Formula & Flu

My poor little baby has suffered from reflux probably from the time she was born.  At about 2 weeks and choking, I had had enough.  We switched from Enfamil Newborn to Enfamil AR and added Prevacid.  The Prevacid seemed to help the acid but hurt her tummy as it blocked any and all acid which is needed in digestion.  I switched her to an Organic, lactose-free Baby's Only LactoRelief.  It seemed to do the trick for a while and even clear up her eczema!  But as time wore on, she was still gurgling and it wasn't working quite as well, plus it was upsetting her tummy quite a bit.

I switched her to Nutramigen - the mildest, almost pre-digested formula (and EXPENSIVE) out there.  It smells like poo.  She wouldn't touch it.  So I mixed it 75/25 then 50/50 with the Baby's Only for a while until she got used to it.  Then we made the switch!  It is also lactose-free and seemed to do the trick!  Until the gurgling started again and the puking, oh the puking, in the last month.  Granted, there has been a flu bug we've been sharing around here but this was every other day for the last 3 weeks.  Not just spit up, but projectile vomiting of ounces.  Zoey's lost a full pound this month between sicknesses and vomiting.  I was really concerned and booked an appointment with a gastroenterologist.  As luck would have it, the lady I wanted to see at Primary's (my mom highly recommended her) was booked out until April, but had an opening the very next day.  I jumped at it!

My mom and Dallin ended up having to take her as I came down with the flu the night before.  The lady gave us some really good suggestions, that the Nutramigen is just too thin, that is why it is coming up, and so powerfully, so we've started mixing her bottles with sweet potatoes and oatmeal.  The first few nights, I think she got acid at night from the sweet potatoes so I've switched to oatmeal. It is working wonders.  Zoey also has sluggish digestion so they put her on a medicine for 6-8 weeks to retrain her gut on how to empty properly and in a timely fashion, and it is also an antihistamine which should clear up some of the eczema that has reappeared.  I've been really pleased with the results.  I feel horrible that it's taken us almost 12 months to get her squared away and feeling better.  She actually slept through the night last night for the first time in weeks again!!

She was born into a family with a history of acid reflux and bad digestion, it was just so frustrating because they said she'd grow out of it at 4-5 months, then 12 and nothing was getting better.  So I'm glad for her.  Angel baby never really cried through the acid either, she'd just swallow it back down and go on her way.  I can't imagine how miserable she's been.  I'm terrified to start her on adult food in a couple weeks at 12 months since she has such a sensitive tummy.  I'm going to avoid as much dairy as possible and put her on almond milk.  It's going to be interesting but I'll take what I can get right now!