Can't believe He's 7 weeks old already!!!!

The day I've always waited for since becoming Little Peanut's Mommy...

Yesterday, September 9, 2013, seemed as if it was going to be a normal day in our new life of four littles.  Little Peanut was rambucksious and curious, the boys were all that-boys.  We had our fun before lunch, ate, and put the boys down for nap.  Little Peanut and I had our first day of homeschool-preschool this morning.  (Yes, you are welcome to pray we stick with it since we have a house full of babies :) Yikes!! But we love every minute of it!!!)  Then it happened!!! I was reading Little Peanut a story about "Who created the World," and out of the blue she asked, "Mom, do those kids (pointing to the pictures) have Jesus in their hearts?"  The next moments were priceless.  SuperDaddy and I have been sharing the gospel with Little peanut for at least a year now.  We have talked about accepting Jesus into your heart. Little peanut just hasn't been ready.  She could repeat the gospel in its entirety, however, she would say "I want to keep my dirty heart and be selfish."Yes in her own words, "No mommy, I'll do it tomorrow because I want to be selfish and have a dirty heart."  As hard as it was for almost a year, SuperDaddy and I said "ok, we will continue to pray for you sweetie," and left it at that.  But Yesterday, she was finally ready for her new clean heart!!  After she asked about the kids in the pictures, she bowed her head and said the sweetest prayer I've ever heard, asking the Lord to forgive her and give her a clean heart! She went through the whole prayer by herself then looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I have Jesus in my heart forever and he gave me a clean heart, I will be more kind and obedient now."  And she has!  You can really see a difference in her little life.  It still amazes me how God works.  Thank you Lord for the greatest birthday gift a mother could ask for!!!

A not so good update on Little Man...

Little Man has been showing signs that aren't so good lately. Would you please join us in praying for answers, once again.  For the last month, he has been refusing to eat most foods until he jump starts himself with a decent meal.  I was hoping it was a phase. Three weeks ago, he started having diarrhea and undigested food in his stools.  I was hoping he reacted to a friend's house because she has a dog and carpet.  His asthma symptoms are returning and his digestive system is completely going haywire.  Last week he was constipated for 4 days, I gave him a suppository, then the diarrhea and undigested food returned along with tons of mucous that afternoon.  His eyes get blood shot and swollen at times and he gets random rashes on his body.  We don't understand what is going on with him.  There are many red flags.  As of last friday, his nurse just wanted to blame it on the minor cold that he has.  I'm not buying that as an answer.  I told her I'm not waiting for him to be labeled failure to thrive and start starving again before we search for answers.  I decided to get him into his pediatrician next week to discuss further action.  We see him July 10.  It could be an array of things causing these symptoms.  Does he have celiac or gluten intolerance?   It's about that time his body would start showing signs of intestinal damage.  He may have a colonoscopy and biopsy done to confirm or deny this theory.  Is his body "more" allergic to milk now and rejecting it?  He was diagnosed with a level 1-2 milk allergy in April.  Being it was only a level 1 allergy the benefit outweighed the risk and we put him on pediasure and other diary products.  And right now, diary is one of the few things I can get him to eat.  Without pediasure, he cannot maintain his weight.  We tried removing pediasure in May and he dropped 1/2 pound.  We put him back on pediasure and he gained 1.5 pounds.  We have no idea what is going on with our Little Man, but please pray for some answers and doctors' willingness to help us find them.  He appears to be growing in length as his pants are getting a bit on the short side.  He is still in 12 month pants.  However, I know something isn't right about my Little Man and I will not give up until we have answers with positive results.  Please pray for wisdom for us and the doctors.  Please pray I will stay focused on the Lord during this time and completely trust him with my baby boy. (Yes, I may have 2 baby boys younger than him, but he is still my baby boy :) )

 You have my permission to take this post viral again because prayer is powerful and God works in amazing ways.  Thank you family and friends for your prayers and support.  Our Little Man is in good hands

Crazy life full of Wonderful blessings if I only give it up to my Lord!

