Aeva decided right before we left for the wedding that she was not going to. Well, at least make it a struggle to feed her. So I went with it. We changed positions, and it worked. Then she kept doing it while in New Jersey: perhaps she was unhappy in unfamiliar surroundings. When we came home, so continued not to eat. On and off, she would eat normally. She never showed any signs of dehydration, so I was not worried.
On July 14, the doctor said she'd grow out of it, and perhaps it was just a fluke. On August 4, her weight showed that she had only gained 12 ounces in 21 days. That's not good at all. That is suboptimal growth, and not a good sign. She needs to eat.
At her 6 month NICU developmental follow up, the neonatologist said that her growth was satisfactory, and for her "adjusted age" (3 months and 3 weeks) she was in the 10th percentile, which is amazing. She will not be up in the higher percentiles until about age 2, so 10 is perfect for now. They couldn't see the variations from appointment to appointment, but her growth from birth, to discharge, to that day, was fine.
The speech pathologist saw her, and saw her reaction to the presentation of a bottle. It only took her getting into position for her to be scared. She is relating eating to the pain of throwing up.
When she was in the hospital, they did all the tests looking for reflux, and none of them showed that she ever did. They said that that only meant that she wasn't refluxing at THAT moment.
Okaaay....so now what?
Each nurse practitioner said theat their babies also had reflux, or they knew of a baby, and that she'd just grow out of it. "She's just a puker." And oh, by the way, persisitent puking can erode her esophagus. Super.
It has come to that point. Her throat is raw from throwing up, and she doesnt want to eat because she knows it hurts. Great.
The medicine she needs is an acid pump blocker, which is only in clinical trials, and is an under the table prescription. The FDA has not approved Prilosec or Pepcid for infants under one year of age. With that, her pediatrician won't give them to her (which makes sense, he's covering his ass). We have to wait to get into the GI clinic down at Vanderbilt. We're waiting right now.
The speech pathologist recommended a place here in town that had oral motor feeding therapy.
SIGN HER UP.
SIGN HER UP.
Aeva started therapy the next day. Since I wasn't waiting for the insurance company to kick in, we paid for it out of pocket.
This lady is totally worth it. She knows her shit.
She said nothing that I hadn't tried already, but for some reason, NOW it works.
Within 2 days, Aeva is already showing signs of improvement. She needs to get her reflux under control before it is fixed, but I'm atleast getting food into her. She dream eats fine, and she is improving, ever so slightly, about eating while awake, like a good baby girl.
Maybe once she starts eating correctly again, she'll go through a big growth spurt!!
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We're going to visit Anthony in Arizona for Labor Day Weekend and his birthday. Aeva and I will be flying there for the weekend. YES, I am totally and completely nervous about the germs and people and ICK of airports, but I'm always armed with hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes for whatever we touch. Aeva got the approval from the doctor to go...it's not flu season so she'll be okay. Also, there are no studies proving that the recycled air on aircraft allows for cold transmission.
Mommy gets a spa day: I'm so excited. I don't know what to be more excited about: the fact we get to see Anthony, or that I get an afternoon at the spa. :-)
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