Time for an angry rant

Ok, so I know that nobody else thinks this is quite as annoying as I do, but I need to get it off my chest.
As you probably already know, Ivy has a nurse that comes to our house once a week to weigh her and check her oxygen levels to make sure she progresses well before her next surgery. Every week Ivy is supposed to have gained 5 to 7 ounces and her oxygen level needs to be between 75 and 85 to be considered thriving. Her oxygen level is always great, but for the last month or so she hasn't gained enough weight, it's always between 1 and 4 ounces. The nurse made me put her feeding tube back in about a month ago, the first week she didn't gain 5 ounces. I took it back out about 10 days later because I disagreed with her (Ivy didn't gain more weight with it in). It is known that kids get oral aversions when they have a feeding tube for too long, and I think the nurse didn't know what else to do, the tube was the easy solution. It turned out not be a solution, just a giant pain in the butt.
Last week when the nurse tried to tell me to put the tube back in I refused. I told her that it wouldn't help, and we needed to find a better solution. I suggested that one of the reasons she failed to gain weight could be that she spits up quite a bit. The nurse agreed and sent us to our pediatrician to see if he could prescribe her a second reflux medication (she is already on zantac). Our pediatrician decided to look at her overall progress instead of week to week. He said she is still within her growing curve and sees no reason to be concerned. She has gained about 2 1/2 pounds in just under 2 months, and that is fine. So he didn't prescribe the other reflux med because he thought the risks outweighed the benefits. He suggested we feed her less formula(45mL), every hour and a half, instead of the full amount(70mL) every three hours to cut down on her spitting up. So that is what we have done (except at night, because really, every hour and a half, I would probably murder someone).
Nurse Nancy came yesterday and again Ivy gained only one ounce. I have really come to dread the days that she comes because I know Ivy didn't gain enough (I weigh her myself), and Nancy is going to give me that look, like your not doing enough to make her gain weight. She asks every time, "How much are you feeding her, and how often?" Even though she knows the answer already, and then she looks at me like she doesn't believe me. It's so frustrating, I'm not lying, I feed my child, all the time it seems like. I can't do anything else, because I am always feeding her!
So now I ask you, (those of you with children)how much did your babies weigh at 4 months? Do you think your kids gained 5 to 7 ounces EVERY week? Is it possible that Ivy is just small, like my boys who are both in the 10th percentile for weight. They weren't like that when they were babies, but they are now.....does that matter.....I don't know what to do. I'm frustrated and feel like I've tried everything. If you have any suggestions please let me know, I could really use some good advice.
And FYI - In other areas Ivy is right on schedule, she smiles, coos, and laughs. She is becoming an expert holding her head up, she swats at toys dangling above her, etc. I can't imagine that anything is really wrong when she is doing so well in all other aspects!

A Night Out

Scott surprised me yesterday with a night out. He apparently called Russell and Collette (his brother and sister-in-law) to babysit all three of our kids. We haven't been out since we've been home, mostly because we didn't dare leave Ivy with anyone. He had to ask them secretly because he knew I would have said no if I knew about it first. So, thanks to Russell and Collette for being brave enough to take our kids.

Scott and I have been big fans of Kevin James since we first discovered The King of Queens back when we lived in Ogden in 2003. We own several seasons of the show on DVD, as well as Kevin James' stand up performance from Comedy Central. He's so dang funny! So we have been waiting to see Paul Blart Mall Cop since we first saw previews a few months ago. I thought we'd have to wait for Netflix to drop in our mailbox!! Anyway, so we saw it and were not disappointed! One of the main reasons we love Kevin James is because his stand up isn't crude and distasteful, and the movie followed his usual style of comedy, very funny! We'd recommend it.

After the movie we called to check on our kids, they were fine, so we went to dinner too. We ate at Johnny Corino's, and apparently we went on Prom night or something, cause there were lots of dressed up teenagers eating there too. We didn't have to wait too long, and the food was super yummy. The only issue was that they sat us right next to the open kitchen so it was pretty loud and we had to yell in order to hear each other. After dinner we went back to the other Brunsons' to pick up the kiddos, and they said the kids did great, even Ivy. So thank you so much Russell and Collette for being trustworthy enough for me not to worry about Ivy while she was with you, and thanks for taking such good care of her and the boys. And of course, thanks to Scott for surprising me with a much needed night out! You're the best husband ever! I love you!

The park is too dangerous for clumbsy folk

Spring is upon us here in Boise! The past couple of days have been filled with sunshine and warmth. In celebration, the boys and I decided to walk to the park in our neighborhood yesterday (Ivy came too, but didn't participate in the shinanagans). The had so much fun sliding, climbing, and swinging, it was the perfect cure for our cabin fever. That is, until Dexter got too anxious to go down the slide, and kinda fell down, he banged his cheek on the side and ended up getting to the bottom, upside down. He was upset, but recovered quickly, even though a bruise developed on his little cheek.

