Family Pictures!

We had family pictures taken earlier this month.  We always wait until Wal Mart Photagraphy Studio has a special and then go.  The kids all did very well.  The more kids you get the harder it is to get them all to cooperate to get a good picture.  I wasn't sure how Rilla would do.  I knew she would either do great or not be cooperative at all.  Luckily, she did great.  I didn't expect Shirley to smile for a stranger.  As for my boys, I am all about bribing them.  Walter got  a transformer t-shirt for doing a great job and Jem got a pack of 5 hot wheel cars.  Rilla got a princess crown (just because her brothers got something).

Allergic!

I wrote a post in August about Shirley finally eating that day.  Well, that was the only day he ate.  He is still refusing to eat and drink anything.  He suffered from eczema and seasonal allergies really bad so I got an appointment with an Allergist specialist at the end of August.  He came down once a month from Tucson.  I had heard some not so great things about him so I prepared myself before going to insist that he be put on allergy medicine and be tested for food allergies using the RAST test (blood is drawn to do this test).  His eczema and allergies bothered him so bad that he scratched, wasn't nursing well, wasn't sleeping very well,  and was pretty fussy.  I was not impressed with him at all.  One of the first things he said was there is no pollen here.  Yeah right.  Anyone who lives here knows that seasonal allergies here are bad.  He also said babies don't get seasonal allergies (just viral infections) and there was no need to do food allergy testing since he only nursed.  I politely insisted on him doing the RAST blood testing.  He agreed and ordered it for Wheat, Dairy, Soy, Peanuts, and Eggs (the five most common).  I've been wondering if he hasn't started eating because of food allergies.  

Last week he started wheezing again so I gave him Albuterol once or twice a day until I ran out of it last Saturday.  Sunday and Monday he did okay but woke up Monday night wheezing really bad.  I know from experience how badly his breathing can get really quickly so i made an appointment that day and got more albuterol and Pulmicort.  He appears to have Asthma but doctors don't seem to like to label a child with Asthma even if the symptoms fit.  I started the medication Tuesday but he continued to get worse and I had to take him to the ER last night.  we were there about five hours.  He was given liquid prednisolone and it really helped.  The hardest part about it taking so long is that Shirley was so tired (from not sleeping well and the coughing and wheezing) that he would fall asleep and then be woken up to do an X-ray,  Then again when the doctor finally came in, and then to give him the liquid prednisolone.  It was so nice to get home and let him sleep.  He slept like a rock.  Today he is doing so much better and I am so grateful. 

Back to the Allergy testing.  Yesterday the Allergy Specialist's daughter (she is also a specialist and works with her Dad) called me to give me the test results.  I have heard great things about her.  Out of the five foods that he was tested for he is allergic to four of them.  He is allergic to:

Wheat 2

Peanuts 4

Dairy 3

Soybeans 1

Yep!  all four of those.  I think it is very ironic that the one he isn't allergic to, eggs, is what Jem is allergic to.  The number next to them is how allergic to them on a scale from 1-6, 6 being the most allergic.   He may eventually outgrow some of them.   Since I am nursing I now can't eat anything containing these four things.  I don't mind so much.  I know it is only for a short time, plus it will help him.  Maybe his asthma and breathing problems will greatly improve now that we have discovered this. I don't think I will have any problem losing the rest of my pregnancy weight now. Now I want him to be tested for allergies for other foods.  

Rilla!

A week from last Saturday Rilla broke out in spots on her arms and legs.  It looked like what Walter had last spring when he had a viral infection.  It turned out to be a viral infection but one known as Fifth Disease.  It is caused by the Parvovirus B19(not the same as parvo that dogs get).  It isn't contagious once the rash starts but looked pretty bad.  Every day she would wake up with the rash and it would be mostly gone by mid afternoon.  Today the rash appears to be gone finally.  Luckily, it didn't seem to itch or bother her.

She will be two next month and you can tell. She wants to do everything herself and has been throwing liittle tantrums when she doesn't get her way. I am very strict about my kids not getting a treat after lunch or dinner if they do not eat their food and Annie isn't very happy about that. Here is a couple pictures of her not getting a treat because she hasn't eaten dinner.

She moved from her crib to a bed a couple of weeks ago and most nights stays in her bed. On some nights she comes out and sits or lays in the hall. If she thinks we see her then she covers up under her blanket and thinks we can't see her.

Camping!

Gil had yesterday and today off so we decided to go camping last minute yesterday.  We got everything we needed gathered together in a hurry and headed out.  We camped near Sunnyside Ghost town.  It is in the middle of nowhere.  It took about a 45 minutes to get there and much of the drive was on back roads that were pretty bumpy.  Jem, Rilla, and Shirley loved it.  Walter gets car sick easy like me so he didn't like it too much.  After setting up camp we went and explored the ghost town.  I got bit by at least 25 mosquitos.  Gil got bit zero times.  It was so not fair.  Mosquitos love me.  It is so annoying.  Aside from the mosquitos it was beautiful there.  We saw lots of fuzzy catepillars and flowers.  The kids loved throwing rocks in the stream.  Rilla loved the field of wild flowers.  She would have stayed there longer if we would have let her.  The kids loved the campfire.  We ate MRE's for dinner.  I liked them.  The kids did too.  We have a three room tent.  The kids slept great, I woke up a lot.  I don't like sleeping on the ground.  It is so uncomfortable.  Next time I am bringing an air mattress.  The boys thought it was cool to pee outside.  I prefer to use a toilet.  All in all, it was a very fun family outing.  I love being in nature (of course I prefer it when I can enjoy some modern comforts at the same time).  The picture of Rilla pouting on the ground was her refusing to walk anymore on our way to the ghost town.  She is very good at pouting.