Reflux Reflux....

Ever since he came home from the hospital, Alden has hated lying flat on his back. He would never sleep in his bassinet and would refuse to lie down unless he was propped up somehow... Joe and I figured he had a little bit of a reflux problem but didn't think big of it. Well, it got worse and worse, and about the end of last week, it got to the point that he would just cry so much during feedings that he wasn't getting much to eat. I was frustrated, he was frustrated...

When we went in for his 2 months check up, the doctor told us that he may have hurt his esophagus from constant acid reflux from his little stomach. She told me to do an experiment with Maalox for a day and see if that helped at all. If it did, then she was going to prescribe Alden a medicine that would help reduce his acid production. (By the way, he weighed 13 lbs. 6 oz., 90th percentile on the weight, and 50th percentile on height and head circumference.)

Well, the next day, i tried giving him maalox, and besides the fact that he hated the taste of it, it didn't really seem to help. And he was refusing to even be laid down on my lap. He seemed like he would rather just suck on the pacifier and sleep all day. I only succeeded to feed him after pumping and feeding him with a bottle, with him laying down on the bed (he didn't seem to mind lying down on the bed by himself, even not propped up!).

On the second day, I hadn't been able to feed him all day, and finally I decided to call the hospital. I spoked to the nurse and told her he hadn't eaten all day since 8 am (it was 4 pm). She demanded that I bring him over so that he could be weighed. She said she would squeeze us in so that the doctor could see us. Well, to my surprise (well, maybe not), he had gained 2 more ounces since Monday! The doctor still gave us a prescription for Zantac for infants. He said Alden must have learned that every time I fed him, his stomach would hurt. That was why he was refusing to be in the feeding position... (sigh)

Anyway, after a couple days on Zantac, he seems to be doing a lot better. He feeds normally now, and he still sleeps a lot (thank goodness, I only have to feed him every 4-5 hours now). Even though he hasn't lost weight, his cheeks now seem a little (just a little) less plump.

Below is a video of Alden playing by himself on the couch. During the 2 hours that he was awake the other day (he spent the rest of the day sleeping...).

Last night, Joe and I were up late working on a project for our business, and we had the TV on. Alden stayed up with us in his bouncer. After watching two movies straight (Kung Fu Panda and Hancock, thanks to Redbox), we just left the TV on while we mindlessly folded cards, etc. Jay Leno was on at midnight, and we found Alden staring at the TV! Even though he wasn't in the best position to watch tv, he was straining to watch the tv with his head turned up. He was probably focusing on the TV for about 10 minutes! We thought it was really funny and also exciting that he's now a little more aware of what's going on around him. :)