So, I've been doing some research....

I guess I just need to type this out and see if it makes sense to any of my readers. Please leave your opinions in my comment section or email me with them. Here is the background information to my dilemma:
When Beckett was tiny he had funny breathing patterns/noises. I didn't really think too much of it because every doctor assured me that he was fine. We tried albuterol and zyrtec (asthma and allergy meds) and it didn't improve his breathing, so I stopped giving it to him after a few weeks. Anyways, he snores quite a bit, too. Then as he aged and should have been moving onto table foods, he started gagging and vomitting up his food when we tried to give him anything with texture. Even one grain of rice will cause him to gag and everything in his belly comes back up. I am not talking about a little bit of food coming back up.... LOTS of it.
I was hoping that in February when he got tubes placed in his ears that he would start feeling better and then start eating better. It has been a good 6 weeks since his surgery and we have had no improvements. So, my 12 month old is still eating ultra pureed baby foods that are designed for 6-9 month old babies. I have zero experience with this, as our older 3 kids were eating steak and such at this point. Oh, Beckett will knaw on a vanilla wafer and a ritz cracker. But, NO CHEERIOS, BABY PUFFS, SOFT FRUITS, etc. And definitely no rice or mashed potatoes.
I took him to his 12 month check-up and the pediatrician doesn't seem concerned, but he also called him a healthy boy. Even when I said that I didn't consider 4 months of salmonella and major ear infections to equal a healthy boy. He said that if I quit giving him formula he would eat more. I have to play games to get him to finish a 4 oz jar of baby food. So, yes I am still giving him formula against the doctors advice because I don't think he would be getting enough nutrients otherwise. He usually drink about 24 oz of formula in a 24 hour period with water in between. Did I mention that I have to water down the thicker baby foods like the peas or he gags on those, too?
Then 2 weeks ago he had another set of ear infections even with the tubes. Originally, I was told that he is too young to take out the adenoids and that there was a good chance he would need to have them removed when he was a bit older. After doing some research on the internet (I don't know what my grandparents did when their kids were sick) I discovered that enlarged adenoids can cause a hypersensitive gag reflex in babies/toddler. Now, my regular pediatrician said he wanted to see him back in 4 weeks and he would refer him to a gastroenternologist to check my concerns. But, it is not acid reflux, or at least I don't suspect that is the problem. It's the ADENOIDS.... it has to be, right? I think I am going to beg for a referral to Landstuhl (Army hospital that is 2 hours away and they have an Ear/nose/throat specialist, too) because I feel like I am apprehensive to ask questions to my German ENT because there is definitely a noticeable language barrier. What I really want is a x-ray of his throat so that they can see if the adenoids are too big. Then, I want to know if it is really not possible to take them out until he is two?
What do you think????

Only the Best for Mom

I am doing some blog catching up..... Last week for my 28th birthday, I received the best birthday gift from my kids. Dad was away, so they took it upon themselves to bake me a cake for my birthday. I was told not to enter the kitchen because my cake was going to be a surprise. (I was able to sneak by the door to take a few pictures.) A surprise it was!!!! It was delicious and they were so proud of themselves. Can you believe that a 7 year old, 5 year old, and a 3 year old made this masterpiece by themselves???

Who doesn't bake on the floor? I guess there wasn't enough room for all of them on the counter.


Sampling the goods.

Greasing the pan with a little bit of help from Dunkel (Beckett's nickname).

And the masterpiece!!!!!! It was delicious!

