Passing on Pediasure

Life is speeding by and I’m neglecting my blog… Is it really December in 2 short days?! It seems like Fall came and went before we even captured the beauty of the leaves. Old man winter is knocking at the door – I’d love to keep him away a little longer.

I’ve been thinking about this blog entry for about 3 weeks. One of the main goals of my blog is to provide support and real life advice to families with preemies, while allowing you a few glimpses into our everyday life as well. As you all know, Greyson and feeding continues to be a challenge. Like many micropreemies the battle of weight gain is constant. Greyson was sick with a mean stomach bug at the end of October. He vomited for 5 days straight and after laundering every blanket/towel/rug in my home I decided to listen closely to our pediatricians’ advice and introduce Grey to the BRAT diet. The BRAT diet consists of bananas, rice, apple sauce and toast. Grey’s BRAT diet was made up of sweet potato cereal puffs for infants, apples and crackers. Most challenging was removing Pediasure from his diet. It was hard to mentally deny him the bottle that I value so much – this is his main source of calories and fat. It was also difficult to ignore his pleas for a “Baba.” However, after 2 days on the BRAT diet, it was obvious to many of us that Grey was truly hungry and interested in food. He even said several times “Let’s eat!” I have to admit, I was shocked to hear him make this statement. He was hungry and willing to put anything in his mouth. On day 4, I maintained my strength and did not give in to the Pediasure - I was allowing Grey to drink soy milk. I didn’t want the dairy to upset his stomach and cause further vomiting. I eventually found Bright Beginnings Pediatric soy milk at the grocery and bought a case – what appears to be Pediasure’s equivalent in soy form. Here’s what I know – Grey’s appetite has increased in 3 weeks. We’ve had one vomiting spell since the switch. Many of you know that we struggle with vomiting and this has been going on for too long. I’ve discussed this issue with many of the health care providers that make up Grey’s team. No one has ever recommended that we stop the Pediasure or that Pediasure may be related to our intermittent vomiting spells.

I have this disturbing suspicion that Pediasure was causing our previous issues with vomiting. We are on our 4th week with no Pediasure and Grey continues to show a new interest in food. He eats chicken nuggets now! I used the word “disturbing” because I am truly troubled that I may have been causing many of Grey’s feeding issues with the everyday Pediasure consumption. I have this idea in my head that Pediasure was causing him to feel sick and many times causing him to be physically sick. I am not confident at this time that my suspicions are factual but I am going to continue to monitor his progress closely. Here’s what I do know, I spent some time researching Pediasure and I’m not the only mother of preemie who has experienced these vomiting spells. I read another parent’s blog and our experiences are almost parallel. Her son was started on Pediasure and then began randomly vomiting after 4-5 weeks. After she stopped the Pediasure her son’s vomiting also stopped. I continue to pray that we too may have found a contributing factor to our many feeding issues.

I’m also thinking about having Greyson tested for food allergies. Many people that witness his intermittent vomiting mention it makes them think he has a food allergy or intolerance that is causing such a harsh response. He literally projectile vomits – it’s like someone pushes back a flap in his esophagus and squeezes his stomach of all its contents (the visual was probably unnecessary).

I realize that writing an entire blog entry on vomit may seem extreme and leave you with an unpleasant feeling. However, I need to share our trials to educate others. I will continue to post about our NO Pediasure diet. We are 22 lbs today and I’m praying Grey continues to tip the scales. We need a WIN!

Mini Pizza with big Flavor!

Yes, I’m still spending lots of time in the kitchen! I feel compelled to share good recipes with friends. So the other night I made mini pepperoni pizza. Not only were they tasty but they were fun to make too!
I feel so much better about actually making recipes instead of throwing freezer foods into the oven. So, for all of you that have little ones who like pizza or big ones that like pizza this recipes is worth a try.

Here’s what you need:

• 3-4 Tortillas
• A jar of marina or better yet pizza sauce
• Mozzarella cheese
• Mini pepperonis that you now see popping up @ your local grocery
• Italian spices like basil and dried oregano to spice up your sauce – I also added parmesan cheese to my sauce which enhanced the flavor.

Step 1:

1. Preheat Oven to 400 Degrees
2. Using the top of a jar – cut out circular crusts using the tortillas – I used the top of a Ball jar and got 3 crusts from one tortilla and I was using smaller tortillas too.
3. Place the bottom of your crusts in a muffin pan – they should fit nicely with a little tortilla covering the sides.
4. Add a spoonful of pizza sauce (with added spices for flavor) and parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce
5. Top with mozzarella and mini pepperonis
6. Cook until done – probably about 12 – 15 minutes (I can’t remember how long)

Wah-la! Delicous little homemade pizzas.

*I did not invent this recipes, I either read it in a magazine or on a cooking blog*

Eating Woes Continue

Here’s a little update about Mr. Meddler. Grey is healthy and active like any other 2 year old. He is still significantly underweight and I received a call last week letting us know that we have made it to the top of the waiting list for feeding therapy. Wow, that took about 7 months. And it is projected that it will take an additional 4 weeks for insurance to confirm that G actually needs the therapy – of course being born 15 weeks too soon isn’t enough evidence.

So, I’ll wait for the call from my insurance company. My expectations for this therapy are low; however, I’ll take the slightest gain as an improvement. We definitely have some work to do in the eating department. Grey is 27 months corrected and weighs 21.4 pounds. Honestly, it’s an everyday battle and I personally think we should qualify for family feeding therapy! I’d have to bring in Gigi for a much needed therapy session. Her dedication to Grey’s health and weight is endless.

