Diagnosis

On Wednesday Owen had a GI appointment and we got the news that he has anal stenosis. The symptoms of anal stenosis mimic the allergic colitic he was previously diagnosed with (colic, blood in stools, difficulty in stooling and explosive bms).

I have been feeling a huge range of emotion about this. On the one hand, I'm happy we figured it out and that he will soon by on the way to relief. On the other hand, I'm floored that THIS has been the problem all along and none of the many doctors I took Owen to see figured it out.

In a very strange way it confirms what Chris and I have been suspecting. Chris kept saying he was sure something was going on internally in Owen. I had a strong feeling that I shouldn't wean him like the doctors were pushing and that weaning him would make him worse. We were both right.

So, next week we start the next set of doctors appointments. Hopefully this will be easy for Owen and pain-free. The best thing about this (yes, even better than the news that I can start eating like a human) is that Owen will be fine soon. And we have to think that having an easily fixable rectal malformation is much better than lifelong multiple food allergies. So although it was shocking and disconcerting to figure this out, it is definitely good news.

Party Party

Our family is currently attempting to somehow heal ourselves from the WORST COLD EVER. Chris and I have bronchitis. Colin has croup and Owen is snotting all over the place. It has been a long winter.

But Saturday, we pulled ourselves together (somewhat!) to celebrate Colin's birthday with friends and family. Although Saturday night Colin ended up in the ER needing breathing treatments, he was a trooper for his party and bounced the day away. Here are some pictures of the festivities.

Complimentary Colin

Colin has started bestowing compliments on others. It’s actually really sweet and quite flattering to get a Colin compliment.



Here are some recent examples:

“Wow, Dad, it looks nice in here! Good job!” (Said after Colin saw the new shelves Chris put up in the pantry).

“Great job, Mom!” (said after any number of things from me doing a puzzle to making him dinner).

“O-ey, you’re so cute” (said to Owen on many many occasions).

"Dad, you're GREAT!" (said all the time) as well as "Mom, you're GREAT!"

“Wow, mom, you look nice!” (Said to me after my most recent haircut).

And finally, the BEST COMPLIMENT EVER.

“Mom!, you look so pretty!” The he said after I was dressed to go to a Spring Party with Colin’s buddies. I had, for once, blown dry my hair and Colin noticed. If he only knew how much he could milk that we’d be in big trouble.

Happy Birthday Colin

Colin had a wonderful and busy third birthday. Here are some pictures of the highlights:

Checking out his loot:



Opening Presents:





Enjoying Colin's new crawl through fort:



The circus!:







Grampa and Owen:



Visiting the Elephants after the circus:





Happy Birthday Big 3 Year Old!





Happy Birthday Colin, we love you.

Birthday Eve

Every year on the night before our birthday, my mom would sit at our bed and tell us the story of our birth. For me, it was one of my favorite parts of my birthday because she made the world sound like it was just waiting for me to arrive. It was almost magical.

So tonight, on the Eve of Colin's third birthday, after his bath I asked if he wanted to hear the story of his birth. He was excited to hear it and sat quietly as I told him the story. This isn't verbatim, of course, but this is pretty much the story I told him.

"It was a beautiful day in Hoboken, New Jersey. Mimi was visiting and Mommy and Mimi were walking around town. All of a sudden, mommy said 'oh! I think Colin is going to be born today'. So we went back to our apartment and watched a movie. During the movie, mommy said 'I think Colin's going to be born today'. So Mommy took a shower and said it was time to go to the hospital. All night long Mommy thought it was time for Colin to be born, but we waited and waited. Finally, Mimi looked outside the window and said 'the sun is rising over a church's steeple, I think it's time for Colin to be born'. And it was. And you were born. And Mommy and Daddy looked at you and said 'we love you, Colin, thank you for being born'."



He listened closely and had me tell him the story twice. He was quiet for a second and then looked at me and said "No, mommy, I'm not borned. I'm a big boy now."

Owen Proofing

In every room in our house Owen has a series of goals that all involve danger. He is completely and totally determined, so in each room I’m aware of what he is going to try to do and have to remove him from danger OVER and OVER and OVER again.

In our bedroom, his goal is to crawl over to my bedside table to try to grab the wires behind it. If he is unsuccessful, his next target is trying to get to the phone wire on Chris’s side. If he notices the closet door is open, he crawls at warp speed to try to get inside to grab things like belts or shoes. If he notices the bathroom door is open, he tries to get inside where is only goals are to crawl behind the toilet to grab the bolt cover, stand at the toilet to splash and open the drawer to pull out lotions. And of course he tips over the garbage can to grab whatever is inside.

In the playroom he plays appropriately with most things except he EATS books. He does not chew on them, he EATS them. Even board books are gnawed to the point of having chunks of cardboard in his mouth. And so books have to be taken from him 100 times a day. If his notices Colin’s door is open, he crawls in there to grab things out of the changing table. If he notices the boys’ bathroom door is open, he crawls in to play with Colin’s potty (luckily it is no longer used because Colin uses the big potty and is disinfected, but still YUCK!)

Downstairs in the living room, he beelines to the glass doors to stand, grab the curtains and bang on the glass. He crawls over to Colin’s puzzles to try to dump them out to chew on the pieces. If the laptop wire isn’t hidden in the couch, he tries to eat it.

In the kitchen he has broken into the childproofed cabinets (at almost 3, Colin has never attempted this). If by accident, the bathroom door is left open, he tries to get in there to splash in the toilet.

Get the gist? Owen can not EVER be left for 5 seconds. I literally can not take my eyes off him. And that is hard, especially when having to take Colin to the potty, put jackets on, make dinner, etc. He absolutely hates the jumparoo and his pack n play. And I can’t leave him in them to cry while I get things done or my blood pressure skyrockets.

So the solution? This!:



The boys played in there happily for an hour yesterday morning. It’s an eyesore, but I have to put that aside and keep Owen safe. And it can be broken down at night, so at least we don’t have to stare at it in the few quiet hours in the evening before Owen starts waking up all night.

First Steps Day 2

Owen took his first steps yesterday and today he took it to the next level. He is one determined little guy.

First Steps!

He was obsessed with the camera, so this was as good as we could do...

Ta Da Dee OWEN!

Colin made up a song about Owen. It's hysterical and mostly just nonsense. The lyrics are: "It's a TA and TA and a Taddy Taddy Ta! It's a TA and a TA and a Taddy Taddy Ta! It's a Ta Da Dee OWEN! It's a Ta Da Dee O-WEN! It's a Taddy Taddy O!"

Here is a clip of him singing part of the song. Owen attempts to steal the spotlight and Colin gets it back by singing with FEELING.

Food Glorious Food!

Owen is finally eating some solids. He seems to be handing them well so far. I am doing an extremely slow introduction. He has had pears, squash, carrots and prunes thus far. He seems to enjoy them all, but definitely likes carrots the most. The first time I fed him, he was literally bouncing up and down with joy. And although he still isn’t eating much, he does seem to be sleeping a tiny bit better.

Maybe he won’t be exclusively breastfed until high school after all…

Haircut

I got Colin's haircut yesterday. He is all of a sudden a little boy! It's crazy how different he looks!







And one of Owen for good measure: