ENT Visit.

Soliciting advice on this post....

I decided to take Deuce to the ENT a few weeks back. For the past several months he has been really congested in the nose {not the chest} and sneezes all the time. He had that sinus infection back in like March or something and that cleared up with the antibiotics. I just chalked it up to spring allergies. I started giving him Claritin once a day. That stuff is expensive! When we went for the 2 year check up, I explained my concerns to the doctor and that I didn't really think the Claritin was doing too much. He says that he has often heard that Claritin is ineffective and that I should try the generic Zyrtec. I asked the doctor how long I should give it to him and that I don't want him to be given medicine every day if I don't have to. He said for a few weeks, through allergy season, wouldn't cause any sort of long term effects. So I bought several bottles of this stuff and we were giving it at bedtime, because a side effect was drowsiness. Deuce also snores when he sleeps and has bouts of what seems like apnea. I've never been a fan of him sleeping in the bed with us but even if I was, I couldn't because I listen for every single breath. So with the nasal congestion and the snoring, I decided it had to be more than allergies and maybe adenoids. I have heard many stories of children having their adenoids removed because of breathing problems. So I made an appointment with the ENT. I didn't call the pediatrician for a referral, I just went.

The office was really nice with a complete kiddie corner and a huge fish tank. He was mesmerized with the fish because there was a real, live Nemo in there. As soon as we went back to the room we had to wait about 15 minutes before the doctor came in {annoys me!}. Little dude tried to slip out and run like I wouldn't notice! 

 So we pulled out some toys to distract him until the doctor came in. This worked for all of 5 seconds before he was telling me "mommy car now."

 The doctor comes in and is really nice. He was great with Deuce and played "games" with him to get him to open his mouth. Deuce did great and the doc said that his tonsils look just fine. But because the adenoids are not visible to the eye, he wanted and "x-ray." I'm like okay, no problem. The "x-ray" was a CT scan machine. And it was traumatizing. He was scared to death and wouldn't lay down and be still. The little old lady nurse was so sweet and she kept talking to him and she let me stand right there with him but he wasn't having it. I finally had to tell her to go stand by the button and I would get him to lay down but she needed to be able to press it right away because he wasn't going to stay there for long. She agreed and when she left I talked to him but he looked me straight in the eyes and cried out "mommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" I couldn't hold back my tears after that. And then I was mad at myself because him seeing me cry only confirmed to him that I was unhappy too, even if it wasn't because I was scared like he was. He held onto the doc's business card for dear life and didn't let go until we got in the car.

So, the conclusion of the visit?

His adenoids are only slightly enlarged, not worth doing anything with.

I shouldn't continue to give him the allergy medicine because it's not doing anything.

Don't worry about his sleep apnea, he'll be just fine. {really????}

That's all, have a good day.

So we have continued to sneeze, have a stuffy nose, snore and stop breathing at times when sleeping.

I have bought a new humidifier and he sleeps with that now.

His sleeping sucks.

He wakes up almost every night, at least one time and comes into the bedroom and wants me to put him back to bed. He won't let me leave until he's back asleep so I have to sit there with him. Then I am completely awake and can't go back to sleep. So I am getting 4-5 hours of interrupted sleep at night. He never calls for Ed in the middle of the night and if Ed tries to help, he won't have it and only wants mommy to do it. I am convinced that his apnea wakes him up at night, then he is scared {he sleeps with the light on now too} and he gets up to come get me.

Somebody help!

Any advice?

Do I go for a second opinion?

The "x-ray" that showed nothing left us with a $200 bill after insurance so I don't really want to do that again.

Make it stop.............

The dreaded potty training.

We're getting to that point. We gave Deuce a potty for his 2nd birthday. I mean c'mon.... what kid isn't excited about a potty as a birthday present? So we haven't been pushing the issue as of right now. The potty is there for him to use and I usually ask him before bath time but it gets much more use as a stepstool for brushing teeth than it does for peeing in it. He has peed in it a couple of times and i make sure to go cuh-razy with excitement when he does. We high five, fist bump/expolsion and all of that good stuff. But he doesn't really seem to want to do it very often. When he first got it he liked sitting on it, just beacuse. Now, he could care less. So I'm not worried about it at this moment. He has started telling me over the past week when he pees in his diaper, which is a good thing. He is recognizing that he has gone to the bathroom and needs to be changed. When he poops he goes into his room, closes the door, takes care of business and then comes out. He won't let me change him right away and if I ask if he pooped he replies with "not yet!" However he refuses to sit in it so if he won't let me change him, I ususally just try to sit him on my lap or in a chair and he says, "no, pee pee change!"

yes, there is pee in there.

