Milk allergy

Unfortunately,I think Kyle has a true milk allergy or milk intolerance. When I first got him from the orphanage, we brought him back to our bungalow in Danang and later realized he has massive and stinky diarrhea. Course, no one mentioned this and we didn't know how long he had diarrhea. None of the other babies in our group had diarrhea. When we got back to the states, we had his feces tested for parasites which came back negative. Kyle's pediatrician went ahead and treated him with Flagyl "just in case". I decided to go ahead and switch him to soy formula b/c had a mild rash on his face & body and b/c he was a restlous sleeper. I noticed an immediate improvement in the odor after switching him to soy. The diarrhea took another 10 days or so to resolve. Since then, he has the occasional diarrhea which has been difficult to figure out.

Last week, I gave him Lactaid at his cousin's house one night, the next day his feces were loose... and then he got bad diarrhea for 3 days. When I say bad... I mean blow out the diaper all over your clothes, up your shirt, on your bed & sheets BAD. I told Kyle... don't move... Mommy's gonna go get a towel... I wrapped him (& sheets) and clothes and carried everything to tub and stuck him under the faucet! It was so gross. He also got diarrhea the day after his birthday. I did give him chocolate cake & icing. Now that I look back... it was probably milk chocolate icing. I have also given him a few bites of ice cream... and then he got diarrhea the next day. He usually doesn't get diarrhea right away but the next day. He also still spits up a lot... that's gross too. Gotta love nasty partially digested soy milk up-chucked on your clothes EVERY DAY. It stinks. Thus, I stink.

I looked up milk allergies on the internet and some studies say 100% of people from Southeast Asia have milk intolerance some time in their lives. They are not lactase deficient, but rather have intolerance to some milk proteins. Not surprised, there was hardly any milk in Vietnam when we were there. No dairy cows either.

I have already discussed this with Kyle's pediatrician before...but have another appt in a week to discuss in more detail. Don't know a whole lot about food allergies... but I am learning.

Kyle's 1st birthday

OK- first I have to say I know I'm lame at keeping my blog updated. I have to say keeping up with 2 toddlers has been a challenge for me. Devin gave up her naps as soon as we got back from Vietnam...so there is no down time anymore. Bummer. I have to say mid-Sept to mid- October was a really rough time for me. Kyle was REALLY clingy and whiny and I was beside myself. I really had a rough time and was stressed. He is doing much better now and much less whiny. Thank God. I was feeling like... "What have I got myself into?!" I brought it up on my agency chat group and got slammed by another mother like " you need to carry him at all times and never let him down". What?! I don't think so. I can show my son love and affection and be a good mom without holding him all the time. Anyway, he is doing a lot better and I have also been figuring out what works/ what doesn't work with Kyle. He & Devin love being together... although there definately are some squabbles. He bit Devin last week when he was excited. She screamed bloody murder (left a big mark). The next day, she scratched him in the face, on purpose, when he wanted to play with her and she didn't want to share.

Kyle is now walking and chasing his sister around the house. He learns very quickly and can say a few words now.... Mama, Dada, bye (and waves), car , ball, and don't. He is eating finger foods and is willing to try anything. We are still having some issues with intermittent diarrhea. I haven't totally figured that out yet. He is now sleeping well and taking good naps and sleeps well at night.

We had a small family party for him on Sunday for his 1st birthday. He LOVES chocolate cake and ate a whole cupcake by himself! He says Mmmm... mmmm.... (like yumm yummm). Course, it gave him diarrhea the next day..oh well.

How Fun is Halloween?!

Halloween is fun. That's all there is to it...what's more fun than dressing up and getting free candy?! Not much. Besides Christmas, Halloween is definately my favorite holiday. It is so much fun to celebrate it again with my kids. We went to a Halloween bash last weekend with Eric, Krista & Zanderman at Goodyear Park and dressed up, ate food, went to the "spooky house" and saw fireworks. Then, on Sunday, the family went to Boo at the Zoo at the Phoenix Zoo. Then, we went to a Mom's club Halloween party on Tuesday... dressed up again and ate fun food and played with other kids. For Halloween, we went to my brother's neighborhood for trick-or- treating. Kyle was in awe at all the Halloween costumes. He came with us in the stroller. Devin loved it and ran giggling from house to house. All week long she has been saying "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat." She was a lion AGAIN this year. Tried to convince her to be something else... but she wanted to roar at people... so lion it is. Kyle was a dinosaur. So cute. Got the costume from a guy who also adopted a boy from Vietnam. Here are a few fun photos of the kids this past week. The storm trooper is Alexander- my kids' cousin.