I felt I was the only one with this problem, but now I see I have it easier than some people. But my daughter is sick anyways. She was born on nov. 18, 2003. weighed 7.3oz She didn't latch on to brestfeed or formula, so the nurses had to "cup feed" her. Since I am a new mother, I didn't know how much a baby should eat, so I thought it was pretty normal for her to eat an ounce every 3 hours. she gained weight fine. at 4 weeks old, she did her first real vomit. it was a projectile (2-3 feet) vomit, came out of her nose, mouth, everywhere. her doctor made us swith formula after formula, started her on zantac and reglan. it helped for about 2 weeks. then she choked.... thank god i was with her. i pat her on the back, and the vomit came out. At the hospital, she had an upper gi done and was changed to prevacid. (the ordeal it was to find a place that compounds it!) and continued on reglan. again helped for like a month, then the darned pukes again! she now is 7 1/2 months old, and weighs 15.10 lbs. (18th percentile) I think she is too thin, but her doc disregards my concerns (i have already switched docs like crazy) she still throws up, but it's yellow, stinky acid. and it breaks my heart to see her suffer like this. just the other day she spit this purple curdle in the acid (and milk) that freaked me out. her doc says she doesn't know what it is. she is scheduled for an endoscopy on the 15th. what comes next. I get so frustrated that her docs are not doing enough. it kills me to see my tiny baby suffer. is 18th percentile too little for 7 1/2 months. any support will be appreciated.

Hello Gabriela and welcome,
I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with your daughter and the docs who won't listen. My son is just over a month younger than your daughter and weighs nearly 20 lbs. but every child grows differently and as long as the docs aren't mentioning "failure to thrive", your daughter is more than likely ok weight wise for her age, although obviously at the lower end of the spectrum. My daughter (who's now 5 was 17 lbs. at 7 and a half months and didn't suffer from GERD or reflux).
Anyways, that being said, I don't think it's right that your concerns aren't being adressed in a manner that makes you feel comfortable. A lot of us have been through the same thing and all I can really tell you is to stick to your guns and go with your gut. Change docs several times if it makes you feel better to get another opinion. You can have some pamphlets sent out to you regarding infant reflux by Roni's (moderator of this site) mom if you email her. You can either pm her or email her by looking up "Shae's Grammy" on the memberlist. I did this as well and took the pamphlets straight to the doc and I suggested reflux may be my son's problem. Only after this was anything done and meds were given and lo and behold, reflux was it. With the meds tho, it's also trial and error. Some meds work great for some yet have little or no effect on others.
Good luck, keep us updated and read some of the posts on this site for even more advice and answers. Take care! :D

Hi Gabriela and welcome!

Stacey has already done a great job of saying nearly everything that I would have. One more thing though. At what percentile is your daughter's height? It's best if the height and the weight are similar. We've been told that even a 50th percentile for height matched with a 25th percentile for weight is healthy. My son, Evan, is at the 97th percentile for height, but is only between the 25th and 50th percentiles for weight, which is far too much of a difference, so we're constantly needing to "fight" the calories into him. Thankfully he is no longer 97th for height compared to 3-7th for weight like he was near the beginning. (Amazingly enough, he was never concidered failure to thrive, though!)

Looking forward to getting to know you.

thanks for the welcome. Aeva is 85th percentile for height. she does have a head cir. of over 100 percentile since she was 5 months. (cat scans normal).

It makes me feel like a real person again talking to people who know and understand what we are going through, my family and my husband's family are very unsupportive, one one end, we don't do enough for her, on the other end, the docs are going to kill her. I will read the other stories and hopefully find a little more answers that what i've got so far. thank you for all your help and cosideration. happy 4th :)

There's quite a difference in the percentiles between height and weight but I myself am not one to go by the charts( for fear of causing myself to worry possibly for nothing). I have a wonderful family doc who primarily cares for Branden and know if there was a problem, my doc would definatly point it out. But, it certainly doesn't sound like you have that kind of faith in your son's doc so as I mentioned b4, try and try again with docs if you're not getting the answers you want.
My son had an ultrasound done on his head as well b/c his head circumference was off the charts, but only b/c the doc had suggested it (thankfully everything turned out ok there too). Apparently our kids just have big brains!! :lol: (Branden has since grown into his)
Family support: :roll: ugggghhh. Some ppl just don't get it do they? If any of these particular family members have a computer, send them the link to this site and tell them to educate themselves!! (nicely of course lol). Anyway, hope some of this info. helps. Keep us posted!

Hi again!

