My cousin Lacey got married yesterday and the wedding was simple, elegant, and beautiful. Avery was the flower girl and did a great job. The weather was very cooperative and though it was cold, there was no rain. We had a wonderful time and are so happy for Lacey and Brandon!!
Half of a pound is a big deal around here. Yesterday, Riley weighed in at 18 pounds 5.5 ounces. It felt so good to see it! I was not optimistic on our way in as she has still been throwing up. We also scheduled her endoscopy for Dec. 22nd. She will go in the morning and the whole procedure should only take about 15 minutes. I feel calm about the whole thing now, but come that Monday morning and I think I will be a stressed mess of a mommy. Does that sentence make sense?
She will be put under general anesthesia and that makes me a bit nervous as well. Our insurance will be changing January 1st so we thought we might as well pay only 20$ at Kaiser to have the procedure done. We will start with a fabulous pediatrician (so I have heard) on Jan 2nd. Jaron has already consulted with him a few times over the phone and he has been great and given us so much information. He is not taking new patients, but immediately said he would take her. We feel very good about the decision.
Overall, Riley seems to be doing better. Today is day #2 with no throw up, which is always so nice for me. :) Se did have fall into the brick fireplace on Wednesday and suffered a fat lip and bloody mouth. I mean, really, can I get a break???
I am always in awe that she is ALWAYS happy. Her smile and goofy faces always keep us laughing and when I think of how tired, irritated, and frustrated I am with the whole situation I look at her beautiful sparkling face and realize if she can have all this going in inside of her and be so joyful then I should be just as joyful. She really has something about her that draws you to her. So many people have told us this. God has given us a precious gift in our Riley Elizabeth.
Grandpa's birthday was actually yesterday, but better late than never. I love you!
Back to the doctor today and the number on the scale was 17 lbs 13 oz, a weight gain of 1 ounce. Riley is in the 1st percentile. I should be happy for a weight gain, but it really is not enough. Her meds do seem to be doing their job, so we will continue this regimen for another 2 weeks in hopes of a greater weight gain. If we do not see it on the scale, our next step is an endoscopy. I have stopped breastfeeding her, which has seemed to cause an improvement in her so maybe she was allergic to me.
This is the only place I can sit Riley down to eat. She has developed a hatred for her highchair.
Avery was an amazing helper for Daddy in stacking the firewood.
We took Riley to se the GI doctor again today for a weight check and to discuss her meds. We felt armed with information and questions after consulting with another doctor outside of Kaiser (thank you, Steve!!!). Unfortunately, Riley's weight has dropped further, 17 pounds 12 oz, her exact weight at 6 months old. (she is now 13 1/2 months) After much discussion we are down to a few options. We are starting her on 2 meds today. One is prevacid, an acid blocker which will help protect her esophagus from getting damaged by the stomach acid. The other, Reglan, is a med to help move food through her stomach at a faster rate so that hopefully if she does throw up, the food has already moved through and into the intestines.We are also mixing a calorie supplement into her food. We will try this for 2 weeks then return for another weight check.
At that point if the reglan is not working there is another med we can try for 2 more weeks. After 1 month if things have not improved she will have a scope to biopsy her intestines to check for allergies or other conditions that could not be picked up in a blood test.
These are our last options before a feeding tube would be necessary. Please pray for weight gain. Riley is definitely not getting the calories she needs and it is very noticeable in her daily activites. Please also pray for Jaron and I to be strong advocates for Riley.
Through this I have felt enormous peace that can only come from Jesus. I know He loves this little girl and we will continue to trust in him for her care.
Riley has slowly been working toward further independence as she has started to walk. She is very good at cruising and in the last few days has started taking more and more steps on her own. She has done 5-6 at a time, but is still pretty lazy. :) I am ready for this phase of development and ready to use less stain remover on the knees of her pants.
Such a weird word...but I do have a potpourri of information so here we go.
I am miserable. It has been so long since I have been sick, but here I am with a sore throat, achy body, and feeling so tired I have no motivation to do anything. The girls got it on Thursday and are getting better, I think they are over the worst, but I got it on Sunday and I think I am at my worst. It is such a bummer to be sick and also have sick kids. I have no patience and neither do they. Yuck!
Update on Riley - everything seems to be the same. She is still on the pepcid and still throwing up periodically. It takes 4-6 weeks to really see a difference so we are just waiting it out. It is very hard to be patient. Emotionally, I feel great, but it is still hard to watch her feel bad and it is really bad to smell like throw up all the time. It is a good thing we do not pay for water as we have been doing mountain loads of was over the past few months! We go in to see her GI doc on Thursday. We will check her weight and discuss her meds. She has been having diarrhea off and on, but I do not know if it is related or not. Look for another update on Thursday or Friday.
