Your Advice Please

I don't know why, but I have been debating for a while whether or not I want to blog about this. I blog about almost everything, so I'm not sure why I've had a hard time deciding if I want to talk about this or not.

But, I've decided to go ahead and tell you what has been on my mind just about 24 hours a day lately. This post will probably be kind of long, but I am just really hoping someone somewhere might have an answer or know someone who might have an answer.

On to my concern- sometime a little while after Hailey turned one I noticed her doing something odd with her eyes. When I would be rocking her to sleep her eyes would turn up towards the right side of her head. At first I thought- well, she's tired and her body is just relaxing and her eyes are rolling up as she is falling asleep. I did ask her doctor about and she agreed with me- totally normal.

A couple of weeks later Hailey did it one day while in her car seat and then again while in her high chair. Both times she was tired when she did it, so I still thought- maybe it was a tired thing. But, the way it looks is unusual- her eyes go up so far that you can see mostly the whites of her eyes and only a little of the actual colored part of her eye (which I'm sure has a much more technical name).

Then she started doing this little head bobbing thing where she moves her head so that her ear almost touches her shoulder. (It does not happen at the same time as her eye movements but it is just another unusual thing). She was sick with a cold at that time so I thought maybe her ear hurt. We went to the doctor and her ears were fine. I explained the things she was doing. I had a done a little Internet research and found something called Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze which seemed to kind of describe what Hailey was doing. I told her doctor about it, she had never heard of it but went and looked it up. She wasn't sure because she said Hailey did not meet all of the criteria. But, she referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist.

That was all right before Thanksgiving. I made her appointment with the eye doctor for Dec 17th. Then I actually didn't see her doing it much anymore and thought about canceling the appointment. Well, last week when she was sick she started doing it a lot more. Whereas before I might only see it a couple of times a day- or not at all- I've been seeing it quite a bit. Now they are not only turning up towards the right, but to the left as well. And, sometimes they do a little roll right across the top. It is very quick- seconds at the most. It happens and she closes her eyes and they are back to normal. While she has been sick it seems like sometimes coughing triggers it. The other day she fell and bumped her head and then did it several times after the bump. While she used to only do when falling asleep the last few days I've seen her do it right after she wakes up too.

So, anyways we decided to keep the eye doctors appointment. He asked us lots of questions and watched Hailey for a while to see if she would do it. (Of course- she did not)

A bit more information about what she does: When she does the eye rolling she doesn't have any other unusual movements with her arms or legs, which should rule out seizures. The frequency of it really varies- there have been days I haven't seen her do it all. While she's been sick I have seen it as many as 20 times in a day. She doesn't act like it bothers her- just blinks her eyes and then they look normal.

The eye doctor's opinion was that she does not have this Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze that I found on the Internet. (although he gave me compliments on my intelligence for finding the information about it, and asked me if I had a medical background. I'm sure that's a normal thing- tell the parents how smart they are so they don't feel stupid for bringing their child in).

He said he'd been practicing for 17 years and had never seen it and in fact he only knows of 14 confirmed cases. So, it would be very unlikely that she has such a rare thing. Although, someone has to have it, even if it is rare.

He said he had 2 ideas of what he thinks could be going on. First- dry eyes- she's rolling her eyes up and blinking to moisten them. I told him there is no way it is that. Of course, he hasn't see her do it, so he can't quite understand.

His second idea was that it could be a childhood tic. He said a lot of kids have tics and do things with their eyes and faces and usually outgrow it. I do think he has a point about a tic, but then I wondered why Hailey's pediatrician never even suggested that when I was explaining the symptoms to her.

Another thing I have noticed Hailey doing (since the appointment, so I haven't told the doctor this) is sometimes she tips her head down towards her chin and looks up at me out of the very top of her eyes. At first I thought she was being silly, but now I think it's an involuntary thing with her eyes and so she has to tip her head in order to see me. I don't know if that even makes any sense because it is so hard to describe.

I'm trying really hard to get it on video but it happens so quickly that it hasn't been possible yet. I found something on Youtube about Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze and if you go here you can watch it. It's over six minutes long, but it's about a little boy who does things very similar to what Hailey does. He also has seizures though, which Hailey does not. And his upgaze tends to stick longer than Hailey's- so they were actually able to get him on video doing it.

The eye doctor said that even if she had this Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze that there is nothing that can be done for it. Kids outgrown it and it is completely benign. He said we could put her through all kinds of tests (MRI, catscan, etc) during which she'd need anesthesia (a major risk in itself) and find nothing. But, basically he told me to stop worrying- she's fine and on track developmentally. But, of course I am still worried and every time I see her do it I feel sick to my stomach with worry.

As my friend Kellan would say- On the upside- I've lost a little weight because when I worry I don't eat.

But- I'm just hoping that maybe someone might know something or know someone who knows something to help put my mind at ease.

If you're still here reading- thank for your time.

Don't forget to check out my other blog- Livin' With Me.

A Recipe Exchange, Your Opinions Please and Did I Do That? #2

Well, I'm sure you can tell by my title that there is a lot to cover today. So off we go......

