Boring Updates

Peter's Liver

After six months of experimentation, we have finally seen positive change with Peter's liver! Finally! After trying special liver chews from the old vet (no change), chews and meds (no change), meds and special food (some change), and just food, we finally have made good progress!! His values were in the 320s and are now in the 240s--a drop of 80 points in a month's time! Finally. He still isn't where he is supposed to be (the normal range is 0-100), but the vet was very encouraged by the 240s. She said that she will check him again in 6 months to see how he is doing then--no more monthly blood draws for the big guy.

Oh, and the official diagnosis, thus far, is chronic hepatitis.

The food is pricey, but if it is helping him, we can manage. Plus, I found it online for cheaper than what the vet's 'cost' price is, so she said she'd sign off for me to order it that way, which will save us about $15/month.

Silence
Speaking of pets, the Pet Tag Silencer has restored baby/dogs/mama peace in our house. It is a small neoprene pocket in which you put your pet's tags, and it prevents them from clinking, clanking, jingling, and a-jangling.

I have become acutely aware of Peter and Hattie 'shakin' it out' more recently, usually right next to Lewis's door as they walk down the hallway. Although they haven't woken him up yet, it was really starting to cause me some tension during Lew's naptime. I decided to order these puppies (ha) after seeing them at a pet shop in Maine last month, and so far, so good!

Adding to the 'problem' is the fact that each dog has to wear four tags (name/phone number, rabies, microchip, and their animal services' licensing tag), so they are really, really loud just walking normally. Not anymore, thank goodness. I found them on eBay for $6 each (they were closer to $12 each on amazon). Definitely worth the $$.

UPDATE: Peter hates his Silencer. He is walking around all freaked out, either a) because of his own silence or b) because he is afraid Hattie will sneak up on him. Who knows...he is totally freaked, though. Hopefully he'll get used to it soon. :) Might have to come up with a new solution.

Storytime Update

I was not really pleased with having only one storytime to choose from each week (felt too limiting), but as I was looking further last night I found a 2nd option that starts up next week! Maybe they only run it during the school year? Not sure, but I'm super excited--it is specifically for pre-walkers, and it is only about 10 minutes from our house.

So, with that new discovery, we have a little bit of extra flexibility built into our week, depending on the weather and any other plans that arise.

Monday - Grocery/Cook for the week/Clean-up from the weekend

Tuesday - Shopping Day - Target (if needed)/Goodwill/Other

Wednesday - Park/Nature Day or Storytime at the library (weather permitting)

Thursday - Storytime at the library or Park/Nature Day (weather permitting)

Friday - Clean-up for the weekend/Laundry

Solids Update

We have been feeding rice cereal once a day (in the evening) for about a week and a half now. We started with one teaspoon of cereal but quickly increased that to one tablespoon. The next step will be to add a morning feeding, as well, and start in with vegetables and fruits!

We have been doing one bottle feeding on the weekends so that I can pump fresh milk to mix in with Lewis' cereal (it stays safe in the fridge for a week). So far, it has been enough for our once-a-day feedings, but I will need to pump twice that amount if we are doing twice-a-day feedings to keep up with the demand. However, eventually, my little stockpile in the freezer will dwindle down with this method [Kevin feeds with a bag from the freezer--I used to be able to pump enough to replace the milk Kevin fed and give us a surplus, but now the milk all goes to the fridge for cereal], so I need to work out a better way.

That is all. Pictures next time, I promise!