Yet Another Visit to the ER

Well we took a little trip to Home Depot today and after a little contact between Harper's head and the concrete we took a little trip to the ER. 

She seemed to be okay after the incident, as in she didn't pass out, just extremely tired. We tried to keep her awake but it was a losing battle. After about 2 hours of off and on sobbing and sleeping she went upstairs to nap it off and promptly threw up on Blake. We are pretty used to Harper barfing after crying so I didn't know whether she had a concussion or was just her usual self. Then she cried some more and wrapped herself up in one of her blankets  and went upstairs for another nap. While she was sleeping I called my mom (my first response when we have some sort of medical issue), she didn't answer so I called a nurse and she made me wake Harper up. So, more screaming followed that. 

We decided to take her in because she wasn't returning to her usual self. We waited in the waiting room for 30 minutes, got an encouraging call from Kelsey and Harper sat there half asleep talking about bugs in her eye... Not sure what that means...

She stayed pretty lethargic till she saw the doctor. He decided we should stay there for a while and see how she does before we do any X-Rays or any scans. 

I found a tootsie roll in my bag and we gave it to her and after finishing it she seemed to perk up almost immediately! Apparently all she needed was a bit of candy... a medical miracle! The doctor came and checked on her and was shocked by how peppy and upbeat she was now and told us we could leave. Yay! 

Thankfully she didn't have a serious injury. That would have been devastating! 

Now we just have to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't play too crazy the rest of the day. Which may be hard since her favorite activity is jumping off the couch. 

POP!

In an attempt to make our life a little more exciting I took Harper to a free movie at a local theater. Kung Fu Panda 2 was playing and I wasn't actually that excited about seeing it again but I figured it was something to do and Harper talks about going to the theater all the time. So we went and Harper only wanted to stay for 10 minutes!! Ridiculous. We walk to the car and drive off. I looked down at the steering wheel to turn up the music and BANG the tire blows! The road was turning slightly and the road was narrow but I really didn't think I hit the curb! I did find a suspicious looking sharp rock sitting by the curb though.....

 So anyway I pull into a turnout and don't want to be a poor weak female and decide I'm going to fix it, I've only been showed how to do it like 10 times! Of course I have never done it on my own, in 95 degree weather, 7 months pregnant, and with a 2 year old... So I get all the stuff out of the trunk and give Harper some emergency jelly beans so she doesn't run into the street or pick up one of the beer bottles or cigarette butts laying there and put the jack under the car like the picture showed. I made sure the brake was on and started to jack up the car and thought twice about it.... So I called my dad! Up to this point I had felt pretty good about the whole thing but as I was talking to him I broke down and started crying, a bit pathetic I know. But in my defense I have never had it happen before, we are saving for a little road trip next month with some friends and really can't afford this right now, I only sorta knew what I was doing, and Harper was crying and attempting to run into the street!! 

So my knowledgeable father, who is has always been the first person I call when there is any sort of automotive issue, told me to just call someone to fix it. Brilliant!! He told me to test whether I could even loosen a lug nut, I stomped pushed and strained and they didn't budge. So all my effort would have been pointless anyway!  So I called a couple places and finally my insurance company called someone to come fix it. Harper and I headed back to the theater where we got a drink and some popcorn. Harper was pretty happy to get a drink and played with the arcade games for 50 minutes. The man came and it took him 5 minutes to change it and we were on our way! 

So anyway, a short free trip to the theater ended up being a costly, hot trip to the theater. O well, that's life I guess! Just thankful we weren't on the interstate!        

Happy Fourth of July!

We had a fun Fourth of July! We celebrated by ourselves here in Missouri. It was definitely a holiday to remember! Blake got 2 days off which was awesome. I froze some toys in ice for Harper to excavate. She thought that was pretty fun. We went swimming and bought some fireworks. Harper was so excited about the snap-its that we had to use a box in the parking lot! 

I thought it would be fun to go camping... boy was I crazy! We have been having 105 degree weather for the past week. It has been ridiculous! We thought it would be a good idea to camp in the backyard since it was Harper's first time and we didn't really know how that would go. She was thrilled with the whole experience! She couldn't wait to go in the "house" (tent), loved gathering sticks, of course she liked the fire and eating S'mores.  I thought it would cool down at night-time, you know like it does back home, in the desert... Well it didn't! We tried to handle the heat for as long as we could. Harper didn't seem to care about it and passed out quickly in the tent! At about 1:00 am it was still around 90 degrees outside... being 7 months pregnant and just the fact it was ridiculously hot, I couldn't take it anymore and headed inside. While doing this I woke Blake up, Harper was still passed out. About 20 minutes later in came the other two, Harper still asleep! Well so much for a successful camping trip! We both agreed that it was the MOST MISERABLE camping trip ever and we have both had some bad camping trips! 

