Operation Stinky Pants

Last Saturday morning, I learned there were coupons available for the circus at a real estate office about 10 minutes from the house. So - I quick got everyone dressed and started loading the car. I put Cole in his car seat, and he immediately started crying, which just puts me on edge. Then, I got Syd, helped her put her shoes on, and led her to the garage. I put her in her seat, (we're almost ready to go!!!) but when I tried to buckle her straps, she refused to actually sit down... she'd pooped in her pants. UGH! Everyone out of the car, take off the shoes, take off the clothes, change the diaper and start all over.

That's it. I decided I'd had enough of changing diapers and that Monday would be the start of operation stinky pants (formal, boot-camp style potty training). So, naturally, we spent Sunday choosing all new panties. We went on a special trip to Target and selected only the finest styles and patterns: Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Zoe, Tinkerbell, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Dora the Explorer.

Monday morning, we woke up and immediately put on a pair of training pants (thicker panties) and Syd put a pair of her new regular panties over top of the training pants. We've not worn a diaper since!

It's been an entire week since Operation Stinky Pants began. So far, so good. We've had a handful of accidents, but overall, she's doing very well. Yesterday and today, we've had no accidents at all! We've even left the house a couple times with success. I'm not quite ready to announce, "Mission Accomplished", but we're definitely on our way.

A Visit with Doctor House

I took Cole to the Doctor House of pediatric gastroenterology doctors yesterday. He was great - he took an entire hour to listen to our story, examine Cole, and come up with a plan of action. We discussed several possible problems that could be causing Cole's tummy issues. In the end, Dr. House said that Cole clearly has a "raging" case of GERD that he felt could be treated more aggressively. So - he tweaked the meds Cole is currently on and added two more medications. He also gave me the go ahead to start giving Cole rice cereal. We've got two and a half weeks to see if these steps make a difference and decrease the amount of puking. If not, then we'll be heading back to Dr House to schedule a GI scope procedure to explore the possibility of delayed gastric emptying or some other internal structural or functional problem. Keep your fingers crossed!

He's On a Roll!

Despite all his digestive problems, Cole still seems to be achieving his physical and developmental milestones no problem. Here's a video of his latest accomplishment!

For what it's worth, Sydney rolled over exactly at 4 months too.

Under the Sweat Lodge - I Mean Big Top

Wow - I think we almost melted today. Mom, Syd, Cole, and I went to the circus, and I think it was over 100 degrees under the big top! The acts were good: we saw elephants, tigers, zebras, camels, llamas, trapeze artists, clowns, ATV riders - they had it all. But, the heat was incredibly distracting. In fact, we ended up hightailing it out of there at intermission. Anyway, it was all worth it because Syd got to ride an elephant! This has been a pretty eventful summer with the animal rides for Syd - first the camel and now the elephant. She's fearless!

ABCs!

Fun at Art Square

Yesterday, I took the kids along with Gramma and Terra to Art Square. Art Square is a local art gallery where the Loudoun Academy of the Arts Foundation displays local art work. The August exhibit was the 9th Annual Something Hot Regional Juried Show and Sale. It turns out we know one of the artists whose painting was juried in... our very own Bella Gramma. Although Cole was definitely not in the mood to enjoy the art exhibit, Sydney had a great time looking at the paintings and making comments. She especially liked Gramma's painting of a shop doorway and correctly identified one of the major colors as orange. Our visit was cut short by Cole's crying. Hopefully, they'll let us back in the next time we go!

Look Out Below!

Cole continues his puke-tastic puke-tacular. He pukes after almost every meal, sometimes multiple times. Often, he pukes hours after being fed. For a long time, I've assumed it was something I was eating that caused his problems. However, today's doctor's visit suggested that's not likely the case. After listening to our update on Cole's symptoms, Cole's doctor suggested he might have delayed gastric emptying or DGE (aka: gastroparesis). DGE is a condition in which the stomach takes longer to empty than it should. Some estimates suggest that half of babies with reflux also have some degree of DGE. Symptoms include feeling full quickly while eating, nausea after meals, vomiting and heartburn, and abdominal bloating or pain. The best indication in babies is throwing up undigested or partially digested food several hours after feeding.

Medications are the usual treatment for DGE. In severe cases, surgery may be required.

We'll be heading to a pediatric GI doctor in the next week or so. Hopefully, they'll be able to give us more answers and get us on the road to a less pukey future!