Here we go again...this time it's Mara!

If you are a blog follower, you know that our precious son has spent almost two years of his life battling constipation, poopy, and tummy issues. Read a quick summary here, A year and a half after being diagnosed with extreme iron deficiency and working with his specialist to put together a plan, our little boy is terrific! He has beautiful skin coloring, is a great sleeper, poops daily, and is overall, a very healthy little kid.

Now you all know Mara is much different child than Alaric was/is. She has challenged us since her 3rd week of life and really never let up. That being said, Brian and I are now really well trained to think fast on our feet and try to be one step faster than her and smarter than her at all times to stay ahead and in control of our very strong willed child who we adore. Lately however, her emotions have been out of control. Hours of crying and sobbing....HOURS everyday. Constantly in time out. Unable to communicate. Not sleeping well and waking up with night terrors, clingly, etc. These challenges were not normal and Brian and I were at our wits end.

While Alaric's original symptoms were not the same entirely or nearly as dramatic, before we got him healthy he was very sensative and unable to communicate effectively. He had night terrors. Once we got his iron levels under control, everything changed. SO, Brian and I decided to talk to Mara's pediatrician and get her iron levels tested.

We found out Wednesday that her iron level is 22. Normal range is between 11-307, with 10 being anemic. Her nurse said since she fit into the normal range she was fine. I was frustrated. Normal range my ass....there is a 296 point difference. If anemia is 10, how on Earth can 22 be OK. My Alaric was 14 and was very sick....22 is not far away. We also were told with Alaric that your body doesn't make it's own iron until its at a 38 so you have to suppliment til you get there. So, after consulting with Brian, we decided to call Alaric's GI specialist and consult with the nurse.

After a conversation with a very rude receptionist who told me that nurses and doctors would not give out any advice about a patient's sister, I spoke with a lovely nurse who talked to me for more than 20 minutes and went through everything with me in GENERAL terms. She indicated that night terrors are very much related to iron levels and the pediatric sleep specialist at Carle does an iron test and often an iron suppliment trial before ever doing a sleep study because often times the problems disappear. She told me that the pediatric neurologist recommends the iron level goal always be 100-as that is ideal. She confirmed for me that yes, your body does not make iron independently until it's above 38 and that if she had a 26 pound 2 1/2 year old daughter with bowel issues and on a full dose of Miralax and had night terrors and was having emotional problems that she would do what she could to be sure that child got 1 ts of iron a day in juice.

Bless that woman and her care and attention. She gave me the confidence to call back to my pediatrician and demand that they consider a supplimental trial. I offered to come in, to talk to whomever. And the pediatrician's response...."it couldn't hurt"

We've picked the stuff and as soon as I opened the bottle, terrible memories about the sticky, smelly, foul tasting stuff Alaric was on THREE times a day came rushing back to me. YUCK!!! Mara was excited til she tasted it. It will be a long road til her taste buds get used to it but my heart feels better already knowing I am doing all I can to help her feel better. Perhaps after a few weeks of this we'll see a difference in her too as we did with our son. Pray for us on another journey! This time, we feel ready for the road ahead!