We had a really interesting night last night that I have to share about.
Lately, Ro wakes up to drink milk once in the night only, and when he does, he fights the bottle after about three ounces. He then goes right back to sleep. We’ve kind of been wondering if this is a good time to phase out his night feeding. We’ve been tossed up about it, because with him eating so little in the day, we’ve been feeding him as much as possible in the night in an effort to get something nourishing into him. But if he’s not even wanting that nighttime bottle, we’ve been thinking of taking the opportunity to get him sleeping through the night.
Last night, when he woke up, we changed his diaper and put him back to bed. He was NOT impressed, and we figured that we would try to feed him rather. While our other kids have EASILY been sleeping through the night at this point, he has a difference circumstance, and we just may be up with him in the nights until he is fully on solid foods. So we figured we’d embrace it, feed him the little amount he’d take, and put him back down. So he ate about two ounces, and was over it. So we put him back to bed. And he began screaming. I’m not exaggerating. SCREAMING. It was amazing. And loud. So we tried to feed him more, but he was not having it. We sat him up for a few minutes, and tried to figure out if something else was wrong with him. His body looked fine, his diaper was dry, he had just eaten (sort of), his temperature was fine, he was good! So after about ten or fifteen minutes, we tried again, and he drank another two ounces! We were thrilled for a few reasons! For one, any amount of formula into this boys body is a win. Two, he is one small step further away from being dehydrated. And third, we figured out a bit of what was going on in that moment. We really think that, for some reason, his reflux was driving him crazy last night! He had his full dose of medication at the right time, so I’m not sure why it was specifically bugging him so much, but with the chance to sit up in between for so long, I think it settled his tummy. Just speculation, but its something. So we waited another ten minutes or so and managed to get yet another two ounces into him!! This went on for quite some time, but we managed to get a full ten ounces into our boy!! But it was a LONG process.
While Brady was trying to feed him, and taking breaks with him, I called Health Line. I want to say I have all of the respect in the world for nurses! I know a lot of amazing nurses personally, and have come in contact with so many AMAZING medical professionals in my last few years. I also know that the nurses who work for Health Line have to go by their directions in front of them, so sometimes things are just a little off. Last night especially. So no burn on anyone, but I can’t NOT share this part of the story.
It was around 1:30am when I called, and I was actually the third caller waiting in the queue, so I waited for a while to speak to someone. We went through all of the normal questions, ruling out an emergency and all of that good stuff, before she asked what was going on with Ro. I explained to her that he has been diagnosed with silent reflux, I told her what medication he’s on, and I asked simply if there is absolutely anything a person can do in our situation to calm his reflux. Anything. At that point, if we tried to feed him at all too early, he would completely lose it. Not just crying, but like panicky screams. I gave her all of the right information, and instead of looking into my actual question about my sons reflux, she said “Any child that is out of sorts for longer than an hour needs to be rushed to the ER.” I had to stop myself from just laughing right out loud. If thats the case, I should be taking all of my kids to the ER every single day when they’re moody in the afternoon!! Anyway, I had a really good private chuckle, thanked her for her time, and hung up. Its not a total loss, really. I don’t think there is any miracle solution for Rowan in this case. I’m confident we just have to keep doing what we’re doing. (Also, in the nurse’s defence, I know what she means. A kid who is uncontrollably screaming and crying for more than an hour should be seen, in case they’re in some awful pain and can’t communicate it. I get it. Just not so much AT ALL the case here.) All in all, we got a full ten ounces into him last night, and he slept through til around 8:30!
Today has been much of the same, honestly. Rowan crying and crying, drinking 1.5 ounces, fighting off the bottle, and continuing to wail. But around 3:15, I got 4 oz into him, and at 5:15, another 4 oz!! So I have high hopes for a less dramatic and quieter evening. Tomorrow will be a BIG errand day, filled with getting Ro weighed, buying him snacks, and getting as much done before Christmas as possible Wish us luck on all accounts!!!