12/18/2007
I am using a new website...here's the link:
http://jeremytracyaddysonwilliams.blogspot.com/
12/3/2007
UPDATE:
I have started a new blog that's more fun for me to do...there are a lot of options so I am changing over...plus I have to pay to upload more than 10 pictures here, but the new one is free which is a plus! Here's the link:
http://jeremytracyaddysonwilliams.blogspot.com/
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Fun week! We picked out our tree and decorated the house. Went and saw Santa...she sat in Mrs. Claus lap but refused to sit in Santa's. We went and played at our friends house...thanks Jennifer and Davis! Addy is cutting her 2 year molars which can be no fun at times.
We are doing great! Looking forward to Christmas and seeing what God has planned for the new year!
Tracy
P.S. Happy Birthday to Alyssa on Saturday! I hope y'all have a fun time!
11/27/2007
UPDATE: I forgot to add that Addyson is completely off of Zegerid for her GER!!!! We are very excited around here!
And she got into a bag of goldfish crackers this afternoon (which I try to not buy but they are my favorite splurge)! So not sure how many she ate, but they have already started affecting here....poor thing.
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We had such a great time these past 2 weeks! So much going on and so much to tell, so I will try to be short.
Uncle Chris and Aunt Danielle's Wedding:
The wedding was absolutely gorgeous! And Addyson seemed like an old pro! I had to give her some blueberries so she ate those walking down the aisle (after some guidance from me), she found her Daddy up front and stood up there the entire wedding! I was so proud and impressed with her. Everyone thought she was eating the flower petals as she was walking down the aisle though. ;) The photographers got a ton of pics of her and I can't wait to see those!
Visiting her Great Grandparents:
Addy had fun getting to play in the leaves with Paw-Paw and GG. And getting to eat a ton of fruit at their house! (I have some cute pictures that I will post.) And she had fun throwing rocks into the creek with Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw. (Unfortunately, I forgot my camera!) And refusing to eat anything but jello for dinner at their house! :)
Bridges in Huntsville:
Nanny took Addyson and I to the new nice shopping area in Huntsville on Tuesday. They have a carousel and peddle boats. Addy loved the carousel but got quickly tired of the boat ride...there's a cute pic of her getting angry with me. :)
Our trip to Gatlinburg:
Jeremy and I had the best time in the Smokies. We stayed in a super nice cabin on top of one of the mountains and it was beautiful. We did have some trouble getting up the mountain though in Jeremy's truck. I guess since its such a big truck, the backend was to light. So we had to reverse down one of the huge hills and back into someone's steep driveway as much as we could. Then, we got a running go and peeled tires all the way up the huge hill. Talk about stressing! But we made it up and had to park the truck at the end of our driveway because that was even steeper. Next time we'll know to bring my suv since it has 4 wheel drive...duh! But we had a great time doing touristy things and going in all the little shops. We rode the skylift up a moutain and that scared me to death but we got a cute picture on it that was way overpriced! :) And, Jeremy surprised me with a trip to the spa which was wonderful! We were happy to get back home to see our Addy Belle, but a little sad the relaxation was over. ;) (And it took us almost 6 1/2 hours to get back to Huntsville!)
Addy's Thanksgiving:
Addyson had a fun week without us! She got to stay with her Meme from Wednesday until Friday, and Nanny and Paw from then until Sunday. She had a fun time and I can't wait to see the pictures! She is still asking for her grandparents. We headed to the park today and when she got into the car, she said "Nanny, Paw". And I said, "no we're going to the park". So she said "Meme". "No, we're going to the park." And she started to whine but I mentioned the swings and she was okay. :0)
We are really happy to be back at home after a long, but fun 2 weeks! Hopefully, we will get our Christmas tree up and all the Christmas decorations this weekend. And, we are planning a trip to see Santa and Mrs. Claus on Saturday...wish us luck!!!!
And, I plan on posting lots of pics tonight!
Tracy
11/14/2007
UPDATE:
I forgot to add (or was too scared to jinx it) that Addyson has been medicine free (Zegerid) for 6 days now! This is a huge accomplishment and could mean that she has grown out of her GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)! We are very happy but almost hesitant to post anything. Keep her in your prayers! We are so proud and thankful for our little girl! She is getting to be such a big girl!
And, one more thing...its so funny to hear the comments about Addy when we are out and about. Here's a few that crack me up:
She is very vocal.
She is energetic.
She really has her own personality, doesn't she?
Wow, I bet you have your hands full with her.
Is she always so active?
I bet she is so much fun and so tiring.
I get these regularly when we go out...she is just so full of life and yes, very energetic and loud! Somedays I wonder where she got this from!!! I love her though, but its days like these (when she only takes a 45 minute nap) that I wish she would give me just an ounce of her energy! But I wouldn't want her any other way...she's a fighter and I love her for it! I always think its from what she went through as a tiny baby...she's just our little fighter! :)
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We are about to head off tomorrow to Huntsville for Chris and Danielle's wedding! Addy is the flower girl and Jeremy is a groomsman, so it will be a hectic day for us! I will take tons of pictures (I hope) and I will post them the week after Thanksgiving.
Jeremy and I are headed to Gatlinburg for 5 days over Thanksgiving! We are very excited! It will be our first vacation alone since our honeymoon 3 1/2 years ago. We rented a nice little cabin in the woods and I can't wait to go hiking (if my toe has healed) and walk around downtown and look in all the little shops. They already have the whole town decorated for Christmas with lights galore! I will post some pics of us there too when we get back. (Thanks in advance to Meme, Nanny and Paw for keeping Addy for us! She is going to have so much fun!)
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
11/9/2007
UPDATE (11/11/07):
I forgot to add some funny things to my last post because I have apparently become accident prone. So, I was trying to "fix" a knob to our entertainment center with super glue...I ended up super glueing 2 of my fingers together to the metal knob!! I wish I had taken a picture of it...Jeremy thought I was kidding at first until I started getting scared because I could not get them unstuck! Finally after working with a lot of hot water and patience, my fingers were free after about 15 minutes...moral of the story...super glue really works, but wouldn't you know it, an hour later the stupid knob fell off the entertainment center!
And today I was busy trying to put some "empty" boxes in the garage to take to a dumpster. Well I went to carry the first load out and I had forgotten a put a broken lamp in it...well, the lamp went crashing to the ground but my foot broke its fall. :( OUCH! I really think my toe might be broken at the knuckle...its really swollen and black with several huge cuts on it...yuck!
Addy and Jeremy will be home today! I just saw them yesterday morning but it feels like so long ago so I am ready for them to get here!!!!
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WE'RE ALL MOVED IN AND LOVING OUR NEW HOUSE!!!
Wow, what a week! It has been busy and crazy but so wonderful to have more space and a great new house that we love! Both closings went very smooth and no problems arose which was great. I am hoping to get everything completely unpacked and put into its place by Sunday. Jeremy is taking Addy to Huntsville to stay with Meme (Jeremy's Mom) on Saturday while he heads up to Nashville to celebrate his brother's bachelor party. They'll be back on Sunday afternoon so I have about 30 hours to finish unpacking, decorate, and clean. Hopefully I will get it all finished!
Addy has adjusted really well...thank goodness! She slept through the night our first night here which we were so thankful for after being super tired from unloading everything. She is loving her new room and really likes her carpet (her last room had hard wood floors)...she lays on the floor and wants me to come lay with her and sing songs. She loves chasing Mozelle around here and having so many places to run and hide! Especially when she sneaks her passies out of her bed and I go chasing after her! She is saying more and more each day now which we are also thankful for. She took a jacuzzi bath this afternoon (first person to use it, might I add) and thought the "bubbles" were so neat! We are just so happy here and so glad everything worked out.
I have to say thank you so much to my parents and Jeremy's Dad and Jeremy's grandmother for helping us so much! We could not have done it without you and we are so very thankful!!! I know it was hard work and we greatly appreciate it! Next time, we'll be getting movers if we can! :)
I will try to post some pictures this weekend! Have a good one!
Tracy
11/1/2007
Addyson had a great time trick or treating last night in downtown Auburn! We met up with a lot of the parents and kids from our playgroup and Addy had fun seeing all of them since we've been so busy lately and haven't been to playgroup in awhile. She ran around and listened to the band and saw the Chick-fil-A cow. It was a good time!
This will most likely be my last post for awhile. We are moving on Monday and closing on both houses so I am going to have my hands full. Hopefully I will get a chance within the next couple of weeks.
Take care!
Tracy
10/29/2007
We had a fun filled weekend! Several of our friends came down to Auburn to tailgate all weekend in 2 campers. Addy stayed with her Pop and Mamie on Friday and her Meme the rest of the weekend. She had fun playing with everyone...now its back to just boring old mommy! haha. I will try to post some pictures later of Jeremy and I at the game. Bethany and I ran into Mrs. Barefield at the game...she was our high school guidance counselor and we hadn't seen her since graduation...of all the places we could have ran into her in Huntsville, we see her at an Auburn game! It was nice to see her and catch up!
And this is our final week in this house! We move next Monday and I am not ready! I've got to get it together...moving with a toddler is much different than moving just with Jeremy and I.
And Halloween is coming up! We will be heading to downtown Auburn on Wednesday to trick or treat. Addy is so cute! I ask her what she is going to be for Hallwoeen and she answers "Bee". And then I ask, what does a bee say? She says, "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"! Its so cute! I will post lots of pictures on Thursday! :)
10/23/2007
UPDATE:
Well I gave Addy pasta and sauce last night which is a regular around here. I had bought a different size of sauce...although same brand. We usually use Kroger Brand Traditional sauce in the can and last time I bought Kroger Brand Traditional sauce in the jar...one would assume they were the same right? Nope! Addy had been acting grumpier than normal and her reflux was going crazy so just in case, I checked the jar in the fridge and there it was....CONTAINS: MILK INGREDIENTS! I feel so bad for her! Normally, I am so strict about what she eats and I double check ingredient lists. Oh well...we know now she hasn't outgrown her dairy intolerance.
We had a great weekend in South Carolina visiting Stephen, Bethany and Allie! The girls were a mess most of the time but they had so much fun playing together. We went and walked around downtown Greenville on Friday afternoon...it is such a cute old downtown with lots of little shops and big trees.
My birthday was on Sunday. It was nice...Jeremy got me flowers and 2 cards (one from Addy and Mozelle) and went we out to eat at Cracker Barrel on Sunday for lunch. And we stopped at the outlets north of Atlanta and I got to shop for awhile which was fun.
We are looking forward to the weekend too. Meme is coming down to visit with Addy while Jeremy and I camp all weekend with several of our friends. I think there will end up being around 15 of us there. It will be a nice getaway (even though its in Auburn) and we'll get to go to the Ole Miss game on Saturday.
I hope everyone has a great week!
10/15/2007
We had a fun weekend! We met Mom and Dad over at Clanton's Pumpkin Patch on Friday. We went to the petting zoo, played on all the inflatable slides and playground, rode on a hayride, picked out our pumpkin in the patch, and shopped a little. Addy had a great time! We left Auburn at her nap time thinking she would fall asleep and nap on the way over, but no such luck! She did great considering she hadn't napped and was so excited to see Nanny and Paw (Addy calls Dad Paw now instead of Paw-Paw...its really cute!). Then on Saturday, Mom and I went to the Think Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Walk in Opelika. Thank you to all those who sent money to sponsor me! We met Claire there too! It was a good turn out and I raised almost $400! Thank you again!
And, we started packing on Saturday for our move...only 3 weeks away! We went to the first walk through this morning to go over all the little things that need to be touched up and we'll have our final walk through on Nov. 1st! I can't believe its almost been 3 months! We are looking forward to more room!!!
10/11/2007
Addyson and Mozelle are anticapating the arrival of Nanny and Paw-Paw! Addy got so excited at breakfast when I told her they were coming...she let out the biggest (and loudest) YAYYYYY! Mozelle has just been whining since breakfast waiting and looking out the window for them. :)
10/8/2007
I finally got a chance to upload the pictures!
Today is Jeremy's birthday! Happy Birthday!
We had a great weekend! Uncle Chris, Pop and Mamie, Meme and Floyd, Rodney and Sharon all came down to Auburn. We had a great time tailgating with everyone on Saturday for the Auburn/Vandy game....War Eagle! And on Sunday, we all went out to lunch for Jeremy's birthday.
And last night we fixed birthday chili! Jeremy even ate it for breakfast this morning with a slice of birthday chocolate pie...I don't see how he does it!
Addyson's picture was picked to be "Pic of the Week" on a local website here and she won a candy apple! Here's the link: www.auburnopelikaparent.com
Have a great week!
10/2/2007
We had such a fun weekend! Stephen, Bethany, and Allie came down for the weekend to visit. The girls had a great time playing with each other. We walked around downtown on Saturday and ate lunch at Momma G's. Then the girls took a nap and played outside all afternoon. Bethany and I had a girls night out and watched the Auburn game at Chili's...it was fun!
I will post some pictures tonight hopefully!