Beckett's Birthday Treats

My baby turned one today and this is what his presents looked like! That's right..... he is on lots of fine German medication. It all started in the middle of the night on Sunday/Monday. He has had a bad cough and two new teeth coming in, so I concluded in my sleep deprived state, that he was waking up every 20 minutes and crying (hard) because of that. Fast forward to Monday at 6:00 when my alarm clock went off. I woke up and got the older 3 kids dressed and moving for our 7:00 am bus stop run. It was supposed to be an exciting day.... all of the older kids seemed to be on the mend after a week of coughing and fevers and Jordan was finally going back to school. And then I pulled Beckett out of bed.....
He had bloody, mucousy, nastiness coming out of both EARS!!! I panicked and started trying to figure out what to do about it. I called our Army clinic and was told to take him to the German Hospital. The kids were eating breakfast while Beckett was screaming in my arms. Ava threw up on her breakfast..... I burst into tears and thought, "How in the world am I going to get Beckett to the Emergency Room with Ava vomiting?" Charlie has been away for over two weeks and therefor I am flying solo on this one. After a few deep breaths, I got Ava dressed into another clean outfit and we headed to the bus stop. We made it there and back with no vomit, so I grabbed my GPS and threw the kids in the van. For those of you that are not in Germany, owning a GPS is the best thing we have ever purchased. It definitely makes finding an ER less stressful in an already stressful situation.
Now for our ER visit results.... Beckett has an EAR INFECTION in both ears again. I know you are wondering how could this happen, he just had tubes put in. Believe me... I was not expecting this to happen 4 weeks after the tubes were placed. The ER doctor tells me that his tube in the left ear has already fallen out. What?? And Beckett has bronchitis. The nice German ER doctor looked at Ava and Brady, too. Yes, probably bronchitis but Brady is already on antibiotics from a visit to our army doctors last week for an ear infection. Ava seems to be holding her own and mending without drugs.
We leave there and head to the Army clinic because the ER doctor tells us that we need to see the surgeon that placed his tubes in ASAP. The army clinic was able to book us an appt. with our surgeon for 2:00 pm. Great!!! But Jordan is at school and I don't have anybody to pick him up. I decide to pull him out of school at 12:00 and a friend of his is home sick that day and his Mom says that Jordan can come stay with them. Jordan has a cold already, so I am not concerned with him catching his friend's cold. A lady from our church (who I don't know all that well) sees us at the clinic and offers to take Ava home with her. This lady's daughter is in Ava's religious education classes with her, so I felt comfortable letting Ava go and I desperately needed to take as few kids as possible to Beckett's appt. with me. Normally, I probably would have hesitated because I have never gotten together with this family outside of seeing them at church. But sometimes you have to go with your gut.
Me, Brady, and Beckett headed into the city (Stuttgart) for the appt with his surgeon. I get there and guess what???? The hospital parking lot is full. I drove in circles in a 4 block proximity to the hospital and could find no parking spots that would accomodate my van. Europeans drive small cars, not mini-vans. Okay, we venture further from the hospital and finally find a different parking garage. I am totally wiped at this point but I was desperate for answers.
Dr. Heumann vacuumed out Beckett's ears and it was not a pleasant experience for him. I don't know if it was the noise of the tools or from pain, but he screamed and of course, Mom had to hold him still. Once the gunk was cleared a bit... he was able to have a good look. AND THE TUBES WERE BOTH STILL IN! I wanted to kiss the doctor! But, yes it was an ear infection and it can happen. He explained that this could happen just as often as before and the gunk is the drainage that was getting stuck in his middle ear before and needs to come out. Unfortunately, some kids will continue to get ear infections until they remove the adenoids. Most surgeons prefer not to take the adenoids out until 2 years old. We head back to the surgeon in 3 to 4 weeks to check on his progress. We made it home and I was ready to drop and I was starving from not eating all day.

I am thankful that Beckett's tubes are still in and I pray that he does not continue with ear infections. Charlie will be home this weekend and I can't wait! It has been a long and exhausting couple of weeks!

Today, I made Beckett a shamrock cake and unfortunately he is not feeling well enough to sit and pose for cute first birthday pictures or try to eat cake. I plan to make him the cake again on Friday when Charlie can join the celebration. So Happy Birthday Baby Beckett and I hope we have a healthier second year!!!!

Beckett's Birthday Presents

Preparing for Spring/Easter

Today I took the kids to a local greenhouse and we bought some osterglocken flowers. We call them daffodils, they call them osterglocken ( Easter flowers/bulbs). Anyways, because we didn't live here last fall to plant bulbs, I decided to buy the bulbs that are already grown and with daffodils blooming. I really have no experience with bulbed flowers, but I bought them anyways and figured it would be a fun project for the kids. Last spring, Germany was so beautiful because it seems like every where you go, there ar tulips blooming and gazillions of them.
The workers at the greenhouse assured me that I could transfer them to the ground, but we still came home and double-checked on the internet. Sometimes I am not convinced that the Germans understand what I am asking them and I get a little nervous. Anyways, the handy internet said that I could plant them and that they should be fine as long as it is not a drastic temperature change for them. Our walkway looks so nice!!! I keep peeking out the windows to view them and check that they are not wilting as the temperature drops into the evening. So far, so good!

