Please join us over on our new blog as we chronicle the journey of rebuilding our lives and attempting to find some Peace Among the Fire....
http://peaceamongthefire.blogspot.com/
I am hoping to continue to update about the boys on this blog and Drew's much deserved 4 year letter WILL be written very soon!
Mom, Mama, Drew and Jack
the adventures of 2 boys and their moms
Friday, November 21, 2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Another Blow
Well, we've been dealt another huge blow. Just as we were relishing the fact that our lives were getting easier now that Jack has outgrown a lot of his issues our world was turned upside down. On Wednesday morning (Drew's 4th birthday) we suffered a devastating house fire. We literally lost everything but the clothes on our backs. Thankfully we were not home and we are all safe. The past 6 days have been an absolute nightmare.
My Facebook post from that evening:
Friends and family.....we don't even know where to start.....thank you all for the outpouring of love and support today. We are truly humbled and blessed by each and everyone of you. Here is what we have for an update: We took the day off today and surprised Drew last night with a trip to the "froggy water slide" in North Conway. At 5:58 this morning our neighbor called 911 to report our house on fire. By 6:15 the house was completely engulfed in flames. Crews responded from about 8 different towns and a second alarm was called just before 7. The fire started outside where we have some lights that run on timers in the evening (they would not have been on at this time). It was not started by Halloween decorations as some news outlets have reported - there were no holiday decorations plugged in at that spot. We have lost absolutely everything including one of our cats. The silver lining is that because we were away we have 2 outfits and a set of PJ's. Had we been home we probably would have only had our pajamas on. Many people have asked how they can help....we will be completely honest and let you all know that what we would most appreciate right now are gift cards (Kohls, JCPenney, Bootleggers, WalMart, Toys rUs) so we can replace what we want to when we want to. Kohl's in Rochester and Bootleggers have generously offered 30% off whatever we need. There has also been a fund set up at Holy Rosary Credit Union for us (Feyler/Snyder Fire Fund). We are taking everything moment by moment and we will get through this together. Thanks again to everyone. All of the calls, texts, messages, etc have meant the world to us.
I plan to start a new blog to journal our journey through this horrific time.
My Facebook post from that evening:
Friends and family.....we don't even know where to start.....thank you all for the outpouring of love and support today. We are truly humbled and blessed by each and everyone of you. Here is what we have for an update: We took the day off today and surprised Drew last night with a trip to the "froggy water slide" in North Conway. At 5:58 this morning our neighbor called 911 to report our house on fire. By 6:15 the house was completely engulfed in flames. Crews responded from about 8 different towns and a second alarm was called just before 7. The fire started outside where we have some lights that run on timers in the evening (they would not have been on at this time). It was not started by Halloween decorations as some news outlets have reported - there were no holiday decorations plugged in at that spot. We have lost absolutely everything including one of our cats. The silver lining is that because we were away we have 2 outfits and a set of PJ's. Had we been home we probably would have only had our pajamas on. Many people have asked how they can help....we will be completely honest and let you all know that what we would most appreciate right now are gift cards (Kohls, JCPenney, Bootleggers, WalMart, Toys rUs) so we can replace what we want to when we want to. Kohl's in Rochester and Bootleggers have generously offered 30% off whatever we need. There has also been a fund set up at Holy Rosary Credit Union for us (Feyler/Snyder Fire Fund). We are taking everything moment by moment and we will get through this together. Thanks again to everyone. All of the calls, texts, messages, etc have meant the world to us.
I plan to start a new blog to journal our journey through this horrific time.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
What a Difference a Year Makes!
We have spent a lot of time this Fall reminiscing about last Fall.....about how trying of a time it really was. We have taken some outings that we also took last year and have spent time thinking back to all of the places we stopped on the side of the road to calm a screaming baby, about how difficult it was to enjoy anything as Jack was so miserable.
