testing for Charlie

PrairieMom wrote: We are taking Charlie in for a ultrasound of his belly today to see if we can figure out what the heck is making him puke so much. Then its off to the GI specialist in a few weeks.
I'm starting to get a little freaked out.
It didn't bother me when he was spitting up so much, it didn't even bother me to much when they told me that he only gained 7 ounces last month. But last night he spit up some stuff that looked mucusy with a few streaks of brown blood looking stuff. So, now I am getting worried.
I am really wanting to continue to BF this kid. My experience with pumping shows that it doesn't work well for me, I am worried about keeping up my supply , and keeping up with pumping enough BM for him. I really really really don't want to put this kid on formula. ( all debates aside, please don't tell me its ok to use formula. I don't wanna. )
I know that they are going to push me to do thickened bottles. I had such a rough time with ben and constipation doing that.
I am just dreading where this is leading me. I of course will do what is best for him, I just hope that I can make the right decisions.

MommyToAshley replied: Good luck, I hope you get some answers. You are a good mom and I know you will make the right decision. (((hugs))

I was going to ask if they ruled out reflux, because babies do throw up a lot with that. But, I don't know about the blood if that is a sign of reflux. It could still be something simple, and I hope that is the case.

I will be thinking of Charlie, please keep us posted.

PrairieMom replied: We had a upper Gi done about a month ago that showed that there was just a little reflux, but was basically pretty good. However, we did it on an empty stomach, and about 1/2 an hour later before we even left the clinic I BF him and he yacked up about 3 ounces all over the floor. apparently that doesn't count. I knew I should have taken him in there full. maybe then we would have learned something.

coasterqueen replied: Well they are going to tell you to do thicken bottles, that's pretty much guaranteed. BUT if you get the right specialist and feeding team then they will tell you that you don't have to and it really honestly makes NO difference You just have to decide who YOU wish to listen to. They will always blame BF first, believe me, I was there. I know MANY people whose children did the same thing and their children were formula fed.

mom21kid2dogs replied: Good luck! Hope you get some answers soon!

coasterqueen replied:
They did it on an empty stomach. What kind of place are you taking him to? Our specialist had me nurse Megan right there, but she was fussy and wouldn't nurse and wouldn't take a bottle of breastmilk so they had to tube feed her. They have to see how the contents of the stomach are working to see if it's reflux or not. I have NEVER heard of doing it on an empty stomach.

PrairieMom replied:
They wanted him empty so he would take the bottle of barium. I guess they were worried that if he was full he wouldn't take it and they couldn't do the test. The issue is that they only gave him an ounce or two, they didn't let him eat like normal. they should have let him have the 5 ounces he usually takes to see what was going on.

coasterqueen replied:
Ahhh, they mixed the barium in with the BM for us. Maybe ours didn't do it right. I dunno. Either case it didn't do much for us, either.

PrairieMom replied: Well, the US is done. It was a complete abdomen, so they looked at everything. Cross your fingers for us. I don't know if I am hoping they find something or not. So, for now we are waiting for it to get read and for a call from our Dr with the results.

coasterqueen replied:
It's just the next step. I remember those days Just wish "those days" were over for us. Hopefully they will figure out the issue for you and it's an "easy" fix.

A&A'smommy replied: ick!!!! Well I'm praying that they wont bully you into stopping breastfeeding!! A friend of mine little has reflux but when he was a little baby he was gaining fine and she STILL thickened his bottles which caused him to gain too much weight he is one and just now starting to thin out he weighs more than my 2 year old I hope they find something that helps him so you can still breastfeed him I KNOW how hard it is so stop and really not want to formula feed but are forced too

boyohboyohboy replied: tara, I wonder if you could use the thickener we use at the hosp for older people with swallowing difficulities, that way you could just mix it with the breast milk and still use it. I know you said you are worried about keeping up supply that way, but maybe you wouldnt have to feed him every feeding with a bottle to keep your supply up maybe you could still breast feed, maybe alternate?
I dont know that the thickener has a name other then that.

Our issues when this happened, was an open gut, and it did eventually take care of itself...Jakob was failure to thrive on the charts, but we just kept at it..


Many prayers for an easy solution.

amymom replied: Hi Tara,
Is it a pediatric GI specialist you are seeing?

Good Luck. I have BTDT bought the t-shirt. I hope all goes well for you.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I'm sorry you're dealing with this junk Tara! I hope the specialist is able to help you figure out the best thing to do!

Swood75 replied: Awwww..I hope they are able to figure out what is going on with your little guy very soon..BTW,he is just TOO cute!!

