The first month...not so much fun

Well, here we are at the end of the first month of Kyran's life.  It's been a bit of a whirlwind!  He started his life with a super long labor, a hole in his lung, and a stay in the NICU!  After all of that, I thought we were going to go home and enjoy our little guy.  He started out so good...he actually nursed (something his brother never got the hang of) and he was on a four hour schedule from day one!  Wow, this is going good...or, so we thought.

Around two weeks, we started noticing that he was getting very upset after each feeding.  He was still sleeping well at night, so I just wondered if it was my milk or maybe colic.  Then, he started screaming after his night feedings.  I knew something was not right.  I have a very good friend that has a son that had the same issues when he was born, four years ago.  So, I immediately called her and started finding out what her son's symptoms were.  It started looking like Kyran was following the same path, which is a milk protein allergy. 

After an absolutely horrible weekend (not just the screaming, but the fact that we had to purchase a new refrigerator) I made an appointment with his pediatrician.  We started on Nutramigen formula that day.  Nutramigen breaks down the milk proteins so that babies do not have to work to digest them.  We started to see improvement, but he was still very fussy.  Still screaming, still spitting up, still arching his back and kicking his legs, still gassy, and still not happy.  While we waited for the formula to take hold, I made an appointment at a chiropractor for him.  She said that his little intestines were severely irritated and she showed us some massages we could do. 

He seemed to be making a little more progress, but my gut just said it could be better.  I called the doctor and was able to get Zantac for him, for reflux.  After another couple of bad nights, we finally got some relief.  But, I still had that gut feeling...back to the doctor we went.  We had his stool tested for blood, and sure enough, it tested positive.  So, as of today, we have an appointment scheduled with a GI doctor at Riley and we're set to start a new formula (Neocate) tomorrow as well.  Neocate has absolutely no milk proteins.  It's made up of amino acids, so we're hoping that will be the answer to his tummy troubles. 

We're keeping our fingers crossed and sending up lots of prayers that we can get this all figured out and get our little guy happy!

Happy Easter!

I've finally found a few minutes to sit down and post pictures of our Easter celebration at Mom and Dad's.  Once again, Andy's parents were able to celebrate with us.  I know I've said it before, but I'm so thankful that my parents and Andy's parents get along so well and have so much in common...it's such a neat treat for our kids (wow, that still sounds crazy when I say it) to celebrate holidays together, with all of their grandparents!

Unfortunately, we weren't able to make church this Easter.  I wasn't up to going to Easter vigil with a three year old and a newborn...somehow, three hours of trying to keep them both calm, quiet, and entertained seemed like too much of a task.  Even though we missed church, we were still able to celebrate the true meaning of Easter of our little ones.  Ben's starting to understand more and more who Jesus is and what he did for us.  It's a bit overwhelming, I'm sure, to a three year old but he's starting to grasp it.  It's pretty neat to ask him questions and listen to him as he tries to explain his thoughts to us.  My absolute favorite time of day is when he says the prayer before dinner.  He has such a sweet heart!  He led the blessing for us all on Easter, and I think his big AMEN (with a clap, of course) brought a smile to every one's face :)

Here are some photos from our Easter celebration.  What a fun-filled day!

Ben was VERY happy to wake up and find that the Easter bunny found his way to Grandma Debbie's

 

Hunting for eggs

 

 The Easter bunny remembered Kyran, too!

 

On your marks, get set, GO!

 

 

 Grannie Sue got in on the action (Ben needed some extra eyes to help him find the eggs)

 

Ben and Taylor are on the hunt!

 

Brotherly Love :)

Here is a quick picture from our "photo session" for the birth announcements.  Someone sure is proud to be a big brother!  He is constantly checking on Kyran and is so worried anytime he hears him cry.

Now don't get me wrong, I am perfectly aware that this will not last, but it's so cute to see how much Ben loves Kyran and how proud he is to be a big brother and a big helper!

It's a Boy!

We're so happy to announce the birth of our second son, Kyran David.  Kyran entered the world weighing 9 lbs, 9 oz and 22 inches long!  He's a big boy and he's such a joy.  He had to have a short stay in the NICU to help repair a small tear in his lung, but he's absolutely healthy and happy now!  We're so blessed to have our newest addition!

Snug as a bug in a rug!

 

Home at last :)

 

Winter Wonderland

We had a nice snow storm pass through yesterday afternoon and evening.  We woke up this morning to no school (yahoo!!!) and to about 4-5 inches of beautiful snow.  After breakfast, Ben and I bundled up to go play in the winter wonderland.  I have to think, that since this is March, this might be our last chance for fun in the snow (at least I hope so)!

Ben loved every minute of it, and I endured loved every minute too!  Luckily, I was able to get lots of pictures of my little guy before we had to come in to warm up.

 Getting up after making snow angels

 

 I just love those rosy cheeks and big dimples...I hope Baby Oppy gets a set of dimples too!

 

 Of course, we had to have a little snowball fight.

 

 Taking a break???

 

Birthday Fun

Ben's "girlfriend" had her third birthday this past weekend.  Ben had so much fun celebrating with Lauren!

 

 

Happy birthday Lauren!  We were so glad to be a part of your special day!

Quick pics

I haven't posted for a while, so I thought I'd put two posts on tonight.  This one is just a quick post of a couple of cute pictures...

 Katie, Ben, and Addie had fun at Grandma Debbie's playing dress-up

 

Ben loves "Fireman Sam" so tonight he made a fire hose out of markers so that he could put fires out.