I think part of the reason we have spent so much time re-living that nightmare of last fall is because we have finally made it through to the other side. I think we have to keep reminding ourselves how far our family really has come, how we had the strength and stamina to make it through.
So, here we are a year later and our boys are happily playing trucks together on the floor. They are joking around together putting apples on their head at a local orchard's Fall Festival. They laugh and run and climb and get on each other's nerves. Dare I say it?!?! - things seem to finally be getting a bit "normal".
We have had a fantastic fall. We have survived going back to school and daycare, visited a local amusement park, picked apples, played outside, enjoyed each other's company. We went to a fair and a festival and can't wait for the next few weekends of fun Halloween activities. All of it without the stress that came with last year. It is refreshing, invigorating, surreal at times.
What a difference a year makes!
I think part of the reason we have spent so much time re-living that nightmare of last fall is because we have finally made it through to the other side. I think we have to keep reminding ourselves how far our family really has come, how we had the strength and stamina to make it through.
So, here we are a year later and our boys are happily playing trucks together on the floor. They are joking around together putting apples on their head at a local orchard's Fall Festival. They laugh and run and climb and get on each other's nerves. Dare I say it?!?! - things seem to finally be getting a bit "normal".
We have had a fantastic fall. We have survived going back to school and daycare, visited a local amusement park, picked apples, played outside, enjoyed each other's company. We went to a fair and a festival and can't wait for the next few weekends of fun Halloween activities. All of it without the stress that came with last year. It is refreshing, invigorating, surreal at times.
What a difference a year makes!
Monday, September 15, 2014
Birthday Party
We had such a fun birthday party for Jack's First Birthday! We did a hungry caterpillar theme to match his nursery theme and we were so pleased with how everything came out!
Some pics for you to enjoy of the special day!
The invite:
Some pics for you to enjoy of the special day!
The invite:
Saturday, August 23, 2014
ONE YEAR
Jack -
You are one year old! Since the moment you were born, you have kept us on our toes. The first year of your life has been a wild ride, but we wouldn't trade it for the world. You are an amazing little man and you certainly complete our family.
The most exciting part of you turning one is that all of the digestive issues that you had during your first year are better. You have outgrown your milk/soy protein intolerance which is very exciting! It means that you (and Mama) have no more food restrictions! It also means that you were able to have cake and ice cream for your first birthday just like Dr. Repucci promised us way back when you were just 8 weeks old and completely miserable. You still struggle with reflux and we will continue to work with the doctor on this issue.
At one year old, you are crawling like a maniac. You pull up and cruise along everything but you aren't walking on your own yet. You will be walking soon and watch out when that happens - there will be no stopping you then! You can climb like a wild man - you love to climb the ladder on the swingset and it is a bit too high for our liking. You do a great job climbing the ladder in the kitchen when your brother is on it too!
You absolutely LOVE to be outside. You like to play in the sandbox and throw the sand. You also love to play in the toy house and "drive" around backwards in the Cozy Coupe car we have. You have almost sent yourself down the hill a few time in it. You also really enjoy the water table both with and without water in it. Your favorite thing to do in that is drop the balls down the center tube and wait for them to spin out.
You are an amazing eater. You basically will eat anything that is put in front of you. Most meals you eat more than your big brother does! You are great at feeding yourself and you often eat 4 meals a day as well as your snacks! You love to eat pork chops and steak right along side Mom and Mama and we often wonder where you are putting all of the food you eat!
You absolutely adore your big brother Drew and he can make you smile instantly! You love to play with him and he loves you too! When you are upset Drew will often make sure you are ok and he is great at singing to you to get you to calm down. I can't wait to see how your brotherly bond gets stronger and stronger as you get older.
You aren't really saying any words yet, but you jibber jabber and babble all of the time. We think you say some form of Mama and Kitty, but they aren't really easily understood when you say them. You have the greatest conversations with your Opa all of the time! You are great at pointing at what you want and letting us know if we are "understanding" you!
