BJ at 5. . .

Nicknames: Beej, little man, stinker, lovebug, bug, Captain, bud, Stink, Little stink, Bugaboo

Weight & Height: growing like a weed, 44 lbs?

Hair: Blonde, getting darker :(

Favorite foods: "hot dog, mac and cheese" 

Favorite toys: "scooter, race track, CDA van, little cars, bike, fire truck"

Favorite stuffed animal: "Husker pillow pet, Braveheart the bear"

Favorite animal: "bear"

Bedtime: 8 p.m.

Wake-up time: 6:30 a.m.- as soon as his "Ok to wake" clock turns green

Naps: one nap a day for 2 hours, pretty much every day

Favorite person: "Daddy and Paola, and Grammy and Pop and Mommy and Anika when she's not stealing things"

Latest Accomplishment: sat for 2 hours with Daddy assembling his first (208) lego creation, passing his first swimming lesson class, being more aggressive on the soccer field, going to his first movie in the theater
Likes: "play with Daddy and Paola, and with Mommy" "playing with firetruck, house house" ride bike/scooter, soccer, coloring

Dislikes:"I don't know anything I don't like" "purple lettuce" green beans, black beans, not getting to choose, finding self control

What he is saying: 

What gets said about BJ most often: how well mannered he is for everyone else

Fears: "monsters" "nights" "robots"

Health: DON'T ASK :) only allergy left if peanuts, although he's not doing dairy currently given his gut situation 

What he wants to be when he grows up: "work with Daddy"

How he's like Daddy:he likes Mommy, has a mischievous grin at times, loves to "drive the car", wants to do EVERYTHING Daddy does
How he's like Mommy: his coloring, his hugs, love of cuddling, short fuse for frustration

Funny things he's done lately: Instructing his sister "This is a no for safety reasons Anika" , saying " You can't sleep all day, because you'll be starving for breakfast and lunch at the same time."

Sweet things lately;  1. Daddy night so BJ had been exited about a popsicle all day. Brandon cut a popsicle in three for BJ, Daddy, and Anika. Anika dropped hers and was upset. BJ said. "That's ok, that happens sometimes. You can have mine" and handed her the popsicle. 

2. Mom, I want to snuggle with you all day long. 3. Love hearing "Anika, can I play babies with you?"

Moments

BJ turned 5 today.  That seems totally surreal.  How did my sweet chunk-a-monk baby boy turn 5?  And as this milestone is reached it just reminds me how much I want to hold on to the sweet memories with him.  Some of the highlights for me today:

"Waking him up" (he was already awake but I went upstairs) with a chocolate muffin (his wish for breakfast) with a lit candle, watching him blow it out, and then ask to do it all again.
Watching him pretend most of the morning it was relighted, after I only relighted it once.
Watching him bound into preschool, wanting to help carry the huge plate of cookies we made to share with his class.
Seeing him run to the truck after class, ready for the next adventure.
Seeing him drink in the fact that Daddy, Mommy, Paola, and Anika all got to go to the park for a picnic with him.
Watching him show Daddy "Airplane park" and tell him that now he is jumping on a plane to fly to Omaha.
Checking in on him at nap time, after he insisted he did not want to take a nap, he wasn't tired, and seeing him totally sacked out.
Taking him to his first ever in the theater movie- just his dad, him, and me.
Getting him into the movie free after the ticket counter guy said "How old are you buddy?" He says 4, I correct him to 5.  The ticket guy says "you say 5, I heard 3 which means you're free today"
Sitting in that movie, in a theater all to ourselves, eating smuggled in nuts, M & M's, and gummy bears with a huge soda his Dad got us to share.
Running to the bathroom 3/4 of the way through after he drank so much soda.
Running back to the theater after the bathroom and his asking me "Mommy, when we get back to the movie, can we snuggle?"
Spending the rest of the movie sitting with a backrest in my back, because I wanted to snuggle with my son.
Watching him get so excited to open his presents, but not so much that he forgot to share.  "Anika, how about we both get 2 laps around on the scooter then switch?"
 His letting Anika have the first 2 laps :)

I wish I could drink in every precious moment and not forget it, only cherish it.  And yet I know I've forgotten more than I remember.  And not every moment is precious, but it is ours.  My sweet bugaboo and me.

Look at that sweet boy. . .

 Almost 1 vs. 5

 Playing house house

 Soccer- sweet smile

Anika-isms

Gotta love 2 year olds.  For previously being behind- Anika loves to talk now. I wanted to get a post out on some of her -isms so we don't forget them (we still joke about BJ saying "toes on" instead of bare feet).

