OK! I really haven't done this on the site yet, but today is the day. Over the past couple of months I have learned that moms only talk about the good things about having children. Moms are afraid to talk about the hard stuff in fear of being judged. People daily ask me how motherhood is going. Everyone expects you to say its great, wonderful, perfect, etc. No one wants to hear how hard it is or all the things your really going through. But talking about the hard stuff is what we should do. To help each other out with the things that you don't know what to do.
When Evelyn was born....Daniel and I were so excited. In the beginning she was such an easy baby. We could take her anywhere and she would just sleep. But as all moms know, as they get older they sleep less and become more active. Evelyn is still pretty good when we are out, but there is something that we are struggling with many parents struggle with but don't seem to talk about.....ACID REFLUX.
Our daughter has always had a difficult time eating. We just assumed that since she was born on the small side, that it was just an underdeveloped digestive system. Well thats what the doctors tell you. But after a month and half of Evelyn screaming/crying though 50% or more of her feedings, the doctor finally determined that she has Acid Reflux.
Here is the deal...Evelyn gets so excited about meal time and at the end of the feeding she is tired, stressed, and exhausted. The first couple of ounces of the bottle go down fine, but once you take the bottle away and burp her. Here it comes. You try to get her to eat more and she as discovered it hurts so she doesn't eat anymore. Usually she cry's or screams because of the pain. Almost every meal she gets the hi-ups and of course some of food she just took comes up with these. Then we spend the next 10 minutes trying to calm her down. But she continues to spit up food until the next feeding.
Monday the doctor put Evelyn on medication to help with the Acid Reflux. Both Daniel and I are not medication people, but if this even helps a little it will make life at the Perkins house a little easier. She takes the medication twice a day and so far doesn't like it. After discussion with another mom who's daughter had Acid Reflux and some research, here are a few things that you can do to help your Acid Reflux child.
- Medication
- Rise on end of the crib mattress
- After a meal, keep child sitting upright for 30 minutes or as long as possible
- Feed your child more often and small emounts
- Change formulas
So its only Wednesday, but have/are doing everything above accept change formulas. If nothing else works we will make that change too. So we will see how it goes. The medication can take a couple of weeks to really begin working. We are keeping our fingers crossed.
So I wrote this entry for a couple a reasons. First, us moms need to begin sharing the hard stuff, the bad stuff and not be worried about being judged. Your not a bad mom if you talk about these things. Second, this is for moms and dads who maybe going through the same thing we are going through. Don't wait to talk to your doctor. Its not normal for your child to cry during feedings and its probably not your fault. Lastly, this is just for the people who like to know how Evelyn is doing.
I will keep everyone posted on how things are going with Evelyn and Acid Reflux.
Thanks again to all those people who read the blog and really care.
Evelyn was 4 months old on the 28th and yesterday had her 4 month check up. Here are her stats:
