Fall is almost gone. Can't believe how fast time is flying. Caleb is doing fabulously in kindergarten. He loves school. He played soccer with his Saturday league. It's really just for fun. Byron Coached and Caleb loved that. He will be starting a more competitive league-the Chargers- in a few weeks.
And for the other soccer player in the family…Cameron! He is enjoying school and college life. He is so busy between classes and traveling to soccer games. Couldn't be more proud of him.
Here's a few silly pics...
My beauty, Zoey! She, too, enjoys school a lot. She is such a joy to me. I tell you what, though, no one is going to make this strong willed bugger do what she doesn't want to do. Such a determined one…much like Caleb (but less-thank goodness! Ha!). I love that she has a mind of her own. Can't wait to see what interests she's going to have as she gets older.
She's had to go to so many dr appt's with me & Cruz. She used to say that Cruz was not her favorite brother, but seeing what he's had to go thru has really softened her towards him. She is so kind to him now, always asking "Can Cruz eat this?" because she wants to share her food. I can already see her maternal side. :)
Couldn't love them any more.
My parents and I took the kids to Old McMicky's Farm. We had so much fun. The kids got to see so many animals, catch chickens, even milk a cow!
Halloween! Cruz was Spiderman, Zoey was Jessie from Toy Story and Caleb was the red Power Ranger. Cruz was a pro-he walked up and said "trick or treat" and "thank you". He loved being one of the big kids.
The top pic is of Zoey and her bff, Trevor. They go to school together and we get together with Trevor and his mom and do story time at the library. She loves him. The bottom is Caleb and his bff, Malachi (he's the one in the middle).
Ah, my sweet Cruz. If you've kept up with the blog you know that Cruz has had feeding issues for the last 6-8 months. After trying everything possible to avoid a feeding tube, I came to the realization that this was bigger than me. At least I know that I have tried everything and have had time to be comfortable with this decision. Even when you know it's the right thing it is still very difficult. My biggest concern wasn't a percentile number or a weight it was this: how can my son possibly be getting all the nutrients his little body and brain need to develop to their fullest extent when he is only living off of 4 pureed fruits and breast milk? And so we moved forward with the feeding tube.
The first step was an NG tube. He had this for a few days to make sure he could tolerate the formula. Since Cruz has a severe dairy allergy, it limits us to basically one formula we can use.
I wanted to take one last picture of my baby's belly. He has a white spot on his belly that I love. That's where I'm represented! Ha!
And this is the finished product. For now, at least. It was much longer than I imagined but I'm getting used to it. It is cumbersome and difficult to find things to keep it in place so it's not hanging and pulling on him. I'm still in search of the perfect product that is soft and will hold it in place. Now he gets 4-6oz feeds a day (that last 30 minutes each) and I still breastfeed at night. He is still in feeding therapy and we will have to work on lessening the feeds eventually so that he can actually feel hunger and want to eat "regular" food. He still cannot chew or swallow anything other than pureed foods. Because of this, I know he will probably have this tube for many months or longer.
While in the hospital he got sick twice-once with the rhinovirus that came with 103 fevers and finished up with a nice round of a stomach bug. It was the roughest 7 days of my life. I think I got a total of one hour's sleep the entire week. Now it's just working out the kinks. He fell on his plug last week and it was a bloody mess. Yes, it freaked me out. Then there was the severe constipation that required x-rays, massive hourly doses of laxative, naturally followed by severe diaper rash…let's just say, I probably should've been wearing a haz-mat suit. :P I feel like each day gets a little easier in some regards and a little more challenging in other areas. I have to adhere to a strict feeding schedule that is rather limiting. He is still restless at night and not sleeping thru the night but he is improving. As for me, I have good days and bad. Sometimes I wish I could have a day off-take a break for a week or so. It's exhausting and I'm the only one that can do it. It's a full time job just having Cruz-dr appts, feeding therapy, tests, etc. So if i'm not looking my best it's because i'm not my best. This has been a challenging year for me physically and emotionally. Getting the feeding tube takes some pressure off but it doesn't mean my kid can finally eat. I'm not a glass half full kind of person. I'm a realist. We still have a long road ahead and it's not easy but at least I know that I'm doing everything I can to make sure my boy is going to develop to his fullest extent. Here's to better days ahead! :)
