Weighty Issues

We have been struggling for a couple of months with Talia's weight. She has been throwing up more than she eats, or so it seems, and she hadn't been gaining weight since her 2 month appointment. The doctor put her on Reglan for Reflux, and that help the projectile vomitting some, but she still wasn't gaining weight well. Last week I took her to a Pediatric GI Specialist on a referral from our regular doc. He gave me several new instructions plus an additional med. She is now on a higher dose of Reglan, Axid (to reduce the amount of acid in her stomach, or the acidic level, or something), and we are adding a teaspoon of rice cereal to each ounce of formula in her bottle. Couple that with still keeping her upright for 30-45 minutes after she eats, and additionally raising her bed to a 30 degree angle for when she sleeps. At the time of that appointment - 4 months, she weighed 13 lbs 5 oz. That was up from 12 lbs 2 oz at her 2 month appointment. That is just over a pound in two months=not good. We have been on this new regimen for just over a week now, and yesterday we went in for her 4 month shots. She weighed in at 13 lbs 15 oz!!! We knew she had been keeping down most of her food, and her face seems to be filling out a bit, but I was excited that she is getting fatter. Doctor Staheli was happy, too. She does seem to get a little constipated with the meds, though, so I need to bring that up with the GI doc at her next appointment on Jan. 6th. Oh, yeah! She also ate peas for the first time last night! She made such cute noises as she ate.

We are taking Trinity to that appointment as well to see if she has something similar. No matter how many times a day we brush her teeth, they have still rotted out of her head. She has an appointment with a Pediatric dentist on Jan. 4th to have her entire mouth fixed. I hope they catch all the problems, and that the GI doc can tell me what else we can do to stop further erosion. I expect she'll be sleeping propped up, too. I just want my girls to be okay.

Temira seems to have escaped all refulx problems, but her teeth are too close together! I actually have to FLOSS her teeth! She has no gaps at all. They look beautiful right now, but her jaw is too small for when her permanent teeth come in. She will likely end up with a pallet expander like Harrison has to have installed in January. What fun we have to look forward to, eh?

Chandler and Harrison both go to the orthodontist in January. Both boys were blessed, as well as Temira, with their dad's small mouth. Chandler will get braces put on on the 11th, and Harrison will have the mold made that day for the pallet expander. He goes back on the 16th to have it installed. He gets to have a twist in his mouth every night before bed for the next 4-6 months to widen his upper jaw. Then he will get his braces on. So far, we haven't heard anything about Tevin needing braces. His mouth is bigger, so maybe he can just wait until all of his permanent teeth are in to get braces. I guess we'll see.

So much for our adventures leading up to Christmas. This year we rented the DSC cabin in PineValley. We will be up there from the 23rd to the 26th. Bret's parents and one of his sisters and her family will be with us. I think some of the others are planning to come to Christmas dinner on Sunday, but we don't know for sure how many. I need to learn to be more flexible instead of wanting everything planned. Okay, not planned exactly, but it bothers me that I don't even know who is coming...because they don't know if they are coming. Come on, people, it's just a few days away. Got a clue yet? OK. Vent is over.

I hope Christmas is happy for all!