TV Time

When Simi was a baby, he used to love watching the Wiggles. He was between the ages of 1 and 2 and he'd watch the television screen in a mesmerized state while watching the four Australian men performing their show. When they sang, Simi would dance/bounce along -- with a great big smile on his face. He loved it.

He also watched Barney. Simi LOVED that purple dinosaur.

Asher was also a HUGE fan of the Wiggles and Barney. At the end of each Barney episode, Barney sings the same song and Asher would come up to me and say, "he's singing our song, mommy!" Then Asher and I would sing the song along with Barney and hug and kiss and cuddle. OK, so I'm a big fan of that dancing purple dinosaur too!

Leila would love to watch the Wiggles and Barney if she got the chance. Thing is, Simi and Asher control the television's remote control. The poor girl is growing up watching Ben 10 Alien Force, Transformers Animated, and Go Diego Go! Rather than learn what foods are the most nutritious or how to treat your friends, Leila runs around the house with her hand shaped like a gun, yelling "bam! bam! bam!" while shooting her brothers and imaginary bad guys - just as she sees her big brothers doing.

I wonder how this will affect her personality...

The Results Are In

The nurse telephoned with the results of Asher's latest endoscopy. Biopsies reveal three eosinophils (eos) per high-powered field (hpf) in the proximal and 15 eos per hpf in the distal esophagus. Results greater than 15 are bad, which means that Asher just barely squeaked by. Since Asher had over 90 eos per hpf in the distal esophagus in his last scope on October 17th, it's encouraging that the number has gone down that significantly. The general consensus is that it takes a long time for the eos to clear from the esophagus.

In other words, it's a pass. We can begin introducing additional foods into Asher's diet. One at a time, of course. One food, wait two weeks for reaction, then another food, wait another two weeks, add a third food, then scope three months from now.

Once Asher stops vomiting, we'll introduce another food. Right now he chooses bananas, but he's allowed to change his mind.

Asher had an absolutely horrendous afternoon and evening yesterday. He vomited up a storm - from 3 PM to about 6 PM. After there was nothing in his tummy left to vomit, he started to dry heave. His tiny little body shook like crazy while it tried to expel something from its empty stomach. I looked on helplessly, trying desperately to think of some way to help my sweet baby.

In a desperate attempt, I took Asher to the pediatrician's last night to see if there could be a virus or bacterial infection or some sort of medicine to sooth his tummy. No dice. Logic says that it's caused by some irritation due to the endoscopy, so it's best handled by the ped. gastroenterologist. Doctor did suggest giving Benedryl (short term) or Zantac (longer term) to sooth the stomach and help with the vomiting. I had never heard of that before. Something about how they are antihistamines, which suppress the histamine allergic reaction. Oh. good to know. So off I went to give Asher some antihistamine. We'll see if it helps.

And While We're Waiting...

While we're waiting for the results of the biopsies, here's a short update of each of the three children:

Simi
Is having a great time in soccer these days. Although he hasn't played it in over two years (and he's six), he's picked it up and is playing like an old pro. Maybe my opinion is skewed, but he seems to be quite the athlete. He is, by far, more advanced in gymnastics than his kindergarten classmates. We should really move him up to the more advanced level - for both his and his classmates sake. I just wish those classes weren't full.

With all the household talk about Asher visiting the hospital for his endoscopy, Simi began talking about when he was in the hospital to have his heart fixed. It's amazing how much he remembers - and the items he remembers - considering that it happened two-and-a-half years ago and that it happened before his fourth birthday. And he remembers it with distinct clarity!

He remembers the nurse removing the Foley the day after his heart surgery - and how it burned and made him feel like he had to pee. And he remembers getting out of bed and trying to pee. After Simi told me that memory, I too, remembered it - just like he did. I guess it left a significant impression on him for him to remember it that distinctly!

He also remembers how terrible the macaroni and cheese tasted in the hospital. It must have been really bad!

I wish I could remember all the other memories he mentioned. Gosh, I wish I had his memory!


