I've been avoiding the blogosphere for the past few weeks. I'm not completely sure why but I definitely have. I'm sure I have tons of catching up to do on all my friends.
The main purpose of this post is to publish an update on Chloe's reflux and ask for advice.
Update: I followed the advice from my blogging friends and Chloe's spitting up has decreased to almost nothing! Here's our technique:
-Feed Chloe in an upright-ish position.
-Hold her still for 5-10 minutes after she finishes eating (unless she's feisty and starts bucking like a bronco)
-Then pick her up and hold her upright against me until she burps.
-Finally, make sure to hold her or keep her sitting for at least 30 minutes after feeding.
THANK YOU to the moms who commented on the last reflux post. These new techniques are 100% derived from those comments and they're making a world of difference. I used to feed Chloe a bit then pick her up and pat pat pat. Feed her a bit more and pat pat pat pat pat. Burps were hard to come by and when they arrived they usually came with a bunch of spitup or an awfully wet strained sound. Now the burps are BIG CLEAN POOFS OF AIR. They sound WONDERFUL. I also noticed that keeping her still for a few minutes after eating is they key to getting a good burp - almost like the burp needs to gather itself before I pick her up and let gravity push it up. I don't even need to pat anymore and my wrist/forearm are very happy for that.
We visited the pulmonologist yesterday. Chloe gained almost a pound since we saw him a month ago. She's now 14lb 5oz. Again, not too bad but he wanted to see more. I filled him in on our fantastic spitup progress and expected a pleased response. After all, I solved Chloe's spitup problem without using Zantac! Yay me, right? He was holding Chloe, looked at her, and said in a baby voice, "Chloe, can I spank your Mommy? She's in trouble because she didn't give you your medicine." Chloe said, "no." He then went on to explain that the techniques I started using are great for the spitup and congratulations on that but she still has really bad reflux even if she doesn't spitup. The acid comes up and burns her throat - which could cause a decreased appetite. THAT'S what the Zantac is for. Uuuh. Whoops. My bad. He apologized for not explaining that better but I still feel bad. "I thought her reflux was mild. Her pediatrician isn't concerned. And how do you know anything about her reflux, anyway," I ask. Apparently, Chloe's pulmonologist is the only person who really looked at her swallow study because that's where he saw it. I'm mildly annoyed at her pediatrician but he gives me a very diplomatic speech about all Chloe's doctors being a team and they each catch different things. I still think he's by far her best doctor.
RX: Keep Chloe on oxygen for feeds and (this time) start giving her Zantac. We'll see him again in 3 months time.
QUESTION: Does anyone out there have any great techniques for giving Zantac to an infant. I tasted a dose and it has a pretty strong mint flavor. And my palate is a tad bit more developed than Chloe's. I feel so mean every time I syringe it into her mouth. Her little face scrunches up into a look of pure disgust and she tries really hard to roll away from me. There's just got to be a way to sneak it in....
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Don't feel bad. I'd much rather avoid medicine and try other techniques too. As for the Zantac...it's disgusting. If there is any way you can get a pharmacy to compound it and make it taste more pleasant...and if your insurance will cover that...I'd go that route. Otherwise, D's GI said I can feel free to mix it with milk, or with a tablespoon of icecream (really) or with anything that will make her take it. D has a deep hatred of syringes and has mastered spitting it all back at my face. By the way, I think Chloe's doing great. Good job.
ReplyDeleteI've been avoiding the blogging world lately too. It's hard to get back into the habit! I think I'm back though. I'm glad to see she's doing better with spitting up though! I don't have any advice but keep up the great work! :)
ReplyDeleteWeird, I TOO have been avoiding it! Maybe it's a summer thing. That reflux thing all sounds just so confusing and I'm glad I'm not in your shoes on this issue. I don't like being in my own shoes some days either, if that makes you feel any better :) Then again, Crew has a small appetite. Maybe he has secret reflux...
ReplyDeleteI've been following your blog through Megan's blog. Both of my kids had reflux. My daughter didn't have it as bad as my son. Our pediatrician/family doctor first prescribed Zantac for him, he had much the same face as you describe C having and it was the hardest thing to give it to him. I called our doctor and told him what was going on. He finally prescribed Prevacid for my son. The great thing about Prevacid is it comes in a dissolve-able pill form or a liquid form. I really like the dissolve-able pill, you can cut it in fourths and dissolve it in a 1/2 tsp of Jell-O water or juice, and suck it in the syringe and viola!, you have something that your baby is going to swallow without giving you any problems...or fewer problems...and you don't have look at that sad puckered face on your beautiful daughter.
ReplyDeleteMaybe check back with the pulmonologist to see if you can get a prescription for the Prevacid in the dissolve-able pill form. It made a HUGE difference in my son.
And, I too, hate giving medication to my kids. But, I have to look at it as a way to help my child feel better. My son has horrible asthma, so I learned early on, sometimes medication is a necessity. I know the harsh reality of it isn't really all that fun.
Zantac is tough. Our twins were started on it but I just couldn't get it down - it smelled like mint schnaaps to me so no wonder they didn't like it! Our doctor finally gave them Prevacid. I'd dissolve it and put it in a syringe, put the syringe way to the back of the mouth - on the side of the inner cheek, and squirt it down. Worked great.
ReplyDeleteAlso - Prevacid is much more mild. It helped so much. Big hugs!
Rhys was on Prevacid and as gross as that was (not sure how it compares) he lapped it up. For some reason he has always been an awesome medicine taker no matter what it is. We quit giving it to him at the end of last year because he never seemed to need it, but after reading your post I am now wondering if he DOES need it. He's always had a rather strange appetite, but it never occurred to me he wouldn't exhibit symptoms but still suffer from the reflux. Hmmmm, now you have me thinking. I'm going to have to ask his pedi about it...
ReplyDeleteAs for the doctors, I am in the same boat. They all seem to pick up on different things, which can be beyond frustrating when you're trying to figure things out.