Barium Swallow Test, EDS, and Other Adventures In GERD

Oh the joys of acid reflux. Previously associated with the feeling of acid shooting up my throat like a volcanic eruption, GERD apparently is the cause of my choking episodes. My ear, nose & throat specialist performed an endoscopy and found my throat burnt and swollen in addition to being structurally small. I've pretty much had a life long problem of these choking fits, and sometimes just having food sit in my throat, with very little to no pain from acid reflux. So I've been going through different medication trials since the endoscopy and have a barium swallow test scheduled. Now in addition to my new found membership of the GERD club I've also had a life long issue with loose joints, subluxations or incomplete dislocations of various joints. Now what does loose joints have to do with GERD.... I came across something called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) which is a genetic disorder of the collagen.







"Individuals with EDS have a defect in their connective tissue, the tissue that provides support to many body parts such as the skin, muscles and ligaments. The fragile skin and unstable joints found in EDS are the result of faulty collagen. Collagen is a protein, which acts as a "glue" in the body, adding strength and elasticity to connective tissue.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a heterogeneous group of heritable connective tissue disorders, characterized by articular (joint) hypermobility, skin extensibility and tissue fragility. There are six major types of EDS. The different types of EDS are classified according to their manifestations of signs and symptoms. Each type of EDS is a distinct disorder that "runs true" in a family. This means that an individual with Vascular Type EDS will not have a child with Classical Type EDS.
"

All of my oddities might have a name, which well it really proves to resolve nothing as there is no cure, it is nice to know that there is a reason behind them, everything from my mitral proplapse,GERD, abnormal scar healing, easy bruising, ortho pedic and cardiac problems and poor circulation. I have to get a referral to a rhuematologist in order to get the proper testing for Ehlers Danlos, and if indeed that is the cause to my multiple oddities there may be surgery needed to correct the incompent esophageal sphincter, and special precautions needed for any other surgical procedures.

The moral of the story kids is to be your own advocate. I look forward to not living in fear of eating :)

Maybe Just A "Little" Colic

I'm not sure if it's possible for a baby to be a little colicky, but I'm trying to figure out why it is princess cries everynight around dinner time for atleast an hour. And by "cry" I mean scream unconsolibly complete with bright red face, real tears and clenched fists. We've tried everything to help her from rocking, burping, rubbing her belly, giving her a tub, but nothing helps, she won't even take her binky. The Mayo Clinic defines colic as:

"If your baby cries about the same time each day and nothing you do seems to offer comfort, your baby may have colic. Colic is often defined as crying more than three hours a day, three days a week for more than three weeks in an otherwise well-fed, healthy baby.
Fussing and crying are normal for infants, and a fussy baby doesn't necessarily have colic. In an otherwise healthy, well-fed baby, signs of colic include:

* Predictable crying episodes. A baby who has colic often cries about the same time every day, usually in the late afternoon or evening. Colic episodes may last from a few minutes to three hours or more on any given day. The crying usually begins suddenly and for no clear reason. Your baby may have a bowel movement or pass gas near the end of the colic episode.
* Intense or inconsolable crying. Colic crying is intense and often high pitched. Your baby's face may flush, and he or she is extremely difficult — if not impossible — to comfort.
* Posture changes. Curled up legs, clenched fists and tensed abdominal muscles are common during colic episodes.

Colic affects as many as 25 percent of babies. Colic usually starts a few weeks after birth and often improves by age 3 months. Although a few babies struggle with colic for months longer, colic ends by age 9 months in 90 percent of cases. "

We switched her formula to Similac Sensitive Formula which is lactose free to improve gassiness & fussiness, we use Dr. Brown's bottles which are made to reduce gas as well as use the Mylicon infant gas drops. She just started fussing at night within the past 2 weeks, she hasn't always done this. She started fussing while she was eating after about 4 weeks so thats when we switched formula which has helped a lot. She also doesn't scream for 3 hours at a time, and sleeps really well at night. So I'm really not sure. Princess is a lot needier than MJ was, so maybe that's just the nature of the beast?

Tuck & Roll

Long time no talky I know. As most of you are aware my absence is due to little miss Mya Renee pulling a fast one and arriving a week early, which is all fine and good with me because I literally felt like I was going to explode. I worked my last full shift saturday May 30th, fully expecting to work until June 4th, but Mya had decided different. I had an hour of contractions on Sunday May 31st, then they came to a hault, which was about par for the course. The next day monday the 1st princess decided to tuck & roll since my labour was under 10 hours start to finish, which is much better than the 17 1/2 I was in labour for with little man. I had a great VBAC expierience at Jordan, my nurse Glenda was the equivalant to Nurse Ratchet, which was fine with me, she was hilarious though. Completely no nonsense, had her scrubs hiked up to her chest and had been a nurse since the creation of time, no fluff, she told me how it was and yes, "it does suck". She literally was in the room the whole time with the exeception of her going to have a quick dinner, and gave instructions to Michael and Sara. This was a far cry from my 1st expierience where they just left you to suffer alone for hours and never told you what was going on. Baby girl is great, she had some usual newborn stuff like baby acne, thrush and blocked tear ducts, but that has cleared up. Little Michael is getting use to his new baby sister, and tries to feed her his corn puffs in the morning .... atleast he's trying to share .... The sleep thing, or there lack of kinda sucks, especially when little man decides at 2am that he "can't sleep", but I have a lot of help, and Michael is a awesome husband and daddy and gives me a lot of breaks so I can take a nap and what not. It's a whole new world getting use to having 2 kids, one was so much easier, but I suppose it'll get easier once she starts sleeping through the night. Now if I can get through the terrible 3's with little man .... I swear to god if I hear the word "no" or the phrase "I don't want to" one more time .... *sighs*

