Update on Maddy's constipation issue - a bit of an improvement

So sometime end of December 2017, when we're at our wits with Maddy's constipation issues, pedia recommended why don't we finally just remove Dutch Mill from her life. This yogurt drink, of which Maddy consumes in 4-5 tetrapaks in a day, is the only thing that we haven't really changed from her diet or lifestyle.

So after our Hong Kong trip, after trying and successfully getting her to drink Pediasure formula milk (more of as a midnight, pre-bedtime snack), we removed DM from the equation.

[Side note re the Pediasure, so it started out that we'd make a bit of a game out of drinking the milk. I made sure to involve her in the mixing of her own milk, and I'd drink milk together with her, which was my Diabetasol at that time. I needed to drink a glass before bedtime, so sakto that I could make my milk together with her. She got used to it that until now, or almost more than a month already, we'd be mixing milk every night before sleeping. She used to take only 1-2oz...last night, she drank a whopping 3oz followed by another 2oz! High five everyone!]

I removed DM simply by telling her than I couldn't give it to her anymore, because the doctor said that it wasn't good for her tummy and that it doesn't help her poop. I have no idea if she understood me. But I've always been a stickler for just coming clean and telling her the truth about things. SURPRINGLY [KNOCK 1000x on WOOD], she took like a champ. She didn't ask for it so much anymore, but readily accepted the Chuckie chocolate drink and other chocolate milk tetrapaks I offered in exchange. [Although now she seems to be fixated on Chuckie, but whatever right, it's milk. That's another problem for another time.]

So anyway, at the same time as giving her Chuckie, which she asks for 2-3x a day, and her Pediasure, we also started  giving her Lactulose again 2-3x a day, 5ml each time/1 teaspoon.

SO FAR, she's been pooping every 2-3 days. At first the pooping would be uncontrollable. She pooped in her diaper after so long of pooping only in the toilet [because of the suppositories we put in]. But now she's able to tell us beforehand that she needs to poop, and we take her to the toilet.

For both our house and in laws, we've been using this potty trainer below.

Doctor recommends that it needs to be a potty trainer where she can plant both of her feet down.

Let's hope she gets used to pooping and we can slowly cut down Lactulose.

Maddy's singular trait of being obsessive

Hanley and I have come to the conclusion that compared to other kids, Maddy has a tendency to fixate obsessively on things.

It started to be obvious with the iPad. Before we weaned her off it, she would be obsessed with the iPad, to the point that her behavior just got really ugly. Yet other kids on iPads or exposed to phones, YouTube or Netflix don't really have the same issues.

Then small other things like watching Barbie Mermaid on Netflix. It started out before as just a weekend thing, then she started wanting to watch it every day. Then recently she'd make a scene and throw a tantrum at 11pm asking to watch Barbie Mermaid, refusing to sleep!!! you know how I managed to put her to sleep that one night at 12midnight she was still crying? I had to carry her, sway her in the dark, with her sobbing, while I recounted THE ENTIRE MOVIE aka storytelling the whole movie until she fell asleep.

Then with her Dutch Milk also before, she refused to try other new drinks. We just weaned her off DM, so now she's on Chuckie chocolate milk, and she refuses again to try other drinks.

Nakakaloka. Obsessive kid. Hanley said seems to take after him, since he has a tendency to obsess as well, like over certain watch brands, material items. He's the type to buy six pairs of shoes from the same brand or model one after the other if he's really into it. Now it's shades and bike stuff.

Beating coughs and colds when pregnant

Since I can't take or I'm hesitant to take conventional medicine (Neozep, oregano leaves, anything with phenylephrine etc) for my cough and cold, so far the following have been tried and tested (and I'm amazed):

As soon as my sore throat starts, I begin with Camillosan throat spray, hot tea with lemon/ginger/cayenne/Manuka Honey.

As soon as the runny nose starts, followed by post nasal drip cough, I take:
- Still hot tea with lemon/ginger/cayenne/Manuka Honey
- gargle with water with salt
- Nasal spray, continually
- Sinupret 3x a day
- diffusing RC+lemon or RC+lavender at night

I'm not saying I got well overnight, but by the 3rd or 4th day the symptoms have significantly eased, especially the congestion and post nasal drip coughing.

Essential Oils for non pregnant

For Hanley and yaya, who've started exhibiting the same cold symptoms, immediately I gave them hot tea with honey and 1 drop of Thieves, 2x a day. For yaya, symptoms disappeared in 2-3 days. Hanley's? Overnight!

Pre-Diabates/Gestational Diabetes

So I took my 2-hour OGTT test some 2 weeks ago, which showed my fasting blood sugar to be at 100.7 (beyond the range of 60-100), but my OGTT tests after 1 hour and 2 hours normal. A trip to the endicronologist revealed I have impaired fasting blood sugar. My pregnancy hormones plus my family history of diabetes/high blood sugar means that I don't produce enough insulin (?) or I have insulin resistance (?) for the fasting sugar/nighttime sugar or the sugar that my liver produces while I'm asleep. Not so much as what I eat during the day, since my post-meals/post-grandial sugar levels are fine.

