Month One was Going Swell Until Reflux Raised Hell!

Our sweet David was a dream baby starting out in his first weeks. He slept well, nursed perfectly and was easy peasy other than hating his bath. At his one week doctor appointment I remarked that I was so happy he did not have reflux like Margo. Our pediatrician quickly told me not to jinx it and to drop the subject. About one week later, reflux and other miserable symptoms began to rear their ugly head.

These pictures done by my friend, Deanna, are AMAZING!

David is not a refluxer like Margo. He spits up, but not with the same amount and frequency, so I just thought it was typical baby spit-up. As he started getting fussier and more uncomfortable, I attributed it to possible colic or bad gas. We started trying one remedy after another... Colic Calm (which I believe helps a lot), gas drops at every feed, the Windi (which works amazingly well when it is really needed) and probiotics. These were all only very temporary fixes if they helped at all. Sadly, at three weeks I tried eliminating dairy from my diet to see if it would help. There was a remarkable difference and when faced with the prospect of going dairy free (no bread even) along with my raging hormones, I decided I just could not be a good mom to my baby and make that kind of dietary sacrifice. I am sure some would heavily criticize me for this, but I felt it was best for the overall stability and health of our family and quit breastfeeding. Symptoms continued and evolved. Nonetheless, I was certain in my mind it wasn't reflux until...

One day David started having trouble eating. He was screaming through his feeds and clearly struggling in immense pain, talk about heartache for a mom to watch. Sadly, he was hungry but could not eat. As tears rolled down my face and I tried to comfort our suffering son, I decided it was time to see the doctor. The diagnosis was immediate of being reflux and I was really disappointed, but relieved at the same time to have an answer. We started David on Prevacid immediately and noticed almost instant improvement. Unfortunatelty, the improvement was not enough. Right around the same time, David started having bright green and horribly smelly poops, so bad we would have to tie up his diapers and put them in the garage. We started by splitting his Prevacid dose to AM and PM instead of once a day, again this helped but not enough. The doctor wanted to give it some time, being careful not to make too many changes at once. We waited and watched our son continue to suffer at times and were perplexed that some days he did great and others were utter hell. His inconsistent symptoms were confusing. Ultimiately, we ended up switching his formula to a hypoallergenic formula and after a week, his poop returned to the typical baby yellow and was not near as smelly. By his second month, we finally have things relatively under control. He has good times and bad and we are at least managing. I think his digestive system is immature due to his early delivery and it will just take time to improve. In the meantime, we will continue to manage his symptoms and try to keep him as comfortable as possible with the hope that as each month passes by, we will continue to see improvement.

On the positive side, David is growing incredibly well. He gained two pounds in two weeks and was 7 lbs. 14 oz. at one month. I am thrilled at least that his symptoms are not preventing him from thriving. He is very strong. He holds his head up very well and just like Margo, is very alert and aware when he is awake. He loves to look around and you can see him taking in his new world with awe. Fortunately, he loves to sleep and sometimes I worry that he is sleeping too much. Many days he sleeps from one feed to the next and I worry he will be awake all night, but that is never the case. He just loves to sleep.


Hi Monkey!

My boys!

David's first mohawk!

Margo is an amazing big sister! I am so very proud of her. She has shown very little jealousy and so much love for her baby brother! She always wants to know where he is and you can tell she thinks about him and worries about him. She loves to pat him, push him in the swing and is very proud of him! My heart melts at seeing her interact with him and you can tell he already thinks she is really special just in the way he looks at her!

It doesn't get sweeter than this!

She put the bear and book in his bed.

Yo, sis!  What up, bro!

Please pray for our little boy who has had a hard time adjusting to life outside of the womb. He is so sweet and sensitive and I just want him to feel better more than anything. Our nerves are frayed at times and I have experienced exhaustion to a level that I do not handle well. We are so grateful for the gift of our beautiful boy, but are also ready for it to get easier for all of us!