Leila
Is our head-strong, super high maintenance child. Good golly, this girl is STUBBORN! She just doesn't quit until she gets what she wants! She is also as sweet as honey - when she wants to be. Here is a conversation we have frequently:

me: "Leila, you are absolutely adorable!"
Leila: "I'm not adorable, Asher's adorable."
me: "You're adorable too, you know."
Leila: "No, I'm not adorable. Simi's adorable." (says with a grin...)


Asher
Has started vomiting regularly after meals since the endoscopy. That's not a good sign. He either vomits - or wants to vomit - while eating every day since the endoscopy. Yesterday I telephoned the GI doctor on call to see if it was endoscopy related. Before I could even get the full sentence out, he tells me that the vomiting is not endoscopy-related (why do they put it on the release sheet then, to call if vomiting?), and that it's probably related to the reason why he was scoped. He asked why Asher was scoped. "He has eosinophilic esophagitis", was my reply. "Oh, well that explains it", says the ped. GI Doctor on call. "That's the reason he's vomiting." Shucks.

So, we're expecting poor biopsy results. Which may explain why Asher is always tired. And has low energy. And poor cognitive skills. Deep, deep, deep sigh.

And Now We Wait...

Asher's endoscopy was today. Because he was added on at the very last minute, the poor kid was the very last patient of the day. And because the gastroenterologist was running about two hours behind, Asher's endoscopy started around 6:00 PM. He hadn't had a thing to eat since 8:45 AM (he's FOUR!) and didn't have a nap and he was an amazing trooper. I've never met a more easy-going kid in my life.

We lucked out on anesthesiologists. We had the same anesthesiologist as we had last year. I recognized him and remembered what a great recovery Asher had from anesthesia. He looked up the records and - sure enough - he was the same guy. So he mixed up the same anesthesia recipe as last time. And the recovery was just as nice. Now we have a perfect anesthesia recipe for Asher - just what every four year-old should have.

Every one knows us at this hospital. I know it sounds rather pathetic, but I find comfort in it. The woman at the information desk - Kathy - lights up and gives us a great big hug when we walk past her desk. Today she gave Asher a beautiful soft stuffed lion. Asher named it "Ligy", and hugged Ligy and held him for the rest of the day. We meant to bring him into the procedure room with us, but he managed to get left behind somehow. Not to worry, Ligy was there when Asher awoke from his anesthesia cocktail.

The OR nurse, Katherine, has been taking care of my kids in the OR for the past six years. We hug, catch up on each other's lives, and when it's our turn, she takes great care of Asher during his endoscopy. I know my baby is safe in her care. I walk into the procedure room with Asher and I hold him and sing to him as he drifts off to sleep. Then I leave the room knowing that Katherine is there to care for him. When the procedure is over, she comes to get me and bring me to his bed so that I can be with him for when he wakes up. I know that my baby is in good hands.

Being the last patient has its advantages. Today, Asher's pediatric GI doctor and I were able to chat for a solid 30 minutes. Any other time of day, he has about two minutes to talk before he rushes off to another patient. It was blissful to get the opportunity to sit in the conference area and and talk with him.

Perhaps you can tell: we didn't go to Cincinnati this time. We tried. Good golly, I can't imagine trying any harder than we have! Truthfully, we've had a really difficult time getting care from them. No matter how much we tried, we weren't able to talk with the doctor after Asher's last horrendous scope to get a plan of action. We struggled to talk to someone - anyone - after Asher lost the use of his arms and legs and I suspected the huge dose of Flovent he prescribed to be the culprit. I was told to go to my pediatrician, even though the ped. gastroenterologist in Cincinnati was the prescribing physician. And six months of struggling to get an endoscopy date has ended up in failure. I can't imagine getting worse care than this. Which led us back to Duke Children's. And like I mentioned, we know the place. We know where to park so that the walk is a mere feet from the entrance instead of blocks away. And it's so close to our house. It's a five minute drive - instead of a two day excursion. Can't beat that. And they know us. Maybe we'll stick with them for awhile.

