Going "Gluten Free"...

Last week we had quite the scare regarding Sadie's health. Her "routine labwork" came back & most of the results were abnormal.

The possibility of Leukemia (or something else, not sure what - there were many things "off", the most concerning to Sadie's Pediatrician was her low platelets count) was high, along with a thyroid issue & Celiac Disease. We had a new set of labs done & this time, everything came back fine, except the Celiac Disease. We are SO relieved!!

We have an appt. at the end of March with a GI Dr. to discuss the Celiac Disease, but after discussing it with my husband, we have decided to decline any further testing. We are not going to put Sadie through sedation/endoscopy just to confirm the diagnosis. In our opinion, she's been through enough already & this testing is unnecessary for her. Plus, she already has many sensitivities/allergies to food, along with reflux issues. We're hoping that maybe *this* (GF) is the key we've been looking for all along.

So as of Wednesday, 1/22/12, we decided to go Gluten-Free as a family. It's definitely process that's going to take a little bit of getting used to (especially for Mia & AJ, they both have SPD & as a result, sensory issues with food), but so far, so good!

My oh my .... it's been awhile since I've blogged anything.

We have been REALLY busy, but I'm hoping to get back to it.

The kiddos are all doing very well. Xavier is now 14, Mia is 7, AJ is 4 & Sadie is 2! My kiddos are growing up, way too quickly if you ask me!!

Sadie

It's been so long since I've posted any pictures! My, oh my, Sadie sure has grown!!

Sadie's Calendar Photo Shoot

Sadie is going to be in the Down Syndrome Association of San Antonio's 2011 Calendar & had her photo shoot yesterday!

Will post a "real" update soon, but wanted to share these pics while I had a quick moment.

March 1-7, 2010 {Week in Review}

Whew, we survived yet another busy week.

Monday ~ I had to take Sadie to the hospital for ultrasound scans of her hips & her head. Thankfully all is well & everything looks normal on both accounts.

Tuesday ~ Took AJ & Sadie to playgroup, which was at the park this week. Due to our busy schedule, I haven't been able to go in quite sometime, so I was glad to be able to attend this one. Sadie got some fresh air from the comfort of the stroller & AJ had a great time burning off some energy. Afterwards we stopped by the Tax Accessors office & filled out the forms for Handicap parking placards. That will help make life a bit easier. Went to the monthly "Parent Support Group" meeting for the local chapter of the Downs Syndrome Association in the evening. I always enjoy meeting new families, fresh faces & learning lots (even if the topic doesn't exactly apply to us just yet). And, for the first time ever, we left the older kiddos in the child care (church nursery) provided. That went well, they survived & actually, had a great time.




Wednesday ~ Errands, Library, shopping adventure at Target, etc.

Thursday ~ Sadie had to get her Synagis shot (for RSV). Last one for a few months since RSV season is almost over - YAY!! She weighed 9lbs 5oz, news which made my day since we're currently do an experiment of sorts (she sleeps thru the night & the Dr. has said to let her do so, as long as she continues to gain weight).







Friday ~ Spent a few hours at the Social Security office trying to straighten out the SSI stuff for Sadie (they still had her as being in the NICU).

Saturday ~ We had a lazy day of doing "nothing" aka I spent quality time playing with the kiddos while hubby worked. It was very nice not to have to be anywhere at a certain time. And, right before bedtime - Sadie rolled over on to her tummy!! Sooo proud of her!!




Sunday ~ Shopping & errands, preparing for yet another busy week that lies ahead.

Going to give it my best effort this week to keep up with the blog, so I don't have to "recap". We'll see....

February Recap

Oh how I wish I could keep up with this blogging thing (mainly because it's nice to have everything written out so I can refer back to it later if necessary), but I just can't seem to find the time. I "go go go" all day long until I just can't do it anymore (aka I fall asleep as soon as I sit down! LOL). I'm completely exhausted, but honestly .. I wouldn't change a thing about our life. As tired & drained as I am, I'm loving every minute. We are truely blessed.



So while I have a few spare minutes, here's a quick recap of February.....

Xavier (12 years old): nothing much new with him, besides the fact that he slammed his thumb in the door of the car so it's quite nasty looking at the moment & looks like he's got a ways to go as far as it getting better. OUCH!! Book club, school dances, birthday parties, that's about it.



Mia (5 years old): lost her 1st baby tooth. She was SO excited, she's been waiting for so long for that to finally happen. She was also thrilled to find that the tooth fairy had left her $10. Mia is going to need to have a CT scan done & most likely major surgery. We took her to the ENT (she had an ear infection from Nov. - Jan, it just would not go away) & were shocked to find that she has a hole in her eardrum & skin is now growing in & around it. That will need to be repaired before it gets worse & affects her hearing. According to the ENT, the surgery is 3-4 hours long, very involved including the need for a skin graft & even once it's done there is a 30% change that it will come back. I thought in the worst case she might need to have tubes placed again (she had them put in at 1 year old), but wow, was I ever wrong.



AJ (2 years old): has learned to dress & undress himself. He practices often. He'll be doing something & just suddenly decide to strip down to his diaper. It was really lovely when he did just that while Sadie's PT was here! haha He's still very much obsessed with Disney Cars, I don't see that changing anytime soon.




Sadie (2 months old): is growing, growing, GROWING!! She's doing great. She's still on the oxygen (1/8 liter at 100%). We've met with the pulmonologist & she also had a sleep study done so *maybe* she'll be coming off the oxygen soon. Only time will tell (the results of the sleep study take several weeks to get back). She had an appt. with an Opthomologist & other than being very slightly near-sighted, her eyes are great. Sadie weighed 8lbs 9oz at her 2 months checkup on 2/25. Speech therapy & physical therapy are both going great. Lots of appointments & we're very busy, but she is so very worth it.





Our family: we used our tax refund & {finally} purchased the minivan that we so desperately needed. It's a '96 Ford Windstar with 86k miles on it & absolutely nothing wrong with it (we had it checked out bumper-to-bumper @ Firestone before we bought it). It took a little getting used to, but I love it!

It's been awhile...

I think it goes without saying .. I've been a bit busy. ;)

So starting from right now, I'm going to *try* to be better at this blogging thing. Easier said than done, so no promises, but we shall see.

Anyways ... Sadie came home on January 11th, 2010 & we've been enjoying every minute, making up for lost time with her. Busy? Yes! Sleep-deprived? Definitely! But she's worth it, we are SO blessed to have added her to our family.

She is on a bit of oxygen (an 1/8 of a liter) & an apnea monitor .. but beyond that she has no issues. She's doing GREAT!! There's no real medical reason they can find as to why she needs the oxygen, so they think it's most likely due to low muscle tone. The issues that she was "suppossed" to have (all the stress, all the worrying), she doesn't. We are absolutely grateful for that.

At last check (2/4/10 - took her in for her Synagis injection) she weighed 7lbs 12oz! Growing, growing!!

Sadie had her 1st PT session this morning, that went well. Doesn't really consist of much just yet, since she's still so young/tiny.

We also met with the pulmonologist this morning & I am very pleased with how that appt. went. We are going to proceed with doing a sleep study, to see if Sadie is ready yet to go without the oxygen. Although the male nurse was ignorant (made a comment that he's "so very, very sorry" that Sadie has Down's Syndrome -- but to us it is NOT a bad thing at all), the Dr. is excellent & very informative. He told us several things that we were not already aware of, which is great for me .. I'm all about research & being prepared.

I think that about covers it .. ya know, in a nutshell! =)