One of the Reason for My Previously Whiney Post--Spencer's GI Tract

We got some closure and good news regarding one of the big "tired-makers" on my plate.  I posted a "note" on facebook, but I thought I would post about it here too.  Spencer has had chronic diarrhea for about nine months, and this week we've gotten some answers.  I've spent a great deal of emotional energy, actual energy (we use cloth diapers), intellectual energy (researching), doctor's appointment energy, and money (special foods, special milk, LOTS of co-pays and tests, etc.) on his "issues," and hopefully now we'll all get some relief, at least mentally, from these things which have been dominating much of our life and time.

We got word last night from our GI doctor (whom I would highly recommend) that Spencer is neither lactose intolerant nor does he have any sort of bacterial overgrowth.  His baseline hydrogen levels were high, but not high enough to be indicative of a true problem.  The doctor said sometimes the baseline levels are just high in kids, and we don't know why.  I'm really thankful to have both of these things ruled out.

These results allow us to totally rule out celiac disease, and his blood work has completely ruled out liver problems.  The allergist and the GI doctor both think he has more going on than "toddler diarrhea."  They agree that most likely Spencer has some protein intolerances that he will hopefully outgrow (that or they'll get a lot worse and turn into true allergies).  We will do one more non-invasive test to rule out problems with his pancreas.  Neither the doctor nor I think that this is an issue, but he said we should go ahead and do the test since it will be easy on Spencer and then no one can have any questions about it.  Then we wait and hope his symptoms improve in the next few months.  

If he continues to be the same with us continuing to add the probiotics and the extra fiber, we will consider doing a scope and a biopsy.  The doctor made a point that he is not saying, "He's fine.  Don't come back."  He is saying, "Let's wait and see."  Interestingly, my aunt told my mom that my cousin had diarrhea off and on most of his toddler hood and even into 4, 5, and 6.  He finally just "outgrew it."  He also had lots of trouble with eczema (Spencer is having mild to moderate eczema, which is why we tested for more food allergies).  I found this out in the middle of all of the testing, blood work, etc.  

To me, all of these symptoms would be consistent with a protein intolerance (which is sort of like an allergy that only irritates and inflames your intestines).  So, I'm hoping that's what it is and that he'll out grow it in due time.  If he continues to grow and have no other symptoms in addition to the diarrhea, we will probably get to skip the colonoscopy altogether.  I feel more secure in this plan of action knowing that my cousin had very similar symptoms as a little kid and is now totally fine.  I'm still glad we ruled out the other big things, because if you saw his diapers day in and day out, you'd think there was something wrong too!  Trust me on this one.  

One of my concerns (after my main concern that there was a health-issue that needed to be addressed) was that of potty training.  How do you potty train a toddler with constant diarrhea?  I plan on asking my aunt this question, but I don't recall any huge problems potty training Sam, so I'm holding out hope.  Along these lines, though, we may have to retire the cloth diapers for a while, because the doctors recommended continuing to feed him all foods (except peanuts, of course), and the diarrhea causes painful rashes and yeast infections in the absence of using barrier creams--even when he is changed as close to immediately as possible.  I can't use barrier creams with our cloth diapers.  I have tried different "tricks" that are supposed to allow you to do that, and they have all failed and ended in extra misery for me, damage-control wise.  I'm not declaring them obsolete for us or for Spencer, but I am declaring a little  bit of a holiday for the holidays, and then I'm going to reassess, depending on how he is doing.  

Good news for us.  No more worrying he has something horribly wrong with him.  Thanks for all the prayers and support.  

p.s. If you're still in the mood to postulate, all of this makes me wonder if this was an issue early on with his refusing to nurse, etc.  I don't know enough about it all to have any strong opinions.  It just makes me wonder.

The Post in Which I'm a Big Whiney Baby

I'm a sprinter, but life is a marathon.  And when I say,  "I'm a sprinter," I'm speaking figuratively, of course.  Those of you who know me can vouch for the fact that I don't run sprints or marathons--ever.  Not in the past, certainly not in the present, and not in the future.  I do hope someday to run a few miles in a row again.  I have done that a handful of times and apart from the pain and agony associated with allergies keeping me from breathing, I kind of liked it.  I do occasionally sprint after Spencer, but that's another blog post.

