Well...we will be heading back to the states on Tuesday. All 4 of us will be coming. BabyM has an appointment with a pediatric gastroentologist on Thursday. She definitely is anemic, and it is because of iron deficiency. She is also on a very powerful antibiotic for an intestinal infection. The doctor thinks that it is salmonella, but the cultures came back negative, and because she is so small, we can't risk salmonella going untreated.
My brother and his wife have a very dear friend who is a pediatric gastroentologist in Lubbock and thinks that we need to do a scope of her tummy and a colonoscopy just to rule out some serious conditions that have the symptoms that she has. The doctor here agrees, and was going to send us to a GI in Guatemala City, but said that if we have someone in the states, that is even better.
Just so you know...I just have a feeling in my gut (maybe it's intuition) that she is fine, and that the tests will all come back normal. Maybe I am just overly optimistic. I guess we'll see.
Please pray for her. I don't know how long we will be in the states. It will all depend on how the tests come back. I think that the procedures are scheduled for Friday morning (1 week from today.) Just pray that we can get some answers. To get more of the story, you can read past blog posts.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Well...pretty sure it's anemia.
Ok..I'm no doctor, but I got some of BabyM's results back today. She is almost surely anemic. Now, I have mixed feelings about this.
At least we are on the way toward answers. I mean, we still need to find the cause, but we are no longer wandering around in the dark. Now, I don't know if there are any hematologists here, so we may have to travel to Guatemala city if there isn't. I really hope that we can just fix this. That all she needs is a vitamin and we can move on. We have been giving her iron supplements for about a month now. But I just found out that we were giving her the wrong stuff. Quality is important when it comes to iron.
Ok...please pray. I will take her results by the doctor tomorrow. I think she also has an infection which is not only indicated by the vommiing and diarrhea, but also by some lab work! So, we will pick up a few more lab results on Thursday and go back to the Dr. then.
I have to go to bed. BabyM is fussing in her crib. Oh, did I mention that BoyD has a fever of about 102? We are really hoping that he doesn't throw up.
At least we are on the way toward answers. I mean, we still need to find the cause, but we are no longer wandering around in the dark. Now, I don't know if there are any hematologists here, so we may have to travel to Guatemala city if there isn't. I really hope that we can just fix this. That all she needs is a vitamin and we can move on. We have been giving her iron supplements for about a month now. But I just found out that we were giving her the wrong stuff. Quality is important when it comes to iron.
Ok...please pray. I will take her results by the doctor tomorrow. I think she also has an infection which is not only indicated by the vommiing and diarrhea, but also by some lab work! So, we will pick up a few more lab results on Thursday and go back to the Dr. then.
I have to go to bed. BabyM is fussing in her crib. Oh, did I mention that BoyD has a fever of about 102? We are really hoping that he doesn't throw up.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Not a good day for eating.
Well, today was not a good day for BabyM's appetite.
For breakfast we tried to give her toast with black beans (which she loves) and cheese melted on it and a glass of milk. Actually, a glass of pediasure. She wouldn't touch, or even taste the toast and she drank about 1/3 of a cup of milk. She finally ate 2 club crackers with some beans spread on it. Sigh. She didn't nurse very well at all today and for lunch we had eggs, fried potatoes, beans, and tortillas. She ate 2 or 3 bites of tortilla with beans and another 1/3 of what was left of her milk. For dinner, we tried: Macaroni and cheese, yogurt, peaches, coleslaw, pizza, lasagna, more club crackers, and frozen peas. The only thing she will eat is the frozen peas. We even tried ice-cream which she promptly spit out of her mouth. Any idea how to add calories to frozen peas? She didn't want them thawed. Ok, and now, total for the whole day, she has had 1/2 cup of pediasure. Today she wouldn't drink water or anything else. I am a little bit at a loss. Her Dr. appointment is tomorrow at 11am. Lets just pray that she has gained weight.
On a lighter note:
BoyD has a new toy that he got for Christmas from his Mi-Mi. It is called Tag books from leap frog.
It is these books that appear normal, but you use this very cool pen thingy and it "reads" the books for you! You can touch the pen to the a symbol at the beginning of the book to read the whole story with voices and sound effects and everything, you can click at the beginning of each page to just read that page, or you can touch each word individually to read that specific word. Not only that, but you can touch illustrations and such to hear even more. AND, if that wasn't enough, each page has games that you can play if you touch the game button. Then, when you connect the pen to your home computer, it can tell you about your child's activity using the books. Like what level of game they answer successfully, etc. Here is a little video clip of BoyD "reading" one of his books. He will ask for the pen, and although he prefers to read them with us, he also loves to just sit and read his Tag book.
Update: At the end of the video (sorry that it is so dark) you can hear a bizarre noise. That is BabyM throwing up. I guess that explains the no appetite today. Sigh.
Hopefully it was just the once. So much for vaccinations tomorrow. This is exactly what we DON'T need.
Just keep praying and I'll keep updating.
For breakfast we tried to give her toast with black beans (which she loves) and cheese melted on it and a glass of milk. Actually, a glass of pediasure. She wouldn't touch, or even taste the toast and she drank about 1/3 of a cup of milk. She finally ate 2 club crackers with some beans spread on it. Sigh. She didn't nurse very well at all today and for lunch we had eggs, fried potatoes, beans, and tortillas. She ate 2 or 3 bites of tortilla with beans and another 1/3 of what was left of her milk. For dinner, we tried: Macaroni and cheese, yogurt, peaches, coleslaw, pizza, lasagna, more club crackers, and frozen peas. The only thing she will eat is the frozen peas. We even tried ice-cream which she promptly spit out of her mouth. Any idea how to add calories to frozen peas? She didn't want them thawed. Ok, and now, total for the whole day, she has had 1/2 cup of pediasure. Today she wouldn't drink water or anything else. I am a little bit at a loss. Her Dr. appointment is tomorrow at 11am. Lets just pray that she has gained weight.
On a lighter note:
BoyD has a new toy that he got for Christmas from his Mi-Mi. It is called Tag books from leap frog.
It is these books that appear normal, but you use this very cool pen thingy and it "reads" the books for you! You can touch the pen to the a symbol at the beginning of the book to read the whole story with voices and sound effects and everything, you can click at the beginning of each page to just read that page, or you can touch each word individually to read that specific word. Not only that, but you can touch illustrations and such to hear even more. AND, if that wasn't enough, each page has games that you can play if you touch the game button. Then, when you connect the pen to your home computer, it can tell you about your child's activity using the books. Like what level of game they answer successfully, etc. Here is a little video clip of BoyD "reading" one of his books. He will ask for the pen, and although he prefers to read them with us, he also loves to just sit and read his Tag book.
Update: At the end of the video (sorry that it is so dark) you can hear a bizarre noise. That is BabyM throwing up. I guess that explains the no appetite today. Sigh.
Hopefully it was just the once. So much for vaccinations tomorrow. This is exactly what we DON'T need.
Just keep praying and I'll keep updating.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Just A Little Something To Make You Smile.
Iam going to try to get BabyM into the doctor for her 1 year shots and to weigh her tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then Tuesday, and I will be sure to post an update. Thank you again for all of those that have been praying. She is eating a little better sometimes, so we just pray that every calorie that enters her mouth is being used well and is sticking to her little body.
Finally a little video of our musical prodigy. Brandon really did think it was me in there playing the recorder. Nope!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
God Loves Ugly
My friend Christa Black wrote and performed this song. You've got to listen to this. Please play this song "God Loves Ugly." It is amazing! Just click play on the little player on the sidebar.
It takes a minute for it to load...so give it just a sec.
You can find her album on iTunes and you can listen to some of her music if you click here.
Please let me know what you think!
It takes a minute for it to load...so give it just a sec.
You can find her album on iTunes and you can listen to some of her music if you click here.
Please let me know what you think!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Happy Birthday BabyM!
Happy Birthday BabyM!
My tiny baby girl is 1 year old today! Yeah! I can't believe it has been a year!
BabyM is really a very funny baby. She likes to tickle me, and hug her baby while saying "aahh." She isn't a big eater. Her first word was "kitty cat" and she can meow. She can crawl super speed, and loves to give hugs. She can stack 4-5 blocks, and she will hand you what ever is in her hand if you tell her no. She has a temper! She will scream like a banshee and shake her whole body (fluffy curly hair flying around like a halo) if she gets really mad. She took her first steps while my mom was here, but won't do it now that she is gone. She loves Bella. She will just laugh if Bella licks her face. She always wants to play with BoyD. She will follow him from room to room and no can make her laugh or cry like her brother! She likes to play ball with herself. She will throw it and then go after it to pick it up.
BoyD came in the room today when I had two guests over, and says "Mommy...I'm gonna toot, and you smell it" I was so happy that he said it in English! I still laugh as I think about it.
BabyM ate a good dinner! Yeah! but then she began to cry. Like really cry hard. When we got her upstairs, Brandon turned her over to pull off her clothes for her bath when he discovered a wet shoe, and what looked like beans all over the inside cuff of her pants and her sock. Well...it wasn't beans. She had diarrhea. Big time. I mean, down both legs, and up the back.
GROSS! :)
I love my life!
Friday, January 02, 2009
Again, I'm piling it all on in one post!
To catch you up:
BabyM finally got rid of the diarrhea, gained a few ounces, but got sick again with maybe a cold yesterday and has 103 degree fever this morning. Going back to the doctor.
This is BabyM with a French braid. It doesn't stay b/c her hair is too fine, but cute none the less.
BoyD had a dinosaur birthday party. It was a blast and we had about 20 kids there. Here are some photos of the party:
This is the Dinosaur cake and a photo of my precious and wonderful mom with my precious and wonderful BabyM.
All the kids had a go at the giant Dinosaur pinata. BabyM went first, and then BoyD got a turn.
When the pinata breaks, everyone goes in for the kill. Even the parents go in to score some loot for their kids. It was crazy and a miracle that no one got hurt!
The two games that we played were musical chairs with dinosaur music in Spanish, and an archaeological dig where the kids dug for fossils that I had made from coffee grounds and hidden in the sand box. (the sandbox was BoyD's birthday present from us!)
It was a beautiful day for the party!
This is BoyD (aka the Joker) after drinking some punch. Notice the red streak on his forehead from the top of the cup! And that is the piece of cake that Brandon gave BoyD. It is as big as his head! Needless to say, he didn't finish it all.
My mom came for two weeks and at the beginning we went to panajachel (on lake Atitlan) and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Isn't my mommy a cutie?
The following photo is not staged. He was using the bathroom and Brandon went to check on him, and he was "reading" Parenting Wit and Wisdom, by Barbara Coloroso. Very funny.
We went to this really cool Catholic culture thing here. December 12th was Dia de la Virgen de Guatalupe. Basically a day to celebrate, honor, (to some worship) Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Here in Xela, there is a big mass at the huge catholic church here in the center of town followed by a fair of sorts in the central park. Everybody (mostly catholics) bring their children dressed in typical Mayan dress and there are all kinds of food vendors and trinkets to buy. They also have all of the scenes set up with paintings or statues of the virgin where your kids can pose and you can have your photo taken for 25Q (or about $3.00). It is really fun to see all of the kids all dressed up.
Well, we went and we took the kids in their typical dress and we wanted to share a few of the precious photos. Enjoy
Next, Christmas. Christmas eve, we went to a service at our church where BoyD was a wise man. It was so cute, and I am going to either post a little blog about that later, or get Brandon to. Our tradition is to open one gift on Christmas eve (always pijamas to wear that night). Christmas Eve Day, we made cookies for Santa. YUM!
