Dig In

It's time to blog. Yes, I've been digging my heels at the notion but seriously when did I blog last?!?

In the history of clinic visits, this last one will go down as one of the worst. It was one of those three for one deals (all three kiddos at the same visit). Weight gains are down. Cooper even lost 2 lbs but was welcomed since he didn't even make the charts last time around. Trinity barely makes the charts but she's on the bottom of the charts. Cayden got a cold two weeks ago and after 10 days on Cephlax is still coughing. Time for an antibiotic change. This time the drug of choice will be amoxicillin. We've just changed insurances (Chris started a new job after 12 years) and of course getting a prescription filled is like parting the red sea. There is literally no way of getting around it. I felt like I was on the verge of committing a crime just to get a REFILL for crying out loud! They all need yearly blood draws and chest x-rays but without being given the green light I'm not about to spend "pretend" insurance money on said procedures. So we'll wait on those two for the moment.

Trinity's weight gain was the most concerning of them all. We were asked to increase her zantac to double (2 ml to 4 ml) for the next 2 weeks. We'll weigh her at home and if no change the next step will be to increase her enzyme dose. Cooper has all the symptoms Trin SHOULD be having as she is not gaining weight. He on the other hand, poops 4-5 times a day, has a ginormous belly the size of Mt. Everest and still continues to pack on the pounds. The dietitian suggested cutting back on his milk intake as he could be having some lactose issues and following up with a GI specialist if we don't see an improvement in symptoms by next clinic. The dismal results from clinic continued to mount: Cayden also did not gain any weight. He needs to up the ante in milk shakes and snacks before bed. Mostly his lose of weight gain can be attributed to the cough he has had, burning all his extra calories. We continue to do chest therapy 2-3 times a day to push all the extra gunk accumulating in his lungs out as fast as possible, since now he is well beyond a "cold." Everyone will go back in 6 weeks...not typical since they have been going every 3 months since they turned 2.

In the rest of our busyness we are back-to-school shopping for next week: Cayden starts 1st grade. He is so excited he is dreaming of recess, snow, and his teacher Mrs. Kotz. Colin will go three times a week to PreK 4 and Trinity starts school for the first time this year in PreK 3. Which means we'll be meeting with teachers and educating them on how to give enzymes before meals and snacks, keep them hydrated, and using the restroom as needed :). Oh, the joys of CF!