Over winter break, we attempted to drop one dose of prevacid for Sam and Anna's reflux, to just one dose a day for each of them. Earlier in December we successfully dropped the third dose that they had been taking since the acid reflux got under control last summer and so I was hopeful that it would be the beginning of the end of dispensing medication via syringe 6 total times a day. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before Sam and Anna were spitting up lots of formula again, and it didn't take long for the bottle refusing to pick back up either. That old but very familiar frustration and worry about bottle feeding and weight gain came flooding back and I most definitely don't want to be in that place ever again, so we quickly went back to 2 times a day again.
It was disappointing that it didn't work because I had fantasies that we could finally put the reflux and feeding issues behind us for good. It also made me realize that I am not going to be willing to risk the return of uncontrolled reflux and everything that comes with it again for a long time, this time. It will be awhile before we take the plunge to try to drop a dose again.
Failure #2: At the new year, I had declared that Sam and Anna's New Year Resolution was going to be to stop using pacifiers, and, well... basically- I'm a wuss. First it was delayed because we had company and it wouldn't be polite to let your babies cry it out with guests in the house, you know? Then Sam and Anna got their second colds which seemed to hang around forever. I just couldn't take away a comfort item when they were feeling crummy. They also went back to daycare after almost two weeks at home and I thought waiting until after that transition would be better. Then my husband was out of town for work and like hell I was going to potentially endure sleep issues voluntarily by myself. Then the excuses got a little weaker- "Anna's more fussy than usual, maybe she's teething." "Sam seems to have amped up the separation anxiety- we can't take the pacifier away now."
Now here we are mid-January already and we haven't even attempted a night without the pacifiers. It doesn't look promising we'll try anytime soon, either, because my husband's next work trip starts on Monday. Eh- I'm not worried. We just used the New Year Resolution as a way to make it fun for us and give us a start date. Plus, I haven't had a kindergartner yet that still used one and I'm pretty sure my two won't be the first!
Showing posts with label prevacid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prevacid. Show all posts
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Growing Up and Letting Go
We're in a time of rapid changes. They both have one tooth at last. Sam and Anna are crawling all over the house, and making me fear the day they both are walking all over. Sam is pulling up/climbing on everything in sight, cruising the furniture and doesn't want to sit or be held still for a second. They interact for longer periods of time while playing together - hearing them laugh at each other's antics is one of the best perks of twins. I will have to imprint these memories in my brain to recall when toy stealing and temper tantrums punctuate their playing together more often than giggles.
Both are adding words to their vocabulary- they will say Mama and Dada, and repeat some words we say. Anna's first and most frequent word to say independently is "Bella" while Sam's is "Anna." Anna has learned how to drop food off of her tray to feed Bella. While I miss the days when this was purely accidental, it is cute (right now) to hear her call "Bella" and then uncurl her tiny fist to drop a yummy goodness from the heavens (as far as our dog is concerned) into a waiting mouth. Both babies are starting to show an increasing disinterest in eating "baby food" i.e., the pureed stuff, so our plan is to start moving towards 100% table food once daycare starts back up again next week. I am concerned that they won't be eating enough once we do that since their weight has never had any "wiggle room," but I think it is a step that Sam and Anna seem to be ready to take.
When Sam and Anna hit 9 months, we finally stopped tracking every single bottle amount throughout the day (anal of me, I know- but soooo hard to keep track for two babies at the same time when eating enough has always been one of our biggest concerns). Now this week, we are attempting to wean them off of their 3 doses a day of Prevacid (via Buffer Babies) to see if they have outgrown their severe GERD. To say that this has make me scared is an understatement. I never want to relive the days of uncontrolled reflux for two babies at the same time ever again. But I know that if we are ever to finally move on from their reflux, we need to be willing to see if the medicine is not needed any more. We successfully dropped one dose, and are now attempting to drop another. If all goes well, we'll try to stop the final dose soon, as well.
Sam is now too tall/big for quite a bit of his 9 month clothing. This is the first time that some baby clothes are too small to come in his size. This is somewhat of a milestone to me, because for so long I could pick out anything in the baby departments and it would come in his size. I want to know, though, why is it that it is so hard to find lots of footie pj options for 12 month + sizes? Why all of a sudden do the pjs come without feet at 12 months+? It's not like I can cover him with a blanket yet. While our babies sleep in sleep sacks, I still wonder if his feet will be warm enough at night without the footie pjs this winter. I wonder if I should put socks on his feet when he's wearing footless pjs?
We decided that Sam and Anna's New Year Resolution is to give up their pacifiers for good. The AAP recommends not using them after 6 months, but since our babies didn't have any teeth until this month, I figured it couldn't possibly mess up their bite. They've never been hugely dependent on them- we have just used pacifiers to make bedtimes and naptimes easier to transition to sleep. They haven't used pacifiers at daycare at all. Recently, pacifiers seem to be something that they are more interested in at any time of the day whenever they catch a glimpse of one, so we figure now is a good time to toss 'em, before they get too attached. I definitely don't want 2 year olds walking around with plugs in their mouths! I don't think it will be that big of a deal to them- I just hope that they don't decide a thumb is the new alternative.
Both are adding words to their vocabulary- they will say Mama and Dada, and repeat some words we say. Anna's first and most frequent word to say independently is "Bella" while Sam's is "Anna." Anna has learned how to drop food off of her tray to feed Bella. While I miss the days when this was purely accidental, it is cute (right now) to hear her call "Bella" and then uncurl her tiny fist to drop a yummy goodness from the heavens (as far as our dog is concerned) into a waiting mouth. Both babies are starting to show an increasing disinterest in eating "baby food" i.e., the pureed stuff, so our plan is to start moving towards 100% table food once daycare starts back up again next week. I am concerned that they won't be eating enough once we do that since their weight has never had any "wiggle room," but I think it is a step that Sam and Anna seem to be ready to take.