Surviving Memorial Day Weekend

Even though this past Memorial Day weekend was full of false labor and iffy weather, we managed to make the best of it. Thursday I left work early with what I was sure was a sign little miss Mya was on her way, but it was just the beginning of her taunting me for the weekend, which seems to be the on going theme for the remainder of the pregnancy. Friday my sister in law and her boyfriend came by for a cook out, and we busted out the slip n slide, which turned into little man collecting the water in a bucket and dumping it on everyone as well as running around giving everyone cold, wet hugs. Saturday and sunday we managed to squeeze in some bike path & playground time before the weather went south. Monday was the best day out of the weekend, my 38 week marker :-) We woke up bright and early to get ready to go to down town Falmouth to watch the parade and play at the Mullen Hall playground. The turn out for the parade wasn't as big last year, and the sudden heat wave had people dropping like flies, literally. It's always nice to see my parents in the parade with the Brian Boru Pipe Band, but I think this may have been their last, if not one of the last appearances they'll be making. My mom is going to have to give up drumming bc of carpal tunnel & rhumatoid arthritis. Sheldon's side bag piping job is really taking off, and apparently the attendance and practice habits of other band members has been lack luster which is really frustrating for someone like my dad who puts everything into it. Post parade we made more time for slip & slide of course, I think one of the best parts of being a parent is being able to play again. Even though for me it was less slipping & sliding and more waddling and sitting in cold hose water ... hehehehe.


After freezing my round self I went out for iced coffee and gelato with one of my best girlfriends, and gossiped the afternoon away. Upon returning to her house around 4:30 her "little" brother Joe was in the kitchen with his girl "she's just a friend" and their parents making things for the grill. Now Joe will be 14 this August, but to me he'll always be 3, I remember when he was born, BEFORE he was born even. There's 12 years difference between my friend and her brother, as her mom had thought she was going through early menopause when she became pregnant with Joe. I was even there at their dinner table when she announced she was pregnant with him. Anyways, everytime I see little Joe I feel older and older, he has the teen aged swagger, and the teen aged not quite a man but not a little boy voice, he even has a teen gweedo 'stache ... ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I'm told he's on his 2nd girlfriend. I was talking to my friend outside, and we were all "Do you remember what WE were doing when we were 14?!" OH.MY.GOD. ew ew ew ew ew. And thus the cycle of life continues. And I feel old.

36 weeks, Mother's Day & Martha's Vineyard

All in one day no less. I'm finally coming around the bend of the end of the 3rd trimester. Little miss Mya is already making more progress than her big brother did, so hopefully she'll be here sooner than later. The nursery is more or less finished, I'm just waiting for the last few decorative things to come in. The hospital bags are packed, and we'll be installing the car seats tonight. Some days are better than others, I had to break down and freeze my membership at the gym, it was becoming more of a chore than anything else to drag myself there, and it was at about the frequency of once a week, which is really a waste since I prepaid the whole year. However I'm still trying to do my part with the prenatal yoga card deck I have at home, plus I have free weights and walk with little man. *sighs*

My mother's day was spactacular. I felt kinda bad leaving husband & little man at home, but I don't remember the last time my mom & I did something on our own.So we took the ferry from woodshole into vineyard haven, and spent the day walking around the shops, trespassing on people's lawn's to take picture's in front of their (no doubt) summer homes, and doing the tourist thing. After pillaging Murdick's Fudge in vineyard haven we took the bus over to oak bluffs to see the gingerbread houses and the flying carousel and have icecream. The only thing I didn't get to do, which I totally would have if I wasn't spherical, was ride the carousel, I just envisioned myself teetering over the side of the poor ancient horse for an epic fail , while trying to catch the brass ring.

