The Poop Saga....

You were warned. The title of this post tells it all. We are having issues here in the King Household. Brady is having issues going "Number 2". Since he came into our lives, Brady has been a very consistent pooper. He poops, or at least "wet farts" (as Austin calls it) every 3 hours... This has NOT been the case this past week.... I believe it all started when I started to give him a vitamin supplement. I read that breastfeeding mothers should give their child a Vitamin D supplement because it cannot be passed in the breastmilk. I called my doctor and sure enough her nurse told me to give him a Vitamin called Poly-Vi-Sol. So, I went out and bought this stuff... but only found it with Iron in it as well.


The first day I gave it to Brady he spit most of it up all over his play-mat. Since one of the warnings on the label says that overdose of Iron supplements is one of the most common causes of death in babies, I was not going to give him another dose. Brady's bowel movements were pretty normal that day....

The NEXT day (Wednesday)... Brady got his vitamin in a bottle of breastmilk that Austin gave to him that night. Brady pooped at 7pm that night....

Thursday... No poop....

Friday... No poop... Now we are talking about 48 hours here of no poop. This is crazy for my little guy! Not only had he not pooed, but no smears or anything! Brady is also generally a very happy baby.... he rarely cries, except when we don't feed him fast enough... or when he's cold. He usually makes some noise when he is trying to poop, but nothing crazy. We stopped giving the vitamin.

Then Saturday came... and Brady was NOT his happy baby self... he would cry, his face would turn bright red, and he would just fart. It was obvious he was full of you-know-what.... He went the whole day being cranky.

THEN... he does this....


Sure enough... there was an explosion in his pants at 8:30pm (73.5 hours later)...

And he has not gone since then....

de Quervain’s Tendonitis

For those of you that know me.... know that I am a bit of a hypochondriac. I do not think so though... I REALLY think that I can self-diagnose many of my medical problems. :) For instance, I am fully convinced that I have Diabetes Insipidus. This is not the diabetes that most people know of that affects blood sugars... the main component in D.I. is always being thirsty, drinking a TON of water, and peeing ALL the time. I "thought" I had D.I. when I first learned about it in Anatomy class at Metro... Then I "knew" I had it when I learned even more in nursing school... a couple more signs of D.I. is high heart rate and low blood pressure... Do you think I can fib about my blood pressure & heart rate? Nope. I have it. I'm convinced. I actually have convinced many people that know me that I have D.I. too... because they see how water-obsessed I am. It was the WORST when my OB doctor limited my water intake (actually said NO WATER) after 6pm... (due to my severe heartburn). Every morning I woke up feeling like I had many alcoholic beverages the night before.... What I really wanted was pure and simple:

Just a nice tall glass of H2O.

So... As you can imagine... when I woke up about a week ago with bilateral wrist pain... I was convinced I had Carpal Tunnel. It wasn't until today that I really researched Carpal Tunnel and realized that I had no numbness or tingling... so I couldn't possibly have Carpal Tunnel... Good thing... because it sounds dreadful!

So, what DO I have? de Quervain's Tendonitis AKA "Mother's Thumb." This affects JUST the thumb, and hurts when I move my wrist or thumb a certain way, "catches" much like trigger finger, and hurts like a "b" when I snap my fingers. It is prevalent in new mothers and grandmothers from picking up their child/grandchild the same way over and over. The Internet (which is ALWAYS correct) says to diagnose "Mother's Thumb" you make a fist over your thumb & then move your wrist out. This is very painful for someone with de Quervain's Tendonitis... Is it painful for me? HOLY COW YES!



Breast-feeding moms are even more prevalent due to the positioning of the baby & boob for feeding. WELL... for those that don't just know me, but have SEEN me since given birth, you know that my boobs are as big as basketballs...


When I feed little Brady I must really squeeze and squish my boob into his mouth so that he can get milk. Such things I didn't realize before pregnancy.....

So, what are the next steps? I am hoping that I can treat it with some ibuprofen & changing the way I pick up the little stinker... and hopefully I will figure out a different way to get my boob into his mouth still... otherwise my wrists are just gong to continue to hurt. :) The next step is wrist splints, therapy, steroid injections... and even surgery! Luckily... they say if you figure it out early and change things that you have a better outcome. Good thing I am such a good investigator! :)

Who would have known that I would get something called "Mother's Thumb" from taking care of my beautiful baby!

Brady's Baptism!

This past Sunday Brady had a big day... He was baptized! Grandma & Grandpa Mac flew in from Texas and Aunt April & cousins Spencer & Max drove from Quincy, IL. He is such a lucky boy to have such a great family!

Brady's Godparents are dear friends of mine, Laura Reifenrath & her soon-to-be husband (wink, wink) Tono Fernandez. They will eventually be moving to Texas, which is where Austin & I will also end up eventually, and they will be able to make sure my child does not go to hell.....



