FYI...

I have recently changed the setting on our blog so that you don't have to have a Blogger account to leave a comment. You can click on "anonymous" and just sign your name within your comment.

I look forward to reading your comments and discovering who all reads Lilo and The Stitch!

Lilo says...

The funniest stuff sometimes! Today she watched an episode of Arthur on PBS. I would much rather her watch anything on PBS than to watch a show like this one!! Anywho, I didn't really pay attention to the show, I am trying to get ready for a summer camp day that I am hosting next week. After the show was over Caroline came into the kitchen and we had this conversation:

Caroline: "Mom, I am going to live the Amish way!"

Me: "Oh yeah, how are you going to do that?"

Caroline: "I am not going to use the telephone, or the TV and I am going to work with my hands."

Me: "Alrighty then"

Caroline: "I am going to go up to my room and play the Amish way."

Me: "How do you play it?"

Caroline: "I am not going to play with my play phone or turn on my lights."

Me: "okay, have fun"

About two minutes later Caroline returns to the kitchen as says:

"I don't think that I am going to play the Amish way today. Can I watch cartoons?"

So much for the Amish way, huh?!

Update of William's Feedings

It has been awhile since I have updated on how Will is feeding these days. So here is the update...

We went to GI (Dr. Brady at St. John's Mercy, Love her!!) on Tuesday. Will is weighing in at 19.5 pounds! Woot Woot! Go Will, Go Will! (insert mental picture of me doing a happy dance!!)He only has to gain a pound before we can turn his car seat forward facing!! That is going to be HUGE!! Will is almost two (in August) and he still has to be rear facing because he doesn't weigh the 20 pound minimum. Most kiddos get to go forward facing when they turn 1 year old.

We are still tube feeding William three times a day. He gets four ounces of formula (pediasure) mixed with applesauce (about an ounce) and one tablespoon of rice cereal in the tube three times a day. We use the cereal and applesauce because making the formula thicker seems to help it stay down (less vomiting). So he is tubed 12 ounces a day and he drinks the other 12 ounces. He is still taking a bottle (which I can't stand!) but he just hasn't gotten the whole sippy cup thing.

Each time that we tube feed Will we offer him food by mouth. We want him to associate the "full" feeling with eating food. He has never had any oral aversions (he will put anything in his mouth, seriously: EVERYTHING). So he has no problems putting the food into his mouth, he just can't seem to swallow it. He has been working with his speech therapist and his occupational therapist for over a year on trying to swallow.

At our GI appointment on Tuesday with Dr. Brady (have I mentioned that I LOVE her!??) I talked with her about Will's lack of swallowing skills and she brought up the possibility of a therapy called Vital Stim. VitalStim Therapy uses small electrical currents to stimulate the muscles responsible for swallowing. At the same time, trained specialists help patients "re-educate" their muscles through rehabilitation therapy. I had actually heard of this therapy before, Natalie has also had this therapy and it has worked wonders for her. I think that it may be what Will needs to get him eating real food and away from using his tube so much.

Children's Hospital has an OT that does the therapy, but I am not sure what her availability will be. There is also a women that comes to the patients home but she is located in Missouri so I am not sure that she will cross the river for us. I will have to start doing my research. I also have to make sure that our insurance will cover it. And we all know how fun that is going to be!

I am optimistic about the therapy, I have a good feeling that it will work. I just have to do the leg work first. I am very pleased about Will's weight gain. He gained over a pound in a month, and he has NEVER done that before! He is vomiting less, praise the Lord! He is vomiting, on average, twice a week (which is way better than every feed like in the past).

So that is it! Your Will Feeding Update!

Update on the puppy training

So life with Buster is certaining busy! He is a great little guy, but still very much a puppy!

Caroline has become "afraid" of Buster because she doesn't like it when he jumps on her so she has been keeping her distance. She doesn't realize that if she runs and scream then Buster thinks that she is playing.

Will, on the other hand, thinks the dog is a hoot! They can often be found chasing one another (Buster thinks that Will's diaper is a chew toy!). They sit and look at each other alot too.