For the past 2 weeks, I've been pricking my fingers every day with this One Touch glucose meter. I've been asked to test my before breakfast sugar levels, and then every couple of days switch to testing either my 2-hours after lunch or 2-hours after dinner levels. So far my post-grandial tests have been within range (below 120). It's my fasting blood sugar that I can't lower (should be below 90, but below 95 for some other endicronologists). My numbers range from 98-104.

I've had success maintaining it at 98 when I've started taking psyllium husk at least 30 minutes before dinner, and a pre bedtime snack of apple cider vinegar (in water) and maybe a tsp of peanut butter or slice of cheese, but I can't find the perfect bedtime snack to get my levels below 90. In fact, I can't even decide if I should stop bedtime snacking altogether and go back to the initial recommendation of just not eating anything between dinner and waking up time.

Or maybe I need to change the glucose meter's battery since it's just one bar? I'll go do that later.

Tonight maybe I'll try with just apple cider vinegar, no other snack?

FACK. This is hard. Made even harder that this is the holidays, and everyone else is gorging on dessert. And all I can have is a square piece of dark chocolate or digestive cookie.

Essential Oils

KD introduced me to Young Living Essential Oils. I wouldn't say I'm hooked, but after getting my Premium Starter Kit, I've been ordering oils monthly after that. I don't think they can replace actual medicine and proper vitamins, but I do think they help supplement them.

I used Thieves and RC primarily for Maddy; sometimes with Lavender or Lemon to help with sleep. I diffuse Purification, Lemon and Orange sometimes for odor control. I'm excited to receive the free Christmas Spirit I'm getting when I ordered ER for the first time last October.

For myself, I do use Thieves and RC too but only in a roller. Preggers as I am, I'm not allowed to ingest any oils. But the one time I did put a drop of Thieves with Manuka Honey for tea, my sore throat/cough went away within a few hours.

Maddy Turns Two!

A few weeks ago, Maddy came down with some infection that had her coughing with bad phlegm and essentially puking whatever she ate. She barely ate anything! Then after recovering with antibiotics, she contracted something viral and ended up sick again for another more week. By the time she had to go back to school, she was crying again when I dropped her off! Okay na sana sya, she had gotten used to school!

(sick baby)

But anyway, she turned TWO this Tuesday! Amazing that a month or so ago, especially at the time of the first parent teacher conference for school, Maddy wasn't talking as verbose as other kids. She doesn't string a lot of two-words together. But a week or two before her birthday, her speech skills accelerated! So much so that she started SINGING! Daddy Finger song, Baby Shark, even Johnny Johnny Yes Papa and sometimes Old McDonald! Beyond amazed! She also more readily repeats the words you ask her to repeat.

Aside from this amazing development, she's learned her 123s and ABCs already, sort of. She can even recognize "M"!

She also has a liking for french fries.

More importantly, we weaned her off from ipad for a while. For a long time now, Hanley has wanted to throw away that ipad. We could both see how negatively it had affected her behavior. She was more irritable, hot-tempered, etc. One day we just stopped giving it to her. Instead of lying to her, I just explained everytime she asked that we feel it's not okay to give it to her anymore as it had affected her behavior. I promised we'll try to give it back to her maybe when her appetite has permanently improved, when she has grown up a bit more, and her behavior's better permanently.

We're excited for her birthday party on Saturday. It'll just be a small one in Citylights Function Room, themed Pooh!

Preggers #2

After 3-4 months of trying, we finally got pregnant sometime July/August. The ovulation kit thing totally didn't work. The smiley face was never during what I'm sure were my fertile days.

Anyway, I'm convinced it's a boy. Particularly because I'm hoping it's a boy (but basta healthy, any is okay!) and because my face broke out a lot during the first tri.

I'm now at my 15th week, more or less. No nausea nor morning sickness, no thing. Same thing as with Maddy actually, parang hindi ako buntis, if not only for the weight gain.

Actually. My only dislike about this pregnancy is that I seem to be bigger than when I had Maddy. Like for the same number of weeks, after comparing my pictures then and now, I'm definitely carrying a lot bigger. But then sometimes I poop a lot of stuff out, and then my stomach shrinks significantly. It's roller coaster tummy.

I feel kind of bad of Graino. He doesn't get as much solo talks with me or I don't even play him classical music or read him books while in there because I'm just so preoccupied with Maddy. All he hears is me or Hanley shouting, "MADDY!" "AMADINE!" "STOP!" "NO!" "EAT!" Kawawa.

(Tada! After pooping, tummy disappeared!)

(Then most times..reappears back)

I feel more confident working out more now than I did with Maddy. Though I swam more then. Can't swim as much now, no time to go to Bentro. But I run more often, still 3x a week, 3km or a bit more. Unlike when I had Maddy I barely ran for fear she'll fall out of my uterus!

Cross fingers for a smooth sailing pregnancy and delivery!!!! (and a boy heehee)