~Blood test results~

I have gotten an overwhelming response both on the web and in person of people's concern for Madelyn. Thank you for all your good wishes! So seeing I was going to post the findings here anyways, I will do that instead of emailing the lot of you that have been asking as I will be here all day if I do that!

First off there was a miscommunication between the lab, myself and the Pediatrician; The Pediatrician told me Endocrinology would call me when lab results came in, however, what really happened was she blindly referred us to Endocrinology, then Endocrinology called me prior to lab results to ensure I was able to get an appointment within a reasonable time JUST IN CASE things were urgent. In hindsight, the Pediatrician was just being super proactive, all the while making me feel the need to visit the cardiologist!!

In a nutshell almost everything was stellar..which is great news..but still leaves the questions unanswered.

However, there is some concern with Madelyn's liver functions. She is showing she has 1 of the 2 enzymes elevated, the AST. The other enzyme level that came back normal is the ALT. The Pediatrician did not seem all that alarmed about it as she stated this could simply be due to her age and will eventually even itself out. She also said it could be the reaction of her body fighting off an infection of some sort which is completely normal for the liver to do such business and when the liver is doing that the AST will be elevated.

However, maybe Endocrinology will be able to shed some light as to why she eats as much as she does..(I think I'm going to take pictures of each of her meals today so you all can see what she polishes off..it's really pretty insane) and yet does not gain any weight. In fact her Huggies size 3s even seemed baggy on her over the weekend! My theory is she is going to have a runner's body..long, tall and lean..just like her two uncles..who top the charts respectively at 6 foot 5 and 6 foot 7. And no they don't play basketball; they are both avid golfers.

Only time will tell. In the meantime, we do have a standing appointment for Birth2-3 June 3rd, GI on June 7th, and Endocrinology on June 18th.

http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/ast/test.html

~9 month check-up and band-aids~

Craptastic. That is how I can describe our 9 month check. On Friday we went from "you officially have what we refer to as a 'big baby'" to bugged out eyes, rechecking her weight and a referral to Birth 2-3.

Stats as follows:
Height: 27.25 (gained 1.25 inches)
HC: 45.5 cm (gained 1.5 cm)
Weight: 16.6 (LOST 3 oz)

She eats all her required food, and then some, like a horse, so I have no idea how on earth she lost weight. She does not crawl, creep, pull up, or cruise either. Lost.

So Monday we packed up and went to the CT Children's Medical Center to get some blood drawn to check on a few things, thyroid issues being the one that stands out in my head. She got her very first band aid, Garfield to be exact. Ya..big fat hairy deal. We should know the results by the end of this week so I'm pretty much on pins and needles for the time being.

Madelyn also has not rolled over since Lord knows when, so Birth 2-3 will be coming over to the house to check her motor skill development during the first week in June.

Waiting game. Gotta love it.


http://www.birth23.org/

~Huggies Pure & Natural~

"So this is love..mmm..mmm...so this is love..." (insert Sleeping Beauty singing here)

Wow. Where have you been all my life?

This is a great diaper. First off it is the softest diaper I have ever felt..way softer than Pampers "Blankie Soft" Swaddlers ever were, even when they were manufactured correctly. They fit around Madelyn's slim baby body like a glove and when they get wet the get squishy, not hard like the previous contenders did. This diaper also performs exceptionally well overnight. No leaks. They have a pleasant smell out of the wrapper as well. If I had to pick at one things I'd improve it would be the side tabs..they could stand to be slightly longer just for ease of parental use.

I highly recommend this diaper.

If you are going to consider this diaper, call Huggies, aka, Kimberly-Clark, and ask them for coupons. They sent me $8 worth. One of the coupons was worth $6 so as a result my first pack of these diapers, that I bought from Wal-Mart, ended up costing me $2.97. If you are not, call them anyways and get coupons..then send them to me, because I surely could use them!

I am so glad to be done with this diaper fiasco.

http://www.huggiespureandnatural.com/

~Hit a milestone..well at least to me it's a milestone.~

I'm in the kitchen, big surprise, on Sunday and I hear Scott yell from the living room, "Mommy..come look! Hurry!" I sigh, as I'm thinking, "Yes she is prolly doing something I have seen a million times, but I'll come anyways to humor you.."

I walk in and was pleasantly surprised to see her on her hands and knees. Wow! One step closer to crawling and the end of life as I know it.

~7th Generation~

First off, I'd like to give a big "THANK YOU" to Tara at 7th Generation for generously providing me with 1 size 3 and 1 size 4 to try on Madelyn's bum. She also sent me some coupons for diapers and other products as well.

Well, my initial impression when looking at this diaper was it seemed like a cross between a Pamper and a Huggie. Tabs and back elastic like Huggies and then the rest of it, like over all construction and feel was like a Pamper. This is where the comparisons ended. Tara did warn me that they ran small, so with that, I first put Madelyn in the size 3. It fit, but not very well, as it seemed to be a little too snug, as I expected thanks to Tara. No worries, I'll just let her use it and then see how it holds up to 2 hours of being a baby. The next day I decided to put her in the size 4. It fit her very very well, except it just seemed a little tall and the diaper looked as if it went halfway up her torso. Overall, I was pleased with the 4, so I went out and bought a pack with my coupon. We used them all this week and at night with no leaks. Fabulous. I did however notice that after they became wet, they became hard; a lot like the gDiapers did. Not a fan of a hard wet diaper.

Then yesterday I noticed Madelyn had 2 quarter sized red marks on her bum, what on earth...diaper rash in a 'natural' diaper? Really? I put some Desitin on it and it went away. Fine..I tried again without diaper cream. Nope..red marks came back. Wow. Not pleased.

Verdict is sadly a, "No". I do have some left, ok I have a lot left, so since they performed so well at night I will just use them on her at night until they are gone as we always slather her with Desitin at night anyways.

Next contestant; Huggies Pure & Natural.

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/

~gDiapers~

So over the past 4 days we tried out the gDiaper. I wanted these to pave the way for cloth diapering. I wanted to love them.

Babies R' Us said I could return them with my receipt if I hated them so swallowing the initial start-up cost of $30 for 2 gPants wasn't so bad.

In short, the g is a biodegradable flushable diaper that cantains no plastic layer, no chemicals, no perfumes, no inks or dyes and no latex. They sell flushie gRefills and gCloth too if you are so inclined.

They were very easy to lock and load, and after a few changes I became quite adept at the process, and found it really did not take any longer than changing a normal 'sposie. Plus I noted Madelyn looked seriously cute with that little "g" on her butt. They did break down and flush just like the company claimed, which was very nice, but since our pipes are from 1949, flushing them isn't the best idea around here.

What I didn't like is when wet they bunched up and became very hard, which I thought couldn't be very comfortable. Plus the wetness stayed in one spot and wasn't dispersed as it seems to be in the 'sposie. Madleyn's clothes fit awkwardly over them as they do have a larger mass than a 'sposie, and I noticed she had a harder time trying to crawl; not like she is crawling anyways, but there seemed to be much more expenditure of energy on her part to try.

Overall the concept is a good one, as it is a greener choice, however, they sadly did not work for us.

Next up; 7th Generation.

http://www.gdiapers.com/