And now we wait for the biopsy report. It should be back within the week. Stay tuned for the results...

Scheduled Scope

Asher's next scheduled endoscopy is this Thursday. Please think positive thoughts that he'll have an eosinophil-free endoscopy....

One Step Forward, Ten Steps Back

It was approximately six months ago, around the middle of October, when we learned that Asher had some motor skills delays. The Occupational Therapist evaluated him and put his skill level at the age of a 38 month old (he was 49 months old at the time).

We started occupational therapy, physical therapy, gymnastics, swimming, and we worked with him at home. In all, we made sure he had an hour of strenous activity five days a week. We also worked his hands with Theraputty to strengthen his hands/grip/ability to hold a pencil.

On Wednesday, the Occupational Therapist re-evaluated him. The result: his skill level is that of a 39 month old. He is now 54 months old. All that work and it hasn't helped him. Not one single bit.

It reminds me of when Asher was a baby - before we got the EE diagnosis. He wouldn't eat solid food. Actually, he tried to eat solid food, but it hurt so he'd stop. We took him to feeding therapy every week for months. The therapist said he had "x" disorder, he had "y" disorder. I continually said, "I think it hurts him. I think it's something physical." Finally, after many months of this insane feeding therapy, I said, "what Asher has is physical. He won't eat until we fix the pain." That led us to the ee diagnosis, the flovent, and then Asher quickly started eating solid foods.

I can't help but think there's something physical going on now, too, with Asher, to make it hard for his muscles to work. It's hard for him to get out of bed in the morning. It's hard for him to get moving. As much as he wants to do it, he just can't.

It's not lost on me that he's stuck at the 38/39 month old timeframe. That's about how old he was when we started the elemental diet.

I may be wrong; but I remember Asher being quite the athletic little monkey before his third birthday. I have photos of his second and third birthday parties at The Little Gym to prove it. So...what happened around 38 months to cause him to stop progressing?

We're off to find what else is wrong with Asher.

Asher Update

It's been an unusually quiet week...and we haven't had an Asher update in awhile. So...here it is:

I've been struggling to get Asher's next endoscopy scheduled. The protocol is for for him to be "scoped" every three months. Since Asher's last endoscopy was October 17th 2007, we're getting very close to six months post scope now. Unfortunately, my calls and emails to Cincinnati Children's go answered. So much for quality medical care.

Although we're still in the throes of pollen season, I think we have Asher's environmental allergies under control and he's back to feeling fine again. A nebulizer full of Pulmicort Respules (I love that name!), a nose full of Flonaise, and a netti pot to clear out the sinuses have been doing the job for the kid.

We haven't added any additional food into Asher's diet. Instead, we've added vitamins. Asher has been struggling with muscle weakness and shaky hands. The shaky hands - it really looks like the kid has Parkinson-like symptoms, which is pretty scary considering he's a mere 4 years old. It's been scaring the daylights out of me - watching my sweet boy acting clumsy and falling down all the time, unable to go up/down stairs, unable to keep up with his friends on the playground, and unable to hold his cup of milk in the morning because his hands are shaking too hard. Many of the other families with EE children mention that EE and mitochondrial disease are related - and that scares the daylights out of me. Honestly, all of this stuff has overwhelmed me. I just don't know where to turn. I talk with our pediatrician, who also doesn't know. I have been feeling like we're on our own.

So I've been reading. And reading. And while I'm not sure if this is the cause, I've learned that Asher isn't getting the nutrition he needs. He's only getting one-half of the recommended daily allowance of the most needed vitamins, like calcium, vitamin A, zinc, etc. Plus, there are tons of minerals and nutrients that are normally found in food - which aren't found in his elemental formula. I wonder if the lack of sufficient vitamins, minerals, etc. is causing the problems we're seeing in the kid right now. It seems logical to me that if your muscles aren't getting the nutrients they need, then they're just not going to be able to function correctly. Same with the brain.