You have to look closely, but there is a bruise.

They continued sliding and running for a while longer, but then Corbin wanted to play on the swings. They were a little high for him so instead of swinging he just started pushing the empty swing, and Dex copied him like usual. After about 3 pushes that swing came back fast and hit Corbin right in the face! He almost instantly got a black eye, and while I was comforting him, Dex's swing came back and hit him in the face too! At least Dex didn't get a black eye too, people would think I beat them!

What it looked like immediately following the incident

What it looks like today

They were both crying, so we walked over to the bench to take a little break and found Ivy awake and crying in the stroller. With all three kids in tears I decided it was time to go home, but we had a good time before the accidents. Today the boys were excited about the sunshine again, but instead of going to the park, we played in the backyard, it feels less dangerous at home!!

Random Pictures and Stuff

So I haven't really posted many recent pictures in a while, so I thought I would update with a few random photos.
Here are a couple of Ivy, I was messing around with the camera and trying to get a good pic for her baby announcement, neither of these ended up being the winner, but they are super cute!

Here is Corbin teaching Dex the names of the items in this book, it is just so cute when they aren't fighting and actually enjoy each others company!

Here they are again playing nicely. They had built a "fort" using the coffee table, blankets, couch cushions and pillows.

Here is proud papa with his baby girl.....He loves her so much!

Here are the kids being silly. Dexter (as mentioned in a previous post) is obsessed with his belly button, so whenever he wears his footed jammies we have to leave the zipper partially down so he can still get to it. We thought it would be funny to do it with the others also.

Here is Dex again, he put like three pairs of shoes into his open jammies.

And again with his crazy rooster hair, this is how he wakes up each morning.

Here is sweet little Ivy at her first Cardiology appointment here in Boise, she did pretty well for the first 5 minutes of the echo, then cried for the next 10.

And one more of Ivy all dressed up for Valentines day (I realize it's tomorrow, but we celebrated today). Notice her tube is out again, but that is only because she ripped it out this morning, tape and all. If you look closely on her right cheek you can see some red splotches from the tape being ripped off, poor thing! I thought I would give her a break before putting it back in.

A tag for you

Okay so here is how it works, for those of you who are lucky enough to be tagged by me...

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules.
3. Tell 6 things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them.
5. Go to each person's blog and leave them a comment to let them know they've been tagged.

Thanks to Rachel for tagging me!

Six things about me:

1. I always said I wasn't going to be one of "those" moms that scrapbook, knit, cross-stitch, etc, etc. But as fate would have it, I have become exactly that. I LOVE scrapbooking about my kiddos as they grow, I don't knit, but I have been known to crochet a thing or two, and I have made a stitchery for each one of my kids.

2. I also said that I would never own a minivan, but I am currently on my second minivan, and lovin' every minute of it. It's just so darn convenient!! The double sliding doors, the tons of room, I freaking love my minivan!

3. In case you didn't already know, I have a BIG butt, and my booty-crack is almost always showing. If a pair of pants exists that could cover it, I haven't heard of it!! If you catch a glimpse, go ahead and giggle, and then look away, your not the first person to see it, and you definately wont be the last!

4. I love writing. Short little stories, kids books, and my favorite, poetry. It really has been years since I have done any of these (probably 4 years, for some reason that number sounds right!), but I miss it terribly and look forward to the day when I am able to do it again.

5. Being a SAHM is really the best job ever, but the only thing that I would happily change is cleaning. I love having a clean house, but it is almost impossible to find the time to clean when I've got three small children. Theres more, if by some miracle I am actually able to get the house clean, it only takes about three minutes for the kids to mess it up.......no joke here people, literally three minutes!!

6. And finally, sometimes I miss the good old days of being a care free pre-teen. Riding my bike for hours on end, playing outside ALL DAY LONG and not feeling hot or tired. Being tan all summer, but not caring about it, or even noticing it. No worrying about what to make for dinner, or how to pay the bills.....etc etc.....I miss being stress free!

Ok, your turn I tag:

Angela of Hagfeldt family
Pam of Leonard Crew
Britteny of Bloggertsen
Kim of Erickson family
Anngee of Floyd family
Lisa of Bollwinkel Blog

Looking Back

So I was looking at little Ivy today, and it got me thinking back on my boys when they were babies. I decided to look at their pictures at the same age, to remember what they looked like. I thought others might like to see as well, and then I got carried away......hope you like it.

Corbin 3 months old

Dexter 3 months old

Ivy 3 months old

And moving on to more ages for the boys...

Corbin 1 year old

Dexter 1 year old

Corbin 2 years old

Dexter (almost) 2 years old

Corbin 3 years old

Corbin 4 years old