On the fourth we enjoyed some swimming and some American food: hot dogs, jello, grilled cheese, and root beer! Blake and Harper played Mario. Well Blake played Mario and Harper laughed at it. Even though it was still daytime we went and fired off some fireworks behind a movie theater because they were banned here in Lake Saint Louis. It was really fun. Harper's mind was blown! She wanted to hold the sparklers but would get scared once we actually handed them off! We then went and watched the fireworks out over the lake. It was really nice! Harper enjoyed the fireworks a lot. We had to leave early though because Harper kept asking to go home and go to bed! O well!  

All in all it was pretty fun! 

In Memory of Number 19

A year ago on June 22nd, I got a tooth pulled. It sucked. In honor of this wonderful anniversary I plan on getting a second one pulled on Friday, June 22nd this year. Well sort of, I plan on it but it isn't what I would like to do to celebrate. The tooth is number 19, my first molar on the bottom. That tooth comes in when you are around 6 years of age. When I was 7 years old the top half of that tooth fell out of my mouth. My dentist thought it needed a root canal but since I was 7 he decided against it and filled it. This got me by till a few years ago when the filling was replaced and the dentist said the same thing. It needs a root canal but it can wait till Blake can do it for free. Fine with me! 


Well I went to the dentist out here and he informed me that the filling was so big and starting to look ad and that it needed to have a root canal asap.  The tooth didn't hurt, it didn't look gross and I felt a little iffy about the whole thing. I trusted the dentist and got the procedure done. Turns out that one root was severely infected and it was good that I got it fixed. The procedure took a total of 6 hours. It was pretty terrible. 


So then I realize that I keep on getting food stuck behind my crown that is on the tooth because the contact with the back tooth doesn't exist. Blake was shocked at this news and I put off going to the dentist about it and just kept it clean. Then my tooth started hurting. I went in and had my height adjusted and the tooth felt 100%. Blake asked me a few weeks later how my mouth was feeling, I said "Surprisingly, no complaints! Feels good!" Well the very next day a large bump starts growing on my gum and growing and growing and hurting. O brother. So I make an appointment at the dentist. 


Now the dentist tells me that he thinks my root canal failed and I would have to go to an Endodontist and have it redone. Sounds like so much fun! I went to the Endo the same day and he told me some good news, the root canal didn't fail. But the bad news is my root is probably fractured, this isn't just bad news its the worst possible situation. But to find out for sure I had to go to a Periodontist now. So he drained the abscess by cutting several cuts in it and pushing on it. It really hurt. The appointment with the Perio was made for a month later. 


Meanwhile I am on antibiotics and the infection gets under control, looking a bit better! But the Perio tells me that to get a certain diagnosis I would need a CAT SCAN which as a pregnant woman I cannot get. But he said looking at the X-Rays and messing with the tooth he is sure that's what is wrong. And the only thing that can be done is to extract the tooth and put in an implant. So basically, the root fracture is a really rare, worst case thing that happens for different reasons such as: A root canal that weakens the tooth, apparently I am a jaw clencher, and the fact that the root canal took 6 hours might have damaged the tooth. So now the tooth needs to be pulled. 


So I will have two lovely gaps in my mouth. I was upset at first but I have to remind myself that there are a lot of things to actually be thankful for. 1. Blake will be a dentist someday 2. I can get the tooth pulled and implants done at the clinic for a very small fee 3. two missing teeth is better than 2 missing eyes or arms or legs. At least nothing is seriously wrong with me, Blake or Harper or some other family member. Its something that is fixable. 


So I'm trying to stay optimistic about the whole thing despite the fact I'm nervous, know its going to hurt and kind of mad I've spent this much money on the tooth just to have it pulled and it is not my fault, both extractions were not my fault as a matter of fact!! Sorry for the long story and rant but its just one more chapter to my never-ending tooth saga.  


Toothless in Saint Louis. O Boy!! 

Its All a Bit 'Tough to Swallow' (and also a very long post)

Harper's throat problems first started back in July with random vomiting that has progressing to puking a couple times a day. We went to the doctor and he decided to perform a stomach scope, which I posted about before. And like I said before, they found that she has a condition called E.E. or basically a swollen esophagus. This is caused by... well no one really knows. But it makes Harper a puker and the world's pickiest eater! 

