Saturday, October 11, 2008
Kinley finally gets to use her jumper!
Now that Kinley is growing, and her head control is pretty good she is finally getting to use some more of her toys. Here is a picture of Kinley using her jumper for the first time. It took her a little while to get used to it, but after a little exploring she was able to get the hang of it.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Saturday, October 11th - Jared Coones Pumpkin Run/Walk
Each year Walgreens sponsors the Jared Coones Pumpkin Run/Walk and it is something that Kevin and I have attended for the past 3 or 4 years. This year Kinley even got to go! I took some pics of Kinley in her race day outfit, a pink jogging suit complete with pink Puma tennis shoes. You would never know by looking at her in her outfit that she didn't run the whole 3 miles. (She was very good and slept most of the race in her stroller.) The big, exciting news is that all three of us crossed the finish line in less that an hour clocking in at 59 min 50 secs. To our credit though, we didn't start the race on time since we had to change a diaper just as the race was starting. We had to play catch up just to get ahead of the motorcycle cop that was bringing up the rear of the race! We had a good time though and it was such a nice day to get out and get some fresh air.
Here Kinley is all ready to go. She was not too happy that we woke her up early. The next pic is obviously of her cute shoes. By the end of the race and on our way home I think Kinley was pretty tired of me taking pics. Oh well, she will have to get used to people taking pics of her. There are not any of her outside at the race because she was asleep pretty much the whole time and I didn't want to risk waking her up.
Here Kinley is all ready to go. She was not too happy that we woke her up early. The next pic is obviously of her cute shoes. By the end of the race and on our way home I think Kinley was pretty tired of me taking pics. Oh well, she will have to get used to people taking pics of her. There are not any of her outside at the race because she was asleep pretty much the whole time and I didn't want to risk waking her up.
Wednesday, October 8th - 4 Month Check-up
Wednesday Kinley had her 4 month check-up with her pediatrician, Dr. S. We knew she was going to be getting some shots at this appointment, but guess who forgot to pre-medicate with Tylenol...her pharmacist mom! I felt so bad, but Dr. S was really nice and gave us some Tylenol to give Kinley. Kinley ended up getting 3 shots and 1 oral vaccine, which for her was almost as bad as a shot. She did really well though and didn't need any additional Tylenol the whole day. She probably would have been fine without the pre-medication of Tylenol, so now we know. Kinley was a rockstar for her shots. She got mad when the needles when into her legs, but it was over so quickly Kinley returned to her normal, happy self shortly after. I guess when you have been thorough what she has a few shots are nothing. She was probably thinking "Hey, this isn't so bad. Yeah, they are poking me, but at least they are taking the needles out right away and nothing foreign is staying in my body."
Dr. S. asked how things were going and we naturally said everything is great except she hates eating. We mentioned that the OT wanted us to try and wean Kinley off the NG and he thought that was a good idea also. He also mentioned that Kinley is at a weight now where he can feel comfortable trying to wean. He calculated that Kinley requires at least 600mls to maintain her hydration during the weaning period. (We had been making sure Kinley got 840mls.) I asked about starting Kinley on some baby food since she is over 4 months now and still hates the bottle. Dr. S. said that he normally recommends waiting until 6 months, but that we could sit Kinley at the dinner table in her Bumbo chair while Kevin and I eat and see if she shows some interest in eating. If she does we could try some rice cereal for her. If Kinley tolerates the rice cereal and likes eating like a "big girl" we have the go-ahead to try other baby foods such as fruits and veggies.
I almost forgot to mention that Kinley weighed 14 lbs 0.08oz! According to the growth charts that Dr. S. uses Kinley is at the 50% for head circumference and weight and 95% length. She is a growing machine!
Other than having to go back for her RSV shots during RSV season, Kinley got the all clear and doesn't need another appointment with Dr. S. until her 6 month check-up.
Dr. S. asked how things were going and we naturally said everything is great except she hates eating. We mentioned that the OT wanted us to try and wean Kinley off the NG and he thought that was a good idea also. He also mentioned that Kinley is at a weight now where he can feel comfortable trying to wean. He calculated that Kinley requires at least 600mls to maintain her hydration during the weaning period. (We had been making sure Kinley got 840mls.) I asked about starting Kinley on some baby food since she is over 4 months now and still hates the bottle. Dr. S. said that he normally recommends waiting until 6 months, but that we could sit Kinley at the dinner table in her Bumbo chair while Kevin and I eat and see if she shows some interest in eating. If she does we could try some rice cereal for her. If Kinley tolerates the rice cereal and likes eating like a "big girl" we have the go-ahead to try other baby foods such as fruits and veggies.
I almost forgot to mention that Kinley weighed 14 lbs 0.08oz! According to the growth charts that Dr. S. uses Kinley is at the 50% for head circumference and weight and 95% length. She is a growing machine!
