Until his small intestine matures more, we’ll have to help him move out what ChubChub takes in. So, we’ve got some meds, he’s going to be enjoying lots of lovely prunes, there’s probiotics going on, and my friend is going to teach me colon massage. To preemptively answer some questions: No. I am NOT available to massage anyone’s colon that I didn’t give birth to. And, no, you don’t rub inside the colon, it’s a way to rub his belly to promote poopage. Yes, poopage is the correct technical term.

After we got home, Peanut saw a fortune cookie Raylo had left from lunch. She opened it and I think the message inside sums up Little Man’s new goals for life….

Thanks to all who have prayed for us! I am grateful that it’s an issue we can deal with easily and that it’s something he will grow out of!

I told y’all I would be praying that Little Mister’s appointment would get moved from the end of May to this week. Thank you to all of you who joined me in praying crazy. This afternoon I received a call that there was a cancellation tomorrow morning. So, the Little Man & I will be headed to the children’s hospital in Memphis tomorrow morning to see a specialist. I am exceedingly grateful for this appointment change!

Thanks so much to everyone who replied with advice, wisdom, & encouragement here & on Facebook. I’ll let y’all all know the update on him tomorrow night.

For now, will you pray crazy again with me? Will you pray that tomorrow we can have all necessary tests run & get the correct diagnosis?

God is certainly big enough to answer any prayer – no matter how crazy!

Our sweet Little Man has reflux. Since Peanut introduced us to the world of constant spit up and back-arching painful screaming, we recognized it pretty quickly. But, he’s never spit up as much. (Non parents….. hang in there….. I have a point in discussing his spit up……) Instead, it stays in his esophagus & hurts twice as much.

He’s been on medication to control the acid & it’s worked pretty well for several months. But, the last two weeks have been different. He’s cried in tremendous pain and his back-arching has increased. He has these spells all through the day and night — which means that there is no sleep in the house. I knew something was wrong, so we went to the doc. He put him on a second reflux med — but it barely helped. Then, he added another med that prevents stomach spasms. It also makes him super sleepy, and I don’t like that. (Well, I like that at night because now he only wakes up twice instead of four or five times.)

The next step was an ultrasound of his kidneys & bladder. (There’s a family history of congenital kidney issues.) Those came up negative. I never have had such trouble figuring out what to pray before. I wanted to pray that the scan would show that nothing was wrong because I didn’t want anything to be wrong with his kidneys. But, if nothing was wrong with his kidneys, then that meant that something else was wrong that was causing such pain. So, should I pray that the scan showed nothing (meaning that we’d have to visit more doctors & look for another solution) or should I pray that the scan showed something (meaning that there was something wrong with his kidneys). It was a conundrum. I ended up just praying “God, please help & fix this. Thanks.”

But now I’m praying differently. Since his kidneys and bladder were fine, we’ve now been referred to a GI specialist. But, we can’t get in until late May. So, until then, I’ve got a baby in pain who can only sleep sitting up in his bouncy chair. To make room for this bouncy chair propped up in our bed and surrounded by pillows, Raylo has been regulated to the couch. No one gets much sleep. And, if my wonderful Mother In Law hadn’t been here, I don’t know how we would have made it this last week. (I’m planning on stealing the sparkplugs from her car so she can’t leave us….)

So, here’s the new prayer: I’m praying for either the children’s hospital in Memphis or in Little Rock to have an earlier appointment come available. Would you pray that with me? Also, any advice is welcome. (I personally think he’s got esophageal ulcers…. because a few Google searches have made me brilliant like that….) We’re already doing all of the typical reflux-control things and I’m nursing, so it’s not a formula issue. I’ve also significantly changed my diet (no caffeine, no milk) to help him. So, what else is there? I can do without sleep for awhile if it helps my sweet boy. Just as long as none of y’all expect me to communicate intelligently when you see me…..

Praying folks, please also pray for his comfort and for us to trust God in this. My tendency is to think of all of the horrible things that could maybe possibly be wrong. (Due to those Google searches, no doubt.)

I’ll update everyone when I can. Thanks.

Here’s some pics for everyone…

This is me with my progeny at my Bubbie’s wedding. Super fun time!

The girls were flower girls. I always wanted to be a flower girl. I am secretly jealous.

