family update

Well on the 14th which was last Thursday I took Anteya in to the doctors because she was not responding to noise in her left ear. The doctor's made me rush her in even though we canceled her appointment earlier that afternoon because I was sick. So I rush her in and the idiot doctor tells me he sees no red in her ear nor any fluid but it is still an ear infection in his mind. He was going to give her meds for it but since he didn't know for sure what was wrong I refused the meds for her. If she was given antibiotics for an ear infection and that wasn't what it was then she could develope an immunity to them and if she ever needed them down the road they would not work.

So as most of you know Anteya has had a lot of problems since birth. She was born healthy no NICU stay no extra oxygen nothing like that. She was nursing within a hour after birth and was a champ. Well that all changed once we got home. She started being more fussy refusing to nurse. You brought her anywhere near the breast and she freaked out. I got so worried because her weight dropped so far that we decided formula was best for her and stopped breastfeeding despite the fact that I really really didn't want to stop. So she started getting better it seemed she was eating and gaining. But there was an underlying problem that we didn't know about. After throwing up everyday after every feeding for 2 1/2 months we realized something was wrong. It was the middle of the night on Sunday May 25th, well technically it would have been early Monday morning. She kept waking up puking which wasn't really abnormal but she was puking a lot more often then normal. Everytime she puked she woke me up. But something wasn't right her vomit was brown. I didn't know what to do. Aaron and I thought it might have been something else. So we changed her each time and put her back to sleep because that was all that she wanted to do was sleep. So that morning we woke up and she seemed better she had went a little while without vomiting so we thought it was nothing. Well we went until the afternoon time and she was smiling and we were having fun. Then we laid her down for a nap and she puked several times during nap time and it was brown vomit again. So this time we decided to take her to the E.R. Aaron stayed with Alaythia at home because she was napping and needed to eat after she got up. We arrive at the hospital and get checked in and settled into a room. 6 hours and x-rays, blood work, and an ultra sound later the doctor comes in and says Amanda Anteya has Pyloric Stenosis and she will have to have surgery. I was devastated!! I mean this was a small 2 1/2 month old baby, our baby!! I called Aaron bawling my eyes out he couldn't even understand what I was saying. He says we are on our way and he and Alaythia get ready to head out to the hospital. My mom comes out and stays with me until Aaron gets there.I was so upset I just needed someone. So the doc tells me that he is going to send in a nurse to start Anteya's I.V. So we are waiting for the nurse to come which took a few minutes. When they came in and were ready to start I started to get nervous. I was trying so hard not to cry but I was watching my baby lay on a hospital bed while I held her down and these 2 ladies poked and proaded at her body to find the right place to put the I.V. Anteya was screaming so loudly and looking at me like "Mommy make them stop it hurts" with every tear that she shed I died a little inside. I felt so horrible. I felt like I was failing her as a mother because I was not protecting her from that needle. I was helpless and it killed me! After like 3 pokes in the foot and I think one in the hand they finally got her in the arm. After that was over with Aaron showed up, which I was glad he didn't have to sit through that because I needed him to be strong for the both of us. Mind you I had just had surgery myself to repair a hernia on the 23rd and was released from that same hospital on the 24th! So our poor girl had nothing to eat from 11:30am Monday until after her surgery Tuesday. The surgery went well and she was able to eat and there was hardly any spit up but absolutely NO vomit at all. So Wednesday she was released to go home. We thought everything was going to be fine! WRONG!!! She developed an infection. We were back yet again in the E.R. to have them cut open her incision and drain the puss out which I about threw up because of. So I had to stuff her wound with gauze and clean it 2 times a day changing the dressing each time. It was very disgusting thing to do. But the infection eventually went away and her incision healed. She has 2 very noticable scars on her belly, which I will post pics of. But the rest of her healing is not even close to over yet.

See during the time before her surgery Anteya was eating anywhere from 2-4 1/2oz of formula at a time. Now the ranging is because depending on how close to the surgery you are looking at. She was taking a bottle in anywhere from 2-4 1/2 hours between the previous bottle. Again the ranging is depending on how close to surgery you are looking. She was sleeping through the night about 8-12 hours at a time. Plus napping 1-2 hours 3-4 times a day. She was getting anywhere from 14-18oz a day and NONE of that was getting out of her stomach the right way. She was vomiting all that back up or it was just sitting in her little tummy until it decided it was ready to do so.

Now that her tummy works properly she isn't gainin weight. Before surgery she was 9lbs 10oz now she is only 10lbs 14oz. She is taking in 7oz every 4-5 hours and we can't figure out why. All her blood work is normal. She is eating well. Sleeping well. And developmentally she is right on schedule. We can't believe this is so hard for her. We feel awful that she is having so many troubles. We are trying everything we can to get it figured out. She is a pretty happy baby despite what has been going on and she is just a little trooper!!! She has an appointment Wednesday to see where we are weight wise and hearing wise. So I will update again after that appointment. We are also scheduling an appointment at Children's hospital in Omaha with their specialist. We will see what they have to say. Anteya is rolling from back to tummy and tummy to back, she makes farting sounds with her mouth, she is "talking" in her baby talk, she laughs, giggles, and smiles ALL the time. She is still a crying kind of baby but I don't blame her one bit. For the most part she is a good girl. She loves being held and talked to. She loves playing with big sis even though she gets a little upset when sis gives her hugs and kisses mainly becaus Alaythia doesn't know how to hug gently and has a tendency to squeeze to tight. Anteya is learning to deal though. She really is a great baby!!

Don't think I forgot about Alaythia!!! She is doing well!! We are a little concerned about her eyesite. She has been putting books really close to her face and going right up to the t.v. to watch it. We are going to have her eyes checked and see if she needs glasses. Both Aaron and myself wear them so it won't surprise us if she does need them we were just hoping that we would be able to wait until she is a bit older. Otherwise she is doing great!! She has a HUGE vocab already. She is so polite she says please when she wants something and thank you when you give it to her. She is still jabbering but you can understand her sometimes because she squeezes a word or two in there. She is learning to tell Mommy and Daddy that she has to go potty. If we catch her in time she gets sat on her potty chair and sits until she poops or pee pees, mind you she is wearing her diaper still though. We are trying not to rush things. We are slowly teaching her what she needs to do on the potty. She can also clean up after herself. Aaron or I will tell her to pick up her toys and she starts putting them away where they belong. She sings ALL the time and dances too!!! She is just growing up so fast and everyday she gets cuter and cuter!!

As for Aaron and me well Aaron goes back to school Wednesday and I am sad!!! I love having him home!! We are all so much happier that way. But I know he has to go not only for his family but for himself. I know he is excited about it except for the math part but I know he will do great!! I do believe he got A's in pretty much all his classes! Not guarenteed so don't quote me on it but I wouldn't be surprised if he did get all A's. He is a great man and a terrific father!!! I love him more than anything in the world!!!

Me I am doing ok. Still trying to get used to this medicine. For those that don't know I am taking this yucky powder form meds because I had my gallbladder removed and my body isn't handling it well. SO I will have to take this medication for years and years probably. Oh well it is better than my other symptoms!!!!

Well gotta run it is really really late!!!

Love,
The Gesch's