It was about three weeks into this brand new realm of motherhood when I realized something wasn’t quite right with my baby boy. When I would feed Abram he would latch on, pop off, latch on, pop off...all the while, arching his back, stiffening straight, or pulling his legs into his belly, and fussing. He constantly made grunting noises and actually a lot of times sounded like a bleating goat. He wasn’t sleeping well, always cried whenever I laid him flat on his back, and no matter how much or how little he ate, there was always spit up. I was so worried about my little man. It was breaking my heart that he was having so much discomfort and was unable to rest.
I decided to take him to the doctor knowing that it probably was reflux and after explaining his symptoms, the doctor completely agreed with me. He decided to start Abram on Prevacid Solutabs. He said this medicine worked fast and that by the next afternoon, he should be experiencing a lot of relief. To give this medication, I was to dissolve the tab in water and then pull up the solution into a syringe. Well, this medicine doesn’t dissolve enough to pull into a syringe without it all settling at the bottom. So, picture this: here I am attempting to shake the syringe between squirts to make sure he actually was getting what he needed, amidst trying to hold down my screaming baby that was spitting out everything going in. This was not fun. In addition to beginning the medicine, I decided to swaddle him up that night and let him sleep upright in his bouncer. At this point, I was willing to try anything to give him some relief. Being upright helped a little bit, he did rest peacefully that night (probably from exhaustion) but by the next afternoon there had really been no change in his symptoms. He was still fussing, still spitting up, and still making a boat load of noises (yes, even upright).
I decided to give it a couple more days, but after three days of medication and no change I couldn’t take it anymore. Yes, it was only reflux, but I shouldn’t of had to see my four week old in so much discomfort! Well, the doctor went ahead and stopped the original medication (thank God!) and he decided to try him on Prilosec. It wasn’t going to stop the spit up, but it would decrease the acidity from his stomach so that it wouldn’t burn his esophagus as much when he did spit up. Absolutely, let's try it. A happy puker is okay with me! In addition to the new medication, my doctor recommended maternal diet changes. So, not only was I incredibly horomonal, worried about my newborn, and exhausted, I also had to completely rid my diet of dairy (my favorite) and high acidity foods (mainly citrus and tomato based anything). While unfortunate, whatever it would take to make him feel better, I was all for it. It took about a week, but finally relief began to set in for Abram with new medication and my dietary modifications.
So, all you new and seasoned parents, you are the advocate for your little one! Like I always tell my patients’ parents, you know your kid better than anyone else, so keep on fighting for them! Chances are, if something doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t. Go with your instincts! Make as many calls to the doctor as you need to until you feel comfortable with the solution. If you don’t feel comfortable, get a second opinion! Once you've done everything you can do, take a deep breath and know you are doing your best! Tomorrow is a new day and really, truly everything will be just fine...even if you have puke all over you!
I decided to take him to the doctor knowing that it probably was reflux and after explaining his symptoms, the doctor completely agreed with me. He decided to start Abram on Prevacid Solutabs. He said this medicine worked fast and that by the next afternoon, he should be experiencing a lot of relief. To give this medication, I was to dissolve the tab in water and then pull up the solution into a syringe. Well, this medicine doesn’t dissolve enough to pull into a syringe without it all settling at the bottom. So, picture this: here I am attempting to shake the syringe between squirts to make sure he actually was getting what he needed, amidst trying to hold down my screaming baby that was spitting out everything going in. This was not fun. In addition to beginning the medicine, I decided to swaddle him up that night and let him sleep upright in his bouncer. At this point, I was willing to try anything to give him some relief. Being upright helped a little bit, he did rest peacefully that night (probably from exhaustion) but by the next afternoon there had really been no change in his symptoms. He was still fussing, still spitting up, and still making a boat load of noises (yes, even upright).
I decided to give it a couple more days, but after three days of medication and no change I couldn’t take it anymore. Yes, it was only reflux, but I shouldn’t of had to see my four week old in so much discomfort! Well, the doctor went ahead and stopped the original medication (thank God!) and he decided to try him on Prilosec. It wasn’t going to stop the spit up, but it would decrease the acidity from his stomach so that it wouldn’t burn his esophagus as much when he did spit up. Absolutely, let's try it. A happy puker is okay with me! In addition to the new medication, my doctor recommended maternal diet changes. So, not only was I incredibly horomonal, worried about my newborn, and exhausted, I also had to completely rid my diet of dairy (my favorite) and high acidity foods (mainly citrus and tomato based anything). While unfortunate, whatever it would take to make him feel better, I was all for it. It took about a week, but finally relief began to set in for Abram with new medication and my dietary modifications.
At his two month appointment, he was doing awesome! He was very efficient at nursing, sleeping great, and the noises related to the reflux had stopped. His head and neck were super strong from lots of tummy time and he was a very happy, smiling boy! The doctor decided that maybe we try going off of his medicine because he seemed to be doing so much better. I was actually okay with that. He did seem better and not to mention, he hated every drop of it!
Cut to month three. Fussiness while nursing, fussiness with tummy time, arching, and stiffening. Does this sound familiar? I’m all about giving it time, but I had given it four weeks since he had been taken off the medicine and his symptoms got progressively worse. I wasn’t at all concerned about how he was doing otherwise; he was getting restful sleep and still gaining weight, but I was concerned because he was in significant discomfort when he was eating and afterwards. Poor little guy! Well, feeling like a crazy mom, I called the doctor requesting that he be put back on his medicine. They had me bring him in just to make sure everything else was okay, but they gladly put him back on the Prilosec so that he could be comfortable!
So, here we are two weeks in after restarting his medicine and he is doing well. He is nursing great, smiling all the time, thriving in tummy time, and sleeping so well! However, don't be fooled: he still arches quite frequently, spits up all the time, and on rare occasions is so fussy I want to pull my hair out. BUT, 95% of the time, he feels good and that is all I care about!
Cut to month three. Fussiness while nursing, fussiness with tummy time, arching, and stiffening. Does this sound familiar? I’m all about giving it time, but I had given it four weeks since he had been taken off the medicine and his symptoms got progressively worse. I wasn’t at all concerned about how he was doing otherwise; he was getting restful sleep and still gaining weight, but I was concerned because he was in significant discomfort when he was eating and afterwards. Poor little guy! Well, feeling like a crazy mom, I called the doctor requesting that he be put back on his medicine. They had me bring him in just to make sure everything else was okay, but they gladly put him back on the Prilosec so that he could be comfortable!
So, here we are two weeks in after restarting his medicine and he is doing well. He is nursing great, smiling all the time, thriving in tummy time, and sleeping so well! However, don't be fooled: he still arches quite frequently, spits up all the time, and on rare occasions is so fussy I want to pull my hair out. BUT, 95% of the time, he feels good and that is all I care about!
No comments:
Post a Comment