On Monday, September 12, I took Ryan to the pediatrician. Since Sunday, September 4, he had not been eating well. He would eat for four minutes and then unlatch and scream if I tried to get him to eat more. I couldn't even get him to eat if I switched sides (thinking maybe he had finished on one already). I was flabbergasted. He seemed to be doing well other than eating, so I called to see if this could be "normal." The pediatrician doesn't think so. If he was six months or older, it could be since he'd be eating other foods too. But, they fear he's unlatching prematurely.
They took his weight, and he weighed 15 lbs 8 oz. We had weighed him at home the week before and got just over 16 pounds, so could he have lost some or is it that our scale is different than theirs? It's hard to know. Dr. Zehr told me that he's still at the 86th percentile, so they're not concerned about weight. That said, we need to determine the cause of him not eating. Based on Joshua's history of reflux, that's what he was diagnosed with. Now, it's difficult for me to tell if this is accurate or not. Ryan doesn't spit up often; Joshua did every few minutes it seemed. But, Ryan does burp all the time, and they said some babies can swallow what comes up. Ryan sleeps decently well, but he does like to be held upright. I didn't start the medication right away (she prescribed Zantac) because I hate to medicate a baby that doesn't need it.
I have heard horror stories of kids with allergies, and we thought that could be it. He'll not go to the bathroom for several days and then explode. She said that this is normal - babies older than eight weeks can hold their bowel movements up to one week without them worrying, as long as the consistency is normal. So, that wasn't an issue. But, she gave me the stuff to collect stool samples (dabbing a bit from his diaper onto what looked to be the inside of a match book with a stick they gave me). From three different episodes, I collected samples and took them back to the pediatrician. I was thrilled on Tuesday night when I got home from class and heard the message that they tested negative!
So, I filled the prescription since he was arching his back on Wednesday when I was trying to feed him. I remembered them telling me with Joshua that when a baby arches his back, he's in pain. Poor little guy! But, Ryan spits out his medicine with a vengeance. He is highly offended I'm trying to give him anything. And, while I know he's keeping some down, his habits haven't changed. He'll eat well at times and barely eat other days. Over the weekend, he went where he nursed for maybe a total of 25 minutes the whole day. It has me terribly worried and concerned about him. I also feel that when he's sucking on his thumb then, maybe he's hungry. Then I question if I'm trying to give him a snack. I just can't tell what's going on! Please pray for him. He had been moving toward a decent schedule and now I'm at a loss of how best to help him.
The only other thing I can think of is that I think he's starting to cut teeth. They aren't through yet, but he's drooling and constantly sucking on his fingers, so I'm wondering if that could be the cause of his discomfort. He seems heavy enough; he doesn't have allergies; and he does eat at times. He also loves to suck his thumb. I don't know what else to think. The doctor told me not to worry about pumping because he's obviously getting enough. Hopefully the medication takes care of it or they will determine the root cause of what's bothering him.
I called the pediatric gastroenterologist that Joshua used to see to ask how safe Zantac is for a baby that they haven't even tested to determine if he really has reflux. The nurse told me that it's extremely safe, and she noted that if it didn't cure our concerns, we were welcome to make an appointment with them. I'll give it another week and then see. Please pray for wisdom and revelation for us as parents and for little Ryan!
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