Good News!!!

Never in my life did I think I would have conversations with my husband detailing the color, texture, and amount of poop in a diaper. Yes, this is my life. But I wouldn't change it! I now know more about formulas and baby poo than I ever thought I would know. But the good news is that our little guy is now pooping without blood. Even better news, his body is absorbing the new formula and he is gaining weight! That's right! His poor body just couldn't absorb any of the nutrients in the old formula because he couldn't break down the protein. The food was just going right through him. I weighed him tonight and he weighs 11lbs 8oz. He weighed 11lbs 1.5oz on Monday.

I tried changing his formula to the one suggested by CHLA, but it was impossible to get just one can. I had to buy it in bulk and it was incredibly expensive. Elijah is so picky about what he eats, and I was concerned that he would refuse the new formula. I did some research and saw that some people suggested Alimentum Ready to Feed as an alternative. It is suppose to taste a little better. Elijah seems to agree! He was really, really mad at first and let me know that he was not happy with the change. However, by the third bottle, he was taking the feeding like a champ. He is now eating more than ever and is super happy. He is sleeping between bottles at night and just seems much more content. We are still getting up with him three times a night, but he needs the extra bottles to gain weight and hopefully catch up. We are tired, but it is worth it. I just have to remind myself that this is only temporary and that we have the rest of our lives to sleep.

Noah is doing well. He is learning a great deal at his new preschool and even counted to ten the other day. He likes to help with his baby brother and has adjusted pretty well to having Elijah around. He is going through his terribly twos and drives us crazy sometimes, but he really is quite the trooper. I am excited for the long weekend and having some time to spend with Noah. It gets so busy during the week that we don't get a lot of one-on-one time. I try to sit and read with him and take some time to play or have a bath every day. It's those moments that get me through the tougher times.

Frustration and all that good stuff...

Although Elijah has been out of the hospital for a week now, he is still having bloody stools. So incredibly frustrating. The doctors don't know why he is bleeding but they suspect a protein allergy. If the bleeding continues, they want to change his formula. This creates several problems. He has already tried three of these "special" formulas and he refuses to eat all of them. He is finally, finally eating and gaining weight and we are scared that a switch in formula will cause him to stop eating and therefore not grow. You can only buy this formula through pharmacies (and a few online stores) and only in bulk. However, it will cost us close to $500 a month to feed him for a month. That is insane. Insane. I am trying to get a sample so that we can at least try it before we commit to a large order.

Even though Elijah is still having issues, he has been one happy little guy. He has rolled over and is trying to grab things. He likes to coo and is apparently teething. The drool and slobber just keep coming! He doesn't sleep well. It takes him a long time to go to sleep at night and he wakes up about three times to eat and poop. He also wakes up throughout the night for his pacifier. Dion and I trade nights and it is exhausting. Getting up for work the day after being up all night with Elijah is painful.

My dad and his wife visited for a week (although Monica is still here and we are sooooo grateful!). Although we weren't able to do much, between working and hospital stays, it was still very nice to have them here. Dion and I were able to get away for a bit. We went to Temecula to eat, wine taste :), and sleep. The sleeping was blissful. Noah loved having his grandpa and grandma in the house. It was actually a little sad yesterday when my dad left. Noah roamed the house saying, "I want my grandpa... I want my grandpa." The only thing that provided a distraction was Elijah. I put Elijah in a little entertainment center and Noah deemed it his job to take care of his brother. It was very sweet. Noah kept trying to wipe all of the drool off of Elijah's face and make sure that Elijah was playing with the different toys correctly. It melted my heart. I look forward to the days when the two boys can play together.

Discharged!

After two nights and three days, our little guy was discharged. The blood in his stool has all but disappeared. The doctors aren't sure why he had the bleeding in the first place. They suspect that he has a protein allergy, but if that were the case, the blood would not have just gone away. They attempted to give him different formulas, even though we were strongly against it, with no success. We don't think he has an allergy and it has taken us sooooo long to finally find a formula that he will drink and gain weight that changing formulas was not an option. He is finally thriving and growing like he should. From what I have read, if he had an allergy, he would be very unhappy and the bleeding would continue. All of his blood tests have come back negative. Basically, no one is sure why he had the blood, but everyone is grateful that it is gone.

Our fabulous Jackie came to the rescue this week and stayed with Elijah at the hospital during the day which allowed Dion and I to work (as most of you know, it was the first week of school).  My dad and his wife are back in town for a little while and it was a great homecoming for Elijah. Noah is thrilled to have grandma and grandpa back at the house and Elijah is a happy little guy. It is amazing how grateful I am for the simple things. Tonight we all sat at the table, Elijah in his bouncy chair and Noah in his booster seat, and had dinner together. Those are the moments that get me through the rougher times. The memories that we make together get us through the times that we have to spend apart.

The good, the bad, and the readmitted...

The good news is that our little Eli's heart is strong and doing well. He has been eating and gaining weight. We have been settling into a routine again and it has been really nice having our family back again. However, over the weekend, he started having blood in his stool. I contacted his cardiologist who was confident that the blood wasn't related to his heart. I figured that I would call his pediatrition on Monday and schedule an appointment for later in the week. I was wrong. This morning, as both Dion and I were getting ready for work, he had a diaper full of blood. I called the doctor right away and it was decided that we would go directly to the emergency room at Children's Hospital.

While in the emergency room, they ran a number of tests but were unable to tell us why he was bleeding. The only thing they have discovered so far is that his platelet count is low, but they don't know why. They decided to admit us yet again in order to do a more indepth work up. So here we sit again, full of unanswered questions. Tomorrow is the first day of school and both Dion and I are suppose to be at work. Juggling work and a sick child is incredibly difficult. I have no idea how to be at two places at one time. The guilt is overwhelming. I feel like my place is with my baby and yet I have obligations and committments I have to fulfill. I have students depending on me. Ugh. Sometimes life is just so hard.