New update on Reagan

We went for allergy testing on Thursday and guess what? She has allergies! I'm the most ecstatic mom in the world to find out her child has allergies..because at last I know why my poor child has been sick for the last six months.

She was tested for 40 allergens and reacted to almost every one except the foods (thank goodness!). Her allergist says that she is probably allergic to much more but at the moment he wasn't going to continue testing her because she is so young, she will probably develop more allergies the older she gets, and for now, the fact that she has allergies, is enough for him, so he can begin to treat them.

Currently our treatment plan includes two medications for her allergies, an additional one if she becomes sick, one medication for her asthma, an additional one if she gets worse with that and treating her environment.

At the moment, we are working on a plan to keep the cats. We are planning on buying gates to contain them to the non-carpeted area of the house. We are getting our ducts cleaned (tomorrow), carpet cleaning, major dusting and we have gotten rid of all our commercial cleaners (almost all) and have switched to dye and frangrance free detergent and fabric softeners. We can't have candles; I can't wear perfume or scented deoderant and we can't use nice smelly lotions, shampoos, soaps and conditioners--everything has to be hypoallergenic.

We're in the process of purchasing a steammop so we can clean without chemicals, a hepa air cleaner for her room and some 'healthy' cleaning products--like electrostatic mitts for dusting instead of using Pledge; and baking soda and vinegar instead of Clorox and Windex.

We're also working on making her room a safe haven for any episodes..a 'clean' room for her to go to when she has an attack. This includes encasing everything from dust mites and even keeping the majority of her books contained in tupperware containers--as ink is a major source of allergies for most people and it also attracts A LOT of dust! Who knew??!

It's a process that is taking some time, but we're working towards making our home a little better for Reagan to breathe and live in. Any suggestions related to making our home more of a safe place for her are welcome!

On the homefront...

Just an update for everyone! The weather is finally getting nice in Indiana, so we're spending more time outside...which means less time for blogging, forums and the like..which I think is a really good thing for me!

Yesterday Josh and I purchased a TON of red brick landscaping material to edge out our bushes...and what a steal! It was only $1.00 for each 16 inch piece--WOOHOO! It was a closeout item, so I seriously hope we don't need anymore!

We're still working on the backyard--getting the extra dirt that was displaced during the work on the new fence, smoothed out and re-seeded with Kentucky Blue Grass...a gorgeous grass if I do say so myself...and also a real bargain since we're using seed and not sod!

I also purchased some fence pieces and a seed mat roll to make a small garden area on our patio. It has a cutout in the concrete for a gas grill...which we don't use, so it's becoming a flower bed. The flowers are going to be gorgeous in a few weeks I'm sure. I picked the "Sunny Cottage Garden" with lupines, daises and a dozen other flowers I don't know the name of. My mother in law says they are perennials so they'll come back next year and they're also pretty invasive plants so they'll grow large (shh, don't tell Josh!)

We're also working on Reagan's big girl room finally! I purchased a gorgeous pink paint for her room which Josh says looks like Pepto Bismol..but I assure you it is actually much lighter and it's called "Cherry Cream!" I can't wait to show off the finished room! Give me a couple of weeks though, we have a ton going on!

After Reagan wakes up from her nap today, we're going to plant flowers and read a few books about gardens, which we picked up from the library this morning! Should be very exciting!

Reagan also goes in for her allergy testing on Thursday, so please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Will update once we know more!

God Bless!

Our new fence!

I'm so excited because today we had our new fence put up...it surrounds over very TINY backyard but it's wonderful because reagan can go out and play and be contained since we're on a pretty decently busy street.

After Josh comes home and cuts the grass (we've had to wait due to utility line flags being all over the place!), we get to put Reagan's 'new' toys out back! I'm super excited--not only about her toys but about the great deals I got on them!

She has a turtle sandbox--free from a friend who is moving!
A Little Tikes climber/slide combination--$10!!!!!!! from craigslist!
A cool new 'kiddie' pool with a giraffe that spits water at you and a slide!--ok this was $30 from Target!

Now I just need a child's swing for her!

I'm so happy that she'll get to go outside and enjoy herself!

I'm NOT a coffee purist

At one point in my life I was. Black coffee, please. I need to be able to enjoy the flavor of the beans. Favorite coffee? Oh yes, that would be the more acidic Kenya AA blend. And I could go on and on about the roasting of the beans, the consistency and flavor of the coffe...blah blah blah.

Now, when I go to Starbucks (yes, the very people that burn all their beans together) I order a grande Pikes Place with two splendas and "a lot of cream". I feel as though I'm being looked down upon for that last part. I can't help it. I need cream. I need caffiene. And I need a morning cup of coffee. I am not a purist anymore. Sad, sad, sad.

Two years ago today..

I got my first BFP!!!! For those of you who AREN'T members of women-dominated forums, that means "big fat positive!" and it's in reference of course to a positive pregnancy test.

I had never been so unsure of my eyes or so excited in my entire life! We had just gotten back from a hike with our new friends, Kelly and Ben, and I thought, well, I might be. I'll just go ahead and POAS (pee on a stick!) and see what it says...although I was sure it was going to be negative.

The faintest pink line I have ever seen in my life gradually started to appear--at which point I promptly freaked out and started screaming so loud I'm sure the entire neighborhood heard me! Josh came running into the bathroom (I'm sure he thought I was being murdered) and I said "do you see it? Is it really there?" He smiled and said "yep, you're pregnant!" "But it's so faint." "Well, we just won't consider it for sure until you take another one tomorrow." (This said completely calmly!)

