GERD

I have been a bad blogger as of late due to the fact that I have been dealing with Addie's first illness. Well, it's actually more of a condition than an illness. That's right, Addie has a condition called GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease).

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that she was becoming fussy at meal time. But the real problem started late last Tuesday night when she absolutely refused to nurse. She was arching her back and screaming every time she came close to the breast. Anyone who has spent much time around Addie knows she is very content, which was why this was disheartening. Luckily we had an appointment scheduled Wednesday morning at the pediatrician's office for another round of shots. At the appointment the pediatrician suggested that I give Addie a bottle of expressed milk, and that this was probably just a phase. Needless to say we didn't get any shots that day, and we had another appointment scheduled 2 days later (Friday).

By the time Friday rolled around Addie had not voluntarily nursed in 3 days. I say voluntarily because I was able to get her to latch on when she was really sleepy, and wasn't quite aware of what she was doing. She also snubbed the bottle, which makes perfect sense because she's only taken an ounce from a bottle when she was 8 weeks. At one point I did resort to feeding her from a medicine dropper. I fed her approximately 2 ounces from a 2 milliliter medicine dropper. For all you math whizzes, that equals a really long time to get 2 ounces down the hatch.

At the appointment on Friday morning the pediatrician told me much of the same (i.e., just a phase, try the bottle). Addie dropped half an ounce between Wednesday and Friday. This was not enough to worry about from a medical standpoint, but as a mother I was definitely concerned. I was also told that Addie would be put in the hospital for observation on Monday if she was still not eating or gaining weight. At this point I was desperate to get her nursing and feeling better. My motherly instincts told me there was more to this than Addie being stubborn.

I knew the best place to go right after the appointment was to see my favorite lactation consultant at the hospital. Sure enough, after 5 minutes of observing me trying to nurse Addie she informed me that Addie had reflux. That's right folks, the lactation figured the problem out in 5 minutes. In the meantime she gave me some suggestions on easing Addie's pain. She also wrote me a note and told me to drive right back to the pediatrician. Approximately 30 minutes later Addie had her first prescription.

The Zantac seems make Addie feel better, but she still has a slight aversion to eating. Luckily for Addie the best treatment for GERD is breastmilk. It is very easily digested, and it has anti-inflamatory properties. I am confident that things will be much better for her in the coming weeks.

Lessons learned from this experience:

• Lactation consultants are a godsend. What a priceless resource!
• Doctors don't know everything
• A mother will truly do anything to ease their child's pain.
• Nothing hurts a mother more than to not be able to ease their child's discomfort.
• I truly cherish the nursing relationship I have with my daughter.