9/26/2007
Good Read:
I just finished the book "Louder Than Words". It was such a great book (well, you have to look past the langauge...its by Jenny McCarthy so I expected it). It is a must read if you are at all interested in learning more about Autism. Her son was diagnosed with autism at 2 1/2 years old and it talks about getting the diagnosis and what she did to help "bring him out of the window". Now, he's a "normal, with some autism quirks" 5 year old boy. It was just very inspiring and gave hope to those out there who are dealing with autism. Its a very "in your face" type of approach that tells the story of their struggle.
9/25/2007
Since everyone keeps asking, I thought I would post it here. When are we going to start potty-training??? Well, we are moving on Nov. 5th into our new house. I didn't think it would be great to start trying before then...we'll start after Addy gets settled in since moving to a new house is such a big step for such a little girl. We'll probably start after her 2nd birthday. We talk about going potty, but she is not at all interested yet. And she's only 20 months old...we still have time. :)
9/21/2007
Addy's new favorite word is happy....she says it a thousand times a day. And she can say napkin too. She likes to wipe her hands and mouth while she eats...she doesn't like her foods to touch either, like peaches and chicken nuggets need to be in their own compartment on her plate or she has to move them around...I wonder where she gets the OCD tendencies? :)
She is still doing great healthwise. She is beginning to outgrow her reflux, I think. She is down to 1 dose a day (some days 2 like when she is teething) of her Zegerid. She is still eating great. She loves fruit...loves it! She only eats chicken as far as meat goes...but we haven't really tried to give her any other kind yet. She still can't eat any dairy or hidden dairy but is off of Neocate completely! We are happy about that. She gets her calcium supplement everyday! She's a good eater, picky but good.
Well, I got my hair chopped off today...it is the shortest that my hair has been in my entire life. I uploaded a picture for y'all to see. I really like it though and think it will be a lot easier to deal with. I thought I'd be able to donate to Locks of Love but they require 10 inches now...I thought it was 6 or 7 inches before but my hair lady said it was 8...I had 8, maybe 8 1/2 but not 10. I like it though, and its a good, needed change. I love my new hair lady! She is great! Anyone reading this here in Auburn, she's at Streak Hair Studio and her name is Jessica....she is great! Tell her I sent you!
Well have a great weekend!
9/19/2007
Addy has a new favorite movie....Lion King! She loves it and asks to watch it all the time!
And yesterday, Oprah had a great show on Autism....if you tivo'ed it, watch it! Its very informative. Here are the "notes" on the show from Oprah's website:
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200709/20070918/slide_20070918_350_101.jhtml
9/13/2007
Addy is doing good! She hasn't had as many toddler fits this week (so far). I think she was going through a growth spurt last week and it made her cranky and more sleepy than usual. This week I have gotten to see her pretty face at 5 a.m twice! Why you may ask...she's decided that its time to wake up then. Now, to some people that wouldn't be too odd, but Addy usually gets up around 7:30 or 8:00 since she stays home with me and doesn't have to get up at a set time every day. So we camped out in the big bed for a few hours...she was not having getting back into her bed. Addy has taken a new found interest and love for Mozelle. If she's not right under our feet, Addy is asking for "bark bark", which is what she calls her...sometimes she says Mo but its usually bark bark. She loves on her and gives her kisses and chases her around everywhere. She liked Mozelle before but now, you can see her true love for her coming out. Its really cute. I need to take more pics of them together! We are official gymnastics drop outs. :( We just had so much to do everyday and I wanted one day a week off and free from plans. Every other week day morning, we have something scheduled so I thought it was for the best. I think she will like gymnastics more next year anyway when she can start to (hopefully) sit still more and listen...I know, it probably won't happen but just let me hope! She is such a little ball of energy. Nanny (my Mom) was saying this weekend that she hasn't seen a child like her...she's constantly on the go and won't sit still for a minute except maybe to eat. But she'd rather me let her run around and come back and take a bite, run around, take a bit, etc. She's a handful! But I am thankful...I am glad she's not too shy and gets involved in whatever is going on. She loves being "on stage" so to speak with everyone's attention. Since I was more toward being shy growing up in elementary, I am glad she has confidence! I definitely don't want to break her of that. Speaking of...she just let out her high pitched squeal letting me know that nap time is over!
Have a great weekend!
Tracy
9/4/2007
What a fun/hectic weekend! Jeremy and I went to the game while Meme played with Addy. We got to hang out after the game with Jeremy's brothers, Jake and Chris, and Jake's girlfriend, Katie. It was a lot of fun! Jeremy and I actually left the game with about 6 minutes to go and watched it on TV at a tailgate spot on the way back. (We're not fair weather fans, we were just too mad to watch anymore by that point.) I really think I am bad luck! As soon as we left, they actually started playing better and we ended up winning. War Eagle! Maybe I should stay away from the stadium for awhile?
Addy has been a little stinker lately! Her two I teeth finally popped through completely, thank goodness. But the terrible 2's are HERE! We left playgroup this morning and she was a mess...screaming and kicking the whole way to the car. So, she went to bed right when we got home and is still sleeping...to bed without lunch! She was mad and I was mad.
We are headed up to Huntsville this weekend. A couple of my friends and I are throwing a wedding shower for Jeremy's brother, Chris and his fiance Danielle on Saturday. It should be fun getting to see all of our old college friends.
Have a great week!
8/28/2007
UPDATE:
I meant to add that Addy started gymnastics last week. We go once a week. She seems to like it, but pretty much runs wild the whole time...luckily the instructor, Mr. Frank, is super nice and lets the kids do everything on their own time. Its a really nice facility with tons of things for little ones and this cool blow up thing with foam blocks to jump into. Addy really likes that one! I wish I could take pictures but I have my hands full chasing Addy around most of the time...hey, at least I am getting a work out too! :)
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Yay! Auburn Football starts on Saturday!!! Meme is coming down to stay with Addy while we are at the game. Since it doesn't start til 6:45, it would be a little too late for Addy so she'll just come to tailgate! :) We are looking forward to it!!! Addy tried on her Auburn Cheerleading uniform and its WAY to big. Its a 2T and the to swallows her whole. So maybe next year. Nanny is sending her another outfit to wear!
8/20/2007
We visited our friends in Nashville this weekend...fun times! Addy got to spend Saturday playing with Allie (Bethany & Stephen's little girl). They had a ball! We all stayed over at David and Lindsey's house while the guys had their fantasy football draft party. We had so much fun!
Addy also got to stay over at Nanny and Paw-Paw's house on Friday night and play with Alyssa...they had fun playing in the tub!
Addy is saying more words and growing so fast! We moved up to a size 6 shoe today! I thought her feet would never grow and now she's catching up with me! Yeah right! But she is doing so great and we are so very thankful! What a wonderful year so far! Auburn Football will be here so soon!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay! I will post pics of Addy in her cheerleading uniform soon! I hope it fits! :)
8/20/2007
We visited our friends in Nashville this weekend...fun times! Addy got to spend Saturday playing with Allie (Bethany & Stephen's little girl). They had a ball! We all stayed over at David and Lindsey's house while the guys had their fantasy football draft party. We had so much fun!
Addy also got to stay over at Nanny and Paw-Paw's house on Friday night and play with Alyssa...they had fun playing in the tub!
Addy is saying more words and growing so fast! We moved up to a size 6 shoe today! I thought her feet would never grow and now she's catching up with me! Yeah right! But she is doing so great and we are so very thankful! What a wonderful year so far! Auburn Football will be here so soon!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay! I will post pics of Addy in her cheerleading uniform soon! I hope it fits! :)
8/14/2007
We have a house! We signed the contract yesterday. We are really excited but are ready to move in now and not wait until November! Here's a picture...
8/8/2007
Well, it has been a rough week. Jeremy's great uncle passed last night and my great aunt passed away early this morning. We will be in Huntsville for the funerals this weekend. Please keep all of our family in your prayers.
8/5/2007
Addyson's tummy has been feeling bad this weekend and that picture is of her on Friday. She normally can't sit still but she actually laid on the couch for awhile on Friday so I know she felt bad. :( She is feeling better now though.
Other than that, we had a WONDERFUL weekend! Meme and Floyd came to visit on Friday around lunch to babysit for us and then Nanny and Paw-Paw came that afternoon for the weekend! We had so much fun! We grilled out on Friday night and Addy played in the pool with Nanny and Mozelle. And that afternoon, Jeremy and I went and looked at houses with our agent. On Saturday, we went out to eat at Cracker Barrell and found this estate sale and my Mom bought us the most beautiful computer cabinet! Its huge and so pretty! I can't wait to put it in our new home! Then, my Dad took Jeremy and I to buy us a new mattress set! It is the most comfortable thing in the world! We had a weekend full of presents! Addy of course got presents too! Floyd gave her a jack in the box (the kind you have to crank and it pops out) and Nanny and Paw-Paw gave her a little doggy that she pulls around and it barks and some princess stuff. So cute! She loves all of it!
And, we believe that we have found our new house! It is beautiful and we both new it when we first went it that it was exactly what we wanted. We are hoping to sign the contract this week! :) We can't wait to have more space!
Mozelle is staying the next two weeks with Nanny and Paw-Paw so we are dogless. We already miss her and I didn't think I would! So this layout is for her. :)
Hope you all had a great week!
8/3/2007
SOLD! Yay for us! Now we just have to find our next home. I am going with our agent this afternoon to look at several homes...luckily Meme and Floyd will be here to watch Addy while I'm out. It's really hard to look at houses with Addy wanting to explore everywhere. Wish me luck!
Have a great weekend!
7/31/2007
So sorry for the lack of news and pictures lately! (Bethany this one's for you.) We have been so busy showing the house and keeping it clean! ;) Well as clean and straightened as you can with an 18 month old. Addy and I were sick this weekend. We had some kind of sore throat/flu thing going on. We feel much better now but Addy's nose is still running a bit. We had playgroup this morning at an Elementary School playground here. Addy climbed up the stairs to the biggest tube slide and slid down! That girl is fearless! On a sidenote, some of you know Brandy, my college roommate. She has a baby girl who is 7 weeks old and she is in our playgroup now. She teaches at the school we went to today.
I am hoping to put the pictures on our computer tonight and add some here. I hope I get a chance to anyway!
Hope you all are doing good!
7/23/2007
Busy, busy, busy! It has been such a hectic week for us! We put our house on the market on Sunday (for sale by owner). I have had a ton of calls about it and believe it will sell fairly quickly because of the location and the overall charm of the house. For those who might know someone who is looking in Auburn for a home, here are the details. It is a 2 bedroom/1 bath in Auburn located one mile from campus. It was completely remodeled and upgraded in Nov of 2005 including heating/air, plumbing, electrical, kitchen with custom built cabinetry, bathroom with tile and custom cabinet, original refinished oak hardwood flooring throughout execpt for bath and laundry room which are tile, crown molding throughout, stainless steel appliances in kitchen, Sentricon Termite Protection through Cook's, fenced in back yard, and it is a cottage style front with painted pine siding and porch with cedar and brick columns. Our lot is landscaped and sodded. If anyone is interested, our number is 334-750-9703 and our address is 236 Brookwood Drive in Auburn.
We also went to Brayden's 1st Birthday party this weekend! Addy had so much fun playing in this huge baby pool thing that Karri bought...she had a blast! Everyone kept saying, "she has no fear, she's not scared of anything!" She loved sliding down the slide and saying "weeeee". We had a great time!
Addy is doing great! Growing like a weed and learning more each day! We look forward to buying a larger home and adding on to our family! :)
Tracy
7/12/2007
We had such a fun week! Tuesday we went to the park for our playgroup. Wednesday we went to Mommy & Me Mall Walking where they had a sign language teacher and the Chick-Fil-A calf. And today we went to the Auburn Public Library for Toddler Time. The theme was Jungle Animals and they read a book, put animals on a felt board and we went through the animal noises, had dance time and made Lions on these sticks to use as masks. Addy just shined! She loved being there. She danced on stage with all the kids (most of which we older than her) and did the moves to "If you're happy and you know it". I just stood in the back of the room most of the time and watched and felt so proud of her! I was just thinking that I wished Jeremy were there to see her. It was just a great week! I can't help but be thankful for how far she's come. What a difference a year makes. :) God is so good!
Also I wanted to share a website that has the cutest invites, note cards, bag tags, etc. www.justforyoustationery.com I have ordered from them before and they do an amazing job. And I am ordering some shower invitations now for a friend's shower in September. Some of you all might know Maggie (Oldham) Byrne and her sister Liz. They have the cutest stuff!
7/8/2007
We are back! We had so much fun at the beach. Addyson LOVED being there...she loved the sand, ocean, pool, EVERYTHING! She wasn't scared of the water one bit. And she loved being on the go constantly most of all. She also started talking a lot more while we were there. She can say Nanny now and its so cute! She says thank you too which is nice. :) We went to the Gulf Shores Zoo while we were there and that was fun. Addy loved the goats the most and chasing the bunnies and roosters around that roam free there. We had such a wonderful time and miss it already! Its raining here today and Addy is wanting to "go, go, go"...I miss having the beach and pool to "go" too! Maybe a pool is in our future...yeah right!
I upgraded our site today so that I could upload more than 10 photos at a time. I am going to love it! Not having to choose only 10 will be nice. I hope you all enjoy all the new pictures!
