March & a Couch Miracle

Andrew - not afraid of snakes at Nana's, not afraid of dressing up for Dr. Suess Day at school, and currently playing sports with Justin Thorpe in the neighborhood once a week (I am paying Justin to coach/play sports with Andrew).  Andrew is especially loving when they play tennis together!

Carson - loving to play with mommy.  We went with Ezra Bennion to Thanksgiving Point museum and no surprise that they got soaked!  Carson has been playing hide and seek lately and his hiding spots are pretty funny.  Cousin Ryan and Carson are almost the same size now (1 year age difference), so they are starting to "play" a little bit together.

Rachel - big month for her because she tried out for Student Council at Barratt.  It was a very big deal to her and she did a great job making her poster and coming up with a skit all on her own.  She had to pass multiple rounds of teacher recommendations and then participate in an assembly and get voted in.  Her slogan was "I have high, high hopes that you'll vote for me" and she did a gymnastics routine to the song, "High, high hopes."  She made it onto student council!!  She also got some new glasses, just for reading and she loves them.  When I was in 5th grade, I had braces and glasses, but I was not nearly as cute as she is!  She completed a big project at school all about Sojourner Truth and she learned a lot about slavery and that time period.  Also, cousin Luke was in the hospital for a few days this month with pneumonia.  He just loves Rachel so I took her up for a visit and he was so happy to have her there.

We had a Hale family party to celebrate Grandpa Hale's would-have-been 100th birthday.  Andrew looked great in Grandpa's toupee and glasses.  Brandon wore one of his old basketball jerseys and Chris wore a typical outfit that he wore.  Brandon told a hilarious story about running into Grandpa at the mall where he was taking a nap.  Chris told one about him coming to lots of his BYU football practices - one time the football came near him and he picked it up, signed his name on it with a sharpie marker and then threw it back.  Nancy put a cute Bingo game together all about his life.  

We got a new couch for the basement.  We learned a very important lesson about couches and basements.  Now we know that you not only have to take the measurements of the room to make sure the couch will fit how you'd like, it is also JUST as important to take measurements of the stairs and basement entrances to make sure this custom couch you ordered from Downeast will actually get into the room you need. Very important lesson.  Because this beautiful, new couch (the most expensive furniture piece we have ever bought) would NOT fit into the basement.  It was very disappointing and at one point, I even posted it online to try to sell it for a loss.  But we didn't give up; Brandon and I were determined to find a way.  We/Brandon ended up tearing down multiple walls at the bottom of the stairs, but you know what - WE GOT IT DOWN THERE!  It will literally never come out and will need to be sawed in half when it does, but it's there!  It was nothing short of a miracle!  The good news is that a project I had always been wanting anyway got moved to the top of the list when walls started coming down and we were able to open up the basement landing as well and it looks amazing!

Kendall - food therapy

I'd like to keep track of this here, so that I can have it as a reference point.  Basically, I decided to see if I could tackle some of Kendall's picky eating through some food therapy.  We're seeing someone to hopefully help us make some improvements.  Gosh, I love her and just want to do what's best for her.  Here is what I wrote to the therapist before our first appointment:

Kendall is the 3rd of 4 children in our family and is 6 years old and in Kindergarten.  She is a smart girl who does well in school and is kind and nice to others.  She is very tall and has always had good growth - the doctor has never shown any concern.  

Current concern:  She is refusing to eat all fruits and vegetables (in any form) and will only take small amounts of juice sometimes.  She hates any vitamins I have tried.  I am concerned if she continues on this path, that she will start to have health issues and I am not sure what to put in her lunch next year when she starts 1st grade!

Goal of some food therapy:  I would like to make a plan with a professional so that I can feel confident that I am doing the right thing for her.  I think with an investment behind it and someone to be accountable to, I will be able to be more consistent than if I were trying things on my own and making up my own programs.

Picky eating as a baby:

As a baby, I nursed her, but did not produce enough milk starting around 4 months old.  She refused formula despite all our efforts and started losing weight - we were finally able to get her to take formula by adding a little banana baby food to sweeten the taste.  After a few weeks, we slowly took out any banana that we added to it.  

