Today is Day 27

Hi Friends,

It's been a long 27 days. We have seen great improvement in August over the past 3 and half weeks. He's like a new kid. The three of us went to the ENT this morning. The Doc said that his left ear was completely fine and that his right ear had fluid in it, but the fluid was not infected. Praise God! I asked the Doc if the fluid could be from the cold August just had; he said that could be a possibility. HUGE SIGH.

We have a few options right now. 1.) We could get tubes just incase he is unable to drain the fluid. 2. ) We can continue on with what we have been doing. 3.) We can wait a little to see if he gets another infection. It's a tough decision- and I'm not sure there is a 100% correct answer. Josh and I talked after the appointment for a little bit, we decided that we are going to continue on with vitamins, dairy-free and occasional chiropractic care. In a month or so- depending on how August is acting, we'll take him to his regular pediatrician to check his ears.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Today is Day 18

We have made it through another breakthrough. August is doing so much better. His head-cold seems to have run it's course- although I can't say the same for mine. He was so chatty today. Numerous times Josh and I would just look at each other and laugh because we had no idea what he was saying. He said the word "open" very clear this morning and the word "movie" has turned from "mooo" to "moomie". Progress. Life is more enjoyable with a healthy kid. I also noticed that he went into his play room and actually played. He stayed in there awhile and played with the button board Pappy made for him. He also went through his tunnel a few times.

We have 2 more chiropractic appointments next week- then the ENT the following Monday.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

Today is Day 13

Day 7:

Major breakthrough. It was night and day. August was back to himself. He didn't whine or cry or be needed at all today at daycare. My office is right down the hall and I didn't hear him cry once. The times that I peeked in on him- he was smiling and playing. Such a relief to my heart.

Day 9 into Day 10:

Rough night. He went to bed at 8:30 and woke up 11:45, 1:30, 2:30. I rocked him back to sleep a few of those times, but at 2:30 he got warm soy milk and slept in until 9. He was back to being clingy all Friday. Cheerful- but still clingy.

Day 10 into Day 11:

August stayed at Grandma and Poppa Maichele's house because of the storm. Grandma said she was up a lot with him. He took a great nap for Daddy on Saturday, but didn't finally fall asleep until after 10:30pm.

Day 12:

I got back from my mini vaca to Tampa. August seemed find- a little tenderhearted, but smiley. He fell asleep at 7pm and I hoped for a long good night sleep. He woke up at 10 with a 101.7* fever. Josh and I gave him motrin and let him watch Winnie the Pooh until he fell asleep again. He cried on and off until 11:45. His temp was gone at this time. We gave him warm coconut milk and he slept until I woke him up at 8:15am.

He has another adjustment tomorrow. I'll update on what the Dr. thinks. T-minus 2 weeks until his ENT appt.

Today is Day 6

I would like to thank everyone for the outpour of support for our little guy.

He has been doing great with being dairy free. I don't go all out and look at the ingredients in everything he eats; I only cut out dairy milk, cheese, and yogurt. He hasn't seemed to mind these changes. We have been giving him rice milk and soy milk. We'll alternate these milks with coconut milk and almond milk. He loves them all.

August had his 2nd chiropractic adjustment this evening. He did great. The Dr. hoped that the adjustment would continue drainage. I haven't seen a huge change in him yet. He has been struggling the last couple of days with being ornery. Today was just icing on the cake. He didn't get enough sleep last night (partied too hard) and then didn't get a great nap at daycare. After we came home, little guy ate dinner, got a bath and at 6:45 he was sound asleep in bed.

I was hoping by day 6 that I would see this huge change in August. Clearly this hasn't happened. I understand that we are coming off of a crazy weekend, but I can't help but be a little disheartened. We will continue on. I have Josh's support along with lots of friends and family. We will get through this!

Today is Day 1

Good evening friends,

I wanted to make sure I blogged about this new adventure and current struggle.