We have been quite busy over here at our house lately. Three kids, 3 and under, and with another one on it’s way, in August, I’m one tired exhausted mommy!!  I’ve always loved children.  I’ve always wanted multiples of children.  God has surely blessed SuperDaddy and I abundantly in this area!  We will have 4 kids, aged 3 and under in just a few short weeks.  I’m glad a have a great friend to call on since she entered this boat 18 months ago with her clan of kiddos ;)  Most days, I feel like I’m running on empty.  I ask myself, “How can I do one more day, I didn’t get any sleep last night.”  Little Man has been showing signs of his “problems” returning.  I’m praying it’s just a fluke, a minor bug, or possibly an allergic reaction to dogs.  We visited a friend last week with a dog and he has been off ever since.  We are still in the process of adopting our nephew and the end is not in sight yet.  Please keep us in your prayers.  Last week, I hit the bottom.  I was expecting myself to be perfect.  Have the perfect house, perfect kids, and be the perfect wife.  I was draining myself, as I cannot nor can anyone reach such a standard I laid out for myself.  I read a blog post by a friend titled “giving up.”  It was just what I needed to hear. I need to give up everything to the Lord, not set my own standards but look to the Lord. He tells me in His word that He will carry the burdens, if I only allow it.  This past week has been more peaceful in our home but I cannot lie, I try to get back on the throne and take the reigns back from my Lord.  Today was one of those days.  I got no sleep last night, Little man is acting “weird”, as if he is getting sick all over again, He puked everywhere this morning, we have yet another adoption meeting tomorrow.  I’m tired and didn’t want to see the blessing in my day.  I have 3 almost 4 wonderful blessings to wake up to each day; to love, to cuddle, to play with, to feed, and to share the love of Christ with!  Would you pray with me, as I will need to daily give up it all to my Lord.  If you visit us, the dishes probably won’t be cleaned up, the playroom will have toys everywhere, folding laundry is a luxury around here, so you won’t find that done either.  But, hopefully, with God’s help; you will find a home full of Christ’s love and many little munchkins enjoying life with their mommy.  Here is a poem I came across on Facebook that helped changed my perspective on life today…Please enjoy! 

For the days we are running on empty. For the days we just don't think we have it in us to read one more story, play one more game of Uno, wash one more round of sheets. For the days when we think everyone else has it together. For the days we're sure anyone else would do this job better.

For those days. You know the ones.

Repeat after me:

1. I shall not judge my house, my kid's summer activities or my crafting skills by Pinterest's standards.

2. I shall not measure what I've accomplished today by the loads of unfolded laundry but by the assurance of deep love I've tickled into my kids.

3. I shall say yes to blanket forts and see past the chaos to the memories we're building.

4. I shall surprise my kids with trips to get ice cream when they're already in their pajamas.

5. I shall not compare myself to other mothers but find my identity in the God who trusted me with these kids in the first place.

6. I shall remember that a messy house at peace is better than an immaculate house tied up in knots.

7. I shall play music loudly and teach my kids the joy of wildly uncoordinated dance.

8. I shall remind myself that perfect is simply a street sign at the intersection of impossible and frustration in Never Never land.

9. I shall embrace the fact that in becoming a mom I traded perfect for a house full of real.

10. I shall promise to love this body that bore these three children out loud, especially in front of my daughter.

11. I shall give my other mother friends the gift of guilt-free friendship.

12. I shall do my best to admit to my people my unfine moments.

13. I shall say sorry when sorry is necessary.

14. I pray God I shall never be too proud, angry or stubborn to ask for my children's forgiveness.

15. I shall make space in my grown-up world for goofball moments with my kids.

16. I shall love their father and make sure they know I love him.

17. I shall model kind words to kids and grown-ups alike.

18. I shall not be intimidated by the inside of my minivan this season of chip bags, goldfish crackers and discarded socks too shall pass.

19. I shall always make time to encourage new moms.

20. I shall not resent that last call for kisses and cups of water but remember instead that when I blink they'll all be in college.

... with love from one tired mother to another.

Our Adventures with our Little Man...

Little Man was getting worse about 3 weeks ago, the new diet wasn't helping him.  He lost 2 more pounds and I was getting scared.  I took him into his pediatrician for a weight check and I found myself in tears when the nurse weighed him.  I emotionally broke down and and prayed God would show the right path to take.  This particular dr visit was the worst I've had in a long time.  I had both kiddos with me.  My son was still losing weight and I had no idea how to move forward.  The diet was taking all of my energy.  I was preparing meals every night for the following day. Everything had to be made from scratch, right down to what he drank.  I was drained and so were our finances. My little guy was only 19 lbs, how much more could he lose before there was nothing left.  The doctor came into the room; reviewed the chart and said "something has to be changed."  The Ped decided to take over everything since the specialist no longer offered any help or hope.  He looked over all of Little man's test results from day 1 and looked at his charts.  He could not find any diagnoses or lab work indicating my son had celiac and the growth charts were indicating the gluten free diet was contributing to the failure to thrive.  I was confused, frustrated, and at my end at this point in the clinic room.  My kiddos were literally throwing books and diapers around the room.  I think Little Peanut even jumped off the examining table at one point.  I felt hopeless, helpless, and confused.  I felt like the worst mother in the world.  I cried.

