Reflux...blaaahhhh

REFLUX.IS.A.BEAST.

Ava Jane is seven months old.  She has slept through the night ONE time.  Until she was 3 months old she woke up at 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.  Since she was three months old, she wakes up every 1-2 hour(s) screaming with pain.  She has to be picked up and burped and kept upright.  She is on Prevacid and sleeps on a an incline.  We've tried having her sleep strapped into her carseat or stroller-- she wakes up before we can even get the straps buckled fussing.  She is miserable all night.  And this means we do not sleep really at all.  We were never up with Ella 5 times a night except for the first week or two she was born and she had feeding issues and we had to go through this long process to get her to eat.  Other than that, she was great sleeper.  This is uncharted territory for us.

Rare moment of peaceful sleep...

Ella had reflux as a baby, but hers weas "controlled" by taking Prevacid.  When I saw some of the same symptoms exhibited by Ava, I took her to the pediatrician and she put her on Zantac.  It didn't work.  We went back several times and I kept telling her pediatrician telling that something was not right.  That this wasn't your average reflux.  We've been through Zantac, Prevacid once a day, and then Prevacid twice a day.  None of it worked.  It is actually getting worse everyday.  At that point, they referred her on to a Pediatric GI specialist.  We went on Tuesday and were there a total of 3 hours mostly waiting.  That's always fun when you have a hungry baby who hates taking a bottle.  I have to hand it to her, she was really great the first two hours.  But, by hour 3 she was done and so was I.

Despite all her spitting up, Ava Jane is a hearty, hearty little baby.  She weight 18.6 lbs and I think that  they said she was 28 1/3 inches long (97th percentile).  Basically almost the size of a one year old.  All of her reflux and vomiting has not held her back from growing-- which is a good thing.  I just can't figure out why she she's so big?! Ella was 19.8 lbs at her year old check-up.  Ava won't be a year until June!  I thought I was going to have to buy a new set of clothes for her because Ella's winter clothes were all basically 9 months and 12 months.  Don't worry, that's not a problem, Ava can wear every winter outfit Ella had-- money saved!  Any way, she is tall and rather thin, except for her really chunky baby thighs.  With all that height maybe she'll be a supermodel or a volleyball player?

After all the measuring and talking to the nurse, the Doctor finally came in.  He listened to what I had to say and basically told me the following:

Ava Jane has two types of reflux...the kind that projects out of her body as spit up...and the kind that silently lingers in her chest and esophagus all night, every night.  She is in the 5% of babies who have this. The prevacid is not strong enough to neutralize the acid so we need to up the dose.  She could have such an extreme case of reflux that it may impair her sleep until she is 2.   The DR told me he also had to sleep holding his daughter up-right in a rocking chair or sitting in their bed until she was nearly two because of reflux...so he could empathize with our exhaustion.  He ordered a couple more tests just so we could be on the safe side (I pray that reflux is the extent of it and it's nothing worse). He told me that we are doing everything we can possibly do and doing it right.  Sometimes as a parent, that's the only thing you want to hear when you are doing your best and it still doesn't seem good enough.  We all need validation and affirmation that we are doing the best we can do and that, in our case, we haven't been screwing up for the past 7 months :) Well...That about sums up the appointment.  We go back in 6 weeks to check progress and review test results.

First and foremost, I feel bad for Ava Jane.  Obviously she is in a lot of pain.  She is 7 months old and MAYBE gets a total of 8 hours of sleep a day and that's including two 1.5 hour naps.  The 5 hours at night are plagued by constant waking up and discomfort.  And there is really nothing that we can do that seems to help.

