An Olivia Update

Since we last posted, we've done a lot to try and help Olivia with her acid reflux. We saw a pediatric gastroenterologist who thought that her acid reflux issues were secondary to food allergies. She gave us some special formula for us to give to Olivia for two weeks while I go on a strict dairy-free diet to clear all of the cow's milk protein out of my breast milk. The formula is called an elemental formula, which means that it is an amino acid based formula where the proteins have been broken down to their simplest forms to make them easier to digest. We were told that we should see an improvement in her in about 72 hours, and after two weeks (once the cow's milk proteins had cleared my system), I could start breastfeeding again.

Unfortunately, we soon found out that the formula gives her really bad gas. She had a lot of it, and can't seem to pass it very easily. Our pediatrician taught us a trick to help her out. We take a q-tip and dip it in a little vaseline and then stick it up her bum to help break the seal keeping all her gas in. It's not the most pleasant procedure, but it works. Unfortunately, we have to be very careful because if she also has to poop, the poop can come shooting out quite forcefully and Jeremy and I (and many a blanket) have been casualties to projectile poop.

We've been trying the formula for almost two weeks, and we haven't seen an improvement in her symptoms. In fact, in the past few days, things have gotten worse. She has much more severe and prolonged refluxing episodes, and because of the gas, she now doesn't sleep as well (and neither do we!).

My grandma offered to take her to a naturopathic clinic for a simple procedure where the valve that causes the acid in her stomach to seep into her throat is closed. Although I am unfamiliar with naturopathic medicine, and therefore a little cautious, I decided I was willing to try anything, since nothing we had done so far worked. Today we went in and the practitioner felt her stomach and said that the she could feel the valve actually opening and closing, so it wasn't an issue of her valve being stuck in the open position. Like the pediatric gastroenterologist, she thought it was also related to food allergies. My heart kind of sank at that moment, because we have been trying to treat her for food allergies for a couple of weeks with no improvement. We were given a product called Colic-Ease, which is a gripe water, to try. We've started using it today, and we'll see if there is any improvement.

Not everything is all bad, however. Olivia is really growing (although she is still tiny), and has started smiling at us (mostly Jeremy). She is a major snuggler, and loves to nuzzle her way into our necks. We'll post some more pictures soon!