Once she started solids, she did ok with all the solids in the beginning.  At one years old when we started her on whole milk, she had tummy aches and night wakings, so we tried soy and/or almond milk for awhile and eventually, she was able to have whole milk again.  

Starting around 14 months old, she began outright refusing food.  Foods she used to eat, she would refuse and when I forced bites in her mouth, she would gag and/or throw up.  

Around that same time, she would put everything in her mouth - rocks and sand were her favorite!  We took her in for some blood tests to see if she had any iron deficiencies, but the only thing it showed was a small Vit D deficiency.

Picky eating as a toddler:

She has always refused bread and says it is her worst enemy.  She hates the smell of it and will not take even small bites of it.  At church, even the smell of the sacrament tray going by her would make her gag and dry heave, so she’d duck down to the ground so she didn’t have to smell it.  At one point, we would have her touch it to her lips, except we really thought she’d actually throw up in the pew!  She also cannot stand the smell of bakeries and will just wait outside.

Although she was my pickiest eater by far, I got creative and she loved smoothies, so I’d put all sorts of fruits and vegetable in those.  She’d also eat a few vegetable in dinners that I made on a regular basis.  She would eat peanut butter, boiled eggs, beans, cheese, etc. - not always when I asked her too, but occasionally she would eat these things when I offered them.

Picky eating as a 5-6 year old:

After a difficult move to Utah, and having a 4th child with an almost 5 year gap, and experiencing postpartum depression for the first time, I think I got really tired and gave up too much control with Kendall’s eating habits.  She constantly would reject what I offered and refused to eat certain things.  When we forced her to try bites, it would end in her gagging and/or throwing up and lots and lots of tears.  It probably was and is a power struggle between her and I.  She does much better with my husband and eating, but he is only around at dinnertime.  I always hoped she would grow out of some of the picky eating, but now I can see that it is just getting worse.  Rather than make her eat things, I began to ask her what she would eat at meals and just make her those things.  At dinner, I try to get her to eat something that the family is having or try a bit or have things that she’ll eat.  

Things Kendall will currently eat (although, theses items are not a guarantee and she tells me from time to time that she doesn’t like something anymore):

-chocolate milk morning and night (will only drink it if it is Vit D milk)

-sugary cereals with milk

-hot dogs (Jennie-O turkey franks, picky with other brands)

-corn dogs

-chicken nuggets (only from McDonald’s currently)

-tortilla chips with melted cheese

-macaroni and cheese

-pizza from a few restaurants

-pasta with red or white sauce (my homemade sauces)

-waffles or pancakes with syrup

-graham crackers with milk

-some crackers - she changes what she’ll eat

-s’more granola bars (only the name brand)

-rice Krispy treats and Welch’s fruit snacks

-small sips of apple juice (only one brand)

-small amounts of boiled eggs (only white part)

-some chicken that I make

-desserts, but very selective (ex. will only eat certain flavors of ice cream, only some candy and picks out certain colors she will eat, very few baked goods)

Things Kendall will NOT eat:

-bread

-fruits and vegetables in any form 

-vitamins

-selective about which grains she’ll eat

-yogurt, yogurt smoothies, cheeses (unless melted on chips)

-nuts, beans, eggs, peanut butter, deli meat

Other possibly helpful connections:

-She has always had a heightened sense of smell.  

-About 6 months ago, she started doing some motor stereotypies with her hands and a routine of touching her face in a very specific way or another part of her body.  That routine (sometimes she noticed she was doing it and sometimes she didn’t) ramped up for about a month, and then I haven’t seen them since.  We worked with her primary car doctor on that and he did not have any major concerns.  Here’s a link he shared about it: 

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/centers_clinics/pediatric-neurology/conditions/motor-stereotypies/

-She had selective hearing at home for a long time (since I had her hearing checked and it was perfect), but she has seemed to be doing better with that.

-She does take a long time to do tasks, such as getting ready to leave the house, putting on shoes or cleaning her room.  However, at school she seems to do well following instructions and listening.  

Update:  We went about 4-5 times and worked on things at home in between.  We didn't see much improvement, so I stopped seeing the therpist.  She did add one thing to her diet:  peanut butter.  I call it a win!