The G.I. doctor sent us to the Allergy department next, this is due to a not very well studied correlation between food allergies and E.E. And that's where it gets ugly!

We went to the Allergy appointment and everyone seemed not too concerned or worried about little Harper! The doctor acted like this is all old news and just basic procedure and like it was also old news and basic procedure for me too, which unfortunately it is not! 

So we were told to go to some random department of the big hospital and get an immensely large amount of blood drawn and use a steroid inhaler and call in 4 months, then we were sent out the door with a sucker in Harper's grubby hand! 

Confused about the whole thing and unsure about giving such a little person oral steroids I called my mom of course! She was just as skeptical and got to talking to some people. We learned that the inhaler isn't too bad and probably a good idea. We also learned that Natalie Baum's daughter had pretty much identical symptoms and got some great advice about it all from her.  Her daughter was diagnosed with reflux and once they started treating her reflux she improved. 

I set up an appointment with another allergist Harper has visited previously to get some more info and shortly after setting the appointment they called to say they no longer accept my insurance. Great! So we decided to start the inhaler anyway and within a few days she made a full recovery! She went from eating practically nothing and barfing 2 times a day to eating reasonable meals and no coughing, sneezing, gagging or barfing! Hooray! 

So I waited week after to week to hear about her allergy lab results, convinced they would end up negative anyway. I took her to her well child appointment and the good news was that she is gaining weight and still in the 92nd percentile for height. The bad news was that the allergy test results were on her charts and just glancing at them she had positive results for a number of allergens including egg, wheat, gluten, almond, barley, peas and oats. Just great, I thought, eggs, wheat and gluten are in just about everything and she already only eats a few things. One of those few being her favorite, "Noogetsss" (chicken nuggets) which she loves and contain, of course, wheat! O Boy, well at least there are alternatives for all these things and I can certainly make some wheat free nuggets! 

I was also a bit upset that the wonderful allergy department had not called me to give me these results. So, I called them and left a few messages and waited. Eventually I heard from them and the nurse told me the doc recommends avoiding  milk and fruit... That came from left field! I told the nurse that the lab results I saw said nothing about milk or fruit and showed high readings for other things. So what the crap is going on!! She tried to explain it to me and realized she had no idea what was going on and told me to just avoid them all... hmmm... very helpful. So I was lost. I called her pediatrician, he said to call the allergist again... I called the allergist that doesn't accept my insurance, willing to pay out of my pocket for an appointment, no can do! I had pretty much had it at this point and was ready to jump out the window! 

Instead of jumping I said a little prayer, pleading for some info from someone, and called the allergy department yet again ready now to get dirty and use business talk if necessary.  The nurse was, surprisingly and refreshingly, very helpful! She sent a message to an ACTUAL DOCTOR to have them call me with information. The doctor called me and told me that the numbers aren't represented right on the lab report and she really isn't allergic to anything but her peanut allergy that we are already aware of. HALLELUJAH! I was so worried that Harper would be "one of those kids" who is allergic to everything and kind of obnoxious. So here she is now, still advised not to eat fruit or milk but not allergic. I do plan at this point to allow her to eat milk and fruit because I don't think they are the issue. But she will continue with the inhaler and we will talk to her GI doctor about reflux medicine as well. And she will have another scope in 4 months. 

I just had to get all this out there, it has been one stressful situation after the other. I wish there was more information and research about E.E. but I am thankful that that is all she has and nothing more serious. She could be blind, deaf, crippled or have cancer. Even though I think the allergy department is fairly incompetent, I am also thankful that there are doctors nearby that do know about the conditon and can help us deal with it. I am praying for good news for the next while though :) Thanks for reading my ridiculously long post!  

I got a surprise and made a stroller snuggie

 Lately Harper and I have been butting heads, quite literally, she comes up to me and repeatedly hits me with her head... I have been feeling a bit uncertain about Harper's future with her throat condition and for a while she was refusing to eat and she was sleeping terribly! So I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and stressed out! Blake surprised me with these flowers on Tuesday though and it just made my day and week so much better!  The daisies and roses opened up today too and they look so nice! Thanks hun!

Well it is getting colder around here and Harper insists on going on walks. Due to the weather though she has been needing a blanket and I just hate how the blanket falls off and ends up going under the wheels several times no matter how hard I try to tuck it in. So I devised the "Stroller Snuggie" as Blake named it! Basically it is just a blanket with an elastic top that velcros to the stroller. I made it out of a flannel so it can be used by itself or I made it loose enough that other blankets can be tucked under it and wont fall out onto the ground! I'm sure this has already been done and you can probably go buy one somewhere but I was actually pretty happy with it! Harper wasn't too interested in modeling it, Curious George is on! And apparently something very exciting was happening because she kept clapping!   

