A Bloody Mess

This morning Caleigh woke up, we sat her on the little pink potty and she went, just like every morning. It's Caleigh's one consistent potty time. This morning was different though.

We sat her up and there in the potty was tons of bright red blood. Eric and I were stumped for about an hour. We ran through any changes we had made.

Caleigh doesn't get food, just Elecare & Pedialyte. Occasionally we offer avocado and sometimes an organic sucker. No new foods lately.

We came down to Sunday, 4 days ago. I took Caleigh to the zoo where she promptly told me that she wanted to go home and that she was sleepy. She was fussy and her allergies were bothering her. That evening Eric and I decided to start Zyrtec for extra allergy protection. We already give the nasal spray Vera-Mist, but occasionally we need something extra. Caleigh's nose was runny and she had taken the med in the past.

Come to find out, Zyrtec has lactose listed as the 3rd ingredient.

It only took 4 days this time for Caleigh's intestines to react to the milk ingredient. Her reaction is becoming worse and happening faster each time she is exposed.

Again, I feel like the worst parent ever for not checking the label. Who puts a common allergen in an allergy medicine anyways???

Caleigh had a total of 4 bloody stools today. She tells us that her tummy hurts. Our GI wants us to start her back up on the ulcer medicine Sulfazalazine. She's been off of it for months now. I hate that we have to start it back up. He wants us to do a round of 3 months to ensure her intestines are healed. We are going to watch her stool over the next few days now that she isn't getting the Zyrtec. Hopefully the blood will go away. Hopefully her pain will go away.

Playroom Makeover

We celebrated our 1 year house anniversary this past December. The first home project on our list was to make a designated area for Caleigh to play and to have therapy appointments. The first time we looked at the house I knew that the mother-in-law suite off the kitchen was just the place.

Here's the before photos. They were taken in December of '09. Check out teeny tiny Caleigh on the play mat. What a difference a year makes.

We believe that this was the previous owners' sewing room. We found little sewing needles all over the tile for weeks. This can be quite the hazard for a playroom, but all is well now, no needles to be seen.

The room came with lovely wood paneling and a gigantic shelf unit. We briefly thought about painting the shelf, but after moving it away from the wall we discovered that it was the leaning tower of particle board. It was very unsteady so Eric and I took a hammer to it. It was fun to take out a little energy.

The wallpaper came off fairly easy. I sprayed the walls with hot water and vinegar to remove it. The wall color we chose is called Aqua Chiffon by Olympic. I wanted something similar to a Tiffany Blue and I think it came out pretty close. Eric added a light texture to the walls too.

With lots of help from Grampa we painted the wood wainscoting and the entire room pretty quick. The bathroom and walk-in closet got a coat of paint too.

Here's the after shots. Cleaner and brighter.

Caleigh has her own refrigerator, and has since she came home from the NICU. We keep medicine, truck loads of Pedialyte, ice packs and when needed TPN supplies. This room gives us the space to keep her supplies together.

We got rid of the curtains and put in some faux-wood blinds. The tile was wonderful so we left it. The ceiling fan lacks professional decor appeal, but we haven't gotten around to getting a new one. Perhaps one day.

The vinyl words on the wall say "Courage Determination Strength." Caleigh got those as a present for her 1st birthday. I was saving them for this very room. The artwork on the wall is by Melissa Moss. I just love her paintings and they work really well with the aqua walls.

We have a whole area for preschool curriculum and supplies. Eric and I decided to leave the room door and the closet door off for now. This just means there are less obstacles for Caleigh. When Caleigh was on TPN we set up our mixing station inside the closet. This made it really nice to be able and hide everything. All of Caleigh's equipment fits and there is plenty of walking or driving space for practice.

Overall the room is Happy & Content. Freshly mopped too. It's the bright spot in our home and we are delighted with how it turned out.

Up next is the bathroom remodel....

Climbing back in the Groove

The past several days have been super busy. Coming off of a 3 week therapy session makes it hard to get things back to normal around here.

We had bathroom remodeling people over all day Saturday. I'm pretty sure that the bathroom will..never..ever..be done. I'm trying to stay optimistic can't you tell?

