Upper GI And ENT Visit...

Hello again everyone!

Jenna has been on a few journeys to the Cleveland Clinic since the last post. As you may have read, she has been spitting up quite a bit and very irritated when eating and at different times of the day. Some is obviously normal baby stuff, some is her father in her coming out, (like he does when watching a Council meeting!!! UGG!) and the rest is just Jenna.

She had two upper GI's done this month. The first...well, let's just say she didn't like to much. The second went perfect. Nothing abnormal to report. While we were up in Cleveland, she also saw an ENT. (Ear, nose and throat doc) Jenna's nose is slightly pushed back, which makes for a smaller nasal cavity and sinus area. Because of this, she has been snorting while eating, which we thought could be a reason for her spitting up. They did a scope on her, through the nose and down to the voice box...parts of my daughter I do not care to see again. The verdict: swollen adenoids. Turns out, the reflux is agitating her adenoids, and if she is upset this causes mucus to build more rapidly. With the smaller sinus cavity, this leads to the snorting. Believe it or not, we are giving her eye drops in her nose to help rid the swollen adenoids.

Jenna also has a geographic tongue. We always wondered what the heck that was in there...this girl is still a mystery to us! Every visit to Cleveland brings something new. I don't think we should visit anymore!

She got to spend her first night in a hotel...next to the Clinic, of course. We headed up last Thursday night to avoid the ice, rain and snow we got Friday.

Of course, the ENT we were suppose to see at 9:45 a.m. was in an emergency surgery, so we saw the nurse practitioner instead. They said we had to do this and that and reschedule; at which point dad nicely stated it needed to be done today while we were here. All of the sudden, we had an appointment for an exam from a partner ENT and the scope at 3:45 p.m. We headed down to her upper GI at 11:20 a.m. This lasted about 35 minutes. Surprisingly, Jenna loves barium. She normally takes 2-3 oz of formula...she took almost 4 oz of this stuff and kept it down!!! Of course, the next bottle of formula came racing back at us. Yet another mystery, but leading us to believe there may be a food allergy going on here.

We were able to spend some time with a few friends not in the best of circumstances. John Buskirk, one of my assistant football coaches and a great friend since high school, is on his third battle with Leukemia. He is an amazing person and one of the strongest people I know. I have set up a blog for his family as well. They did it by e-mail the last two times and this has been easier for them. His wife, Jessica, e-mails me the info and I get it up for them. The blog is www.coachjbuzz.blogspot.com. Please keep him, his wife who is expecting twins, and his family in your prayers.

I hope each and every one of you has a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. We are certainly counting our blessings. Have a safe and relaxing time with your loved ones. Hope to have some Christmas pics up this week.

A Little Baptism, A Little Heart Burn...

My Pretty Baptism Outfit...

Pre-Baptism In The Cry Room...
(Big Brother In The Background)

Godmother Auntie Jamie, Godfather Jim Severino, Mommy and Daddy

Hello again everyone!

On November 23, 2008 we baptized Jenna at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. Father Ruggieri performed the ceremony and unfortunately for him and the rest of us, Jenna's time in the cry room before the baptism was the only time she wasn't crying. It was a great day regardless. We all went to my parents house after for a great party.

Jenna has been a little under the weather. Not with a cold, but some digestive issues. She has been spitting up constantly and in large amounts after eating. She is not losing weight, but not putting it on as she should. You can tell she is in some pain during these episodes.

We took her back to Cleveland to see another "gist"- the Pediatric Gastroenterologist. There are links to some issues with digestion related to Turners babies. They want to do an upper GI to see if there can be something going on in there causing this. She is on Pepcid, and it has been doubled with little relief. It has been frustrating, especially for Janice who has had to deal with her all this time, to see Jenna like this. The procedure is scheduled for the 16th, but we are trying to get in sooner. Also going to try the chiropractor this week. It has helped others we know.

As you can see by the pictures, she is smiling and happy some of the time. When her tummy is bothering her...look out! This girl has strong lungs.

Janice went back to work Monday and Jenna has been going to Grandma and Papa's house while we are at work. Jenna gets an earful from Grandma all day, we're sure. They have been a huge help through all of this and Jenna is going to continue to go there until after Christmas break.

Yet another hurdle to jump over in her short 3 month life...but life goes on! We will check back when there is more to report.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and spent money...LOCALLY! (That's the Chamber of Commerce talking again!!!)

Just a note on this terrible economy; The National Retail Federation reported:
"Though the holiday season is far from over, retailers across the country are breathing a collective sigh of relief after shoppers headed to stores and websites in droves over the weekend. According to the National Retail Federation's 2008 Black Friday Weekend survey, conducted by BIGresearch, more than 172 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 147 million shoppers last year.*

Shoppers spent an average of $372.57 this weekend*, up 7.2 percent over last year’s $347.55. Total spending reached an estimated $41.0 billion."

Not too shabby!!!