Last of FALL, Bring on WINTER!

This past weekend we had some friends over for the Apple Cup. Brodes made his rounds to hanging out and sitting on every one's laps.

My house definitely got torn apart (like always) with kids dragging out all the toys and even pans or anything else they could get their hands on. Jay taking some heat from the boys, probably because he was the ONLY Cougar in the room. Get em Cruiser! Notice Crew has no clothes on, yep you guessed it, he was too hot. That kid can't keep clothes on if his life depended on it.

Every year I am so excited to get our Christmas tree and decorate for Christmas. Since we didn't even carve pumpkins this year because of how crazy it has been, I was not going to let our tradition of getting our tree right after Thanksgiving be altered. So Monday morning in the pouring rain we went and got our tree with all three kiddos. Kyler screamed from the minute we left the house until we got home, and the boys were more concerned about jumping in mud puddles and running away from us to find trees, than actually cutting a tree down. Oh the memories!

We did get our tree up, although we opted with no ornaments, one less battle to fight with the kids trying to pull them off the tree. My boys are too obsessed with "balls" and they think that everyone round needs to be thrown, so we ended up sweeping up a lot of glass last year, not going there this year :)

It is almost Christmas!!!! Love it!

Many Thanks!

During this time of year it is nice to reflect on all of the things we are thankful for. Too often we focus on the small bumps in the road that take up more time than the more important things that we should be focused on. I really try take the time and try to appreciate the many wonderful things God has given us and for that I am thankful for so many things!

#1: Thankful for my relationship with God. It is truly amazing the things he has done in my life and the challenges he has presented me with. Without my faith and growth in Him I don't know how I would get through some of the hard times and really enjoy the good times!

#2: My husband. Having three young boys isn't always easy! Trying to find time for just the two of us is rare in this loud chaotic house, but I love him more now than ever. Not only does he do housework and is more anal about always having everything cleaned than I am, but he also changes diapers, and helps with the all kid stuff too. I am also thankful for his good job and how hard he works to provide for us so I can stay home this year from work. Love him!

#3: My three boys! Wow they are something else, and keep me going, going, going. It is really no surprise that I ended up with three boys, it is so much fun, and I love spending time with them, and doing all of the things they love to do. If I could have one wish for my boys it would be to have a relationship with Jesus (okay more than one) and to have a caring and forgiving heart. I take a lot of personal responsibility in raising these boys to be nice, respectful young men, and I can only hope and pray that they will someday be able to treat people better than themselves and be "good" people.

#4: My families: We are so lucky to have most of our family so close, and involved in our daily lives! This year it was sad (but happy for them) to see Jeff and Rachel move to Yakima to start their new restaurant, and Jessi is off at New Mexico State. So this Thanksgiving on my side is a little lonely! Our parents/siblings/grandparents have proven time and time again how supportive they are and they are always there to help with anything. We love them so much! We are so thankful that they so involved with our kids and would do anything for them, our boys are so spoiled!

#5: My friends: God has put some pretty amazing people in my life, and I really cherish my friendships, new and old. My friends have always been a huge priority and very important to me. I am pretty biased, but I have the best friends ever, so thankful.

#6: Forgiveness. I am far from perfect and make plenty of mistakes. I am so thankful to be forgiven and to start each day on a clean slate.

#7: Good health and praying to keep our family healthy!

Gobble gobble! Kyler did really well at the Price family Thanksgiving, and okay at my grandma's too. Small improvements!

Screaming baby, one kid ran into the bedroom, one kid in the kitchen drawers... Gotta pick your battles, and sometimes just LAUGH :)

Go Cougs/Dawgs? Getting ready for the Apple Cup....

Enjoying some time outside on this clear day, it has been so rainy out so it was nice for the boys to get bundled and get some fresh air.

I do have to share something that Crew said: Crew told me last night "Mom, Jesus is not just in the sky, (he then lifted up his shirt) he is in my heart." I will never forget that moment it was so precious. So blessed.

Brody 18 Months!

Today we had Brody's 18 month appointment. As you can tell from the picture, he is eating and growing boy these days. He use to have a lot of problems with textures and was not a good eater at all. Well somewhere over the last two months he decided he wanted to eat, and to eat a lot! So that makes life so much easier for me since he use to throw his food everywhere and never want to eat anything I made.

