Decisions, Decisions

This week has been eventful for the Chandlers -- especially the youngest. Poor Hankers has gotten progressively more congested again. And (sorry for tmi) with runnier and more explosive poos. Even more, he's had tiny bits of blood in his poo again.

So, Monday I took him back to the pediatrician. Pause here to wonder at his fatness. This baby is now 15 weeks and 21 pounds, 1/2 ounce. Yes, I said 21 POUNDS. Back to business. Due to the blood and his congestion, the doctor and I both suspected another food sensitivity or allergy (I'm still off dairy) and/or that Hank was reacting to the cats at the sitter's house. So, he suggested we take Hank to see an allergist, but warned us that this is prime season for allergies, so it would be a while before we could get in.

On the way home, I called three allergists that our doc had suggested. The first didn't answer. The second said there were 5 people in the phone cue ahead of me; could I call back tomorrow. And the last...well, they had a cancellation and could get us in Tuesday (the next day!!!) at 3:30pm. Miraculous!

To the allergist we went, and although skeptical of a food allergy because Hank has no skin issues (like eczema) that typically go along with it, he tested Hank for reactions to milk, soy, wheat, egg, peanut, and cat. Not that Hank or I eat cat, but that was a bonus test just to make sure it wasn't an environmental reaction. ;) And the result? Negative. Totally negative to all of it.

So, while certainly a praise that the Baby Boy has no allergies right now (not that they couldn't develop down the line), we still don't really have an answer. The next step would be to take him to a pediatric GI -- not a pleasant trip by any means, as it would either involve drinking something for upper GI or a barium enema for lower GI. Yikes.

So, on the recommendation of our pediatrician, we're waiting to see what happens and if it will improve on its own. In the meantime, though, they suggested we go ahead and call GI to make an appointment, as it normally takes a couple of months to get in. I called yesterday, and guess when they could get Hank in? Yup. Today. (I swear, this child is luckier with appointments than I don't know what!) However, I passed on that one and got the next available -- July 27.

And, although I hate to admit it, my mom just may be right. She'd done some research online and found this site -- which, for the record, I have looked at umpteen times, but not paid much attention to: http://www.llli.org/FAQ/oversupply.html Of the 13 symptoms listed, Hank fits the bill on at least 7 of them. Not to mention that babies tend to gain weight very quickly with this issue (21 pounds, anyone?). The best part? The "cure" is mostly just to nurse only on one side (instead of both) at a feeding. I swear, if I've given up cheese for 9 weeks for nothing....but we'll see.

As for Milo, he's good. We're struggling with preschool decisions for next year. Our choices are to leave him at the preschool he's in now (2 half-days each week), or to go to a neighboring school district's Early Childhood Education program (up to 4 full days each week). The latter is, of course, more expensive, but we're wondering if he'd actually benefit from more structure. But he will only be 3-1/2, so we have 2 more years of preschool before Kindergarten. Do we keep with Preschool-Lite, or do we dive in to Early Childhood Ed? Any educators or childhood experts out there have any advice?