Our Feeding Disorder Journey – Chapter 1, Our Baby Pukes A Lot

Yesterday, I shared with you about our son Bryan.  Bryan is now nearing 6 years old, and he has a feeding disorder.  My dear friend Chris Malkemes over at Whisperd Words made a poignant comment:

“Great post.

Suggest you introduce your readers to your full journey.

I can see how you can help other mothers that just. do. no. know. what. to. do!

May the Lord bless and keep you…..Yours….Chris~”

So dear readers during this month of May, I will try to take you on our journey.  One that began long ago (not that long ago), when Bryan was born.  Many parents do not know what to do with a child who has trouble feeding, and we are included in that group with you!

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Our Feeding Disorder Journey-Chapter One

Our Baby Pukes A Lot

Bryan was born three weeks early, but born normally.  He was a bit tinier than his older brother, but he was a precious 6 lb. 11 oz. baby boy.  His Apgar scores were WNL (within normal limits), but he did not pass his newborn infant hearing screening.  Not a big deal, but to this mom I was worried.  I’m a Speech Language Pathologist, aka Speech Therapist.  I work with children who have speech and/or language disorders.  I know how critical hearing is to speech.  So, when we returned a few weeks after our son was born to the hospital for our recheck on hearing I breathed a sigh of relief when Bryan passed the test.  He could hear!

Taking our sweet son home, I realized in the weeks ahead that he wasn’t nursing or resting as well as our first son had.  Bryan seemed fussy.  He cried after every feed and wanted to be held ALL the time.  He slept but not in the long stretches our first son had for us.  I was a new mom again, with a child so different than the first…I thought it would be easier the second time around.  No.  Being a mom of an infant…any infant…is exhausting.

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Exhaustion sets in when your child wants to nurse or refuses to nurse.  Our young infant did not sleep very long, and demanded to be upright or else he would puke a lot.  Bryan had the symptoms of acid reflux so I shared the concerns with our pediatrician.  We were prescribed a liquid medicine…yeah…great…the kid who cannot keep liquids down takes another liquid?!

Amidst the time Bryan was born we were living in town house in Kansas and owned a home in Georgia.  We moved to Kansas in summer 2008, and our house in Georgia finally sold in Summer 2009.  Taking infant Bryan across country by air and car wasn’t so bad…except for the reflux.  Do you know what I remember about that final trip back to Georgia?  Watching our infant projectile vomit at a going away party in my arms!  Likely his poor baby puke landed on my friend’s floor or on one of our friends!  So sorry.  Horrified, worried, annoyed, and we were so tired.  I also remember my sweet cousin Donna walking our crying baby around outside her house in the dark one night.  I went to Walgreens or CVS to get a new reflux medication because obviously the current one was not working.

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Medications seemed to lessen Bryan’s fussiness, but he still was not easy to nurse.  I made to six months, and we switched to formula feeds.  Whether a baby is breast fed or bottle fed, if he/she is very fussy and pukes a lot…this is not normal.  Talk to your pediatrician, and ask friends/family to help hold that fussy little one from time to time.  I also loved the Baby Bjorn because my hands were then free to type, cook, walk, shop, and take care of my other child.  Key lesson learned: Everything is washable.

Genesis 43:30-31

Deeply moved on seeing his brother and about to burst into tears, Joseph hurried out into another room and had a good cry. Then he washed his face, got a grip on himself, and said, “Let’s eat.”

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At times we wash our baby’s clothes, our clothes, and wipe away our tears.  It is acceptable to cry alongside your children or for others’ children. I did, and still do.