I found some children's multi-vitamins made of non-allergenic materials and have been giving them to Asher, along with some zinc (to help him think), coenzyme-Q10 (to help with the mitochondrial-like symptoms), Three-lac (to kill the yeast), and calcium (because everybody needs calcium). Interestingly, he seems better after a mere couple of days on the vitamins. He also seems to be doing age-appropriately on the cognitive development work I've been doing with him. Perhaps it's coincidence or perhaps the supplements are actually working, but it's enough to make me want to continue down this path. We're off to find an integrative medicine doctor to help us identify the right course of treatment for this kid.

Two Sides of a Coin

Simi and Asher had their first soccer games this past Saturday. They were both so incredibly excited about it. They had talked about it for days! Saturday finally arrives. When the day begins, it's roughly 60-70 degrees outside and sunny. Simi's game begins at 9 AM. I tell him to dress in shorts and a t-shirt and off he goes with Raj to the field.

As the rest of us are getting ready for Asher's 10:15 AM game, Raj telephones. It's freezing outside. Cold and very windy. Better dress more warmly.

OK, so off we go. We get in the car and drive to the fields. As we start out, drizzle begins to fall. Not a good beginning. As we get closer to the fields, the rain gets harder. By the time we get to the fields, it's a good soaking downpour. I look at the temperature gauge on the car (which is surprisingly reliable); it reads 40 degrees. Cold. Rain. Simi's playing in this weather. Asher, who is newly recovering from his latest asthma/allergy attack, is scheduled to play. Right.

As I tell Asher that he can't play in this weather, he begins to cry. He's so disappointed. He wants to play soccer so badly. I know how badly he wants to play. I'm dissappointed for him. I feel so terrible that for a moment I almost let him out of the car to go play.

The other part of me is thrilled. It's raining. That means the pollen - the thing that's causing Asher to be unable to breathe - is being washed away. It means relief from the asthma attacks. It means more energy for the Asher-boy. So what if he can't play soccer; he'll be able to breathe. We'll find some fun thing to do indoors.

Two sides of a coin. You just can't lose. Or win.

Simi, by the way, did great in his game. He absolutely loved it.

Ode to Spring

Springtime is my absolutely favorite season. I really dislike the cold weather and the short, dark days. Truthfully, any temperature below 70 degrees is too cold for me, so winter really takes a toll on me.

One of the reasons I love spring is because it means that winter is over. Winter really and truly is painful to me. And I love to watch the birds return, build their nests and lay their eggs. I love to watch the flowers popping and the trees getting their leaves. It's a time of rebirth and it's absolutely lovely.

But I don't love it anymore. Because now, to me, it's the season that kicks Asher's asthmatic butt. He gets these dark circles under his eyes, super-congested in his nose, and starts to wheeze. The pollen causes him to struggle in his breathing. So now, the things I used to like about springtime are on the opposite list. And now, instead of reveling in spring, I count the days until the pollen is gone. And I dread the arrival of Autumn, my formerly second favorite season, when we have to go through a similar allergy season.

Maybe winter isn't so bad after all.

Easter in the HinJew Household

It's true: here in the HinJew household, we celebrate Easter. Better said, we celebrate the Easter Bunny and everything that comes with him - coloring eggs, going on egg hunts, and getting Easter baskets. Frankly, I don't see the connection between the Easter Bunny and Christ. For the children, it's a way for them to have fun, do some artwork (coloring eggs), get some exercise (running, searching, and reaching for the eggs during the hunt), have fun with friends (at the neighborhood egg hunt) and get a couple of pressies too. Gotta love that.

We also don't celebrate Easter with food. Nope, none of that chocolate shaped like a rabbit or pink or yellow edible chicks for us. Instead, our Easter baskets are filled with bunny shaped tiddly winks, plastic eggs filled with small toys, bunny temporary tatoos, and straws shaped like Easter bunnies. The children loved them.

'Bout the only complain we heard was when it was over. The children wanted to do it all over again.

