New Wheels

We have new wheels....and not the wheels that you are thinking of (although we have our loaner back too!!)

No I"m talking about THESE wheels.

Okay so maybe their not so new. We actually got these wheels from Grandma and Grandpa forever ago at the boys first birthday. They just weren't quite ready to play in them yet. But watch out. They are now!!!

Nicholas is not so sure about the jump start with the button on the wheel yet. He figured it out but surprises himself every time. but he's perfectly content having mommy or daddy steer him around. Oh and he also likes trying to push it himself. Pushing the whole car, Alex in it and everything.



He's actually trying to do that here with Alex in the driver seat. Nicholas in fact will try to push any AND every thing thats not nailed down to the floor in his persistence to walk. Its pretty darn cute! Well except when things begin to fall over. Which makes him cry. But no worries (for him anyway), a minute later he's back at it again.

I found this little grocery cart on craigs list for him to push around. He loves it. Until it gets "stuck" up against the wall or piece of furniture. Then he tries with all of his brute force to "fix" it.


Luckily with all of his frustration at his emerging skills. we still get these to balance it all:



I can't even explain this new face of his, it cracks us up every time. He makes this funny little sniffing noise when he does it and clearly he knows we get a kick out of it so he keeps doing it. sooooo cute!!!


Lately I look at some of our pictures and think hmmmm.....they are starting to look just a bit, dare I say it? Its a little hard to say it but sometimes I'll look at them or one of their pictures lately and think they are starting to look more like little boys then my babies. These are a couple examples. This is what every one talks about it isn't it? How fast they grow? right before your eyes? It seems to happen over night. ugh, my heart. A part of me wants to keep them little forever.

But ofcourse I KNOW that I will love even more the little boys they are growing into!!!!!

And because I use this blog both to update our out of town friends and family (and local friends and family that we don't get to see nearly as much as we'd love). Here's a quick update about the boys.

We were surprised to get Nicholas's allergy tests back to say that he has a class 5 milk allergy. I didn't really know what the number meant but apparently the scale only goes up to a 6 so not the greatest news. We have to strictly avoid any milk or milk proteins in foods. Its not the end of the world certainly, we can definitely and will deal. And really, its sooo much easier now to find dairy substitues then ever before. I was just stunned to start reading ingredients to find how many things really do have some sort of milk in them. I mean there's the obvious (milk, yogurt, anything with cheese) and then there are the surprising ones: cereals, cereal bars, soups, lunch meat.....I know a lot of children have milk allergies so some of you reading this probably have more of an education then I do so far but for those who don't: take a look in your pantry or freezer and look for the dairy ingredients. Milk, non fat milk, whey, casein. Their in more things then I would have ever thought. Luckily his most severe reaction has only been hives. The allergist cautioned us that there's no predicting what his next reaction would be, could be mild or possibly not. We have an epi pen and are encouraged to show our closest family and friends how to use it for the just in case. He's also allergic to eggs and nuts but to a much lesser extent. He will be re-tested in January and we are hoping that like many little ones, that he will outgrow these in time.

Alex missed these tests due to his surgery so he will have them next week. He also had hives twice with dairy before so we anticipate similar testing results. Again, not a huge deal but one that goes on our radar screen. Luckily with the internet we are already finding lots of yummy dairy free recipes to try and the boys don't know they are missing anything.

The other news is a bit more concerning. Many of my spina bifida mommies already know this because I've been leaning on them for support and guidance these last weeks. I will try not to be at all graphic. I have thought on/off that Alex was having trouble with the dirty diaper situation, like he was going a little bit on/off for weeks but not going enough. Definitely a change for him but since he was still going a bit, I wasn't sure whether to be concerned. I mentioned it to several doctors when he was in the hospital several weeks ago but they assured me it was from the anesthesia. I explained I meant this started to change before he even had the surgery but they felt his tummy and were not concerned. Then a week and a half ago we saw one of the on call physicians during the weekend about Alex's breathing and I discussed my concern again. Again he felt his tummy and said he felt fine, not distended or "hard" or typical things you feel when a child is backed up. So I let it go for a few more days. Then late last week it was just nagging at me, you know how it is when you want to deny it, but you are pretty darn sure something is just not right. I called the pediatrician and asked to speak with her about it. Luckily I got his pediatirican, someone who knows him AND me and she trusted my "gut:-pun intended. We started increasing his miralax in hopes of pushing things through. He's been on a small amount every day since he was a babe to try and avoid just this situation. Babies with spina bifida are prone to constipation due to nerves and being able to be less active in general. A couple more days and we increased the dose again. Then we went in for an appt this week and she ordered an xray to see what was really going on.

Here's the lesson mommies, one that is told time and time again ofcourse. Trust your "gut", instincts, intuition, whatever you want to call it. He is impacted. Its all the way towards the top of the large intestine so nothing that you could really feel. Not anywhere near low enough where the doctor feels a suppository would help. Thankfully its not obstructed, which is why we are getting some stuff thats going"around" it but there's still quite a bit in there she said by the look of the xray. Luckily he is acting fine, not uncomfortable in any way. We are pushing more and more miralax but so far, its not doing the trick. We have to call first thing tomorrow to give a report and then find out whats next. I'm worried about the whats next part ofcourse. I'm afraid we'll have to subject him to invasive things or uncomfortable things and I just feel like he's had enough for awhile but obviously something will have to be done to get things on the right path again. A strange request I'm sure but keep him in your prayers for lots of dirty diapers soon :)

and because I simply can't end a post on that note, here's a couple more:

Hi, how are you?
What? I have a little something on my chin??

Nicholas saying hi
and wanna play?

No, REALLY, come here friends
we won't get you messy....much!