Devin is going to Preschool

Well, we survived the drama of not going to kindergarten this year. I don't know who was more traumatized... me or Devin. Since then, she has been having night terrors and walking in her sleep almost every night. We have gotten her to a point that we don't have to sleep in her room anymore. But, she usually wakes up almost every night...starts wandering around the house and talking nonsense. We have to walk her back to her bed and tuck her in. She "seems" awake... walking around, eyes open, talking... but she talks nonsense. Sometimes she has nightmares, sometimes not.

Well, I talked to lots of other moms and did some research. I picked out 3 preschools and then and went with Devin to visit them. We ultimately chose Bel Esprit. It is a private preschool in Litchfield. I really liked it there and their schedule is very flexible. So, we signed up Devin to start with 1/2 days on Tues & Thurs mornings. She started on Sept 1st. The first few times were rough, as expected. She cried at drop-off and didn't really want to participate at first. But, she has gradually improved every time and did not cry at all last week! This is a big deal for us. Plus, she is happy to go and participating well in class. I am so happy. I want Devin to have a positive school experience. This was definitely the right choice to wait till next year for kindergarten. She just was not emotionally ready for regular school yet. I'm so glad she is doing better... it is a huge relief.

Kyle allergy update

Well, Kyle's allergic reaction resolved. I took him to an allergist and the doctor thinks he had an allergic reaction to his cold virus. Go figure. They performed skin allergy testing on his back for 8 common food allergens including milk, soy, egg, peanut, gluten, etc... they all came back negative. He thinks Kyle's food problems stem from milk intolerance and not milk allergies. I would agree with that. He ordered a blood RAST test for peanuts to re-confirm he doesn't have peanut allergies... but we don't think so. Kyle has had peanut products many times before the allergic reaction. Haven't had the blood test for peanuts done yet b/c lab was too busy one day & finding the time.

In the meantime, my regular pediatrician had a bunch of blood and fecal tests done on Kyle including Celiac Disease panel, CBC, metabolic panel, fecal WBC, fecal cultures... they all came back negative. That was NOT fun getting the blood test.. Kyle cried from the moment he entered the lab office until we left. He is terrified of doctors now. Ugh.

So, basically after all this... we really don't know much.... just guessing and Kyle still has frequent bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. Both doctors did suggest considering a gastroenterologist specialist. I am not ready to go there. I am hoping we can figure this out ourselves and he will grow out of it.I know what the gastroenterologist will want to perform an endoscopy and possibly a colonoscopy of Kyle. I don't want to put him through that. He is basically a healthy, happy, growing kid. Most of his vomiting is correlated when he coughs... which he has had a chronic minor cough for months. He has a REALLY sensitive gag reflex and frequently vomits when swimming if he gets any water in his mouth. Lucky me... I have to hold him over side of pool if he starts coughing at all in the pool. He has vomited on the side of PUBLIC pools many times and its really embarrassing. I've even caught it once in my hands... yea, I know... gross! Better than in the pool though.

So, we are back to square one... I am currently keeping a log of his eating habits, vomit & diarrhea frequency... so we shall see... Hopefully, this too, shall pass.