Kallie's Dermatology Appointment

We saw Dr. Swain today and had a great appointment. Dr. Swain thinks that we are doing a great job with Kallie and that she is a happy baby, but we knew that already! :) She said that what her skin looks like now is what we can expect for the long term but it may get a bit better. She said that once she gets to be a teenager we can Acutain (sp?) and that will do wonders for it. We asked her about a compound that another mom suggested and she was open to using it. Its a compound with propylene glycol in it and her only concern was that it is in everything from potato chips to iodine so she wanted to make sure Kallie didn't develop an allergy to the propylene glycol. She said that there was no literature out there to suggest that she would be any more likely to develop an allergy but she just wanted that to be a consideration. I told her that my biggest concern for Kallie is comfort from the itching but I was not willing to risk a health concern or allergy for cosmetic reasons at this point. We discussed it a little more and decided that we would try this at a weak strength and go from there to see how it does.

She wanted to talk to compound pharmacist and he was not sure how they needed to formulate it so I now have the information for the pharmacist that compounded the stuff for our friend we are going to put the two pharmacists in contact with each other and get it going for us. I am excited to try it b/c it has made a huge difference for this other child! Big thanks to Morgan for the suggestion!!

Update on the Girls!

I haven't updated in a while so I figured while I was hear about the ENT appointments and my good call with the TSA I would update on the girls too!

Kallie -- She will be a year old in a little over two weeks! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was counting down the days til she would arrive. She is finally sleeping through the night, I have NO idea what changed nor do I really care, I am just glad she is sleeping! Her skin is doing well. We had a hard time with her face for a week or so but I changed things up a bit and it seems to have worked wonders. Her face looks fantastic as does her back and belly. Her arms and legs are still a challenge but we are working hard on them too! We are having a birthday party for her this Saturday, just something small at the house because we will be in Mexico for her actual birthday. Her Aunt Ali is getting married that day so we will have to two celebrations!

Kennedy Jane -- She is doing great and sassy as ever! She is really excited about being the flower girl at Aunt Ali's wedding and that's all she talks about is getting married, flowers, princes, kisses for marrying, it goes on and on and is too stinkin cute!

I love my girls!

Getting ready for Mexico -- Good call with TSA

We leave for Mexico in 12 days and I have been thinking about how best to travel with all the lotion we will need for Kallie, how I can make it fit into small containers and those said small containers fit in a gallon ziploc bag. I got on TSA's website and found their section on medical needs and it wasn't clear. It stated that the medications were not required to meet the standards for 3-1-1 however, I didn't see anything on non-prescription stuff. I called the TSA and actually spoke with a very friendly and helpful person who said that as long as I notified the screener of what I had and that it was for a medical reason it would not be a problem. That all sounds good but I went ahead and took it a step further and asked if it would prudent of me to request a letter from our pediatrician stating Kallie's condition and the lotions we use to treat them since they are over the counter. She said that it would be a good idea to just present that to the screener along with the lotions that we use and then it will not be a problem. So I feel good about that. Sometimes I love that I can be so OCD and such a planner!

Kallie & Kennedy Jane's ENT Appointments!

Kallie had her 3 month follow-up ENT appointment and it went REALLY well! This time she barely cried and it seem like the process was much faster this time. I am hoping it's because the build-up is getting less and as she gets older her ear canals grow and it doesn't get built up as fast. We go back in 3 months again to have them cleaned out.

We also had KJ checked out b/c she snores and the pedi just wanted us to make sure all was well and he said that her tonsils are normal and everything looks good!

Yay for two good reports!

Last time!

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This lady is rocking it this week, thanks for all that you do!

Battle Royale with Kallie

I have made the decision that Kallie is going to have to learn to go to sleep and stay asleep on her own, and is not going to eat until at least 4am, if not 5am. I am tired of the midnight buffet, I am tired of rocking her to sleep time and time again, and getting up two and three times in the night to rock her again. She is really trying my patience and my will with this. She has leanred how to sit herself up in her bed and its only a matter of time until she is standing. She will sit up and then get mad b/c she can't figure out how to lay herself back down. It is getting better as she is going back to sleep but last night she was up every other hour all night long. I didn't have to go in there but once but it still wakes me up . I am SO tired and SO ready for a good night's sleep!

My trip to Publix!

As I wasn't completely exhausted from Kallie's refusal to sleep all night, I decided I would make my weekly run to Publix today. I just LOVE going to that store. Its a solid hour drive each way but its so worth it. My goal is to one day save more than I spend but I am getting really close. Today I spent $104 and saved $94, so I am really really close! Not to mention the people over there are jus so friendly, the store is so clean, I just love it!

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Today I got to meet ...

Well today I got to meet two of Tanner Williams Fire Dept's finest, and not in the physical sense! I was getting the girls ready to leave the house, Kallie was strapped in her car seat and Kennedy Jane was playing in the front seat. I had the passenger side door open and was coming and going putting stuff in the diaper bag and cleaning the car out. When we were ready to go I got Kennedy Jane out and shut the passenger side door, when I went to open Kennedy Jane's door I realized it was locked, as were all the other doors. Inside the locked car was my 10 month old baby, the keys, and my cell phone. GREAT! Luckily my neighbors were home, I borrowed their cell phone and they came over to help. I called my husband who was 30 minutes away with the spare keys. My next call was to the FD to see if they could help, at this point I would have paid anything to get my baby out of the car. They got there and after about 10 minutes of work they had the doors unlocked and the baby out of the car. Here are the good things: the car was not running, the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, and Kallie never got upset.