You love to go to Nana and Opa's house and see all of the animals. You also love swimming in their pool and riding in the little push car that they have. You also discovered Opa's tractor and whenever we go over you point to it and want your Opa to take you for a ride on it.
Your first year was full of challenges and obstacles. Your MSPI and reflux made a lot of your early days very miserable. You spent a lot of your first few months screaming and sleeping very little. We hated seeing you so miserable and wished there was more we could do to help you. You ushered in your 7th month with an overnight in the hospital for RSV. When you were 11 months old you made a trip to Urgent Care for Nursemaid's Elbow. You had a lot of trouble self soothing and entertaining yourself. With each passing month, we saw small improvements and now that you are a year old, things are much better.
In spite of all of the challenges your first year brought, we had a lot of fun experiences too! We traveled to MN twice to visit family. We went to Florida in February for a nice warm weather vacation. You celebrated your first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. We went to Storyland and Great Wolf Lodge. You picked your first apples, strawberries and peaches. You took your first trip to the beach and loved playing in the sand.
You are wearing some 12 but mostly 18 month clothes. You are in size 4 diapers. At your 1 year appointment you were 31 inches and 22 pounds. That put you in the 92% for height and 48% for weight. You are a big boy! You still have hardly any hair but what you do have certainly has wisps of red! You just keep growing and our little baby is turning into a toddler right before our eyes!
Jack, you are an amazing little soul and we are so lucky to have you as a part of our family. Your curiosity keeps you so busy and you don't miss a thing that goes on! The way you scrunch up your nose and flash a tooth filled smile brightens anyone's day. Your big blue eyes are mesmerizing and you capture everyone's heart with your cuteness!
We love you so very much!
Love,
Mom and Mama and big brother Drew.
You are one year old! Since the moment you were born, you have kept us on our toes. The first year of your life has been a wild ride, but we wouldn't trade it for the world. You are an amazing little man and you certainly complete our family.
The most exciting part of you turning one is that all of the digestive issues that you had during your first year are better. You have outgrown your milk/soy protein intolerance which is very exciting! It means that you (and Mama) have no more food restrictions! It also means that you were able to have cake and ice cream for your first birthday just like Dr. Repucci promised us way back when you were just 8 weeks old and completely miserable. You still struggle with reflux and we will continue to work with the doctor on this issue.
At one year old, you are crawling like a maniac. You pull up and cruise along everything but you aren't walking on your own yet. You will be walking soon and watch out when that happens - there will be no stopping you then! You can climb like a wild man - you love to climb the ladder on the swingset and it is a bit too high for our liking. You do a great job climbing the ladder in the kitchen when your brother is on it too!
You absolutely LOVE to be outside. You like to play in the sandbox and throw the sand. You also love to play in the toy house and "drive" around backwards in the Cozy Coupe car we have. You have almost sent yourself down the hill a few time in it. You also really enjoy the water table both with and without water in it. Your favorite thing to do in that is drop the balls down the center tube and wait for them to spin out.
You are an amazing eater. You basically will eat anything that is put in front of you. Most meals you eat more than your big brother does! You are great at feeding yourself and you often eat 4 meals a day as well as your snacks! You love to eat pork chops and steak right along side Mom and Mama and we often wonder where you are putting all of the food you eat!
You absolutely adore your big brother Drew and he can make you smile instantly! You love to play with him and he loves you too! When you are upset Drew will often make sure you are ok and he is great at singing to you to get you to calm down. I can't wait to see how your brotherly bond gets stronger and stronger as you get older.
You aren't really saying any words yet, but you jibber jabber and babble all of the time. We think you say some form of Mama and Kitty, but they aren't really easily understood when you say them. You have the greatest conversations with your Opa all of the time! You are great at pointing at what you want and letting us know if we are "understanding" you!
You love to go to Nana and Opa's house and see all of the animals. You also love swimming in their pool and riding in the little push car that they have. You also discovered Opa's tractor and whenever we go over you point to it and want your Opa to take you for a ride on it.
Your first year was full of challenges and obstacles. Your MSPI and reflux made a lot of your early days very miserable. You spent a lot of your first few months screaming and sleeping very little. We hated seeing you so miserable and wished there was more we could do to help you. You ushered in your 7th month with an overnight in the hospital for RSV. When you were 11 months old you made a trip to Urgent Care for Nursemaid's Elbow. You had a lot of trouble self soothing and entertaining yourself. With each passing month, we saw small improvements and now that you are a year old, things are much better.
In spite of all of the challenges your first year brought, we had a lot of fun experiences too! We traveled to MN twice to visit family. We went to Florida in February for a nice warm weather vacation. You celebrated your first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. We went to Storyland and Great Wolf Lodge. You picked your first apples, strawberries and peaches. You took your first trip to the beach and loved playing in the sand.
You are wearing some 12 but mostly 18 month clothes. You are in size 4 diapers. At your 1 year appointment you were 31 inches and 22 pounds. That put you in the 92% for height and 48% for weight. You are a big boy! You still have hardly any hair but what you do have certainly has wisps of red! You just keep growing and our little baby is turning into a toddler right before our eyes!
Jack, you are an amazing little soul and we are so lucky to have you as a part of our family. Your curiosity keeps you so busy and you don't miss a thing that goes on! The way you scrunch up your nose and flash a tooth filled smile brightens anyone's day. Your big blue eyes are mesmerizing and you capture everyone's heart with your cuteness!
We love you so very much!
Love,
Mom and Mama and big brother Drew.
ONE
Happy FIRST Birthday to our silly, inquisitive, smart, crazy littlest boy. You are amazing, Jack and you certainly complete our family. We are so blessed to have you!
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Summer
We are a bit somber this Sunday evening.....you see, it is our final carefree Sunday evening - next Sunday evening we will be preparing for our return to work. We are somber because we have had an amazing summer with the boys. Being teachers we are so fortunate that we get 9 weeks off with the boys in the summer.
We have had the perfect mix of being busy and hanging at home. We have filled our 9 weeks with wonderful time together and we have made some amazing memories. We will be soaking in the last few days of vacation this week and also prepping for Jack's FIRST Birthday on Saturday.
Here is what we have done this summer...
Visited MJ's family in Minnesota. We had lots of fun with aunts, uncles and cousins. We took a trip to the zoo and took lots of walks to the park to play.
Went to a local water park, amusement park, the beach (twice), enjoyed Dis.ney's Pirat.es and Princ.esses, played in the backyard.
We spent three days at the brand new Gre.at W0lf L0dge here in New En.gland.
Got a new HUGE swingset/play structure for our backyard thanks to some friends. Played with the neighbors.
Had a bunch of backyard fires and roasted marshmallows and made smores.
Made a pact to read through ALL of the books on Drew's bookshelf (we are making great headway and should make it by the end of September- the boy has a TON of books!)
Played mini golf, ate ice cream, learned how to play Chute.s and Ladd.ers.
Laughed, loved spending time together, made memories to last a lifetime.
We are so very blessed.
We have had the perfect mix of being busy and hanging at home. We have filled our 9 weeks with wonderful time together and we have made some amazing memories. We will be soaking in the last few days of vacation this week and also prepping for Jack's FIRST Birthday on Saturday.
Here is what we have done this summer...
Visited MJ's family in Minnesota. We had lots of fun with aunts, uncles and cousins. We took a trip to the zoo and took lots of walks to the park to play.
Went to a local water park, amusement park, the beach (twice), enjoyed Dis.ney's Pirat.es and Princ.esses, played in the backyard.
We spent three days at the brand new Gre.at W0lf L0dge here in New En.gland.
Got a new HUGE swingset/play structure for our backyard thanks to some friends. Played with the neighbors.
Had a bunch of backyard fires and roasted marshmallows and made smores.
