Since Hayden was a baby, he's had issues with milk. As an infant, he was on Nutramigen formula. When he was one, we tried milk again along with Pediasure. That was a 2 year dramatic fail. We went to Peptamin Jr. Once again, we tried a milk-based formula. That was the boost. Nope. It caused him problems. Now, Hayden is on Elecare formula. I think he's going to end up stuck here. To make it worse, GI is saying to just 100% milk/soy free since he appears to just not be able to process the proteins. It wrecks havok on his system. From gut pain to bowel problems to sinus reactions and irritating his asthma, he just can't handle it. It's been said that he couldn't handle the proteins before. It was just thought that, since he was an infant/toddler, he would outgrow it. Well, at 6.5, I guess he's not.
I've talked to him about it and explained how we are going to have to take away alot of the foods he likes. Boy, I don't think I quite got how difficult that would be. Tonight, we went grocery shopping. I read label after label after label. Thank God WalMart clearly prints which foods have what allergens in bold letters. A few other companies do, too. Some don't. It was hard. Hard in the fact that some of the ingredients were not written in languages spoken on this planet. Hard cause some foods that you wouldn't expect to have milk did. Did you know that frozen veggies have milk?! Yeah, seriously... they do. Aisle after aisle, shelf after shelf, foods were just ticked off this list. *sigh* It looks like Hayden is restricted to a few meats, raw veggies and fruit. Even canned tuna has milk. Fruit pops have milk, pretty much all frozen dinners were out. Most cereals are no-nos. Even iinstant oatmeal and pop tarts are out. What is he supposed to eat?
I'm determined to find things for him to still enjoy. I will sit back and force my son to only eat cardboard or drink dirt for the rest of his life. I will find recipes for soy free, milk free, dairy free, easy-to-chew, casein free foods. Until then, I will take small peace in finding a "candy bar" that was gluten free, soy free, dairy free, taste free chocolate that he liked. I think he was just desperate lol. We will also have to make sure that this is part of his school plan at the meetings in August. The school will have to provide him dairy/soy/casein free meals. We will also need to find away to send his formula to school and it to be served. I also think it's time that I start procrastinating and get a medical alert bracelet. Besides all his other issues, dairy/soy allergy will definitely need to be on there. I am just so thankful he doesn't have other food allergies *knock on wood*
Friday, July 29, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
2 for you, none for me
It's that time of year...again. The school supply lists are out. It's time for us parents to put down the fun of summer and fight each other at the local walmart for that last pack of 10 cent pencils. As I walked through the aisles of walmart a few days ago, I couldn't help but to start feeling the stress. I don't even HAVE my kids' lists. Yet, as I walked past the completely empty aisles of supplies snatched up as if the educational apocolypse was upon us, I couldn't stop my heart from beginning to race, adrenaline pumping and the fear of being that parent who's kids show up unprepared. Today, though, is not like yester-year when Mom knew exactly what was needed without any stinkin' list.
Now, it's truly a treasure hunt. Teachers have gotten to be extremely OCD with what these kids show up with. To make it worse, they, now, don't want the kids showing up on uneven grounds. Noooo. They want everyone to be the same. The teachers specificy that Little Johnny can't have the coolest Transformer pencils, and Suzie Q can't have that hot pink trapper keeper. Nope. Not at all. The thing that used to be so fun about back-to-school supply shopping is now gone. Now, it's not fair for Johnny to have those cool pencils when his classmate's mom chose to buy him plain yellow. Suzie can't have that hot pink Trapper Keeper because most of the other kids are going to have plain folders. Nevermind that Suzie Q will probably be well dressed anyways so she'll still be set apart. Not to mention, kids aren't getting picked on for having uncool pencils. The powers that be, though, truly think these stupid mandates are going to help. So, we get the supply list. Ok, fine. Well, that wasn't good enough. See, parents still had this idea in their heads that, since they are the ones buying supplies for their child, they would buy what they wanted. 12 pencils? Ok, 12 Princess pencils. Gotcha. Or "12 pencils? That's too many. Here's 6." Once again, the kids are not on even ground. So teachers put out lists to parents BUT take the supplies and dump them into one big community bucket for the class. You send little Sarah in with 12 pencils but Becky came in with 3. Well, now both girls have 7 pencils. That's fair, right? Well, wait. Sarah's mom paid for SARAH to have 12. Sarah's mom isn't responsible for Becky. That's up to Becky's parents. Many parents don't care for this. So schools do it a bit more sneaky now. They simply just don't tell the parents that it's all being shared. Imagine my surprise when I bought every single item on Kaitlyn's list for Kindergarten, yes all special stuff, just to have her come home from school crying cause they were taken from her.