His 18 month stats were: 25.5 lbs (45%) and 33 inches (72%). He has grown a lot since his one year appointment, now that he has been so much healthier and eating better. He had to have a couple shots during his appointment too, and was a little unsure about being weighed, he is kind of a chicken! What made his appointment more interesting was having Kyler with us. He screamed the whole way to and from Bellingham, and made quite a scene while were there. Kyler's crying does not even effect Brody though, he just says baby and acts like nothing is going on. In fact we are all getting so use to him crying it is everyone we see, that are always like can I help you? Do you want me to hold him? I am always like it is okay, this is just what he does :)

Sometimes I forget that Brody is still a "baby" and needs his snuggle time with his mama. Because him and Kyler are only 17 months apart, I just see him as being older than he really is. Having his binky upside down is a must! He is my cuddle love bug, and has to has time with me in the rocker before and after naps and bedtime. He is very possessive over this and if Crew or Kyler are needing my attention during this time and I have to put him down he gets very sad.

He is our little lap boy and likes to sit on anyone who is visiting laps. It is pretty cute. The worse part of Brody's day though is when daddy has to leave for work, he loves his daddy!

Some of Brody's other milestones/things right now are:

• He is becoming good eater (never thought I would say that!)
• Loves to follow, fight, tackle, and pester, and play with Crew
• Is very interested in his baby brother and likes to poke his head, eyes, and face, and also give him loves
• He loves to cuddle! (trying to savor this)
• He sleeps from 7:00-7:00 on most days
• Starting to talk more, or at least try to say more words
• Loves the Preschool Prep DVDs (meet the numbers, shapes, letters, and colors) He can actually say the number before the movie does, it is sweet on how he says each number.
• Mickey Mouse "mouse" is his favorite TV show and has quite the hot dog dance!
• Is becoming more and more of a naughty turkey (as Chris would call him) not quite so sweet and innocent!
• He is into everything and is so quick, he knows exactly what he wants, and is relentless on never giving up. Fiesty little bugger!
• He instigates many fights with Crew also pulling, jumping on him, hitting him or whatever it takes to get a rise out of Crew, and has become one tough cookie.
• Loves balls, either kicking, shooting, or playing catch
• Is always wanting to read books, his favorites are Brown Bear, Where is Baby's Belly Button, Old McDonald Had a Farm, Animal books, and any other book he can pull out and read
• Adds a new bruise, bump, or owie to his head or body everyday by crashing around from falling off couches and chairs, running into corners, and jumping off of things. This kid has no fear and loves to climb!
• "Ready, Set, Go!" Him and Crew's favorite game setting out the bean bag chairs, blankets and pillows. Starting from the sliding glass door they race and jump into the pile, and they do it all over again! Fun times!

Dad and Brodes during cuddle time, we love our little Brodes so much, Chris always calls him the "sweetest boy ever"!

It's Worth a Try!

Today I took Kyler to a chiropractor in town, I have had a few people recommend this, and at this point I am willing to try just about anything to make him more comfortable. The appointment went well and the doctor thinks that after 3 visits this week we should be able to tell if the treatment will work or not. No guarantees (obliviously!).
Ups and downs, ups and downs pretty much sums up our days and nights here. Although I am prepared for these times, it isn't always easy. My hardest thing right now is not just the fussiness and lack of sleep, but the not eating part. Today Kyler ate a good feed at 4 am, but has only had a total of 4-5 ounces since then (3:00 now). I keep having nightmares about having to have him on a feeding tube, because as of right now he is not meeting his minimum ounce requirements consistently. The first part of today has not been good, and he has not settled since his 4 am feed for very long, it is these days when I am home with all three boys, and Kyler is so needy that I lose my patience way too quickly. I am so humbled these days!

He is smiling, so I say! I can get him going, and he makes some very strong attempts at giving me just want I need a smile. It just melts my heart!

My little Seahawk. Love my little man!

Tomorrow we are back down at Children's for a follow up appointment, to check weight, and hopefully not have to do anything else but just weather the storm until it is over. I really wish they had an answer to this not eating stuff though, since they were so sure the Elecare and Prevacid would help that since the not eating is not a 100% colic issue. I know I don't want the answer to be feeding tube, please pray for Kyler to eat and no tubes!!!

