mommy and Charlie...

Will preparing to fly...

Charlie lovin' the swing...

Will playing black widow spider...I was his prey! Yikes!

Preparing to pounce from his web, like a jumping spider...

Charlie has figured out how to grab the canopy of the car seat and move it back and forth! So clever!

My baby is much happier these days with all the changes...I love seeing him smile!

The temps are FINALLY cooling down, again.  We spent 3 hours at the park today enjoying the cooler weather and are really, really hoping that we are done with 80's and 90's till next year.  We got Will's haircut today too, as you can see in the pictures, and he also got new shoes today.  Poor Charlie didn't get anything fun today, but it wasn't from lack of looking.  I saved all the great toys from William, so I just didn't see anything wonderful that we didn't already have.  We ate dinner on the deck, which was lovely and only suffered 2 mosquito bites!  A busy weekend is upon us so I am glad I was able to spend lots of fun time with my boys today, since I will be missing them so much over the next 2...

Why I Hate Electronics...

Solon had his I Phone with him when he came over this weekend.  Within minutes of seeing it and watching it work William was obsessed with it.  Alessandra already is. I hate seeing kids hooked on a screen.  I realize that in the years to come my kids may hate me when I say no to all these gadgets and video games, but I hate to see them staring at a screen when they could be reading, having fun outside, or doing something fun like cooking or art.  I want them to develop a love for living an ACTUAL life, not a virtual one.  We have one TV, one computer, and a flip phone.  I love that our evenings are spent together playing, reading, and going on walks.  I hope when they grow older, my kids will understand why I was so adamant about keeping these flashing lights out of the house...and I hope they don't end up eternally obsessed with the damn things because I kept them away from it!

Hi Charlie!

Apple Pickin' Time!

Hey!  Leave some room for the apples!

William picked this beauty first...he finally has learned to pick off the tree and not off the ground.

Gabriela was clearly thrilled to be picking apples!

Three crazy cousins! 

Four Crazy Cousins!

Feeding the sheep...

Alessandra was more cautious while feeding the animals...

Enjoying our harvest!

Charlie is always so intrigued by the big kids...

Training Charlie for next year...

Today, Uncle Solon came over with the girls and we loaded up after I got home from work and headed off to the orchard.  It was lots of fun, and the girls really enjoyed it.  They had never been apple picking before and Gabriela was kinda disappointed when she found out we wouldn't be climbing ladders.  We explained that they keep the trees trained low so ladders aren't really needed.  I wore Charlie in the Ergo and the kids had a ball being hauled around in the wheel barrow.  We got a lot of apples and cider to enjoy, and when we got home I whipped up a quick apple pie which turned out pretty great.  Tree to pie in less than 4 hours!  It was great to get out and enjoy the fall, even if it was still close to 80! 

Charlie x 5 Months...

Time flies when you're having fun!  Tomorrow Charlie is 5 months.  He is trying really hard to sit, is working really hard at perfecting rolling over from his back to his tummy, and is moving backwards really well.  I leave the room and come back to find him in a totally different area than where I left him. He is still not sleeping great these days, but between his first cold, his teeth and the reflux, who can blame him?  His favorite toys are his squeaky giraffe, and his mirror and his biggest entertainment source: William.   He still loves his binky with a passion, and can even pop it back in on his own sometimes.  He seems to be developing so fast these days, I can't wait to see what he is doing in a month!  For the record he was 16lbs 6oz today and 24.5 inches long.

A New Plan...

Dr B came up with a new plan for Charlie today.
1. Change Formula to Elecare, which is a amino acid based formula (not milk or soy based at all) to help heal his gut and stop the allergic reaction.
2. Thicken all feedings with rice cereal
3. No solid foods for 2 more months until we see him again
4. Keep feedings small and frequent
5. Increase gastric motility with medicine to see if that helps the reflux as well.
6. Stay on both Prevacid and Zantac for now with Mylanta as needed.

The formula is an even more expensive one, and you can't even buy it over the counter!  I now have to start the whole process over with the insurance company, but this time it should be easier, since they already know he has the condition.  Poor Charlie.  I hope all these changes will help him. The Dr did seem to think though that he will improve over time with age, as his gut matures.  I am just very happy that no surgery is needed! 

Visual Proof...

This is the view of Charlie actually drinking the barium contrast.  You can see the nipple in his mouth and the contrast going down his esophagus into his stomach.  Neat!

