Dr. Appointments

Today was a very busy day for a very little boy. Elijah had an echo and x-ray done first, followed by an appointment with the cardiologist, and then an appointment with the doctors from the NICU. The good news is that his echo looked good. They were a little concerned about some narrowing of the aortic arch.  I guess this is fairly typical but they want to keep an eye on it and follow up next time. The x-ray was clean and his lungs looked good.

There is some concern with his weight. He has almost fallen off the growth chart. He is barely hanging on at 0%, although his head is growing well. He weighs 8lbs 4oz at 8 weeks old.  Eating has been a challenge and is the most stressful part of my day. He gets stiff and arches his back. This is on a good day. On a bad day he does this plus cries during the feeding and typically pukes on me. Throwing up is par for the course at this point. All of this sounds bad, but in comparison to a few weeks ago, it's actually an improvement.

We shared all of this with the team. Obviously he doesn't like his formula so we are going to try something else. They also think that he has reflux. He is already on the maximum dosage of zantac so they are thinking about changing the medication. However, in order to change the medication, we need to be admitted again. Of course I want to do whatever is best for Elijah, but the idea of being admitted again is not something I like to think about. Everyone agrees that if we can find a formula that Elijah really likes, he will eat more and then he is likely to gain more weight. However, if he has reflux, then it is painful for him to eat and that also needs to be addressed.

I was telling Dion today that it would be so nice if feeding Elijah was that peaceful bonding experience that I remember with Noah. Instead, feeding time is stressful and nerve racking. Hopefully we will find answers soon.