It seems we just can't catch a break here. Seth has decided to wake up every 2-3 hours. We have no idea why. Seth's formula was part of a recall by Similac due to contamination with beetle larvae. Maybe that was why he was throwing up. Maybe it's even why he is waking up. Most likely though there is no beetle larvae in his formula, the company is just being over cautious. But it did result in Rus having to go get new formula and I had to go online and request a package to send it back. I still have to check the other container that is in the recycling. He doesn't get all formula either as I am still pumping.
Of course, now my pump isn't working so great. So who knows how much longer I will be pumping. I guess I will try calling the company tomorrow and see what I can do, but if I have to actually mail the thing to them what do I do in the mean time? I have been trying to nurse Seth, but it's hit or miss as to whether he feels like it or just freaks out.
Poor Wyatt is having issues of his own. Last night he was telling me his penis hurt. It looked a little red, but Rus and I thought maybe it was the new soap and there wasn't much to be done about it last night. Turns out it probably was the soap, but this morning we could tell it was pretty serious. Rus took him in to an urgent care appointment. I would have gone, but I had an important training today.
We thought he had a urinary tract infection. Instead Rus found out Wyatt has balanitis. For now we are treating with hydrocortisone cream. If it doesn't clear up, Wyatt will go on antibiotics. Turns out it is one of those things that is more common in uncircumcised boys. We were told not to use the soap anymore (which was Johnson and Johnson baby wash with lavender scent). Now I have guilt about not circumcising him.
Yesterday we also took Wyatt for a feeding and fine motor evaluation. We saw Stacy Roura who has seen Wyatt before outpatient. She is an occupational therapist. She asked Wyatt to hang those monkeys in a barrel together, string some beads (they were so small!), catch a small ball she was rolling across the table, and point to some specific body parts in a book. She concluded he is having an issue with visual/spacial perception. Poor Wyatt didn't like doing the exercises. He clearly felt insecure about what he was being asked to do. Stacy said he knows she asking him to do things that are hard for him. We have a whole host of exercises we are supposed to do with him like stringing cheerios on a shoe string, rolling and catching balls, pointing to things with precision and one other thing I can't remember.
Then we moved on to the feeding evaluation. I discussed some of my concerns regarding food texture and how he gets so upset if things are "messy" on his face, clothes or surroundings. How he melts down if there is too much yogurt on his spoon. She concluded that he had some textural aversions. She wants to work with him so we go back on 10/13. In the meantime, she showed us some stuff we can do with him. We are supposed to have 2-3 feeding sessions with him a week, but not around mealtimes. They are strictly for exploration. He can eat if he wants, but the goal is just to encourage him to put the food some where near his mouth. He should just touch, crush and break-up the food. When he is done, he should kiss it and put it in a trash bowl. The trash bowl is a safety net for him as once things go in he doesn't have to deal with them again. Also, we are supposed to help him learn to purse his lips by blowing a tissue across a table.
I will admit I spent a large part of yesterday feeling pretty bad about the evaluations. I felt bad that Wyatt felt insecure. I felt bad that we have little in the way of fine motor toys and we haven't been encouraging him to perform fine motor activities like stacking blocks. I felt like we were going down this path again and I thought I had gotten us off. Today I am able to say that if Wyatt needs help, we will work on it. Even if it seems nearly impossible to do a feeding session during the week that isn't part of a meal. Even if it seems like a lot of this is ridiculousness. Rus and I can help him. We will help him. These things just need a little work.
Here's hoping for a peaceful weekend.
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(1) Ask the company to ship another pump immediately and tell them that upon receipt you will return the broken one. They obviously sold a defective pump.
ReplyDelete(2) The decision not to circumcise was made for you. I recall you saying that premies were not circumcised. Use mild, unscented soap. If Wyatt has problems when he gets older he can always be circumcised.
(3) Get some earplugs to use at night so you can function at work the next morning.
(4) I know adults with "food texture" issues, so what? Good grief, only in America! He's 2.
Teach him how to use a napkin to wipe his face. Give him his yogurt in a flatter bowl so he scoops a smaller amount on his spoon. Try a different spoon. Give him small amounts of food at a time.
(5) Activities involving development of small motor skills should be part of his day care program. Buy him some of those wooden stringing beads. Sitting down and working on fine motor skills is not particularly enjoyable for a 2 year old, especially an active boy. It may take a while before he is interested in sitting down and working on those skills.
(6) You have gone above and beyond the call of duty with Wyatt you have nothing to feel guilty about.
(7) Wyatt has been feeding himself successfully for a long time.
(8) Stop taking Wyatt for evaluations. He's got a lot of adjustments he's making now, his new brother, full-time day care are all changes in his life that he's adjusting to.
(9) This is a perfect example of why grandparents are handy to have around.
(10) Guilt is a genetic mutation passed on by the female gene, males generally pass through life guilt-free.