I was taking a shower and Kian was playing in the bathroom (any other mother notice that the word 'play' should really be changed to 'getting into things and making messes'? good) and he told me his triceratops needed to be rinsed off. I asked why and he told me it was full of soap. I'm wondering where he got soap from. Peeking out, he shows me the dinosaur-covered in white stuff-and in his hand is my deodorant. Yep, took it off the counter and smooshed it all over the dinosaur. Lovely...because that doesn't come off easy. Whatever. It's still sitting in the tub, it can wait. Also, he took my deodorant and drew a few letters on the bathroom carpet with it...sigh.
After the shower we made our way to the preschool tour and the theme there was....ta da! Dinosaurs! I told Kian we were going to look at a preschool and he fought me, saying he didn't want to go to school, he didn't want to look, he wanted to stay home. I told him we were just going to look and see if he liked it. We finally pulled in the parking lot and he says "I like it!". Upon entering, he was all smiles, and when he saw all the dinosaurs (legos, in the sand table, posters, craft) he couldn't contain himself. We looked around for a half hour or so while he played and then I told him we were done. He didn't want to leave of course. I had to do the countdown warning (3 mins, 1 min) and get him out of there with a sticker from the director so there wasn't a meltdown. I told him he might be able to come back soon (they have openings now for 2 days/week! yay!) and that we just came to look today. He continues playing and says "I'm still looking!". haha.
The doctor has nothing to do with either of these things...well there were dinosaurs at the doctor's office, perhaps that is the segue I needed? But, I just needed to throw our update in there. Wednesday I took Karter to see Dr. Weinberg, an integrative pediatrician. Meaning she's a fully trained pediatrician by mainstream medical standards abut also trained in natural therapies, nutrition, supplementation, etc. It was nice to just be able to sit down and start from the beginning with Karter's issues, from in utero when we found out about his concerns on ultrasound all the way until today. I get to tell doctors and people in pieces here and there, so to have it completely from start to present, and get everything in there, and have someone just listen, was nice.
We discussed his allergy testing and possible sensitivities, reflux and medicines, sleep habits and issues, everything really. She commended me for the things I had been doing--adding papaya enzymes, using foods to try to boost his calorie intake with olive oil, using avocado, etc. And some things I had in my head but to hear them, and ordered in some sort of plan. She's ordering a few more blood tests and wants to check for vitamin deficiencies. We're also going to do a comprehensive stool analysis, to look at anything and everything that might "come out" from there...sure, pun intended ;)
So, our new course of action is:
1. Do a strict dairy(milk) and egg free diet for 3 weeks to see if it makes a difference with his eating and/or sleeping. The thought being that he is showing some allergies but sensitivities in the gut don't show up on tests. If no changes, then we can think about adding in some organic whole milk because--
2. He's lacking in fats, and some proteins in his diet. Not for lack of trying. I let this kid eat whatever he wants-pizza, sausage, hot dogs, etc. But, my kids love fruits and veggies. While this doesn't help his current weight status, it will definitely help his long-term health. So, we need to boost fats and proteins more. I shovel this kid with PB all day long, but adding more oils, margarine, meats if he will, and a different milk source.
3. She suggested Hemp milk. I know what you're thinking. No, he won't get high from it ;) But, compared to rice or almond milk, it has a higher protein content and full of omega-3 & 6. The other 3 have only 1 grams per serving. So, we'll try that.
4. Continue working on the behavioral part of sleeping through the night. I've been successful in getting Karter to go about 8-10 hours without wanting to eat/nurse/drink since beginning this process again on Monday. I just keep telling him he has to wait until morning. He still wakes a few times, but usually snuggling in with us keeps him happy until 6 or 7am. I'd love for him to be sleeping all night but, I'll take what I can get right now.
5. The other thing she suggested was for me to change the time I give him the Prevacid. I was giving it first thing in the morning, but she suggested I try giving it to him before bed. This way, if there is reflux it will curb it all night, and not "run out" by bedtime/overnight and have him wake up more. But, ultimately, we want him off it, sooner than later.
6. A few more blood tests for vitamin deficiencies and a few other things, just in case. Also, a comprehensive stool analysis to see if there are any malabsorption issues, what's being digested, what's not, and a host of other things. That will be fun collecting...no, really!
And whatever else I forgot she will be sending in a report to me and the regular pediatrician. Monday we have the 18 month check up, so will be interesting to see how much he's gained, since he's been on the Prevacid for almost 2 months now... And that is a random recap...
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