As many of you know our little Fiona has always struggled with her digestion.... we joke that she's her father's daughter because she can rip them louder than he can!! Seriously... sometimes it's literally mind blowing the sounds that come out of this miniscule little girl. It's hysterical, and I love it. :) So, when I took Fiona for her 8 week check up at the pediatrician, I told him that she was still really struggling with digestion, because I had noticed an increase in how fussy she was and she seemed to be really uncomfortable with the gas and let's just say things were getting explosive. I thought maybe she had colic. Our doctor said that if she hadn't gained so much weight (without adjusting for her prematurity Fiona was in the 75th percentile for size) then it might be a concern, but she's obviously not having any failure to thrive issues, so it wasn't a concern and he said it would probably work itself out.
Well, the following week it just continued to get worse and worse until it reached the point where if she was awake, she was screaming and just plain inconsolable. Now, Fiona has also inherited a bit of a temper (can't imagine from where..... oops) and so things were getting pretty ugly (read: I'm pretty sure this baby hates my guts). As you can imagine, this was extremely upsetting to me for a variety of reasons. First of all, I was just feeling upset because I felt like I waited SO long for this little girl and during my pregnancy I didn't allow myself to really bond to the fullest extent because to be completely honest, I didn't really believe that she would ever make it here and I've been down that road numerous times before. So, now that she's finally here I just want to take every second I can to cherish her and bond with her and just love her to pieces. Well, that's a little hard to do when her head is spinning in circles and she's vomiting pea soup (read: punching me in the face and trying her hardest to scratch my eyes out and make my eardrums bleed). Secondly, I'm working full time from home, and that is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT when your baby is screaming 24/7. Our corporate clients don't take kindly to screaming infants when trying to relay information about a crisis..... Talk about stress and exhaustion... for both Fiona and myself.
Fiona isn't scheduled to go back to the pediatrician until her 4 month checkup in July, so I finally broke down and just called the office and told them after a week straight of this nonstop screaming that I needed someone to exorcize the demon from my child. Actually, I told them that I thought she had colic or possibly reflux (because my mommy friends had suggested that this might be the issue). They told me I could bring her in the very next morning, which I was very grateful for. She is still gaining weight, she weighed in at 9lbs 11oz that morning, and all else looks good. The doctor said that she doesn't think it's colic because the crying is day and night, and started so late (she was 11 weeks at the time). So, the doc asked me some questions about symptoms and we came to the conclusion that Fiona has reflux, and they put her on Zantac and told me it might take a week to work. Over the weekend we really started to notice a difference, and it's honestly like she's an entirely different baby!!! It's amazing!!! She remains quiet and alert when awake, she's smiling and laughing more and has more interest in interacting with us and playing with toys, etc. I'm extremely grateful that we found a solution, and I'm loving how much she is changing and developing every day!!!
She's growing so quickly that I'm trying to put all of her outfits on her that she still fits in because I feel like next week she'll be grown out of them. Right now she's wearing 0-3m in most things, but some of her outfits/sleepers are 3mo and fitting. Crazy!!!! I hold up her preemie sleepers and cannot believe she was ever that size. I'm proud of her and a tinge sad at the same time!!!!! :)
Here are some recent pictures of the fashionista:
This outfit was given to me by my hairdresser, Jenn. Love her.
In these next couple, she's channeling her inner flower child. You know that being my daughter, she's going to be a hippie, there's really no getting around it. :) She's lucky I didn't just name her Scarlett Begonia or Rhiannon......
So, in closing, I'd like to send a big THANK YOU out to all of my mommy friends who suggested I talk to the pediatrician about reflux, and who provided me with many suggestions for relief! :D I appreciate all of your advice and support! It's so great to have the support of so many great people!!! You are a wealth of information, and it's always good to know that someone else has gone through what you are going through, and for that, I thank you! :)
I'll try to get a video of her sometime soon, now that she's back to herself and you can see what a silly little goofball she is. I just love what I've seen of her personality so far. I really think she's going to be silly. I can just feel it, and I see it in her eyes... I'm sure she will be providing us with years of entertainment ;)
Love to everyone!!xoxo <3
