Gag Me!

Recently I've been gagging on my toothbrush. Not on purpose!

See, I've always gagged pretty easily. Brushing those back teeth is always a challenge. I always warn the dentist tech before getting my teeth cleaned.

It was really bad during the first months of my pregnancy. I mean REALLY bad. I was nauseous all the time anyway, so brushing my teeth was a nightmare! In fact, it got so bad that I couldn't brush the inside parts of my teeth at all or much of the tops of the back ones. I had to swish a lot of mouthwash and hope for the best!

But later in my pregnancy, I discovered I could brush my teeth again! Not only could I brush them, but I didn't gag at all no matter how far back I brushed! It was wonderful! This special pregnancy bonus continued even after the babies were born!

But all good things must come to an end, I guess, because in recent months the gagging has returned. I find it very interesting that it took so long for this particular aspect of my body to return to its pre-pregnancy normal state. It's amazing to me the different ways pregnancy can affect your body. I would never have guessed at some of the things pregnancy did to me. Now granted, my pregnancy was a little different from most. But I'm sure even normal pregnancies do strange and surprising things to a woman's body.

He Eats!

Thank you everyone for your ideas and advice! Whatever his problem has been, either it went away or he just got hungry finally because today Zachary has eaten!

He did perk up a little and eat his corn on the cob last night at dinner. He didn't touch the mashed potatoes. He also barely touched the yummy chocolate instant breakfast I made him. He doesn't know what he's missing!

However, this morning he happily ate all his waffles, some Cheerios, and some banana. He munched more cereal during church. He cleaned his plate at lunch! He even ate all the peaches, a fruit he often won't even touch when he's eating normally otherwise.

We're still leaning towards molars coming in as the source of his strange eating habits. I'll keep you posted if there are any other developments!

Zachary Update

Not much change so far. Yesterday he turned down a cookie and Apple jacks. He ate some blueberries at dinner, and some raisins,but nothing else. This morning he ate some pancake, but not much. At lunch just now, he ate three bites of pizza and some more blueberries. Still drinking fine.

He played happily all the rest of yesterday, was a little cranky this morning when he first got up, but was then back to normal after breakfast.

Diaper output remains normal. Still no fever. No other symptoms of any kind. We did break down and call the pediatrician today at the end of lunch who didn't seem to think it was ear-related or obstruction-related. But thank you Jodie and Wendy for the suggestions.

I was told to just keep watching him for any other symptoms and not worry too much as long as he keeps drinking. We're going to try to get him to drink a Carnation instant breakfast this afternoon. Hopefully he'll like it!

Our current theory is that he has a tooth coming in. For the longest time he has been cramming a finger way back into his mouth and chewing on it. He's been doing it so long that I don't even notice it anymore, but Jim always remembers those sorts of things and suggested the possibility of tooth pain. I wasn't expecting any more teeth until sometime after we turn two, but it's not out of the question for him to be getting one or more of the lest set of molars. It makes sense that this tooth could be coming in and eating could be painful. We attempted to look in his mouth and see anything unusual, but he was very resistant. Jim felt like he might have spotted something white back there like the top of a tooth, but he wasn't sure.

Anyway, we'll keep watching him and letting you all know what's going on! Tonight's dinner may consist of a lot of really soft foods, like applesauce and mashed potatoes!

The face of a starving child--taken today at lunch

Medical Mystery

Something is strange with Zachary, but the only real symptom is a loss of appetite. Here's the story...

When I went to get the kids out of bed yesterday morning, I noticed a brownish-tinted wet area in Zachary's bed, It smelled like puke, but there was no evidence of any puke. There was only a few tiny balls of brown mushy something. It looked like poop, but didn't smell like poop. He did have a dirty diaper, but there was no evidence of any diaper disturbance, so I don;t know how any poop could have gotten out of the diaper. His shirt all around his neck was wet and smelled like puke. Nothing like it has happened since.

At breakfast he ate nothing., maybe a couple of Cheerios when I wasn't looking. At lunch he ate nothing. At supper he ate a fish stick, some ketchup, and a few raisins. He ate no snacks. Today he ate a little more at breakfast--half his Cheerios and three quarters of a breakfast bar, but nothing like normal Zachary eating. At lunch he ate a few mini M&Ms and half a potato chip. He hasn't touched any of the food he normally loves, like corn or grapes or pizza.

He has been drinking fine--milk and juice and water.

All diaper output has been completely normal. He's not running a fever. He laughs and plays and runs all over the house like nothing is bothering him. He's sleeping perfectly fine.

So basically, with the exception of the whatever-it-was in his bed yesterday morning, he's totally fine...he just won't eat. So strange! Any ideas?

I'll keep you posted!

The other kids are eating just fine, by the way!