When Sam and Anna hit 9 months, we finally stopped tracking every single bottle amount throughout the day (anal of me, I know- but soooo hard to keep track for two babies at the same time when eating enough has always been one of our biggest concerns). Now this week, we are attempting to wean them off of their 3 doses a day of Prevacid (via Buffer Babies) to see if they have outgrown their severe GERD. To say that this has make me scared is an understatement. I never want to relive the days of uncontrolled reflux for two babies at the same time ever again. But I know that if we are ever to finally move on from their reflux, we need to be willing to see if the medicine is not needed any more. We successfully dropped one dose, and are now attempting to drop another. If all goes well, we'll try to stop the final dose soon, as well.
Sam is now too tall/big for quite a bit of his 9 month clothing. This is the first time that some baby clothes are too small to come in his size. This is somewhat of a milestone to me, because for so long I could pick out anything in the baby departments and it would come in his size. I want to know, though, why is it that it is so hard to find lots of footie pj options for 12 month + sizes? Why all of a sudden do the pjs come without feet at 12 months+? It's not like I can cover him with a blanket yet. While our babies sleep in sleep sacks, I still wonder if his feet will be warm enough at night without the footie pjs this winter. I wonder if I should put socks on his feet when he's wearing footless pjs?
We decided that Sam and Anna's New Year Resolution is to give up their pacifiers for good. The AAP recommends not using them after 6 months, but since our babies didn't have any teeth until this month, I figured it couldn't possibly mess up their bite. They've never been hugely dependent on them- we have just used pacifiers to make bedtimes and naptimes easier to transition to sleep. They haven't used pacifiers at daycare at all. Recently, pacifiers seem to be something that they are more interested in at any time of the day whenever they catch a glimpse of one, so we figure now is a good time to toss 'em, before they get too attached. I definitely don't want 2 year olds walking around with plugs in their mouths! I don't think it will be that big of a deal to them- I just hope that they don't decide a thumb is the new alternative.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Momma Knows Best
The reflux thing has gotten better, and we are slooooowly inching our way out of Reflux Hell (for the third time, mind you). My mom came to visit and help this weekend because my husband had to go into work on Saturday(since he's under major deadlines right now) and one more day soloing it was pretty much not possible given our status this week.
We switched the Rx Prevacid Solutab dose to before Sam and Anna's morning bottle, and both babies have begun drinking their first bottles much better. I began giving one OTC Prevacid dose (same 7.5 mg) in the middle of the day before their third bottle. It seems like each dose helps Sam and Anna drink well without refluxing for two bottles after they get the medicine. Here's how I know this: by the time we got to their last bottle of the day, all bets are off and my poor babies have been refluxing so badly they hardly drink at all and we spend hours trying to get hysterical babies to go to bed.
Gee, you think they need three doses of 7.5 mg Prevacid each a day to manage their reflux??? Our pediatrician might not know what my babies need, but I sure do!
We never had this problem with bedtime before, because we originally gave the one dose of Prevacid right before their bedtime bottle. It is so easy to tell that the Prevacid wears off, it makes me even more unhappy with our pediatrician that she won't prescribe the amount they need to manage the reflux successfully. But it also makes me very happy that I think we have found out what we need to do to make things better. So I added in the third dose of 7.5 mg and bedtime is smooth sailing again. Now Sam and Anna are back to drinking 5 oz each bottle and their weight is back to going up in an appropriate increase. Since they were weighed twice this week, we learned that Anna gained 4 oz in 2 days. This compares to the 1 oz she gained in 7 days the week before.
I'll admit, it is a HUGE pain to give the Prevacid 30 minutes before eating via a syringe three times a day. But it is a huge pain I'll happily experience to make my babies happier and healthier.
We switched the Rx Prevacid Solutab dose to before Sam and Anna's morning bottle, and both babies have begun drinking their first bottles much better. I began giving one OTC Prevacid dose (same 7.5 mg) in the middle of the day before their third bottle. It seems like each dose helps Sam and Anna drink well without refluxing for two bottles after they get the medicine. Here's how I know this: by the time we got to their last bottle of the day, all bets are off and my poor babies have been refluxing so badly they hardly drink at all and we spend hours trying to get hysterical babies to go to bed.
Gee, you think they need three doses of 7.5 mg Prevacid each a day to manage their reflux??? Our pediatrician might not know what my babies need, but I sure do!
We never had this problem with bedtime before, because we originally gave the one dose of Prevacid right before their bedtime bottle. It is so easy to tell that the Prevacid wears off, it makes me even more unhappy with our pediatrician that she won't prescribe the amount they need to manage the reflux successfully. But it also makes me very happy that I think we have found out what we need to do to make things better. So I added in the third dose of 7.5 mg and bedtime is smooth sailing again. Now Sam and Anna are back to drinking 5 oz each bottle and their weight is back to going up in an appropriate increase. Since they were weighed twice this week, we learned that Anna gained 4 oz in 2 days. This compares to the 1 oz she gained in 7 days the week before.
I'll admit, it is a HUGE pain to give the Prevacid 30 minutes before eating via a syringe three times a day. But it is a huge pain I'll happily experience to make my babies happier and healthier.
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