Good-Gosh-A-Mighty Mamma!

The things kids say. smh

Levi was an early talker, with many words before he was a year old, 3-4 word sentences by 18-20 months, and full-blown conversations on his "cell phone" and with "Scout" at 24-28 months.

We've already shared his anecdote, "Lord-A-Mercy" in an earlier blog post. Well, a new one is "Good-Gosh-A-Mighty Mamma." I'm sorry, what? Yea...like, good gosh a mighty Mamma, I'm hungry. Don't ask me where he picked that one up, but at least his pick-ups have been clean...so far.

Well, except for the "s" word. Noooo, that that "s" word. But, the s-h-u-t-u-p one. I thought maybe I'd misunderstood when my darling little angel child said, "Shutup Mamma." Excuse me, what was that? "SHUTUP MAMMA." (followed by a silly little giggle) Ok, A. We don't use that word in our house (shush or be quiet are our words). B. EXCUSE ME?!? Did you REALLY just tell your own mother, the one who carried you in her belly for 39 weeks, and was in labor for 4 days, and was cut from hip to hip just to get you here, to shut up? Surely you didn't. So, yea. We had a nice little discussion about how that word is an ugly word and we don't use it in our family. He tried to pull it once more, this time, aimed at his Thomas the Train bathroom toys while playing in the pool. That was nearly a week ago. We haven't heard it since. Fingers are crossed that we don't hear it again.

And, the cutest new thing? Each night when I'm putting Levi to bed, we have a routine. Bathtime. YumYums & Chewies (medicine). Nose spray (allergies). Fish mask (breathing treatment). Love Daddy night-night. Crawl into bed. Mamma reads a 'tory'. We say bed-time prayers. We give kisses and noses. I rub his back for just a minute. I leave the room. Well, last night, I guess I was dragging a bit and didn't get to the back rub in time, so I get this: "Mamma, you pet me!" Pet. Well, I guess we've referred to he and Bailey as brothers for so long, Levi's starting to think that he's a dog. Who needs to be pet. Do we win the Parents of the Year award for that one?

Oh, and one more thing...

To my Daddy, Granddaddy, Father-in-law, Stepdad, and Husband, I wish you all a very Happy Father's Day! Here's a picture of me with my Daddy and my Husband. I love you guys so much!

Report from Duke Pediatric Specialists

Our most recent journey to finding the root cause of Levi's frequent respiratory illnesses led us to Duke Pediatric Consultative Services. In April we met with the Allergy/Immunology Specialist where Levi was skin tested for allergies and had some bloodwork done. In May we met with the Gastroenterology Specialist to discuss Levi's diagnosed "reflux" and how it's management affects his asthma symptoms. And, today, we met with the Pulmonology and Sleep Specialist to discuss his asthma care plan, next steps, and sleep disturbances.

Allergy/Immunology: Skin test was negative for all triggers. And after the test, specialist tells me that, while the test was negative, this does not mean that he does not have allergies because many children will not show a proper allergic reaction during a skin test until they are at least 36 months of age. The next step was bloodwork. The results are really inconclusive, but did show decreased levels of Ig-M (Immunoglobulin Type M - which aid in the creation of T-Cell antibodies), good immunological responses to all diseases against which he's been vaccinated, and a very elevated white blood cell count. The doctor is, at this time, not concerned with any of the results and we will follow up in August to see if things have improved.

GI: There is some concern that we have been treating Levi for diagnosed "reflux" since he was 3 months old when his symptoms sound more like Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE for short). While the treatement for GERD (reflux) that Levi has been on is a part of the treatment plan if he does, in fact, have EE, there will be an added medication to help reduce the swelling and inflammation associated with EE (which may be exacerbating his asthma symptoms when he gets a cold). In order to test for EE, Levi will need to have an Endoscopy. GI specialist will defer to Pulmnology before scheduling endoscopy because Pulmonology may want to do a Bronchoscopy and because Levi will need to be "asleep" for both procedures, it's best to do them at the same time.

Pulmonology: No bronchoscopy at this point so GI Specialist will proceed with scheduling endoscopy. Despite testing negative during the skin test for allergies in April, his diagnosis is Asthma/Allergies from the pulmonologist after speaking with the allergy & immunology specialist we saw there. Will defer to GI to schedule and perform the endoscopy, determine diagnosis of EE, and start treatment if diagnosed. Will follow-up in September to allow for diagnosis and at least 30 days of treatment of EE (if diagnosed) to determine if there has been a significant improvement in asthma symptoms. Anticipate scheduling a sleep study in October to test for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). If diagnosed, will recommend removal of tonsils, and follow-up to see if there is improvement. Assured us that while he's not making any changes to treatment plan now, he has "a few tricks up his sleeve" but wants to make sure all 3 of our specialists are in agreement on the plan moving forward and can't do that without the results of the testing we anticipate taking place in July.

Basically, we want to be sure that we are treating the ROOT CAUSE of Levi's frequent infections and not simply the symptoms. His frequency and depth of asthma flare-ups are more than are to be expected from a child his age, with his history, on the treatment plan in place right now.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE THIS LITTLE BOY?!?

The New Classroom and Adjusting

So...when there's a change in your child's life, how long is "normal" for adjusting to it? Levi was moved up the first of May. Since moving, he has cried. Every.single.morning. when I drop him off. What is wrong with my kid? For months upon months, he hadn't cried at drop off unless he was sick. He's not running a fever and doesn't have any abnormal complaints, so sick can't be the problem.

Is it normal for it to take a month or more to adjust? Is it just because the first week, he missed 3 days, then the 3rd week he missed 3 days (he was sick that time), and now, going into the first week of the new month, he had a 3-day weekend that was extended by one day on account of a doctor's appointment, making it a whole 4-day weekend? Sure, maybe that's all it is, and once we can settle into an actual "routine," he'll settle down. Right?