Little Bit of Everything

It has been a few days since my last post - partially b/c I haven't had a chance to sit down and type much and partially b/c I just haven't felt like it. But we have had a lot going on.
For one, we have been painting our house in order to get it ready to sell. We are working on the middle level right now. One more touch-up coat on the cabinets and put the hardware on then the kitchen is basically done. Woohoo! We still have some more painting to do on the middle level walls and trim but hopefully we can get it done soon. Then we have the trim upstairs to paint and the whole basement (the basement actually shouldn't take too long). It is so overwhelming - oh yeah, and we have som tiling we need to do - just a little though. We were "supposed" to get the house on the market during January but just couldn't get it all done. I am hoping that within the next two weeks we can have it done. Sheesh it has been stressful. But we have to remember that God is in charge - even of selling our house.
Ania has had some rough days - hence the lack of posts. I ate some pizza - without cheese of course - but apparently it had cheese around the edges that Aaron had pulled off. I didn't realize that and Ania reacted to it - rough night and rough day the next day. She was fussy and very uncomfortable. But, once she got over that she did pretty well. She has wanted to be held a lot at times but other times does fairly well playing for a while. It just depends on the day. I spoke to her doctor and finally got the official report on her tests. The ultrasound did show the right kidney larger than the left but they think that is a normal variant. The VCUG did show grade 3 (on a scale of 1-5) vesicoureteral reflux on the left side. We are being referred to a pediatric urologist for him to follow her. They will do tests every so often (doc said every few months) to see if it is getting worse or better. Her doctor says that with a grade 3 he has seen it go both ways. We are also starting her on a low dose of antibiotic that she will take every day until she grows out of this or has it fixed. Her first dose was last night and thankfully it tastes good and she loves it. So, that won't be a nightly fight like her GERD medicine has been. Her doctor also said I need to be watching closely for signs of urinary tract infections - she will get these much easier than most children. So, if I notice behavioral changes, strong smelling urine, fever, etc I need to take her in and have her checked. I am forseeing lots of trips to the doctors office - thankfully I love my Pediatrician and his nurse. :) I asked him how quick I should be to bring her in and he said he would rather us have lots of false alarms than an infection get ahead of us. So, I don't have to worry about him thinking I am a panicky mom - nice to know. :)
Ania is still have trouble with her gastroesophageal reflux we think. SO, we have changed that medication. Thankfully again this medicine tastes good and it isn't a fight - and this means we get to stop giving her the disgusting stuff she hates! Yay! Aaron and I have noticed for a long time the Zantac didn't seem to be helping much but she is off and on with how severe her symptoms are so it's hard to tell. But, after talking to the lactation consultant we decided we needed to try something else. She often has feeding times where she is crying and arching her back. We also decided that after the pizza incident and after the color change in her stool we are pretty sure she does have a dairy allergy/sensitivity. We are starting her on probiotics to see if this will help clear her gut up any. If it doesn't and we don't see even more improvement in the stool over the next couple of weeks then I will change my diet even more - go off soy. It is hard because she seems so much more comfortable for the most part than she used to be. So, I know she is feeling better. However, she still has random rough days and she still has mucousy poop. So, even if she is acting like she feels good something is still tearing her tummy up. I guess we just need to keep trying stuff until things are normal. Gloria (the lactation consultant) said I probably won't have to stay off of all dairy forever while I am breastfeeding her. She said once she is better we will start adding things back in to see what she can handle. Personally, being off dairy isn't too horrible and by the time she is feeling great and things are normal I am NOT going to want to chance messing that up. So I am going to tell Gloria at that point that we will just leave it as is for a while. I am tired. I need a break from things changing and from her feeling bad. It is truly wearing me out. I am tired physically b/c she gets me up once or twice a night to eat but I am tired in a deep seeded emotional way. I have to be vigilant all day - constantly thinking about what I'm eating, how she is acting, etc. It is exhausting. It is exhausting not knowing how to fix her when she hurts. She gets me up at night b/c she is ready for solid food - increased calories - but we can't add things until we know all that she is allergic to. So, I make sure to feed her every 3 hrs during the day instead of letting her go 4 hrs. That has cut nighttime feedings from 3 to 2 thankfully. Gloria said if she keeps that up we can add avocado in the evenings. I have never heard of that but it is packed with fat and calories and we are pretty safe I believe to think she isn't allergic to that. So, that may help her sleep.
Poor Isaiah is sick now. He started with a runny nose and cough and as of yesterday was running a pretty good fever, coughing HORRIBLY, and then threw up yesterday evening. He felt horrible. I have never seen him lay around so much and complain so much of being cold. It was pitiful. We had planned to come to Greenville so Aaron could do a second look at the hospital and Isaiah could stay with the Grandparents (Ania and I stayed at the hotel). Isaiah felt so bad but was insistent that he would stay with Bama and Tata. Well, he did and they did a great job taking care of him. He coughed a lot during the night - once until he threw up. As of this morning still had a fever. I think it is down now (Motrin and Tylenol) b/c he has played over the last little bit more than he has the past 2 days. He refuses to eat but thankfully is drinking. His little eyes look so sick and are red. Poor thing. We are afraid it is the flu. Last night he had a headache and you can tell he is just achy. He did have flu shots but only one of the H1N1 so it could be that. Sheesh. Please just PRAY that Ania doesn't get this. She is already coughing but so far no fever.
We will be heading home tonight or tomorrow morning depending on the weather. Some friends are coming over tomorrow to help with the house - thank you Lord!
Almost time for dinner - spaghetti, green beans, and bread that I can eat! Sorry this is so long. Maybe when I haven't blogged for days I should split it up into a few posts so it isn't so overwhelming. :)