When his tummy was full and it was starting to empty through into the pyloric sphincter, they stop feeding him and watch what happens.  This is the view of what shouldn't be happening.  The top of the stomach doesn't shut properly and all that contrast is just filling his esophagus again, all the way back up to his mouth.  Yikes! No wonder he is in pain so often, and I have to go through so many outfits and burp cloths!

NOT YET CHARLIE!!!

READY...

SET....

GO!!!

Family Day...

My Fertility Clinic hosts a picnic every year for families to bring their babies back and see the staff and Dr's who helped them.  This year they had this man: Oops the Clown making balloon animals.

William wanted a balloon hat, but was really more interested in his hand pump...Oops was nice enough to let him blow up a balloon with it.

He did a great job, with a little help from Daddy.

At the end of it all, William decided he didn't want to wear the hat, so our buddy Jack wore it for him...

Kelsey and Charlie hung out together and played mini golf...

It was great seeing some of my former patients and seeing the babies that we helped create.  Whenever I meet someone who has a problem with fertility treatment, I would love to take them to one of these functions and show them all the families that we create and all the love that is created along with it.  I love what I do!

Crisp Fall Days...

Daddy and the boys got out and enjoyed the chilly fall weather on Saturday.  They stopped to play at the park and then continued on to lunch at Panera.  Will ate a whole bagel plus a whole serving of mac n cheese.  I guess he is entering another growth spurt.  Charlie loves the swings these days and it is so surreal to see Charlie in the same swings that William was in as a little baby too.  It's almost like stepping back in time.  I can't wait till we are out of debt and I can spend the weekends with these guys!  These pictures show how much I miss...

Fall is Coming!

Enjoying some outdoor jumping time!

I think these eyes MIGHT just stay blue...

Nothing says pure bliss like swinging half naked when it's 50 degrees outside!

The next week is supposed to be lovely.  40's and 50's at night and high 60's and low 70's during the day.  Lovely!  Bring on the fall!  Whoohoo!

Charlie Update...

Charlie is fascinated by the blinking lights on his baby MP3 player...

working toward the french fries...for a kid who can't actually crawl he gets around an amazing amount!



French fries have how many calories??

 Charlie is still growing like a weed and getting closer and closer to getting his belly up off the ground.  It is so scary that he may be mobile soon.  The baby gates will have to come out again and all the cords will have to be secured again.  Cabinet locks, and all that fun.  He is finally sleeping better again, but teething has been affecting that somewhat.  He seems to be getting the two center bottom teeth together, you can just see the little corners poking through.  His reflux is still bad and he still has episodes of pain daily, so next week he is having a barium swallow(shows if there is reflux and how bad it is.) and he is seeing the GI specialists at Children's after that.  He seems to be reacting to most of the solids we have tried so I think we will be stopping those until after 6 months, maybe even 9.  I guess it's pretty common with babies that have MSPI(milk,soy protein intolerance).  The Alimentum is working well though.  I just wish it weren't so expensive.  I am so happy that insurance is covering 75% but our copays are still very steep.  Charlie is still on the Prevacid, and taking Zantac in the evening as well.  All in all he is WAY better than he was before the meds and the formula change, but it's still hard to see him in pain and see him gagging and coughing throughout the day.  I hope that the GI docs can help him.  Other than that he seems pretty happy with life.  He sleeps well at naptime, loves to watch out the windows and ADORES watching his brother do crazy things.  He laughs and laughs when Will jumps onto the couch landing directly in front of him.  Almost getting squashed is SO funny apparently.  He is very cuddly and adorable and loves to be held and carried.  He is really getting excited to read books these days and loves to pat the pictures and chew the corners.  We are trying to get him included in the bedtime routine more and more, but he usually needs to go to bed after one story.  He loves his pacifiers, which is a surprise because Will never really liked one.  The Dr's say it helps keep the stomach acid down so I am letting him have it.  We are so happy to have this little man in our family.  It seems like we have always had him now.  How did we ever live without him? 

Yet ANOTHER Farm Trip...

Will was immediately befriended by the farm dog, Rose...

William was immediately trying to befriend the cat...it wasn't reciprocated, but it was tolerated.

The cows were stopping by for a drink on their way into the milking parlor...William was watching out for the splash from this...

This cow was drinking right from the stream, and splashing us with every lick!

Piglets!

The calves were curious to see if William had milk in his shoes...

Will stayed in this tractor for 20 minutes, then I was finally able to drag him away...

Will quickly gave up trying to feed the calves when he realized how heavy those 2 liter bottles are and how much the babies butt into the bottles...I fed a total of 7, including one that was born yesterday!

Charlie was content to stay cozy and semi dry in his car seat while we did our farm chores!