I guess it’s important that we recognize there is a difference between being a picky eater and actually having a toddler with sensory food aversions. You might be thinking, so what are the symptoms of a toddler with sensory food aversions. I’ll describe some specific characteristics of Grey, which puts him into this category. G consistently spits out food, he is bothered by the textures of foods and refuses certain foods like purees. He’s disruptive a meal times and prefers to destroy his food instead of eating it. Many children with food aversions prefer a diet of sugary foods which is true for G as well – he’s always up for a cookie or a handful of M&Ms. I must interject here and say we have seen an improvement. He eats better @ Gigi’s when his cousins are present and eating. I usually put him in his highchair @ dinnertime and give him a few food items, which I know he prefers and I walk away and completely ignore him. He becomes hypersensitive in his feeding chair – doesn’t like anything to be on his hands, if I ask him a question he spits out whatever is in his mouth – this one drives me crazy. I find chewed up food balls all over my house! Lots of half chewed raisins and pepperonis.

Anyway – I hope this feeding therapy helps – I really do.

Here is a recent pic of G and Matt – they just happened to be dressed alike on this day so I snapped a quick picture.

Where's the flour?

I’ve been thinking about turning my blog into a baking blog! I'm not being completely serious but something about Fall weather drives me into the kitchen and I can’t seem to stop researching delicious baking ideas.

Recently I whipped up some mini snicker cheesecakes for Matthew and Grey. I made a mint cookie recipe for Matthew and I must say they were good! I’m documenting my baking trials so we remember our favorites. Below are some shots from the kitchen.

Finally Fall

Okay, so I’ve been a bit negligent on updating the blog – I apologize, especially to those who have sent me personal emails telling me to get busy!
We’ve been very busy lately. July/August is the most demanding time of year for me at work. Matt is also busy with home designs and a few side projects. It’s amazing how time slips by – I’m still startled that it’s September. However, I am excited that we are finally entering the fall season. I love everything about fall! Pumpkins, craft fairs, cool weather, and beautiful leaves. I truly enjoy walking across Vanderbilt’s campus in the fall – it’s gorgeous.

We just had Grey’s 2 year checkup and all is good, except, for his weight (not a big surprise). Grey weighed 22 pounds at this appointment – including clothes. It’s fair and accurate to say he is small. We are still significantly off the chart… I’m really starting to detest the growth chart. I’ve agreed to try feeding therapy again. I think I’m to the point where I would try anything. However, Grey does eat. He’s overly particular about his choices but really what 2 year old eats everything you introduce – I’m hoping very few for my own sanity. He’s particular and favor’s meats like sausage and pepperonis and likes fruit like apples and grapes. He’s a huge fan of mini reese’s cups and we allow them every day if he wants them. Yesterday he ate eggs and cheese – huge success! This morning Matt tried getting him to take a spoon full of coconut oil – fail!

Grey’s becoming more skillful with this mischief. He is truly an explorer. Yesterday we had him at the pool and he ran around exploring until he found something of interest – a friend’s camera. I saw the look in his eye – the camera was going to end up in the pool! I jogged through the pool water as quick as anyone’s legs can carry you in water – I caught the camera before it made a splash. Now these are the moments when I need “time out” to mean something.

He still favors the phrase “mine!” and his little voice is so funny that we’ve encouraged this impolite phrase with constant laughter. He also says “hooray, I did it” about very simple tasks like opening a box that he’s opened 100 times. My favorite is “where’s daddy” which is said 50 times a day. I must say that Grey is more tender than terrible. He still loves to cuddle and give kisses, which means the world to me. He’s a sweet lovey baby still.

Beginning to introduce the potty - more to come...

To the Mountains

Well – we took a little trip to Chattanooga to visit the aquarium and the creative discovery children’s museum. The penguins were the highlight of the aquarium and the “river play” was a blast at the museum. It was a bit relieving to have a few hours of acceptable hands on play. Grey is very hands on with everything, which causes Matt & I to constantly chase him down in stores and our home to remove potentially dangerous items. We also planned at visit to Rock City – how could we not stop when there are like 600 billboards along the way to Chattanooga marketing the tourist attraction – I felt like they earned my business. And wow, talk about nature’s beauty! I had no idea that I’d actually enjoy this journey. The ancient rock formations and breathtaking views were definitely appreciated… I do mean breathtaking if you are any bit uneasy of heights. I experienced an innate cautiousness at many of the amazing views. I couldn’t even focus on the famous “see 7 states” because I was to busy monitoring each foot step while holding Grey. One of my favorite memories will be Greyson whispering "monsters" each time we entered a dark cavern.



Grey giving the fake penguin a sweet hug.

Everyone say "Cheese" for our Cheesy moment!

Lover's Leap


I hope there's incoming teeth in Grey's mouth b/c he's back to eating his hands!

March for Babies!

Thank you so much to all the wonderful family and friends who supported our March of Dimes walk this year. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day – the weather was gorgeous. It is awesome to see so many families coming together to walk for stronger healthier babies!

After the walk I decided to come home and make an updated video of Greyson. Anything I do to encourage another family with a mircopreemie. There were many dark hours in the NICU when my faith was minimal and our future was grave. However, I never gave up hopes. I prayed for hours and poured out my love everyday… I remember sitting next to the incubator and thinking… I’m sending my love through those plastic walls and Greyson will feel it and know how important he is to us all.

Well, here’s the updated video: