Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Kaida


As many of you know - Kaida has been one sick puppy. Over the winter months she had lost about 10-15 pounds, and her seizures became more frequent. We have spent the past month back and forth to vet. After several tests, we think we have found the cause of the sudden weight loss.

Visit this website: http://www.epi4dogs.com

It explains Kaida's condition, called EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency). It also talks about her other temporary condition called SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth). This is exactly how the vet explained everything to me, but I just couldn't write everything down fast enough!

We started her new diet this week and the powder for the EPI. She gets her Tylan powder and B12 injection on Saturday. We have to take her dry food and put the powder on top and mix with water. After it sits for 15-20 minutes she can eat it - it turns it into a bowl of mush and is rather disgusting. Kaida really does not like it very much - so we have been trying ways to hide the powder - chicken broth and canned food. Hopefully she will adjust soon! The powder is very fine and almost static-like. After opening the bottle it seemed to go everywhere. I will be investing in Clorox for the kitchen and change her bowls after each meal. It will be a process, but fortunately we know what has caused so many problems and hope to be on the right track to getting our dog back!

The vet is not sure if this is also the cause of her seizures, and they are not mentioned on the website, so we will continue to treat her for epilepsy with phenobarbital.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

36 weeks and 3 days

Per Aunt Becky's request - here are two pictures of me and Sprout at 36 weeks and 3 days! My last appointment was this past Wednesday, and I now go every week until Sprout decides to, well, sprout! It appears that Sprout may have a similar temperament as big sister Leah - very patient, stubborn and not wanting to cooperate! Sprout is still high and I have not dilated a bit. Oh well - still 3 weeks to go - hopefully something will happen sooner than later! But Sprout has been good to me too - I am still down three pounds from where I was nine months ago!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

A Much Needed Update - Spring Break!

Pat and I did not have the same Spring Break this year - instead, they were back to back. The nice thing about this was that we each got to spend a week one-on-one with Leah. Leah had a very busy two weeks with Mommy and Daddy - but I think she is about ready to go back to the sitter's home and see her little friends.

The break started with a big step for Leah - a big girl bed. We thought this would be a good time to transition into a twin bed - we had two weeks where we could handle sleepless nights. Pat spent Sunday morning taking apart the crib, moving it into Sprout's room and setting it up again. Then he put together Leah's new bed, which was pretty quick and easy. Leah very much wanted to watch and be involved, but she got bored half-way through and decided to do what she does best - read some books!
Once the bed was put together Leah was very interested in this new piece of furniture in her room. All of a sudden it was naptime - and our first test. Leah surprised us and took her nap with no problems - in fact it was one of her longest naps she has had in a long time.
For the past two weeks she has taken the best naps and has slept really well overnight. She has only been 'bad' twice, both during naptime. The first time she just was not ready for a nap. I caught her pulling all her books off her bookshelf, playing with her bracelet box, running up and down the hallway, and finally peeking out the window. She finally knew I meant business and settled for a two-hour nap.
The second time actually occurred when she woke up for a nap. Pat and I were working in our room and our back was to our door. We could hear that she was up on the monitor, but we usually wait 5-10 minutes before getting her. Apparently Leah did not want to wait and she surprised us by saying 'Hi Daddy!' right behind us.

The first week of our Spring Break also was the start of a very important event in the Naylor Household - Flubs Night! Every Sunday night we go to Flubs - we usually go right when Flubs opens and continue to go until the last night they close in the fall. We missed the first two weeks or so due to it being cold and rainy. But Grandma was in town and a trip to Cincinnati is not complete until there is a visit to Flubs. Leah had her very first ice cream cone all by herself - a baby vanilla cone - just the right size.

Grandma was in town to spend some time with Leah and to help me get some things done before Sprout's arrival. We had a fantastic time shopping, playing in the yard, eating out and getting things ready. Grandma and Leah even got to go to a doctor appointment with me and heard the baby's heartbeat - steady at 145 bpm. And Leah had her much-needed second haircut.
Leah and I finished off our week together by going to Daddy's school. He had conferences late one night, so we took him dinner. Leah was much more interested in all the instruments in Daddy's classroom.
We spent Good Friday at the Cincinnati Zoo - along with the rest of the city! The zoo was in fact a zoo - but it was certainly worth the traffic and having to park far away. The Zoo Blooms were just getting ready to bloom and the polar bears were putting on quite the show. The giraffes were unfortunately inside - but Pat took Leah back during his week off and Leah got to see them then. The most active animals during our visit were the Gibbons - a monkey - they were hooting and swinging from bar to bar.
The weekend was spent doing typical Easter activities. We went to the Trenton Easter Egg Hunt Saturday morning, colored Easter Eggs and went to Flubs Saturday night (they were closed Easter Sunday) and spent Easter Sunday at church and relaxing at home with our own Easter Egg Hunt for Leah. It was small and quiet just the three of us - but we had a really nice weekend.

Pat had a nice week with Leah while he was home. Unfortunately, he just did not have any pictures to prove it. But Pat and Leah went to the zoo and park and enjoyed the good weather at home.

In the end - I think Leah had a fabulous two weeks at home. It was hard for me to go back to work last week, and I know Pat is not looking forward to an early morning tomorrow. The past two weeks were just a sneak preview to what the summer will bring!