Josh is gone :(

Josh left today. I'm very sad. I know somehow we'll make it through these two weeks but right now it seems impossible. Isaac and Eli were very helpful tonight, although Josh didn't leave until almost 6 and gave them strict instructions to "help Mom out." It's still fresh in their heads. Give it a couple days and they may forget. :)

We're going to try to keep busy, although being too busy isn't good for Camden. Laying low isn't good for I and E. Never a win-win situation. Tomorrow we're going to the county fair. Probably for just half the day. I'll have to deal with it later with Camden. Isaac and Eli are going to sleepover later with their cousin. Otherwise we're prepping ourselves for Tuesday's big first day of school. They had their open house last night. Man, it made me sad. Terribly sad. I'm sure going to miss those two while they're gone all day.

Round three!

Camden was switched to another medicine today. This one is for controlling spams in intestines, stomach, gastro, etc. I'm not so sure I agree with it but willing to try to see if it gets better. The other medicine did nothing for him. He's very hoarse which makes me think esophageal, but what do I know. I'm no doctor. We're still dealing with the thrush too.

Will this ever end???

Eli's plan for school

Eli: Mom, is it possible to get kicked out of school?

Mom: Yes, it is. So you have to be good.

Eli (smile spread across his face): Good, then I'm going to get kicked out of school and then I can stay home.

Mom: Well, then you'll just get sent to a different school.

Eli: Well, then I'll get kicked out of that school too!

The thought process of a 7-year-old boy......who doesn't want school to interfere with his playing days. :)

Round two!

Back to doctor.....another diagnosis: THRUSH!

Argh! I am in soooo much pain. I am now pumping and giving Camden a bottle because I cannot nurse him due to pain. Only nursing at night. We're both on prescription medicine to try to clear it up. Doctor is waiting until tomorrow to increase reflux medicine to see if thrush medicine clears up some of his symptoms. Some of his fussiness/crying could be due to thrush discomfort.
Unforunately, the thrush has spread to my milk ducts. The pain has spread to my arm pits. It's terrible pain and I can honestly say I'd almost rather have a baby again than be in this much pain!

This too shall pass......right??????

Diagnosis on Camden

Well, I finally took Camden to the doctor on Friday. I couldn't take it anymore. I knew something was wrong. After talking to a friend who went through something similar with her son, I decided to call.



Diagnosis: GERD, or acid reflux. And a pretty good case of it!



The doctor prescribed Zantac twice a day. She started him off on a low dosage of it to see how that goes. I am also using a homeopathic remedy called Colic Calm. It is awesome! I notice a difference in Camden within minutes. It's been a lifesaver! I ran out this weekend and immediately ordered more of it. I may stock up on a few more bottles too. I highly recommend it. Coliccalm.com is the only place you can get it. Read all about it.



Back to Camden. Yes, he has acid reflux. He has just about every symptom of it too. Fussy/crying after eating, sudden bursts of painful crying, poor sleeping habits, persistent hiccups, sour breath, chokes/gags, spits up, hoarseness, congestion, always wants to be held, prefers to be upright/inclined position, nursing a lot or refusing to nurse, excessive crying, crying, CRYING!!!!! The doctor said he could have another sort of reflux because of his hoarseness and congestion. The congestion could also be due to an allergy to something, most likely food allergy. Only time will tell us that. I will still be eliminating dairy in my diet. I'm seriously considering supplementing with formula though.

Doctor also recommended he sleep in his car seat so he's more upright. Seems funny to have such a nice crib and bassinet, yet he prefers his car seat. He sleeps so much more better in there! She also suggested sleeping on his belly as this helps put pressure on something that helps alleviate his pain. (Sorry, I can't remember all the medical terms.)

If there's no improvement in him today, then doctor will increase his medication. I thought we had some improvement yesterday morning but then it all went downhill in the afternoon. We'll see what today brings.