Giving Big

I was on the track team when I was in high school. Each year, during Winter Track season, we had an annual fund-raiser for muscular dystrophy. The fund-raiser lasted 24 hours. We arranged ourselves into teams of four people. Each team ran around our winter track for an hour (one person ran a mile, passed the baton to the next person to run a mile, and so on.) Then we rested for three hours until it was our team's turn again. I can't remember exactly how much we raised; my guess is that we raised about $20,000 annually.

This is a mere pittance.

Students at Highland Park High School hold an annual fund-raiser too. They choose an organization which meets the following criteria: 1) the organization must focus on children, 2) have a local connection, and 3) be small enough that the money raised will significantly boost research budgets.

This year, the students chose to raise funds for CURED. Every single penny they raise will go to research on eosinophilic disease.

Unlike my high school track team, these children give BIG. They raised $247,000 for CURED. An anonymous donor has offered to match what they raise, bringing the total to nearly $500,000 for research on eosinophilic disease.

You can read more about their efforts in this first Wall Street Journal article, in this second Wall Street Journal article, and on the CURED Web site. Go ahead and watch the closing ceremony. It's amazing.

Talk about making a difference! To my knowledge, that's the most money EVER spent on eosinophilic research - in TOTAL!

Thank you Highland Park High School students. You are truly inspirational. And a great big thank you to the anonymous donor who, in one swift pen stroke, made a difference in a HUGE way.

As a family who suffers from eosinophilic disease, we're grateful for your fund-raising efforts. You truly have made a difference. Thank you.

The Leila

Now that Leila has gotten those monster tonsils removed, she's a very different child. She's eating like CRAZY! In her entire second year of life, she gained only one or two pounds. Now, just a mere one month post-surgery, she's gained four pounds! The girl just doesn't stop eating now. She's a little fatty! She loves her fat, too. She rubs her little Buddha belly and smiles and jumps up and down to jiggle her little baby fat. Admitedly, it makes us all laugh. I feel like we must have starved her last year when her tonsils got in the way of her eating.

Last night, during bath time, when I told the boys to clean their penises, Leila reached down and tried to clean hers. She looked very confused until I distracted her with some soapy bubbles and a toy.

After the bath, Simi and Asher were playing "super-heroes", which brothers tend to do instead of putting on their pajamas. They had their hooded towels on their heads and used the towel parts as capes and ran around the room and pushed each other. Leila just had to get in the act too. Except she's a lot smaller so she can trip on her towel cape. And get hurt when her big brothers trample her. That didn't matter to her and there she was, Miss Pink Girl, pushing and flying and running with her big brothers.

On St. Patty's Day, Leila dressed in pink, as she does every day. She just loves the color pink. Simi mentioned that Leila would get pinched because she wasn't wearing green. Personally, I pity the fool who tries to pinch that girl! She'd pinch them right back - and scream at them in the process!

That's my girl..

Pink

Leila LOVES the color pink. Perhaps it seems a bit stereotypical, but she's really really into the color. She chooses her clothes these days and she insists on wearing the color pink. She insists on wearing her pink shoes (not her tennis shoes, which are white with pink trim, but her PINK shoes). Although they're not pink, she LOVES her black patent leather shoes. They're very girly. But the pink ones are definitely her favorite.

The other day, while we were in the grocery store, she noticed some yogurt in a pink container. She just HAD to have it. "It's PINK!", she screamed at the top of her lungs in the middle of the grocery store. Didn't matter that she wouldn't want to eat it, she just had to have the yogurt in the pink container.

I think those marketers know what they're doing.

The Tooth Fairy

Simi's loose tooth fell out! It happened at night while we were all sleeping. I learned about it at 5 AM, when I went to check on Asher and Simi woke up to check under his pillow to see what the Tooth Fairy left him. He was VERY disappointed that the Tooth Fairy hadn't shown up yet.