After many more test results, second opinions, and seeing a dietitian in Marshfield; two weeks ago, we decided to try Little Man on a normal food diet with pedia sure as a supplement.  Yes, we returned him to gluten, eggs, and milk.  Slowly over the last 2.5 weeks, we introduced things back into his diet. It was such a hard decision to make as we saw gluten hurt my little guy so much.  I didn't want to willingly bring him pain.  But, his weight was getting so low.  At this point, he was now smaller than he was at 8 months old.  The doctors and dietitian agreed that he wasn't getting enough calories to grow or maintain his weight causing him to have failure to thrive.  It was all we had left to try here locally. The current theory is that his stomach was immature and couldn't digest the gluten when he was younger.  It wasn't a fantasy that my son got so sick from gluten.  His grandparents can attest that our little man was very sick from it.  We all hesitated giving it to him.  Now, after two weeks of eating real food, he is doing wonderful. He is not in any pain from it.  He sleeps great!  He plays continuously. He loves his Thomas the train.  He runs around the house after his big sister, laughing.  He has learned new words and letter sounds. He responds better when talking with him or giving him a directive. He loves to annoy his big sister. The scratching all over is down to a minimum.  He loves eating crackers and bread.  He loves drinking regular cow's milk. And most importantly, the clothes he has been wearing since last July are finally starting to get too small!!!! He even grew out of his infant carrier seat!!! He is now in a convertible seat!!  Yippee!!! He hasn't been weighed yet to officially know if this "normal diet" is working, but I have a good feeling about it.  April 1 is his next weigh in at the ped's office.  Please pray that he has gained his weight back and maintains it!  This normal diet is only a trial run until we see enough progress to keep him on it.  We are praising the Lord for answering our prayers.  God can only receive credit for Little Man's progress.  Not the test results, doctors, or lack of information provided from the specialist.  God is healing our Little Man!  If he celiac or not: we do not care at this point.  What we care about is that our boy is doing better.  We are in no way out of the red zone yet. Please continue to pray that he continues to eat, respond well, and GROW!!!  If he goes downhill again or continues to not gain weight, they will do a biopsy to confirm if he has celiac or not.  In order for the biopsy to be positive, Little man has to eat gluten for 3-4 months before preforming the biopsy. If he grows and continues to do well, we will not have to do the biopsy.  Meaning this trial normal diet indicates celiac is negative. Please continue to share his story and pray for him.  I know this current answer sounds so off the wall.  We as a family, could get so angry at the first doctor for even suggesting celiac, but we choose not to.  We could be so angry for how much money we have spent on gluten free living.  But we are not. We have chosen to be thankful for help and finding a doctor that truly cares and wants to see him get better. We are thankful that we can buy normal food, practically giving ourselves a raise because of the cost difference in food.  We choose Joy that we have gone through many trials to grow us closer to our Lord and Savior and each other.  Someone once said, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade with them."  That's what we have chosen to do.

Philippians 4:4-9;13

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you…13 I can do all this through Him [Christ] who gives me strength.

P.S.  Please pray for April 9 for our Family.  It is confidential but we hope to be able to share with everyone very soon.  April 9 is a very special date. Please pray for all the details to go smoothly and that the person with the authority to make a change chooses to.  Thank you so much for your prayers.

Little Man's Check-up

Little man's check up on Monday didn't go as expected. He is down more weight. We are seeing a pediatric dietitian at Marshfield clinic next week for a second opinion and possibly alteration of his current diet plan. If the diet doesn't start stabilizing his weight, his pediatrician will put him into the hospital for a controlled environment to figure out how to help him grow. Please continue to pray for wisdom as we decide which direction to pursue. There are thousands of opinions being brought our way and it becomes overwhelming. We are making the best decisions we know how given the circumstances, our prayers, research, and the doctors God has put in our lives right now. Under the direction of his pediatrician, Dr. Mathias, and as a family this is our plan. We appreciate the prayers and support greatly. Please continue to pray for Little Man's healing and growth. Please pray that the dietitian can offer some help to him. If these next steps do not help our little man, we will consider looking into other options across the nation. But in my heart, from a parent to a parent, I don't feel it will come to that. I trust Dr. David Mathias with my son. God put this pediatrician in our lives for a reason and I'm trusting God with my son's life. As of right now, we are still working with Dr. Kevin, the nutritionist, as well.