Other than having to go back for her RSV shots during RSV season, Kinley got the all clear and doesn't need another appointment with Dr. S. until her 6 month check-up.
Monday, October 6th - Weaning the NG!
On Monday Kinley had a visit from her occupational therapist from the Infant-Toddler Program. Once again, I had to miss the appointment because of work, so this is what I have been told about her appointment.
Kevin fed Kinley before Jami (the OT) came over. This left time for Kevin and Jami to do some talking about Kinley. Kevin asked questions about g-tubes since we have started to accept the fact that Kinley is just not eating well and we don't really see her getting rid of the NG tube anytime soon. Since we still have to replace the NG fairly often we were wondering if a g-tube might be easier on Kinley overall. It would mean no more sticking a tube up her nose, but would require a surgery for the initial placement. In case you are not familiar with a g-tube, it is a tube that goes into the abdomen and directly into the stomach. I haven't really done much research on them since we are not at the point of placing one in Kinley yet. Kevin and I are not to thrilled about Kinley having any more surgeries right now, especially if it is not a necessity.
Jami said she thought Kinley was not ready for a g-tube yet. She actually wants Kevin and I to try and start weaning Kinley off the NG tube!! Jami thinks that Kinley could be weaned off the NG by the end of the month! That would be great, but I am not holding my breath. Jami said that since Kinley has done so well lately at packing on the pounds it would be ok to try and starve her a little to get her used to feeling hungry and learning that eating from the bottle would cure her hunger. Jami wants Kevin and I to feed Kinley a bottle when she shows signs of hunger. This will be a learning experience for all of us since Kinley doesn't really know what hunger is (she has never had to feel hunger before) and Kevin and I don't know what her hunger cues are. Kevin and I are supposed to stop feeding Kinley after she is done with the bottle. (Normally we would give her the rest of her feed through the NG tube.) If Kinely gets too far behind only eating from the bottle during the day we can give her a feed through her NG, but otherwise we are just supposed to let Kinley get hungry and eat what she can from the bottle. We will still supplement her bottle feeds with an overnight tube feed so that Kinley gets enough milk to maintain her hydration status. It is exciting to hear someone talk about weaning the NG tube especially since Kevin and I were starting to think we would never get Kinley off of it.
Jami and Kevin also talked about Kinley's reflux and how to better manage it. Kinley has been waking up and having a lot of thick, clear mucus in the morning. A few times the mucus is so thick that it causes Kinley to gag and throw up. Jami said that is common with reflux babies, especially when they have an NG tube. The thick, clear mucus is Kinley's way of combating the reflux. The body makes the mucus to line the stomach and esophagus to protect it from the acid that comes with reflux. Since Kinley's reflux is already being managed with meds, Jami came up with an additional way to help. She is letting Kinley borrow a Tucker Sling. A Tucker Sling is a device that allows us to keep Kinley at an angle when sleeping so that her head can stay elevated. The Tucker Sling hooks around the head of the bed and Kinley is strapped in kind of like she would be in a swing. This prevents her from sliding down her bed when the head is elevated. This is a little hard to explain, so I have attached a picture.
The picture doesn't really show how elevated Kinley's head gets in her bed, but hopefully you can get the idea. Kinley actually sleeps really well in the Tucker Sling. I was worried she wouldn't find it comfortable, but that is not the case. Doesn't she look relaxed with her hands resting under her head?
Jami also stated that Kinley is doing so well with her head control that we can finally use her Bumbo chair now.
Sounds like Jami is pleased with Kinley's progress and so are we!!
Kevin fed Kinley before Jami (the OT) came over. This left time for Kevin and Jami to do some talking about Kinley. Kevin asked questions about g-tubes since we have started to accept the fact that Kinley is just not eating well and we don't really see her getting rid of the NG tube anytime soon. Since we still have to replace the NG fairly often we were wondering if a g-tube might be easier on Kinley overall. It would mean no more sticking a tube up her nose, but would require a surgery for the initial placement. In case you are not familiar with a g-tube, it is a tube that goes into the abdomen and directly into the stomach. I haven't really done much research on them since we are not at the point of placing one in Kinley yet. Kevin and I are not to thrilled about Kinley having any more surgeries right now, especially if it is not a necessity.
