To say this past week has been rough would be an understatement. Little boy has had quite a difficult time with his tummy. About a week and a half ago he started with these screaming fits after he ate. They pretty much happened any time of day so I really didn't think it was colic, but Kiel did. On Wednesday I called the pediatrician because I knew something was not right and his "poopy" changed so I wanted to make sure everything was ok. Our doctor seemed to think what he saw and what I described was a milk intolerance. Sooooo, that began my new diet. At first I thought, "No problem, I don't even like milk or cheese anyway." But then I realized-no chocolate, no cookies, no ice cream! Eeeek!
At first that seemed to work. We had a great night on Thursday and a great morning on Friday so when I called the doctor on Friday with the update he requested I gave a great report. And then Friday night happened, and Saturday, and Sunday. He cried and screamed for about half of his waking hours. It was a rough weekend for us! What we did notice is that his screaming began during or right after a feeding. Clearly, what he was eating was not agreeing with him! I had already completely eliminated milk so it had to be something else. That is when we thought it could be tomato sauce. I had been eating my Yiayia's greek meatballs and I ordered chicken parm when we went out to dinner. That had to be it! So I eliminated tomatoes and other acidic foods like citrus. But still no difference.
On Monday we called the pediatrician again and they got is right in so Kiel could come before work. While there the doctor was concerned about his screaming fits around meal time, but more concerned about the purple color he turns while crying. Luckily (or not) Doc got to witness one of his fits since I had to feed him while there. After that he decided he wanted us to see both a pediatric pulmonary specialist and a pediatric gastroenterologist. The pulmonary specialist at UMass got us in that afternoon! So yesterday my mom left work early to come and help me with that trip (Thank goodness!). Thankfully, they thought that all of his symptoms pointed at acid reflux and not a heart or breathing problem. They recommended we see a gastroenterologist and were happy to hear that I already had an appointment!
(The above paragraphs were drafted on Tuesday and then Maddex started crying and I got busy and never go back to my blog! So here we go again....)
Last night (Tuesday) I picked up prescription liquid Pepcid for Maddex. That was a whole ordeal. No pharmacies around here carried it so we had to wait a day for it to come in. I haven't noticed a difference with the medicine yet, but I think my restricted diet has helped a bit. While we were at the pediatrician on Monday he called the gastroenterologist and described all of Maddex's symptoms. The specialist recommended I also cut out all beef, in addition to dairy and citrus. In all the reading I have done about newborn acid reflux, nothing said anything about beef. But as Kiel and I thought more and more about it beef really could have been the trigger. His first fits began after I had made meatloaf a few weeks ago and they got really bad when I was eating my Yiayia's meatballs. So I haven't had beef since Friday and I am hoping that is the culprit. I can say no to beef a lot easier than chocolate!!
Yesterday Kiel also picked up a Nap Nanny from a lady who was selling it on craigslist. It is recommended for children with acid reflux. My mom actually found it online a week or two ago when she was googling about babies not liking to be flat on their backs (another sign of reflux that Maddex has had since right after we got home). The price for it new is a whopping $130, but I was happy to get a gently used one (looks brand new) for half the price. Maddex slept in it last night and stayed asleep for a 6 hour stretch (9pm-2:45). He then went back to sleep at 4:30 and woke up at 6:30. That was the most sleep I have gotten since he was born. I think the Nap Nanny is a definite keeper!!
This week I also had the opportunity to leave house without Maddex two times! On Tuesday Kiel's parents came up so we could go out to dinner. We didn't go far, only to a restaurant about 3 miles away and it was a relatively quick meal. Surprisingly, I did not feel as anxious as I thought I would. And then on Saturday I left Kiel alone with Maddex for the first time so I could go to BJs and load up on supplies! Don't think that I didn't trust Kiel alone with Maddex before then, I just couldn't bring myself to leave the house on my own.
Last Wednesday was also the first time I left the house with Maddex. It was to go to the pediatrician so that wasn't too bad. If anything went wrong I had tons of medical professionals there to help. Maddex does pretty well in the car. He is usually pretty quiet, but he rarely falls asleep. I swear, we have the nosiest kid ever!
- The Weekly List -
4 Weeks Old
Total weight gain/loss:
Mom: - 47. Yes I am 3 pounds under my prepregnancy weight. I am not normal, but I think the fact that I am on a restricted diet is helping with the weight loss. Instead of snacking on cookies I eat grapes, instead of cake or ice cream for dessert I eat sorbet. But don't think that I am looking super skinny either. I definitely still have that pregnancy pouch!
Maddex: At the doctor on Monday he was 10 lbs 12 oz! He is growing like a weed!
Maternity clothes? I have been wearing only workout clothes. I love yoga pants!
Sleep: For the most part I get a total of 6 hours of sleep a night with him. Lately it has been taking him a bit longer to fall asleep after his middle of the night feedings and that is wearing on me a bit. Monday night he was up a lot since he slept from 5pm-11pm only waking up to "snack" for a minute or two here and there. Monday was a stressful day for him since we were in the car or at doctors' offices for at least 6 hours total.