PrairieMom replied: We will be seeing a Ped. GI, but can't get in to see her until Aug 24. So , in the mean time, our Ped has been talking to her and ordering basic tests to get them out of the way. I have heard really good things about this GI, so i have hopes.
In the mean time , our US came back negative . Everything is normal. Except everything is NOT normal. I am so frustrated.
They want him to gain 4-8 ounces a week, and he only gained 7 ounces all month. So, they are back to asking me to thickening his bottles, and supplementing with formula for extra calories. i am so frustrated. I want my baby to grow and be healthy, it is taking so long to get answers, I don't want to harm him by not getting him enough calories while we are waiting.
I know the Drs think I am nuts for being a non compliant difficult mommy, and not just taking the easy way out, of thickening his bottles.
I have talked to my LC, she is digging around for me a bit. I'm gonna try the LaLeche league and one other place to this afternoon.
I just feel so alone in this. there is not very much support around here for me. I'm trying to stay strong tho, and do what I think is best.

MommyToAshley replied:
Your post literally brought tears to my eyes because I can tell how frustrated you are and how helpless you feel to do what is best for your baby. I wish I was there, but instead I will have to give you a cyber hug. Hang in there, you will get some answers and it will get better. I'll keep Charlie in my prayers.

coasterqueen replied:
((HUGS)) I have been right where you are. It's frustrating. You feel alone and constantly questioning yourself, been there. It sucks!

I still AM with Megan because she continues to go very long lengths of time not gaining weight and actually LOSING weight. IMO what I'd do is ask them to PROVE hard evidence that a baby receives LESS calories from BM than they do from formula. I think that's the biggest load of BS doctors give out and it peeves me off royally. Do you know why they do that? Because they don't have the answers. It's worked for some and not worked for others. Heck as Megan got into toddler stage they said feed her twinkies, whip cream, etc, etc, etc, and we were doing ALL FATTENING foods with tons of calories, giving her everything she wanted and she still did not gain weight. We are actually going through this right now because her clothes are falling off of her again and if she continues to lose weight she has to go back into the pedi gi. So for my child I'm glad I didn't listen to them, that I listened to my gut to keep nursing.

I would definitely not listen to a regular GI. You need a PEDI GI who specializes in this and works CLOSELY with patients who are breastfed.

And you are NOT alone. There are MANY of us out there who have been through this. Ann Marie on this board went through this, many others have went through this. She helped me when I was going through it. I had more support from online than I ever got IRL.

amymom replied: Tara lots of hugs to you. I so get where you are at. I wish I had good answers. I am one of the lucky ones and MB is doing well.


Although doc just told us last week.... get this ... feed her some ice cream to fatten her up. Um.... where in lactase deficient did you see ice cream would have her gain weight? Nutritionists, research and pediatric gi best people I ever consultant. I think we are going to head back to the pediatric gi if she doesn't gain some weight this fall. MB is again below the 10 % on the growth chart.

Tara, I did not give MB any thickened bottles. It was suggested only once, but when I declined, because I wouldn't give any wheat products at all until after a year, they never suggested it again. As Karen said, it works for some but not all. Nothing worked for us. She had GERD and is lactase deficient.



I pray for Aug. 24 to come quickly for you.

Edited to add.... Reglan worked for us. Not sure if it is still available even with an Rx there was some controversy surrounding its use, but it calmed her stomach and had her reflux ALOT less up to two years old.

youngmomofone replied:

I hope that you are about to keep BF your baby. I don't know much about what you are going through; my oldest had reflux but she was formula fed.

coasterqueen replied:
Oh Ann she's not gaining either I wonder if there is something to do with the lactase deficiency that causes them not to gain weight? I ask because we can't tell if it's her other food allergies or the LD causing the issue. We've had a VERY HARD time keeping her from eating the allergen foods this summer (especially chocolate ) and we were wondering if that kept her from gaining. We are giving Megan until Christmas to "fatten up" or at least gain back what she's lost in the past 11 months or we go back to the ped gi She's lost 2 pounds in 11 months.

BTW, did you see the lactaid has ice creams out now? Can she have that? I was going to buy some for Megan, but wasn't sure.

amymom replied:
Last I had seen lactaid only had vanilla ice cream but... I just looked on their website. They now have chocolate and Mary Beth is a chocolate ice cream only person. She takes two lactaid tablets to eat one scoop of ice cream. We have used the Lactaid whole milk recently and she likes that. Previously she did not enjoy any of the lactaid milk products. But I think they re-designed them. The whole milk is actually quite good. expensive in our neck of the woods... About $5 for a half gallon. Mary doesn't miss milk products and as far as we know she does not have any other food issues. Her allergy tests all came back negative. The only one suspicious was gluten and the biopsy showed that gluten should be ok.

mary has lost about 8 lbs but has grown 5 inches in the last 8 mos or so. I don't harp on the wgt. We are a skinny family and she is hitting puberty, if it doesn't pan out in the next little while I think I will take her back to the pediatric gi. She still has unexplained bouts of diarrhea and stomach pains.. She is soooooooooooo independent, I don't always hear about them. Mary Beth is very active and in sports and none of this is stopping her from doing the things she wants to do. I am going to wait and see how the fall goes.

Sorry Tara to highjack your thread... I hate the wait and see for you, it is so much harder when the little ones can't tell us how they are feeling.

coasterqueen replied: Ann Marie, sent you a pm so I don't hijack Tara's thread anymore.

