Lucy update.

Finally have a minute to post an update on Lucy. I have mentioned that she's kind of a tough baby and cries a lot. Well, I finally decided it was just not normal to have a baby that screams every waking second she isn't eating. She would also be dead asleep and arch her back and scream like someone had bitten off her feet, had frequent hiccups, would cough and choke and had lots of wet burps that would cause her to cry. All this led to me to think she probably had reflux. While she almost never spits up, silent reflux has all the same symptoms, just no visible spitting.

I took her to the pediatrician on Wednesday and Lucy was screaming the whole time. She agreed that it looks like reflux and wrote a prescription for Zantac. I was somewhat disheartened, as I've read that this is not the most effective medicine for reflux, but the doctor said they have to start with this to appease the insurance company. We are supposed to call back in two weeks if we haven't seen remarkable improvement and then she will call in a prescription for Prevacid. So far, I don't see what I would call a "remarkable" improvement. Maybe a slight one and the medicine definitely wears off after 8 hours, but we can only give it twice a day. It sucks to see her in pain.

Obviously, this is a draining situation for us and her. We spend a lot of time holding her upright and walking her around, trying to make her feel better. By the end of the day, we are pretty worn out. She is basically not supposed to be flat on her back, ever and she isn't such a fan of the swing or the bouncy chair. We have Harry Potter books propping up her pack and play. So, if we seem scattered and tired, bear with us. It's a tough road right now.

She is gaining weight well and is up to 9 pounds, 8.5 ounces. She is still wearing NB clothes, but a few outfits are finally too short. The 0-3 size is still a little too big, but if it's a two piece, we just hike up the pants and go with it. She is staying awake for longer periods of time and has smiled twice. Haven't heard much talking (or "hooting" as Theo used to do), but that's probably because she is always in pain. Her hair is thinning out and she has VERY long eyelashes that curl at the ends. I love to look at them.

She sleeps well for the first part of the night, but is often up from 2 to 5 in the morning, very unsettled. This is when I think the Zantac wears off, so whatever little relief it's giving her is gone, but she doesn't get her morning dose until 6 or 7am. Her sleeping patterns are better now than Theo's were at a year, so maybe once we get this reflux under control, she'll sleep all night!

I hope to have a happy update on her soon. We feel just awful for her that she is in so much pain and wish there was more we could do. I've cut dairy, tomatoes and onions which makes eating quite a challenge, but I am hopeful that will help her belly. Keep her in your thoughts.