Then there is our end of this.  I am completely and totally exhausted.  Brent is exhausted.  I feel like a walking zombie most days.  As Ava Jane has started getting up more and having more trouble sleeping, Brent has been getting up and sitting in the rocking chair with her one to two times because I have to get at least a two hour stretch of sleep at night.  It's really hard to be functional and be a good Mom to Ella and Ava, run the day to day of the household, and work for Brent on zero sleep.  Something is eventually going to give.  I'm pretty sure that I can't run on this little sleep forever.  I try to do most of the getting up with Ava J so Brent doesn't have to so he will be fresh for his patients in the morning.  I know his job requires extreme concentration and is very tedious-- I don't want lack of sleep interfering with his performance so some nights he is shipped off to the guest room to get a good night's rest...and I do Ava Jane all night long.

I know this isn't anything major compared to all the things that could happen or could be wrong.  I do have  perspective and am grateful that reflux is a minor medical issue in the scheme of things.  It's just something that has been challenging for our family.  We ALL need our sleep...we're not the type of people who can run on little sleep.  So, it makes for some groggy and grumpy Herrins.  But, most importantly, POOR Ava Jane. She just feels miserable at night.

Ava Jane has such a happy personality it's hard to see her in pain. But, most of the time...she is smiling and enjoying life--that is until bedtime.  I added some pictures below of our smiling girl-- hopefully the new medicine regime will help and she'll be smiling at bedtime too!  She's a sweetie.

Playing on the quilt...

Fun with the Disney Princesses...Daddy
bought those PJ's for me...

Hey you!

Upright in my jumper....

HAPPY little LOVE

Being sweet!

Thanks for all the suggestions on Facebook.  We are trying out the ones we haven't already.  My friend Elizabeth suggested a Tucker Wedge and Sling.  We have not tried that yet and I think we might order it.  Well-- off to go get Ella, I hear her waking up.  Ava finally went back to sleep and now Ella's ready to start the day!  Have a good one, friends!

Meet Coco Jones...

Ella and Coco Jones taking a spin...

Parenting has taken on a whole new dynamic at our house as Ella is now an active participant in the world of language.  She is quite the little talker.  It was crazy, until she turned two she said very little.  In fact, she maybe only had a couple of two word sentences before she was two and communicated with a smaller range of single words. I had even talked to my friend, Erin, who is a speech pathologist because I thought her language was progressing a little slower than average...I guess it was the teacher in me over-analyzing everything.  Erin assured me her language was progressing just fine. Then, Ella turned two and about two weeks later she just started talking...like sentences talking.  Ella's talking has made life all the more interesting and rather hilarious.  You never know what she is going to come up with next.  I am absolutely amazed at all she knows.  For example, the other day she was playing with her foam squares that have pictures and words on them.  She picked up the one labeled cup and said, "this tea-cup"-- she was absolutely right, it wasn't just a cup, it was a tea cup.  And then there is her technique of asking for something she wants.  Let's take pretzels for example.  She'll say, "I want pretzel.  I need pretzel.  I need this. I need this please."  It's astounding all the things she thinks she "needs" these days!

So, what about Coco Jones?  Well...it all started New Year's Day.  My Mom kept Bells and Jane for us New Years Eve, so around lunch that day we headed over to pick them up and watch some of the UGA bowl game.  The game began immediately following the Rose Parade, so we watched that for a while before the game started.  Ella was not overly interested in the parade.  However, one thing got her attention...a performance by a Disney Star named Coco Jones.  Ella loves music, so when Coco started singing, she kind of stopped what she was doing and watched and danced a little.  Brent asked her if she like Coco Jones and she said, "Like Coco Jones."  She said it so cute that Brent and I kept asking her about Coco Jones just so she'd say her name again.  I can't really describe how she says it--you'd have to hear it-- but it's just really cute.  She sounds British or something.  So, that was kind of the extent of us talking about Coco Jones-- and 2013 proceeded without much thought of the Rose Parade or Coco Jones.

