Poor Baby

Well, as it turns out Alex in not only teething and having stomach/digestion issues...she also has a cold and an ear infection. Sooo, we ended up at the Pediatricians office on Thursday morning and at CHOP G.I. on Friday morning. The Pediatrician visit resulted in Alexandria getting a script for Amoxicillin in order to remedy her ear infection. She is tolerating this antibiotic well. Her chest was clear which was wonderful! And despite of Alexandria's cold and ear infection she was not so bad off that she could not receive the Swine Flu vaccine. Because Alex in under the age of 10 years she needs to receive this vaccine in 2 doses, 28 days apart. The G.I. visit resulted in Alexandria getting switched to a different formula. This formula is a "Way"? Protein formula (whatever that is) and it contains proteins that are more broken down. The G.I. doc said that Alex could have a milk protein allergy (this gets better with age). Or she may have an emptying issue - her tummy might be emptying the formula too slowly or too quickly. If it empties too quickly they could give her medicine to slow it down. If it empties too slowly they will need to add fiber to her formula. Both issues are something Alex would outgrow at some point. The formula Alex was placed on helps to speed up emptying and it helps with the protein allergy. The vomiting may also be a result of Alexandria's kidney condition which we have surgery scheduled for. Soo...we were told to slowly transition Alex to this formula by mixing it with Pedialyte. If Alex tolerated this - great!!! And to look into this further we would then have to get a test called a Gastric Emptying Study this upcoming week. If Alex continued vomiting by Sunday we were to admit her to CHOP as an inpatient. So far Alexandria is tolerating this new formula! Praise God! We are not up to full strength yet but will be tomorrow. If all goes well Alexandria's Gastric Emptying Study will take place on Thursday morning. All of this eliminates that the kidneys are causing Alex to vomit and point to this being a protein allergy or an emptying issue. The test on Thursday will confirm or eliminate the emptying being an issue and then we should have our answer. If this is a protein issue Alex will not be able to have cow's milk products. She will, however, be able to drink goat milk, coconut milk, soy milk or rice milk. Rice milk, according to the G.I. doc, has very little nutrition so I would need to choose between goat milk (pasteurized),coconut milk and soy milk. I am leaning more toward the goat milk and the coconut milk so far. They seem most natural to me. We will see. Some of my friends who give their babies goat milk say that their kids love it because goat milk tastes most like breast milk and they were breast fed babies. Goat milk does not have vitamin D added which could pose a problem but in Alexandria's case this does not matter because her formula for tube feeds has all the vitamin D she needs. In meantime, Alexandria's congestion has gotten better. However, now she developed a cough that sounds kind of "chesty" to me...I am going to call the Pediatrician tomorrow to see if I can come in and have them listen to Alexandria's chest to make sure this is not turning into an Upper Respiratory Infection of some sort. I have to tell you though - it is amazing what a good baby Alex is! With all these issues going on she is still so happy, easy going and pleasant. It's amazing to me...I would be miserable if this was me...We are taking Alex to get her Christmas pictures taken on Tuesday and will try to take a trip to the mall to sit on Santa's lap at some point this week. Oh, and as for our house decorating for Christmas??? We are ALMOST done doing the inside! Steve put up the gate for our fireplace yesterday and did some other childproofing things in the living room (not done yet but this will take time to complete b/c between the living room and our kitchen we have a LOT cabinets drawers - need to get done before she starts walking though), did all the inside lights today and some other finishing touches. All we have to do now is put ornaments on the tree and we are done! We will do this one night this week, hopefully tomorrow. As for the outdoor lights - we may not get to that this year...It's freezing and wet out(!) and we have good size home. The inside stuff is more important. Alex loves all the decoration! She keeps pointing to things and asking "what's that?". She also says "cookie" and "cracker" now! We have an appointment with P.T. to test Alex in order to see where she is placing with her physical development. Steve and I have been spinning our wheels and running around non-stop and I have been feeling like I have been able to do is damage control...There is grace...much grace...and joy in the midths of craziness, waiting and uncertainty. Alexandria's future is not uncertain to our God. He has a plan for Alex and He is faithful to fulfil it. He arm is not too short. We may not understand His ways but we are not God and who are we to question Him. I have been reminded lately of Job questioning the Lord and the Lord's answer to Job...Thank you for your prayers and friendship!