Lesson of the day: Never shut all the doors when your children are inside and ALWAYS have a spare set of keys where you can get to them!

My love affair with Publix

My friend Andrea turned me on to Publix, coupons and saving money and I have to say, its become a challenge for me to see how much I can save, and hope one day to be as good as she is at it! This last trip was my best by far, I spent $66 and saved $70, its always nice to save more than you spend! I got a few other great deals last week:
Target: They had their razors and refill packs if purchased together you got a $5 Target giftcard and I had a coupon for a free razor with the purchase of a refill pack so I saved $12!
Walgreens: Last week they had their toothpaste and mouthwash at 2 for $6, with $2 in register rewards (that can be used as cash at Publix) and I had $2 in coupons so I paid $2 total for mouthwash and toothpaste (Colgate and Scope!) And then this week they had Crest toothpaste for $2.99 with $2 in register rewards, I had a $.75 off coupon so I paid $.25 for toothpaste!
Its really exciting to get great deals like that, because I plan to use my $5 Target giftcard with a coupon for buy one "My Little Pony" and get the 2nd one free, they are about $5 so I will not pay anything for 2 my little ponys for KJ's Easter basket!

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Two interesting theories about Ichthyosis

I have two new theories, one I created in my own uneducated mind and one that another mom suggested.

1. Developmental Patterns: This mom who has a 4 or 5 year old child with Ick discovered that her son would slow down his growth and development in the winter months and she related that to the fact that he had to use more calories to keep his skin going and did not have enough calories to put towards weight gain and development but in the spring and summer months when his skin was easier to maintain he went through big growth spurts and developmental milestones! I find that very interesting and encouraging. Kallie was growing great, staying off the charts for height and in the 95% or so for weight, but from Nov - Feb (6-9mo) she dropped into the 75% for weight. She also has not managed to learn to crawl, until the last few days when she has decided that army crawling works just fine! LOL She has started eating bigger solid meals and is sleeping better as well. So maybe we are on to something and the next few months will be good and exciting ones for us!

2. Teething: Kallie's skin regenerates at a much more rapid pace than ours does, that's why it is so thick and scaly. Kennedy Jane had her first tooth at 4mo and while I know all kids are different, Kallie still doesn't have a tooth. There is one that has been trying to come through for a few weeks now and I wonder if her gums work the same way her skin does? Could her gums be regenerating faster than the tooth is moving, thus delaying it from breaking through? I have to go the dentist on Wed so I am going to ask him then.

Just a little interesting food for thought!

Update on Us

OK so we have not fallen right off the face of the earth, just been really busy! Where to start?

Kallie: She is doing great, growing fast and just getting too big and too rotten. She will be 10 months old a week from today, my how time flies. At her 9mo check-up she was still off the charts for height but had dropped down into the 75% for weight. Dr. Calametti was not overly concerned as this is a transition time between baby food, solids, and nursing, however, it concerns me a bit as I worry that she was using too many calories keeping up her skin and is losing weight. She seems to be eating a lot better lately so maybe she will put some weight back on now that the weather is nicer. As for her skin, its come SO far and is looking so good. Her back and belly look fantastic, her arms are almost scale free, just a few here and there. Her lower legs still look pretty scaly but overall have come a long way too. She is such a beautiful little girl, with such bright deep brown eyes! She is still not crawling, lazy girl, but she does army crawl. Not threat of walking any time soon!

Kennedy Jane: My big girl will be 3 years old a week from tomorrow. Its amazing that she is 3 years old. She is so smart and incredibly sassy! She got into St Lukes Episcopal School and we couldn't be more excited! She will be in Ms. Thomas's half day two day a week class for PK3. We are having a Princess Party with just a few little girls and a bounce house, I am sure she will have a great time!!

Ali & Ryan: Their wedding is fast approaching, May 26th in Cabo. Her friends had a paint party wedding shower for her and that was a good time, I realized that I made a good decision when I chose not to go into art in any way! Scot and I, Ryan's parents, and Amy Polio hosted a Stock the Bar Party at our house a few weekends ago. That was a great time! We drank 8 cases of beer, 50lbs of crawfish and all sorts of yummy dips and sandwiches inside! They got a lot of great gifts and had a good time! We are having a tea for her next weekend at the Spot of Tea! The bachelorette party is in a few weeks in Destin and I cannot wait!!

Scot: He won Circle of Excellence again this year so not only does he get to go to Hawaii in a few weeks but we also get to go to ROME next year! I am so excited, that's a dream trip for me! I am passing up this trip to Hawaii b/c I don't think the girls are ready to be left alone with Mom for a week and so he and Ryan are going together. He has also been through some rough times lately as his dad passed away of brain cancer a few weeks ago. That was really tough for him but he seems to be doing better.

Me: I have gotten into photography and am really working on developing my skills and my business! Check out my site: www.katinelsonphotography.com Its been a lot of fun and I am really enjoying it! Now I feel like I have caught up and can start blogging again, hopefully, from here!