FTT Journey Update: Changing Pediatricians

It has been some time since Madison was diagnosed with Failure To Thrive. This journey through discovering how to manage and overcome it has been nothing short of stressful. We have been to countless Dr's appointments, Therapy sessions and recently had a slew of tests done at the GI's office to make sure there was nothing medically preventing her from gaining weight. As a mom I want nothing but the best for my daughter. I want her to receive the best care possible, see the best OT's, and have a reasonably happy experience through all of this. This is why we have decided to switch pediatricians. When we initially started receiving care from her new pediatrician (which was only after her old Pediatrician retired and we were gifted to this one) we were so excited that this Dr seemed to know what was really going on with Madison. We thought she knew what she was talking about because she had gone through this same thing with her daughter and had personal experience. To us, personal experience is great because it meant we had someone who knew what we were dealing with, going through and could offer a slew of help to progress us towards overcoming the diagnosis. After some time with this doctor however, I have become uneasy with her. She has threatened to take my daughter and place her in a hospital countless times, she told us to force food and drinks down Madison's throat any way possible and is not taking into account Madison's sensory disorder issues. She scolded me like a child at the last appointment after I told Madison (who was just playing on the floor a moment earlier) to not put her hands in her mouth. This is how she easily gets sick as her immune system is not very strong. Her Pediatrician told me to let her put her hands and whatever else she wants in her mouth as we don't want to deter her from the hand to mouth movements. Whereas I understand her thinking in this advice, I don't agree with it at all. I have two children to care for and if we are to stay healthy, I cannot have Madison getting sick because she touched everything yucky and decided to suck it off her fingers.

I have come to a point where I am aggravated and exasperated with her Pediatrician. I completely understand the concerns her Dr has for her weight gain but it seems her Dr has taken her concern to want immediate results. I have discussed the situation with Madison's OT's, a family counselor, and other mama's who are going through the same things we are. We have all come to the same conclusion; we need a new pediatrician. 
       You cannot force a child to drink or eat anything. Especially when they have a sensory disorder. Forcing the child or threatening to use a syringe (as the Dr told us to do- we are not proud to say we have tried this multiple times before realizing we were doing more harm than good) to pour her drinks down her throat, just makes the child shut down, have epic meltdowns and makes them scared of the item in question. Her Dr seems to want immediate results with each appointment. She isn't happy with just one pound gained, she wants multiple pounds. Even after expressing to her the stress, tears, and misery we go through each and every day just to get her to eat and drink her required calories, she is still unsatisfied. I am very understanding that my daughter needs to gain weight. I understand that a full year of no weight gain is not a good thing and that she has a lot of catching up to do. I also understand the struggles we are going to have to go through for many more years to get her to where she needs to be. What I don't understand is why her Dr cannot understand how much past the limit of stress and struggle we really are. Her Dr thinks that Pediasure is our saving grace and is the only thing that will put meat on Maddie's bones, but Maddie has come to dislike the one drink that she was being forced to drink multiple times a day. Honestly, I don't blame her. I have done many hours of research on high calorie/fat products that will help Madison gain weight and believe that we finally have a few products that will help.

        Now, I don't mean to bash her pediatrician or run her good name through the mud. I am just frustrated with how she is handling our situation. She is a great Dr and I am appreciative of the help that she has given us in diagnosing Madison, referring us to OT's and GI's and for helping us realize some important things. She has a wonderful staff and a nurse who we absolutely love. Sadly though, I don't think she has the qualifications to handle our situation at this time.

        We are currently waiting for the insurance to approve a new Pediatrician and I pray that this Dr actually listens to us and can offer the help and support that we need. I will be posting later how Madison's therapy sessions are affecting/not affecting Madison's progress. Thank you to everyone who follows along with our journey. Your support means so much to us as this is not an easy thing to handle every day. We love you all!

Things I never thought I'd have to say to my children

Having children is such a wonderful and fulfilling feeling. Yes stressful at times but well worth it. When I think of children I usually think of all the positive things I would say to them. Phrases such as "well done", " you're such a smart little girl", or "oh that picture you drew is beautiful". Things, however, change when you become a parent. I've surprised myself with some of the things I have had to say while scolding my kids. These scoldings, though hilarious now, were definitely not funny at the time. I decided to list just a few phrases I have had to use on my kiddos in the hopes that you might get a chuckle out it. These are just a few of the many I have stored away.

1.) We don't eat cat food
2.) Mommies pads are not stickers
3.) The stuff in the trash cans are not toys
4.) Stop licking my feet
5.) Don't eat your clothes
6.) Your sissy is not a horsey
7.) Stop squawking like a bird
8.) We don't paint with our poop!
9.) We don't eat our poop! That's disgusting!
10.) Stop biting my toes
11.) Your daddy is not a trampoline
12.) Your sissy is not a dog, we don't feed her the food you refuse to eat
13.) Stop growling at me
14.) Don't spit your food at me
15.) Stop stripping

But... Just when I think I have had to scold for weird things, I end up being rewarded by one of her cute shenanigans. I told her the other day that my head hurt and she instantly folds her hands together and says "I pray for mommies head, Amen".  Just when I think my two year old is a complete brat, she goes and surprises me by being a sweetheart. 

I hope these made your day a little brighter. I will be posting more in a few weeks. If you liked this post and would love to see more, please subscribe to my blog to receive future posts. 

Pinterest Plunders: Cool Whip Egg Dyeing

Pinterest Plunders! The place where Pinterest Pins get recreated and rated a Pass or Plunder. Sometimes they Pass the test of DIY Divas and sometimes this DIY Diva plunders those pins (but not purposely- I really try my best to recreate pins I like).

This week is Easter! The week of egg dyeing, Easter baskets, and celebrating Christ's resurrection. A pretty cool little pin about egg dyeing came across my computer screen yesterday and the hubby and I just had to try it out. We decided to let our little girl help and use it as a sensory craft for her sensory disorder. She had fun but for some reason didn't consider the project as a craft and didn't care for getting her hands "dirty". 

This is what the cool whip colored eggs are supposed to look like once dyed. Ours turned out ... Well take a look. 

We started out with boiling our eggs in vinegar and water. After they cooled we patted them dry and then began to dye them. We mixed 1/2 tbs vinegar with 5 drops of food coloring. 

Next we laid a layer of cool whip into a cake pan about an inch thick. Once we completed this step we poured the dye into the cool whip and mixed it in. 

After mixing the dye and cool whip together, we had Maddie bury the eggs. Silly girl was scared to get her hands dirty and after some prompting from mama (more like I shoved her hand into the pan) she began to... No not bury the eggs. Instead she flung what was on her hands all around my kitchen. We had to clean her hands as quickly as possible before she painted my fridge blue.

After successfully burying the eggs, we waited 20 minutes and then rinsed them off. We patted them dry and voila! A beautiful batch of dyed Easter eggs. Now, they aren't as dark or bright as Passion For Savings' video, but they turned out beautifully. 

I would say that this Pinterest Plunder was a PASS! The Pinterest Pin I found this craft from was: http://www.passionforsavings.com/how-to-dye-Easter-eggs-with-cool-whip

If you have a Pinterest Pin you would like me to recreate, please comment with a link to the pin and I'd be more than happy to give it a try. 

A little pick me up with silly babies!

There are so many funny memes and pictures on the internet these days. I decided that I would go in search of a few that would perfectly describe my life with an infant and a crazy toddler. Well, to say I found a few would be an understatement. There were so many that it was hard to choose from. So I decided to post a few here. I hope they give you a good laugh and make your day brighter. I'm sure that anyone with children can easily relate. I hope many of these bring about some silly stories and if they do I would love to hear them!

I can never pee in peace.

EVERY DAY!!

My two year old doesn't want to potty on the potty. She will instead tell me when she poops so I can change her.

Oh yes!! My kids are always into trouble following silence.

Yep! Just as I get settled into my bed and start to fall asleep a child cries.

 

Every time!

I hope these brought a smile to your face and maybe made you chuckle a little. 

FTT Family Journey: Our First Group Therapy

Thank you for following along with our Families Failure to Thrive Journey. If you have read my previous posts you may remember that the Pediatrician gave us a deadline for getting Maddie to gain a few pounds. Madison also had a great milestone with some weight gain! I would like to further update our journey with Madison's first time attending group therapy. Madison sees an Occupational Therapist at Rady Children's Hospital every other week. The therapist decided that Madison would better benefit from having therapy sessions with other children who have the same feeding needs and sensory disorders. We waited for what seems like an eternity (OK I exaggerate- it was only a month) for our insurance to approve these therapy sessions. Once we received the green light we quickly scheduled appointments for every other week.

Photo taken from Internet

Recently we experienced our first group therapy session. The group is made up of four children, two OT's and each child had a parent sitting next to them in a circle. The OT started out the session by introducing everyone in Spanish. Now, mind you, Madison and I are the only two non Spanish speakers there. She quickly introduced Maddie and began the meet. We were completely lost during the whole appointment. Most of our time there was spoken in Spanish with no explanation as to what was happening.  Poor Madison was ignored during most of the talk. She would only take one item (like a good girl) out of each bin offered her without knowing that she could have multiples. She (after finishing said food item) asked for more but didn't receive any (most of the time) because the other parents took more than enough for their children.

Photo taken from Internet

Now, we have nothing wrong with others speaking Spanish or being bilingual. I wish I was bilingual but sadly Spanish is too hard a language for me to learn. Trust me I have tried multiple times. However, I do have an issue with a class being mostly spoken in Spanish when there are others present who don't speak a lick of Spanish. We had no understanding of what was being taught or said which in turn made the session pointless for Madison. It was supposed to be a beneficial therapy appointment by encouraging Maddie to try overcome some timidness towards certain textures. This class (for us at least) was instead a waste of time and money for the day. I will be requesting a new group where English is the primary language so that Madison can get the most out these meetings. I hope I have better news for the next time I update you in regards to our group therapies.

Photo taken from Internet

I do however, have good news in relation to Madison's calorie intake. She has been consuming approximately 1000-1200 calories on some days and is every day surpassing 800 calories without pressure or crying. We are no longer having to fight to get her to reach 800 calories and it has been such a relief. We still have a long ways to go as she is still being extremely picky and selective with what she eats but is greatly showing improvement. Several friends have messaged me proclaiming how wonderful she is looking now. The veins in her forehead aren't as prominent, you can't see her ribs as clearly as you used to be able to and she is eating more compared to drinking than she used to. I pray she starts packing on the pounds quickly so we can altogether avoid hospitalization.  

Reagan Eating Peas and Carrots

Reagan eating pureed foods

I also have great news in regards to my youngest. She has recently started eating peas and carrots whole, loves her rice puffs and yogurt melts and is also eating her purees (about 1 oz each sitting). A month ago she wouldn't touch most things and refused to eat solids. I tell you there is power in prayer! God is good and working wonders in our home and little girls. If you are going through FTT or Sensory Disorder with a child please share your story with us. Whether you are still trekking through or have overcome these issues we want to hear from you and maybe swap ideas with techniques learned to help the kiddos.

Honoring those lost

There are many things in life that we celebrate. Our birthdays, graduations, engagements, weddings, children's birth, and work promotions are just a few. These occasions are made special because of the people we get to share them with. Their support and love make those moments most memorable and help us to realize that all the hard work and tough times we had endured to get to that point was well worth it. But what if you couldn't celebrate these momentous milestones with certain loved ones? What if they had already passed and you desperately wished they could be there to cheer you on?

There are sadly many events that our dearly departed will miss. They are gone, but are definitely not forgotten.  We all have celebrations like a wedding where we want our grandparents to share our day with us, or our parents to witness the birth of their first grandchild, or maybe you lost a sister who will never get to see her child graduate from high school. It's in these moments that we wish they could be there. We all know that they are celebrating right along side us in spirit, but it's not the same.

We hear all the time how a bride wants to honor her grandfather or father at her wedding, or a mom-to-be wants to share her baby shower with her parents who are no longer living. While they wish they could honor their relatives, they don't know how. There are several ways to show your respects and involve your loved one in any event you celebrate.

If you are planning a wedding, baby shower, graduation, or basically anywhere that there will be seating, place a photo of your dearly departed on seat as if you were saving their place.

You can also make a backdrop to place in a foyer or on one side of the room with pictures of those departed hanging. The pictures placed inside could match the theme for the occasion.

Ex: If its for a wedding, have your loved ones wedding photos displayed. If its a baby shower being celebrated, you can place photos of your loved one with their child.

There are many weddings in which the bride and groom will have a guest sign in table. These tables are usually filled with the bride and grooms engagement photos, memorabilia, and a guest book for their guests to sign as they arrive. A great way to show honor to a special someone is to place a photo of that person along with these items and have a loving description as to who they are next to it.

If you're anything like me, you want to keep that person close by as you celebrate your joyous occasion. Lockets are a great way to keep a photo near to you at all times. Whether you're wearing it or holding it, you can display it for all to see.

The last idea of honoring a loved one comes in a simple and easy way to display. A candle seems to be the universal sign for remembering someone passed. What better way than to light a beautiful candle and have the  names of those you are honoring displayed on the outside of it. They may be gone but their spirit lives on.

Pinterest Plunders: Christmas Tissue Paper Trees

Pinterest Plunders! The place where Pinterest Pins get recreated and rated a Pass or Plunder. Sometimes they Pass the test of DIY Divas and sometimes this DIY Diva plunders those pins (but not purposely- I really try my best to recreate pins I like).

So I have been seeing everywhere these adorable miniature cone shaped trees. These little trees are so cute but can get pretty expensive. I have shopped around and seen them being sold for $25 a piece! I have always wanted a set of three different sized trees but couldn't afford them (I mainly didn't want to part with the money because I'm cheap- or er.. thirfty). So one day I was browsing through Pinterest (as I do pretty often) and noticed a post on how to make these adorable elf sized trees. I said to myself, "Candace, you can make these! They don't look that hard!" So I re-pinned the post and began my research. In all honesty these weren't hard to make at all! Well, if you don't take into account the burn blisters I received from the hot glue gun, the amount of time it took to make them and battling pieces of tissue paper away from the cat.

So here it begins. I started off with making a trip to the Dollar Tree and purchasing these items:

1. 2 large poster board papers
2. tissue paper- 3 different colors 
3. three plastic solo cups- which I already had
4. hot glue gun and glue sticks- Also had already

I started out by cutting the poster board into three parts. Each part a little larger than the other. Then I rolled them into cones and glued them in place. After rolling them, I set inside (through the bottom of the cone) a solo cup. I cut around the bottom of the poster board to make it even with the cup and then taped them together. The cup allows the tree to stand evenly and helps the cone keep its shape.

After making your cone, cut each color of tissue paper into 1 1/2 inch strips.

Like so:

After you have your strips cut you can begin assembling your trees. I have three different designs for mine so I had to assemble them differently. For two of the trees I twisted the paper:

I started this particular tree by twisting the pieces of paper and making them into circles. I made small and large circles and began to alternate them throughout the cone. You may notice that the cone is gold. I wrapped some of the gold tissue paper around the cone so that you couldn't see any red spots.

The second tree I made by cutting the 1 1/2 inch strips into 1 1/2 inch x 1 1/2 inch squares. Using a pencil I would loosely wrap a piece around the eraser, apply a small dab of glue and press it against the cone. This took a long time but was much easier to do than the other trees.

The last tree I made was the green tree and it was pretty easy. I twisted each piece of tissue paper strip and glued them in place around the cone (overlapping ends to give it a seamless appearance). I love my little trees and they make a great addition to my Christmas Decor. I did all of this for under $6.

The end result:

To store I put them in a grocery bag and laid them in a plastic tote.  I would say that this Pinterest Plunder was a Pass! The Pinterest post I found these from is: http://acreativemomma.blogspot.com/2010/12/tissue-christmas-trees.html

If you have any Pinterest Pins that you would like me to try out please feel free to send them to me. 

A Major Milestone!!

We have some great news!! Although this may not seem like the biggest news to many of you, to us it's a major milestone! February, as you know, started out with horrible news. Our family was threatened with hospitalization for Madison if she didn't start gaining weight soon. Since that day we have been doing our best to achieve a minimum 1000 calories a day. Some days we attain these calories easily and others seem to be an uphill battle. The second week of February was a sick week. Both of the kiddos came down with colds and it took all we had in us to survive the week. Finally the girls seemed better but Madison still had a cough so it was back to the Dr's office for us. Our Dr must be tired of seeing us because we were in the Dr's office once a week for the whole month of February due to sickness. While there though, we learned that Madison had gained a full pound!!!! This is amazing as Maddie hadn't gained any weight for 8 months prior. We were so excited and felt that all of our hard work was paying off. This was short lived though. Madison was put on an antibiotic for her cough that wouldn't go away and that's when things started going south. Somewhat.

