I think one of the worst things is holding your baby while she screams and cries in pain, and not being able to do anything but hold her. I love M2 and it breaks my heart to hear her crying during a reflux attack. If only they made baby Tums that could give some instant relief. Instead I am left to just comfort her during an attack. Sometimes it entails hours of high pitch screaming.
Last Wednesday night M2 had a really bad reflux episode. I stayed up holding her while she cried until 3:30 AM. I woke up at 6:30 to feed her, change her and pump, and after that I realized I needed to be up in less than an hour to get ready for an appointment, so I just stayed up. That day we had an out of town guest so our usual schedule of relaxing and napping at home did not happen. I was exhausted all day, and it basically threw me off. It took days to start slowly regaining the sleep I lost that night.
Monday we had a really nice lady from our church stop by to visit. She was from the "new baby ministry" that reaches out to new parents and brings goodies from the church. Our new baby volunteer was amazing. The first time I spoke to her on the phone I wanted to cry because I felt like finally there was someone who really understood. When she called she said that the new baby ministry coordinator at the church had told her we had a reflux baby, and the first thing she said was, "Both my babies had severe reflux, and with the first one we went through three months of hell until she was properly diagnosed." When she spoke to me, it was like she had reached through the phone and given me a hug. The solidary I felt with this woman was like two Soldiers who have been in the same battlefield.
While she was at our house Monday for her visit, she leaned over and said, "So, her reflux still isn't under control, is it?" I nodded and said, "Well, it is better than it was. The Ranitidine seems to be helping..." She looked at me and said, "I don't mean to be overbearing or pushy. Oh wait, actually I do. If I were you, I'd call the pediatrician as soon as I leave and demand a new appt to get her on a different medication because what she is on is obviously not working." I took her advice and called the pediatrician right after she left. They said they couldn't get us in until later in the week, but then the receptionist said that we could come in right that moment, they could squeeze her in. I said no problem, we lived very close. I got M2 in her carseat in record time, and off we went.
The pediatrician switched her to Prevacid, a proton pump inhibitor medicine (this stops acid production, whereas her previous medicine, Ranitidine, neutralized the acid). The Prevacid is awesome. She is suddenly a happy baby. She can lay down in her crib without screaming at the top of her lungs. She doesn't scream for hours on end. She is still sensitive and needy, but her temperment has been drastically altered. I am so glad I took the advice of another Mom who'd been there, and I am glad that I was agressive to get M2 in to the doctor. So far so good!
No comments:
Post a Comment