Silly Crew

This was his nap time stall tactic today. He has been really naughty lately because he is just trying to get attention from everything going on. But I had to laugh at this, he came waddling out of his room with 10 pull ups, and 3 pairs of underwear on. Then he says "Silly Crew"! That is one of his favorite things to say these days, he is trying to do funny things to get our attention, and they are pretty funny!
Other than trying to find new ways to get attention, or ways to be naughty, Crew is really doing okay considering all the changes. He loves Kyler, and always says "Oh Ky Ky is so cute, Ky Ky is just so sweet and little". He constantly is giving him loves, and wanting to be right in his face telling me that Kyler is always looking at Crew, and that Kyler likes Crew. He is very gentle with him, which is nice.

He is also growing so much right now, he is a big boy, and sometimes does not realize his strength and aggressiveness when playing with Brody. He loves to include Brody in everything that he does, which is so cute, they are buddies for for sure. Partners in crime! Crew only has ONE speed though, he runs everywhere, is loud, and is constantly needing something, or being redirected! It is so fun having 3 boys and they are all definitely different, and I love them all so much.

Gaining Weight

Kyler had his appointment on Wednesday and he has been proving to gain weight with bottle feeds!!!!! Positive things!!!! He continues to have some really fussy days where it is hard for him to eat because he acts like he is in so much pain, and also some better times which I love and try to take in as much a possible. He is so close to smiling already, and he holds his head up all by himself, Mr. strong man.

If he has a bad spit up (like today) it can throw his body off for the rest of the day because it hurts him to eat because it burns him, and then he is too hungry to sleep. Not a good cycle!

Sleep is still an issue, he has maybe slept a total of 30-40 minutes today in 10 minute sets. I think he would feel a lot better if he slept, and ate more! Just a guess!

I hate to say that I just try to get through each day, but that is how I feel sometimes when I let it get to me. I know I need to be positive, so no matter how rough the day was there is always so many things to be thankful for, and I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family! We are so looking forward to this holiday season....

Good and Bad

So after a really not so good Sunday and horrible Sunday night of Kyler not eating and not sleeping for 10+ hours we called down to our doctor at Children's and they wanted us to head down there for some more tests.

We had an upper GI done and a head ultrasound to see what could be giving him times of such extreme distress and pain. But they found nothing, which is good! But.... so how can this baby not sleep, have a very hard time eating, and scream the way he does? This just isn't a cry, we are talking loud wail, body cramping, face bright red and all scrunched. Making even the doctors think there has to be something else wrong. Well unfortunately we don't do anything average in this family. COLIC! Which we knew he had before we just did think it would be this bad. So keeping up on the Elecare formula and prevacid is the only "treatment" for now. We will go back to Children's again next week for a follow up appointment, and talk about how often we will have to go down there, and what we can take care of locally at our pediatrician's office.

So we talked to the doctors they gave us the whole break down on colic, and drew up a nice pretty line on the board. 1/6 babies have some degree of colic, but just like anything else not all colic is the same. It seems I have heard of a lot of babies that have colic (Chris had colic when he was a baby) and I don't here of a lot of people have to go to the hospital because of it.... So this is what they said A "0"= happy baby :) "5"=Colic baby, guess where Kyler landed, yep 9.5-10. So because he is so distressed which makes him not eat what he is suppose to we have to take him in for weigh ins a couple times a week, it he doesn't gain weight on his own we will have to do supplemental tube feedings at home... I am praying this does not happen, I don't do well with that and while at Children's Kyler was always pulling his out and I can only imagine what Crew and Brody would try to do.

Also they seemed pretty concerned for Chris and I knowing what kind of colic case we were dealing with on top of having 2 young kids already. Also Kyler's started a lot earlier than most kids, and they think the worse could still be coming. Less than 2 hours of sleep at night? Here we go! So we are praying a lot and trying to stay positive and enjoy our precious screaming Kyler :) I was looking back at pictures of Crew and Brody at his age and there are all of these pictures of them hanging out on the couch, in their swing, bouncer's, ect. To find Kyler mellow enough is very rare, I did finally get a few pictures the other day!

