Confusion, Frustration, and Worry

These three unfortunate words describe my feelings over the last few days. Abby and I have spent our days going to doctors, and it has not been fun.

Starting last Sunday (December 7th), Abby began spitting up. Sometimes it would be right after her bottle, which, although it was unusual for her (she's not much of a spitter), wouldn't have worried me too much. But, she would also spit up an hour, sometimes two hours, after her bottle, which did concern me. The amounts varied, but it would be anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon and a half. When I called her pediatrician, he suggested that we give her some Pedialyte to keep her hydrated and then bring her in the next day. Dr. Carravella examined her on Friday, but was unsure of the cause of Abby's recent spit-ups. He sent us for an ultrasound to rule out pyloric stenosis. Thank God, the ultrasound came back normal. (The only treatment for pyloric stenosis is surgery, so you can imagine how worried I was...) So, Dr. Carravella told us to keep Abby hydrated and he would get us in to see Dr. Gold (Abby's pediatric gastroenterologist) on Monday. Well, yesterday we met with Dr. Gold. I once again took in a poo sample, and it came back positive for blood. So, Dr. Gold switched Abby to EleCare, the most elemental, broken down formula made. Unfortunately, Abby is not a fan, so we spent a difficult night last night and a rough morning this morning trying in vain to get her to eat.

After a morning of screaming, I was finally able to speak with Dr. Gold and he mentioned that the more broken down a formula is, the more unpalatable it usually is to babies. So, in an effort to get Abby accustomed to her new formula, we are mixing it with her current formula. Each day, we are supposed to increase the amount of EleCare and decrease the amount of Alimentum until we cut out the Alimentum completely.

I am frustrated and confused because Abby seems to be doing well. She's gaining weight at the desired rate (she's been in the 50th percentile for weight at our last two visits to the doctor), she's sleeping well, she's reaching her developmental milestones, and she seems alert and happy. I understand that the poo tests are coming back positive, and I definitely want to do whatever is necessary to help my little girl heal. But, on the other hand, would she be thriving if she was still having dietary issues? I felt awful trying to get her to drink something that she obviously didn't like, especially when she seemed to be doing fine (externally) on her old formula...

We're heading to Good Samaritan hospital on Thursday for an Upper GI Series (another series of tests that Dr. Gold would like performed to rule out other digestive issues). We would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for our little girl!