First things first. Next Friday, December 14th, Pam at Random Thoughts will be hosting a recipe exchange. For the first recipe exchange we will all post a Christmas recipe on our own blogs. Then we will go to Pam's blog and sign Mr. Linky (very easy to do, don't get scared away already). Then we will visit the other participants and end up with some fabulous new Christmas recipes. There will be other recipe exchanges on other Fridays as well- and I'm sure you're looking for new things to try. So, click on this nifty picture to get all the details and let Pam know that you will participate!

So now on to some other stuff. Did you notice that the banner at the top of my blog says that there are only 22 days until Christmas? I have to get to work with my shopping and decorating. I did finally take my fall decorations down over the weekend but I still need to get my Christmas stuff up. And shopping? I don't even want to talk about it. I am going to really get myself in gear this week and get lots of presents bought and wrapped.

While we're talking about Christmas shopping I am thinking about doing some ads on my blog. With Christmas coming and then the bills following closely behind I've been considering this for a little while now. I know how some people feel about blogs with that stuff on them, so tell me what you think about me doing it. (For those of you who don't know what this will be- it's basically this- I write a post about a service or a product or a website and I get paid for doing it.)

And finally- here is my Did I Do That? #2

The other day I was on the floor playing with Hailey in her playroom and I noticed a little piece of a Nurti-Grain bar in her hair leftover from her morning snack. I picked it out of her hair and then wondered what I should do with it. I couldn't just throw it on the floor.

Put it in the garbage? Well, yes that would make sense, but would also involve getting up off of the floor.

And so I looked at the little piece of the Nutri-Grain bar and before I could stop myself- I ate it.

Yes, I ate it.

Oh yeah- I am one classy lady.

To Cry or Not To Cry

Updated to add- Yes, I am still nursing Hailey. She does nurse on and off all night. Most nights I couldn't even tell you how often it happens. She starts poking me and doing the sign for "milk" and since I want sleep- I nurse her.

To cry or not to cry... THAT is the question!

Okay, I need your help and advice. Hailey is still not sleeping all night. When she was first born I kept telling myself, "You just have to make it through these first 6 months. Then she'll start sleeping all night. That is what everyone says."

At 6 months I started telling myself, "Surely by the time she turns one she'll be sleeping better. Just hang on for 6 more months."

Well, now it's officially been a year since I have slept more than a couple of hours in a row. And, really it's been much longer than that because I didn't sleep well during my pregnancy either.

When I bring this topic up with other moms, they look at me with pity filled eyes and say, "Oh, wow. My baby has been sleeping all night for a while now."

To which I say, "LIAR." But of course, I say that inside my head, not right out loud because I do not like confrontation. But really, if they are telling me the truth then why oh why are there so many books on the subject of helping your child sleep all night.

Now the reason I am needing your help is that Hailey's sleep actually seems to be getting worse. Around 4-5 months Hailey was sleeping from about 11pm-5am- for 6 straight hours. (Of course, I wasn't sleeping because I had to keep checking on her.) But, around 5 months she started waking up once or twice during the night. Since I was desperate for sleep I would nurse her back to sleep.

Doing this a couple of times each night was really wearing me out. At 6 months we tried the Ferber method of letting Hailey cry it out. For one day. I could not do it and neither could Rich.

One night around 7 months I let Hailey fall asleep in bed with us while nursing her. Then again the next night and the night after. Finally I was getting some sleep because I didn't have to get out of bed to get her and both of us went back to sleep so much faster.

I really don't mind having Hailey sleep with us. The problem is that she goes to bed around 8pm in her own bed. She used to sleep until about 2am before joining us in bed. Soon the time had moved back to midnight, then 11pm. Lately she's been getting up about an hour and a half after she goes to bed, meaning that if she goes to bed at 8pm, she is up at 9:30pm. She will not go back to sleep until I bring her into my bed. I am not ready to go to bed at 9:30pm.

I can rock her until she is sound asleep, but as soon as I lay her in her bed her eyes pop right open. If I bring her into my bed, she stays asleep. If I wait until she is sound asleep and try to move her back to her bed- she wakes up.

So, have any of you ever had this kind of problem? Does anyone have any suggestions or advice? What did you do to get your kids to sleep all night? Did you let them cry it out? Any help would be much appreciated!

To Buy Or Not To Buy

With the many recent large toy recalls due to the use of lead paint I am wondering what you are planning to do this year for Christmas. Since Hailey is in the stage where she puts everything into her mouth I am very concerned about purchasing any China made toys.

The CPSC says that the best way to keep our kids safe is by checking for product recalls and safety news on their website. But I don't want to find out about a problem with a toy after Hailey has already been playing with it. I want to know that the toys on the shelves have already been tested and are safe.

For Hailey's birthday we looked for toys that were not made in China. It was IMPOSSIBLE to find anything. I searched the shelves and I only found one thing and it had been made in Mexico. I certainly didn't see anything made in the US.

So, I'm curious to know what you plan to do this year for Christmas for your children or grandchildren or nieces and nephews. Will you buy toys made in China? Let me know your opinions in the comments section and by voting on my poll (on the right-hand sidebar near the top).

If you have found places to buy US made toys, please let me know. If you haven't already- sign up to get email notification about the latest recalls from the CPSE by clicking here. You'll receive notices well before you hear about it on the news.