A few weeks ago, Simi had read a book on Sacajawea, the Indian woman who led Lewis and Clark on much of their expedition. Her image (and that of the baby she carried on her back) was imprinted on a gold dollar coin in the year 2000. Somehow, a long time ago, Raj managed to get one of these coins. He also managed to keep track of it all these years. So, when Simi told me about his lost tooth at 5 AM, I woke up Raj and asked for the gold coin.

After the 5 AM check-in, Simi fell back to sleep. Asher was wide awake. He called me in to fix the bed sheet that hangs off the bunk bed between the bed and the closet. That sheet keeps the monsters (who lurk in the closet) from reaching his bed in the middle of the night. With Simi snoring away, I fixed the sheet and tucked the gold coin under Simi's pillow. Perfect.

So there we were, at 6 AM (It's true, NOBODY sleeps at our house!), when Simi woke up, found the gold coin and starting shouting with glee! He was absolutely thrilled that the tooth fairy had left him such a great treasure!

Asher, who was awake when the tooth fairy visited, told us all that. And he said he SAW the tooth fairy. She looked just like a sprite in the Spiderwick Chronicles, with wings that fluttered quickly.

I wonder where we can get more gold coins.

The Flu

It's official: Asher has the flu. He came down with it Thursday night/Friday morning (why do these things ALWAYS happen between the hours of 1 and 3 AM???). He woke us up from a sound sleep to complain about his body hurting him, and when I went to pick him up from his bed, I felt his fever.

I know all the fever-reducing tricks, but this fever just wasn't budging. And on our way to take a warm bath, Asher vomited all over the hallway. It was classic...there he was walking and then all of a sudden he was vomiting. Multiple times. Luckily, the hallway is an easy clean-up.

So, off to the doctor we went and got an official diagnosis of flu, type A. And we all got prescriptions for the Tamiflu.

The doctor told us that, with the Tamiflu, we could expect Asher to be sick for four days instead of seven. OK, I'll take that. So imagine my surprise when Asher awoke this morning fever-free and feeling fine. How did that happen? Aside from a lack of appetite, Asher has been feeling quite fine all morning. I'm impressed.

Which leads me to a related topic: Parents, if your children are sick, PLEASE KEEP THEM HOME! I know Asher got the flu from running around Monkey Joe's and putting his hands in his mouth. Why in the world would anyone bring a child with the flu to Monkey Joe's? I can certainly understand the need to bring a sick child to daycare because bosses sometimes just don't understand that you have to stay home with a young 'un AGAIN when deadlines loom. But, Monkey Joe's??? Mum, if ya just HAVE to have that playdate with your best friend and her child, do it at HOME. Don't make everyone else's child sick too. Thank you.

Loose Tooth

One of Simi's best friends is a girl named Christian. Simi and Christian have known each other since they were three months old. Every chance they get to be together, they're inseparable.

Simi has another best friend named Alex. Whenever Simi and Alex see each other, they run and play and play and play.

Simi also has a lot of friends at his new school.

Christian and Alex - and many of Simi's friends at his new school - have something in common. They have all lost a tooth. They are at that age when their permanent teeth come in.

At school, they make a big deal when a child loses their tooth. The teacher writes their name on the "lost tooth" chart and the child stands in front of the class and shows the class what the tooth fairy has brought them.

Thing is, Simi hasn't yet lost a tooth.

Since the beginning of the school year, Simi has been hoping and begging for a loose tooth. He very much wants to join the "loose tooth" club. He asks quite frequently when he's going to lose a tooth. Every once in awhile, he states that he thinks his tooth is loose, and he points to one of his big molars in the back or some other very stable tooth. And he looks heart-broken each time I tell him that the tooth isn't coming out - just yet.

Until tonight.

Simi runs downstairs after his bath with a great big smile on his face. He thinks one of his teeth are loose! Sure enough, he's right! It's the front tooth on the bottom. Simi is losing his first tooth! He's so excited, he's jumping up and down for joy.

My heart is melting as I watch my baby reach this Very Important Milestone. Slow down, Simi. Don't grow up too fast. Stay my baby for just a little while longer. Please....

I can't wait to see what the Tooth Fairy brings him.

