Oh the joys of spit up....

Tummy time

Sitting in bouncy seat

Sitting in Boppy

William has been home now for one week, and Rob and I have survived....sort of. After three months of sleep deprivation and exhaustion from running back and forth to the NICU, the ensuing sleepless nights wondering if William is breathing or choking on his spit up have turned us into walking parent zombies.

We knew William had reflux in the hospital so feeding him would be a big ordeal, but since he has been home, William has started to exhibit more signs of pain from eating in terms of colicky episodes. He also likes to spit up....A LOT! He doesn't just spit up when he eats, but even an hour or two or three after he eats. Needless to say, we don't get much, if any, sleep. Our nightly routine (and daytime for that matter) goes something like this: Feed William, Hold William for at least thirty minutes in an upright position after he eats, Put William either on his reflux wedge in his cradle or sitting upright in his Boppy/swing/bouncy seat, Watch William for the next two hours as he spits up everywhere, Repeat. All that advice about resting when the baby is resting goes right out the door when the baby spits up constantly in his sleep.

After crying for three-four hours straight the last few evenings, we finally called the high risk clinic that is following William for awhile. The doctor there decided to try William on acid reflux medicine, Zantac, to see if that helps with his crying and maybe his spit up (probably won't help the spit up as we have heard though). He should at least be in a little less pain from the reflux on the medicine. Thus far, he does seem to be a tad bit more comfortable....well at least he isn't screaming bloody murder at us all the time now, just when he is hungry or wants to be held.

Being held is a whole other issue. William loves to be held, which in itself is not a bad thing. I always wanted a baby who loved to snuggle and cuddle with me; however, William will frequently cry and fuss until he is picked up to be held, then he will usually fall asleep. We can't put him back in his cradle after that though because the kid has some secret sixth sense that lets him know if he isn't being held and he starts the fussing all over again.

In good news, William has rolled over from stomach to back several times! His head control is quite amazing for how small he is. We make the joke that he will be the shortest walking kid.

I know we are so fortunate that William is doing so well in so many areas given what he has gone through, but the lack of sleep after the past three months has been wearing on us. We are definitely happier with the sleepless nights with William at home than the ones we experienced while William was in the NICU so please don't think otherwise. I think it is sometimes difficult to remember that even though William is over threee months old that he doesn't act like that since his adjusted age is only two weeks old. Having William has been like having a baby in the newborn stage on high gear for over three months. Please send positive thoughts and prayers our way...and well wishes that William's digestive issues start to fix themselves....

-Lori