Of course, by the time 'tomorrow' came we had already celebrated and jumped around like crazy people. Another test, and yet another, oh yeah, and another, confirmed that I was indeed pregnant.

And...two years later, we have a beautiful, smart, incredible little girl that is the best thing that ever happened to either of us!

Menu Monday

This week's menu is especially challenging because Reagan's eating habits have been going straight downhill for the past couple of months. Of course, she's been sick so much, I really can't blame her for not eating, but she's lost two pounds in a month---soooo, I'm struggling to find foods to entice her to eat.

Don't worry--she isn't starving. She's 23 lbs but she's also VERY tall--we are guessing 34 inches; so she's still tiny for her height. At any rate, here is the menu for the week. Feel free to leave any suggestions geared towards a picky toddler.

Monday: Mac & Beef casserole (used to be one of her favorites), salad (I may hide some veggies in the casserole to get some extra vitamins into Reagan)
Tuesday: Reagan will probably have a Gerber Graduates or Leftovers and I'll probably toss together a salad for myself!
Wednesday: Shepherd's Pie--may use sweet potatoes on top instead of white, due to the vitamins and Reagan loves sweet potatoes
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie (adding egg to this for extra protein and some vegetables)
Friday: Any leftovers, otherwise I'll make a veggie and hamburger or chicken calzone.
Saturday: We're celebrating mother's day out and about!
Sunday: Either eating out or grilling out!

Breakfasts: Cottage cheese and fruit, muffins that I'm sneaking veggies into, morningstar farms breakfast items, cereal, yogurt, oatmeal, waffles--ie whatever of those I can get into her!
Lunches: Crackers, cheese and meat; quesadillas with cheese and tomatoes; leftovers; meatballs; gerber's graduates; salads; baked potatoes with cheese and broccoli
Snacks: Reagan's Special Mix, yogurt, fruit, cream cheese, sweet potato cubes, crackers and cheese and deli meat, applesauce

Snacky goodness!

I wanted to share Reagan's new favorite 'blend'. She usually ends up getting this at least once a day because it's one of the few things she'll eat anymore.

1 string cheese stick, chopped
raisins
cranberries, dried
animal crackers

That's it! Just make sure the cranberries aren't too large for your little one. It's really yummy and healthy!

Some new news....

Yesterday I took Reagan to a new doctor. He's an allergist, an immunologist and a former pediatrician. To make a very long story short, he diagnosed her with mild asthma and believes that she does have allergies and it is not an immune problem. This from reviewing her test results from her pediatrician.

She also has an ear infection (which she either didn't have or her pediatrician didn't catch on Tuesday). So our game plan for now is as follows:

Continue with albuterol and pulmocort breathing treatments 2xs daily. (He doubled her intake of pulmocort).
Take azrithromycin for 5 days to clear up the infection.
Take allegra twice a day.
Take singulair once a day.
Take tylenol and advil as needed for the pain while the infection lasts.

In two weeks we will go back to Dr. T (as I'll refer to him, her regular pediatrician is Dr. D) for allergy testing. Four days prior to the testing, I am to remove her from the allegra and singulair so that it will not skew the results.

The allergy tests this time will be skin/scratch tests. Once we receive those results, we will move forward with working on her environment/treatment or if the tests are negative we will move forward with continued immune testing.

Today she is already so much better just after a little of the allergy medicine and the antibiotic.

We also are going to wait on the CT scan and x-rays and immune blood work at this time. We still have a follow-up/well baby check up in a couple of weeks with Dr. D.

On other news, Josh and I have decided to forgo adoption at this point in our lives. I'm working to get healthier and we plan to meet with my doctor to get her opinions on another pregnancy and making sure that I will be well monitored if we go that route (I'm assuming this will be a high-risk pregnancy).

So that's it on the home front for now. Please continue to pray for Reagan. Love to all!

More on Reagan...

Well last night was absolutely awful. She didn't go back down to sleep until 3 a.m. and woke up at 7 a.m. I spent the majority of the night yelling at her and this morning she woke up with a slight fever. So not only am I completely stressed out at this point, I feel like the world's worst mother and that I should be lined up in front of a firing squad and shot.

In addition to the CT scan, her doctor also wants some x-rays of her tissues in her neck..not sure if I mentioned that earlier. At this point, I have decided to veto the CT scan (temporarily) in favor of having a specialist see her. We have an appointment at 1:30 today with an allergist/immunologist, who is going to evaluate her and possibly run some tests.

HOWEVER, and here is the kicker, because she's on antihistimines and other medications, they CANNOT do allergy testing because it can give a false negative. Interesting...because when we did the allergy testing a month or so back, she was on the same medicine....AND we got a negative. I'm guessing it was a false negative.

So perhaps all of the last two months of agony and sickness could have been avoided. I'm really hoping we get some answers soon. Reagan is coughing so much that she has red spots around her eyes from the strain and her nose is a continual river. I just want my baby to feel better. Please keep praying for her.

New Reagan update

At our doctor appointment yesterday, her pediatrician decided he wants to have a CT scan done on her sinuses, as well as some x-rays on her neck tissues. We also decided against putting her on anymore medication--oral steriods and antibiotics included.

Opps...she just woke up..will continue later