What the ...?!

When talking about the cause of autism, allergies, and asthma, the experts all agree on one thing: there is a genetic component to it and an environmental component to it. If you have the gene (or genes), the environmental cause pulls the trigger, so to speak, for that thing to happen. In eosinophilic esophagitis, they have already identified the gene. They also know that cases of EE have risen SIGNIFICANTLY in the past 8-10 years. They know it's not just an issue of not diagnosing the cases correctly. Researchers have pulled up biopsy slides for the past 30 years and the eosinophils just aren't on them. Now, all of a sudden, it's a problem. The question is, what is the environmental trigger?

Well before Simi was born, the controversy ensued about having thimersol, a mercury derivative, in pediatric vaccines. Thimerosal is known to cause neurological issues in humans. The only reason it's used in vaccines is because it's the cheapest preservative available. But in 2001, the vaccine companies agreed to remove thimerosal from pediatric vaccines. And the pharmaceutical companies are saying, "see, we removed this thing from the vaccines yet the cases of autism, allergies, and asthma are still increasing at astronomical rates. Obviously, it's not the thimerosal in the vaccines that's the cause."

I believed them. I completely believed all the doctors who told me that that horrible thing was removed from the vaccines. And now I learn that it's simply not true. That horrible thing not only still exists in our babies vaccines, but they also inject our babies with the stuff before the infant is even 24 hours old! It's in the Hepatitis B vaccine our infants receive immediately after their born.

Now, who in their right mind thinks it's a good idea to inject our newborn infants with a toxin known to cause neurological issues? And why in the world are we even injecting our babies against Hepatitis B at such a young age? Hepatitis B is contracted via 1) sexual contact, 2) sharing a needle with a person who is Hep B positive, or 3) at birth to a mother who is positive for Hepatitis B. Thing is, all pregnant women are tested for Hep. B - it's required by law. So why not just vaccinate THOSE newborns? Why vaccinate ALL newborns for Hep B? I can promise you that my newborn infant isn't going to be having any sex or sharing any needles for at least a few years. We can truly wait on those shots.

OK, if you want to see just what's in the vaccines your children received, look here. Or shield your eyes if you want to stay blissfully ignorant.

Epoca de Futbol

Spring time means that it's soccer season here in North Carolina. Which makes me wonder...why in the world is it called "soccer"? I mean, what does that word mean? It's called "football" (or futbol in Spanish) everywhere else in the world, so why not call it that? We can differentiate it between "North American football" - that sport that's played using some weird oblong ball and by hitting your opponents as hard as possible - by using exactly those words.


It's been a long time since the boys played futbol and they're really enjoying it. Gotta love a healthy activity...

Asher Update

I love to share good news, so here it is: Asher is riding an incredibly great wave right now. He is feeling great. He has tons of energy, is very active, and seems very happy.

Yesterday, I took both boys to Monkey Joes, an indoor playground with lots of inflatable things to climb up, squeeze through, and slide down on. They met a friend there and ran around like crazy for 1.5 hours. Asher kept running from the front of the place to the back. He ran so super-speedy fast that we started calling him "Dash", his favorite character from the movie, The Incredibles.

Asher's naughtiness has also increased, much to Simi's chagrin. Asher really enjoys tormenting his big brother now.

Naughtiness aside, it's wonderful to see Asher feeling so great.

E028 Splash

Asher is undergoing a new food trial: E028 Splash. It, too, is elemental formula but there are many anecdotal stories of children with eosinophilic esophagitis who have reacted to something in it. We cannot assume that Asher can drink this stuff safely.

These "juice boxes" have rocked Asher's world. They add a bit of flavor to his life and make him feel like all the other children - because he, too, can have a juice box. He's thrilled. I'm thrilled to find something which could be safe AND nutritionally complete.

So far, the trial is going exceedingly well. He has been drinking the juice boxes for at least a week with no sign of side effects. In fact, I just ordered a month's supply of grape, since that's the flavor he loves the best.