Now, the way I see it, why should supplies be pooled? Supplies are always on sale at the end of the summer for 10-50 cents apiece. If Becky's mom isn't willing to take $5 to the store and get her kid supplies, why is that my problem? What's next? Are we going to pool the classroom's wardrobe? Why not? It would be more fair, right?
To add to it, these teachers get crazy specific about what is needed.
something like this. I wasn't making it up about the 36 pencils. That's really on their lists. Crazy, right? What do you do with all these supplies, teachers?! *sigh* Since we are trying to teach our kids to follow the rules, we have to set an example. So, yes, I'll buy 12 36 pencils. I'll get you your damn 36 glue sticks. But I will tell you this. Beggars can not be choosers. I am not getting your dry erase markers or clorox wipes and your hand sanitizer will be the bobo brand. I will get a pencil box that is an 8x6. Clorox wipes will be paper towels and 409 spray. Since I have ONE child in your class, I will buy ONE art smock. I may seem trivial to you but I count these as small victories. I also wish you much patience as you will have to deal with me all year long, baby. Yes, I am THAT mom. I love being THAT mom. When this year is over, I will be THAT mom that still makes you grind your teeth at 2am all summer. I am a stay-at-home mom, lady. I have nothing better to do. Remember, I went through the school system. I'll take all of my past issues out on you and let me warn you, I was also THAT child that got away with everything in school. I know how far I can push it. And I hope those kids don't have you in a corner stoning you with all 36 pencils that EACH of them just had to have. You enjoy the rest of your summer cause, come day 1 of school, it's game on, lady.
Now, it's truly a treasure hunt. Teachers have gotten to be extremely OCD with what these kids show up with. To make it worse, they, now, don't want the kids showing up on uneven grounds. Noooo. They want everyone to be the same. The teachers specificy that Little Johnny can't have the coolest Transformer pencils, and Suzie Q can't have that hot pink trapper keeper. Nope. Not at all. The thing that used to be so fun about back-to-school supply shopping is now gone. Now, it's not fair for Johnny to have those cool pencils when his classmate's mom chose to buy him plain yellow. Suzie can't have that hot pink Trapper Keeper because most of the other kids are going to have plain folders. Nevermind that Suzie Q will probably be well dressed anyways so she'll still be set apart. Not to mention, kids aren't getting picked on for having uncool pencils. The powers that be, though, truly think these stupid mandates are going to help. So, we get the supply list. Ok, fine. Well, that wasn't good enough. See, parents still had this idea in their heads that, since they are the ones buying supplies for their child, they would buy what they wanted. 12 pencils? Ok, 12 Princess pencils. Gotcha. Or "12 pencils? That's too many. Here's 6." Once again, the kids are not on even ground. So teachers put out lists to parents BUT take the supplies and dump them into one big community bucket for the class. You send little Sarah in with 12 pencils but Becky came in with 3. Well, now both girls have 7 pencils. That's fair, right? Well, wait. Sarah's mom paid for SARAH to have 12. Sarah's mom isn't responsible for Becky. That's up to Becky's parents. Many parents don't care for this. So schools do it a bit more sneaky now. They simply just don't tell the parents that it's all being shared. Imagine my surprise when I bought every single item on Kaitlyn's list for Kindergarten, yes all special stuff, just to have her come home from school crying cause they were taken from her.
