Kicks and Giggles

Well, today is Halloween and so I took Chloe to a friends house and we went trick or treating together.  Her daughter is 2 weeks older than Chloe and her son is a couple months younger than Jacob.  Anyway, it was so much fun!  The girls were hilarious.  They didn’t really understand what was going on at first.  Chloe was more interested in following dogs around and trying to go into people’s houses.  After a few times she started to understand and was carrying her own bucket.  One lady let the girls grab their own candy and Chloe just kept grabbing.  I let her grab two handfuls (which is two things) before I took her away.  They were fascinated by the jack-o-lanterns and all the other Halloween decorations.  I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to taking both the kids (with Brian this time) next year!

Every time I asked Chloe if she wanted to put her costume on, she would run away and whimper, so I put Jacob in the costume in the hopes that she would be more willing to wear it.  Once we got to Rachel’s and she saw Isabelle in her giraffe costume, she was willing to put hers on.

And, the girls breaking into the candy after we got back to the house.

I am getting extremely frustrated.  Jacob is still on his 10 day poop hiatus.  The doctors all say it’s normal, the nurse at health link says it’s normal, numerous people say that it is normal, but it is not!  He was sleeping up to 9 hours at night.  Now I am lucky if I get 5.  He eats horridly when he used to eat great.  He cries at random times, with no logical obvious reason, and he was not one of the babies that does that.  He only ever cries if he actually had a problem (hungry, tired, wet, Chloe attacked him, etc.).  The thing that concerns me most:  I think he might be losing weight.  If he’s not than at the very least he is stagnating.  Not good when you are this little!  I’ve got him on pro-biotics, I took him off his antibiotics for now (as I think they may have caused the problem).  I’ve introduced apple prune juice, and the pharmacist (who is the only person in the medical community that agrees with me that something is wrong) gave me a laxative which we will try.  It’s driving me crazy, because even though they are all saying that it’s normal and that he is fine, I know my baby, and this it not normal or fine!  Something is wrong, and I intend to fix it!  (Willing to take suggestions, he’s still EBF except the juice).

The Thumb: all natural

no packaging to throw away, no energy or water used cleaning and sanitizing the soothers, no soothers that get thrown away and no plastic products or energy used to make the soother!

They help you talk on the phone

They show you how to use your toys

They show you how to eat

They give you hugs

But, at the end of the day (and naptime) it is nice to get away and sleep in your own crib!

While, not too much new has happened lately here.  We went home for Thanksgiving which was nice, as we hadn’t been back to Saskatchewan for Thanksgiving in 3 years.  Jacob is still having issues with pooping and eating.  He eats much better after he has pooped and the are enormous.  When it has been a long time, his gas is super stinky and he doesn’t eat or sleep as well.  I think it may be related to his antibiotics and have started him on BioGaia, a probiotic drop.  Hopefully this helps.  He also had his Nephrology consult so I better understand what is going on with his kidneys.  Basically he has 1st degree reflux in his left kidney and 3rd degree reflux in his right.  The left has a 99% chance that he will outgrow it and the right also has a pretty good chance (although not 99%).  They will check him once a year and if it hasn’t gone away by school age, they will have to do surgery.  Hopefully it goes away on its own.  I am going to be an aunt twice next year, so that is also kind of exciting.  Brian’s sister is having her second baby in January and my brother and his wife will be having their first in late April, early May.  Chloe is adding more words to her vocabulary daily, which is very exciting for me.  It is so much easier to figure out what she wants when she it saying words instead of whining or crying.  And some pics…

Chloe, all ready for winter.  Her dad and grandpa took her outside to walk around the farm one morning, which she enjoyed.

Jacob eating a ball while he sits on Great Grandma’s lap.

Today, I decided to make cookies.  I made peanut butter chocolate chip/ M&M cookies.  Chloe helped and after the dough was mixed, Chloe tried some and quite enjoyed it.  She has officially joined the ranks of people who like cookie dough more than the actual cookies!

Yesterday, I decided that Jacob’s hair was far too long.  He had ringlets and his hair was almost in his eyes.  I called up Beaners (a child’s haircutting salon in Calgary) and made an appointment.

Before

During

And After

He’s so handsome!

It was huge!  I am relieved (as is he, I’m sure)!

My theory:  So I think I have figured out why he is not nursing.  It had nothing to do with my supply.  I have lots of milk.  My little boy is just not hungry.  He is now going at least 4 hours between every feeding and sometimes as long as 6 (all during the day, at night he can go longer).  It is so weird for me.  I don’t know how that is possible, I mean I eat more often than that!  This is why he wasn’t eating when I tried to feed him at his usual times.  He wasn’t hungry.  So the formula has been shelved for now.  Also, with the exception of a small squirt, Jacob has not pooped in a week.  I am slightly worried and we have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.  Here is my theory (which I have no medical basis for whatsoever, so do not take it as fact).  Jacob is eating more, but he is not pooping because his body is holding/absorbing more of his food.  This is also why he is not eating as often, because the food is staying in his body.  So there’s what I think.  Tomorrow, we will see what the doctor thinks.

Our Date:  My parents were here this weekend for a conference and so I asked them to babysit the kids on Sunday night so Brian and I could go on a date.  Our last date without the kids was May 29 of 2008 (so over a year).  It was much needed.  We went to Montana’s for supper and then to the Cheesecake Cafe for dessert.  Afterwards, we went to see a movie.  It was so weird to be out without the kids but we really enjoyed it.  I need to find a regular babysitter so we can go out more often.  I do have a pretty good lead on one, so maybe I will try her for Brian’s work Christmas party in December.