Madeline – Three Months Old

Madeline at three months old

Madeline turned three months old on Sunday, which just doesn’t seem possible. She is now a whopping 24 inches long, weighing about 12 lbs. The good news is that, despite all of her digestive issues, she is most definitely thriving.

The latest on her medical conditions is pretty much this: GERD and dairy protein sensitivities. We have been seeing a pediatric GI specialist, who has Madeline on a prescription formula called Elecare. He also switched her over to an antacid called Prevacid. His hopes was that these two steps would help get her acid reflux under control, as well as eliminate all sources of dairy from her diet to help get her bloody diapers to stop. Well, this sort of worked.

Although her fits and fussiness began to wind down, we kept seeing blood in her poops even after the switch. In fact, we ended up in the emergency room at Dell Childrens’ Hospital on July 3 after she spit up what looked life coffee grounds, which was blood. They had to draw lots of blood for tests, placed a tube through her nose down to her stomach to get samples of fluid, and put her on an IV. In the end, they didn’t find a source of the bleeding and we were sent home.

Our GI specialist decided that the Prevacid might have a tiny bit of dairy in the “fillers” of the dissolvable tablets, which would be the final source of irritation, and put her back on Prilosec.  With this change, the blood in her poops and spitup began to go away, but her fussiness returned. One step forward, one step back. As of today, he increased her dosage of Prilosec, so fingers crossed that THIS does the trick. Having a happy, healthy daughter would be simply amazing.

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The Madeline Saga

Madeline at two months old

Madeline’s first few months of life have been pretty intense, mixed with plenty of good and not so good. Our little girl has been experiencing pain since she was just days old, and we’re still in the process of getting to the root of the problem. At first we thought that she was simply a fussy baby, but as things started to escalate, when knew that something was wrong.

After a trip to the pediatrician, Madeline was diagnosed with acid reflux and a dairy protein sensitivity. She got some samples of a formula from Enfamil called Nutramigen, which is pre-digested and therefore easier for her to process, as well as a prescription for the antacid Zantac. Her fussiness, gassiness, spitups, etc… continued, so back to the pediatrician we went.

This time round we kept her on the Nutramigen, and switched up her antacids to Prilosec. We did see a slight improvement, but still nothing to write home about. Of course, the Prilosec doesn’t come in baby-friendly strengths, so it has to be compounded, and only a handful of pharmacies in the area do such a thing. On top of that, insurance companies give compounded prescriptions a thumbs down, and mine does not cover it. Lovely.

Our spitups then started to increase in both frequency and volume, and we then noticed something that sounded our alarms – blood in her poop. Our pediatrician sent us directly to an imaging facility near our home so they could x-ray her abdomen, just to make sure her intestines were in the correct place. The results were normal, so that wasn’t the case. We were to keep an eye on her poops, and to let the doc know if they returned.

Not too long afterwards, we find blood again in her diaper. We are quickly given an appointment at Dell Children’s Hospital for an upper GI. It is heartbreaking not only to see your eight week old child in this much pain, but having to undergo scans such as this. Of course, the results turned out just fine.

OK. So, two days later we have Madeline’s 2 month appointment, where she received a round of vaccinations. She had the typical fever that kiddos get with shots, but her reflux and tummy in general started acting worse. The rotavirus vaccine seemed to agitate her stomach, giving her some tantrum freakouts and increased spitup. A few days later, she has two bloody poops (one per day / two days in a row). Our doc schedules us for a sonogram so they can make sure that she doesn’t have telescoping intestines. Of course, the results come back a-ok.

So, we change her antacids one more time, as she is now on Prevacid, which is insanely expensive for kiddos. We also know have an appointment with a GI specialist next week, so fingers crossed he will get to the root of this problem. I’m ready to see a happy baby. I need to see a happy baby.

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Western Diamondbacks

It has been a little while since I’ve gotten a breather to update the blog, but it seems that I’ve got a few minutes while Madeline is napping in her swing. Sleeeeep kiddo sleeeeeeeeeeep!

So a few weeks ago, my folks were driving in to visiting us. I was taking Boris out (on leash) for his morning pee in the backyard, when I suddenly noticed about 2 feet (the tail end) of a rattlesnake sticking out from under our wooden deck. I grabbed Boris and put him inside, then ran to the garage to get a shovel in an attempt to kill the snake myself. Of course, all my efforts did was make the snake angry, causing it to go completely under the deck and begin to fire up that rattle.

At this point I had no idea what to do, so I called my pest company, who then referred me to a wildlife removal company. The dude came out pretty quickly, and we then began ripping our boards from our deck. About 30 minutes later, he pulled out a 4 foot long Western Diamondback. When tearing out the deck, we discovered various rodents that had been living down there, making it the perfect all you can eat buffet for the snakes. No good.

OK, problem solved. Not quite. The next afternoon I looked out into the backyard and saw yet another, BIGGER Western Diamondback. More boards from the deck got ripped out, and this sucker ended up being nearly 6 feet long.

SO, at this point, I’ve ripped out the rest of our deck. It is GONE. Now, nothing can live under it. The raccoon skull (we think that is what it was) ended up as the final straw. We’re going to eventually have a new concrete deck poured, plus I’m having some of the ground cover in our flower beds torn out, as I don’t want there to be any places for unwanted friends to hide.

Here are a few pictures of our slithering friends. Click on the photo to see the gallery.

