Needle Pricks and Boo Boos

I am not so great at updating this blog. I guess I'm not sure what exactly it is that I'm updating. I mean, is this mundane boring stories about what's going on in our lives or inspirational stories about things that mean something to me? Is it a collection of memories and pictures? I am really not sure, but maybe through this process, I'll eventually figure it out and my blog will see better and more frequent posts.

Yesterday I had to take Stella to see a GI specialist. She had diarrhea. Alot of it. For nearly two months. At first, the dr just told me it was a virus and babies her age can have diarrhea for 10-12 days. Oh lord, 10-12 days is like torture! So, I just gave her alot of yogurt and some probiotics and lots of water and went about my way. But it continued to happen. Alot. I started to become worried and took her back to the dr. He asked me a series of questions, noted that while she had not lost weight, she had not gained any either, and then looked perplexed. He sent me home with several jars to put her poo in. Gross. But anything for my baby! I dutifully spooned poo into the jars and then had Joe take them to the dr for me. The first test came back normal. Then I got a phone call about one of the tests. They said, "Blah blah blah, big medical word, sugars, blah blah, needs to see a specialist, blah." I felt sad. I had no idea what they said, except that for now, I should stop giving her dairy.

I stopped giving her dairy, except for a little cheese here and there and it seemed she was getting better. But then she ate alot of pasta one night and threw up all night and had terrible diarrhea the next day. I thought surely it was a bug. When I told the specialist of this, he said he wanted to test her for Celiac Disease(which is basically a gluten allergy, or something to that affect). He also wanted to test her for a lactose and a dairy allergy. He gave me more poo jars to fill up, and sent us to the children's hospital for a blood draw. I was scared. I felt awful watching her play unknowingly in the waiting area. However, it was not so bad. The nurses kept her very distracted and she hardly noticed the blood being taken. She even got a lollipop.

I took my sweet baby home and left her in her capable nanny's hands and went on to work. I came home after work and gave her tons of extra hugs and kisses. While she, Seth, Joe and I were sitting in the front room chatting and playing, she wandered over to a baby gate we have not yet installed, but had just propped up on a table. She was pulling on the edge. All three of us lunged toward her as I screamed, "Get it. She's going to pull it down!!!" It seemed like it was slow motion, but we didn't get there in time. She pulled it down on herself and busted her lip. It bled. I started crying. She was screaming. I quickly scooped her up and ran into the kitchen to get some paper towels, but Seth was already handing me a wipey. She was ok. We gave her a popsicle and she happily sucked on it while it dripped all over her and dyed her blue. Her lip was swollen, but she was happy again.

What a day my princess had yesterday!!