Allergies & Childcare & The Economy OH MY!

Wow, there is a lot going on. Seriously, a lot. Which most definitely calls for a bullet pointed post.

• We had Liv in to the doctor for her 6-month visit last week and Hub mentioned that she could not shake the stomach bug. The dr. recommended temporarily switching her to a soy formula. We did, and it made an immediate difference. What it also did though, was cause her to stop fussing through her feedings, caused her to completely stop spitting up (thereby immediately eliminating her need for Zantac), and caused her to effectively burp and pass gas instead of building it up and being uncomfortable after a feeding. We’ve also noticed a marked improvement in the red blotchiness on her cheeks. So……milk allergy? I’m starting to think that she never actually had acid reflux as the dr. assumed, but has been sensitive to the milk all along. Case in point, we had about enough of the gentile formula left for 2 bottles, and hub just mixed it in with what was left of the soy……fussy baby all day yesterday. It has been less than a week, and we have a completely different baby. I can’t even believe it. I was fine with believing she had acid reflux……but then this formula—everything just clicked. I had a severe milk allergy as a child, one that I mostly grew out of (I would say I have a minor intolerance now) and it was probably only a matter of time before I passed it on to one of my kids. I’m just glad it’s not as bad as it could be, though I imagine that if we hadn’t caught it when we did, there could have been trouble. So……from here we become vigilant. Checking labels. Being careful what we introduce in to her diet. And see what happens.
• We have decided to take the kids out of preschool/daycare one more day per week; they will be there 2 days now as opposed to 3. Though I’m overly sick of statements that begin with “because of the economy…” this does have something to do with it. Hub is losing a little bit of business, and we did just buy that truck, so we need to take some precautions before we get hard up. Hub has also had some issues working at home since Liv has been born, you know, since she requires constant attention, so having all of the kids home 3 days a week poses a bit of a problem.
• My mother though, has recently quit her job. My mother had some health issues and other things going on over the past year and has made a good turn in her life. She is though, home by herself all week. She’s going to help us out and watch the kids 2 days a week. She’ll likely only have 2 kids at a time—the baby plus one big kid, but Hub can manage one kid. He can even take one kid out on jobs with him. It’s going to be a big help to us, but I think it’s going to be an even bigger help to my mom. She lives pretty close to where I work too, so it won’t be much different than dropping them off at daycare. I think it will be good.

And ok, this turned out longer than I thought it would and doesn’t contain nearly as much information, but I need to get back to work. More to come soon!