Keep praying for him and me too, that I can remain sane, especially with Josh leaving on his elk hunt in three days.

Second school playgroup

Well, we had the second (our second attending, their third hosting) school playgroup yesterday. This is simply a playgroup for the first graders (and their siblings) to get to know one another before the first day of school. Isaac and Eli both were much more welcoming of this event. There were a few more people there than last time, but still a lot missing. About seven kids total and there are 22 in Eli's class. Once again though, Eli fit right in. Isaac too. The big "thing" this time was the acorns. This school is not really in a town, but it does have huge trees covering the playground and a nature trail nearby and a creek. Lots of frogs in the creek we hear. All the kids were collecting acorns to see who could get the most. That soon turned into an acorn throwing contest, or battle might be a better way to put i. I was a little concerned, but everyone seemed to enjoy it so I went with the flow. :) The boys even let the girls throw at them without throwing back for a while.
I was very pleased because Eli's teacher came out to meet all the kids. Her name is Mrs. Kujawa (ka-jaw-wa). I had to say the name over and over again in my head to remember how to pronounce it. Eli still can't remember it. Maybe she'll let the kids call her Mrs. K. She seems very nice.
Less than two weeks and school starts. Isaac seems excited-somewhat. Eli, not so much, but he just doesn't want his playing days to end.
All the moms seemed very nice. They also seemed to know each other very well, and I did feel like the oddball or newcomer on board. I guess it shows how close they all become over the school year.
I've received lots of e-mails about volunteering for this and that. Yikes! Where do I fit that in????

Update to "What a whizzer!"

I will have you know that I spent Friday morning cleaning, scrubbing and disinfecting the walls, toys and toy box, buffet and picture frames on it, curtains and basically everything around Camden's changing table in the living room. Why??? Because at his early morning feeding he BLASTED everything with poop! Yes, he waited until the exact moment I was lifting up his legs to put a new diaper on and then whammo! out it came!

Oh, and I should mention he nailed me too. Pretty much my whole right side of my body was covered in poo. Lovely. I know many are jealous of my life at this moment.

Great memory though. :)

Watch out, gophers!

If you have a gopher, squirrel, chipmunk, bird, big bug, whatever that you want removed from your yard, call Eli!

He is officially obsessed with his bow and arrow! He has practiced for many hours. Grandma even told him he could kill her rooster with his bow and arrow. That sent Eli into nonstop practicing. And guess what? He actually shot the rooster with the arrow! A big shock to everyone, including Dad.

Since then, he's also shot a bird, which was a complete accident (kind of). He was out practicing one day and saw a little Chickadee bird perched on the birdhouse. He aimed, thinking he would never hit a little target such as this bird. Whammo! He hit the bird dead on and the bird went down. That was his second "kill."

Grandma also let him try again with two other roosters. These were a bit trickier and Dad had to step in to help with these ones. And by the way, yes, this is Grandma (or "G") who is the VEGETARIAN and raises nothing on her little farm for meat--just for little boys practicing bow and arrow skills, I guess. :)

(In all fairness to "G", these roosters were not nice to the grandchildren and needed to be "taken care of.")

So don't hesitate to call on Eli to take care of those pesky creatures in your yard. You'll find him outside stalking our gophers with what? you guessed it! his bow and arrow!

Best friends

Eli has two new best friends. And they're both girls.

You may be thinking I'm worried about this, but I'm not. It's totally innocent. They're really his friends that he has so much fun with. I love that he doesn't care that they're girls. He's impressed that they have a snake for a pet and one of them is even the "frog catcher champion."

I know this phase will not last long. Soon he will be influenced by others and his best friend won't be a girl because girls are "icky." But for now, it's sweet and I'll enjoy it. :)

Crabby, Colicky Camden!!!!

AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
I never experienced "colic" until I had you, Camden. Wow, God, grant me patience.
It all started last week sometime. Crying, crying, crying. With the first three, they did have their fussy time. Every baby does. You learn when it is and you can prepare yourself for that time. It's somewhat shortlived. With Camden, he just cries what seems like all the time but definitely after eating, which is every three hours.
I've done A LOT of research on what's causing this and why. Years ago when babies acted like this, doctors just labeled it as "colicky," deal with it, it will eventually go away--in three to four months! Nowadays, doctors have realized that colicky babies are related to a couple different things. One is GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), another can be mother's diet (gassy foods, dairy, etc.) or sensory overload. Babies just can't handle certain things due to their small systems.
Camden is spitting up a lot, hiccuping all the time, very discontent, extremely fussy after eating. A very dear friend (whom I am soooo thankful for) suggested I eliminate dairy and see if that helps Camden. Food allergies do run in the family. Logan started showing these symptoms to dairy at four months of age. He outgrew it somewhat but still can't handle cow's milk straightup. Even in reading things the doctor gave me, it says that some babies just cannot handle the protein in cow's milk. Their bodies can't break it down. And eliminating dairy can also help with GERD so that your little one doesn't have to be on a prescribed medication at such a young age.
So....I have eliminated ALL dairy from my diet. ALL dairy. This is very hard for me. I did this for a time with Logan and it wasn't fun. Today marks the fourth day of being dairy-free and Camden does seem less fussy. I am also using Gripe Water, which is a natural remedy for babies with upset tummies, hiccups and gas. It is basically just fennel, chamomile and ginger. I think the combo of both of these two things is making a difference. We actually had a morning with no nonstop screaming. He is sleeping peacefully now.
God says He doesn't give us more than we can handle, but I have really questioned Him this past week. I've been in tears every day not knowing how I'm going to handle another minute . I want to "fix" Camden and make it all better. I see his distress and it makes me feel so helpless. If eliminating dairy is going to help him, I'm willing to try it. If not, then I'm back to my cheeses, sour cream, cream cheese, Oreos and ice cream!!!!

I tell ya, the things us mothers do for our kids!

If anyone has any other "tips" or "pointers," please do share in the comments.

so big! To Isaac:

Today I spent the day with my oldest son Isaac. It's been a while since it's just been me and him together for most of the day (well, Camden too but does he count when he's so little???). I had to take him to the dentist bright and early this morning, 9:30 a.m. And when you have a 3 week old, 9:30 a.m. is bright and early!
We had some other errands to do too. I'm not up to taking all four out on big outings so I dropped Eli and Logan off with Grandma.
It wasn't until our day was almost through and we were in the grocery store that I actually saw Isaac through different eyes than I do every other day. I realized that he has really grown up. I know he's only nine, but those nine years have gone really fast. It was so good to actually talk with him one on one. I realized how respectful he is, how helpful he is, how loving he is.
I am sorry, Isaac, if I don't tell you this every day. I appreciate all you do, being the oldest, to help Mom out. I appreciate how you do what I ask, even if it seems that I ask a little more out of you because you are the oldest. You are a wonderful example to your younger brothers and I hope they follow in your footsteps.
I hope the next nine years don't go so fast because that puts you at 18 and that's just way too scary for this mom. :)

What a whizzer!

You would think with Camden being my fourth boy that I would have the diapering down to a T. At least I would think so.

Not so! I have never been peed or pooped on with my first three more than I have with Camden. Last night we gave him his first official bath in his little tub. The lil' guy peed on me not once but twice. Yes, we caught it all on videotape. All the boys were gathered around and got such a good laugh at this! "Way to go, Camden," they cheered.

I can also honestly say that I never knew poo could actually fly. It's amazing how it can fly out when you're midway through changing a diaper.

Every one is a different, unique learning experience (even if it is with pee and poop)!

Skin color

Eli: Mom, what color skin will Camden have?

Mom: What do you mean?

Eli: Dark or light skin?

Mom: Dark, like Zach from Africa?

Eli: Yes.

Mom: Light skin.

Eli: Well, how do you know that?