Tag: Reflux

my dragon baby

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Since Jackson has been particularly fiery in the first few months of his life, he dressed as a dragon for his first Halloween. I am using the phrase “dressed up” loosely here because he lasted about 3 minutes in his costume before screaming for it to come off. But boy did he look cute.

Halloween was also the day we met with the gastrointestinal doctor to discuss his reflux. Thankfully, she wants to wait to do a scope and instead play with his Zantac dosage since he is approximately….huge (95th percentile for height and 90th percentile for weight). She also suggested adding some rice cereal to thicken some of his feeds a bit but I am holding off on that for a little while longer since he is not quite 4 months and he refuses a bottle.

The one thing she did confirm was that he is one smart, quizzy little dude. After watching me feed him she determined that part of his problem is that he loves to pop off my boob and “talk” to me, observe his surroundings and in the process sucks in a lot of air. That air makes him really gassy and really uncomfortable. The reflux is definitely a problem as well but not as dire as I thought.

Side note: That is the one good thing about being overdramatic–you are never disappointed in the result because you often build up the worst case scenario in your head or in this case, on my blog. I am working on that because the major downside to being overdramatic is unnecessary stress and occasionally annoying my husband. But he is my kid and I was really worried about him. So there.

Getting back to Jax…after one week on his new dosage I can honestly say I have seen a huge improvement in his feeds. He is much more comfortable and there is no screaming. As for me, instead of getting frustrated when he pops off, I talk right back to him. He laughs and smiles and the whole process is much less stressful on the both of us. He is still waking up quite often in the middle of the night but he is only 15 weeks old, I think I can cut him some slack. He will get to sleeping longer stretches when he is ready.

Take as long as you need buddy.

5 months would be nice.

Pretty please.

7 months

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Reggie’s mom recently told me that baby Reg had colic for 7 months.

Let that marinate for a minute. 7 months.

How do you feel? Terrified? Us too.

I couldn’t help but think–what if Jackson’s colic lasts for that long too? I know in the grand scheme of his life 7 months is not that big of a deal but sometimes when you are trying to soothe a screaming baby time seems to stand still. And truthfully, things are not much better than they were a couple weeks ago. He hit 3 months last week and not much changed.  I thought I could say that colic passed us by–and maybe it has–but he is still very, very fussy and obviously uncomfortable most of the day. I am not so sure it is the colic anymore but the reflux. Our pediatrician seems to agree. So next week Jackson will meet with a pediatric gastrointestinal specialist at CHOC to discuss possible tests and stronger medication. The thought of my little boy hooked up to an IV and being put under anesthesia for testing makes me so anxious and terrifies me even more than 7 month long colic. But I know I need to be strong for him and realize that this is only going to help him in the long run. Having him live with painful reflux is far worse than the trials of finding a solution. And we will find a solution—even if it takes 7 months.

remember me?

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It feels good to be writing something again. And not something half-assed like most of my posts were post baby. My brain was mush from being sleep deprived at the time so please forgive me. I want to really commit to writing as much as can. So for those of you who are still here, here is a quick update. The last few months have been insane. Not only have I had a new baby with newly diagnosed reflux and colic but we moved down to Southern California. We had to pack and move with a newborn in a matter of days. Days, people! But we survived and are loving our new place with our little man.

Speaking of Mr. Jax, here is what he looking like now-a-days…

He is doing so well. He is healthy, happy, and as you can see dresses far better than I do each day. The first two months were not easy. In fact, I think the second month was much more challenging than the first. The first month you are basking in this new baby haze and the serious sleep deprivation hasn’t quite sank in yet. Then, for me at least, month two comes around and the whole not sleeping thing sort of makes you start to go crazy. To be more specific, Jax had colic and reflux. I sort of danced around it and pretended like it wasn’t really colic. But it was. He cried and cried and I couldn’t do anything to help him. After the first two weeks, he rarely slept and if he did, he absolutely had to be held or the screaming would ensue all over again. Soothing him was like a scientific process with a 40% success rate. I know newborn fussiness tends to peak at 6 weeks so I was trying to just be patient and let him grow out of it. Eventually I had to call his pediatrician. I assumed the screaming was a reaction to gas from my strong letdown but by 5 weeks his fussiness was only getting dramatically worse. The nurses on the help line told me it was most likely really bad gas and gave me a variety of things to try–Mylicon drops, Colic Calm, laying him on an angle, burping him for 15 minutes after he eats, burping him every 3-4 minutes while he eats. I tried them all. Sometimes the Colic Calm worked but Jax pretty much laughed at all of the other options. Except he wasn’t laughing. He was screaming like he was in pain. I was up almost every hour every night with a baby that seemed so unhappy in his body. Sometimes the two of us would just sit there, rocking and cry during those late night feedings. After giving the suggestions the recommended two weeks, I practically ran into the office to meet with his doctor face to face. At that point, he started spitting up all of his meals in addition to all of the other symptoms. The doctor quickly diagnosed him with reflux.

I felt like a horrible mother. Why didn’t I take him in sooner? He wouldn’t lay on his back. Arched his back and screamed during most feedings. And now spitting up most meals. Of course he has reflux. But I didn’t know. I am new at this. The nurses I talked to on the phone did not suspect it at the time but the diagnosis made perfect sense. I am trying not to beat myself up about it but when you feel like you allowed your child to be in pain, it is hard not to feel that way. At least for me. Luckily, the diagnosis was spot on. He has been on Zantac for about a month and his symptoms have dramatically improved. I have eliminated dairy, soy, and nuts from my diet to help. The new medicine and dietary changes have made Jax a different baby. Up until a couple weeks ago I was still getting up 7-9 times a night but now he is down to 2-3 nighttime feedings. So at the moment I am focusing on the here and now and trying not to beat myself up too much about the past. And I may have put his new pediatrician on speed dial. I am so that mom now. But I don’t care.

That smiling face is so worth it.