Sunday Morning at home

This past week was more adventurous than the last 5 crazy weeks.

Starting Sunday afternoon Aidan developed a fever to go with his cold(that started over the weekend). It was gone by Tuesday yet he was on the brink of tears over everything. He stayed home from school to rest up. There is still a residual cough that sounds like he has the plague but he is perking up after some much needed rest and TLC.

Logan picked up the runny nose Monday or Tuesday and by Wednesday afternoon he developed a fever that is still going strong. Poor Logan is so super congested he has a hard time sleeping unless the humidifier is on. He spends his sleep time hacking. The coughing often brings him to tears. Like Aidan was with the fever his eyes are red, puffy and tearing. It is pretty pitiful looking. He'll play then lay on the floor or want cuddled if something does not work just right, he is hysterical. The hysterics lead to the nose running more and then the hacking comes full forces with gagging. Here is hoping he turns around soon. My gut is telling me it is progressing from a super yucky cold to an infection of sorts. I guess for his first fever it needs to make its mark.

Onto our newest bundle of screams..oh I mean joy. It was quite the week for Daniel the screaming was peaking and followed by not spit but a nice amount of forceful vomiting. Vomiting so much it resulted in changing ourselves, him and cleaning whatever he was on(ie: furniture, play mat, Boppy etc.) The screaming grimacing and red face were in full force. The screaming was anytime of day and night. The only comfort to him was to be held and he still would scream out. His little eyes were pleading for help of any kind.

A friend recommended a fantastic homeopathic medicine called "Colic Calm." On Monday we spoke to our Doctor again. We talked of our concerns and what else can we try to help him. He said to give the Colic Calm a try and if in a few days it is not working to call back and his next step was Zantac. Kind of a leap for not seeing him in 2 weeks. The Colic Calm is amazing it will seriously take away their hiccups by the time they are done swallowing a dose. It did Calm him however, eventually it would work but for maybe 10 minutes a time and the instructions say to repeat the dose in 30 minutes if not working and there is maximum of 6 doses a day hopefully you see where we are heading here and there are 24 doses in a $20 bottle. As we have seen with any change we have made for him the first 24 hours seem fantastic then we are back to square one with a vengeance.

So we made it to Wednesday and gave the pediatricians office a call I spoke to our pediatricians wife and she said just get this kid in. Of course we couldn't get in until 4p and that was a long day of projectiling, screaming, Logan developed a fever and Aidan still whining from his cold. By the time to go, I was worn thin. Daniel was on outfit #4 and I was on #2. The Doctors visit did not go as we had planned. Our happy g0 lucky joking pediatrician became super serious asking us a multitude of questions. He then mentioned pyloric stenosis. The thickening of the pyloric sphincter which inhibits the stomach to empty its contents into the small intestine resulting in forceful vomiting, screaming and a constant want to eat. Which is what we have seen.

He pushed on Daniel's belly and then immediately called a radiology place for an abdominal ultrasound to confirm. We went equipped with two bottles of pedialite because they would want to watch him eat and see if any of the fluid would pass through the sphincter. The end result would be emergency surgery to split the hypertrophied muscle to open up the passage way to the small intestine. Pyloric stenosis usually shows up around 2 weeks of age which was exactly the time things got even worse.

The scan showed no significant thickening and of course after that Doctor left the room Daniel spewed the pedialite across the bed. It was a relief to know surgery was not needed but frustrating to know we were no closer to helping our Baby become happier.

Our Doctor then followed up with us. We were instructed to decrease his feeding amounts from 4 oz to 2 oz at time. The timing of feedings would not be 4 hours apart but every 1-2. Even though he is still hungry after 2 oz we are to wait 45 minutes before feeding one more ounce and if 45 minutes later he is still hungry then finish with an ounce.

We were also told to take him off dairy formula and use Soy. I do not believe in the power of Soy, it really is not good for you and also is a high allergy food. I feel like I am feeding Daniel the equivalent of peanut milk. Long term effects of soy formula inhibits a baby's bone growth. I understand if there is a sound medical reason for using it. We however have no set in stone diagnosis. Soy also creates firm stools and Daniel has had trouble passing the softest of stools.

I have created a spread sheet much like the ones they give you to track feedings when they are first born. We are keeping a detailed feeding list (because in our fog we can't remember when we last fed him or how much and we have 11-12 feedings a day). This way we have a fact sheet to back us up for the dcotor and so we can remember which feeding it is.

We were told if things were not better Friday to call back and they would prescribe Zantac. I am a bit hesitant on no diagnosis to medicate him also, acid reducers obviously neutralize the acid in the stomach, which slows down digestion and in turn increases chances of constipation. This will alleviate pain and decrease any damage done to the esophagus however, will not fix the upchuck. So we are still at the large number of small feedings a day which brings us to the sleepless night factor. If there was a firm diagnosis showing reflux and damage to his esophagus then in my mind this is a possibility. Do I want to put him through a bunch of tests? Not really, however I do not want to medicate for something he may not have or benefit from. Things seem better as I said earlier in this novel we usually see improvement for the first day then it goes back downhill.

The screaming fits are most definitely decreased. They still come but 1 or 2 times a day. This morning the bout of screaming involved a bowel movement and it definitely is not the amount it should be for him not going since Thursday evening.

First thing tomorrow I am calling to find out what we do, if it is reflux the small feedings are a treatment but for how long?! Some kids suffer from reflux for months on end. Wednesday night we were very hopeless but today it is better we have more questions but things seem a bit more hopeful. Oh yes and we found that in 2.5 weeks he gained almost a pound in weight. At 5 weeks he was 9 lbs .5 oz.

Update on Andrew and Carrie...we both have a bit of a cold we got from the kids with a side of sleep deprivation and worry. The biggest mountain I feel right now is to keep Daniel from getting the funk that we are so graciously sharing with one another. The last thing we need is him to get RSV.

Last but not least, how are the dogs throughout this all?! They RUN and hide anytime they hear Daniel start to grunt. They molt all over the place too. Who would think two large dogs running at the noises of a 9 lb baby?!

Yesterday, my Mom came over to watch the 3 Boys so Andrew and I could catch up on sleep and get some things back in order. We got the mounds of dog hair vacuumed, living room dusted, kitchen mopped and a beautiful 4 hour nap. Yes and we both were still ready for bed by 8p. Thanks Mom for all your help! We are laying low this morning to keep from spreading our plague on everyone else.

Needless to say, but I will anyways, this has been a loooong 5 weeks. There are moments of happy mixed in but they are more far and fewer than they should be. We knew this would not be easy to have three kids 3 and under however, HOLY MOLY!! It has been quite the roller coaster. Never a dull moment!!