|
Hannah's Story
Welcome to the World!
We welcomed Hannah into the world on January 21, 2006. I had an uncomplicated pregnancy--just the usual morning sickness that went away shortly into the second trimester. She was born the day before her due date, weighing 7 lbs. 14.6 oz. and was 20 inches long. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen, and latched on to nurse within the first hour of being born. I was so excited to finally meet my baby!
In the Hospital
Although I had a normal vaginal birth with no complications, we had to stay three nights in the hospital. Hannah was running a minor fever when she was born, so they wanted to put her on a course of antibiotics as a preventative measure. She was born at 8:07 pm, and the first night was LONG! Being my first child, I figured it was normal for her to be up crying a lot. My husband and I got very little sleep, and I was constantly trying to nurse her. She seemed to be latching on just fine, but just wanted to suck, not eat. She never wanted to lie in the bassinet. She wanted to be held and would sleep while we were holding her. We were still overjoyed by finally having our baby girl but were a little nervous about what we had gotten into. The second and third nights were no better. Her second day, she puked up some blood. The nurses told me it was normal and not to worry. Those two nights, the nurses had to take her to the nursery so we were able to sleep. Poor little Hannah just wanted to cry. The nurses gave her some formula in the nursery when they had her, because they thought she was hungry.
Home at Last!
We thought that once we were home everything would calm down. Little did we know, we had months of sleepless nights ahead. Those first several nights, my husband and I spent taking turns trying to console Hannah. She did not want to sleep. During the day she would sleep okay in her swing, but never in her crib. If she fell asleep in our arms and we laid her down in the crib, she would wake with blood curdling screams. We would take turns taking her out for drives in the middle of the night just so the other one could get some sleep while the baby was out of the house. It took a few days before we realized that the only place she would sleep was in her swing, so that was her bed for her first seven months of life.
Breastfeeding didn't go so well either. Hannah seemed to be constantly hungry. I was in horrendous pain, and wasn't producing much. Hannah would latch on and eat for a few seconds, and then just pacify. She always acted hungry but then didn't want to eat. After two weeks of pure misery, I decided that we had to switch to formula in order to keep my sanity.
Hannah took to the bottle fine, and also started taking a pacifier, which turned out to be a life-saver at times. She never was a big eater. She would take about two ounces each feeding at first. As time went on, she would start acting hungry, then when offered the bottle she would suck and scream. Feedings ended up taking almost an hour just to finish a small amount of formula. Around two months, she started spitting up more frequently. She wasn't spitting up huge amounts, but it was frequent. Hannah wasn't gaining weight very fast, and she was down to the 18th percentile at two months for her weight.
Starting to Suspect a Problem
At two months, Hannah started having formula shoot out of her nose up to two hours after eating. She was in pure misery. When I called the doctor, the nurse suggested that she might have reflux and to keep her upright while eating and also for 30-45 minutes afterwards. Well, this wasn't too difficult since this baby practically lived in her swing. That seemed to be the only place she was ever happy.
At her four month appointment, I asked the doctor about her constant crying. I told him that she is never happy and cries the majority of the day. I explained to him how physically draining it was for me to take care of a baby that cries all the time. He told me that some babies are just grouchy, and that I ended up with one of those grouchy babies. Never did he suggest there might be a problem, and I didn't ask him about the reflux because the nurse made it sound like a common thing, and nothing to worry about. I never in my life imagined reflux could be so devastating.
Three days after turning four months old, Hannah learned to sit on her own. Things seemed to improve, at least physically. She was no longer spitting up, and formula was not coming out her nose after feedings. She had also started on infant cereal and seemed to be taking to it well. She was still not a good eater. On a good day, she was taking in a total of 24 ounces of formula. The crying continued.
The Turning Point
At seven months, I was about to go off the deep end. She was down to the 8th percentile for weight. Everyone kept telling me how happy babies got around six months. I had still not seen a happy Hannah. Hannah still spent the majority of her day crying and clinging to me. She never wanted me to cuddle with her, but she didn't want to be put down either. She spent three straight days of inconsolable crying. I finally took her back to the pediatrician to find out what was wrong. We ended up seeing a different doctor than normal, which was what made the difference. I told the doctor that she was constantly crying and that I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I told him that there had to be something wrong with her, and that she wasn't just a grouchy baby.
After going over her history telling him about her reflux when she was younger, he told me that she was a silent refluxer. He couldn't believe that she had never been put on any meds, and he gave me a three day sample of Prevacid to try. I gave her the tablet immediately after leaving his office, and that night, it seemed that we had a new baby. She was happy instead of screaming. I called him back and told him the improvement, and he wrote us a prescription for the Prevacid.
Hannah stayed on the Prevacid for three months. The doctor said that we would have to take her off of it to see if she had outgrown the reflux. She was ten months old at this point, and we had had several happy months. We had even made the transition from sleeping in her swing to sleeping in her crib at night. I truly believed she had outgrown the reflux because she had been happy for so long. Little did I know, it was the medicine that was doing the trick!
Hannah Goes Downhill
From the time she was eight months until around eleven months, Hannah was off and on sick with a cold. She would have a nasty cold for a couple of weeks, seem to be over it for a few days, and then end up with an ear infection. She, of course, was fussy and cried a lot because she was sick. In between colds, she seemed to be just fine, so I still assumed her reflux was gone. She was still very slow with her weight gain and down to the 4th percentile. The doctors didn't act concerned because she was still gaining.
Around eleven months, Hannah started getting pretty fussy again. This time, I blamed teething. I thought that there was no way it could be reflux related because she had outgrown it. I would give her Tylenol and teething tablets, and sometimes it would help, and sometimes it did nothing. Shortly after her first birthday, she seemed to be getting worse and worse. She was going back to the old Hannah we knew so well. She was crying all the time, and clinging to me. I called the doctor, and the nurse suggested I put her back on the Prevacid and see if it makes a difference.
At twelve months, Hannah was still constantly screaming. I was getting depressed. I wanted to have fun with my little girl, but all she ever did was cry. I could tell she was in pain, but I didn't know what was wrong. She wasn't gaining weight very well, and was now in less than the 3rd percentile for her weight. At her twelve month appointment, she weighed 17 pounds 10 ounces. I took her back in to see the same pediatrician that had diagnosed her with silent reflux at seven months. This time, I didn't have such a great experience. He basically told me that she would outgrow it and that there was nothing I could do. I felt horrible after leaving the appointment, and all I could do was cry. I felt as if there were no end, and he didn't even want to offer me any suggestions of things I could do to make her more comfortable. I felt as though he didn't even care that my baby was in constant pain.
Hannah started refusing her milk. She never was a big drinker of formula or milk, but she started completely refusing it shortly before turning thirteen months. She would take a drink, discover what it was, and scream. I could tell it was causing her pain. The same thing occurred when she would eat yogurt. She would take a bite and scream, and then take another bite and scream. She finally started refusing it, too, even thought it had always been a favorite of hers. Something in my mind finally clicked. She was not tolerating milk.
We Visit the GI
At thirteen months, Hannah had her first pediatric GI appointment. He was a wonderful doctor who was very reassuring. I didn't feel so lost after seeing him. He told us that most likely Hannah would outgrow the reflux between two and three years of age, if ever. He confirmed that Hannah was on a good dosage of Prevacid, and that we should continue her on it. He offered different suggestions about foods to avoid that could aggravate her reflux. Finally, it felt as though someone agreed that Hannah really did have a problem. I discussed with him her milk refusal. He did not think it was an allergy since she wasn't showing usual allergy signs and had been on formula or milk for over a year. He did say it would be worth a try to eliminate it and see if there was a difference.
Breakthrough!
I eliminated milk and yogourt from Hannah's diet, and almost instantly saw a huge improvement. She was no longer showing any signs of reflux, and was happier. The milk was causing Hannah's reflux. It's frustrating that it was such an easy fix, and yet no doctor could suggest this to me!
Current Update
It has now been close to two months off of milk, and Hannah has had no reflux. She is still currently taking Prevacid, and will continue to do so for a while. She has been happy and is enjoying being a toddler! She has become much more independent and is such a joy to be around. She has been eating well and I believe that she is finally gaining weight since she is starting to fit into some 12-month clothes now that she is almost 14 months old!
Written by: Amber, fiestagrill
Read more about Children's Stories:
Zac's Reflux Success Story,
Noah's Story,
Emma Claire's Story,
Evan's Story,
The Story of Andrew,
Owen's Story,
Raeden's Story,
Olivia's Story,
Samuel and Jennifer's Stories
»View all articles«
Other Links
,
|
|