On Sunday, Caleigh and I went to the zoo. The weather has been absolutely wonderful. It's a far cry from the last two weeks so we are eating it up. Caleigh asked to go to the zoo so we did just that. All the animals were out enjoying the sun as well.

Valentines Day started with a dentist appointment. Caleigh didn't bite the hygienist near as much as she did the first time she had her teeth cleaned. I would say that's progress. Her gums look good and there aren't any cavities to be seen. She does have some hair-line fracture looking spots on her teeth. This is from previous teeth grinding, but she really hasn't been grinding her teeth lately. There isn't anything we can do about them. So all is well for the next 3 months until we do it all again.

Caleigh had PT that afternoon and then we did a little bathroom decorative shopping. We enjoyed the lovely weather again.

Today was our first orthopedic appointment. Eric and I were talking about inviting a new doctor into Caleigh's care team. We haven't had a new doctor in well over a year. Which has been really great. It's nice to have everyone in the know. The new guy had read Caleigh's chart and knew about her. He is young and wears a beard to probably hide the baby face that makes him look younger. He was nice and interested in what Caleigh had to say on her iPad. Caleigh told him "bye" first thing because I had told her that as soon as the doctor came in we could go. Guess I better think my bargaining through next time. She told Eric and I that she felt frustrated about being there. She wasn't exactly pleasant, but we were able to talk through it. So he checked Caleigh's hips, spine, neck, ankles and knees. The good news is that Caleigh's bones are fine. He thinks that her left hip isn't actually 50% out, or 50% hip dysplasia as the radiologist thought. The thought is that her left hip socket is more shallow than the right. She is still growing and that could actually fill in more. So the hip really isn't out of the socket. The socket is more shallow and it tends to look like it is out more than the right. Caleigh's right femur is slightly bowed more then the left but nothing to be worried about. On the x-ray we could see the hundreds of staples in Caleigh's intestines from the STEP procedure she had in June 2008. We could also see the damage done by the lack of nutrition that Caleigh suffered during the first year of her life. Her bones have a cloudy, squiggly-line look to them as a result. Just a reality of a short bowel kiddo. So really there isn't much to do right now. We have a follow-up appointment in six months where we will do another x-ray. Waiting and Watching is always good news to us.

I plan on trying to get things moving again for the remainder of the week. I feel like my wheels are spinning and I'm not going anywhere. I'm sure I will get back into the swing of things soon. To-do list....here I come.

Last day of Intensive

Today was our last day of intensive PT. Caleigh did really well this week. We missed Wednesday this week due to icy roads. So in total we missed a whole weeks worth of therapy.

Caleigh is stronger now. Her head control is better and she is pushing up on her arms more. Her shoulder strength is getting better and she is helping pull herself up into sitting better. Overall, the therapy has really been wonderful.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of this type of therapy and the time restraints there is no other time to make up the lost days. The money for the extra days will go towards our next session. So all isn't lost, but I do think we could have gotten a little further along if the weather hadn't wrinkled our plans.

We have a folder full of exercises and photos to do daily and there is only 9 weeks until our next session.

Last week 25% off - made of Gray

We've been open for a little over a month now and things are going really well. Feedback is wonderful and it feels really nice to be working with my Art again. It makes things even more rewarding to be doing this for Caleigh.

I'm figuring out that Etsy, just like everything on the internet, has it's scams. I got really excited about being contacted to buy one of my 22x22 originals locally. The email conversation ended up looking like a Nigerian bank scheme. I was disappointed for a second, but have definitely moved on.

Now that the new has worn off and we are settling into the world of online sells; it's time to say goodbye to the grand opening coupon.

The grand opening special of 25% off will be ending this coming Sunday on February 13th. Just enter grandopening2011 at checkout to receive your discount.

Happy Shopping!

One more day inside

Day 4 of our winter storm brought several inches of the pretty white stuff. The snow was a lot nicer to look at than the ice, but it still meant another day at home. We officially missed 4 days of intensive therapy this week. We should be able to make up the time, but the ice has really put a damper on the intensive part of it.