Evan has doctors who don't seem to be too concerned about the huge difference betweeen his height and his weight either. He has a wonderful dietician, though, who is very concerned and has him on protein powder (to add to his daily nutrition) and a calorie booster. The combination has made a huge difference in his weight. He in no longer on the 3rd to 5th percentile, but has gone up (for the most part) to the 50th percentile. Concidering his height is at the 97th percentile, we still have a ways to go, but we're on the way!

Personally, I've found that doctors are not as concerned about my son's weight (including the ups and downs) as they should be. They think that if the weight continues to go up, it's fine. The dietician, on the other hand, sees that something is wrong when the weight fluctuates so much and is helping us to deal with it. If the doctor isn't concerned about the low weight percentile in comparison to your daughter's height, I would try to find a pediatric dietician for a second (or umpteenth) opinion and for additional support.

Is your family at least supportive enough (and living close enough) to give you the breaks that you so much need and deserve?

:( my family lives about 15-20 miles away from me but they do not offer to help. all they do is critizice me when she pukes (my mom sometimes refuses to hold her bc she will puke on her). I just think they really do not understand the extent of her condition, one of my sisters (i have 3 older) sons had reflux, but the kind that gets resolved just by adding a little rice to the milk, and that is over by 3 months. my husband's mother lives 4 blcks away (YIKES!!! :lol: ). and she tries to help sometimes, but she tries to be "natural" and gives my daughter junk herbal stuff behind my back (that is why i don't like her being there too often.) and also claims that she does not puke at all whe she has her (making me feel like an inadequate mother. I do need breaks sometimes. i can only eat and go potty when she is asleep, i'm sure most of you are the same as I.

Today she has been feeling ill, she is vomiting green liquid again, i do not know what that is or if I should give the gi a ring before the endoscopy. What does that really do anyways, see if her gi tract is iritated? I'll tell you this, YES, she pukes AT LEAST once an hour, that'll do it.

thanks for all your advice guys, i'll keep you posted when I have more updates on her condition.

Hi Gabriela!

The green vomit sounds like it may be bile from your daughter's stomach.

What we found helped with people holding Evan when he was at his sickest was having a cloth bib and a baby snuggly-type blanket on him. The blankets were particularly helpful in catching the vomit, and we sure went through a lot of them!

About family, we've been really blessed to have supportive family living nearby. It did take a long time, though, for some of them to even begin to understand what Evan has and that he is a special needs child. Only since turning two has he begun to down a whole cup or bottle in a sitting, and only if he's extremely thirsty. When he was just a few months old, my sister-in-law would claim that he'd down an entire 8 oz. bottle in a single feeding for her, even though he wouldn't for us. It was so frustrating to have her sound like she could do better with our son than we could, and to have others (including my father) believe her that he drank it for her. It made it look like we weren't very competent, but we now realize that it wasn't true. Because of his reflux, there was no possible way that he could have downed an entire bottle just the occasional time that she was babysitting him.

I hope that Aeva is having a better day today and that you're able to get some quiet time for yourself. Is your husband able to relieve you while you get out for a walk or a coffee, or while you lie down for a while? Would your family members maybe help you if you asked them to come babysit for a while so that you and your husband can go out for a date?

Hi again,
Ahhh the "I bet I could do it better if you'd let me try" attitude! :roll: Been there, done that. What a terrible thing to go through...
Welcome back from your trip by the way, Janette! Hope you had a great time!
Gabriela, it's very important to realize that you know your child better than anyone and try not to let others make you feel inadequate. Most importantly, make sure to get some "me" time in or before long, you may end up feeling like I did a few months ago, so very alone, dealing with something I had no idea how to overcome or deal with sometimes.My son's birth and first few months were some of the best times or my life but also some of the very worst. It wasn't until I allowed myself to get out a little on my own, that I began to feel better about things. I know how hard it is to get time to yourself, let alone time with your hubby but it's so important to make sure it happens. I had much more fmaily support when my daughter was born, ironically enough, she was the "picture perfect" baby and I didn't need it half as much as I did and do with my youngest son.. Now that I've needed it and still need it, the support I once had is not there, mostly I think because everyone thinks I am being overly paranoid, even now that we have gotten the "reflux" diagnosis. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how hard it sometimes is to find someone to watch a baby that just seems so "fussy" all the time! If your families aren't very supportive, maybe a friend could help you out a little? My friends have been the one's to keep me sane through everything, even the friends I have made here on this board :) .
So keep your head up. look forward to better days ahead and know that you have support here, from those who know best what it's like to go through this...Take care!

Thanks, Stacy. We had a great time up north. It was the first time that Evan has been well enough for us to all go away over night--and we were gone for five days, at that! It was nice just to have some family bonding time, away from the hustle and bustle of daily life at home.