Now, the way I see it, why should supplies be pooled? Supplies are always on sale at the end of the summer for 10-50 cents apiece. If Becky's mom isn't willing to take $5 to the store and get her kid supplies, why is that my problem? What's next? Are we going to pool the classroom's wardrobe? Why not? It would be more fair, right?
To add to it, these teachers get crazy specific about what is needed.
- 36 #2 pencils(cause we are going to feed them to the trash monster)
- pencil box (8x5)
- 3 composition books with kinder-wide rule and half blank pages(of course I'm not going to tell you what store has these. You need to search it out)
- 36 glue sticks 3oz (they don't come in 3oz but you'll have fun searching. don't forget to get 36 of them. Yes, I want 36 sticker PER CHILD in my class cause I am going to teach them how to deactivate bombs with these)
- ziploc bags-boys bring 1 gallon, girls bring quart( I think the reason for this size difference is obvious)
- 2 boxes of 24 crayons (no, 4 boxes of 12 would not be accepted)
- bottle of hand sanitizer GermX, Purell, or Dial (if you bring me some off brand crap, I will embarass your child)
- 3 PRONG paper folders in blue, red, yellow, green and purple (yes, I know these will look like crap in a month causing you to have to replace them EVERY 2 months when they aren't on sale)
- 5 bottle of paint
- 3 art smocks
- headphones
- 3 boxes of kleenex
- 2 bottles of clorox wipes( no, not lysol. I have OCD, remember? Yeah, I know you don't buy these for your own house but you're buying them from me. You won't even notice me sneaking these home. I have a fetish)
- 4 EXPO brand black dry erase markers (only that brand. I don't feel like buying my own supplies for work so you are going to provide them for me. Keep in mind I expect gifts for Christmas, Teacher's day, and the last day of school, and it better NOT be chocolate or some crappy homemade thing. I expect gift cards!)
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Letter to a teacher
We are coming up on that time of year again, that time when all of the supply lists are sent out. The dreaded supply list. Yes, I am "that" parent, the one that doesn't conform to all of the rules and specifications of a supply list. I buy what I want for my kids or what's on sale. If my kid is the only using it, what does it matter? If the supplies are going into a class pool, which I TOTALLY disagree with, then you better be happy for what you get, Mrs. Teacher. Enjoy:
Dear Mrs. X:
In just over a week, you will be my son’s Grade 1 teacher. He is ever so excited to be under your tutelage. Why, since the last day of kindergarten, entering your class was all he could talk about. He gleefully thrust a piece of paper into my hand on that June afternoon, and said, “Here’s a list of the stuff I need for school next September!”
And I have to admit, I, too, was excited. I’m a school supplies geek from way back. And so, in early August, I set out to buy the items you’d listed.
It was on my fourth store that the realization began to sink in.
You’re a crafty b%$@ aren’t you?
This list was a thinly disguised test. Could I find the items, exactly as you’d prescribed? Because if not, my son would be That Kid, the one with the Problem Mother, Who Can’t Follow Directions.
For example, the glue sticks you requested. In the 40 gram size. Three of the little buggers. (What kind of massive, sticky project you’ve got planned for the first day of school that would require the students to bring all this glue, I cannot imagine.) But the 40 gram size doesn’t come in a convenient 3-pack. The /30 /gram size does. But clearly, those would be wildly inappropriate. So I got the individually priced 40’s, as per your instructions.
Another bit of fun was your request for 2 packs of 8 Crayola crayons (basic colors). The 24 packs, with their 24 /different /colors, sat there, on sale. I could have purchased /three/ of the 24 packs for the price I had to pay for the 8 packs. (Clearly, you’ll not be teaching the youngsters any sort of economics lessons this year.) Even the cashier looked at me, as if to say, “Pardon me, ma’am, but are you slow?” as I purchased these non-bargain crayons. But that’s what the list said. And I was committed to following the list.