~Tracy
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf
6/27/2007
Here are some new pics since I won't be able to update the site for awhile because we'll be at the beach!!! Yay!
6/26/2007
We are leaving for the beach this weekend! Yay! I will have some good pictures to post when we get back. I hope Addyson gets over her cold before then!
Also, I am still trying to make the main focus of this site to be fun stuff about Addyson. On the other hand, I can't continue researching and finding incredible information that our government and pharmacuetical companies are not sharing with us and sit there and not share it with my friends and family. Here is a recent survey done in California and Oregon on vaccinations and their relation to neurological disorders like ADHD, ADD, Autism, etc.
"We surveyed over 9,000 boys in California and Oregon and found that vaccinated boys had a 155% greater chance of having a neurological disorder like ADHD or autism than unvaccinated boys." -Generation Rescue, June 26, 2007
The full story with survey results is below:
http://www.generationrescue.org/survey.html
6/20/2007
We have had a good week! Lots of little random news from us:
Meme (Jeremy's Mom) came to visit this past weekend and Addy had fun playing with her. Jeremy had a good Father's Day. We got a new gas grill (Thank you Meme)! Addy learned how to put on her shoes (on the correct foot and everything!). Addy got a new pair of hot pink cowboy boots that she loves! She brings them to me to put them on her all day...she can't put those on since they zip up the side. It finally rained all day yesterday...we needed it! Addy is feeling much better but has an awful diaper rash and reflux flare up since I gave her a few bites of pancakes at Cracker Barrel on Father's Day. But the Measles are gone! Yay! Addy says "go" all the time now. She wants to go constantly! I've gotta come up with more places to "go"! And she still says, "no" for everything... :)
Food For Thought from CBS News:
(CBS)
With the first autism case now being heard in federal vaccine court in Washington D.C., it makes sense to ask: Why is anyone even still debating the possibility of a link between vaccines and autism? After all, for years, many government health officials, advisors and vaccine manufacturers have said there's no association.
Here are a number of reasons why the question remains open:
1. While government scientists, advisors and pharmaceutical companies have been responsible for infinite lifesaving and life improving medical advances, they are not infallible.
• It's the same group that originally thought it was safe to use x-ray machines in shoe stores, gave pregnant women Thalidomide for morning sickness and once allowed mercury in medicines. They assured us Vioxx and Duract were safe painkillers, prescribed Rezulin for diabetics and then denied any of them were responsible for patient deaths. If we never questioned that group, we might not have discovered that Fen-phen and the dietary supplement Ephedra are not safe weight loss products, that antidepressants in kids can lead to suicidality and Viagra can cause blindness. The list goes on.
• When it comes to vaccines, the same group failed to predict that the 1990's rotavirus (diarrhea) vaccine would have to be pulled from the market after infant deaths. They encouraged use of the oral polio vaccine (eventually discontinued after it gave too many children polio). And they allowed the use of a mercury neurotoxin preservative in childhood vaccines, only to admit later that they hadn't thought to calculate the cumulative amount kids were getting as more and more vaccines were added to the childhood immunization schedule.
• Recent history demonstrates that too often, government health officials, mainstream doctors and pharmaceutical companies aren't on the leading edge of alerting us to health risks; they're bringing up the rear. Patients feel left to fend for themselves, seeking independent research and opinions on their own. They and their dogged, relentless determination have often been the catalyst that eventually brings medical dangers to the forefront.
2. Government scientists, advisors and vaccine manufacturers often take an all-or-nothing approach to vaccinations.
• Government officials and infectious disease experts I've spoken with are fearful that if vaccine side effects are better publicized, or if a link between vaccines and autism and ADD were made, the public would overreact and lose faith in the entire vaccination program. The result, they're afraid, would be parents refusing to give their children any vaccines, leading to new, deadly epidemics of preventable diseases. That indeed would be a disaster. However, their fears have resulted in something I call an all-or-nothing approach: they tend to promote nearly all vaccines for nearly all children as equally necessary and equally safe. Yet at the same time, if asked, they agree not all vaccines are equally safe, equally beneficial, equally necessary and equally tolerated by each individual child.
• Through the Internet and other resources, parents are now able to find research on vaccines and read it for themselves. They compare the government's all-or-nothing approach to the research and become skeptical that the government is presenting the whole picture on vaccine safety generally.
3. Government officials and mainstream scientists who dispel any vaccine/autism/ADD link have ties to vaccine makers.
• One of the best examples of this is the landmark autism/vaccine study published in Pediatrics. Early in his study, the lead author, CDC's Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, found statistically significant associations between the amount of mercury (thimerosal) exposure kids got from their childhood vaccines, and a wide range of brain disorders. However, the published version of the study (the one the authors say is accurate) found no evidence of a link to autism. Not disclosed was that Dr. Verstraeten had left CDC midstream during the study and had gone to work for Glaxo, a vaccine manufacturer. That failure to disclose was criticized in a later publication of Pediatrics, but it got little mainstream attention. Also getting little attention was a letter from well-respected scientists, also in Pediatrics, who echoed what parents of autistic children had been saying for months: they questioned the use and exclusion of certain data from Dr. Verstraeten's study that eventually reduced the statistical ties between vaccines and neurodisorders.
• Lastly, the CDC is inextricably tied to vaccine makers through contracts and other business and financial relationships that open the door for the possibility of conflicts.
4. Non-profits which dispel any vaccine/autism/ADD link have ties to vaccine makers.
• Non-profits that promote vaccinations have ties to vaccine makers that they often do not disclose when giving their opinions on vaccine safety. One example is "Every Child By Two." This group contacted CBS News several years ago in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent one of our stories about the vaccine safety from airing. In forms filed for the IRS, the non-profit lists an official from vaccine maker Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as its Treasurer. It lists vaccine maker Chiron as a paid client.
• Another example of a non-profit tied to the industry is "The Vaccine Fund." Its President from 2000-2005 was Jacques-Francois Martin, formerly CEO of vaccine maker Sanofi-Pasteur, CEO of vaccine maker Chiron, and President of the International Federation of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association. While at The Vaccine Fund, his salary was paid by a company that says it "has developed particular strength in the vaccine industry and vaccine development."
5. The dual role of the CDC undermines the appearance of fairness.
• There is a perceived, if not real, conflict of interest with the government's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) heavily promoting vaccines, but also responsible for monitoring adverse events. At least two respected medical journals, the "American Journal of Public Health" and "Pediatrics" have published letters or articles recommending "greater independence in vaccine safety assessments" apart from "the highly successful program to promote immunizations." In short, the CDC's bread and butter is achieving high vaccination rates. But that role is in conflict with the agency's responsibility to fully research and disclose adverse events that could, in theory, bring down vaccination rates.
6. There is no definitive research proving a link between vaccines and autism or ADD, but there is also no definitive research ruling it out.
• Many credible voices deny a link. But many other credible voices support the idea of a link. One example of the latter is George Wayne Lucier, formerly a senior official at the National Institutes of Health in Environmental Toxicology, an NIH advisor, member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Toxicity Testing and a scientific advisor for EPA who concludes "...it is highly probably that use of thimerosal as a preservative has caused developmental disorders, including autism, in some children." A lengthy Congressional investigation also concluded that the autism epidemic is likely linked to vaccinations.
7. Those who say autism and ADD are not linked to vaccines do not know what is causing the epidemics.
• The most frightening part of the autism/ADD epidemics is that if, indeed, they're unrelated to vaccinations, that our best, brightest public health experts still have no idea what is causing it. Excluding ADD, one out of every 150 American children are now being diagnosed with autism.
Vaccinations have provided lifesaving miracles in public health. However, it's undisputed that they are also responsible for many serious adverse events including brain disorders and, rarely, deaths. Trying to maximize the potential benefits of vaccines and minimize the harm shouldn't be seen as a threat to the nation's inoculation program, it's merely a logical step forward.
One scientist who testified for the plaintiff this week in The Vaccine Court said there's a way to test children for a hidden hole in their immune make-up that makes them susceptible to bad immune reactions from vaccinations. He said that, ideally, every child should undergo such a test before their first vaccinations. But he also said the test is very expensive and so "not worth it." Many parents might disagree. If they knew such a test was available, they'd find a way to pay for it. But such information has to be disseminated to the public before a first step can even be considered.
Mainstream medicine initially said that autism was caused by mothers who weren't affectionate enough with their children. If that doesn't teach us that we should always seek further knowledge and not necessarily accept what's spoon-fed to us by certain experts…then nothing will.
6/14/2007
I uploaded 2 of my old favorite pictures since Izzy requested some new ones and I haven't taken any in the last 3 days...I will get on the ball tomorrow!
(Look at the one of Addy when she was so tiny! Her feet look huge but its because socks were so big on her. I think she was about 3 weeks in this picture and still in preemie clothes.)
6/10/2007
Wow, what an exhausting few days. Addyson started running a low grade fever on Wednesday. On Friday, she woke up with a rash. After her nap, it had spread everywhere...head, face, chest, tummy, back, etc. It wasn't a raised rash, just tiny red spots that were beginning to meet to make one big red area. I uploaded a picture from Saturday...it didn't really capture the severity of the rash but you get the idea. We took her to the doctor that afternoon, and were told she had a reaction to her Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination that she got on May 23rd. When we got home, I began researching vaccinations online and found out, it was not just a reaction, but she had gotten Measles from the MMR vaccine. 1 out of 20 children contract measles from the vaccination. Addyson is more prone to be the 1 out of 20 or 10 or whatever with her history. As I began to research, I came across a ton of alarming information. I don't want to get on a newly found soapbox here, but I do urge all of you reading this with young children to please do research before vaccinating your babies. And also, make sure its a reputable site...some throw around untrue biased opinions about each side of vaccinating.
http://www.healthsentinel.com/graphs.php?id=14&event=graphs_print_list_item
6/6/2007
We had a great weekend! On Saturday morning, we played in the backyard with the sprinkler again...thats Addy's and Mozelle's favorite thing to do! Addy found that if you put the hose pipe on dirt...ta-da, you get mud! So she loved getting mud everywhere! Notice the picks of her just in her swim diaper and mud all over her legs and tummy! That afternoon, we went to the park and this little boy had brought his bunny there. Addy loved that! So we got her picture made with it and she chased it around for awhile. The good thing was that there were not many people there, so it was really just us, the bunny, and the bunny's family. :) Then on Sunday night, Jeremy and I went to dinner and a movie for our 3 year anniversary (which was Tuesday). It was nice to get out and have a real date! We are really enjoying spending time at home. Its been so long since we've had 2 weekends in a row without any plans. We have been relaxing and enjoying our time!
6/2/2007
Update:
I forgot to add yesterday that Addy's eating is going so great! She usually still gets 2 bottles of Neocate everyday since she won't drink soy or rice milk yet. (She is still milk protein intolerant.) She still needs some type of protein with vitamins so we can't completely eliminate the Neocate yet and she will not drink it out of a cup. She eats 3 meals a day and several snacks. She is still not liking some textures but is doing much better! Apples are still her favorite which is great! Everything is going so wonderfully! I couldn't imagine this 3 months ago. We are so thankful!!!!!!!
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I forgot to mention that we taught Addy the sign for "more" several weeks ago. She is signing that a lot now when she is hungry.
We played outside this morning in the water. Addy got in the mud and it was everywhere! She's going to be a little tomboy I think...that's okay with me. I'll teach her to be a little princess and a tomboy! :)
5/29/2007
We had a great relaxing weekend here in Auburn. We went over to our friends' house on Sunday afternoon to go swimming and grill out. There was a woman at the neighborhood pool who was in the water when we got there. Well, later on she decided to lay out so Addy looked over at her put her finger up to her mouth and told me "shhhh". She thought the lady was going to sleep. I thought it was so cute!
Hope you all had a great Memorial Day!
5/23/2007
Addyson had her 15 month check up today (yes, a little late). She had 2 shots but was a brave little girl. She weighs 24 lbs 8 oz (50-75 percentile), 30.5 inches long (25th-50th). (Percentiles are for a 16 1/2 month old.)
And this is our fun story for the day. We stopped at McDonald's on the way home because Addy loves McNuggets. So we got the happy meal with apple slices instead of fries. When we got home, I put the caramel sauce back in the happy meal box on top of our hall tree where it was out of reach since it has milk products in it. So I went about my business cleaning up her room and noticed that she was really quiet. Well, she reached the caramel, opened the container and poured it all over herself (head to toe, literally!), all over our leather sofa, and living room rug!!!!!!! Caramel everywhere! The stickiest substance ever! So Addy got a big bath/soak to get it all off of her! And I just got finished trying to get it all up....I think the rug might be a goner!
5/21/2007
Another tooth? Are you kidding me? I think Addy's working on tooth number 13. I guess I shouldn't complain...if she didn't have any teeth, I would be way more upset! :)
5/15/2007
UPDATE:
We just finished filling Addy's sandbox with sand and putting together her picnic table. She loves them both! Thank you Nanny and Paw-Paw Larry!
Addy's tooth finally popped through this weekend! She has 12 so far....a mouthful!
