A Post With Thankfulness

I took Mila to the pediatrician on Friday. I was full of trepidition about going by myself with her.... I really really wanted Alex to come, but there was just no way that was going to be possible, with a gallery event that evening. I was terrified that I would be told " Oh, she's gaining weight, so she doesn't need the upper GI, and its okay that she's crying because, well, babies cry. And she's gaining weight. "

At the point, Mila had been crying for HOURS each day, miserably, writhing on the floor when left to her own devices. I could hear her refluxing, she was constipated, and although she was eating, she was miserable afterwards. It got to the point where Alex and I had to switch off holding her, because feeling helpless breeds frustration, and frustration breeds anger. And even though we knew that Mila wasn't doing it on purpose, it was very, very hard to deal with.

Dr. Raffie walked in and said " Congratulations! She's having GREAT weight gain! She's up another 5 ounces this week, bringing her to 13lbs even! 13 pounds puts her in the 13th percentile, which means she's creeping back up on the chart. This is exactly how we want her to be right now. What else is going on?"

I explained about the constant crying, the arching back & neck, the flailing and beating at the bottle. Dr. Raffie reviewed her chart, thought for a few moments, and left the room. He came back with a bottle of this : Nutramigen. He explained that it was possible that she has MSPI - Milk Soy Protein Intolerance. If she is truly allergic to milk, there is a 50% or greater chance that she is *also* allergic to soy. Rather than switch her from formula to formula, he gave us a sample can of this, and told me to call him in a few days.

I may kiss him when I see him next. OH MY GOD, the change is amazing. No crying. No writhing. Less arching. More smiles. THANK YOU DOCTOR SHARON - You fixed my kid. Now if only it wasn't 20$ for a 4 day supply, or incredibly hard to find. I am - honestly - willing to pay ANYTHING at this point for her to eat and not be in pain. I don't CARE that it smells like rancid parmesean cheese. I don't CARE that its super gritty and clogs the bottle nipple. I don't CARE that it slimes the bottle and is nearly impossible to wash out. I don't CARE that Mila sweats vaguely cheese flavour. She EATS ( Oh lordy lordy, does she eat! She's eating the right amount, with no fussing! ) . She POOPS ( Amen to pooping! Even if it smells like goat cheese baked with cat pee ). And she DOESN'T CRY ALL DAMN DAY!

Today we go to the lake, which will hopefully end in lots of adorable pictures. I'd talk about Robby, but he's sleeping. And I prefer it that way!