Jami said she thought Kinley was not ready for a g-tube yet. She actually wants Kevin and I to try and start weaning Kinley off the NG tube!! Jami thinks that Kinley could be weaned off the NG by the end of the month! That would be great, but I am not holding my breath. Jami said that since Kinley has done so well lately at packing on the pounds it would be ok to try and starve her a little to get her used to feeling hungry and learning that eating from the bottle would cure her hunger. Jami wants Kevin and I to feed Kinley a bottle when she shows signs of hunger. This will be a learning experience for all of us since Kinley doesn't really know what hunger is (she has never had to feel hunger before) and Kevin and I don't know what her hunger cues are. Kevin and I are supposed to stop feeding Kinley after she is done with the bottle. (Normally we would give her the rest of her feed through the NG tube.) If Kinely gets too far behind only eating from the bottle during the day we can give her a feed through her NG, but otherwise we are just supposed to let Kinley get hungry and eat what she can from the bottle. We will still supplement her bottle feeds with an overnight tube feed so that Kinley gets enough milk to maintain her hydration status. It is exciting to hear someone talk about weaning the NG tube especially since Kevin and I were starting to think we would never get Kinley off of it.
Jami and Kevin also talked about Kinley's reflux and how to better manage it. Kinley has been waking up and having a lot of thick, clear mucus in the morning. A few times the mucus is so thick that it causes Kinley to gag and throw up. Jami said that is common with reflux babies, especially when they have an NG tube. The thick, clear mucus is Kinley's way of combating the reflux. The body makes the mucus to line the stomach and esophagus to protect it from the acid that comes with reflux. Since Kinley's reflux is already being managed with meds, Jami came up with an additional way to help. She is letting Kinley borrow a Tucker Sling. A Tucker Sling is a device that allows us to keep Kinley at an angle when sleeping so that her head can stay elevated. The Tucker Sling hooks around the head of the bed and Kinley is strapped in kind of like she would be in a swing. This prevents her from sliding down her bed when the head is elevated. This is a little hard to explain, so I have attached a picture.
The picture doesn't really show how elevated Kinley's head gets in her bed, but hopefully you can get the idea. Kinley actually sleeps really well in the Tucker Sling. I was worried she wouldn't find it comfortable, but that is not the case. Doesn't she look relaxed with her hands resting under her head?
Jami also stated that Kinley is doing so well with her head control that we can finally use her Bumbo chair now.
Sounds like Jami is pleased with Kinley's progress and so are we!!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Let's Party
Yesterday Kinley attended her first birthday party! Kinley's friend Sadie turned 1 and had a big party to celebrate. Kinley was in awe of all the other kids around and was content to be held and just watch all the commotion. Kevin and I planned to leave around 9 pm, so we brought all of the stuff for Kinley's night feed and started it around 7 pm. A few of the kids asked what was wrong with Kinley, but that is to be expected. Everything was going well, we watched Sadie open all of her presents, eat her cake and then run around and play with all of the other kids. Anyone want to guess what the most popular new toy was? A plastic cup. Yep, with all the new fancy toys around Sadie played with the cup. It was pretty cute. All dressed up in her birthday girl onesie and tutu (it was a princess party) playing with a cup.
Around 9 pm Kinley started getting fussy, which Kevin and I kind of expected since it was past her bedtime. We had planned on leaving around this time anyway. We changed her diaper and put her in her carrier to see if she would calm down or fall asleep. It worked, she calmed down, but didn't go to sleep. Kevin and I decided we had a little time to finish our conversations and say goodbye. That is when, out of the blue, Kinley silently threw up in her carrier and out came her NG. At least she didn't make a big scene or a big mess, but needless to say Kevin and I left pretty quickly after that happened.
Kinley-next time you want to leave just say something instead of throwing up. Trust me, everyone will be a lot happier.
We took Kinley home, cleaned her up, put the NG back down so we could restart her tube feed and went to bed. Overall it was a good outing and Kinley did really well considering we kept her up too late.
Once again, no pics to post because we forgot to bring the camera. Anyone who knows Kevin and I already know that we are really bad with cameras. We never remember to bring them anywhere and if we do remember to bring them we usually forget to take pictures. I really need to try and get better. We started off so good taking lots of pictures. We will work on taking more.
Around 9 pm Kinley started getting fussy, which Kevin and I kind of expected since it was past her bedtime. We had planned on leaving around this time anyway. We changed her diaper and put her in her carrier to see if she would calm down or fall asleep. It worked, she calmed down, but didn't go to sleep. Kevin and I decided we had a little time to finish our conversations and say goodbye. That is when, out of the blue, Kinley silently threw up in her carrier and out came her NG. At least she didn't make a big scene or a big mess, but needless to say Kevin and I left pretty quickly after that happened.
Kinley-next time you want to leave just say something instead of throwing up. Trust me, everyone will be a lot happier.
We took Kinley home, cleaned her up, put the NG back down so we could restart her tube feed and went to bed. Overall it was a good outing and Kinley did really well considering we kept her up too late.
Once again, no pics to post because we forgot to bring the camera. Anyone who knows Kevin and I already know that we are really bad with cameras. We never remember to bring them anywhere and if we do remember to bring them we usually forget to take pictures. I really need to try and get better. We started off so good taking lots of pictures. We will work on taking more.
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