PrairieMom replied: guys. I am loosing DH's support.
As if I wasn't having a hard enough time with this already. I was nearly in tears last night. He has no clue. He knows I believe in what I am doing, he just doesn't buy into it. He is a formula is fine type of guy. When we were trying the chiro he called the Dr that "witch Dr"

He actually said to me that he feels like i am resisting thickening bottles because I know it will solve the problem .
like I ENJOY this. he said he thought i was being a little crazy.
I am SO um... "upset" ( read between the lines)

My Ped has been in contact with the Ped GI, and had a list of things to do. basically #1 thicken the bottles
#2 hospitilize for further testing if he keeps not growing.

I just needed somewhere to come vent.

seriously, how is thickening bottles going to help when he pukes up thick cottage cheese puke? That stuff aint staying down!


aaugh!!!!!!!!!!!

MommyToAshley replied: I know this is so hard, but I can only imagine how hard it is when your DH is not in agreement.

coasterqueen replied:
I second that. I had to deal with my husband not being on my side for SO many things regarding Megan's health. He thought I tortured Megan making her go through the upper gi, endoscope, colonoscopy, adenoid surgery, blood tests, allergy tests, sensory issues and occupational therapy, etc, etc, etc, but the ONE thing he was always on my side about was nursing. We had a long time where our marriage was not so good at all but I stood my ground. My child's health was my number one concern, and thankfully Ryan and I have made it out of that dark time and while he might not agree with everything I do regarding Megan's health he IS supporting me now.

A mother has a very tough job in this world. I think it's sometimes harder than the father's job, just because we tend to listen to our gut when the whole world doesn't and is against us. Do what you feel is right. You will only regret it if you don't and you will always be happy that you do.

youngmomofone replied: I'm so sorry that your husband is not on your side right now

My husband thought I was a little crazy with me wanting to find out what was wrong with our daughter, but he had never once said that he didn't support me. Just that I was crazy, but in a good humor kind-of-way. If he would have been against me, I would have been just as upset as you

moped replied:
Tara, I can tell how upset you are, and I am truly sorry. It is so hard with a newbord, two others and a husband who thinks you are nuts. You are doing great. I don't think you are nuts, but have you and Joe sat down and talked and discussed Charlie. See what his thinking is and listen, and he needs to hear your reasoning and listen. I am not siding with him at all, but he has a right to his thoughts and opinions on Charlies health as well....I know my husband would say "whatever you think jen"...UGH, sometimes I want him to say what he thinks should be done about certain things.

CantWait replied: Oh Tara I'm so so sorry!!!!

HUGE hugs, I can't imagine how hard this all is for you.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I'm sorry Tara! I hate when Dh and I disagree on stuff with the kids, and I'm sure it's much worse when it's something this big! I agree with Jen sitting down and talking about both sides with him might help him see your point of view a little better and help him feel like you're not just doing what you want without listening to his take on it. I hope he comes around!

PrairieMom replied: we have talked about it lots, and he respects my opinion , and I respect his, when he is right.
I just think that as a man and a father he can't possibly understand the responsibility that I feel as a mother. They just don't have the same instincts. he thinks that I will take it as a personal failure if I am not able to properly nourish my child with breast milk. That is not the case. I just believe that nursing my baby is the absolute best thing that i can do for him and that thickening the bottles is a blanket easy easy fix that the Dr's tell mothers just to shut them up , but is not necessarily in the best interest of the baby.
But at the end of the day, I have to respect that these are as much his children as they are mine, and that he needs to have some say in this too.
So, we are compromising. I got some thickening stuff, we will try a few bottles this weekend. I am going to take him in to be weighed this week and see if we are gaining.
Because the stuff he is throwing up is so thick, I don't think this is going to help. At least it will hopefully shut DH up, and will rule out one more thing for when we see the GI next month.
I just don't feel comfortable doing nothing for that long considering how little he is gaining.

I am so thankful for all your support here. Lord knows I don't get it anywhere else. AND we are going to my inlaws next week, where I am sure I will get an earful. I am preparing my self already. I may lock myself in our room and hang out on PC.

My2Beauties replied: I dont' have a lot to say on the matter because I haven't had to deal with issues such as these but I do want to offer Hanna spit up occasionally as a baby but I seriously think it was because she was eating too much too fast and I know you've already ruled that out, that's a mothers first instict is to change the amount they are getting, she even spit up while BF'ing she was a hungry little turd lmao! But it wasn't nowhere near to the extent that you are talking about. I'm so sorry you are dealing with this, we are here sweetie!

julesmom replied: Have you gotten in touch with the LLL? I googled alittle and found alot of stuff on bf and reflux. I am totally pro-bf and see no reason for you to stop!

PrairieMom replied: sorry internet out at home. lurking from phone. :-)

A&A'smommy replied: somehow I missed your recent updates here, but i saw where he gained on FB... I just wanted to see how things were going. Update when you can!!! I have been thinking about you!!