Made a pact to read through ALL of the books on Drew's bookshelf (we are making great headway and should make it by the end of September- the boy has a TON of books!)
Played mini golf, ate ice cream, learned how to play Chute.s and Ladd.ers.
Laughed, loved spending time together, made memories to last a lifetime.
We are so very blessed.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Tough Year
Yesterday I alluded to the fact that we have had a tough year....
Here is the story....
Soon after Jack was born he started a cycle of nursing CONSTANTLY from 5-11 at night. We just figured it was cluster feeding. He also spent most of that time crying, and we just said it was his "witching hour."
Then came the fact that he was up every 2 hours all night long often with a period between 2-4 AM where he spent most of the time crying/needing to be consoled.
It wasn't so bad the first 5 weeks as MJ took maternity leave as well so we could tag team. We just figured we had a needy baby. Drew had been so ridiculously easy - we just figured that we lucked out the first time and now we had our tough one.
By the time MJ went back to work and I was home alone with the boys by myself things just went south. Drew watched WAY too much TV and played outside way too little, but Jack took so much of my time there was nothing else to do. I would dread having to change Drew's diaper because the minute I put Jack down he would scream. To the point that he would sweat through his clothes.
Going anywhere in the car was a NIGHTMARE. Trips that should have been 20-30 minutes would take an hour and a half because we would have to stop so many times. Jack would scream inconsolably and sweat through his clothes.
Jack (and we) lived in a cycle of nurse, catnap, scream; nurse, catnap, scream. Once he fell asleep nursing I often didn't dare to move him because he would scream. He NEVER slept more than 2 hours at a time. He spent 15-18 hours a day crying and screaming. We spent a number of nights sleeping in the recliner in the living room because it was just easier.
When he nursed he would sweat profusely. He would gulp for air when nursing or bottle feeding. EVERYTHING was difficult.
At Jack's 2 month pedi appt we talked about all of these things. She quickly diagnosed him with severe silent reflux and possible issue with dairy. I cut out all dairy and we put him on reflux meds. Not much change was seen. Cut out all dairy, soy, nuts, and eggs plus a different reflux med. Saw a tiny bit of change.
Then our pedi gave us a referral to a pediatric gastro doc.
Jack was diagnosed with Milk/Soy Protein Intolerance and allergic colitis plus the severe reflux. I continued my dairy, soy, nut and egg free diet and things improved a bit but he was still a very needy child. He has been a full time job all on his own. I ended up taking an extra week of maternity leave because there was no way we could send him to a babysitter in this state. In December we switched to a third reflux med and it made a world of difference.
Even though we had my diet under control for his nursing and the reflux meds finally figured out, he was still so tough. We never went out to eat as a family, often one of us would just stay home with Jack instead of running errands, etc together as it was just easier. He had very little ability to entertain himself and almost no ability to self soothe. He still was up to nurse 2-3 times a night until just a few weeks ago. It has been exhausting.
However, having said all of this......Jack has the most amazing smile and he scrunches his nose in the cutest way when he does. He really is quite silly and has a great personality when he is feeling well. He loves his big brother to pieces and has a laugh that is ridiculously contagious! Drew has been an absolutely amazing big brother and we are so proud of the big boy he is becoming.
I think we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This summer we have had so very many more good days than bad. We have been to the beach, an amusement park, swimming, the zoo, and so much more. We can go to a restaurant together. We can do things as a family. These things would not have been possible a few months ago. Jack is finally able to play on his own for some time. He still has great difficulty self soothing, but that will come with time I am sure. He is sleeping through the night finally. We are getting there.....
Our little family of 4 is perfect and we are so blessed with these boys.
Here is the story....
Soon after Jack was born he started a cycle of nursing CONSTANTLY from 5-11 at night. We just figured it was cluster feeding. He also spent most of that time crying, and we just said it was his "witching hour."