Okay... he won't go to hell... he is WAY too cute for that! :)

Laura & Tono live in Spain right now... so, needless to say, they could not make the trip for Brady's baptism. That was okay though... we had some of the best stand in's! Meghan & Shawn (My sister & brother-in-law) are Brady's Nebraska Godparents! :) You need a set for wherever you live, right? So... here are some pictures of the big day!


Mom & Brady


Dad & Brady


This is a cute little bonnet from Nana... and it has a cute little story about how when he gets married his wife can carry it with her as "something old.".... but when I put it on him Austin said NO WAY! He said that he felt like Brady's balls were shrinking right then... and made me take it off...


Another baby got baptized with Brady...


The King Family


Austin's Family!


Browyn's Family!


Aunt April!


Brady wearing his new shoes from Spain from Laura!


The King Family with Pastor Schneider & Auntie Jenna... who helped with the baptism!


Great Auntie Jenna hosted a party for Brady after the ceremony... Brady showed his support by wearing a onsie for Auntie Jenna! :)


Austin with his nephews... Spencer & Max! (and Brady of course!)


The cake Great Auntie Jenna made for the occasion!

Brady's First Vacation!

Last week Brady had many "firsts." He went on his first plane ride, first vacation, first smile... but probably most exciting was his first time meeting his identical cousin, Jack. (though meeting Aunt Bridget, Aunt Molly, Uncle John, and Grandpa Mac was pretty exciting too....)

Jack & Brady really hit it off. The first day they were already so close & did so much that they tuckered themselves out! They really had a blast in their bouncers together!


Brady & Jack

They even went shopping together!

Brady & Jack

One day they even got really excited learning about Prom & Homecoming so they decided to get dressed up and pretend they were at a dance.... They even fought over Grandma Mac as their date! Already fighting over girls...


Brady, Grandma Mac, Jack

Molly & I were jealous though and had to get pictures with them too...

Jack, Molly, Brady


Jack, Browyn, Brady

Anyway.... as you can see... Jack & Brady had a real exciting time together!


Jack & Brady


Jack & Brady

Who does Brady look like?

So... The first time anybody meets a new baby they always ask, "Who does he look like?" This question has been asked to us numerous times... but neither one of us can figure out who Brady actually looks like. Most people swear that he looks like Austin... I just don't see it... and I honestly don't think ANYONE has said that he looks like me... All what I know is he is the cutest baby in the world.

I will say Brady has big lips. I never realized it until I met his cousin that is just 8 hours older than him... Brady definitely has bigger lips than him. Austin has big lips... Brady has big lips, for a baby.

I'll leave it up to you guys.... Who does Brady look like?


BRADY


AUSTIN AKA DAD


BROWYN AKA MOM

Is Brady Ours?!?

Austin & I knew exactly what our first boy would look like for many years. Some couples have a "pretty good" idea of what their kid will look like.... not us... we KNEW. You see... few years back Austin & I got a very scientific test done that showed us exactly what our boy would look like.... at Dave & Busters.

So... you can imagine our surprise when Brady came out looking NOTHING like this little guy....

WHAT OUR KID IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE:


WHAT OUR KID ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE:


It has actually caused quite a stir in our marriage because Austin knows that our baby looks nothing like this guy... and has been accusing me of some pretty awful things since then....

Anyway... just thought I should warn others out there not to spend their hard earned money on this VERY SCIENTIFIC test to show what your babe will look like...

Brady & Liam

So... As you all know/should know Brady has a cousin that is just a few hours older than him. His name is Jack. Neither Brady nor I have met Jack yet. Apparently Jack is having some troubles adjusting to life outside the womb... (sleeping, eating, crying uncontrollably). Next week we get to meet Jack... and we are thrilled. Molly & John (Jack's parents) have apparently set up some "teaching stations" so Brady can teach Jack how to sleep, eat, and calm down correctly. This is not what my post is about, however... but please do keep my sis & her family in your prayers... they truly are having a tough time with the little booger not feeling well due to acid reflux & a milk protein allergy.

Well... even though Jack is far away & we have not been able to meet him... we HAVE been able to meet Liam... Brady's cousin that is 6 months older than him. Liam is the cutest kid (greater than 6 months) & I LOVE playing with him. It wasn't until I had a kid of my own that I realized how BIG Liam is! :) Brady & Liam have had many play-dates since Brady's appearance into the world... but Brady doesn't really know how to play... at all... and Liam does not know how to play with a newborn. So.. it requires much adult supervision.

Here are some pictures of 2 of my 3 favorite men. Be prepared for some pictures of Brady & Jack next week. :)











(I could not get this picture to post facing up. Apologies.)