Bottom Of The Barrel

Here's my take on the "Jon & Kate" gossip that's currently floating around. Jon doesn't belong going out alone with a "female friend" at god knows what hour to a bar located hours away. It's just not appropriate for married folks to be out corrowsing alone with friends of the opposite sex in that atmosphere. Now I'm not opposed to people having friends of the opposite sex, I have quite a few myself, but you'd never see myself or husband out at 2 am alone with them, it's just setting your self up to look bad if nothing else. It's one thing to go out as a couple, or with other people, but generally two people out alone, in that atmosphere, in my eyes resembles a date. Now granted for those who've seen the show, the majority are not impressed with Kate's treatment of her husband, often referring to her as a "shrew". But that does not give Jon the pass to be drinking with college girls, and going out to bars with "female friends". Nor do I think it's particularly helpful for Kate to be across the country promoting her new book when her marriage is in trouble. Here's what Jon had to say about this situation:(From Yahoo.com news)


"Like most people, I have male and female friends, and I'm not going to end my friendships just because I'm on TV," the dad of 8 tells Extra. "However, being out with them late at night showed poor judgment on my part.....What makes me sick is that my careless behavior has put my family in this uncomfortable position," he continues..."My family is the most important thing in my life and it kills me that these allegations have hurt them."


No you shouldn't end friendships just bc you're on tv, but you should know what's appropriate and not appropriate behavior for a husband (or wife if the situation was reversed). I feel bad for the children in this situation, their parents are clearly having marriage problems, and it's displayed as national news for everyone to see, including their friends and other family members.


Next item up for the trash can: Maddy McCann's disappearance from her Portugal hotel room. Her parents fault, absolutely. I'm sorry, but who leaves their small children unattended, even if they are asleep, while on vacation?!?!? In a foreign country no less. These people are smart enough to be doctors, but lack the common sense needed for parenting? It's one thing to have your child asleep in your home, and you be in the house somewhere. But to leave your 4 year old and younger siblings while you go have dinner at your resort? I don't care how "close" you are, you don't do it. A quote from CBSnews.com:

"Without any clues confirming what happened to her, a British former detective who’s followed the case tells Roth probability points to just one conclusion.

“Within three hours,” says Mark Williams-Thomas, “74 percent of children abducted by strangers are dead, and within the first 24 hours, it’s 91 percent. So, statistically, it tells you that the chances are she’s dead, and I believe she probably is.”



And unfourtunatly this is probably the case. Apparently having dinner was more important to these people than the safety of their children. It's called room service.


Next in line: The Miss California gay marriage response. Frankly I don't think the question should've been asked, nor do I think that Perez Hilton was a appropriate canidate for a judge in the contest. He is a widely known controversial celeb-blogger, whom is openly gay. So for him to be completely un biased in the response to such question is a far stretch I'd say. I have the feeling that the pagent deliberatly set out to obtain a controversial judge in order to get more viewers. Here is Hilton's question:(from http://usconservatives.about.com)


"Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriages," Hilton asked. "Do you think other states should follow suit? Why or why not?"


Now, I have gay friends, and am of the opinion that EVERYONE should have the right to legally marriage, because I feel that telling someone you may not marry your significant other based on gender is the equvilant to not allowing marriage based on race.It's ridiculous. Even so, I feel that while claiming that she believes that heterosexual marriage is "biblically correct" in a clearly un biblical vanity pagent is contridictory, she made an articulate, non derrogatory statement of her opinion, which is what she is supposed to do. Now she is being threatened with the stripping of her crown because she excerized her 1st amendment right of free speech.


However Miss California is getting on her soap box as a spokesperson for the National Organization for Marriage (NOM).She also reminded the nation at a press conference that her contemptibly ill-informed comments at the Miss America contest was "not about being politically correct, but about being 'Biblically correct.' About as biblically correct as those fake boobs and capped teeth? I'm under the impression that God "created" those mamary glands to feed newborns not fill out a bikini in a beauty pagant. Just a thought. I'm not a politcal person by anymeans, but if you're going to get on your biblical soapbox and address such a contraversal topic, you might want to make sure that you're not contradicting yourself.

And Now For Something You'll Really Like ...

Last friday my friend Sara and I made our way to Babies R Us in Hyannis, aka "little Brockton by the sea" to navigate the aisles for my friend Tashina's baby shower gift. After about half an hour I left with the Boppy Pillow in hand, and we crossed the parkinglot to my designated "expectant mothers" parking spot, which I quite enjoy since the only other special parking in town is for handicapped or old people. Anyways, as I am the ADD queen I notice everything, and getting to their cars at the same time was a family of 3 (a mom, dad and a seven year old?) and another mom and her child of around the same age. As Sara and I opened my car door to get in we hear the mom from the party of 3 yell "YOU STUPID FAT WHORE!!!!!". Now the other mom was parked about 3 cars away and we were parked directly behind her across the street, so the 3 of us (Sara, myself and the other mom) looked around in confusion in who she was addressing, and discust (UM HELLO THERE'S CHILDREN AROUND INCLUDING YOUR OWN!!!!). Clearly we had missed something, Sara and I would've loved to have watched some kind of white trash scuffle in the baby store (this is Hyannis after all). But of course the big mouthed mom yelled this getting into her car, bc tough guys yell things as they run away in their purple ford escort ... I don't get it, and these same parents are going to wonder why in about five years their gonna have trouble with little Timmy. Maybe because he sees his parents act like pieces of trash every day ... just a thought.