The first night we gave Maddie the medicine she had reached her 1000+ calories. Less than a minute after taking her medicine she threw up most of the days food. This happened again the next night. Within 4 days she had lost .6 ounces of the 1lb that she gained. While this was disheartening, it was also not as bad because she had still retained some of the weight she gained. The days that followed her sickness she didn't reach her 1000 calories. While this saddened me (because I stress if we don't reach our goals) I knew she would eventually get back to her normal calorie intake. Her Dr changed the deadline for which she needed to gain weight before hospitalization as well. She was excited that Maddie was showing progress and even stated that Maddie was looking much better in the face.

Now, I know we have a long ways to go and I know that God is working in our little girl to help her overcome her sensory issues and picky eating. I know this because I can already see the changes. Madison recently started mimicking everything we do. She saw daddy eating a bowl of cereal and decided that she wanted some. So, we gave her her own bowl with milk and cereal and to our surprise she ate it all! She even asked for seconds! She has since eaten a slice of pizza at daycare, a slice for us at home and is even eating foods that she wouldn't touch for a while!! She is even requesting her tooth brush during the day so she can brush her teeth while she watches her Mickey Mouse Club House shows. Yay!! I am so excited and I know that this is the start of even more great things to come.

New threats to our FTT Journey

I wanted to update everyone on our Failure to Thrive journey. We have had some very interesting past few months. In my last blog post I reported on our meeting with the Occupational Therapist. Since seeing her we have started Maddie on the new eating rules, chewy tubes, and have begun to really pay attention to her calorie intake. We have had some great days and some pretty stressful days but are still pushing forward. February 1st we had a Dr's appointment for my youngest. The girls' Dr was shocked and scared at how Maddie was looking. Maddie, at the time, had red all around her eyes from not getting a nap all day and the veins in her forehead were more prominent than usual. Maddie looked pretty sick at that moment which freaked out her Dr. She Dr gave us some suggestions and a major warning. She said that if Maddie didn't gain any weight in one month then she was going to hospitalize Maddie. She would settle for even one pound. Her (almost) exact words were "You need to crack the whip and get her to drink 3-4 Pediasures a day. She needs to start gaining weight or I am putting her in a hospital by the first of next month." This is something we did not want to hear.

This mama cried her eyes out all night. I held my little girl close and prayed for her, squeezed her and tried overcoming my personal feelings so we could focus on the task at hand. At that moment I felt like such a failure. I failed my daughter. I failed to get her to eat, gain weight and now we were being threatened with Maddie being forced away from us and hospitalized for 10-14 days. All I could think about was her being alone and scared in that hospital. I pictured the Dr's forcing food and drinks down her throat till they were satisfied. I pictured her crying for her mommy and daddy and so alone and scared wondering what she did to deserve this treatment. My mind probably went a little crazy and over exaggerated the extent of treatment that Maddie would be getting but it did send me into a worry frenzy. I decided to do what I normally do when presented with a problem that I needed answers to; I worry researched.

I was researching ways to increase her calories till 2 am! I reached out to other moms on a  hunch and it paid off! I found this new calorie increasing supplement called Benecalories. It is a 1.5 oz container which is a whopping total of 330 calories and 50% fat. The contents look like coffee creamer and are tasteless. They just change the texture of drinks a little by making them a little thicker. These things are a godsend! Expensive but very much worth it. I can make one of Maddie's Pediasures go from 240 calories to 620 with the help of the Benecalories and some Hershey's syrup for flavoring. This makes reaching our 1000 calorie goal much more attainable and less stressful.  Maddie at first didn't care for the Benecalories but has seemed to have gotten used to it. We have been able to reach 1000 most days with the help of these little things and yes we have been cracking the whip. I hate the pressure and stress this puts on us all but for the moment it is working.