When we do go for the training, I want to be fully invested in it, with no turning back. I want to let him pee on himself and figure out that he doesn't like it so I have to be mentally, emotionally and physically ready to change his clothes 50 times a day, repeatedly make him sit on the potty and just totally focus on pee & poop. I'm not sure if I'm even ready for that yet. Sometimes it's nice that taking the kid to the potty doesn't have to interrupt whatever we're doing right now. But I will be glad to not purchase diapers & wipes anymore.

this was a "cheeeeese" face. not a straining face.

and he was eating grapes at the same time.

I read on another blog that some parents decided that when they were ready to train, they decided together and developed their own method of going about it. They purchased the same diapers their son wore {and recognized} in a newborn size. One morning when he woke up they "attempted" to put the diaper on and when it woldn't fit they told their son that he had grown so much overnight that he was a big boy now and couldn't fit into diapers. It totally worked for them. Of course, he had accidents and it took a few days for him to get it, but he was mentally ready because they had convinced him he was a big boy. I love that idea and think I might use it when we're ready.

Any other advice? Special techniques for boys?

Splash Park

I have found my summer haven. And it comes in the form of water and sun. And it is perfect for little hands and feet. And momma doesn't have to worry about drowning. Back in April a brand new city park opened up about 2 miles from our house, on a pretty desolate road. I happened to drive past it one day while taking a route that I almost NEVER take. Thank goodness I did. At this new city park are several ponds for fishing, 2 large playgrounds, tons of walking trails and a top notch splash park. The splash park opened Memorial Day weekend and Deuce has been at least once a week, if not more, since it opened. Since it's located off of this pretty desolate road, I don't think many people in Greensboro have found there way to it yet. And I'm just fine with that. It is totally free and it's amazing! A couple of hours playing in the sun & water leads to an amazing afternoon nap. Plus, the ice cream truck comes by... amen!

 yes, i totally let my child eat his ice cream off the ground.

Instagram Photo Dump

I'm a little behind with the Instagram thing but I am totally loving it. Here are some of my favorite shots from the past week. Follow me on Instagram: rachelgeer

1. The new splash park by our house is amazing! And totally free. 2. We love the "fwings." 3. My suite last week while I was at a company workshop for 3 days. 4. The desserts after dinner at The Umstead Hotel & Spa. 5. The Angus Barn pond. 6. The Angus Barn Pavilion set up for our night of dinner, drinks & dancing. 7. Watching daddy's car get a bath at the detail shop. 8. He brought his chair into the bathtub while I wasn't looking. 9. Back at the splash park. 10. A little timid of the huge water barrel. 11. New Retro 4 Jordan's. 12. Late night practice in the driveway.

Leigh Anne's Wedding

Quick post today. Most of y'all know that one of my best friends, Leigh Anne, got married recently. We had to dodge the rain all day but Leigh Anne didn't let it dampen her spirits. I managed to snap some pictures with my phone of the set up prior to the down pour. Between Leigh Anne, Kevin and myself, we managed to do most of the decor ourselves and at almost $0! Yes.... Kevin is a miracle woodworker. I told him he's lucky he wasn't my husband because I'd have him building all sorts of furniture for me!

This was at the bottom of the driveway to prevent any cars from parking. All of the signs were cut by Kevin and I stained and painted them.

The entrance to the backyard.

The bar area.

Ceremony site in the backyard.

Hay bales for seating

Honorary Candle for their fathers who could not be there. Kevin built the entire thing. I stained the frames and then the candle went on top.

I know it's hard to see but I etched the names of their fathers as well as a meaningful quote and the wedding date of this vase. The vase was then placed on top of the stand above and burned throughout the event.

Amazing alter that Kevin built! This now sits in the backyard of Kevin & Leigh Anne's house!

All of the centerpieces were slightly different. Again, Kevin cut all of the wood and the Mason Jars were donated.

Favor & Mad Lib for the couple at each place setting.

I printed the Mad Libs & the Thank You tags.

Leigh Anne's mom made the bird seed favors.

Sign at the tables. Kevin pieced the wood together and I painted the sign.

Custom benches Kevin made.

The Photo Booth area and props. I made all of the props for the Photo Booth.

(with the exception of the hats obviously...)

Me & my sister made this humongous wreath for about $15.

More of the bar area.

Gift table for cards and presents.

I bought the box from goodwill for $4.99.

I sanded it down, cleaned it out and stained it.

I used my Silhouette Cameo machine to cut the letters for "CARDS" and looped some thread through.

I sewed a burlap pillow to place on the inside.

Thumbprint Tree table as the Guest Book.

The cake stand. The cake was beautiful and delicious but I didn't get a picture of it because I was upstairs getting ready when it arrived.

Upstairs where us girls were dressing, we had a serious spread of goodies to keep us occupied through hair & makeup, including mimosas.

I wasn't able to get any pictures of the event since I was in the wedding but you can check out the photographers blog here for some much better pictures of the couple and their day.

It was a great day!

Leigh Anne & Kevin Dillistin - Gina McLean Photography

Wordless Wednesday

Helping daddy cut the grass for the first time.