August has been fighting the same ear infection since November. We went to the doctor for his 15 month wellness visit and BAM double ear infection. He was showing no signs of being in pain. He would occasionally tug on his ear, but August has always been an ear tugger. We immediately started him on an antibiotic. 3 weeks later we were back in the doctor's office because he was now showing signs of being in pain. We were prescribed another antibiotic. Middle of January rolls around and we were back at the doctor's office. We were given warning this time- if the 3rd antibiotic doesn't work, we would be going to an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat). His follow up appointment was on February 1st. Bad news. The double ear infection was still there. My heart sunk. The doctor and I discussed the pros and cons of tubes and I was given names of ENTs in the area.

I am not YET at peace with the idea of him having tubes put in his ears. I'm not anti-tubes, I just want to exhaust all of my options before I go down that road. Please don't get me wrong, I pass NO judgement on parents who went the route of tubes. I've heard both positive and negative things about tubes. It's a hard decision. I'm just not sold on the idea YET.

History- My best friend Sandy's dad was a chiropractor. Dr. Joe could fix anyone with just a few crack-cracks (the correct term is "Adjustments"). Sandy, along with her parents, would lecture me for hours about all things organic and staying healthy by taking vitamins. A whole bunch of BLAH BLAH BLAH. They already know how I viewed them all those years ago! LOVE YOU GUYS! With a humble heart I say this: August and I went to visit a chiropractor today. (Side note: I do not feel as though the medical field or chiropractic care is the end all be all. I'm somewhere in the middle. It makes sense that having your spine aligned would help everything to work better in your body. Would I go to the chiropractor to get my wisdom teeth out? or if I broke my leg and I have a bone sticking out? no.)

My plan of action:

The chiropractor suggested that we make the ENT appt about 3 weeks out. She would like to see August 2x a week for the next 3 weeks. She adjusted him today and he did great. She also suggested that we cut back on his dairy intake. This won't be an issue for him. He loves rice milk. We'll substitute his morning and bed time cows milk with rice milk. I am going to keep yogurt his diet right now because of the antibiotic that he's current on. Other than that- no other dairy products.

He had a rough day today. Very unhappy, uncomfortable, and whiney. He went to bed around 8pm tonight and I heard him coughing about 9:45pm. My hope is that his ears are draining!

Our journey begins. Today is Day 1.

Secret Shopper

Happy December 4th!

Since my post on Facebook about being a secret shopper- I received many messages and comments about how to become one. I thought I would share some of my resources. All I ask in return is if they ask for a reference- be kind enough to write my name down :)

Here are a few of the companies I am currently signed up with (some of these companies do not have "shops" in my area/state)

Kern Scheduling
Bare International
IntelliShop
Service Sleuth
Shoppers' View
Beyond Hello
Spies in Disguise

Normally you sign up for a shop, perform the shop, then report what you find. Every shop is different. Some are quick and easy- others take a lot of time and documentations. Payment is paid through paypal unless otherwise stated.

Enjoy!

He's HEEEEERRRREEEEE!

Just in case you've been living in a dark hole- Baby August has arrived!
I was induced at 8am on August 17th. When I got to the hospital I was already contracting. Go figure. They started an IV of Pitocin and throughout the morning the contractions became a little stronger. I had one major contraction before I asked for my epidural. Wow- lets just talk about that contraction... it hurt and then got a little worse and then it got even worse. I busted out in tears and squeezed the crap out of Josh's hand. Good thing that was probably the worst part of my whole labor and delivery. The epidural was pretty much painless. It was a tiny pinch- that's all. Then everything went numb! My legs felt like they weighed 100 lbs each. I laughed every time they had to move me. From about 11:30am-4pm I went from one laying position to another. Finally I was between 9 and 10 cm and it was time to push. Push Push Push for over an hour and a half. I had to hold off for a few minutes until the Doc on call got there. She showed up and a couple more pushes and BAM! Josh and I became parents.
August is seriously the most easy going baby. He sleeps anywhere from 3 to 5 hrs- cries for a minute when he gets up... that's to let up know he's up and hungry. He eats anywhere from 3 to 5 oz. and then falls back asleep. I think he's up for about 2 hrs a day! His time awake is getting a little bit longer everyday.
Welp, that's the scoop on Baby A.

Blessed,
Kelly