The Monster in the Cupboard Undergoes a Procedure

Harper went into the hospital Thursday for an upper GI scope. 

It was a nerve-racking, tearful, and long day. We went in in the early morning and she wasn't able to eat anything after 3:00 am. I was a little nervous about the food but she didn't seem to care about it! 

She enjoyed running around the hospital and chatting with all the people there while we were waiting. 

She was also allowed to hold the IPOD, which is a dream come true for her! 

As we wheeled her down the hallway for her surgery she was crying and upset, then I took the IPOD away and it was the worst thing I could have done! She went ballistic! So it was pretty hard to send her off screaming and crying and holding her arms out for me, but I just turned around and headed in the waiting room so I wouldn't hear it, and shed a few tears. 

  

The doctor came out 30 minutes later and told us that the scope was done and that she was doing great. I went back to sit with her and she was screaming and crying and very mad at everyone in sight. I felt so bad for her! She kept falling asleep and waking up to see a random nurse and freaking out! I gave her the IPOD back and sat with her and she eventually calmed down but she was so mad about the IV in her arm because she couldn't hold the IPOD correctly! I felt so bad for her as she was crying and sobbing! It would be terrible to just wake up in a random place with such random people everywhere feeling completely drugged and out of it! 

Right before we left she was getting so upset because she was still attached to the IV and couldn't go in the hallway and talk to people! She is such a goof! I guess she thought she was supposed to be manning the information desk on the floor! We got out of there though and got some french fries and she was as happy as can be! And slept for about 3 hours but she is back to normal now! 

The doctor did find some white patches in her throat. Which means that she has some accumulations of white blood cells called Eosiniphils. This is not normal and kind of a bad thing. What it basically does is cause her to throw up her food and cough and gag because her throat is so swollen that the food cannot move down and stay down properly. Which is scary, frustrating and kinda a mess! It is a disease caused Eosiniphilic Esophagitis. It is benign and usually clears up on its own after early childhood. We are still waiting on the biopsies to know about the diagnosis for sure but he is pretty certain that is what it is. So we will wait to find out for sure and then go from there with it! 

All and all not a bad day and I am so glad it wasn't a really serious problem. I hope not to do this again anytime soon! 

The monster in our cupboard and other recent events

 We have been up to the same old around here! Harper has been quite the chatter lately! She says a lot of words, all of them are things that she wants of course! She says watch, George, cheese, doggie, mommie, daddie, lunch, dinner, milk juice etc....... She likes food! ha 

She has also been quite a hugger and kisser lately. Any time we get her out of her crib she gives us a couple of hugs around our neck. She puckers up her mouth and smacks her lips and waits for us to kiss her too, mainly when Blake comes home from school. She also will run to the door anytime she thinks she hears the door and say "dadadaaaadaaa"! She likes to wrestle with Blake too. When he is laying on the ground I say get him and she runs over screaming like an Indian warrior and she starts climbing on him and smacking him and squealing!   

Its funny how much she is trying to be like us. She copies everything we do. The other day she kept putting her toy purse on her shoulder and saying "Bu-bye" and waving as she headed for the door. We aren't sure where she was off to but she wasn't going to get too far! 

She is a funny little girl, and is always up to something new! She enjoys throwing everything down the stairs. One day she saw me throw a towel down the stairs and she ran over and threw her binkie and the nearest toys down and walked off like she did us all a big service! I usually find a binkie or two and some toys on the stairs. She likes to put things in the drawers too. Blake opened one drawer and we found a bunch of balls, I guess that's where they go!! She is quite a little diva too, she loves to dance to everything and tries to sing with her dad too. Everything has to go on her head lately too! She loves pretending like everything is a hat. She is pretty funny!   

She loves walks. She talks about going on one all day! I will say something like, "want to go downstairs?" and she will reply "ggg walk?" repeatedly!   

She has the craziest hair now! I don't know what happened but one day she just started having crazy wild hair! It's got curl in it and she always looks wild!

Apparently she doesn't know about the neverending turnovers during the BYU game.... She looks too happy! 

She fell off a step at her friends house and received another couple cuts on her face! And she is wearing his PJs, she doesn't normally dress like a boy!  

Watching the Potatoes on the computer and dancing! 

She decided one night that she needed to get a far into the cupboard as possible. Here is the monster in the cupboard!  

My recent projects! This is how ive been keeping myself busy. I made the stocking for Harper and yes I understand that its September and Christmas is in December but it needed to be done!