The last few years of pregnancy and child-rearing have been great.  I love it.  Ok, I hate pregnancy; but it's one of the main ways to "get" a baby.  But I do love taking care of Spencer.  Lately, however, I've been so tired.  Not tired like I need a nap.  Not even tired like I need a few hours to myself.  I'm tired like I can't imagine what it would take to make the tired go away.  It's probably intensified by the fact that I don't feel good today.  Spencer doesn't feel good.  Jonathan didn't feel good last week, and will probably catch what we have and start not feeling good again.  It's the circle of life.  But even when I "feel" great, I'm tired.

I know this sounds like I'm complaining.  And I really don't want to have a blog on which I complain. I prefer to think of it as "sharing."  I also know that millions of people DO infinitely more in their day,  every single day, without all the help and breaks that I get.  I don't even know what to think about that.  My best hypothesis is that the energy that it takes for me to just BE exceeds the energy that it takes for others to be.  And, in that way, I start out with a deficit when it comes to the energy required for DOING.

So, I need to find some new ways to conserve my own energy.  However, everything I need to do on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis seems to require a no holds barred approach.  I already feel like I should be learning more, knowing more, memorizing more, singing more, praying more, running more (with Spencer), cooking more, cleaning more, smiling more, listening more, saving more, etc.  So, I'm not sure where I can afford to cut back.  Thankfully, the holidays are usually a time to rest up for our family.  And I'm hoping we continue that tradition this year.

It feels as if I've been sprinting since December 4th, 2008.  I don't think you're supposed to sprint for twenty three months  (or 16,560 hours), and now I'm finding out why.  Feel free to tell me how you "pace yourself."  Although, I tend to think it's more of a personality difference (aka: flaw) for me than a lack of helpful tips.  And I know that can be changed and remedied as well.  I just need to add "change the way I approach everything in life" to my to-do list for this week.

Stop Talking and Start Typing

When your friend causally asks how you've been doing and twenty five minutes later you realize that you haven't stopped to take a breath--you know you need to write, lest you subject the rest of the world to the volumes of thought, ideas, and concerns that the wheels in your head crank out one after another like a sweat shop in eastern Asia.

I had originally written an informative yet witty post detailing the daily and hourly struggles of not knowing exactly what's wrong with you kid but feeling sure it's something you best figure out.  I unintentionally deleted that post, and have now decided to skip it.  Wouldn't it be more fun to read about how adorable my kid is?  I thought you'd agree.  Here we go.

When I thought about having kids of my own someday, I knew I would think they were great; however I had no idea how much joy I'd experience watching them display their greatness day after day.  Spencer keeps us laughing and cringing, usually with only seconds in between the two emotions.  His sweet little personality and his willingness to endanger his own life again and again perfectly intermingle to make him truly the most interesting child I've yet to encounter.  [Please note, I do not now nor have I ever made any claims about unbiased reporting regarding my offspring]

When Spencer isn't sharing his snack with his beloved "dog dogs" by putting their head into his bowl, he is slipping Gigi and Nana's dogs crackers and desperately seeking their love and affection.  He is still as enraptured with moving pictures as he has ever been.  "Trending now" are "Little Einstiens" (which he asks for loudly and lot by screaming "Hi!  Hi!") and "The Wonder Pets" (he asks for them by saying "Pets, Pets" but the "t" is usually dropped).  Some days one of those two requests is the first thing out of his mouth.  We made the mistake of letting him watch some episodes online, so now he knows that the computer has the power to bring him "Pets" or "Hi," and I daily question what in the world led me to believe that was a good idea.

That leads me to another fun little fact:  Jonathan and Spencer both had the stomach virus; and by some grace of God in my life I did not catch it.  This is related to Spencer's watching movies on the computer only because the day that Jonathan was sick and I was terrified that I was getting sick and Spencer had already been sick was the day I caved and let him watch movies on the computer all morning.  This is the first time that I have ever known people who had a stomach virus (whom I had encountered) that I did not end up on the floor of the bathroom draped over the toilet.  I'm not exaggerating, but I am still waiting to get some delayed case of it.  Call me a pessimist, and I probably won't argue.

Back to more cute Spencer stories.  At church Spencer pulled some masking tape with a little girl's name on it off of a nap mat left out by the Mother's Day Out (which I REALLY hope had been cleaned before my kid got his hands all over it--gross!).  Anyway, upon seeing a piece of masking tape with a name on it, he pulled it off the mat and carefully placed it across the top of his sippy cup, directly above the spout, and perfectly parallel to it.  I grabbed a pen and a post it and wrote it down, because I didn't even know what I thought about it.  But it certainly seemed worth remembering.

