Saturday, March 18, 2006

Making Feedings Fun

Last week Ella was diagnosed as having a pretty bad case of acid reflux. The nurse came to this conclusion, and luckily the doctor agreed, after watching Ella feed. The signs: She is a slow eater -- whether nursing or on the bottle. Feedings aren't particular fun or relaxing for her -- more so when she's on the bottle, but she fights the bottle and pulls off frequently. She's fussy after feedings. Her projectile spit-ups are record worthy, mainly in amount. Not only does she spit up immediately after a feeding (even after good burps), but frequently 45 minutes to an hour after a feeding.

The course of action right now is zantac, which she's been on for nearly a week. I can't say I've seen a huge improvement, but she doesn't seem to fight feedings as much anymore. The pharmacist said it could take up to 2 weeks before we notice a significant difference. Taking the medicine isn't Ella's favorite part of the day -- she hates the taste of it, but doesn't protest it too much. It was also suggested we switch bottles yet again. So, we're using the Dr. Brown bottles. I don't quite understand what makes them so special, but if they help then I'm all for it.

As for sleeping, her patterns are random. After a particularly rough night (neither Ella or I slept for longer than an hour), we've had two decent evenings in a row. We trying to incorporate a bed time routine that begins at 9. Last night, she was asleep at 9:45 and slept until 1:30. I woke up at 1 am in a panic because she hadn't woken us up by then. I cruised by her room and saw an arm move from the doorway, which was a relief to me. I wonder how I'll handle the first time she sleeps through the night.

Her weight is 9 lbs 3 oz. The doc wants her to weigh a bit more at this point, maybe the zantac will help with that.

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