We rode a plane to get to Chicago for the wedding. First time for Little Mister, but also the first time for the girls in years. They don’t remember their previous flights. But I do. Yes, I remember the international flight with an 8 month old Bean when she refused to sleep…. That 36 hour time period still ranks in the top 5 most miserable experiences of my life….

We also rode the subway. This trip was quite an eye-opener for my kids who are used to this small Southern town.

In other news, we’ve really been enjoying the History Channel’s miniseries on The Bible. Today at Walmart I saw an ad for the DVD set. You can buy it now before the last episode is shown. The tag line: “buy it now and find out what happens next!” Um, you know, this true story has been around for 2000 years. I don’t think we need the DVD to tell us what happens next! Ha! But I am looking forward to watching it tomorrow night.

I hope your Easter is blessed!

Peanut: Don’t drink the tea until I pray!

mab: Okay. Can your stuffed puppy have tea?

Peanut: Yes. He can. (She gives him a cup & saucer.)

mab: Do you want sugar?

Peanut: I get my own & you get your own. Now, pray! (bowing her head & folding her hands) Dear God, thank you for Woof Woof and Picklepants. Amen!”

So, lovely readers, if the dog is named Woof Woof then am I Picklepants?

Don’t know why, but I’m a sucker for babies in sunglasses!

I put this pic of Bean up on Facebook to show off the shirt she made for the 100th day of school. I should have put this up instead:

Peanut has the most accurate nickname because she’s a funny little nut. She demands to go sit in the long carpool line everyday to pick up her sis because she just can’t wait for her to come home. Once we are back, she demonstrates this love by antagonizing her and instigating trouble. But would you believe that about this precious one?

The biggest news is that Raylo just got back from a trip to Thailand. I want to write more about why he went in days to come. For now, I’ll tell you how grateful we all are that Mimi came to stay with us during his 10 day trip. I’ll also tell you how joyful we are that he is back. Goodness, I missed that guy!

So that’s all that’s been going on with us. How about you? What’s been going on in your neck of the woods?

At that point Bean began dictating all of our actions while Peanut wrote them down.

“She’s folding a towel!”
“Little Mister is playing with his puppy toy!”
“Now she’s changing the tv channel!”
“And folding a blanket!”
“LM is laughing and sucking his paci!”

The excitement continued for quite some time.

Here’s the thing: Bean delegated the task of writing to the kid who can’t write all of the letters of the alphabet yet.

Instead, she filled several pages of paper with lines. Then Bean asked me to staple the pages into a book.

Tonight I walked by the kids’ shelves that we call the library. What book was included? Their book. It must be quite a thrilling read.

Who knew laundry, daytime reruns, and a baby playing could be so fascinating?

It’s sleeting and snowing here. The girls are giddy! But, they couldn’t figure out why the snow wouldn’t pack together to make a snowman. The answer: it’s about 90% sleet & there’s only 1/2 inches of it….

I finally got well (due in part to the Marvelous Mimi who came to take care of the kids so I could sleep), but then Raylo got sick. This past Wednesday I already told you about- both girls had their turn at the doc. Now, Little Mister has joined the ranks of the ill and recovering. He has his first fever and I hate it.

I am grateful to Raylo for sitting in his chair all day and holding his sweet son. That’s the only thing that made our boy happy and he’s done it tirelessly. Well, almost tirelessly…..

I am going now to preemptively make my doctor’s appointment for next December. I wonder what illnesses that holiday will bring…

Obvious changes: we didn’t have kids, we had more free time and more disposable income. We were both quite a bit thinner. I would spend time getting ready for a date with my new hubby. Now I change my spit up-covered shirt and call it good.

There’s other changes that aren’t as readily seen: I didn’t have a cell phone. Ray Ray had just gotten a swell Nokia. But now I’m writing this post on my brand new iPhone. We thought we were so grown up, but we had not been through masters degrees 1 & 2, several big job changes, moving overseas, heartbreak, pregnancy, babies, illness, 4 cars, and 2 minivans. We are completely different people now.

And yet, through all of the mountains and valleys, I wouldn’t trade those times in. Nor would I trade in the one I’ve travelled with. I am exceedingly grateful for my husband. Life sure is different now, but with him it is always better.