Fun with Bud and KayKay

My parents came to visit this last week while Jim was away for work. It was certainly nice to have both the company and the extra help! The kids had a lot of fun playing with Bud and KayKay all week! Here are a few pics of the fun we had:

One morning we loaded the kids up and took them to the mall. It was the first time they all went to the mall at the same time!




They loved watching the fountain splash in the pool of water. I'm sure they would have all jumped in if they could have! They also got to play at the mall's little playland. They had a blast and did NOT want to leave!




Bud took the kids for a ride in the choo-choo wagon each afternoon. He discovered, as I did recently, that pulling the kids uphill is harder than it was back in the late fall when we first got the wagon! But they sure loved it!

And we spent lots of time playing in the back yard! (More back yard pics later!)

And, of course, nothing beats a little cuddle-time in front of the TV!

Let's Catch Up!

Not now, Mom, we're reading!

Okay, let's see what I can do about catching you up on our lives recently...aside from the obvious fact that they have all learned to read, of course! I expect their first novel, a joint venture, to be completed by their second birthday! ha ha!





First of all, many thanks to everyone who has prayed for my niece Kallen. She is doing great! She's goes back to the dr in a couple of weeks for a "half-way" checkup. Hopefully, her cast will still be in good enough condition that she won't need it to be replaced. Replacing it means she has to be put sleep again, and we'd rather she not have to go through that again! Everything is looking good so far, so keep those prayers coming!





The kids' speech continues to improve. Their vocabularies are constantly expanding! It's really a lot of fun! The boys are all putting words together: Momma's cup, thank you, red car, more please, etc. Reagan's speech is a good bit behind the boys, but she is making progress too, and her comprehension is excellent, so I'm not too worried. She'll talk when she's ready!





Recent funny moments...





Zachary walked into the kitchen the other day while I was making lunch. He had his blanket with him. He draped the blanket over his head like a ghost, turned around and walked off, promptly colliding with the wall. He staggered backwards a step or two, pulled the blanket off his head, and turned and looked at me with a look on his face that seemed to say, "How did that happen?" He truly didn't seem to understand how he had run into the wall.





The other night, I went into the nursery to check on the kids before going to bed. I noticed something white in the floor. It was a diaper. Luckily, a dry diaper. A short search determined the diaper's owner to be the half-naked sleeping Jonathan. But where were his pajama pants? A longer search later, I found his pants in Thomas' bed. (Thomas' bed is right next to Jonathan's) I had to wake Jonathan up to put his diaper and pants back on him, but he went right back to sleep. Happily, his bed did not seem to be wet either, and the next morning he still had both items on!





Last night, not very long after putting the kids to sleep, Jonathan started crying rather seriously. When I went to check on him, I found him upside-down ( the kids, especially Jonathan and Zachary, like to do headstands in their beds...I should really get a picture of that!) with his knee stuck between the slats of his crib. Needless to say, he wasn't too happy about being stuck upside-down! I managed to get his knee unstuck, and he promptly laid down and clutched his blanket! I'm pretty sure there was no more playing in his bed the rest of the night!





Daddy Bud and KayKay headed back to Memphis this morning after a super-fun week. Jim should be home from Nashville sometime tonight. Pics of our big week with the grandparents coming up in the next post!

Random

Okay, it's been forever, right? You'd think I'd have lots to tell, but for some reason I can't think of anything. I think it's just late and I'm tired and my brain isn't functioning properly, but it's been so long I felt compelled to post something! So all I've got is this cute pic of the boys and the promise of a better post later when my thoughts are more organized.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Birthday to me on Mar.25!

Happy Birthday to Jim on Apr.6!

And Happy 8th Anniversary to us both today!

Jim is out of town this week on business, so sadly we aren't together on our anniversary! He'll be gone all week! Thank goodness my parents came to help out with the kids while he's gone, so they don't drive me completely crazy!

I love you, Jim! I miss you!

The End is Near

Alas, the end is quickly drawing near for our precious gate!

It is losing the battle against its nemesis--JonZReaTom, a force to be reckoned with for sure!

We are actually impressed it has lasted this long! But now, it's about broken beyond all hope. The actual gate panel is connected at the top and bottom to wall panels on either side. Both of the top connections are now broken, so even when the gate is closed, the kids can sway the gate to and fro. It's just a matter of time before one of the bottom connections snaps, and then the gate will be completely useless.

Luckily, we don't use it that much anymore anyway. But it sure comes in handy to keep the kids in the playroom while I clean the floor or unload the dishwasher or clean up broken glass in the living room from where Jonathan grabbed a hold of a cell phone charger cord which knocked over a decorative box on the mantel and sent a glass candle holder crashing to the floor below! Have you ever tried to clean up shards of broken glass while four toddlers try desperately to get right where you are? It was so much easier to herd them all the playroom and lock them behind the gate!

Oh, well. Like all things, we'll adjust to the new arrangements. Maybe I'll just start shutting them in the room instead...hmmm...