Reflux

Ever since Vance was born I noticed some things about him that I hadn't noticed with Samuel. He was spitting up after every feeding and even hours later, choking on breast or bottle, arching his back and turning his head in pain during and after feedings, crying in pain, milk coming out of his nose, constant stuffy nose, wet burps and hiccups, and not sleeping well for naps or bedtime. We started to get concerned when he was up for 10 or 12 hours straight on two different occasions. We all know that young babies sleep, and we knew this was not normal. We took him to the doctor on Saturday since he had had that sleepless stretch on Friday. Thank the Lord for Saturday hours! The doctor asked us a bunch of questions and said that Vance has reflux. She said that since we had already done some important things like elevating the crib and keeping him upright after feedings, we could now try medication. We started with Zantac on Saturday. She said to give it two weeks to really kick in and then to come back for a follow-up visit. If we need to, we'll switch medications.

Since Saturday when he started the Zantac, we have had our good days and bad days. Vance's body is probably adjusting to it. He has had 2 good days in a row, so that's good. I have also been doing research on reflux. I actually enjoy learning more about it. I found a pillow that puts him at a 30 degree angle, which is supposed to be important for reflux babies. It's called an AR Pillow, and I am pleased with it so far. It's great because you can use it on the the floor, the couch (at this young age) and then in the crib or pack n play with the velcro attachments. After every feeding, I put him on the pillow for 20-30 minutes. The first day he resisted being put in it since it involves a harness, but then the next day (yesterday) he let me put it in it even to sleep last night. I was so happy when he slept 5 hours straight last night, which was the first night we used it. I am not going to assume that every night the AR Pillow will bring us that many hours of uninterrupted sleep, but I am going to thank the Lord for the nights that he does sleep more than 2-3 hours straight because until now he struggled to sleep in general. Here are a few photos of Vance on the pillow. I figured you might want to see what it looks like. You can see how he was nervous at first, but then he warmed up to it. I just love his smiles. In fact, I got a good video of him on it yesterday. I will post that later.