BoyD playing with his little people construction stuff, and BabyM with her new cell phone.
BoyD is ready to ride his tricycle with his new helmet, fight all the "bad guys" with his foam swords, and finally he got to dig into the stocking to see what tiny goodies Santa brought.
All it all this has been an action packed last month. I really plan on blogging more often so that I don't bombard you all with so much info at one time. Oh, and after the Doctor, BabyM lost 2 ounces...really sad about that...but is on another antibiotic for a throat infection. Maybe she'll begin to eat again. Sigh. We still ask for your continued prayers, as she only weights 15lbs, 10ounces and she is 3 days short of a year.
BabyM finally got rid of the diarrhea, gained a few ounces, but got sick again with maybe a cold yesterday and has 103 degree fever this morning. Going back to the doctor.
This is BabyM with a French braid. It doesn't stay b/c her hair is too fine, but cute none the less.
BoyD had a dinosaur birthday party. It was a blast and we had about 20 kids there. Here are some photos of the party:
This is the Dinosaur cake and a photo of my precious and wonderful mom with my precious and wonderful BabyM.
All the kids had a go at the giant Dinosaur pinata. BabyM went first, and then BoyD got a turn.
When the pinata breaks, everyone goes in for the kill. Even the parents go in to score some loot for their kids. It was crazy and a miracle that no one got hurt!
The two games that we played were musical chairs with dinosaur music in Spanish, and an archaeological dig where the kids dug for fossils that I had made from coffee grounds and hidden in the sand box. (the sandbox was BoyD's birthday present from us!)
It was a beautiful day for the party!
This is BoyD (aka the Joker) after drinking some punch. Notice the red streak on his forehead from the top of the cup! And that is the piece of cake that Brandon gave BoyD. It is as big as his head! Needless to say, he didn't finish it all.
It was dino themes all around. We had a stand up dino to take photos by, and every kid wore a dino mask during the party. We had a lot of fun.
My mom came for two weeks and at the beginning we went to panajachel (on lake Atitlan) and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Isn't my mommy a cutie?
We went to this really cool Catholic culture thing here. December 12th was Dia de la Virgen de Guatalupe. Basically a day to celebrate, honor, (to some worship) Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Here in Xela, there is a big mass at the huge catholic church here in the center of town followed by a fair of sorts in the central park. Everybody (mostly catholics) bring their children dressed in typical Mayan dress and there are all kinds of food vendors and trinkets to buy. They also have all of the scenes set up with paintings or statues of the virgin where your kids can pose and you can have your photo taken for 25Q (or about $3.00). It is really fun to see all of the kids all dressed up.
Well, we went and we took the kids in their typical dress and we wanted to share a few of the precious photos. Enjoy
Next, Christmas. Christmas eve, we went to a service at our church where BoyD was a wise man. It was so cute, and I am going to either post a little blog about that later, or get Brandon to. Our tradition is to open one gift on Christmas eve (always pijamas to wear that night). Christmas Eve Day, we made cookies for Santa. YUM!
This is BoyD and Mommy spreading some reindeer food on the front porch (Thanks, Alicia for the idea!), Mommy helping BoyD open his Christmas Eve gift, and Mi-Mi and the kiddos sampling the cookies for Santa.
BoyD checking out what Santa brought and awing over Santa's footprints that he left.
BoyD is ready to ride his tricycle with his new helmet, fight all the "bad guys" with his foam swords, and finally he got to dig into the stocking to see what tiny goodies Santa brought.
All it all this has been an action packed last month. I really plan on blogging more often so that I don't bombard you all with so much info at one time. Oh, and after the Doctor, BabyM lost 2 ounces...really sad about that...but is on another antibiotic for a throat infection. Maybe she'll begin to eat again. Sigh. We still ask for your continued prayers, as she only weights 15lbs, 10ounces and she is 3 days short of a year.
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