Addyson is eating ALL normal foods now except for any milk products (those still hurt her belly and might for the next few years). We are more than excited...I can't think of a word that explains it, but we are so thankful and happy for her! Her favorite foods now are taco meat (ground chicken w/ taco seasoning), cornbread and of course McNuggets. She loves dehydrated apples and corn too! She still won't eat any wet veggies or fruits so for now, I am buying the dehydrated ones. It has been a fun few weeks watching her try new foods!
We went up to Huntsville this weekend and had a great time. On Saturday, I went to Nashville to Steeplechase (a horse race like the Kentucky Derby kinda) and Jeremy helped his Dad out at the river. Addy spent all day with Meme and Floyd and had a great time! :)
We made it back here yesterday and are home for at least 1 1/2 months before we are traveling again. Its been a hectic spring so far and it will be so nice to stay home for awhile and enjoy the weekends before it gets super hot down here. We leave for the beach at the end of next month and we are already excited!!! I can't wait to post all the cute pictures we will take down at Martinique!
5/7/2007
More great news...Addyson is eating more and more different foods lately! I can't even list all the different foods she ate this weekend (but cornbread from Cracker Barrel was her favorite....like her Daddy said, you can tell she's a southern girl!) She is still having issues with textures but we are working on it. We are really hoping she will not need to see a speech therapist for food adversion but so far, so good! Keep praying for her! God is so good!
5/7/2007
More great news...Addyson is eating more and more different foods lately! I can't even list all the different foods she ate this weekend (but cornbread from Cracker Barrel was her favorite....like her Daddy said, you can tell she's a southern girl!) She is still having issues with textures but we are working on it. We are really hoping she will not need to see a speech therapist for food adversion but so far, so good! Keep praying for her! God is so good!
5/2/2007
5/5/2007
We found another top molar today! This girl is getting teeth like crazy!
And, Addy got to see Allie and Bethany on Thursday! They stopped through while on their way back from the beach. It was fun to see them and play!
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We played outside in the sprinker today! Addyson and Mozelle loved it. Of course, everyone was covered in mud and grass when we were done but it was worth it. :)
And Addyson got another tooth!!!!!!! Her top molar came through sometime in the past week. We didn't even know she was getting any top teeth bc we have been so focused on the 4 bottom ones coming through.
4/26/2007
Someone learned to count!!! Addyson counted to 2 yesterday and the day before that, she said 3 as Jeremy said 1, 2. We were cleaning up and she put some markers into the holder and said "1" and then picked up some more and dropped them in and said "2". I was so excited, I didn't give her the chance to make it to 3, because I scooped her up and started dancing and saying "Yay"! It was fun!
She is still working on those last 2 teeth (1 molar and 1 bottom side tooth). I (and she) can't wait til they break through!
We are going to Auburn CityFest this weekend. I think its going to be fun. Its at a big park here and I think its a lot like Panoply in Huntsville, just on a smaller scale. We are looking forward to it!
Hope you all have a great weekend! Love you all!
~Tracy
Paw-Paw, we are glad that everything went well and you are doing good!
4/23/2007
Addyson got 2 teeth this weekend! One molar and one side bottom tooth. The other molar and side bottom tooth look like they are going to break through any day now. These teeth have not been fun! Hopefully she will have a break for a bit from teething after these two!
Addyson went to her first Auburn Baseball game this weekend! It was fun but really hot. She got to play with Brayden, Lindsey and David too this weekend!
4/20/2007
What a rough week! Addyson had a virus this week, I think. She was running a low grade fever most of the week and just felt bad. She was teething on top of that so its been sad for us both. She is feeling a bit better today though. Also, we have been giving Addy some new foods this week. She has eaten spanish rice, ritz crackers, and tortillas without any reactions. But this week she did eat some cheese sauce with noodles and veggies and had an awful reaction. It was so sad for us both that we both were crying. She cried for 3 hours straight!!!!!!!!! Finally while we were outside, she would run around and play and then stop and squat down and cry out. It was too much for me...it brought me back to her when she was little and how she would pull her legs up to her chest so tight and cry. :( Oh, it was so bad. So we definitely will not be trialing cheese or any milk products for at least 6 months. It was my fault too...I knew better. But we are through it and Addy now just has a rash on her face from it but is feeling better. We are very happy about the other foods though! We are going to stick with grain type foods for a bit since those seem to be working well with her system. I do not want to say she is beginning to heal because it seems every time I post something positive about that, she has a major set back. Please continue to pray for her and THANK YOU for all the prayers you all have already sent up. We are very thankful and blessed!
We are going to our first Auburn baseball game this weekend with some friends. I think Addy is really going to like it...she likes watching the Braves so hopefully she will have a good time!!!
Take care!
Tracy
4/16/2007
We had a great weekend in South Carolina visiting Stephen, Bethany and Allie! Anthony, Kristine, and Alyssa came up too so all the girls got to play together...it was fun! We went to this fun place on Saturday called Monkey Joe's. Its an indoor playground with all inflatable slides, bouncers, jungle gyms, etc. It was a blast...I don't know who had more fun, me or Addyson! The parents were allowed to play with their kids on all the different things there. Of course, me, Bethany and Kristine went down a few huge slides without the little ones! ;) It was so nice for us all to hang out with the kiddos.
4/11/2007
Happy Easter! We had such a good trip home! We got to see all the grandparents and great-grandparents!!! Addy was an angel the whole time (even when she missed her nap). She dyed Easter eggs with her cousins and Aunt Angel....she loved sticking stickers all over herself.
Addyson's GG had given her a beautiful dress that she was going to wear on Easter but I put it on her on Easter morning and it was too long! :( I think it will be big enough for her to wear next year because it hung to the ground. Good thing we had a back up dress! (And Jeremy thinks I over shop for her...hahaha!)
I hope you all had a great Easter!
Love,
Tracy
April 12, 2007
The new "Fun Times" with Addy...okay so we know she is the adventurous type by now, but she is now borderline too adventurous for me! She gave me a bloody nose this week! She jumped up really fast from her chair while I was bending over her and hit my nose so hard with her noggin that I got a bloody nose! I have had a pretty bad headache ever since. And today, I walked into the kitchen and she had crawled up on top of a big Pampers box that has been sitting there waiting to be put in the attic. She was standing on it and looked at me like "I'm about to jump!". She is constantly trying to climb on something...like a regular sit n spin...normally kids sit on the bottom, well not Addy, she climbs to the top part and sits on it instead and moves the bottom part around with her feet!
4/5/2007
Hey again! I am in much better spirits today...I had my day to feel sorry for us on Tuesday and now I am better. :) Addyson is doing wonderful! She is still loving swim class, but now, she wants me to let go of her in the water so she can do it herself...I don't think she's quite ready to swim on her own though. ;) She is growing like a weed and if possible, getting cuter each day. We are all going to see the Easter Bunny tonight to have her picture made....its going to be so cute! Addyson is still enjoying Kindermusik class too. She got a huge hug today from one of her friends named Davis...I think he's 16 months old...it was very sweet! He just ran up to her and gave her a big hug!
We are looking forward to Easter and getting to spend time with everyone. I am hoping we get to make it around to all the great-grandparents houses...Addy misses them! Have a happy Easter!
Tracy
4/3/2007
Hey everyone! We had a busy but good weekend in Huntsville. We went to dinner at Crickets in Madison (a Friday night tradition for Meme (Jeremy's Mom) and her family). Then went over to Pop (Jeremy's Dad) and Mamie's house to visit. On Saturday we went to Meme's house and played and ate lunch. And Saturday night Anthony and Kristine came over to visit. On Sunday, we went to Nashville to see Logan get baptized (we missed it by 5 minutes bc I was running late...oops!) but we got to go to church service with everyone and out to eat for lunch. We spent time with Nanny and Paw-Paw on Sunday afternoon and evening. And Addyson had her doctor's appointment on Monday and we headed back to Auburn Monday night! Whew! Today was a very busy day too....we are about to leave for swim class now but I knew I needed to update her site about the appointment.
The appointment went okay. I was a little disappointed and just felt let down afterwards. Dr Laney said we no longer needed to see him since she was beginning to eat. Cheerios only so far though. The results from her enzyme test were not accurate he said. Only 1 out of 5 samples that he sends to Mayo Clinic make it there and produce correct results because they are frozen immediately when they are removed and must stay frozen the whole time until they reach Mayo. All of hers read very low and he said that is impossible....so that was frustrating and point less in my opinion if only 1 of 5 make it there, it seems like they should find a better way. She had lost a bit of weight since her last visit to Dr Smith T (her pediatrician). So we won't be going back unless something changes for the worst. I almost feel like every doctor just gives up because they are all so confused and stumped about her condition. (Dr Laney's words were "Wow, you have really tried to stump me with this one" when we first went to see him.) He never mentioned Entercolitis but that is my diagnosis...which is what Dr LaRussa in B'ham diagnosed her with. I know I am rambling now but it just feels strange and sad when doctors give up when we had such high expectations after our first visit with him. But maybe we are almost through this and in a couple of years it will all be over and Addy will be eating like an average toddler. We have to be hopeful....and at least the Cheerios are working for now. Please continue to pray for her and us. I have really tried to have a good attitude so far and felt like I have, but yesterday really got to me. This too shall pass.
Addyson is cutting FOUR teeth right now! Ouch! 2 bottom ones and 2 bottom molars!!!!
I hope you all had a good weekend.
Love,
Tracy
3/29/2007
Addyson has an appointment with Dr. Laney in Huntsville on Monday. I think he will be very excited to hear about the Cheerios! I will update the site when we get home. And we are going to Nashville on Sunday because my nephew, Logan, is getting baptized at Woodmont Hills! We are very excited and happy for him. It will be Addy's first trip to Nashville too!
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Tracy
3/24/2007
Update: March 25, 2007
No more apples for Addyson. She had a reaction so we are going back to just the organic cheerios for now and we will try something new in a couple of weeks. We are still very thankful! It is such a huge milestone for her to be able to eat anything! We are very happy!
March 24, 2007
Apples, apples, apples! Addy loves apples! We started them on Friday. We tried green beans first but she did not like them at all...her face was priceless. So we tried apples and she said "mmmmm". We took this picture tonight at dinner. Hopefully it goes well!
Addyson is now down to one nap a day. She went through a spell where she was staying up until 8, 9 and even 10 at night!!! The Friday night that my Mom was here, we finally put her to bed around 9:45 and she stayed up playing in her bed until 10:30! So we realized she was needing only one nap.
Nanny and Paw-Paw (my parents) came to visit last weekend and kept Addyson and Mozelle overnight for us on Saturday night so we could go to a wedding in Atlanta. We had so much fun and so did Addy! Thank you, Nanny and Paw-Paw!!!!
Addyson is growing up so much. She is like a toddler more each day and less like a baby. She gives the best hugs now....talks, talks, and talks...she got that from Jeremy huh? :) She LOVES being outside. We go to the park at least 3 times during the week and play outside everyday. She loves shoes....she got that honestly though. She usually has on one shoe all day...she brings me different ones to try on her randomly throughout the day. She smiles all the time. She loves the SpongeBob SquarePants song and the King of Queens song....she starts laughing whenever she hears either of them. She is just pure joy for me and Jeremy.....and funny as can be! We are so thankful...thankful beyond words.
I hope you are all doing great!
Tracy
3/21/2007
Addyson is still doing well on the Cheerios! Yay! We added organic dehydrated apples on Sunday...thanks Mom! She is still doing good. This weekend we plan on adding organic green beans.
Addy did a forward roll yesterday on the couch! It was pretty funny...she has been putting her head done on the floor from a standing position for a long time and loves it when I help her roll over (like doing a flip) and she did it by herself yesterday...I was excited because I can't even do a forward roll...it just scares me for some reason...never have been able to do one. Anyways, Addy's swimming class is still going good...she loves it!!!
I hope you are all doing well!
Tracy and Jeremy
3/15/2007
Nanny and Paw-Paw are coming to visit Addyson and Mozelle tomorrow! We are very excited! They are going to stay so that Jeremy and I can go to a wedding in Decatur, GA on Saturday! It will be a nice little trip for us!
3/14/2007
Well, we took a trip to the doctor today because I thought Addyson had another ear infection. Turns out she is getting her 3rd bottom tooth! Dr Smith T checked and her gums were very swollen on both sides of the bottom and she could feel one tooth about to break through. Yay! Hopefully it will break through quickly!
3/12/2007
We have some HUGE news!!! For the past 6 days, Addyson has been eating organic Cheerios and not a symptom in sight!!!!!!!!!!! We are very excited, nervous, thrilled but most of all Thankful! God is so GOOD! Just typing this I am getting teary eyed. I know that this is not a big step for most toddlers, but as all of you know, this is the first time Addy has been able to eat anything (besides Neocate formula) without a reaction. 14 months now, it is well worth the wait, struggle, tears, anger, everything...my baby can eat Cheerios! YAY! We did not mention anything to anyone until yesterday when I had to call my Mom and tell her because it is very hard to tell everyone and be so excited only to have a reaction show up the next day. Not only to have to deal with that but also to have to go and tell everyone that it didn't work. That is why we waited several days....just to make sure! Oh, she loves eating them too! Thank you for all your prayers! And please continue to pray that she is able to tolerate other foods as well. THANK YOU!!!!