But the last item, well, now, you saved your malice up for that one, didn’t you? “8 mm ruled notebooks”, you asked for. Simple enough. Except the standard size is /seven /millimetres. One. Millimetre. Difference. Do you realize, Mrs. X., exactly how infinitesimal the difference between 7 mm ruling and 8 mm ruling is? Pretty small, I assure you. The thickness of a fingernail, approximately. But that millimetre, that small bit of nothingness, made me drive to four different stores, over the course of three sweaty August hours. And when I finally, finally found the last remaining 8 mm notebooks, I took no pleasure in my victory. I merely shifted my focus. To you, Mrs. X.
You wanna dance, lady? Let’s dance.
Because I am just batsh!t crazy enough to play your games. And, in turn, come up with some of my own.
On show and share day, my son will be bringing the video of his birth. It will be labelled, “Ben’s First Puppy.” Enjoy.
He will be given a list of words, and daily, he will ask you what they mean. Words such as, “pedophile”, “anti-semite”, and “skank”. Good luck with those.
At some point, you will attempt to teach him mathematics. And I’m quite sure that, like most of your ilk, you will require my son to “show his work”. And he will.
Through interpretive dance.
Because that is who you’ve chosen to tangle with, toots. A stay at home mom who is not entirely balanced, and has altogether too much time on her hands. But is, most certainly, A Mother Who Can Follow Directions.
Sincerely,
Mom
.
Dear Mrs. X:
In just over a week, you will be my son’s Grade 1 teacher. He is ever so excited to be under your tutelage. Why, since the last day of kindergarten, entering your class was all he could talk about. He gleefully thrust a piece of paper into my hand on that June afternoon, and said, “Here’s a list of the stuff I need for school next September!”
And I have to admit, I, too, was excited. I’m a school supplies geek from way back. And so, in early August, I set out to buy the items you’d listed.
It was on my fourth store that the realization began to sink in.
You’re a crafty b%$@ aren’t you?
This list was a thinly disguised test. Could I find the items, exactly as you’d prescribed? Because if not, my son would be That Kid, the one with the Problem Mother, Who Can’t Follow Directions.
For example, the glue sticks you requested. In the 40 gram size. Three of the little buggers. (What kind of massive, sticky project you’ve got planned for the first day of school that would require the students to bring all this glue, I cannot imagine.) But the 40 gram size doesn’t come in a convenient 3-pack. The /30 /gram size does. But clearly, those would be wildly inappropriate. So I got the individually priced 40’s, as per your instructions.
Another bit of fun was your request for 2 packs of 8 Crayola crayons (basic colors). The 24 packs, with their 24 /different /colors, sat there, on sale. I could have purchased /three/ of the 24 packs for the price I had to pay for the 8 packs. (Clearly, you’ll not be teaching the youngsters any sort of economics lessons this year.) Even the cashier looked at me, as if to say, “Pardon me, ma’am, but are you slow?” as I purchased these non-bargain crayons. But that’s what the list said. And I was committed to following the list.
But the last item, well, now, you saved your malice up for that one, didn’t you? “8 mm ruled notebooks”, you asked for. Simple enough. Except the standard size is /seven /millimetres. One. Millimetre. Difference. Do you realize, Mrs. X., exactly how infinitesimal the difference between 7 mm ruling and 8 mm ruling is? Pretty small, I assure you. The thickness of a fingernail, approximately. But that millimetre, that small bit of nothingness, made me drive to four different stores, over the course of three sweaty August hours. And when I finally, finally found the last remaining 8 mm notebooks, I took no pleasure in my victory. I merely shifted my focus. To you, Mrs. X.
You wanna dance, lady? Let’s dance.
Because I am just batsh!t crazy enough to play your games. And, in turn, come up with some of my own.