Snakes!
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One Month

Madeline at one month old

Somehow our first month of having Madeline in our lives has already zoomed by. She turned one month old on Tuesday, which simply doesn’t seem possible. Perhaps it is due to walking around in a sleep deprived haze for a good portion of each day, but it does feel like it was just days ago when we were still at the hospital, watching Madeline receive her first bath.

Things here at the Adams household are still pretty bananas, but that is to be expected with a four week old baby. We’ve gotten the hang of all the basics, but we’re still learning her cues. Although apparently some babies have different cries for specific things, our little Madeline has yet to clarify which ones mean hungry, diaper change, sleepy or bored. Her acid reflux may have something to do with that. We’ve been very fortunate to have a great pediatrician who listens to our concerns, and has helped get Madeline on the right track. Fussy babies around the clock can be quite a handful.

Erin only has a a week or so left of her maternity leave, so things are about to get very interesting around here. We both work from home, so we’re going to attempt to manage both work and baby duties without any daycare, at least for now. Hopefully our little girl will cooperate! Even through all of the sleepless night and full-on tantrums, it has been an amazing gift to have Madeline in our lives. It is such a treat to see her react to different things, such as various kinds of music. We’ll have the most musically educated kiddo on the block!

Also, we have found a few rattlesnakes in our backyard, but I’ll save that story for my next post. Stay tuned…

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Madeline Josephine Adams

Although most of you already know, our daughter was born on Sunday, April 11. Madeline Josephine Adams was born at 4:27pm, weighing 7lbs 5oz and 20″ long. She has a full head of hair, is VERY alert and has two very proud parents. Erin is doing well, so the Adams crew is happy and healthy. I’ve posted a TON of pictures, which you can view at the following two galleries.

Madeline Josephine Adams
All Things Madeline
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Nursery

With Baby Adams just weeks or possibly days away, we’ve been putting the final touches on her nursery. We ordered a cool wall clock which may or may not arrive before she does, but besides that, the nursery is completely done. The walls are painted, artwork is up on the walls, crib is ready for sleepytime, rocking chair is repaired, clothes are sorted and folded and/or in the closet… so now we just pretty much wait.

To see a few pictures of our nursery, click the image below:

Nursery – March 2010
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Veloway

OK, so for now it seems that all my posts are bike related, although I can guarantee that in a few weeks the blog will errupt into nonstop baby mania! This morning I packed up the bike and drove to the Austin Veloway, an awesome 3.1 mile loop through the Circle C area of town. The Veloway is for bikes and rollerblades only, making for the perfect area to train or simply go for a nice ride without worrying about pedestrians or cars.

With this 30 mile ride looming over my head (in TEN days!!!!!), I pedaled for ten miles today. As long as I keep making steady progress, hopefully I’ll be able to limp to the finish line. Going to be a close one, but totally worth it. I might try a 20 mile ride this weekend.

Here is a picture I took at the end of my ride this morning. I love that Veloway!

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Making Progress

Well, I started training waaaay too late for the upcoming Pablove Ride For Life, but I am working hard to get my body ready for a 30 mile trip on the bike. I added two miles to my current mileage total, so I am currently sitting at 8 miles. The biggest challenge for me so far has been the hills in our neighborhood. We’ve got a few stretches that you’ve got to push hard uphill, and my body simply isn’t used to it.

I’m also still getting used to the road bike, although I’ve found myself getting more comfortable each ride. I need to lower the saddle just an inch or so, but everything else seems right on. I am going to hit the Veloway tomorrow and/or Thursday to give me some nice, flat trails to pedal on. Will start alternating then between the Veloway and our neighborhood. Wish me luck!

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Bike

Well, I went ahead and took the plunge into cycling today. Erin and I popped over to the Lance Armstrong-owned Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop this morning and test rode a few different types of bikes. Well, I test rode, while my preggy wife sat and watched. She was a real trooper to let me do this!

I ended up purchasing a Fisher Ion Super road bike, which I’ve got to say is pretty sweeeeet. It isn’t a full carbon frame, but it has enough to help damper the road bumps a bit. The sucker is FAST, so I can’t wait to really test it out over this weekend. Of course, some cycling shorts are a MUST, as my tender bits are, well, tender right now from the riding I’ve already done the past two days.

Check out my new wheels:

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Training

Not like I needed something else  to help keep me busy, especially with our baby girl’s arrival just weeks away, but I did indeed add one more thing to my schedule. I decided to join a few of my fellow Dangerbird co-workers in the Pablove Ride For Life. This is a bicycle ride that will be benefiting the Pablove Foundation, which you have seen me write plenty about here on the ol’ blog.

The ride has a 30 mile route for less experienced riders, as well as a 60 mile route for those who know what they’re doing. I will obviously be selecting the 30 mile route, which will be a stretch for me, as I am not a cyclist. I don’t own a bike, so my training has been taking place on stationary bikes at the gym. Will be adding some spin classes in to help me along.

The Pablove Ride For Life will be taking place at the tail end of the SXSW Music Festival, on Saturday, March 20. The ride will begin at 10am, and as long as Erin hasn’t gone into labor, I’ll be pedaling along to help fit childhood cancer. If you’d like to join me on the ride, the entry fee is only $25. Read more at www.pablove.org/sxsw

There will also be a Dangerbird music showcase at Mellow Johnny’s that evening, which will be to raise awareness and money for the Pablove Foundation. It is free and open to the public, and will have donation boxes and plenty of Pablove merch to sell. Hope to see a few of you there!

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