Earlier that weekend I had mentioned to my mother-in-law how far from ready Spencer seemed to be in the potty training category. Which, in all honesty, is more than fine with me.  Funnily enough, Sunday morning I took one of those risky while-my-child-is-awake-and-technically-unsupervised-but-seems-to-be-pretty-glued-to-the-tv showers and when I came out I could smell poop.  I looked over to see that Spencer had taken off his pants!  Now, you all know he's taken off his diaper before; but he's never taken off his pants.   He knew he was dirty, wanted to be changed, and pants removal is certainly the right place to start.  It was kinda cute.  It was truly a miracle he hadn't taken his diaper off too, though.  I always have him clothed for that very reason.  Later on Sunday, he'd pooped again [yes, he has a problem, and we're looking into it], and I told him to lay down so I could change him.  He promptly picked up the laptop that was playing his movie, set it down on the floor next to his changing pad, and then laid down.  Talk about combining obedience with priorities.

Clearly, movies are still a big part of his life.  I promise we get outside and do other things.  He's very active, often times while his movie is on.  One of my favorite things he does during his movies now is during the previews.  Many of his dvds start with the phrase "Now available on video and dvd."  And he always tries to say "dvd" at the end of that sentence.  Good times.

He loves music, and that's really a big part of why he likes his movies so much.  I've been playing some VERY simple songs on the piano for him and "with" him.  When I put the music up on the piano the other day, he pointed to the notes and said "Hi! Hi!"  For those of you who aren't hip to the pre-school tv scene, "Little Einsteins" always show the music that they will be playing that day.  I thought it was so funny that for him, his first exposure to sheet music (or music notes) will always be from the "Little Einsteins."

Spencer is playing by himself more than ever before, and it's been AMAZING for me.  I know it's good for him developmentally, bla bla, but really I'm just selfishly thrilled with this turn of events.  He will be getting quite a few fun new toys for his birthday and Christmas, and I'm honestly so excited for him.  I think he's really going to like getting some new things and having more stuff to "do" at the house.  He's definitely ready for new toddler fodder, so to speak.  It's all I can do not to go buy him a bunch of stuff now.  This happened last year too.  I bought (and gave) him his birthday present from Jonathan and me exactly a month before his birthday.  I'm trying really hard not to do that this year.  It'll be a little easier since I don't think we're getting him a birthday present.  Did your parents used to tell you that your party was your present from them?  'Cause mine did.  It made perfect sense to me.  Hope Spencer feels the same way.

(Very) Short Stories from the Life of Spencer

Chapter 7:  August

I'm feeling devoid of creativity, but August is long gone, and my memories of it are fading fast.  I've got to get it "on paper" before it all evaporates into nothingness.

This month inaugurated quite an obsession with the sofa cushions.  Spencer loves to push them off, get behind them, jump onto them, and construct bridges from them.  When or if there are people sitting on the sofa, he wants to make them move off of it so that he can play with the cushions.  We're working on our sofa manners.

In order to keep up the mystique that has come to be Spencer Vinsant Kelley, his little body seems to always manifest some random skin malady.  Even as I'm typing this from my "Notes on August" today in the middle of September, I'm smiling because he's had 2 or 3 new, random skin abnormalities within the week.

While bringing in the climb and slide castle from the back yard was a great idea to beat the heat, it quickly bored Spencer who embarked on a new and much more exciting quest to dismantle it, piece by piece.  He also enjoyed standing on top of it and rocking it off the ground, back and forth until he could get it to tip over.  After it would fall, he would get up (from having fallen with it) and scream at me to stand it back up so that he could do it all over again.

He also realized he could do something similar with the pack and play that we had lugged out for road trips and lake weekends.  He's proved to me that it will NOT be a safe place to put a baby while I try to go to the bathroom or start the laundry.  I never questioned that he'd make life interesting.  My only question now is, "Just how interesting will it get?"

We had a great vacation at the lake, and Spencer acquired several new, life-changing skills.  The ability to wear a life jacket for more than ten minutes without completely going mad, the ability to ride out on the tube with Mommy, and the ability to hurl himself out of the pack and play.  This skill was further developed the first night home when he climbed out of his crib.  Yes, at 20 months.  I really shouldn't complain, though; he waited 'til he was a few months older than his mommy was when she climbed out of her crib.