Gabriela,
I wish you lived closer so that I could help you out through this crisis. If there's still no family or friends who can relieve you, perhaps there are people at your church (if you attend) or through a volunteer agency such as Cradle Link. Here in Canada, the Red Cross sometimes provides Homemaking for people in our situation. Maybe there are similar agencies near you.

Hope this helps!

thanks janette:

I will look into it. I could realy use some help around here. I'm sure you are going through the same, but my house is a mess most of the time. my husband doesn't believe there is no time to clean and cook in my day, but there just isn't any!!!! Sometimes I tell him HE should spend one entire day with her...... but men.....

It's only through the help that I've been able to find that my husband and I have survived and are still surviving! Good luck with your search, Gabriela! I hope that you are able to find some help soon. Please keep us posted.

By the way, Gabriela, I know what you mean about having no time to cook or clean when you're busy looking after a sick child all day every day. Now that Evan's 2-years-old, we're finding that things are finally starting to get a bit easier.

no. the red cross, the united way, (couldn't find cradle link) nobody offers help to families like us here. Whenever i get out of this gerd business (IF), i'll have to start some kind of volunteer program, this is just to much..... how frustrating, right???

Did you try the Homemaker/Homemaking/Home Care part of the Red Cross? There has to be some kind of help available, maybe even a teenager to come in to help with the cleaning and meal prep. a few hours a week or someone in high school who needs to put in some community service hours in order to get their diploma?

We were turned down for help at first, but my mom called in and pushed a bit, letting the case manager know that we were really in a crisis situation with our son's health.

I know you're not exaclty thrilled w/ your doctors at the moment but, I would try talking w/ them (or a new one that you're more happy with) about your stress and needing some help. Our pediatrician helped us get 8 hours of nursing a day. I have a feeling it's a little different since Maeve is tube fed and has other health issues but-maybe they can give you some ideas to help you out a little! Until then, order lots of pizza and stock up on frozen meals!!! :D

Hi Gabriela and welcome. Sorry to hear your introduction to motherhood is going less than smoothly to say the least. Just to comment on your purple puke note....Shae has done that before as well. She was about five months old and in the children's hospital at the time when she puked this purple stuff. I was freaking out, it didn't look normal to me and I swear every member of the medical staff came to look at it and no one could figure out what it was...it was ultimately decided that it was just how the medications reacted to each other while in her stomach...she was on Zantac and Reglan at the time.

She is on prevacid suspesion 2ml twice a day (3mgs per ml.) and reglan syrup .6ml 4 times a day. the purple stuff is turning more dark redish lately, and even when she hasn't had medication recently (5-8 hours after the doses). It drives me nuts when they say they don't know what it is, it has to be something. her gi called the manufacturer of prevacid and they said they have never heard of it turning colors. since they do not know what is going on, they escape is saying its the meds (i figured). it would make sense if it occured 0-2 hours after the dose...but 5, 6, 7, 8 hours after???? its puzzling.

also, where can i post more questions in this forum (appart from children's stories) or does this web site has a chat room?

There is a chat room but I don't think that there have been many chats, it's hard to organize everyone together at the same time and I just haven't had time to try :( . There is a questions forum underneath this one on the forum index that you can post as many questions to as you want.

Actually, I gave it some more thought realized it was Zantac, Prilosec and Reglan Shae was on when she puked purple. They also called the makers of Prilosec when it happened and they said the same thing, never heard of that happening. Perhaps if she is puking it so long after having the meds she is having an emptying problem that the reglan is not helping. Has she ever had an emptying study done?

Hi there,
I was going to suggest the same thing as Roni, possibly an emptying issue?? I know that reflux is often associated also with this as well as other digestive problems. If this is the case with your daughter, then it would be most certainly possible that she could have meds/food etc... still in her tummy hours after she's eaten or taking the meds. I would check into that further if poss...
As for the chat room, I find that there;s more ppl on the boards usually between 9 and 10 in the morn (EST) and 9 and 10 at night. It's hit or miss, you just have to sign in to the chat room and see if anyone's there. You can look at the bottom of the main boards and see how many users are online at that time and see how many registered users are on. If you see there are a few, then might be a good time to check...I am one to usually be on and off all day (when time permits) and I usually check the chat room nightly. Next time I'm on and I see you are too, I will pm message you to see if you wanna chat and u can vice-versa as well if you like.
Good luck with everything, maybe we'll talk soon...

Gabriela and Stacy,

I'll try to check into the chat room more often in the evenings when I'm on. I haven't been there too often lately b/c I haven't found anyone there, but I'm glad to here that others are interested too.

Everytime Trent pukes, his is purple. He is on Prevacid. I took a sample of it to the doc one day and they tested it and sure enough, it was the Prevacid. It turns a deep purple/red when mixed with gastric juices.
Hope this eases your mind.

Amy