On show and share day, my son will be bringing the video of his birth. It will be labelled, “Ben’s First Puppy.” Enjoy.
He will be given a list of words, and daily, he will ask you what they mean. Words such as, “pedophile”, “anti-semite”, and “skank”. Good luck with those.
At some point, you will attempt to teach him mathematics. And I’m quite sure that, like most of your ilk, you will require my son to “show his work”. And he will.
Through interpretive dance.
Because that is who you’ve chosen to tangle with, toots. A stay at home mom who is not entirely balanced, and has altogether too much time on her hands. But is, most certainly, A Mother Who Can Follow Directions.
Sincerely,
Mom
.
Monday, July 11, 2011
fun, sun, tubes and bites
Whew! Alot has happened since my last post. Sorry it has been so long. Things have just been crazy busy around here, and we have definitely been enjoying ourselves. School has come to an end! Yay! Kaitlyn finished 1st grade with awards for reading and high marks. Hayden is a kindergarten graduate, although this DoD school gave the tikes no frills about it. I wished we got the kindy graduation most people do but oh well. Now, we are rolling into summer things. Days at the pool, slip'n'slides in the backyard, popsicles and hot days with friends. We even made a trip to Busch Gardens. We met up with so old, missed friends for a day at the park. It was a rainy, wet, hot, humid, exhausting day, but fun was had by most(although I think J had fun but just won't admit it). It was Hayden's first day all outdoors in the new chair, and it worked out very well. Kaitlyn is continuing to cheer with Cheer Fusion. In the past few weeks, though, she's gone from barely doing a cartwheel to doing back walk-overs, round-offs, and it almost doing standing back handsprings without a spot. She's also become a much better flyer and is learning alot on those skills. Her coach has greatly improved her jumps, and she's making alot of new friends with her squad. Makaylah is getting in on some of the action. This is her first year cheering. She's on the Tiny team. Although she still has alot to learn on taking direction, she's enjoying it and making progress.
On the medical front, things haven't been as bright. Hayden had another GI appt back in May. He's gained back a couple of the lbs he lost but no where near enough. Hayden is now almost 6.5yrs but only weighs ~41.5lbs. That puts him barely at 20%. He's dangling. Unfortunately, it's not like Hayden goes up and down. It's been a steady down since he was a baby. Now he's heading into the "we need to intervene" land. The GI said he should be putting on 5g a day or 2lbs in 6 months. Hayden is only gaining 1g a day or 0.4lbs in 6months. Yeah, exactly. Not even coming close. This is WITH all of the formulas and counting and pushing that we've been doing. When we stop trying to force him, he actually looses weight. The G tube is on his table. This time, though, Jeremy and I aren't fighting against it anymore. There are so many things that keep Hayden from eating. If he's tired, he doesn't eat. If he's upset, he doesn't eat. If he's sick, he doesn't eat. If he's distracted, he doesn't eat. If the food feels funny in his mouth, he doesn't eat. If he had too "big" of a lunch, he won't eat. You get the idea. He is supposed to be eating 1250 calories a day. He avg. barely 500. He's not coming close. There's also a strong possibility he's still intolerant of the proteins in milk or soy or gluten. He was on special formulas in infancy for this. It has continued. That further cuts foods from his diet and leaves him a bad tasting formula to drink. Getting the G tube, though, will allow us to bypass the brain and mouth and put nurishment directly into his belly. He can also be fed while he sleeps. We can also keep him hydrated much easier. It will still allow him to do all of the activities he enjoys and eat what he wants/can eat. Jeremy and I have already signed the consent forms. We are just waiting for a few formalities to be done.
Makaylah has also been continuing on her path. She continues to have repeated episodes of hypoglycemia. She's been deemed prediabetic. We are no longer allowed to let her go more than 8hrs tops without food or sugar. That means we have to wake her in the middle of the night for sugar. She has to eat all day (to her enjoyment) to make sure her body has enough glucose. From what we are being told, it's only a matter of time. I truly hope and pray she can live out most of her childhood before it turns into Type I.
