The bumps in our road

Once we brought little man home he was growing and doing awesome! We had been out 2 weeks when everything changed. I noticed his diapers were not normal and had bits of blood in them. I went from having an alert baby to a baby that was lethargic and non responsive. We rushed him up the the ER where they started IVs and ran tons of tests. His iron levels were extremely low and he was allergic to cows milk. I was breastfeeding him and he also had fortified bottles to add some extra calories. I stopped drinking and eating anything that had cows milk and we switch formulas. He spent several days in the NICU until his iron levels went up a little.
He was put on a hypoallergenic formula since he had issues with others. After we got out of the hospital again we spent 3 more weeks at my folks before we headed home. Our normal 2 day trip back to North Dakota took 3 days. Day 2 of our trip little mans oxygen monitor stopped working. Luckily we were able to find a place to get a new one. Traveling without a monitor is scary. Because of the altitude changes he needed more oxygen.
Once we made it home we had to get back into our routines and get Turkey back in school. I have some amazing friends up here. I had friends bring us dinners, some helped clean, some helped with Turkey, and some helped my sanity. A good friend of mine has a son who is a NICU baby. She would come over and just talk and help. I was still having some health issues and had appointments where I couldn't bring little man. She was always there to watch him for me.
Two weeks after being home we had another scare. It was a Friday afternoon and I took little man into the doctor because something wasn't right. The doctor thought he might just be getting a cold and to keep an eye on him. By Saturday morning he was completely limp, like scary limp. I rushed him to the ER where they did an emergency blood transfusion. His poor little body couldn't keep up with making enough blood. He had half what he should of had. We found out he had also started bleeding in his intestines and bowels. After many tests he was officially diagnosed with acid reflux/GERD and severe allergies. We found out he was allergic to milk, soy, and eggs. My breast milk was destroying my little man. I was eating only veggies and rice when I had to quit breastfeeding him. My health started to suffer because I wasn't able to eat much.
The doctors put him on a prescription elemental formula. After his blood transfusion he was taken off oxygen and started to grow. They did blood draws often to make sure his levels were staying up. He still struggles with his iron levels.
We spent lots of time in doctors offices. It was an exciting day if we made it a week without going to the ER or doctor. He was hospitalized for pneumonia in January. He went back on oxygen for a little while with that. It just seemed never ending.
He finally started to do well once spring came around. The end of April we introduced him to his first food, bananas. He seemed to like them at first.
The beginning of May came around and little man started having seizures. He would be hanging out playing on the floor and start to shake. Turkey noticed it one day while playing next to him. He had a seizure in my arms while I was feeding him one afternoon. After that the doctors started him on seizure medication to help control them.
After starting his new medicine we had to travel back to Utah for follow ups and to celebrate my Poppas 90th birthday. The kids went to their first baseball games and we had a great time with family. It was nice to get away from doctors.
We spent the summer visiting family and enjoying the gorgeous weather. After we had finished up our travels for the summer little man had surgery to put tubes in his ears. He has chronic ear infections and just couldn't kick it. It was amazing after the surgery to watch him. Before the surgery they did a hearing test and told me he might be deaf. We found out his ear drums worked but he just couldn't hear.   A few days after his surgery we went to church, it was amazing to watch his face light up when he heard the piano for the first time. Every sound was new to him. It was amazing how much of a difference two little tubes made.
Little man started new foods and everything we tried ended badly. He started breaking out in hives, blisters, or rash every time he had foods. We stopped trying new foods and stuck to formula until we could get answers.
Turkey spent her summer doing summer camps and T-ball! She loved all the activities that our small town has during the summer. She would rather be outside playing then home.
In the fall Turkey started kindergarten. It was lonely at home, little man and me missed her. She loves school! She is in a private school and keeps pretty busy.
Little man spent most of the fall sick with one thing or another. Our doctors agreed he needed to be seen by specialist somewhere else. We got the call the week before Thanksgiving that we were headed to Denver.