We have been doing the schedule that I read about online and it seems to be working. He has only had accidents in the house a few times within the past few days, which is a HUGE improvement. He is also still having accidents in his crate while we are gone. I am not sure what to do about that. Maybe he just needs time.

Sleepy

On Friday we had some pretty servere weather in our area. The tornado sirens went off and I had to take the two kids and the puppy into the basement, where we stayed for over an hour. When I was gathering up the kids to go into the basement Caroline started to cry and freak out (for lack of a better word) about the sirens. Caroline didn't want to come back upstairs. She was really scared about the sirens going off again. She was so worried that we would have time to get downstairs if they were to go off again.



I talked her through it and she was okay. But I think that her nerves wore her out because she fell asleep in the chair when we got back upstairs. She fell alseep in a really funny position, I thought that she might fall out of the chair. She never hit the floor.

Note to self...Caroline should not watch the Wizard of Oz for serveral more years. :-)

Potty Training....the dog!

I am knee deep in puppy training hell! Buster thinks that my house is his peeing paradise. I have been taking him outside about every thirty minutes for the past two days and when we get back inside he decides to pee. What gives Buster!!?? I was beginning to lose my ever-loving mind!

So I started researching online...

I found a website that states that my puppy will be potty trained in 7 days! The only catch is that I have to follow their rules. So I have been doing what they say since last night! The website said that I needed to put him in a crate. So I did. My wonderful friend Laura brought me over a crate that she was no longer using. I thought that I would have it licked! No luck. I put Buster in it last night and went to bed. Through the night he figured out how to get out of it (I don't think that I had it latched right) and I woke up this morning with little puddles in the bathroom (where I put the crate). Lovely.

I also read online that you need to keep him in the crate through the day (only while potty training) and take him outside every 1-2 hours to potty. When I take him out I put him on a leash (like the internet said) but the dog will not go! He bites the leash, plays with it, lays down. Pretty much does everything BUT pee! When he does go, I praise him and give him a very small treat. He has gone three times outside today so maybe Buster is turning the corner. I'm not going to hold my breath!

Oh, while Buster is in the crate he is barking, yelping, screaming (in doggie language). It is driving me crazy. Caroline thinks that Buster is sad and wants to get him out but I am only letting her take him outside to play (until he is potty trained). She gets bored and says that it is hot and comes back in after about 20 minutes.

I realize that we are at the beginning stages here and it will get better but I don't remember having this much trouble with my other dogs. Or maybe I have blocked out that torture from my mind.

So I am on the count down, 7 days!! We'll see! I will let you know how it works out.

Here is Buster in Doggie Jail. Poor little, peeing machine guy!

INTRODUCING... (Drum Roll, please)

Buster!!

Isn't he just the cutest thing you have ever seen??? He is the lastest addition to our family. He is a sheltie, just like Madi was. We went and picked him up yesterday and the kids could not be happier!


We didn't tell Caroline anything (we do this alot! Remember Disney?? It is all for my sanity really. I really couldn't handle answering the question "when are we going to go get the puppy Mom??" one hundred and fifty thousand times in a hour!) And when she saw the puppy her eyes were the size of half dollars! She kept saying "He is sooo cute!" Josh asked her if she wanted to take him home and that was it, she was in love!




Will is enjoying him too. When Buster gets close, William will pat him. It is really cute. Will is mostly enjoying the doggie bed right now. He climbs in it and sits with Buster, then climbs out and does it all over again.




The kids really enjoy getting into the doggie bed with Buster!


Caroline said this morning "Mom we are really going to need to take good care of Buster so that he doesn't run away to Heaven like Molly and Madi." Broke my heart. I hope that the Lord blessed us with a healthy puppy and Buster will be around for a good long while.

As I type this, Will has figured out that the doggie bed moves and is pushing the bed (with Buster in it) around the dining room like it is a walker. My word!

Ps. Will really does wear clothes!!! I promise!! It seems like the child never has clothes on when the photo opportunity arises!! He just got done eating lunch, which we usually have to take him out back and hose him down after!