3/7/2007
Addyson's First Swim Class was last night! It was so much fun and Addyson smiled the entire time. She learned to kick and almost how to jump off the side. She jumps if I hold her hands. I loved watching her...she is definitely going to be a little water girl just like her mommy was!
Click on "our pictures" on the left side to see one of Addy walking around in my shoes. I got it on video...its so cute! She just walked out of our closet with that shoe on and walked around the house!
I hope you are all doing good!
~Tracy
3/3/2007
I took that picture on Wednesday when all the bad weather was around us. Addy loved playing in the closet on all the pillows and blankets! She thought it was a new hiding spot!
2/28/2007
Addy's ear is feeling better! Yay! And, she is med free as of yesterday. Thats right, no more Zegerid. We are trying taking her off of it. I pray it works. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...it might be a hard few weeks since her acid producing cells are going to be working over time until they can regulate production.
2/26/2007
Addyson has her first ear infection. We went to the doctor this morning because she started running a fever last night and would not stay asleep. This morning her fever was 100.3 or 101.3...I can't remember. So we got an antibiotic and some numbing drops for night time. So hopefully she will start feeling better soon!
2/21/2007
Addyson has an awful cold! She's coughing and has a runny nose. It has been a week so we are hoping that it goes away soon. She has not been sleeping good at all!
We haven't heard back from her other test yet, but they said it may take awhile. I will update the site when we do.
Addy has learned a few new things...now she can jump! Before, she pretended to jump by just bending her legs. (She watched the other older kids at playgroup.) Now, she can actually get both feet off the ground at the same time! I was impressed! She is still running all over the place and playing hide and seek. She loves hiding in our room behind the curtains and having me find her. If I don't get to her quick enough, she runs out from behind our door and yells and laughs and throws her hands up in the air. Its very cute! She also understands so much more now. Pretty much anything we say, she understands and does. And, she learned to say door and points to it.
I hope you all are doing well! Take care!
Tracy
2/14/2007
UPDATE:
Addyson's tests for Celiac Disease came back negative. Her other test which I found out was for lactose intolerance will be back next week from the mayo clinic. When we get that test back, Dr. Laney will decide what we need to do next to figure out what is going on. Please keep praying for her!
2/14/07
Happy Valentine's Day!
Addyson had her appt with Dr. Laney in Huntsville on Monday. It went very well and we love Dr. Laney! He actually listened to all of Addy's problems and read the entire thing that I typed out on her history from birth until now. We were very happy with the visit! He decided that we needed to do an endoscopy (using a camera to go down into her esophagus through her mouth to take biopises from there and her intestines). He wanted to check for Celiac Disease and he ran another test for a glucose disorder. We should know the results by Monday for Celiac and it will take 1-3 weeks for the other test because it is sent off to Mayo Clinic. She did great during the procedure (she was put under but could breathe on her own). The IV was not fun for her of course and it didn't help that they couldn't find a vein, so they had to stick her twice. Poor thing! But still, she did so great and was so brave. I will let everyone know when we get the results. Thank you for your prayers!
And, we got the results back from Jeremy's MRI. He has a torn disk in his back. They prescribed him an anti-inflammatory and said it will take about a month to heal. The medicine seems to really help with the pain.
Hope you are all doing great!
Tracy and Jeremy
2/14/2007
UPDATE:
Addyson's tests for Celiac Disease came back negative. Her other test which I found out was for lactose intolerance will be back next week from the mayo clinic. When we get that test back, Dr. Laney will decide what we need to do next to figure out what is going on. Please keep praying for her!
2/14/07
Happy Valentine's Day!
Addyson had her appt with Dr. Laney in Huntsville on Monday. It went very well and we love Dr. Laney! He actually listened to all of Addy's problems and read the entire thing that I typed out on her history from birth until now. We were very happy with the visit! He decided that we needed to do an endoscopy (using a camera to go down into her esophagus through her mouth to take biopises from there and her intestines). He wanted to check for Celiac Disease and he ran another test for a glucose disorder. We should know the results by Monday for Celiac and it will take 1-3 weeks for the other test because it is sent off to Mayo Clinic. She did great during the procedure (she was put under but could breathe on her own). The IV was not fun for her of course and it didn't help that they couldn't find a vein, so they had to stick her twice. Poor thing! But still, she did so great and was so brave. I will let everyone know when we get the results. Thank you for your prayers!
And, we got the results back from Jeremy's MRI. He has a torn disk in his back. They prescribed him an anti-inflammatory and said it will take about a month to heal. The medicine seems to really help with the pain.
Hope you are all doing great!
Tracy and Jeremy
2/8/2007
Hey everyone!
Addy's GI appointment is on Monday in Huntsville. Please say a prayer that it goes well and the doctor is attentive to her situation. Thank you so much in advance! I hope you are all doing well! Addy's got a little cold but nothing to complain about...everything else is going good. Jeremy has his appointment this afternoon to get the results from his MRI. And I have an appointment tomorrow to have my thyroid checked...lots of doctors for us!
Take Care!
Tracy
2/5/2007
Addyson learned to say shoes this weekend! It's really cute!
1/31/2007
Addyson has learned so many new things that I have forgotten to post about:
She's learned where her feet are and when I say "Stomp your feet", she does...its very cute!
She knows patty cake fully.
She blows kisses!
She knows how to throw fits, which is one of my favorites! :(
She knows how to pet Mozelle gently...She used to hit instead of pet.
And I am sure there are many more that I am forgetting. I just can't get over how much she's grown! She is a toddler now and not my little baby anymore! :( Its a good thing, I guess but I miss having my tiny little baby! She's so much fun though and honestly the funniest girl I have ever met!
1/30/2007
BAD DAY!
Oh, goodness...did we have a bad day yesterday. Addyson fell twice really hard and now she has a knot on her forehead and a black eye. I told Jeremy that someone is going to call child protective services on us! The first time she tripped and hit her forehead on her bedroom door and then she was climbing in her chair and fell and hit her head on the hat box that I keep her blocks in! I felt so bad...I wasn't here with her either time...the first time I was at the gym and then I was at the grocery store...I told Jeremy that maybe I should just not leave anymore bc she gets wild when I do!
But she's a little trooper...poor thing!
Have a great week!
Tracy
1/27/2007
Update: Jeremy has to have an MRI this week for his back problems..say a little prayer for him please.
I have good news! I was just researching on www.infantreflux.org (a great message board for parents of infant refluxers) and I found this under the Pediatricians/Specialist forum:
Kayla'sMom
Groupie
Joined: October 14 2003
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 549 Posted: January 06 2004 at 11:34am | IP Logged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Huntsville, AL
Pediatric Gastroenterology Associates
Dr. McClellan is wonderful! I haven't seen Dr. Laney, but have heard he is great too!
I am very excited because Dr. Laney is who we are going to see!!!! I hope our appointment goes well. Its on Feb. 12th. Please say a little prayer that we get some answers and Dr. Laney works hard to figure out what is going on with Addyson. Thanks so much! Have a great weekend!
~Tracy
1/24/2007
Update: We have an appointment with the Pediatric Gastroenterologist in Huntsville on Feb. 12th! Yay! I am very excited that they could work us in so soon. (Sometimes it can take 3 months or more to get into a Ped. GI, so we are very lucky!)
Addy had her 12 month check up at the allergist in Birmingham on Monday. It was very pointless. He could not even direct me no which Neocate product Addy should be on now since she's over a year. So I am trying to work with Neocate to decide but they are not allowed to give out medical advice (which is understandable). Becca gave me the name of a good Pedicatric Gastroenterologist in Nashville and one in Huntsville that we are looking into going to see. Unfortunately, neither are on our insurance but we will do what we have to to help Addy. Becca works at a hospital in Nashville and got these names from a co-worker. Hopefully, one will have an opening soon for new patients and have some answers for us. Addy can not tolerate water from any kind other than what I use for her bottles. We've tried ice from Sonic and it upsets her belly and so does bottled water...it's very strange. I hate to have to run tests on her but I think we have reached the point where tests are neccessary to determine exactly what we are dealing with. I will keep you all posted. Thank you for your continued prayers for our little sweet girl!!!!
Love you all!
Tracy
1/19/2007
Addy had her first real boo-boo yesterday! :( We were at music class and of course she was in her sock feet because she loves to take her shoes off, and she slipped on the linoleum floor and hit her chin really hard. She started bleeding and everything...so we were both a wreck. But she's fine today...just has a swollen lip and a small cut on her top lip. I guess its the first of many but it scared me to death!
I am hoping to upload some new pics today but my camera isn't cooperating very well.
Take care~
Tracy
1/15/2007
Addyson's 1st birthday party was so much fun! She got so many wonderful gifts! Of course, right now though she's playing with a DVD box. :o) Thanks so much for all the presents and for coming!
I will upload some pictures hopefully later today of her blowing out her candle. Mom and I painted a bottle for her that looked like a cake and put it on a Birthday cake plate that Mom bought...it turned out sooo cute! Maybe we can have cake next year. Instead we had chocolate pie and cookies...I just couldn't have everyone eating Addy's first birthday cake and Addy not being able to eat it! So hopefully next year she'll get to dig into the cake and if not then, the year after that....we'll just keep waiting til she can have it. She is doing good and we are very thankful that this last year ended with her being well! Lots of people asked me if we were sad that she couldn't eat cake...and honestly it isn't sad at all...she's finally feeling good after 8 months of her life constantly having tummy pains, reflux and all the awful symptoms that come with it, so we couldn't be happier that she feels good...that's the most important part!
We love our little pumpkin so much and can't believe she's already a year old! We are so blessed!
1/11/2007
Addyson had her one year check up today with Dr. Smith T. She did a great job! She got 3 shots and did so good! :) She weighs 22 lbs and is 29 inches long. Dr. Smith T said she looks wonderful and everything is on track.
I started keeping Brayden (6 month old little boy in our mommy group) 3 days a week. He is such a good little baby and so sweet! Mozelle loves him and Addy loves him at playgroup but its taking her a few days to warm up to him being in the house with us and getting some of mommy's attention. But she is doing much better and I expected a little jealousy at first. He is so tiny compared to Addy...makes me want another one soon! :)
~Tracy
1/10/2007
IT'S ADDYSON'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Addy turns ONE year old today! We are very excited! Happy Birthday, Addy Belle!!!
12/28/2006
It's almost Addyson's First Birthday! On January 10th, Addy will be 1 year old! We are very excited and can't believe that a year has already gone by!!! It seems like she was just a tiny little one and now she's running all over the place!
She had her 1 year portraits made the day after Christmas and they turned out beautiful. We are having Addy's party in Madison on January 13th. More presents!!!! I have no idea where we will put anymore presents. She had such a wonderful Christmas...of course her grandparents and great grandparents spoiled her!!! Her room is busting at the seams. : )
We are planning another trip this weekend too. We are meeting Bethany, Stephen and Allie in Atlanta to spend New Year's together at Jeremy's Dad's house. We are going to grill out on New Year's Eve and then watch the Auburn game on New Year's Day. We are looking forward to it and Addy is looking forward to playing with Allie. We are so excited that the Patton's will be a little closer to Auburn since they are moving to Greenville, SC!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a great New Year!
~Tracy
12/18/2006
Christmas is almost here!!! We took Addy to have her pictures made with Santa on Friday. She did so good! No crying at all...she did start to turn down and pout her lip at one point but she contolled it and we got a cute picture! I was so happy her first Santa experience was a good one and the Santa was a "real" Santa with a beard and everything!
Mom came down this weekend and helped me out so much! We finished Alyssa and Allie's Christmas presents and they turned out so cute! Mozelle and Addyson already miss Nanny. :(
We are looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend! Merry Christmas!
~Tracy
12/11/2006
Merry Christmas! Addy is feeling much better...she is almost over her 12 day cold!!!! Yes, 12 days. Her nose is still a little runny but she's getting well. Addyson and Mozelle are excited because Nanny is coming to visit this weekend! Mom is going to help me work on Allie and Alyssa's Christmas presents...we are making them so it should be fun. And we are going to take Addyson to have her picture made with Santa...I hope that goes well. We finally got our tree decorated and Addy loves to look at it. We used colored lights this year because we thought she would like those better than the white ones. Well, I better run...I hope everyone is doing well.
Tracy
12/8/2006
Hey! I wanted to post Tracy A.'s follow up to my email about her son, Eli, and his FPIES. Great news! He is eating food in moderation!!!! This info will really help us as we plan for the following year on the Neocate only plan with Addyson. She has currently been on Neocate only since 7 months (we did a 3 day rice cereal trial at 9 months). Hopefully we will all make it through the Neocate only easily. Its so hard not being able to let her eat like an average 11 month old. I am going to try to not use the word "normal" and call other babies "average" and not feel sorry for Addy but it will be tough. She wants to eat so bad but it does hurt her so much when she sneaks something small. Please keep praying that Addyson will be healed soon! The email is below:
Hi there , I'm glad you found me on infantreflux.org, it's been so long since I've been onthere that I'm amazed you did! I'm very happy to say that, as I was a daily presence there for over a year, the length of time it took to get Eli diagnosed and "healthy". I'm glad to say we're doing great, Eli is eating food!! He still drinks neocate one plus (up until a few weeks ago it was his main source of nutrition) but lately he's cut WAY back (he was drinking about 40-48oz a day) today he's only had about 6 oz so far. He's eating whatever he wants now, although he still has eczema and rashes if he eats a lot, doesn't seem to matter what food, more like, the amount of food in proportion to the amount of formula he's drinking. (does that make any sense?) On the days he "mostly drinks" his neocate (meaning he drinks a lot of bottles and only eats a few bites of food) he is fine, no rashes, no eczema, etc. On the days he doesn't drink a lot of neocate and consequently eats more food he gets "rashy". His reactions seem to be related more to how his immune system is doing rather than what he eats. For example, when he has a bad rash or hives almost always he will come down with a fever, or ear infection, or runny nose the very next day. It's almost like his body can handle food as long as he's well rested, isn't coming down with anything, and is healthy. Regardless of what the food is, he's ok until he gets run down, then it seems that no matter what the food is, he has a reaction.
Wierd huh? LOL I'm just laughing because I could sum up his life with those two words.... "wierd huh?". LOL
He still avoids most meats by choice, I don't know if it's cuz it's protein or he just is being a picky three yr old. He LOVES eggs, so that would be wierd if meat bothered him but not eggs? Yah, I'm a wealth of information here huh? Sigh~ SOrry! I wish it were an exact science that I could understand and relay to you, but we're still guessing here too! I do know he tested 4++ allergic to eggs at nine months, and now he eats them with no reaction as long as it's just occaisionally... if he has them too many days in a row he does start the eczema and hives thing.
I'm sorry if I'm sounding "all over the place". It's just that so much has happened in our lives that sometimes I feel like I'm going in a hundred different directions! I was diagnosed with colon cancer in July of 2005, I had my colon, appendix, uterus, ovaries, cervix and about 1/3 of my stomach removed in October '05, I'm just now considering myself recovered. (unless I get hit in the stomach, and then it takes me right back there!) So, THAT was a huge "monkey wrench" in our lives, and then because of bills and my hubby having to quit his job to take care of our six kids last year, we've really been "up in the air". I started my own preschool by renovating my garage this last summer (yah, I'm crazy) so now I work three days a week at home, plus keeping track of my two boys, one's in Kindergarten in tha am, the other is in my morning preschool class, and then he naps while the kindergartener and I do afternoon preschool. Pretty crazy huh?
I'm no expert, but I did learn a LOT with Eli, So.... I'm bruised, broken and cracked, but I am happy to share with you what I learned through Eli's experiences!! LOL
I cannot even imagine what it must feel like to have a kid w/enterocolitis as your first.... I often think that if Eli were my first he would either have died or we'd still be baffled as to what's wrong with him. So much of his diagnosis was me just insisting that something "wasn't right". I usually breast fed my kids until they were at least two, with Eli I just knew my milk was hurting him, even then it took me until he was nine months old to admit that I had to wean him. So... when I weaned him the fun REALLY began! lol That's when we started "formula hopping" and realized he REALLY had problems. So in a way, I"m glad that I weaned him at nine months, because I think it made everything come to a head and impossible to deny that he had problems, and consequently got him diagnosed/treated/cured? in a very short time. I say "cured?" because I'm still not sure he is cured, but I know it's a lot better than it was, and manageable. I don't even know if he's "outgrown" the FPIES, or if he outgrew the "allergies" or what, I just know that he can eat most of the time.
We're so isolated medically, that he hasn't seen a GI or a specialist since Dr. Putnam in Cincinnati. We left there in February of 2005 and he's done beautifully. He was "neocate only" from eleven months until 27 months old. He began his own food trials at 27 months, he just kept sneaking food. He'd get into my food storage in the basement, or find a bag of doritoes in his sister's soccer bag, whatever, he just kept finding food. SO .... after he inhaled an entire plate of scrambled eggs that his big sister left on the table while she answered the phone, we decided it was time to let him eat if he could. So that's how our food trials started, and we began with that plate of scrambled eggs (since he didn't react to them we figured they were 'safe'.) And they are, in moderation. He doesn't have any "forbidden" foods, but he also doesn't have a large variety of foods he will eat. His usual diet is breakfast: oatmeal w/milk (the only time he will drink milk, and then he doesn't actually drink it, just leaves it in the bowl when the oatmeal is gone) toast w/butter, or dry cereal in a bowl (which he usually just picks at) he will drink a bottle of neocate (9oz) around 10 am if he doesn't eat much. For lunch he likes PB&J (with the crusts cut off of course) but usually doesn't eat the whole thing (are you detecting a pattern here? ) lol or sometimes a couple of scrambled eggs. Dinner is usually whatever we're having, but picked at... he likes green beans, corn, carrotts, lettuce etc. it's usually the meat and potatoe, pasta or rice that gets picked at. He wont drink milk of any kind, except sometimes when he seems to "forget" and will drink chocolate milk. He's not big on juices, or candy, not sure why, but they just don't seem to interest him. He LOVES water, the colder the better, and of course "formeela" as he calls it. When he's sick or run down he just drinks neocate, I can always tell when he's getting sick cuz he says no to whatever food we offer him.
I really attribute how well he's doing to how strongly we stuck to the "no food" thing. We started him on neocate only at 11 months, as you know, a tough time to say "no" to a baby who wants what you're putting in your mouth! But Dr. Putnam was VERY specific in saying "absolutely NO food, of ANY kind" and we believed him. We just kept distracting him, and if he asked for food we'd offer a bottle and say "sorry buddy, hurta tummy". He started understanding and stopped asking for food around 16 mos. For a while there people would offer him a cookie (in stores, etc>) and he'd say with a frown "no! Hurta tummy!" It was very cute. I tried REALLY hard not to feel sorry for him, I knew if I did that it would not be good for him, that he'd sense somehow that he was "missing out" and I didn't want a kid that felt "entitled" somehow, so we treated him like he was perfectly normal, and he thought he was.
I got some flack from strangers/even some family, but it only took a couple of "reactions" when he got food for people to see how sick it made him. It was tough at times, I once had a doctor say to me "do we have to start worrying about "Munchausen's" with you?" That was a low point, I felt REALLY angry, but luckily my own doctor was there and said to me later "If you ever get that from any doctor, just give them my number, I'll tell them that I delivered this kid and have treated him since birth, if anyone knows he's a freak of nature, it's me!" LOL That made me feel much better! lol
Soo..... I don't know if any of this has helped in any way... but I'm happy to do whatever I can to help you through this....
If you just need to vent, call me, I'm usually free to talk... I do teach school on Tues/Wed/Thurs from 9-11am and 12:30-2:30pm, but other than that I'm around~ feel free to call whenever you'd like. My home # is Oh, we live in Idaho, so if you're in Georgia you're two hours ahead of us... BTW... my brother lives in GA as well... I can't remember the town (they just moved there) but I'll find out... maybe we'll be in your neck of the woods sometime! lol
Nice to meet you! ~ Tracy Alvarez
ps... may I commend your parents on a nice choice of a name! lol
12/4/2006
Merry Christmas Everyone! We are all doing great! Addyson is walking (almost running) around everywhere. She is still loving her weekly music class and playgroup. And she also goes to daycare for an hour a day while I am at the gym. So she is getting out and playing with other kids everyday. She loves it! We hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
Jeremy, Tracy & Addyson
This is a post that I found after doing a search on enterocolitis (what Addy has...and FPIES is the same thing...Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome)...its sad to read this post but at least I found someone that might be dealing with the same issues as Addy's. I hope Addy's system heals and can tolerate protein sooner than what this post says...It is long but it offers a lot of info on what Addy is going through. This is a post on infantreflux.org to another poster. This was not directed to me. FYI: Addy is on Neocate only and does not get any other food. Ironically this poster's name is Tracy too. Though you all might like to read it:
It sounds to me like you're dealing with FPIES. The reason I say that is that one of the characteristics of FPIES (that is often overlooked by doctors who don't deal with it frequently) is the lethargy associated with protein exposure. My son Eli would lay in our arms and the only thing that would move was his eyes. This was a rambunctuous one yr old who was reduced to a limp rag with just four bites of baby food. (usually the more severe reactions were traced to a dairy link) His reactions usually occured within two hours of food exposure, they would begin with his decreased activity, progress to turning "gray-ish" and then the vomitting would begin. We didn't have a lot of blood in his stool, but he did have constant diarrhea. His endoscopy/colonoscopy at 16 mos showed almost no eosinophilic cells, again, is that due to the neocate, or just the fact that he's FPIES instead of Eos. gastroenteritis? Dr. Putnam told me it really doesn't matter which he has, the treatment is the same. (Neocate ONLY) for as long as you can stand it. Truely if your child has FPIES or an eos disorder, if they could stay on neocate only until they were eight yrs old, you'd know if you had a kid that would ever tolerate food or not. The problem is compliance.... MOST kids really struggle being neocate only, and moms and dads give in, and the cycle starts all over again. There is significant literature and findings that support the theory that every SINGLE food protein exposure (including ALL food, fruit and veggies alike) reduces the chances of said child "outgrowing" this condition. I know that sounds kind of "fanatical" but I have to say, if two or three yrs of diligence on my part can save my son a lifetime of gastroenterological problems (is that even a word???) then I'll be the first one to say "bring on the no food".
Much as I hope that Eli does fine with his first food trial of rice next yr (when he's three) I will tell you, if he fails the rice trial, I'm not going to push it, I will commit to as many more years of "neocate only" as Dr. Putnam thinks it will take to get his immune system and digestive system under control.
I'm sorry I'm so long winded, but I wanted to say, if I were in your shoes, and knew what I do now, I would make neocate the sole source of nutrition for your baby, and keep it that way, until either a food trial or an absence of reaction with accidental exposure showed me that it was unecessary. If I trialed rice (Dr. Putnam's suggestion, rice for three months) and failed, I would wait two yrs from the trial to try again. (I know that sounds like forever, but it's the standard that's out there right now) So can you see why I would hesitate to trial food until your baby is older? If you wait until 18 mos for the first food trial, the chances of your baby passing that trial are so much better, and you don't get bumped back two yrs in the process. The other positive to going neocate only at an early age is it's much easier to enforce . They do eventually learn to like food, and taking away something they really like is heartbreaking. Eli is at the point where he has had no food for almost 13 mos now, he will sit at the table for meals with us (in restaurants and home) and examine our food, comment on it, but almost NEVER beg for it, or try to eat it. He doesn't cry or feel left out because we make a point of including him in mealtime, we give him his bottle before dinner, put him in his highchair at mealtime, and give him a big bowl of shaved ice. He truely is content, so something is working. Being neocate only is different, but it's not a horrible thing, especially when you have a healthy, happy baby who sleeps all night, naps during the day, sings all the time and is so obviously well. I just look at him and know it's worth all of the effort. We have not had one emergency room visit in almost an entire year. He hasn't had a doctors appointment all summer, in fact, since his tubes in his ears we've not been to the doctor once! (I can't remember when he got the tubes, I think it was march?) I compare that to the constant worry, walking the floors with a sick baby , and blood draws, x-rays, CT scans, endoscopies, colonoscopies, GI visits.... I could go on... but suffice it to say, neocate only is the best thing that ever happened to us, I only wish I'd know when he was three weeks old!
Have I bored you to tears yet? I"M SORRY! I tend to be long winded.... but here are some links and info I have.... my advice is RESEARCH and TALK TO EVERY DOCTOR YOU MEET... don't give up... keep looking... you WILL find an answer that "fits" you and your baby.
I'll post that info after this post, as it is long as well. Good luck, and if you need a direct question answered and I don't catch this post, you can e-mail me at (ann abie @ cable one . net) just leave out the spaces. My heart goes out to you in your struggle. Been there~ Tracy
11/27/2006
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week! We all went up to Huntsville to visit all the family. Addy had fun walking around and playing at everyone's houses. We can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas! Happy Holidays!
~Tracy and Jeremy
11/20/2006
War Eagle!!!! We had a great weekend! Auburn won, of course and Addy got to see Aubie in person for the first time! We went to the basketball game on Sunday afternoon and Aubie came and sat with us for awhile. Addy seemed to like him but was confused by his feet for some reason. It was cute!
We are looking forward to seeing everyone this week! Its been so long since we've been home. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!
~Jeremy and Tracy
11/14/2006
Addyson is officially a walker! She only crawls now if she needs to get somewhere super fast...like to Mozelle's dog food bowl as I am saying "no, Addy". Its so amazing how quickly she picked up on it...now she's an old pro! We are very proud of our little girl...well now maybe big girl! We are looking forward to seeing a lot of you on Thanksgiving weekend!
11/9/2006
Addyson got another tooth! They just keep popping through...thats 3 in 2 weeks! Its her left front tooth...too cute!
11/8/2006
Hey again! I forgot to post this yesterday. These are just a few of the new things that Addyson has learned: she gives high fives, she clicks her tongue, she claps all the time now, and I promise yesterday that she said disco...hahaha!
11/7/2006
Hey Everyone~
We had our family pictures made last night for the church directory. They turned out pretty good. Addy did great though! Of course she didn't smile her big smile and some of the pictures were funny bc she was looking at the camera guy like "what are you doing?". But it was fun!
