Just over 11 months ago I was a Mommy to one little girl and super pregnant with a little boy (Josh). We thought life was getting a bit hectic with Leah being 2 1/2, but little did we know it was only the beginning.
Knowing that Leah had been a puker from day one I brought a few sleepers and a burp pad or two (or what we affectionately call 'puke cloths'. lol!) just in case. Hours after Josh's birth I noticed that something was different about him. Every time I burped him after a feed he spit up. When I put him down to sleep after a feed he would soak the receiving blanket underneath him. They stock those little 'bassinets' with about a dozen receiving blankets and without changing it ALL the time he went through all 12 in less than 24 hours. The biggest smack of reality came when friends of ours visited the next day (Josh was just under a day old). Bonnie was holding Josh and all of a sudden he chucked (for those who aren't well versed in our 'spit up' talk, we like to call it many different things) all over her. I could not believe what was happening!
In the days and weeks following Josh's birth he continued to 'spit up', but I thought it was just what we had known to be normal...ok...maybe a bit worse than normal. When he went to the doctor for his 2 month appointment he seemed to have gained a decent amount of weight and the doctor was impressed with how he was doing. I, on the other hand, knew that he wasn't doing so well. Things were so bad that not only did he puke after a feed, but he would continue to puke until his next feed which was 3 hours later. At that point I told his doctor that I really wanted to investigate it further because I was concerned there was something more to it.
Within a couple of weeks we were in to see a Paediatrician. Immediately Josh went on medication to help with his reflux, as they diagnosed. No tests had been done at all, but to be honest, I had heard about these meds and I was grasping at straws at that point and just thankful to be talking to someone that I thought understood what we were going through and could help.
Fast forward 3+ months later. Josh is now almost 6 months old and hasn't gained more than 1lb. He has been on several different medications, in and out of the hospital a couple of times and even got so bad that at one point he was puking up brown blood. We go for another Paediatric appointment and I'm told that because of his 2nd weight loss she's now admitting him to the hospital for the 3rd time. At this point, I'm absolutely fed up with all that has gone on but I'm also glad to be going to the hospital with him because I know that at least there I can have someone listen to me and demand some answers. A lot of this time in the hospital was blogged at the very beginning of this blog so if you'd like to read more in depth, go right ahead. :)
For those that want the summed up version...after a simple dietary change (and I really do mean simple...so simple that it baffles me that a doctor with how many years of education couldn't figure it out) our little guy that went from puking 65+ times a day to doing it only maybe 10 times a day in less than a week. Now, at 11 months old, he only really pukes if he's fed something that makes him choke and he spits up a bit after his bottles.
It still amazes me that we went through 6 months of non-stop puking, countless outfit changes (for Josh and for us) and all that stress and that it's been almost that same amount of time since it has ended. I'm SO thankful that God provided my hubby's incredible benefits that amazingly cover(ed) both of Josh's $100/month medications AND his $200/month special hypoallergenic formula. Those things alone (yes, not including diapers, clothes, etc that babies need) totalled over $400/month! I am constantly amazed at what God has done for our little Joshy and how He has strengthened him and allowed him to gain weight and become a normal little boy. :)
Here are just a couple of pictures of our boy on his 11 month 'birthday'. I love you, Joshy!
PS - for those that admire his blue eyes, these pictures are completely OOC (out of camera) and unedited.
I had almost forgotten about all the stuff that went on with his puking. LOVE the last picture. He really is the cutest little boy ever. :)
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