March Events Update

Jordan turned SEVEN this past Sunday! It is hard to believe that my firstborn is already seven years old. This means that I have been a Mom for seven years! YIKES! I am so proud of Jordan. He has his moments (like all little boys), but he really is a great kid. Yeah, Yeah, I am his Mom and I am bragging a bit. Jordan is my biggest helper around the house. I know that if I ask Jordan to do something, especially if it has to do with taking care of Brady or Beckett he does it and does it well. How many seven year olds volunteer to change diapers? He is excelling at being a first grader and I am so grateful for that. Currently he is in the midst of reading his third chapter book, Flat Stanley! Is it okay to say that I am extremely happy that Jordan's favorite toys require imagination and keep him occupied forever. His love of trains continues to grow and I wonder if he will collect them until he is an adult? His big birthday gift this year combined his two loves: Legos and Trains! Lego makes a fantastic set that you build the train out of legos and then it runs by remote on a track. (Thank-you Grammy and Grampy Bailey for chipping in.) This Lego set was the first time Jordan has received a pricey gift. I had explained that there was no way he was going to get this lego train set for his birthday because we don't do big gifts like that. However, he had no idea that I was going to suggests a chip-in by his grandparents. He was very excited when he opened it and unfortunately I don't have any pictures of him and his train yet.

Blowing out his candles on his birthday pie!

What I love about babies... look at those chunky legs? And he loves to stand on his tippy toes.

Another big event from last weekend.....Beckett got his first haircut from Mom! His hair was getting a bit long and I had been rather resistant to cutting it because it seems that when you cut a little boy's hair, they suddenly lose their baby look. I was very careful with the scissors not to cut too much off and try to retain some of his baby look. What do you think? (Okay, I don't know how to arrange these pictures in the order that I want them)

Rinsing in the sink after his first haircut. So handsome and he looks so much like Ava still!

During the haircut. He was crying more because it was his fussy time in the evening when I started the haircut. Probably not the best time to do it, but the other kids were already in bed which meant I could focus and not snip his ear off!

Jordan and Ava measuring themselves up. He still has a few inches on her, but she is taller than he was at her age!

Thanks Great Grammy and Grampa Hodgkins! Jordan already built two of them and it was a fun little project.

And lastly.... Ava read her first book this week! She has been begging me to teach her to read, so we started this week and she did it. I am very proud of her and she is breezing through her first readers books from the BOB books (great books that are easy to teach with).

Almost Spring

I am so grateful that winter is almost over! Our snow has melted, we've seen the temperatures reaching the mid 40's on a fairly consistent basis, and the sun is shining in my windows each afternoon. Spring is almost here and I couldn't be more excited! We just need to make it through March. Charlie left us yesterday and will be gone most of the month so he is missing out on half of our birthdays! Jordan is turning 7 on Sunday, Beckett will be turning ONE, and I will be turning 28 in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions on what I should get Beckett for his first birthday? I haven't gotten him a thing and the kids really want me to get him something. But, honestly what do you get the fourth child for his first birthday? He doesn't really play with baby toys, he has 3 siblings that keep him entertained.
Here are some pictures from the Bailey children:

I have a five year old baby whisperer if any of you expecting Mommies are in need of one. She is very proud of her new skill. Honestly, two morning in a row she has put Beckett to sleep for his morning nap. She starts out by feeding him a bottle and then lulls him to sleep with her singing. She is not sleeping in this picture, just snuggling him!

Charlie took this picture of Beckett over the weekend and I am planning to frame it. I love it!

Our sugar cube IGLOOS. Hopefully these igloos are the last bit of snow that we will see until next winter! Brady enjoyed making his with Mommy and then he had this little plastic penguin that he put in his doorway. If you look really close you can see the back of the penguin on the plate.

Jordan and Ava combined their cubes to make a larger igloo together.