Got milk?

So, it has been several months since I updated...oops. For the one or two people who read this, I am going to try to post once a week. We will see how that goes!

The biggest thing that has happened is that the realization that Kelly has a milk allergy. It has been so overwhelming that I haven't been able to talk (or write) about it much. It all started back in November at her 2 month checkup. She was given an antibiotic for an ear infection, and also had her standard shots. Well, she wound up with diarrhea. We are talking about 6-8 times a day; her normal pattern was 2-3 times every other day. She was also very unhappy--cranky, not sleeping well, crying unconsolably. However, we had been suspecting reflux, just like Ally had as a baby. After 4-5 days, I called the pediatrician, because the paperwork for the rotateq vaccine said that it could cause diarrhea. The nurses said it was because of the antibiotic. After a week of her being miserable, we took her to the pediatrician who said that the bacteria in her belly were out of balance and to give her yogurt to restore the good bacteria. Fine. In retrospect, WTH did I do to her? In an act that was either parenting genius or a new low in my parenting career, I stuck Kelly's fingers in the yogurt and let her suck it off. Because, let me tell you, trying to get a 2 month old to eat from a spoon works as well as giving a 1 day old Ally formula from a medicine cup! I guess the yogurt worked, since the poopy diapers decreased a little. But she was still going 3-4 times a day. We wound up back at the pediatrician because she was still unhappy and in pain, and we wound up with a diagnosis of reflux, though she said the pooping didn't make sense. Tried the zantac, no huge difference. The pediatrician had mentioned that we might want to bring in a diaper and have the stool tested for blood, which would indicate a milk allergy. We blew that off, because we figured we would have known already. Kelly is my chunky monkey, at least compared to Ally! She gained 2 lbs in one month!

However, after a month of increased pooping and increased crankiness, I took a diaper in, fully expecting them to say "nope" and send me home. The nurse came out and said that the dr wanted to see me since it was positive for blood. I was all along in the waiting room with Kelly, and my heart just sank. How could this be? Wouldn't that have been evident early on? I was nursing her, but eating plenty of dairy, so I would think that would have led to her not gaining at all. The dr said the good side of it was that she did gain well, but her gut was so irritated that there was blood in her stool. So, the edict was no more dairy for Mommy, effective immediately. And immediately was 3 days before Christmas. I came home and cried while Kelly slept in her car seat, and then called my hubby and mom. I had a little pity party for myself. It is hard enough to find time to eat anything with 2 kids, but now that we had to cut out dairy, it was impossible. No more lean cuisine entrees, grilled cheese, pasta with parmesan, even just cereal with milk. You don't realize how many things have dairy until you look at the ingredients--nutrigrain bars for instance. And chocolate is a no-no, which killed me. So no Christmas cookies or over-the-top desserts for me this year. No mashed potatoes. No veggie dip, or any other kinda yummy dip. No cheese plate. No garlic bread. Nada. Now, obviously, the most important thing was that Kelly get well, and she did. But it was definitely a hard thing to change, especially since (IMO) soy milk sucks and soy cheese still has whey (a dairy byproduct) in it. However, I was SO HUNGRY. I was eating and eating enough to keep up my supply, but nothing was satisfying me. I wanted pizza. Skyline chili. Ice cream. Ranch dressing. Lasagna. Cheese on my tacos--ever had a taco without cheese? Its just wrong. And I didn't make Ally or Mike cut out dairy, so I had to watch them eat it, which was torture.

Kelly seemed to improve; her eczema got better; she wasn't crying as much and was starting to sleep better. And that was all that mattered!

Sleep--the holy grail for parents

So, here we are...sleep-deprived again. The biggest issue that we worried about before Kelly's arrival has come to fruition. Maybe it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. All I know is that at the age of 4 months, she is refusing to sleep in her crib at all. It was bad enough when she wouldn't nap in her bed, but now she acts scared of the damn thing. We did change her out of the pack-n-play to an actual crib, but that night she put herself to sleep (with us in the room ) and slept all night!

I am at my wits end. Mike and I don't have any time to do anything around the house or even spend time together. Basically, he comes home, we cook and eat dinner--whichever one isn't holding the baby cooks! Then play a little with the kids while the other adult cleans up or does laundry. Put Ally to bed, usually while I am nursing Kelly. Depending on how the night goes, Kelly might go to sleep while nursing, but more likely I have to rock her to sleep. During which time, she screams bloody murder. Then I try to put her in her bed and she wakes up immediately. It doesn't matter if she has slept in my arms for 2 minutes or 2 hours--it just won't happen. It also doesn't matter if we try the pack and play, the swing, the bouncy or the car seat. The only place she will sleep is in somebody's arms. So Mike and I take shifts in the recliner in the living room.