Yesterday in my sickness stupor I knocked the digital camera into Roger's water bowl. Today when I went to take a pic of my "I voted" sticker, I realized it has bit the dust. Great. The only good thing is now we will get to invest in a better camera, but the bad thing is we do have to pay for it. Not sure when that will happen, but I do hate being without one. I am a picture-taker-aholic. :)
A poopy diaper is calling my name so I guess that is it for now.
Avery and her friend, Katie. Katie and Avery play together at least 3 times a week and are great friends. Katie is 5, but Avery is just a bit taller. She is a giant!
Our neighbor kids. 
My daredevil husband! He has been wanting to be Evel Knievel for years and this year we finally got the costume together. Yes, I sewed it!! I was up until 2 am the night before Halloween and then back up at 730 am to finish it before he headed off to work. Totally worth it. I am super proud of how it came out.
Avery and her stash. We went over to our church Halloween festival even though both girls were sick. Thankfully they both had naps. They had a great time trick or treating at all the classrooms and playing games.
Our church canceled services on Sunday so that we could all participate in the Silicon Valley Aids Walk. It was a 5 mile walk along a parkway in downtown San Jose. We had a great time and the kids did fabulous! It was fun to be out in the community and hopefully we reflected a bit of Jesus along the way.
Jaron and I were out costume shopping on Thursday and we discovered a yummy favorite. Yogutland is a frozen yogurt shop that has a ton of flavors and toppings and you simply pay by the ounce. Up until now, we have not had a good yogurt place anywhere near us. So I chose my strawberry, raspberry, and pumpkin pie frozen yougurt and added fresh raspberries and gummi bears to the cup as well. The cups are huge so it gave me plenty of room to seperate out my 3 flavors. It is also great because you can get as little or as much as you want. Now mind you this is no Golden Spoon (favorite yogurt shop in So Cal) ...oh how I wish I could have a bowl of Mounds frozen yogurt tight now, but it comes in close second. Jaron and I paid only a little over 3$ for both of our yogurts. A yummy find!
Halloween costumes - I have been searching forever and since I never pay near full price for anything I was having some trouble finding costumes. I finally found Riley's at the Goodwill. She is going to be a bumble bee. It is super cute and looks like it has never been worn. I paid $3.50 for it.
Avery really wants to be Snow White. This was a little more difficult since Disney costumes tend to be a bit pricey. I debated making it, but it would still have cost me a bit to make it. I finally found a nice one complete with the requested yellow with red bow snow white shoes on Ebay for about $10.
I really wanted to be the Evil Queen from Snow White, but the costume is really expensive and quite popular on Ebay so I had no luck. Yesterday I quickly ran in the Goodwill in Gilroy and right away spotted a brand new Cinderella costume in my size with the $40 tag still on it. I paid $5.99! I just need a couple of accessories and I will be set.
Jaron's costume is in the works and we will save that one as a surprise. :)
Horrible.
That about sums it up.
She had to be strapped down and fed contrast through a syringe for about 45 minutes, crying the entire time.
The GI doc said she thinks she got all she needed, but did not give any information out today. Hopefully I will know more when we see her doctor on Thursday for the PH Probe.
As a mother, it was probably the hardest thing I have had to do.
Harker had their annual picnic today and we took part in a few games, creating a beautiful jeweled crown, snacking on popcorn (Riley tried to eat the whole bag), petting animals, and jumping in the castle bounce house. Fun times.
I have not done a Friday Favorites for a bit so I thought I would do one today...Sunday Savorings. My whole life is about food right now so everything on this list is edible. We are trying a little experiment and are now taking gluten out of Riley's diet so Panda Puffs are a great snack for her. Jaron LOVES this cereal and I discovered he ate a whole box yesterday. Good thing I bought two. I also really love Trader Joes Cinnamon swirl bread. I try not to buy it too often since it is addicting. Super yummy!!Riley is now scheduled for her upper GI test which will be on Tuesday. We will take her in at 9 am and she will have to drink yummy contrast so they can xray her insides. I'm sure it will be a hard day. It better be worth it.
Riley had her follow up appointment today with her pediatrician. Her throwing up has decreased, though she still has some throw up days. She has been eating well and besides a little cold seems to be much better.
Well, I went into the doctors office and placed naked Riley on the scale and I did not see what I had hoped for. She has lost 4.5 ounces since her last appointment on Sept. 18th. I tried to hold it together the best I could, but my stomach was upset and my eyes were quickly tearing up. She has now fallen off of the growth charts and the doctor is concerned, of course.
Where do we go from here???
She now has to take Pepcid for 2 weeks in hopes that it will help. She was taken off of Zantac because she could not tolerate it so I hope this will be better for her. I do not know the reason why or how this med is going to help her, but we will start it tonight and hope it does something. We are scheduled to go back in another 2 weeks to check her weight and come up with a new plan. Hopefully, she will gain weight and there will be no futher action needed.
Please pray for her and her little body to respond. Pray also for me as I am now getting sick and continue to have great fear for my little baby. Every time I put her to sleep I fear she will not wake up. This of course has been very emotionally draining and I really need to have my heart and mind put at ease.
