Reflux
I seem to often write posts right before we go to the doctor, but I'm not good about following up on here and giving an update. As previously mentioned, Will went to his pediatric GI a few weeks ago for a weight check and to see how he was doing since we started giving him bottles of pumped breast milk with 1.5 tsp of formula added for extra calories. He was 14 lbs, which meant he didn't gain any weight for at least 2 weeks because at his 6-month appointment 2 weeks before that, he weighed 14lbs 1oz. Since he wasn't gaining well enough with the bottles of pumped milk, the doctor said I didn't have to do that anymore if it was stressing me out (which it was). I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders! Pumping was incredibly stressful because it was more constricting than nursing, and Will is more efficient than the pump, so I could never pump enough.
The issue (as I thought) is his reflux medicine is just not doing the trick. The actual dosage of the medicine is 1.5mL, but he can't tolerate that dose because it makes his intestines cramp. So we cut back to 1mL, and bumped it back up to 1.2mL when 1mL wasn't helping, which still isn't working. The only thing it does is keep him from spitting up as much as he did before he started the medicine. So the poor little guy is still in pain from the acid that keeps coming back up during and after he eats, which makes him not want to eat much.
The GI has referred us to a feeding therapist at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Since I've never heard of a feeding therapist, I don't know much about what she will do. I do know that she's also a speech therapist and has 11 letters after her name, so that must mean she knows what she's talking about, right? When I asked the doctor why he was sending us to her, he mostly said, "I think she can help you." I don't really know what that means. In my mind, I'm wondering why not a lactation consultant? But I see one every Friday at my mom group, and we've never had any physical issues with Will's mouth that would normally lead a nursing baby to physical or occupational therapy, so I'm still confused. The one thing the GI said that made the most sense to me was that often babies with severe reflux like Will can develop a food aversion, so the feeding therapist will help us avoid that hopefully. I've also learned that it's the common next step for reflux babies to go to a feeding therapist when the medicine isn't cutting it. Has anyone out there ever been to one or know what we can expect when we go?
As with most specialists, the first appointment we could get was for a month later. That month is almost up now, finally. Our appointment is for Monday October 3rd, and I'm looking forward to being one step closer to finding a solution for my little man.
Peanut Allergy
The last time I wrote about Will's peanut allergy, we thought that perhaps his allergy wasn't that bad. When we got the blood work results back, we learned that's not the case. Unfortunately, Will's peanut allergy is in the "Very High" category. I asked the allergist, based on his experience what he thought Will's prognosis will be (while knowing he can't know 100% for sure). He said that in his experience, babies or kids with it this high do not grow out of it. :( This news made me very sad for my baby boy. Wayne's favorite food is peanut butter. I've always gotten him Reese's cakes for his birthday, his mom makes her famous peanut butter cookies every Christmas, he could eat a bucket of boiled peanuts in one sitting, and overall, peanut butter is a staple in our house. The good news is Will won't know what he's missing. The bad news is we are now armed with Epi Pens. Since the allergy is much worse than originally thought, we'll have to be extra cautious to make sure Will doesn't come into contact with any peanuts. If we ever eat peanuts or peanut butter (not me until I'm done nursing, obviously), we'll have to wash our hands and mouth before touching Will. If it gets on his skin, it makes him break out in a rash.
When I was pregnant, I couldn't eat deli meat (there's a bacteria that can cause miscarriage), so peanut butter and jelly sandwiches replaced turkey sandwiches. I ate a lot of them. I can't help but wonder if that caused his allergy. It already has me wondering what kind of sandwiches I'll eat the next time I get pregnant. Peanut allergies are so common these days, especially in boys. What are we eating that's causing this? I wish I knew.
No comments:
Post a Comment