Saw a GI Specialist Friday For Gideon....

So, went went over to Columbus Children's Hospital on Friday to look more deeply into Gideon's possible allergy issues. Let me say up front, I left the office more concerned than I was when I went in.

We have been monitoring Gee (our new nickname for Gideon, started by Madeline and made an everyday word by Leah and Logan) pretty much since he's been home. He seems to have an issue with dairy. He broke out with hives and his poo got really frequent and awful when we had him on dairy. But, he does have foods with dairy in them sometimes. I don't know, I just don't know much about food allergies/intolerances. That is the main thing I was hoping to gather from this appontment was information. Also, we have come to the realization the last couple weeks that Gee has only gained 3 to 4 oz since he has been home. To compare, Annie has gained 6 lbs since she has been home. Now, she has been home 3 months longer, but you get the idea.

So, the doctor comes in and I pretty tell him Gideon's story up to this point and share our concerns (little to no wieght gain, frequent stools and dairy issues). The doctor is super nice (he is the director of that pediatric department) and once I explain things he prys a little deeper. He asked about fevers. Well, Gee has had 3 to 4 high grade fevers since he's home (103 plus) and I always thought that was odd, but you just never know. I just thought, like many other things, maybe it's just the way he is. The Dr. also asked if Gee seemed irritable, well, my immediate response to that is "yes." He does seem irritable and whiney to me much of the time. But, maybe he's just a whiney kid and still adjusting to his new life. I just don't know.

So, the Dr. feels that their might be more to Gee's problems than just an intolerance. He said the intolerance/allergy could very well be just a syptom of a larger problem. So, there are tons of tests he wants to run on Gee, the problem could be no big deal, or it could be something bigger, we just don't know at this point. The Dr. is thinking maybe something genetic? We are starting with the least invasive tests and will go from there. He gave blood on Friday and we go back on Feb. 7th to do a sweat test and give urine and stool samples. Some of the things Gee is being tested for is Cystic Fibrosis and Chrones disease. I don't think Gee has CF, but just knowing it is a possibility is very scary for us.

The Dr. said something toward the end of our time together that for some reason is haunting me a bit. He said that he had only been with Gee for like 10 minutes, but he doesn't act like a normal kid his age should act. This Dr. sees kids Gee's age all the time and he said that Gee just seemed sickly to him. I hated to hear that. I obviously appreciate his opinion a lot, but no one wants to hear thier child "seems sickly."

Could you all just pray for Gideon? I am not convinced at this point that he has something major wrong with him, but I am certianly concerned.

Julie

Mark this day in history folks.........

................Gideon took his first bath without, get this, freaking out. Baths have been a MAJOR struggle for Gideon since we've been home. I mean, if I didn't laugh about it I would have cried. Gideon would literally scream bloody murder the whole time. And when you poured the water over his head to wrinse out the shampoo, well he sounded like he was being killed. I kid you not. I tried bathing with him, I tried going really slow and just letting him watch the girls take their bath, nothing helped. Ryan was home for a week and a half over the holidays and I had Gideon bath with him and you could tell he was doing better. Well, today I tried a regular bath again and here are the results.......

Oh my goodness, he was a changed man. He was happy and smiling, he freaked a little bit when I washed the shampoo out, but no worse than Maddie does. It was great!

Things are going well. Gideon has an appointment with a GI specialist next Friday in Columbus. We are going to try and get to the bottom of his allergy issues. We are still pretty much keeping him away from diary, but I suspect we are not doing enough. He has only gained 2 oz in the last 2 months and that is very concerning to me. To compare, Annie has gained 6 lbs since she has been home for 6 months. It is very common for kiddos when they come home to really plump up. Gideon has not, although he looks pretty healthy.

Gideon is starting to hit his sisters with blocks and stuff. Of course he gets appropriately disciplined, but I find it kind of funny that he is finally asserting himself. His is just being ornry. He will just be sitting and playing nicely and then all of the sudden "whack." You should have seen the look on Madeline's face the first time he got her!

Annie is doing great also. She is very much "the streak" these days. Sometimes I feel like duct taping her clothes to her! She is stripped down to her diaper almost every morning. Annie has also become very loud, and her low voice carries. I am trying to teach her what speaking quietly means. In the mornings, Annie often gets up first and will just yell "mama, mamaaaa," let's just say she is like an alarm clock for the whole upstairs. Annie is still probably my most lovey kid right now. She would probably let you hold her all day if you could. She is my backpack buddy. When we go somewhere she is the one who goes in the backpack carrier. She loves it and does really well in it.

Well, until later....
Julie