Feeling Better

*sigh* I feel really good today!! Better, in fact, than I have felt in a really really long time! I have to chalk this up, in part, to getting a full night's sleep last night! Don't get me wrong, Braden still required 3 feedings, but as soon as each feed was over he fell right to sleep! This, of course, allowed Mommy to fall right to sleep! I think over all I got in a good 8 hours!

Plus, Braden is doing exceptionally better with his feeds! The last 2+ weeks have been soooo challenging! Just after his immunizations, Braden began a habit of food refusal for HOURS at a time! Freaking out, I took him to the doctor (last minute - so he saw some random doctor) to be told that he's absolutely fine he just needs more reflux medicine! That answer was not good enough for me! Sometimes a Mom just has a GUT feeling when things aren't right. Being a first time Mom, I was torn between my gut feeling and the doctor's suggestion. I mean, they're doctors - they know what they're talking about, right?! Wrong! That night Braden got much worse and ended up severely dehydrated! Thankfully, I have a wonderfully awesome pediatrician who returned my email with a phonecall from his HOUSE to help me figure out what action to take.

I immediately took him to the pediatrician's office and got in an appoitment with another INCREDIBLE pediatrician who totally took the time to listen to all my concerns and said that she 100 percent agreed with my intuition. It was her personal opinion that Braden was experiencing a milk intolerance and would probbaly benefit from a change in formula! I had been practically begging doctors to do this for weeks, but I'm just the Mom - what do I know?!

Since switching to a hypoallergenic formula about 2 weeks ago, my son has gone from screaming/crying almost all day and eating maybe 20 ounces total on a good day, to being a very excitable smiling, cooing baby who seems to have a bottomless pit in his tummy. He's now taking between 26-32 ounces in a 24 hour period!!

He's now getting weekly weight checks to ensure that he continues to gain. Now if only we can get him to spread his feeds apart a little more we'll be golden! However, I know that we need to take small steps! I'm grateful that he's EATING! At this point, I'm not concerned that he's hungry every 2.5 hours! Luckily he goes 4-5 hours between feeds at night! I could not be more ecstatic! A happy baby makes for a happy Mommy!!