Best moment this week: Spending quality time alone with Kiel. Luckily our relationship is still going strong despite our lack of sleep and all the attention the baby needs. I am also happy that we think we have found the cause of Maddex's excessive crying and discomfort. I just want him to be a happy baby!
Miss Anything? Now I can say chocolate! It is all over the house. But I must say it is much easier to "diet" when the food you eat impacts your child. As badly as I want it, it is just not worth it!
Looking forward to: Seeing a real Maddex smile. I am pretty sure I have caught a few and Kiel has too, but we decided the "real first smile" would be one that we both saw together. That should be coming soon!
Likes:
Mom:
-[LOVES] Baby Maddex!
-That I can be a mom
-Staring into Maddex's eyes
-Rocking Maddex to sleep
-Watching him sleep in my arms-he makes the cutest faces ever!
-Watching Kiel be a Daddy-He has been beyond amazing. I picked the perfect husband!
-[I can't delete the above bullets since I love all of them so you will just have to read them over and over again every week!]
-Playing with Maddex. He is starting to interact with toys.
4 Weeks Old
Total weight gain/loss:
Mom: - 47. Yes I am 3 pounds under my prepregnancy weight. I am not normal, but I think the fact that I am on a restricted diet is helping with the weight loss. Instead of snacking on cookies I eat grapes, instead of cake or ice cream for dessert I eat sorbet. But don't think that I am looking super skinny either. I definitely still have that pregnancy pouch!
Maddex: At the doctor on Monday he was 10 lbs 12 oz! He is growing like a weed!
Maternity clothes? I have been wearing only workout clothes. I love yoga pants!
Sleep: For the most part I get a total of 6 hours of sleep a night with him. Lately it has been taking him a bit longer to fall asleep after his middle of the night feedings and that is wearing on me a bit. Monday night he was up a lot since he slept from 5pm-11pm only waking up to "snack" for a minute or two here and there. Monday was a stressful day for him since we were in the car or at doctors' offices for at least 6 hours total.
Best moment this week: Spending quality time alone with Kiel. Luckily our relationship is still going strong despite our lack of sleep and all the attention the baby needs. I am also happy that we think we have found the cause of Maddex's excessive crying and discomfort. I just want him to be a happy baby!
Miss Anything? Now I can say chocolate! It is all over the house. But I must say it is much easier to "diet" when the food you eat impacts your child. As badly as I want it, it is just not worth it!
Looking forward to: Seeing a real Maddex smile. I am pretty sure I have caught a few and Kiel has too, but we decided the "real first smile" would be one that we both saw together. That should be coming soon!
Likes:
Mom:
-[LOVES] Baby Maddex!
-That I can be a mom
-Staring into Maddex's eyes
-Rocking Maddex to sleep
-Watching him sleep in my arms-he makes the cutest faces ever!
-Watching Kiel be a Daddy-He has been beyond amazing. I picked the perfect husband!
-[I can't delete the above bullets since I love all of them so you will just have to read them over and over again every week!]
-Playing with Maddex. He is starting to interact with toys.
-Maddex's voice. He has also started "talking" to us and his toys. It is the cutes thing ever!
-That we may have finally figured out what has been causing Maddex to scream bloody murder for several hours of the day.
Maddex:
-Being rocked to sleep
-Things that vibrate me
Maddex:
-Being rocked to sleep
-Things that vibrate me
-My swing
-Watching the ceiling fan
-Making Mommy and Daddy walk me around when I am upset
-Holding my head back after I eat (Mommy thinks this has to do with his acid reflux)
Dislikes:
Mom:
- Hearing Maddex cry.
-That one month of my 5 month maternity leave is done. Only 4 more to go-bummer!
-Watching the ceiling fan
-Making Mommy and Daddy walk me around when I am upset
-Holding my head back after I eat (Mommy thinks this has to do with his acid reflux)
Dislikes:
Mom:
- Hearing Maddex cry.
-That one month of my 5 month maternity leave is done. Only 4 more to go-bummer!
-That most of this week has been spent trying to console Maddex. I wish we could have worked more on tummy time and playing, but he was just so fussy all the time. It really felt like if he wasn't crying he was sleeping. That certainly was not the case, but it sure felt that way!
Maddex:
-Sleeping on a flat surface
-Eating with my body flat, I need to eat at more of an incline now.
-Wearing socks. (Somehow he always manages to kick them off!)
Firsts
Mom:
-Went out with Daddy without Maddex
Firsts
Mom:
-Went out with Daddy without Maddex
-Went out alone with Maddex
-Went out completely alone
[And I survived all three! A few weeks (even days) ago I couldn't have imagined leaving the house without him or with him on my own]
Maddex:
-"Talking" to people and toys
Maddex:
-"Talking" to people and toys
-Grabbing for toys
-Medicine (He does not like the cherry flavor!)
-Babysitter
New Friends
Mommy's work friends: Lisa and Anne
We have lots of parties coming up in August so he will be meeting many more people very soon!
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