I am still looking forward to getting professional pictures taken for him, going some where other than the grocery store or doctor's office, and spending some more time with Crew and Brody and having some else have Kyler. Mornings like today when I am trying to get the boys ready, and Kyler screams all morning, it is very hard to be patient with Crew and Brody, get them ready and feed them, and try to console Kyler at the same time. I am going to have to be way more organized and try to plan these things and try to do my best to not let these hard days and nights get the best of me. The good news is most babies outgrow this by 6 months. One month down! I know that God would never give me anything I couldn't handle with His help and I am reminded of this so often. Staying positive and praying for strength! Phil 4:13.

4 Weeks Old!!

Wow time flies when..... you are rocking a new baby 24 hours every day! Things are continuing to get better with eating. Kyler is pretty much on track with his ounce goals for feedings, but could do a little better with his stomach cramping after feeds, and getting settled enough for sleep. But overall we are so happy with his improvement. So as it stands right now we will just be going to our regular pediatrician on Monday for a weight check and to see how everything else looks!

Since Kyler has been home Crew and Brody can't quite seem to keep their hands (and snot faces) off of him. It is pretty cute...

He is able to not be swaddled for very short periods of time, but most of the time we keep him very tightly swaddled, which I am officially the expert on how to get him wrapped tight!

Lots of treats for the boys, they are loving having all the dinners brought and some dessert too!

Notice they finally both got new hair cuts too!

Can Kyler have some peace?

Crew and Brody being such nice brothers

Brotherly love, Kyler is not that impressed though!

Stretch!

Yes this is a CALM baby in this picture :)

You would think by now they would be sick of him, but no, I can't leave the room for a moment... They are eagerly awaiting for their other playmate aka tackle mate to grow up and join in all the craziness!

Children's Hospital Update

Sorry it has taken me so long to update, we are feeling so blessed to have the support and prayers from everyone! Your calls, texts, messages, and meals have been so helpful in this whole process!

So this week has been a little crazy, but here it goes... (long and detailed, for my own record purpose)

We had our clinic appointment at Children's Hospital on Tuesday, Chris was suppose to go with me, but to make this whole process even more interesting he came down with Swine Flu (yes we have all been vaccinated). So Monday night we sent Chris to his parents' house so we could keep the other kids away from him. So Chris' mom took the day off of work to watch the boys at our house and my mom drove me down to Children's.

During Kyler's appointment with a GI Specialist he screamed the whole time and was cramping, and was so hungry, and very much in pain and couldn't be consoled. At this point the doctor was very concerned and wanted Kyler to be admitted to the hospital because he had lost weight, he wasn't eating, and he needed quite a few tests to be done to figure out exactly what was wrong with our little guy since we had tried so many things. I was pretty scared at this point because going into the appointment I thought we would be coming home that day with some answers, and I really hadn't thought of the possibilities that it was going to be something on this scale. Although I also knew that being down at Children's was the best for Kyler knowing he would have great care and doctors.

Tuesday was a horribly long day, after blood tests, ultrasounds, x-rays, and getting Kyler's feeding tube in, we finally had him getting formula by tube feed at 8:00 pm. His last attempt at a bottle was noon and he only had an ounce to eat. You can imagine how hungry and exhausted he was, and I was. The part that was very frustrating and annoying was the fact they had to start really slow so he was only getting feed 1/2 ounce every 3 hours on continuous feed. WHAT? The kid was starving, and screaming! So over the next 12 hours while the feed was increasing every 4 hours I was holding him and trying to console him until his food intake was actually satisfying any hunger pains. Once they figured out that he could tolerate this special formula they stopped the tube feeds mid day on Wednesday and started letting him drink out of the bottle.

Since his blood, x-rays, ultrasound tests all came back within normal range (praise God!) we were in the process of looking at other factors. So throughout our 48 hour stay, here is what the team of doctors basically said were the contributing factors:

1. Severe Food Allergy to formula: since we had tried nursing (cutting out dairy), soy formula, and both kinds of hypoallengic formulas, they had to give him a very specially made formula called Elecare. This formula is the only formula that no baby can be allergic too. Both of the hypoallegenic formulas we had tried normally satisfy 90% of babies with allergies. So Kyler is in the 10% of allergic babies that need to be on Elecare. The interesting thing with Elecare is it is not sold in stores, or pharmacies. It is only available through a home delivery option through the hospital. This is a very expensive formula, but you can't put a price on the health of your child.