We've done a lot while shut-in at home though. Besides going a little stir crazy it's been nice for the most part. Having the chance to catch our breathe and not have some sort of therapy, appointment or person in our home this week has actually been the best part. Not that I don't love everyone in our lives, but honestly it's nice to take a break.

Yesterday, we decided to tackle the guest bedroom. Since the day we moved into this house everything 'extra' has made it's spot in that room. If I didn't know where I wanted to put it; it went in that room. If someone was coming over and I needed to hide a mess....it went to that room. That room was my junk drawer. Combined with the almost completed bathroom remodel and you have a big dusty mess. I was scared that little animals or small neighborhood children might start moving in. Seriously.

So here is the Before. There was a spot to walk in, but really no empty floor space. Notice the inch thick tile dust covering everything. Yuck. It's almost like a Where's Waldo Photo. Caleigh's crib and anything that she has outgrown in the last year also resided in this room. Bookshelves, the old mattress, roll-top desk and photography equipment...it's all there and then some. Up until now, we have had the bedroom door closed. Out of sight, out of mind. I couldn't stand to look at it anymore.

The After. Due to the 4 day shut-in spree I didn't buy anything for this. Mainly the goal was a clean out and clean up mission. Accomplished. So I know your totally jealous of our retro curtains, right? They came with the house and probably original 1976. I think I'm getting a little fond of them. Our mattress is on the floor because apparently we ditched the bed frame about 3 moves ago. You can actually see the floor! The one box by the window still needs a home, but I'm pretty proud of the progress in less than a day. After all it took over a year to get that way. The dust is gone and the Gray's officially have a functional guest bedroom!

Who knows what we might get accomplished if we get iced in again? I feel a ton of weight lifted off my shoulders. Clutter in your home equals clutter in your head. I've felt a lot of clutter in my mind this winter. So this morning I woke up and cleaned the whole house. Really cleaned and de-cluttered. I sit here tonight feeling a little dusty and extremely light weight. I'm able to think more freely. I highly recommend it!

Tomorrow we break free. There is still snow on the ground, but the temps are supposed to get high enough to let it melt some. A grocery store trip or just a drive is definitely in order.

Day 3 - Ice Day

We are 3 days into our ice vacation. There is still a solid sheet of ice everywhere. So schools are canceled and we are once again missing intensive therapy. It might not be very intensive by the time we miss a week of it? I'm bummed, but what can you do about ice?

{after the pigs were set free}

We played with Caleigh's hair yesterday. I haven't done pigtails in a long time. Her hair sure has grown! We are practicing sitting a lot and watching a lot of movies. Nothing to exciting, but relaxing nonetheless.

Last night was our final increase of Artane. Caleigh made it all the way. She is getting 12mg a day now. Life with Artane is really good. I can't imagine going back to the movements of before. Just like all medications; our good results may not last very long. So we will take what is happening right now and be thankful.

Really there isn't much to report. Just some good 'ole icy day photos and a chance to post about.

Ice Day = Off Day

The ice started falling about 1am this morning. I woke up from the pellets hitting the window hard. The thunder that was simultaneously happening was comical to say the least. Only in Texas.

Eric went into work about 2 hours early to avoid the icy roads and he made it safely. Caleigh and I slept until 7:30 knowing that we would be missing intensive therapy for today.

There wasn't much snow and what did fall mainly flew around the air because the wind was blowing fast. The temperature is supposed to be 10 degrees tonight. Wind chills below O. Apparently, the coldest in 20 years, or so the weather people say.

Caleigh and I haven't ventured outside today. These photos with the door open was about as adventurous as I wanted to get. It's too cold, everything is solid ice and Caleigh's nose is a bit stuffy. Better safe than sorry.

I got bored really early. Caleigh has partaken in every piece of equipment we own. We've watched Dora, Strawberry Shortcake and read a ton of books. We've done home-school preschool and we've done a lot of the intensive exercises. Caleigh is sitting at her lap tray watching Dora as I type. Sitting very well.

We may hit the repeat button for tomorrow. Texas likes to shut down on days like these. I guess since there is only a handful a year; they tend to come as a pleasant vacation.

Stay warm and snuggle your loved ones tight....I know we will!