Lilly at 4 weeks

We had our follow up appointment with the gastroenterologist on Thursday. ... I think I forgot to blog that we met with him the first time, so I better catch you all up.

Back on May 24th we met with Dr. Rosensweig, a pediatric gastroenterologist. This came on the heels of a follow up appointment with my primary care doc where Lilly had showed no improvement. We were sent to see the specialist. But not before getting an X-ray of Lilly's belly. That was so traumatizing for me, thank goodness Lilly won't remember. Dr. R was very attentive to us, he listened to me and checked Lilly out. I feed Lilly while we were there, and of course, that was one of the only feedings she kept down that day. At this point Lilly was throwing up (and let me emphasize throwing up not just spitting up) just about every meal within 0-15 minutes of eating. He recommended that we either stop the Zantac that my primary care prescribed or increase the dosage to triple what it was. We decided to go with the increase of the dosage to see if it would help and then follow up in a couple of weeks. Dr. R seemed to think that Lilly most likely had a moderate to severe case of reflux that she will grow out of. It was at this point that I had to accept the fact that it was going to be a messy few months. This is when I implemented the baby puke cup. So now when I feed her, I am prepared with a burp cloth and a cup to catch what ever might come back up. It has worked great and cut down on my laundry loads dramatically. I also like the fact that I can quantify how much she is throwing up.

We had our follow up appointment with the gastroenterologist on Thursday. Lilly weighed in at 9 lbs, 8oz, and 21.5 inches. She is gaining weight, despite the amount she is vomiting. This was a good sign. The doctor was not thrilled with her reflux progress though. I explained that she was still throwing up often and I showed him how much she has been throwing up. She has also been getting more irritated after eating. She will get so visibly uncomfortable, and it was so hard for me to see her like that. Fortunately, she "performed" for the doctor at the appointment. I fed her, she got irritated and uncomfortable. I fed her the other side and then she threw up. I was quick on the draw with the puke cup, so Dr. R was able to see the full cycle of what she was going through. He was also very impressed with my puke catching skills.

At this point we are checking a few other options. Dr. R is not convinced that it is not a physiological issue, so tomorrow I have to take her in to have an upper GI series done. I am so not looking forward to this appointment. I just keep reminding myself that she won't remember this. Dr. R also instructed us to stop the Zantac for three days to see if there was any improvement, if not, then she will start on Prevacid on Monday. There has been no improvement, so Prevacid tomorrow it is. Hopefully the Prevacid works because if it doesn't the next step is to remove milk and soy from my diet. Apparently there is a protein in milk and soy that can cause the muscle to reflux. If it is not an acid issue and a muscle issue, then my diet could be the culprit. I really hope that this is not the case, because I'm not sure how well I will handle the stress of newborn, toddler, and a very limited diet (especially without ice cream). I will do what it takes though.

Other than the vomit issue, Lilly has been a wonderful baby. She is sleeping well. She is very patient and tolerant of her big sister. I've gotten a few first smirks out of her in the last few days and I can't wait for more smiles. She is a very content little soul. She loves to be in the Baby Bjorn, aka the "baby holster". She does have a bad case of baby acne right now, worse than I ever remember with Cecilia. She is a sweet heart and I am cherishing every moment with her.