2. Severe Acid Reflux: when swallowing it burns on the way down (causing him to scream during feeds). Although he does not spit up, he still refluxes and it goes back up and he swallows it again. So he has been put on prevacid for that.

3. Colic: he also might just be a little bit more sensitive and could be considered to have colic like symptoms on top of the allergy and reflux.

4. Hunger!: That past couple weeks he was not getting enough food because of pain, so he could not be settled and consoled for very long periods of time without his body fighting it.

After treating those factors over the next 24 hours we saw a lot of improvement in Kyler and the doctors and I were very happy. On a side note I felt like I was on Grey's Anatonomy because of all the doctor teams, residents, nutritionists, ect. They would always include me in on there meetings with 10+ people and it was pretty cool to know how well Kyler was being taken care of and the amount of care he was receieving.

Since Chris was still home with Swine Flu, and I didn't have any clothes but the clothes I wore down there, Courtney came down on Wednesday and one of Leslie's friends that is a nurse at Children's also brought me a few things to get by. Also somewhere along the line I lost my voice and still can not talk very well...

So by Wednesday evening Kyler was on full bottle feeds, eating 3 ounces every 3 hours with little or no crying during eating, he was still having some cramping and discomfort after, but was able to get settled and sleep for longer periods. That night though he did have a few bad feeds, so when the doctor's came around for rounds on Thursday morning, we had to discuss why this might be happening and what to expect when taking him home. That morning though he did great with his next two feeds so they sent us home with a plan we all felt comfortable with.

Chris arrived just in time to be discharged, and we were so happy to have some answers finally!

Hoping the worse was behind us when we got home on Thursday afternoon, we got a little concerned when Kyler did not have a very good afternoon, and that night was a carbon copy of what we dealt with the weeks prior. We were very frustrated and with no sleep we went into our pediatrician for an appoitnment Friday morning. They called down to Children's and we talked to our doctor down there. They were surprised that he had gone back to his "old" ways after his success while being there. So if he continues to show theses signs they will have to do a scope of him, which means putting him under. Which would not be able to be done until Monday.

So we have a plan in place for the weekend, if he is not eating, he needs to be at the Bellingham hospital for tube feeds until the can have further tests on Monday at Children's. So I am counting ounces and keeping a record on how he reacts to feeds, etc. Praying, praying, praying!

Friday was a long day, but after a very long, much needed nap from Kyler that afternoon, he finally took another full feed, an through last night stayed on track with being able to eat 3 ounces, every 3 hours, with little or no discomfort during eating. I am so HAPPY to say the least! I am hoping that he stays on track and his body continues to adjust to the changes that were made and we will not have to back to Children's! His doctor from Children's called me last night and I feel a lot better about things this morning, PRAISE GOD!

Well not sure if you made it to the end of this very detailed report, but we are so happy to be home, and to have some answers for Kyler. This morning has been great, Crew and Brody actually got to interact with him a little bit with out Kyler screaming. Although we don't have a "perfect" baby since he will continue to struggle with somethings he can only outgrow, overall he is much more happier and is EATING, and sleeping some(more sleep would still be nice)! Maybe now we might be able to get some pictures of our sweet baby :)

Thanks again for everyones support and prayers, please continue to pray for Kyler and hopefully we can stay away from the hospital!

Appointment Scheduled

We got Kyler scheduled to have an evaluation tomorrow at Children's. They had a cancellation so they were able to get us in. Answer to prayer! My pediatrician talked about him having to most likely have a scope done, but I guess if that is the case they will have to schedule a separate appointment, and will not be able to have that tomorrow... Which means that we might not know exactly what is going on tomorrow, but we are staying hopeful that they will find an answer or at least be able to start treating the problem based on this evaluation. We just want him to be more comfortable and to be able to eat more.

Thank you everyone for your continued prayers!

Hopefully Some ANSWERS Soon!

Where to begin? I was really hoping that I would be able to post some improvements, but the new hope of the acid reflux meds being increased and being on the new hypoallergenic formula have not been successful.

Kyler is now only eating one ounce per feeding if we are lucky and screams while trying to drink from the bottle. This is something obviously more than just being colic. So continuing with long days and sleepless nights and calls into the doctor we finally went in again today (4th time) after Kyler only eating 5 ounces in 12 hours.