"Hold you" = hold me
When asked how old she is, she responds with 2 1/2 (even though she won't be 2 1/2 til Feb.)
"Tomo stas" = como estas
Choosey= excuse me
"Baby Ray is crying"- I hear this all day long- her doll is named Baby Ray (after her cousin) and evidently he cries a lot, but is only helped by her kisses.
"An-kin-ka"- what she claims her name is some days.
"Underwear on"= underwear (whether on or off)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 8, 9, 10, 11, 8, 9, 10, 11
Toccer game = soccer game- yelled at random times
Pinking about it = Thinking about it (what she does on the way to soccer practice)
Mommy, eating.  Mommy, raining. Mommy, told (cold)- the way she runs a commentary on our day.
"Heard it" if she hears a noise
"Noisy, Mommy, noisy"- for a loud noise
"Read. the. book" (Hard to describe her intonation)
"Doctor's. HOUSE"
When dancing "Mom, tetchups" (ketchup which means dip)
"Anika, do we hit?" A: "Yes" Mom: "No" A: "No, no hit"
"Anika, why are you sitting on the step?"  A: "Hit brother" Me: "No, you didn't hit brother"  A:"Bite brother" Me: "No, you didn't bite brother" A:"Hit Mommy" Me: "No, Anika, let me tell you why you are sitting on the step"


Love this girl!

Gastroentereology

One of these days I'll go back to posting about things non-medical :)  Today was the BIG day- time to get some answers from the GI guys.  Except, there weren't too many answers, just more of a plan :)  So, talked to the GI doctor.  I'm usually good at remembering BJ's docs names, but I'm losing track.  Anyway, she took time with us and listened fairly well without feeling too rushed.  I tried to be helpful and print up his past medical history, a quick summary, and a quick diet log (all in fear she would say it was diet related and send me on my way).  In the end, she glanced at this stuff, but took my answer that he had a good diet.  She examined him again-he is a trooper.  He deals with some of the "ickier" exams better than most male adults :)  And then she offered the kids juice and goldfish or teddy grahams so we could talk longer.  (Interesting strategy- after we've discussed whether or not he has a healthy diet- and since I had already let them have raisins).  Basically, she wants us to continue what we are doing with the Miralax, just be more regimented in it.  We also need to keep a log of his bowel movements and his tummy aches.  She suggested we continue to keep him off dairy as a dairy allergy (even though his previous dairy testing is negative) could present this way.  She also wants us to do a blood test for celiac (gluten allergy) but we can wait a little while to see if our insurance company accepts our appeal on the cystic fibrosis carrier test and do both tests together.  (I love it when pediatric docs understand how traumatic blood draws can be and are cool with "grouping" them).  We will go back in 2 months, and if there is no change at that time, she will suggest a colonoscopy to get to the bottom of his issues.  Thanks for your prayers!  Here are some cutie pictures to share!

Recent family photo, done by our amazing photographer.  www.brynmarae.com

Recent couch fort

Anika in her pic clothes, playing with trucks

BJ pouting-not sure why, he wouldn't tell me this time

Anika, stealing Mommy's necklace at soccer practice

 And smiling at herself :)

 BJ's soccer picture- love that smile!

Cardiology

Thank you for your prayers, BJ has a (upper limits of ) normal sized heart that is strong and healthy!  The cardiologist we met with today looked over his x-ray, did an EKG, thorough exam, echocardiogram (ultrasound of his heart), and declared his heart to be healthy.  He did not laugh and say we didn't need to be there, and thought it reasonable to investigate given BJ's lung history.  Additionally, he did not detect any leaky valves or small holes in his heart.  BJ did a great job listening, sitting still, and chilling while they checked him out.  Anika, however, in true little sister form was disappointed they didn't do an EKG ("stickers, Mommy, stickers") or echo ("lay down, Mommy, shirt off") on her.  However, the nice part about a peds office is that they are used to typical 2 year old behavior.  Next week, GI.  Thanks again for your support and prayers.  Specifically, I would pray for wisdom on the part of BJ's doctors, answers, and avoiding a surgery to fix his GI system.  Also, patience and peace Brandon and me even if there are no answers.  We would love to get to the bottom of these issues and know how best to help him.  Thanks to everyone.

Update

Thanks so much for everyone's support and prayers over BJ's health.  Even if we don't have a ton of information more, it has helped immensely with peace for me over what is going on.  Thank you so much for that!!  (Even the sheer numbers of people who read the blog- 110 views is astounding.  Thanks for caring enough to read) I don't have a ton of answers for my update today, just some more info.  Tomorrow we head to the cardiologist for them to check out his heart size.  I'm half expecting the cardiologist to say we don't need to be there, and half expecting another slew of tests to be ordered.  We'll just have to wait and see.  Our insurance company doesn't want to cover the genetic blood test our pulmonologist wants to have done, so we did a sweat test and it came back negative.  Negative, as in, BJ does not have cystic fibrosis, definitively (within whatever false negative rate the test has).  Yay!  But he could still be a carrier and have similar issues to what he is having now, with less negative impact for his future.  Praise God!  Then next week we had to the gastroenterologist to see what they have to say about his poor gut.  He's had a bad week last week discipline-wise, but it may be just all the chaos.  That's really all I have for you right now.  I'll see what time/energy I have to update tomorrow after cardiology.  Thanks again for your support.  It has been amazing.