All climbing aside, I think his favorite part of vacation was drenching me on the back deck with the water hose.  One morning, he was playing in the hose as usual, and he sprayed me a little.  I must have been feeling particularly "fun" that morning, and I very dramatically said, "Oh no!  I'm all wet!  Oh no, stop!  Stop!"  And he thought that was HILARIOUS.  He just giggled and giggled, and of course, repeated the behavior until I was soaking wet.  Not a dry spot to be found.  The water didn't bother me too much, but I eventually wore myself out with my own dramatics.  Yeah, no smart comments, please.  =)

One night, we tried to go out to eat, which is always a bad idea.  We actually got a comment from an elderly lady NOT swept away by the beauty of Spencer's curls.  I believe her exact words were, "Well, you're loud.

As I re-read the vacation section, I realized that I need to make a delineation.  His favorite activity was probably drenching me with the hose; by far his favorite part of vacation is having all his "people" around him constantly.  And, usually at his service.  He loves his aunts, uncles, Gigi, and Papa; and I blame them all entirely for his whole nap-refusal, climbing out of the pack and play exploits.

I co-hosted a baby shower for one of my friends, and there were balloons, which Spencer loved.  The next morning, when he woke up, he realized that the balloons (which were safely in the living room, far away from where he could be unattended with them) were deflated.  He grabbed them, and tried repeatedly to push them back up into the air where they belonged.  It was funny and sad all at the same time.

Spencer and I took a little road trip to Russellville to see some college / blog friends.  (Meaning, I knew them from college, thus knew they weren't crazies, but we've gotten to be closer friends by reading each others' blogs, etc.--I know, isn't life weird in 2010?)  Anyway, we had an uneventful drive there and back and lots of kidlet craziness while we were there.  Here's a link to Em's cute picture.  It's a pretty good representation of the day--in all ways positive, of course.  We took the kids to the visitor center, which had huge, floor to ceiling aquariums.  Spencer loved seeing the fish, and I loved hearing him try to say "fish" because it's basically a guttural aspiration sort of noise that attempts to mimic the "sh" sound in "fish."  Everyone's little ones were so adorable and so diametrically different.  You know it's true that no two people are alike, but then you observe little kids and it's such a dramatic illustration of that truth.  Again, in a good way.

The night we got home from Russellville, Spencer had a special delivery waiting for him.  I STILL have not formally made a thank-you call (SHAME!), so I don't know the details of this special delivery's origin or history, but suffice it to say that Spencer was thrilled.  So much so that the airplane only comes out of hiding on certain days, because Spencer insists that we ride on it with him.  Don't get me wrong, it's a fabulous toy, but the seat is made for little seat-sitters, if you get my drift.

In all the stories of Spencer's adventurous spirit, I don't want to paint him the wrong way.  This morning (September, but who's counting?), when he woke up, he was crying a little, which is abnormal, so I walked down to his room.  He pulled me into his bed and put his arm around my neck, pushed my cheek against his and hugged me--for about seven minutes.  When speaking about Spencer, I often quote a character on the Veggie Tales "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" DVD:  "[He's] sweet as sugar!"

They weren't kidding when they said little boys love their mommies.  And I'll take it!

Top Ten Lines from the Little Gym Today

"I love his hair."  --Most moms at the class

"He is ridiculously flexible."  --Miss Erin, the teacher who has been doing this for ten years

"He's really good at that."  --A mom of another boy in the class, in reference to Spencer climbing the toddler "rock wall" as well as the other side of the rock wall that is smooth, slick and not intended for climbing

"That's awesome."  --The daddy in the fire department t-shirt in response to Spencer climbing up the slick side of the toddler "rock wall."  His sweet daughter was laying on the mat underneath the rock wall.

"Nah!  Nah!"  --Spencer's response every time it was his turn to do any specified activity with his teacher

"I thought my kid was active.  How do you keep up with him all day?"  --Mom of a little girl in the class, to whom I replied, "I don't know.  Sometimes I don't."

"Don't kick your teacher."  --Me to Spencer when he was running so fast on the mat that he fell and then proceeded to repeatedly kick the person standing next to him, which happened to be his teacher

"More!  More!"  --Spencer in response to a song where I am supposed to bounce him all around and end up flipping him over my head

"How old is he?"  --Many of the moms, to which I politely reply, "Twenty one months," all the while thinking, "Same age as your kid, that's how the class works..."

"Bye Bye Bye Bye"  --Spencer trying to open the door to leave because he's so exhausted--with fifteen minutes of class to go.  He's not great at pacing himself.  I have no idea where he got that.