3 Weeks Already?

That's right. It's been 3 weeks since the little man arrived in our world. I have to admit, this last week has been the toughest - by far. I don't know if it's just timing or all the holiday excitement, but Baby J just hasn't been the same since about last Wednesday.

It started with him sleeping less and being super fussy. At first, we thought it was because of the stomach bug we were all exposed to (and maybe it is), but it just wasn't getting better. By the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I decided it was time for a formula change. I also got some different bottles because I don't think the Gerber ones were doing anything to keep the air out of his little tummy. The bottles made a difference almost immediately, but I don't think the formula change was a good one (we eventually switched back).

We had our two week check up on Wednesday morning and the doc diagnosed the fussiness as GERD. Big shocker, I know, since I have a long history of acid reflux. The doc suggested burping 10-20 minutes after feedings along keeping him upright for an hour. If that didn't work, she suggested another formula change. As a last resort, she wrote us a prescription for Zantac. We were supposed to try out all of these things over a 7-10 day period.

So, we tried. None of us were getting any sleep. It was a nightmare. Until you are a parent, you have no idea how much it hurts to hear your child scream in pain. Sal and I were getting increasingly snappy with one another, too. It was just not good and we were ready to say screw the doc and get the Zantac prescription filled after a day and a half.

And then, a miracle happened. I was chatting with my coworker and long time family friend, Issie, who reminded me that his wife is a pediatrician and that she would be more than happy to answer any questions we had. I called Issie on Thursday to see if his wife preferred one of the two formulas the doc suggested we switch to after 4 days. The next day, he called back and said that before changing formulas, Beth suggested we try thickening his formula with a bit of rice cereal.

Since we needed more formula anyway, I picked up some rice cereal at Target and after much discussion with Wendy, decided to start with just a tiny bit in his formula. After one bottle, I knew we had found the answer. I swear, after he drank that bottle, Baby J looked at me and smiled. And then, just as quickly as he disappeared, the angel I brought home from the hospital was back. Amazing.

We're still having some minor tummy issues, but he is no longer screaming in pain and is back to a somewhat regular sleeping/eating schedule. I even got to nap for 2 hours with him this afternoon. There aren't even words to express how relieved I am. We aren't sleeping through the night or anything, but we are getting 2-4 hour stretches out of him, rather than the 45 minute ones we were getting earlier in the week. It's heaven.

Here are some pictures from the last week or so. Oh, and just FYI, our little piggy is now 21 inches and 7 pounds, 12 ounces.