Halloween!

All dressed up and ready to trick or treat!

Kamryn and Natalie

Trick or treating is fun for "kids" of all ages. Ever trick or treated with a flying monkey before?

Vampire Pumpkin

Halloween Party

Natalie was excited to finally wear her witch costume.


She posed with the inflatable witch outside.



Trying to break the pinata.


Natalie and her friend Nina.

Getting Ready for Halloween

Colonoscopy & Endoscopy

Natalie had her colonoscopy and endoscopy today. The procedures went well, we viewed the pictures, and that was about it. The doctor said her colitis is mild and we could possibly expect to start weaning her off the medicine at her followup appointment. They took a biopsy which will tell the true story of what is currently happening. Her pictures looked good, but I can't help but thinking that is with her on the meds. I'll have some questions to ask at her followup on November 16th.

Natalie had previously been seeing another GI doctor, but something just struck me as not being right with him. Here's what we observed:

#1 - The old GI doctor didn't do his own colonoscopies, so he didn't speak firsthand as having viewed her with his own eyes.
#2 - The doctor who performed her first colonoscopy normally only does colonoscopies on adults.
#3 - Her colonoscopy and blood draws were in June, but we didn't find out the official ulcerative colitis diagnosis until September. Warning bells!!!
#4 - According to my neighbor, who is a RN for adult GI, the medicine she's taking, Sulfasalazine, is usually not a type of medication that's perscribed as a first line of defense.

So after discussing it with Mark, he checked to see if the other pediatric GI doctor in town was now taking his insurance, and as luck would have it they were! We made an appointment with the new place ASAP and were lucky to get in the following week due to a cancellation. He has a completely different viewpoint on what needs to be done to treat ulcerative colitis. He doesn't perscribe Sulfasalazine and does not believe that the probiotics really do what they say they're supposed to. In fact, there's no data to back up their claims. There's a hefty bill associated with it too at $18 for 20 packets that last ten days, so we're glad to not have that expense anymore.

This latest colonoscopy and endoscopy was ordered because the new doctor wanted to see how her condition had changed, for better or worse, in the past four months. This new doctor is so personable and it's nice to hear his viewpoint in the first person.

At Natalie's previous appointment with the new GI doctor he said that ulcerative colitis usually falls into three categories:
1. kids that have mild cases and get better
2. kids that have cases that are controlled on medicine
3. kids that never get better no matter what medication they're on

We hope she's in one of the first two groups, preferably the first one! We'll know more after her followup appointment and will keep everyone posted.

Scary Halloween Eyes

A neighbor gave Natalie a Halloween gift basket and inside were 2 pairs of scary Halloween eyes. She had fun modeling them.

Sick

Yesterday Natalie's school called around 10:00 and said she needed to be picked up. She wasn't playing and didn't want to eat. She threw up a few times at home and was running a low grade temperature. Today her temperature is 100 degrees. She's more chipper, but still fighting whatever the bug is. She's not going to dance class of course or probably anywhere else for that matter.

This is a bad weekend for this to happen. Tomorrow she's supposed to prep for her colonoscopy and endoscopy on Monday. I hope whatever this is ends soon so we can keep her scheduled appointment.

Someone Likes Pre-K

When I tried to pick Natalie up from Pre-K around 4:00 she told me that I "am picking her up too early." So, I moved the time to 4:30 and guess what - it's still too early! She is enjoying her friend, art, and playground time. I'm so glad she likes Pre-K, but she may end up having to spend the night there! :)

posting

The blog hasn't been updated much in the last week or so, you say? I'll be working on page 26 of my annotated bibliography project tonight and it will hopefully be finished! I'm really glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel on this one. Hopefully I'll be blogging regularly again soon!

Natitude

When I pick Natalie up from school I always ask her how her day was. Today she responded that she "wasn't going to have that conversation with me today. That's what we call Natitude!

Halloween Party

Natalie is excited to have been invited to her first Halloween party at her friend Nina's house from school! So, not only will she get to wear her witch costume to trick or treat in, but she'll also wear it to the party. At school coming up at the end of the month the kids can wear a costume to Pre-K, but no witch outfits. Luckily we have a Tinkerbell costume she can wear. She's really looking forward to Halloween!

The Shed

Natalie's posing in the half-finished shed in our backyard. We are looking forward to its completion.

Natalie's First Sleepover

Natalie went to her first sleepover this weekend at our neighbor's house. The girls had a lot of fun, stayed up late watching Cinderella, and were up super early the next morning: 5:45 am!


Posing in Bella's backyard.


Bathtub for three.



Staying up late is fun.

Tinkerbell on her Bike

Here's hoping the Tinkerbell outfit makes it through Halloween!