Then came the fact that he was up every 2 hours all night long often with a period between 2-4 AM where he spent most of the time crying/needing to be consoled.
It wasn't so bad the first 5 weeks as MJ took maternity leave as well so we could tag team. We just figured we had a needy baby. Drew had been so ridiculously easy - we just figured that we lucked out the first time and now we had our tough one.
By the time MJ went back to work and I was home alone with the boys by myself things just went south. Drew watched WAY too much TV and played outside way too little, but Jack took so much of my time there was nothing else to do. I would dread having to change Drew's diaper because the minute I put Jack down he would scream. To the point that he would sweat through his clothes.
Going anywhere in the car was a NIGHTMARE. Trips that should have been 20-30 minutes would take an hour and a half because we would have to stop so many times. Jack would scream inconsolably and sweat through his clothes.
Jack (and we) lived in a cycle of nurse, catnap, scream; nurse, catnap, scream. Once he fell asleep nursing I often didn't dare to move him because he would scream. He NEVER slept more than 2 hours at a time. He spent 15-18 hours a day crying and screaming. We spent a number of nights sleeping in the recliner in the living room because it was just easier.
When he nursed he would sweat profusely. He would gulp for air when nursing or bottle feeding. EVERYTHING was difficult.
At Jack's 2 month pedi appt we talked about all of these things. She quickly diagnosed him with severe silent reflux and possible issue with dairy. I cut out all dairy and we put him on reflux meds. Not much change was seen. Cut out all dairy, soy, nuts, and eggs plus a different reflux med. Saw a tiny bit of change.
Then our pedi gave us a referral to a pediatric gastro doc.
Jack was diagnosed with Milk/Soy Protein Intolerance and allergic colitis plus the severe reflux. I continued my dairy, soy, nut and egg free diet and things improved a bit but he was still a very needy child. He has been a full time job all on his own. I ended up taking an extra week of maternity leave because there was no way we could send him to a babysitter in this state. In December we switched to a third reflux med and it made a world of difference.
Even though we had my diet under control for his nursing and the reflux meds finally figured out, he was still so tough. We never went out to eat as a family, often one of us would just stay home with Jack instead of running errands, etc together as it was just easier. He had very little ability to entertain himself and almost no ability to self soothe. He still was up to nurse 2-3 times a night until just a few weeks ago. It has been exhausting.
However, having said all of this......Jack has the most amazing smile and he scrunches his nose in the cutest way when he does. He really is quite silly and has a great personality when he is feeling well. He loves his big brother to pieces and has a laugh that is ridiculously contagious! Drew has been an absolutely amazing big brother and we are so proud of the big boy he is becoming.
I think we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This summer we have had so very many more good days than bad. We have been to the beach, an amusement park, swimming, the zoo, and so much more. We can go to a restaurant together. We can do things as a family. These things would not have been possible a few months ago. Jack is finally able to play on his own for some time. He still has great difficulty self soothing, but that will come with time I am sure. He is sleeping through the night finally. We are getting there.....
Our little family of 4 is perfect and we are so blessed with these boys.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
I Miss Blogging
It has been MONTHS since I updated here and I miss it.......
I miss having the record of what is going on........
I am sad that I don't have as much documented for Jack as we do for Drew.....
So.............here we go............I am going to start blogging again - my goal is once a week, hopefully more!
It has been a tough, tough year in our family - more on that in future posts.
But, we have made it through and our baby will be ONE in 2 short weeks and our big boy is on the verge of 4!
I miss having the record of what is going on........
I am sad that I don't have as much documented for Jack as we do for Drew.....
So.............here we go............I am going to start blogging again - my goal is once a week, hopefully more!
It has been a tough, tough year in our family - more on that in future posts.
But, we have made it through and our baby will be ONE in 2 short weeks and our big boy is on the verge of 4!
We are soaking up the last moments of summer vacation and loving life.
I promise a more detailed update soon, but for now - here are our handsome dudes!
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