Kate - Year One in Review (Part Three)

Kate's first few months were dominated by one word: reflux! Initial medication and formula adjustments didn't give much relief, either. For the first couple of weeks, Kate slept on our chests (which we later found out was incorrect!) because we were concerned about her lying flat. Nobody is sleeping, things are getting stressful and the pediatrician recommends a barium swallow test at the hospital. So, there we are feeding this bottle of nasty fluid to a two week old at Slidell Hospital as they scan her stomach. The results showed some of the fluid she was swallowing was escaping or aspirating. That was a problem. So we were refered to a pediatric gastrolgist, Dr. Vik Kashoo.

Kashoo's visit was interesting. He told us Kate had one of three things going on: 1) Her swallowing mechanism was underdeveloped, 2) The flap in the esopogus was damaged or 3) her brain wasn't telling her body to swallow. WOW! And, until she was six to eight weeks old, there was no way of testing any of this. He basically told us, no matter what of the above was correct, the only way for this baby to get enough nutrients to survive was through thickened formula (add cereal). So, we left the doctor's office in shock and shared only part of that possible diagnosis with people. We also got a perscription for some non-FDA approved medicine from Mexico. I have never researched any item more on the internet. We were also encouraged to buy a wedge for Kate to sleep on.

Kate continued to grow, having her measurements checked weekly at the doctor's office. She was keeping down food and taking medicine. Still a little fussy at night, though. At the eight week mark Kate was scheduled to have another barium swallow test. This would help define the next step. For whatever reason, she refused to take the bottle. Apparently in six weeks she learned that some things taste better than others. Finally, when she did take the test, the results were amazing! She had no aspirating and no signs of reflux. That meant her brain was fine, the medicine was working and we were on the right path.

Here's the single most staggering statistic from the entire first half of the year. Most of you know how closely we lived to both sets of our parents. That made for frequent, impromptu visits. Jennifer, Justin and I went to Gunny and Pappy's house the week after Christmas for a party. Kate, of course, came in mid-February. We were so tied to our house (and hospitals) that I didn't make it back to Gunnys and Pappy's until May.

A couple of good things did come from this. First, Kate, to this day, is an excellent medicine taker. She has been doing it her entire life. Second, the reflux and stomach pain forced her to pull up on that wedge sometimes. At one point, she had the most defined abdominal muscles of any baby around.