The real Coco Jones 

A couple of weeks later, the girls and I were riding down the road and Ella was telling me she wanted some milk. I told her she had to wait until we got home.  Then, she proceeded to tell me, "No, need milk.  Stop and get some milk."  Um-- nice sentences there...but no we are not stopping was what I was thinking.  I  reminded her that we would get some as soon as we got home.  She continued to jabber about milk and all of the sudden she said, "Coco Jones...Coco Jones...Coco Jones." I was shocked that she actually remembered something so fleeting that had happened two weeks early.  From that day on, we've heard about Coco Jones on a regular basis.  I feel like we need to buy her the CD or something...she really loves Coco Jones.

Well, yesterday, Coco Jones became one of our family members.  Not really.  But, sort of.  Ella loves to play with her dolls (she totally gets that from me...I was obsessed with dolls too).  She was loading two of them in her Barbie car and all of the sudden I heard, "Come in car, Coco Jones"-- she was definitely talking to the doll.  So, I, of course, ask her if her Baby is named Coco Jones.  She says, "Yes...Coco Jones."  Later that day she told Brent that her Baby was named Coco Jones.  Today, when she was playing she was calling the doll Coco Jones.  She has officially named her Coco Jones.  Please bare in mind, the doll she named Coco Jones is the same doll we bought when I was pregnant with Ella to prepare Dolce our doggie for Ella's arrival.  It cries and drinks a bottle.  You may recall, this was the baby doll that Dolce repeatedly mauled so we had to put it up because we thought it was making her even more angry about a baby coming into the house.  Now, the Dolce Doll is named Coco Jones, go figure.  And she named one other doll too.  She has this precious little doll Mimi and Papa gave her for her first doll...it is now named Baby Ella. Coco Jones and Baby Ella...interesting combination.

Who knew "Coco Jones" would be a part of our everyday life...but she is.  It's just so funny to me that I had to share.  I'm off to bed now.  Don't worry, Coco Jones is sound asleep with Ella in her bed.  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings in the world of Bells and her trusty sidekicks, Coco Jones and Baby Ella.  Goodnight!

Getting Coco Jones ready for breakfast

Proud "Mommy"...Left: Coco Jones Right: Baby Ella

Borrowing Coco Jone's bottle...after that she licked
her head...

Off to bed...one last pic of the gang!

The Haircut that didn't go as planned...

So...I was going to work on blog posts about the holidays, Ella's birthday, etc, but something came up that moved to a higher priority. This matter is Ella's new hairdo. Sigh. I had been growing it out in hopes that she would allow me to put it in a ponytail or, better yet, pigtails!! Her bangs had slowly grown into her eyes and she was do for a small trim. Ella spent Thursday night with Nana after she had asked to go to Nana's house...she loves to spend one-on-one time with my Mom. This was a HUGE help as both girls had been sick all week and we had gotten little sleep. In the morning, my Mom called and asked if I wanted her to run Ella by the hair place for just a trim. I was relieved she was offering because it had been a long week and it was easier to have my mom take her than having to take both girls out. My Mom took her to the same place and she got the same haircutter as last time...but this haircut turned out much different.  Ella got a trim alright..more like a total chop. Apparently the lady didn't quite understand what "just a little trim" meant which was what my Mom told her she wanted. Ella was returned to me with a 1980's "page boy" hairstyle. Yikes! I think my mom was a little worried about my response...but what could I do?!

I love to post pictures on Facebook, as you know, so I had to clarify that this was not the cut I intended Ella to get. The bangs are uneven and jagged and it goes down just past her ears and I think one side is longer than the other. Brent says her haircut looks like Demi Moore's in Ghost. I almost lost it I laughed so hard when he said it because it really does!! But the good news is that it will grow. Ella's still happy and healthy. And she's not old enough to realize the hair cut lady totally botched the job. So, when you see me post pictures, I didn't ask for her hair to be cut that way...it just sort of happened! On the bright side, maybe by the time it grows out she'll be willing to wear it in pigtails. Don't get me wrong, I think she's as precious as ever...her hair is just a little unique!