Addy is taking more steps on her own! Jeremy and her walked around tons last night while we were waiting for our turn. I think that gave her a lot of confidence. She is walking a lot more today than she was yesterday!
Her stubborn tooth finally popped through. It took over a week for that thing to get through...it was a rough one!
Well, we tried lowering Addy's dosage of the Zegerid to see if she had outgrown the reflux but it did not work out well. I talked with Dr. Phillips (pharmacist who invented Zegerid) last week to make sure we did it correctly so that she wouldn't have a rebound effect where the acid producing cells start producing tons of acid at once to overcompinsate for the lack of meds. He suggested removing her middle of the day dose which is what we did but she began refluxing very badly the next day mixed with some silent refluxing. She is now back on the Zegerid 3 times per day and is still refluxing a bit but he said that would soon be over. We will try to take her off of it again at one year and see if that works! Please continue to keep her in your daily prayers! She is doing so great compared to 3 months ago and we are so very thankful!
Hope you all have a great week!
Tracy
11/8/2006
Hey again! I forgot to post this yesterday. These are just a few of the new things that Addyson has learned: she gives high fives, she clicks her tongue, she claps all the time now, and I promise yesterday that she said disco...hahaha!
11/7/2006
Hey Everyone~
We had our family pictures made last night for the church directory. They turned out pretty good. Addy did great though! Of course she didn't smile her big smile and some of the pictures were funny bc she was looking at the camera guy like "what are you doing?". But it was fun!
Addy is taking more steps on her own! Jeremy and her walked around tons last night while we were waiting for our turn. I think that gave her a lot of confidence. She is walking a lot more today than she was yesterday!
Her stubborn tooth finally popped through. It took over a week for that thing to get through...it was a rough one!
Well, we tried lowering Addy's dosage of the Zegerid to see if she had outgrown the reflux but it did not work out well. I talked with Dr. Phillips (pharmacist who invented Zegerid) last week to make sure we did it correctly so that she wouldn't have a rebound effect where the acid producing cells start producing tons of acid at once to overcompinsate for the lack of meds. He suggested removing her middle of the day dose which is what we did but she began refluxing very badly the next day mixed with some silent refluxing. She is now back on the Zegerid 3 times per day and is still refluxing a bit but he said that would soon be over. We will try to take her off of it again at one year and see if that works! Please continue to keep her in your daily prayers! She is doing so great compared to 3 months ago and we are so very thankful!
Hope you all have a great week!
Tracy
11/8/2006
Hey again! I forgot to post this yesterday. These are just a few of the new things that Addyson has learned: she gives high fives, she clicks her tongue, she claps all the time now, and I promise yesterday that she said disco...hahaha!
11/7/2006
Hey Everyone~
We had our family pictures made last night for the church directory. They turned out pretty good. Addy did great though! Of course she didn't smile her big smile and some of the pictures were funny bc she was looking at the camera guy like "what are you doing?". But it was fun!
Addy is taking more steps on her own! Jeremy and her walked around tons last night while we were waiting for our turn. I think that gave her a lot of confidence. She is walking a lot more today than she was yesterday!
Her stubborn tooth finally popped through. It took over a week for that thing to get through...it was a rough one!
Well, we tried lowering Addy's dosage of the Zegerid to see if she had outgrown the reflux but it did not work out well. I talked with Dr. Phillips (pharmacist who invented Zegerid) last week to make sure we did it correctly so that she wouldn't have a rebound effect where the acid producing cells start producing tons of acid at once to overcompinsate for the lack of meds. He suggested removing her middle of the day dose which is what we did but she began refluxing very badly the next day mixed with some silent refluxing. She is now back on the Zegerid 3 times per day and is still refluxing a bit but he said that would soon be over. We will try to take her off of it again at one year and see if that works! Please continue to keep her in your daily prayers! She is doing so great compared to 3 months ago and we are so very thankful!
Hope you all have a great week!
Tracy
11/7/2006
Hey Everyone~
We had our family pictures made last night for the church directory. They turned out pretty good. Addy did great though! Of course she didn't smile her big smile and some of the pictures were funny bc she was looking at the camera guy like "what are you doing?". But it was fun!
Addy is taking more steps on her own! Jeremy and her walked around tons last night while we were waiting for our turn. I think that gave her a lot of confidence. She is walking a lot more today than she was yesterday!
Her stubborn tooth finally popped through. It took over a week for that thing to get through...it was a rough one!
Well, we tried lowering Addy's dosage of the Zegerid to see if she had outgrown the reflux but it did not work out well. I talked with Dr. Phillips (pharmacist who invented Zegerid) last week to make sure we did it correctly so that she wouldn't have a rebound effect where the acid producing cells start producing tons of acid at once to overcompinsate for the lack of meds. He suggested removing her middle of the day dose which is what we did but she began refluxing very badly the next day mixed with some silent refluxing. She is now back on the Zegerid 3 times per day and is still refluxing a bit but he said that would soon be over. We will try to take her off of it again at one year and see if that works! Please continue to keep her in your daily prayers! She is doing so great compared to 3 months ago and we are so very thankful!
Hope you all have a great week!
Tracy
11/1/2006
We all went and trick or treated in Downtown Auburn last night. It was so much fun! They had a steel drum band and lots of little activities for the kiddos. Addyson loved the band! I went as a lady bug and Jeremy was a tourist. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!
~Tracy
10/31/2006
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
We are all doing great! I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Halloween!
~Jeremy and Tracy
10/23/2006
Hey everyone!
Addyson is doing great! She's finally over the whole rice cereal thing and doing so well. She took 5 steps in a row on Friday...it was so fun to watch...she'll be walking everywhere in no time! And she learned how to clap too!
Jeremy surprised me for my birthday and took me to a fancy hotel in Buckhead and to P.F Chang's for dinner...we had so much fun! It was a great surprise and a wonderful birthday. Jeremy's Mom and Floyd babysat for us while we were away. Thank you, Addyson has so much fun!!!! It was a nice break but we were ready to get home to our little pumpkin! Its amazing how much we miss her when we are away. We are headed to the beach for 4 nights this week with a few friends and I am so nervous! It will be our longest trip away from her. My parents are babysitting and so I know she will have fun. But we will miss her terribly!
Thank you for your continued prayers! God has truly blessed us! We are so thankful that Addyson is doing wonderful!
Tracy
10/17/2006
I talked with Dr. LaRussa (allergist in Bham) yesterday. He told us to wait to offer her any more solids until she reaches a year old. At that time, we will schedule another appointment with him and go from there. I am so happy he gave us those directions...it made me feel so much better since that is what my instincts were telling me to do and now finally a doctor agreed with them! So Addy will stay on the Neocate only for the next 3 months to let her heal completely and then we will try it again. The good news is that she is gaining weight perfectly and her iron levels are perfect too! She just needs a little bit more time which is fine with us.
But, me and Addy both have a yucky cold this week. She's been sleeping most of the morning....and so have I. I hope we both get better before the weekend! Jeremy has my birthday extravaganza planned and I would hate to be sick! He's kept the whole thing a secret from me though... :o)
Take care!
~Tracy
10/14/2006
Unfortunately, Addyson's stool tested positive for blood yesterday. She has horrilbe gas and her tummy is so bloated...its hard as a rock. So we are definitely staying away from rice cereal and all solids for quite a while....most likely til one year. I found an interesting article connecting omeprazole (what Addy's on for her reflux-Zegerid) and food allergies. I will post the article below for those that are interested. So because of this, we have decided to stop giving her the Zegerid at the end of this month. We are waiting until her tummy and reflux have settled down from the cereal. If the reflux starts bothering her extremely bad, we will probably put her back on the Zegerid to ease her pain and keep her esophagus from getting any erosions. Please keep her in your prayers and please pray that we make the right decisions concerning her medical treatment. She is such a brave and wonderful little angel and we have learned so much from her. We couldn't imagine our life without this sweet, loving, strong little girl! Thank you for all your prayers!
Much love,
Jeremy and Tracy
ISLAMABAD: There may be a connection between taking a proton pump inhibitor or an H-2 receptor blocker and developing a food allergy, according to researchers in Austria.
"I think the implications are so important," said Dr. Erika Jensen-Jarolim, professor of medicine and immunology at the University of Vienna. "Our hypothesis appears to be right in that digestible proteins may act as food allergens when physiological digestion is hampered."
Dr. Jensen-Jarolim, who presented her study findings here at the World Allergy Congress on Wednesday, said individuals taking antacid medications, which affect acid secretion or neutralize the pH within the stomach, may be setting up a situation where harmless food proteins may turn into potential allergens. Gastric digestion depends on the presence of acid and pepsin, a protein-degrading enzyme activated at high acidic levels. However, elevation of pH levels hinders pepsin secretion, which hampers protein digestion.
The Austrian researchers conducted studies in which they fed mice hazelnut proteins and other typical food allergens. The mice did not develop a food allergy when given these proteins. However, they did develop food allergies in response to these proteins when they were given the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole, or the H-2 receptor blocker ranitidine.
Working with colleagues in Hungary, Dr. Jensen-Jarolim also found that this was the case when they conducted a similar study with 153 patients being treated with acid depression therapy. The data are very new and have not been published yet, Dr. Jensen-Jarolim told. "But it goes well with the animal data."
In the animal studies, the mice only developed allergic responses specifically directed at the novel protein, but not to components in their daily diet. Dr. Jensen-Jarolim explained that the body builds up a tolerance to foods normally consumed, and so it is only when an entirely new food source is introduced that a problem may occur. She said acid suppression may allow proteins to be introduced that produce an allergic reaction.
"This is the good news," said Dr. Jensen-Jarolim. "Stick to the diet you know and don't try exotic foods and don't make experiments." She said that an estimated 10% of the adult population is now being treated for dyspeptic disorders and many are taking over-the-counter medications. But she said for those individuals at high risk for food allergies, this may be a problem and they may want to discuss it with their physicians.
"H-2 receptor blockers are now on the store shelves and this may be creating allergy patients," Dr. Jensen-Jarolim said. "These medications are very important, but doctors may want to tell their patients that there may be this connection and patients shouldn't eat novel foods that they have never had before."
10/10/2006
Hey everyone!
I have a correction. I talked with a nurse from Dr. LaRussa's office today and what they think Addyson has is called Protein Enterocolitis. Below is a little info about it...I have not had much time to do a lot of research yet but this explains it pretty well.
Dietary protein enterocolitis, also known as protein intolerance (Table 5), is a disorder that appears most often in infants between 1 week and 3 months of age. Typically, symptoms are confined to the gastrointestinal tract and consist of recurrent vomiting and diarrhea.6 They can be severe enough to cause dehydration. Cow's milk and soy protein (particularly in infant formulas) are most often responsible for the syndrome, although egg sensitivity has been reported in older patients. The disorder tends to disappear by 18 to 24 months of age.
TABLE 5
Dietary protein enterocolitis
Manifestations
Abdominal distension
Anemia
Diarrhea with bleeding
Emesis
Failure to thrive
Fecal leukocytes
Food challenge: vomiting in 3–4 hr; diarrhea in 5–8 hr
Hypotension
Normal IgE antibodies
Age at onset
1 d to 1 yr
Implicated proteins
Cow’s milk, soy, rice, poultry, fish
Pathology
Patchy villous injury and colitis
Treatment
80% or more of cases respond to hydrolyzed casein formula, and symptoms clear in 3–10 d
As many as 20% of cases require L-amino acid formula or temporary intravenous therapy
Natural history
Generally: With treatment, 50% of cases resolve by 18 mo of age; 90% resolve by 36 mo
Cow’s milk: With treatment, 50% of cases resolve by 18 mo of age; 90% resolve by 36 mo
Soy: Illness is often more persistent
Adapted from Sampson HA, Anderson JA: Summary and recommendations: Classification of gastrointestinal manifestations due to immunologic reactions to foods in infants and young children. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2000;30(suppl 1):S91
Children with dietary protein enterocolitis often produce stool that contains occult blood, polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), eosinophils, and reducing substances (indicating malabsorbed sugars). Skin prick tests for the suspected food protein are characteristically negative. Jejunal biopsy classically reveals flattened villi, edema, and increased numbers of lymphocytes, eosinophils, and mast cells. A food challenge with the responsible protein generally results in vomiting and diarrhea within minutes to several hours, occasionally leading to shock. A number of children with this condition are sensitive to both cow's milk and soy protein.
Elimination of the offending allergen generally leads to improvement or resolution of symptoms within 72 hours, although secondary disacchoridase deficiency may persist longer.6 Oral food challenge—which should be done in a medical setting because it can induce severe vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, or hypotension—consists of administering 0.6 g/kg of body weight of the suspected food allergen.6
~Tracy
And, Addyson got her second bottom tooth yesterday!!!!
