July 27: A Not So Acceptable Answer

The GI doctor's office called today to set up the long awaited appointment for Cohen to have his belly looked at. They did this even without the "affidavit" from his primary care doctor regarding the corrected information. Which tells me that from looking at his films he needs to be seen, regardless of the new info. With that, Cohen has an appointment.....in NOVEMBER! I am not even kidding and not at all pleased about this. So does this mean John and I have to be on pins and needles for the next 3 months worried something could go seriously wrong with Cohen's belly while we "wait" for his damn appointment?? This is NOT at all okay with me and I'm seriously fuming about the whole situation. The problem is there is only 1 pediatric gastroenterology practice in Spokane...I'm at a loss for what to do now. Any suggestions?

July 24: Exersaucer Attempt #2

Cohen is doing really well with his exersaucer time! He loves spending time just hanging out and looking at the toys that Carter shoves in his face. Here are some pictures of his latest Exersaucer time right before we left for Boise:



There are those eyes again....

This is one of "BabyDoe's" newer looks...pursed lips and big eyes.

July 22: Exersaucer Attempt #1

We got the go ahead from the physical therapist to allow Cohen some "upright" time in an exersaucer. Right away we got it from storage, cleaned it up and put the little man in it. And then we laughed. It took two blankets to prop our almost 6 month old in the exersaucer and his short little legs don't touch the bottom and so they just hang down. It is seriously hilarious and it looks like we are forcing the exersaucer on a two month old. I will say that he seems to enjoy it, I mean just look at his expressions:

July 21: Still No Answers...

I called the Gastroenterologist to set up an appointment on my own (like our doctor said I could do) and they informed me that we needed a referral. Fantastic. After two days on the phone with Cohen's doctor's office, we finally got the referral and records transferred to Spokane....but didn't that happen weeks ago when the doctor first had the guy look at Cohen's films? Well, since his opinion at that time was that nothing needed to be done, they "forgot" about Cohen so he needs review everything again. At this point we are waiting for the Gastroenterologist to review Cohen's records, AGAIN, and then we will get a phone call if they think he needs to be seen. I then called to give them the additional information that his doctor left out, and the Gastroenterologist's office told me I had to have Cohen's doctor submit a note with the "new" info as part of his records...ugh. Now his doctor is on vacation so who knows when that will happen. I am so tired of getting the run around and having to jump through hoops! How hard is it to make an appointment and see the little man? I know it's insurance crap that is creating the hoops, but still it's been a month now and there is little improvement in Cohen and less time in our schedule as school starts back up August 24. Hopefully my mom can corner a Gastroenterologist at her hospital and see if he can give us any insight or better yet actually see Cohen when we are in California in August. So, as for now not much has changed with his symptoms. Still hardly pooping and when he does it is not a pleasant sight. He is totally miserable and it just breaks our hearts to see him like that and not be able to do anything, or get the people who can help him to do anything. Poor guy!

On another note, Cohen has a nasty cough/cold, yes in the middle of July, and we got to spend more time at the doctor dealing that that. Poor kid is going to have no immune system because he is given an antibiotic for every minor thing...

July 17: We Did it...

Yup, Cohen and I got on the airplane and returned home....luckily for my sanity the flight was very smooth and uneventful. The only real issue occurred when we went to meet John and Carter and I got my first sight of Carter's new haircut. My bottom lip was totally quivering...Carter looks like a little boy and not a baby/toddler! John decided to use a #5, a change from the usual #6 haircut Carter gets. And in John's words "#5 is substantially shorter than a #6..."

July 15: Feeling Hot, Hot, HOT!

Our week in Palo Alto was a HOT one! Cohen spent the majority of his days like this:

1) Wearing a tanktop onesie

OR

2) Laying in the bouncer naked in front of the fan!

July 12, 2009: Never Flying Again....

Cohen and I took an impromptu trip to Palo Alto for the week to spend some time with and help out my grandparents. We lucked out in that the flight from Spokane to Seattle was not full and I was able to bring Cohen's car seat on the plane and have him in his own seat. It was quite the flight, with 9 unaccompanied minors and 12 babies on board (2 sets of twins). After an uneventful flight we landed in Seattle and changed planes for our San Jose leg.

The San Jose leg was not only completely full, it was overbooked by 4 seats. Needless to say I wasn't able to bring the car seat on and had to hold Cohen in my lap. We were at the lake for the weekend and because this was a last minute trip I didn't have the baby Bjorn with me to use. Cohen and I settled into the second row behind the wing on the left side, prepared for a smooth flight.

It wasn't. As we were taxing it started to rain. It took a little bit to get up and out of the storm, but I have never heard of a plane crashing due to turbulents so I wasn't too worried. That quickly changed.

As I was gazing out the window, silently thinking I was so glad the "rough part" was over I witnessed the craziest thing ever: the plane was hit by lightning. Not only did I actually see the bolt hit the little lightning rods on the end of the wing, but I saw the ensuing fireball and it singe the wing of the plane. The entire plane was silent. We were all positive that the plane was just going to drop out of the air. Many people tried to access their cell phone to call loved ones and such. The pilot told us that yes we were hit by lightning, not once but 3 time, but the tiny rods attract the bolts and prevent them from actually striking the aircraft. However, because we were in the middle of an "unexpected thunder storm" it would be a very rough ride. Thunderstorms cause fierce up and down winds, called updrafts and downdrafts. These cause extreme turbulence that makes an airplane hard to control. We were making such huge drops, I was so afraid that Cohen was going to go flying. The lady sitting next to me was as well and she helped me hold Cohen down while the man sitting next to her gathered jackets from people and literally tied Cohen to my chest. I was frozen in fear and it was amazing to see these strangers jump into action to help us. We spent a good hour battling the turbulents and finally reached calmer air.

As soon as we got off the plane, I called John and told him that if he wanted Cohen and I to ever come back home he would have to drive down and get us.....he thinks I'm kidding, but at this point I don't think I am! Maybe by Friday I will gather enough strength to get back on a plane....