Two Year Checkup And GI Update

First off I just want to say that my eyes got to see the backside of my eyelids until 9 a.m. for the first time in over 2 years today!  Of course my eyes didn’t settle into that position till nearly midnight and missed the 2 and 5 o’clock hours due to a rarely fussy infant.  Josiah has NEVER slept even close to that late, even 8 a.m. is a rarity, so hopefully nothing else is wrong.

After our late start we rushed to make it to Josiah’s doctor appointment.  We went to once again follow up on his never-ending GI issues, but also worked in his routine 2 year checkup.  He is now 2’10” tall and 25 pounds and is back on his growth curve.  Hallelujah!  And this is after a week of poor appetite due to teething and a GI bug this weekend.  (Oh yes, I should note that he cut his last two 2 year molars.)  All of the routine stuff checked out just fine and he got one vaccine.

As far as his GI issues go, we went today planning to ask for referral just out of sheer desperation, but she offered it right off the bat without our request almost sounding as though to convince us saying that we have exhausted all the routine things that the vast majority of patients are helped by and that mostly only noninfectious causes are left as possibilities.  I was completely relieved to get a referral at the time, but now I find myself a bit panicked by that now as reality hits.  In order to prepare for referral to the pediatric gastroenterologists at Shands we went ahead and drew blood for extensive bloodwork which we should get back in a week or so at which point the referral appointment will be set up.

It was a rough appointment.  Before we got there Jacob started feeling nauseous and while there he turned pale and had to leave.  Hopefully he hasn’t gotten Josiah’s bug.  This left me to physically hold Josiah down for his blood draw which involved two sticks with one blown vein to finally get about 7 tubes!  My poor baby.  We both cried while he struggled and screamed “don’t want it” and “all done”.  Darn postpartum hormones!  That and worry.  I felt so guilty when he looked into my eyes and didn’t seem to understand what was going on.  Then there was one more needle stick for his vaccine.  The whole time he was begging to get his shoes back on since that means he is “going”.  Oh, and did I mention the rain and Elijah crying to be fed? 

Now Jacob and I are vegging out on the couches watching tv shows on the internet that we have missed since having Elijah while both boys are napping.  Neither of us has the gumption to do anything worthwhile.  We better get some energy soon, though, because I promised Josiah all kinds of fun this afternoon while he was getting his blood drawn!

On a more upbeat note, we know God has all of this under control and we will make it through just fine, one way or another.  We are dreading putting Josiah through diagnostics and are concerned about getting a diagnosis and knowing if it is treatable and what that treatment will be, but also excited to hopefully put an end to it all or at least be able to manage it.  Part of me wants to send Jacob alone with him for these appointments since I feel like I just can’t take it, but the other part of me does not want to let Josiah down.  I’m so thankful we aren’t faced with a life threatening problem (or at least we pray we aren’t) as I see how that must be so difficult as a parent.  We both just keep saying that he is just too precious and sweet to have a major problem, but I’m sure all parents think that.

So much for potty training for now.  I knew this a month ago when things started getting bad again.  I guess I just got excited when everything was going well prior to this and he showed all the right signs of being ready and I knew I’d have some time off of work.  But how do you potty train a 2 year old who anxiously strains to poop constantly?  This too shall pass…we hope.