10/4/2006
Addy and I went to the allergist, Dr. LaRussa, in Birmingham on Monday. Things couldn't have gone better! :o) He did a 22 food allergy test and she passed each one! So no food allergies for her!! We are so happy! She was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Proctocolitis. (I believe that is what it was...I know I couldn't pronounce it and looked it up online when we got home...I am going to ask him to write it down for me when we go back in 3 weeks.) Basically, it is that her intestines can not digest protein and they are not fully developed. The good news is that she will overcome this and be fully able to eat anything by 2 1/2 years old (on the average). He wants to keep her on Neocate until 1 year and then switch back to Nutramigen and at 18 months switch to soy formula and at 2 to 2 1/2 years go to whole milk. He wanted us to start her on rice cereal to train her digestive system how to digest proteins and in a week, we will add pears and stay with that til her next appt if all goes well. We are so thankful and could not of received better news. Thank you for all your prayers! Take care!
Tracy
10/1/2006
She took her first step today!!!!
Jeremy and I were so excited! She took one step and then stood there for a bit before she fell on her bottom. Then a while later, she took 2 steps in a row. It is so fun to watch! I was thrilled that Jeremy and I, both, got to see her take her first steps!
We are going to an allergist in Birmingham on Monday to talk about Addy's food intolerances. I tried giving her a piece of an apple this week and she loved it, but her intolerance symptoms came back. We are praying he will have some advice for us.
Addy's 9 month check-up is on Oct. 12...no shots this time! (Well except for a flu shot, but no immunizations!) It should be a smooth check up since we have other doctors to check on her belly now.
Everything is going wonderful down here in Auburn. I hope you are all doing well...come and visit us anytime! We love you all!
Tracy
9/24/2006
WAR EAGLE!
Addyson had so much fun tailgating and going to her first real Auburn Football Game. (She went to the A-Day game back in the spring when she was 2 1/2 months old.) She was wonderful! She stayed the entire game and took a nap, during half time of course, and woke up at kick-off. We were so proud of our little tiger. We had a great weekend! Addy got to hang out with her Uncle Scott and his friend, Virginia.
9/20/2006
Addy got her first tooth!!!! And now she's working on her second bottom tooth....its so cute and tiny!
Addyson is doing wonderful!!! We could not be more thrilled. We are so happy that the doctors and us have found the perfect combination to settle her tummy and her immune system. She is doing just great! We could not be more thankful...God has truly blessed us and answered so many prayers. Our prayer now is that by her first birthday, she will be able to tolerate some solids.
Addyson is getting into everything and (I think) will be walking in a month or so. She can stand for a bit on her own and can squat without holding on.
Take care! We love you all! And I promise to update the pictures soon!
Tracy
9/9/2006
Addyson is doing good! She has learned new sounds...now she's on ba ba ba ba....and she has already said da da and ta ta ta. She is standing and walking holding onto the furniture. She pulls up on EVERYTHING. We are so proud of her progress.
Addy went to her first birthday party today...she had a great time! But she has the sniffles this afternoon so I think she may be coming down with a cold. I bought a humidifier and hopefully that will help a little.
I hope you are all doing great! We can't wait to hang out with all of you from Nashville next weekend...War Eagle! Addyson is staying with her Nanny and Paw-Paw for her first over night stay away from Mommy and Daddy...I hope it goes well for me and for her!
Tracy
9/5/2006
We had Addyson's follow up doctor's appt in Atlanta today with Dr Cohen (the pediatic gastroenterologist). It went great! Addy's liver is back to normal size and the labs came back good concerning her liver. We were never called about the tests because The Children's Hospital entered her name in as Williams Addyson so they were never forwarded to her doctor. The allergy test came back fine as well. No allergy showed up...not even to milk! So we are assumming all her problems are intolerances....multiple food protein intolerances. Dr Cohen wants us to try fruits but only peaches and bananas. I am allergic to bananas so we aren't sure if we want to try those....possibly peaches in a few weeks. He also wants us to see a Pediatric Food Allergist. We have asked our pediatrician to try and find one closer than Atlanta but the odds are, we will be driving back up there to see one. Dr Cohen said there are only 3 in Atlanta that are good and that he would refer us to so I think it will be hard to find one in any smaller city around here. We were overall very happy with the visit and Addyson is doing great! God is so good!
Addyson is crawling around so fast these days and getting into everything...the trash can, the toilet, computer wires and her most favorite...the puppy's food and water! We have to keep a close eye on her. She's one busy bee!
Jeremy & Tracy
8/28/2006
We heard great news on Friday...Neocate is going to be covered! Yay! That takes a big worry off Jeremy and I.
We took a trip to Huntsville this weekend to visit with family. We all had such a good time! Unfortunately, I got sick but got some anti-biotics and am feeling better now...ugh! Addyson had a great time with her grandparents!! She rode on the tractor with her Paw-Paw and played outside with Nanny, Aunt Angel, Brittney, Lucas and Logan. And she went to eat dinner and play Saturday night with Mamie, Pop and Meme.
Next Tuesday is Addyson's follow-up doctor's appt with Dr Cohen in Atlanta. I guess we will hear the results of her tests then. Praying for good news!
Love you all!
Tracy
8/23/2006
Addy stood by herself yesterday for 10 or so seconds! She was holding onto my hands and standing and then she let go and just stood there!!! It was so fun to watch. She did it again today at our mommy group for a bit...the gals were impressed!
Addy is getting better and recovering from the green beans. Her rash is almost gone now. :)
Our insurance denied to cover her Neocate...I mailed in a letter for an appeal today and her GI is mailing another letter as well. Keep this in your prayers!
I also found out today the exact tests that were ran on Addyson. (I didn't know the name of them all before.) They are: CBC, liver profile, RAST test, and a gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. We are still waiting on all the results but should know by Friday.
Love you all!
Tracy
8/22/2006
Unfortunately, I spoke too soon about the green beans. :( She has several symptoms like before....one being the increased rash on her face and back and a couple of others that I won't mention. I have a strong feeling that she has MFPI (Multiple Food Protein Intolerances). This is an except from a website that explains it very well:
Food intolerance is the term used for non-immune reactions to food; however they do involve the immune system. The offending food (generally protein) enters the bloodstream, and the immature immune system treats it like a foreign object
or antigen (i.e. virus), and reacts to it forming a non IgE antibody. The effects of food intolerance can be dose related and may build up over days from eating a range of foods containing the same problem substance.
This is the link that goes into further detail if you are interested. (It explains the difference between food allergies and food intolerance.):
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~disa/Food%20intol-alergic%20baby.html
So today we are not giving her anymore green beans. We plan on waiting until her symptoms totally clear up and trying peas and if that fails, we will not try another food until we go back to the GI specialist on Sep 7th. Another good thing about her being on the Neocate Formula, is that it is a complete source of nutrition for her until she is a year old. So if we need to wait to offer her solids until a year, she will get all the nutrition she needs from her formula. At first I was very sad that it seems like she can't eat anything and be a normal little girl, but I realized, it totally does not matter. As long as she is healthy and happy, she will be fine and she is a normal little girl and acheiving new milestones all the time! And solids can just wait for her system to mature.
I am still waiting on our insurance to accept or deny the Neocate claim. Hopefully I will hear something today.
Hope you are all doing well! Take care!
Tracy
8/20/2006
We have Addyson fully stocked up on formula, so we shouldn't run into any problems like we had on Thursday again! Wow was that a stressful situation! We still have not heard back from the insurance yet but Apria (the company we get her formula from) says we should know something by Monday...they didn't sound too hopeful though. Please keep praying that insurance covers this for us.
Good news: Addyson seems to be doing good!!! Praise God!!! She has had several good days in a row and she ate green beans on Saturday and Sunday morning! She didn't show any signs of an allergy either!!!!!!!! I hope I am not speaking too soon but we are thrilled! When I got her up from her nap on Saturday morning, I cried tears of joy because her rash wasn't worse and she was in a good mood so her tummy probably wasn't hurting! We are going to stick with the green beans for a week and then try peas at dinner time if all goes well. I pray that it does. She is such a wonderful little trooper and we are so proud of her and how far she's come!
We are still waiting on the test results to come back. Hopefully we will hear something this week. I will post something as soon as I get any news.
Thanks again for all your continued prayers! Hope you all have a good week!
Tracy
8/17/2006
I am so sorry but we won't be able to come home this weekend. We are going through some problems with the formula provider and the insurance. I am hoping everything works out for us to come home next weekend! We are all anxious to see everyone and for you all to see Addy crawling around and pulling up! We love you all!
Jeremy & Tracy
8/15/2006
Addyson ate so good this morning! Yay! She ate 6 oz and I was thrilled! I hope this continues...thank you for your prayers!
Tracy
8/14/2006
Addyson is not eating well again. We can't figure out what the problem could be since she is on the prescription formula and Zegerid for reflux. We have not yet started any solids since we aren't over this hurdle yet and do not want to throw another variable into the mix that may hurt her tummy more. This morning at 8:00, she ate 2 oz and a hour later ate 2 more. I am thankful that she will eat a little so that she won't get dehydrated. She still has a rash on her face so either the formula or the medicine is bothering her I guess. Nights are also still a rough time for her. She only woke up twice last night but was up crying for an hour at 1:00 am. I pray that when we go back to the doctor in September, he will focus more on her problems. We still have not gotten the test results back yet. I will post something as soon I as find out. Thank you for your prayers! Take care!
Tracy
8/14/2006
Addyson is not eating well again. We can't figure out what the problem could be since she is on the prescription formula and Zegerid for reflux. We have not yet started any solids since we aren't over this hurdle yet and do not want to throw another variable into the mix that may hurt her tummy more. This morning at 8:00, she ate 2 oz and a hour later ate 2 more. I am thankful that she will eat a little so that she won't get dehydrated. She still has a rash on her face so either the formula or the medicine is bothering her I guess. Nights are also still a rough time for her. She only woke up twice last night but was up crying for an hour at 1:00 am. I pray that when we go back to the doctor in September, he will focus more on her problems. We still have not gotten the test results back yet. I will post something as soon I as find out. Thank you for your prayers! Take care!
Tracy
8/8/2006
Back on the Zegerid....I had a feeling that wouldn't take too long. Addyson started showing symptoms this afternoon of her reflux bothering her. I talked with the nurse in Atlanta and Dr Cohen told us to start on the Zegerid again. A short little break but now she is feeling better. Just waiting on the blood tests to come back now.
~Tracy
8/7/2006
We just got home from Atlanta not to long ago. Addy's doctor's visit went well. He hopes she only is having troubles with several food allergies and did some blood work (RAST test) to confirm her allergies. If that is inconclusive, he wants her to have an Upper GI. He also found that her liver is a bit enlarged and is also running blood tests to check on that. He decided to take her off the Zegerid as he felt she may only have food allergies since she is doing so well on the Neocate. I am very nervous about her not being on any meds, but I am praying that this works! She is still gaining weight well...18 lbs 1 oz and 27 inches long. We go back to him in a month. Please continue to pray for her...especially that she does great without medication. Thanks for all your love and support!
~Tracy & Jeremy
7/31/2006
Hi everyone! We had a great weekend! Nanny and Paw-Paw came down to visit Addy Belle and she loved getting to play all weekend. She is doing much better! I think the Neocate formula is really helping. Her rash has improved and we can tell she feels a lot better....more playing and less crying! Only 1 week til her Pediatric GI appointment...we are looking forward to it...it will be great to go to a doctor that deals with these issues all the time and is well educated on it. Hope you are all doing well!
Tracy
7/28/2006
Hey everyone~
I talked with Dr. Cohen's nurse in Atlanta and told her Addy's symptoms and that her rash was spreading. She said she needed to be on Neocate (Rx hypoallergenic formula) now because a week and a half was to long to wait especially since she had black pieces in her stool which were most likely blood from the allergy irritating her intestines. So today we are gradually introducing the Neocate, because switching all at once would be too much of a shock to her system and her tummy might get even more upset. I am definitely looking forward to her appt on August 7th...I hope this is a turning point for Addyson! Thank you for all your prayers!
~Tracy
7/24/2006
Hi everyone!
Addyson had an exciting weekend...she fully learned to crawl! She can go from room to room now...its so much fun to watch her.
Her eating changed this weekend. I was afraid on Friday that she was going back to refusing food again but luckily she did not. She is not taking in the full amount that she was before, but it has only decreased by 2-4 oz per day. We are hoping this is just a short phase. We are also afraid that she will not be able to take the Nutramigen formula (hypo allergenic). She is showing several signs of an allergen in her system and since she is not on solids yet, we assume it is the formula. We hope time moves quickly until August 7th when we go to the specialist in Atlanta. We are hoping to get tons of info from him and get her many food intolerances and GER under control. Continue to pray for her!
Love you all!
Tracy
7/19/2006
Addyson is doing so well these days with her GER (Gastroesophageal Reflux). She is currently on Zegerid which seems to be working great for her! We will be going to Dr. Cohen of the Children's Center for Digestive Health Care in Atlanta on August 7th. He is a Pediatric Gastroenterologist and Nutritionist. We are hoping this helps with her GER, MSPI (milk/soy protein intolerance) as well as other food intolerances. She is currently not taking solid foods due to the many intolerances, but we have hope that she will grow out of this. Overall we are thrilled with where Addyson is...she is eating her formula very well and her GER seems to be under control. She is one tough cookie!
7/18/2006
Welcome to Addyson's Website! I created it today and will be updating and adding more pictures to it later. Hope you all enjoy! Check back often for new news and pictures!
~Tracy
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