Our Reflux Story – part 1

So we are still going through the hell that is infant reflux but I would be here all day typing our journey so far. I have decided instead to break it down into smaller more manageable chunks so this is the first part of the story:

With all of the other issues we dealt with during the first few weeks of O’s life, vomiting was one thing that happened very rarely. Now let me tell you that I have had some really sicky babies in the past and it was pleasant not to have to change him 3 times before breakfast or to need a never ending supply of bibs/muslin cloths.

But alas at 9 weeks out lives took on a more sicky smelling aroma when out of the blue, one day he started to be sick. All. The. Time. Now a lot of reflux babies projectile vomit but this wasn’t how it was with O. It would literally dribble out of his mouth continuously. I remember sitting waiting in baby clinic for an hour and I went through 3 muslin cloths drenched in foul, cheesy smelling liquid before he even got weighed.

He started doing the usual spitting up that babies get when they are winded but we also had feeds where he was still attached to my boob and he would be getting sick just because he fidgeted a little.  It would come pumping out around his mouth and we would both get drenched.  He would then get hungry quickly as he’d lost most of his feed and so the vicious circle would continue.

It was after he had been vomiting for a few days that the crying started. It wasn’t colic, even though the doctors insisted that it was. If you have never had a colicky baby you should really count your blessings.  Babies with colic will scream, for hours on end (usually in the early evening) it doesn’t matter what you do, you can hold them, change them, sing to them, lay them down in their bed alone. Nothing will soothe them.  But this child could be distracted, even if only for a few moments sometimes.  He was consolable.

We had tried many things help ease his pain including:

Infacol, this is an orange flavour liquid that helps all of the little bubbles in baby’s tummy collect into one big bubble which is easier to burp up

Gripe Water, which is a clear liquid made with dill and fennel among other ingredients which warms a baby’s tummy and is quite soothing.

Colief, with is a really expensive yet teeny tiny bottle containing the enzyme lactase.  This is sometimes given to colicky babies who may be suffering a temporary form of lactose intolerance.  It helps them break down the lactose until their immature tummy can take over, this is usually around 3 months old.  LV was lactose intolerant until he was 5 or 6 years old, so it made sense that his brother may be getting it too.

We had positive results for a few days with each of these products, the crying and writhing pain eased but the vomiting continued) but they soon came back with a vengeance. The only thing we introduced that really helped us all a lot? A dummy (pacifier).  I had been adamant that he wasn’t going to have a dummy, we hadn’t needed one on LV, we wouldn’t need one now.  But after 3 weeks of what felt like constant crying we were all willing to try anything.

He was 12 weeks old and he never had anything other than boob in his mouth so at first he would gag on it, but it kept him distracted trying to figure out what the hell this thing was.  after a week or so he got the hang of it and if nothing else it helped us to get him to sleep a little easier.

I will carry on our story soon but have you and your family dealt with reflux?  I would love to hear from others who are going through this problem.  Also has your loved one grown out of reflux? What helps/helped you deal with it or what tips do you have?

6 months old, how time flies

This is being posted a bit late due to O going through a growth spurt and life just generally getting in the way. It was supposed to be posted on Thursday 9th.

Today is a very happy day for us as O reaches his 6 month mark. He has gone from a tiny, pale 5lb 3oz baby struggling to breathe to a big bouncing boy who loves to gently caress your face before trying to pull your nose off!

We have had our struggles, he was a month early, birth was a bit traumatic for us both, special care, shallow latch, extended jaundice, weight loss, tongue tie, failure to thrive, early weaning, reflux, increased liver enzymes and possibly some other things that have slipped my mind but you get the picture. There was nothing major, but enough to keep our lives slightly stressful!

But now most of those struggles are over, his latch is still useless but we cope. All the other issues have or are slowly resolving themselves. Now we have days filled with giggles and hugs instead of blood tests and weigh ins.

O can’t quite sit up unaided for more than a few seconds yet but he is almost there and just yesterday he started holding his hands up for us to pick him up. He loves playing peekaboo and bouncing on a knee singing ‘mynd ar y ceffyl’ a Welsh nursery rhyme which literally translates to ‘going on the horse’.

This is the first time we got to see him a few hours after birth

And here is our big boy now on a family walk all bundled up in a sling with mami

I wonder what the next 6 months will bring…

Christmas Traditions

So tomorrow is Christmas Eve! Baby O is completely oblivious to it all of course but the other four are so excited. They have written their lists, made their gingerbread houses and are now eagerly awaiting tomorrow so we can put up the tree!

Yes that is right, in a world where people are packing away the Halloween decorations and dragging out the Christmas ones at the same time my poor children have to wait until Christmas Eve to get theirs. Aren’t I an evil!

Actually if I’m honest, this is a tradition that we just happened upon, very unpleasantly, about nine years ago and it stuck. I even offer them every year to put it up earlier and they refuse, saying that this is the way they like it.

So how did it all start? Well….
I had the bright idea, in about November, that I wanted to rip all the wallpaper off in our living room and then redecorate. Of course we didn’t take into account that Christmas was fast approaching, things didn’t go quite as smoothly as they should have and with 3 little girls under 3 it wasn’t going to happen as fast as it necessarily should. So, it was literally Christmas eve when we were finally putting on the finishing touches.

Now for the unpleasant part. At around 5pm (after ALL the shops were closed) I went up to the attic to fetch the tree. Knowing it was right next to the hatch I only popped my head up and stuck my hand out to grab the box, luckily I grabbed the tree first as when I moved a piece of cloth about 3 dead rats went toppling out, it still sends shivers down my spine even thinking about it.

Let me tell you I nearly fell down that ladder with a screech! I slammed the hatch down and refused to go back for the decorations and so did hubby. It looked like a rat massacre with blood and bodies everywhere. Yuck. Now we do live in a 150 year old house in a valley surrounded by mountains and our back garden is the same level as our upstairs so rats and mice are always in people’s attics, unless they have been renovated. But never in my life had I seen anything like this. Even the rentokil guy was astounded at the sight!

Any who, onto the nice christmas tradition. We now had a tree, but no lights, no decorations and three little ones expecting Santa, so where was he going to put the gifts? After much ringing around I managed to beg and borrow some lights, tinsel and a few baubles. The girls woke on Christmas morning thinking the Elves had put up the tree, while Santa delivered the gifts. It was lovely. E&Ff had made their minds up that’s what had happened and who were we to spoil their fun?

It took quite a few years for me to tell them it wasn’t the elves but it had to be done, it was getting so hard and time consuming on Christmas eve waiting for them to go to sleep before I could start. But they were fine with it, they loved playing elves helping me decorate the tree. So now that is how we spend Christmas eve afternoon. But now I always check IN THE MORNING if everything is there and the lights work just in case lol.

Our other tradition is new pj’s. They love unwrapping them on Christmas Eve so we can all snuggle up with hot chocolate and a Christmas film.

Do you have any Christmas traditions? How did they start? I’d love to hear about them.