The short version of a very long story, plus photos
I haven't updated recently, and I don't have much time right now (or ever) to do so, so here is the very short version of what is a very long story...
Basically, Ilan's pediatrician believed that there was something going on with him, whether it was acid reflux, something with his esophagus, etc., and after sending us to Children's Hospital twice and having them do pretty much nothing, he called them himself and insisted that they do further testing. So we set up an appointment for upper GI x-rays. We took him in this last Monday. Luckily, one of the members of a November babies community I'm in was nice enough to answer all the questions I had about this procedure so I went into it knowing what to expect and I was no longer all that concerned. She was right about everything, it went exactly as she said it would. They strapped Ilan onto this board thing. His head was between two pieces of hard foam, and his hands were kept above his head. He looked so pathetic, but he actually didn't get all that upset. They let us use our own bottle for the barium, which they added cherry syrup to (it smelled like Tylenol). Ilan liked the way it tasted and stopped fussing right when he started drinking it. I got to hold the bottle for him, and he could see or hear me the whole time, which I think kept him calm. As he drank, they took a bunch of x-rays. We could see the screen the whole time, and it was very interesting to watch the barium go through his system and into his tummy.
However, just as I expected, they found nothing wrong. No anatomical issues, no signs of reflux, etc. (One good thing, though, is that Ilan was such a great patient that as we were walking out the door, one of the techs came running to us and said she had a present for him, and let us choose between a stuffed duck or lizard - we chose the lizard, cuz I mean, c'mon, it's way cooler than a duck! ;P) So, we're back to square one, still having no clue as to why Ilan is so fussy, why he's not gaining weight properly, etc. Children's is supposed to send a report to our pediatrician, and then I guess he'll decide what to do now. He had mentioned sending us to an allergist, but he was trying to have other testing done first because the allergy test is not a fun one, for anyone but especially for a baby. I'm going to call tomorrow to see if he got the Children's report, and we'll probably schedule an appointment then so we can discuss our options.
The last two weeks or so had been pretty good with Ilan - the amount of screaming fits had decreased, he was happier for longer periods of time, etc. But these last few days have been absolutely terrible. I feel like the worst mother in the world because I cannot console him. He will scream and cry (and by cry I mean sob, like he's in pain or depressed or something). We used to be able to do SOMEthing to get him to calm down, like bounce him or sing to him or whatever, but now we're to the point where nothing helps at all and he'll just cry himself until he loses all his energy and can't cry anymore, and sometimes he'll even fall asleep. We are so stressed and frustrated and we have no idea what to do.
On a happier note, I do have some pictures of him when he's happy:
On the way home from the hospital, with his new lizard. He brought it up to his face like this and fell asleep. He loves the lizard!
In a backpack carrier that my mom ordered from eBay. It's like the one she used with me when I was little. It's really nice, and Ilan tolerates it well on walks.
Hanging out on the porch after going for a two-hour walk with me and my mom
He likes to crinkle newspaper :P
Told you he loves the lizard! This is the first time he's fallen asleep in his crib, and one of the only times he's fallen asleep on his own. I attribute it all to the lizard ;P
Basically, Ilan's pediatrician believed that there was something going on with him, whether it was acid reflux, something with his esophagus, etc., and after sending us to Children's Hospital twice and having them do pretty much nothing, he called them himself and insisted that they do further testing. So we set up an appointment for upper GI x-rays. We took him in this last Monday. Luckily, one of the members of a November babies community I'm in was nice enough to answer all the questions I had about this procedure so I went into it knowing what to expect and I was no longer all that concerned. She was right about everything, it went exactly as she said it would. They strapped Ilan onto this board thing. His head was between two pieces of hard foam, and his hands were kept above his head. He looked so pathetic, but he actually didn't get all that upset. They let us use our own bottle for the barium, which they added cherry syrup to (it smelled like Tylenol). Ilan liked the way it tasted and stopped fussing right when he started drinking it. I got to hold the bottle for him, and he could see or hear me the whole time, which I think kept him calm. As he drank, they took a bunch of x-rays. We could see the screen the whole time, and it was very interesting to watch the barium go through his system and into his tummy.
However, just as I expected, they found nothing wrong. No anatomical issues, no signs of reflux, etc. (One good thing, though, is that Ilan was such a great patient that as we were walking out the door, one of the techs came running to us and said she had a present for him, and let us choose between a stuffed duck or lizard - we chose the lizard, cuz I mean, c'mon, it's way cooler than a duck! ;P) So, we're back to square one, still having no clue as to why Ilan is so fussy, why he's not gaining weight properly, etc. Children's is supposed to send a report to our pediatrician, and then I guess he'll decide what to do now. He had mentioned sending us to an allergist, but he was trying to have other testing done first because the allergy test is not a fun one, for anyone but especially for a baby. I'm going to call tomorrow to see if he got the Children's report, and we'll probably schedule an appointment then so we can discuss our options.
The last two weeks or so had been pretty good with Ilan - the amount of screaming fits had decreased, he was happier for longer periods of time, etc. But these last few days have been absolutely terrible. I feel like the worst mother in the world because I cannot console him. He will scream and cry (and by cry I mean sob, like he's in pain or depressed or something). We used to be able to do SOMEthing to get him to calm down, like bounce him or sing to him or whatever, but now we're to the point where nothing helps at all and he'll just cry himself until he loses all his energy and can't cry anymore, and sometimes he'll even fall asleep. We are so stressed and frustrated and we have no idea what to do.
On a happier note, I do have some pictures of him when he's happy:
On the way home from the hospital, with his new lizard. He brought it up to his face like this and fell asleep. He loves the lizard!
In a backpack carrier that my mom ordered from eBay. It's like the one she used with me when I was little. It's really nice, and Ilan tolerates it well on walks.
Hanging out on the porch after going for a two-hour walk with me and my mom
He likes to crinkle newspaper :P
Told you he loves the lizard! This is the first time he's fallen asleep in his crib, and one of the only times he's fallen asleep on his own. I attribute it all to the lizard ;P