This experience with my son has brought my husband and I closer, even when we thought we couldn't get any closer. We are closer to The Lord and our hearts are full of Joy. True Joy comes from The Lord not our circumstances. Our greatest prayer is that God will receive Glory and honor from our son's story. Little man is a fighter, I have faith that he will grow, and know deep in my heart that we all are going to be just fine, better than fine; we will all be better because of this trail in our lives. Romans 5:3-5 says "we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint (or put us to shame) because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us". We trust in our Savior, please join us in trusting God and praying for Little Man's growth and the doctors' wisdom. God never promised life would be easy just possible through Him! Philippians 4:13 " I can do all things through Him (Christ) who gives me strength."

Little Man's answer doesn't come easy...

The answer we have all been waiting for has good news and bad news. We thought he originally lost weight because of being sick back in the end of January.  However, he continues to decline.  So far what I understand is that my son's body is starving himself, if not fixed, to death.  The food he eats is being "attacked," just like a virus, and being rejected. His digestive system is very inflamed and damaged.  The GI doctor's tests prove that my Little Man's body is basically eating itself.   Hence, the weight lose.  His body is burning his only stored fat as fuel.  His arms and legs are getting skinnier.  It's so hard to watch my baby struggle without being able to do anything about it!  I'm so thankful that I continued to fight all the doctors and people who kept telling me he was fine.  I knew he wasn't fine, I praise the Lord for the "mommy instinct"!!! The Lord is protecting my Little Man!
We also received the test results from Dr. Kevin, the nutritionalist.  This is where it gets a little hard to grasp.  This is where we sing praises for an answer to help my Little man, and also weep that the answer is going to be a challenging road ahead.  Little man is the doctor's worst case he has ever seen. Dr. Kevin ran a blood test to determine what foods Little Man's body is " allergic" to.  When a person with celiac disease eats gluten, it damages and inflames the digestive system.  If its bad enough, just stopping gluten doesn't repair all the damage.  Because Little Man was exposed to gluten in utero and then 9 months through breast milk, before we stopped eating gluten; that left 18 months of damage.  His body started "flagging" normal food as harmful.  Fast-forward to today (almost 16 months old) and my son's body now recognizes all food except apples to be harmful. Yes, he is essentially allergic to everything. If we fed him just apples, he would become allergic to that as well.  Which explains why he can't absorb nutrients or fat.  His body has said it won't absorb the food because the food is harmful.  However, in reality or the "real" world, so to speak, this food isn't harmful to him.  We have to "re-train" his body to unflag food as bad.  As of right now, all this food is continuing to cause his digestive system to be inflamed.  He continues to use his stored body fat as fuel and continues to lose weight as a result.  We need to put him on a special diet for an extended period of time and special supplements.  We are keeping him off of all the foods that the blood test showed as highly allergic. The foods that are slightly allergic and low we will feed him on a special rotation diet. These allergies are IGG allergies, meaning they aren't true allergies.  His body is intolerant of these foods right now.  We have to put him on a 3-4 day food rotation diet. Meaning he will not eat the same thing two days in a row.  Thus giving his body a break from different foods for a certain number of days.  I'm still not quite sure what this diet means but I'm anxiously trying to understand it so that we can help him as fast as possible.  Because of all these allergies, Dr.Kevin said it may take up to 2 weeks to find  all the necessary supplements for Little Man. Please pray he finds them quickly!  In an adult this type of diet usually takes 6-9 months to heal the digestive system enough for the body to unflag the food as bad or harmful.  Please pray that we see improvement and growth as soon as possible.  At a minimum, at least maintain his weight and stop losing it! We serve an amazing God who tells us to pray continuously.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 says "Pray without ceasing."  John 14:13-14 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." Please pass along our story and get more and more to pray for our Little Man.  You have my permission to copy and paste my blog to your Facebook page, twitter, blog, and whatever media source you have to get as many people as you can to pray for my son! God is powerful!!! Lets pray for a miracle!!! Lets save our Little Man! Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fullfill the law of Christ."
Please also pray for the financial part of this adventure we are about to embark upon.  Dr. Kevin and the supplements are not covered by health insurance.  Each visit is $125-$200 a piece.  He wants to see us every 2 weeks. The supplements, we are anticipating to cost hundreds of dollars.  God always provides and we trust in him.  Please join us in praying!!!

Romans 8: 28 "And we know that for those who Love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose."


Praise the Lord with us for answering our prayers for answers, Join us in prayer for healing!