Health

I'm really hesitant to write this post for a lot of reasons, but the whole point of the blog is that this is our family, our life, so I'm writing it.  I am unbelievably thankful for BJ's health (and improved health).  I had no idea what to expect back in residency with a sweet asthmatic baby, pulling long hours at work to come home and do neb treatments, stressing about taking more sick days, etc.  We could have it so much worse.  Plus, there are countless moms whose greatest nightmares have come to life in their kids awful diagnosis or worse.  In no way am I trying to compare myself to them, or belittle them.  Their strength is amazing on a daily basis, and they deserve years of pampering.  But, I'm also allowed as a mom to feel and be frustrated :)  And today, I'm tired and frustrated.  It came to our attention quite a while ago that BJ was having some issues with his gastrointestinal tract.  I, being the lovely Dr. Mom, didn't panic and took forever to make an appointment for him to be evaluated.  So, we had him evaluated and found out he was horribly massively constipated.  A total shock to both of us, but I saw the proof, so I have to agree.  We brought him back home and set out to "clean him out."  Anyone who has ever had a colonoscopy, bless you- that stuff is dreadfully disgusting.  We spent the day in tears.  BJ crying because it tasted awful AND he wanted to eat AND he didn't want to drink anymore.  I cried trying to explain why he had to go through the awfulness AND trying to rack my brain on how to make it better.  And Anika cried because she wanted to drink what her brother was drinking :)  Prototypical Anika!  We survived, the medicine seemed like it was doing the trick, and we hoped and prayed we never would have to do that again.  He got set up on a daily regimen to stay cleaned out and we went on our merry way.  Except, it didn't seem to be changing any of the original issue, and now BJ was complaining of belly pain.  So, back to the doctor, another x-ray, another eval, and we find out, the clean out didn't do a lick of good.  Not one iota of change.  I could have cried.  Seriously.  So, back to the drawing board on why my poor kiddo is so constipated. We completely dropped dairy from his diet.  We had a thyroid study drawn (gotta love blood work in this age group- I cry because he cries), and were sent back to the pulmonologist to evaluate for cystic fibrosis.  (Side note to catch up- we've had the sweat test for CF done twice before with no results- and it isn't the diagnosis you want your kid to have, if you have a say in it.)

Fast forward to today.  We have an appointment at Children's with pulmonology.  No appointment at this facility is cheap or fast, but they are amazing with kids- so we keep driving the 45+ time to come.  Plus, BJ knows the place, and his favorite doc is there.  We haven't even had vitals done when the nursing assistant helping our doc out today tells us to head down for a chest xray.  Not what I expected, but they are pulmonary, and I know enough to not argue (too much) with our docs.  Head down, back up, pulmonary function testing- hysterical in a 4 year old, back the room, meet with the nursing assistant, wait for the doc.  (Might I say as my sweet guy who normally naps is fading fast at my side).  (But clearly I feel I need to draw out the drama because this post is already longer than it should have been.)  So anyway, he thinks the chance of BJ having CF is extremely small (mental sigh), but that he might be a carrier and thus having some issues because of his carrier status.  He wants to run an expensive genetic test to see if BJ is a carrier and get him in to GI.  Great, fabulous, done.  Until the next part.  And oh yeah, we did a chest x-ray because his heart looked big on his abdominal x-ray and it is big on the chest xray too.  I need you to see cardiology.  I totally laughed.  Seriously, out loud, laughed.  I think he misunderstood me, because he started to explain why it was important  But I understood, just was shocked and overwhelmed at the idea of another issue to figure  out.  My sweet child- the proof that you can do everything right, breast feed, make your own baby food, have a dog, get rid of the dog, feed him a diet that is healthy and full of fiber, and pray over him- and still have things not go right.  I smiled, thanked him, walked out, attempted to schedule 2 visits, scheduled one, called Brandon, got Beej buckled in his seat, and cried.  Cried that my sweet "healthy, normal" son has more in his continuing health saga.  Now, at the ripe old age of 4, will have a PCP, pulmonologist, allergist, ENT, general surgeon, gastroenterologist, and cardiologist.  Some days, I find that exhausting.  And some days, I remember my friends and acquaintances who are morning a loss of a child, or praying he or she will leave the hospital and live a life as normal as BJ has it. Thank you Lord, for keeping him safe AND healthy.