Might I add that this is EXACTLY what Ally did 4 years ago. And Mike and I wound up discussing divorce a lot because we were so tired, tense and irritable. Not that we actually pursued it, but it felt like the only thing we could hurl at each other to hurt. Not our finest moment in life. So, for this to be happening again worries me.



Before you suggest we let her cry it out, let me give you some background with our fam and sleeping. Ally did the same thing--sleep issues exacerbated by gas and reflux. At the age of 5-6 months, we were exhausted and let her cry it out in the middle of the night. We checked on her every 5 or 10 minutes. She screamed for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and then once we finally picked her up it took another 45 minutes to an hour to calm her back to sleep. Some of the baby books say that crying it out with a high-need baby turns into a battle of wills. Hell yeah it did! So, I don't know that crying it out works and it broke my heart anyway. A lot of the sleep suggestions have to do with getting her to sleep through the night. That's not the problem at all. If she went to sleep in her bed, I would happily get up once or twice to feed her.

Kelly also has gas and reflux, but recently we discovered she has a milk allergy. So, we hoped that once we addressed that issue, she would sleep better. Funny. Not at all. That complicates it as well, because I don't want to force the issue in her bed if she is crying because her belly hurts. We have tried music, patting, shushing, and sitting next to her bed, and nothing works.

I don't know why my children do this, but is it taking a huge toll on me. If I have to nurse and hold my baby all day (have I mentioned that she won't take a bottle either?) then sleep with them at night, Mommy gets absolutely no break. So I am tired and super cranky--so unfortunately, Ally is getting the brunt of my irritability. This is also why I don't get any time to do anything--clean the house, talk to my husband, or get on the computer to update the stinking blog! I spend my days wracking my brain for solutions and come up with nothing. Any sympathy or suggestions?

10 years

10 years. Not 10 years of marriage, but instead 10 years today since Mike proposed! Full disclosure--this has the possibility of getting sappy.
Okay, so I started this on the actual 10 year anniversary--that has to count for something. But life with kids, it's now the next day...

I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. 10 years since he proposed, and 9 years of marriage. It doesn't seem possible. Don't get me wrong--some days it seems like we have been together for 3 decades instead of 13 years. But I was lucky to find Mike. We may argue about stupid stuff, mostly since becoming parents and sleep deprived, but we get along really well. I know that he is always there for me, and he has taken on a huge responsibility in being the sole breadwinner so that I can stay home with the girls. That was our joint decision, but I know that it adds extra stress to his shoulders. Even though he works all day, he isn't an absent daddy. He changes diapers, feeds bottles (if Kelly will take it), bathes the kids, cooks, cleans and is all around a great guy.

When he proposed, he totally shocked me. We were both seniors at UD and weren't sure where our relationship was going to go after graduation. I planned to go to grad school or law school (umm, neither happened) and he was a chemical engineer looking for a job. So, one of my last nights before going home for Christmas break, we went out to dinner at the Olive Garden. I should have known right then and there something was up, because I love that place and he doesn't. He just seemed "off", but I soon found out why. I guess the ring was still in his car from picking it up! We went back to his house and he lit the fireplace and candles, and got down on one knee and said he couldn't imagine his life without me! Needless to say, I said yes!

We try to celebrate this little anniversary by going out to dinner, but hadn't done it the last few years. We took the girls out to Olive Garden last night, and let's just say that it was a typical dinner with small children! Kelly screamed for the half the time and I wound up nursing her at the restaurant; Ally ate only breadsticks and felt compelled to spit milk on the floor. Just a little different from the dinner we were remembering!

In those 9 years, we have lived in 3 states, had several jobs, found our first house, and welcomed two children into the world. I sure am glad that I said yes!

Seven Husbands

Today Ally had some surprising news. We were playing on the floor listening to Christmas music, when all of a sudden she mentioned being married. Huh? Since she has a speech delay, it is somewhat hard to understand her--a little more so than your standard 3 or 4 year old. So, trying to clarify, I asked her if she was married and she said yes, she had a husband. Not only did she have one husband, but she had 3 husbands!!!! A few minutes later, she told me that she had 7 husbands! And it was so cute to hear her try to say the word "husband". The hysterical part was when she took her Winnie the Pooh book and asked me if I wanted to look at her wedding pictures! She went through the book and told me that they woke up, got married, had breakfast, found a neat hat, etc and then went to bed and got married again the next morning. To cap it off, when we told my mom the story, Ally now has 19 husbands. Are you kidding me? Dealing with one husband is more than enough!
My parents were asking what I was teaching her! And let's just say that Daddy is not so happy...:o)

Hello world!

This is my first foray into the blog-publishing world. My main focus is to chronicle the lives of my two beautiful girls, Ally and Kelly. I am a SAHM who hopes that blogging will help me remember the cute things, and keep my sanity with regards to the frustrating things! Here are a few pics of my girls (only one has curls so far; we will have to see about the other one!).