Luckily our own pediatrician was on call for the weekend and we got in first thing this morning. Since we are now at the point where we have tried everything and now he is not eating because of pain, they are referring us to Children's Hospital in Seattle. Because he has not lost weight, they are waiting until tomorrow to get us an appointment this week. In the mean time we are trying to do EVERYTHING possible to keep this poor little man comfortable. Is it too much to ask to be able to feed my baby? I was literally from tears the whole time in appointment, I just feel so bad for my screaming baby. He is so hungry! They put us on yet a stronger acid reflux medicine and another brand of the hypoallergenic formula to see if that buys us some time before we see the doctor. Maybe some sleep for Kyler and for us too! Last night I almost feel off my exercise ball that I bounce Kyler on twice because I couldn't even keep my eyes open and it was the only thing keeping him from screaming. It is a full time job right now to try to keep him comfortable.

So please keep our family in your prayers and pray that there is a fixable answer to why Kyler is continuing to have theses problems. Also Crew and Brody and Chris are all not feeling great either with colds, so we are hoping that Kyler doesn't get that either, although I did see some snot come out of his nose earlier....

Colic Baby

Wow! What a crazy 2+ weeks! I thought I would have the opportunity to update more and post more pictures but that is not the case right now in our crazy sleep deprived household. If it wasn't crazy enough with my wild boys, Kyler is adding to this by crying, fussing, not sleeping, and not eating very well. This has been getting worse, and after 3 trips to the doctor (yes he will only be 3 weeks old tomorrow) they have officially diagnosed his as colic. Aren't third babies suppose to just eat, sleep, and chill because they know the mom needs a "break" and have two other kids to deal with?

The boys are getting use to the baby crying. Brody calls Kyler, Ky Ky now, it is so cute. Although some days it is almost impossible to take care of their needs while I have a screaming baby in my hands. Multitasking took on a whole new meaning to me. Plus Kyler is a very very STRONG baby, I can't just hold him up on my shoulder with one hand, he pushes himself all the way back and will turn and look around both ways, and can push himself up to standing with his legs.

Even though I feel like a horrible mother at this point to Crew and Brody because Kyler takes all my time, Crew surprised us this week with being able to read Brown Bear cover to cover all by himself! It is so cute! Way to go Cruiser!

You might be wondering why I have time to actually SIT here and write this, well we got this amazing swing from a friend that has a cradle base and rocks both ways front to back, and

side to side. After finally getting him calm, we swaddle him extremely tight, and crank up the swing. It works occasionally and I might catch 20-30 minutes on a good day. It is the little things!

So this all started with me trying to cut out dairy, after 4 days that made NO improvement, things were continuing to get worse and he would scream all day/night and while he ate because he was in so much pain. So we gave him Zantac for an acid reflux possibility, and went on soy. For about 24 hours or less I saw some improvement. Then it started getting worse again, so 5 days later were back at the doctor and they gave us a new kind of formula that is not milk or soy based because they think that might help. It stinks and it is expensive, but I am willing to try anything. They also upped the dose on the Zantac. That was last night, so I am hoping over the next couple days we might see some more "down" time. They said there is no cure to colic, some people get relief from gripe water (already gone through 3 bottles) gas drops (a ton of those too) or not nursing anymore and going to soy. But Kyler (must be a Price) has not been able to get any relief to those remedies. Or the other many things we have tried and researched! Prayer is really our only answer for our sweet little dude.

So I swear I have reached so many breaking points, where I honestly thought this was the worse thing ever (very sleep deprived at that point) to have an inconsolable baby. But I know God has given me strength to get through this no matter if it does take many months like it could. Yesterday Kyler went 8 hours without eating because every time he tried he would cry and cry because it hurt him so much, it just breaks my heart. So we are trying to win the small battles right now, and take one hour, one feed, and one nap (hopefully) at a time! Thank goodness for family and friends, you guys have been amazing!

Through all of this I have learned many things! I love my baby boy so much and not matter how long the days and nights seem at some points, I would do anything for him. I know there are much worse things in the world, and being able to overcome these small obstacles (it will get better) in life only makes us stronger people.

Hopefully my next post with be with improvements!!!