Right now, Hayden is looking like something out of an alien movie. Despite bathing the kids in Off brand spray, they were a great feast for mosquitos a couple of evenings ago. Kaitlyn got just a few bites. Makaylah got a few more. Hayden was the main course with over 20 swollen, red, hot-to-the-touch welts all over him. We are giving him benedryl and motrin around the clock to try and reduce it.
Hayden's supplies are delivered to us by a company called EdgePark medical Supplies. Over the past few months, I have let them take over more and more of his supplies. This is has been a Godsend. We are now not short of supplies. No more begging for scraps from the pharmacies or clinics. No more constant washing and reusing beyond sanitation protocol or expiration dates. This has been great.
Well, I need to run off to stop the [loud] shinanagins the kids are getting into and the dog isn't going to bathe himself. Hopefully, I'll get back over here before the summer ends ;)
On the medical front, things haven't been as bright. Hayden had another GI appt back in May. He's gained back a couple of the lbs he lost but no where near enough. Hayden is now almost 6.5yrs but only weighs ~41.5lbs. That puts him barely at 20%. He's dangling. Unfortunately, it's not like Hayden goes up and down. It's been a steady down since he was a baby. Now he's heading into the "we need to intervene" land. The GI said he should be putting on 5g a day or 2lbs in 6 months. Hayden is only gaining 1g a day or 0.4lbs in 6months. Yeah, exactly. Not even coming close. This is WITH all of the formulas and counting and pushing that we've been doing. When we stop trying to force him, he actually looses weight. The G tube is on his table. This time, though, Jeremy and I aren't fighting against it anymore. There are so many things that keep Hayden from eating. If he's tired, he doesn't eat. If he's upset, he doesn't eat. If he's sick, he doesn't eat. If he's distracted, he doesn't eat. If the food feels funny in his mouth, he doesn't eat. If he had too "big" of a lunch, he won't eat. You get the idea. He is supposed to be eating 1250 calories a day. He avg. barely 500. He's not coming close. There's also a strong possibility he's still intolerant of the proteins in milk or soy or gluten. He was on special formulas in infancy for this. It has continued. That further cuts foods from his diet and leaves him a bad tasting formula to drink. Getting the G tube, though, will allow us to bypass the brain and mouth and put nurishment directly into his belly. He can also be fed while he sleeps. We can also keep him hydrated much easier. It will still allow him to do all of the activities he enjoys and eat what he wants/can eat. Jeremy and I have already signed the consent forms. We are just waiting for a few formalities to be done.
Makaylah has also been continuing on her path. She continues to have repeated episodes of hypoglycemia. She's been deemed prediabetic. We are no longer allowed to let her go more than 8hrs tops without food or sugar. That means we have to wake her in the middle of the night for sugar. She has to eat all day (to her enjoyment) to make sure her body has enough glucose. From what we are being told, it's only a matter of time. I truly hope and pray she can live out most of her childhood before it turns into Type I.
Right now, Hayden is looking like something out of an alien movie. Despite bathing the kids in Off brand spray, they were a great feast for mosquitos a couple of evenings ago. Kaitlyn got just a few bites. Makaylah got a few more. Hayden was the main course with over 20 swollen, red, hot-to-the-touch welts all over him. We are giving him benedryl and motrin around the clock to try and reduce it.
Hayden's supplies are delivered to us by a company called EdgePark medical Supplies. Over the past few months, I have let them take over more and more of his supplies. This is has been a Godsend. We are now not short of supplies. No more begging for scraps from the pharmacies or clinics. No more constant washing and reusing beyond sanitation protocol or expiration dates. This has been great.
Well, I need to run off to stop the [loud] shinanagins the kids are getting into and the dog isn't going to bathe himself. Hopefully, I'll get back over here before the summer ends ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)