Sick again...

On Friday night my mom noticed that Cooper was really wheezing. His stridor has been a lot worse this past week too. When it was time for bed on Friday he had really started to wheeze. I was really worried about him, afraid he had perhaps aspirated. I would have put him on his monitor for the night, but the home health company had come to pick it up that day. This was really hard. Even though he had not worn it in almost a month, it was still in the bedroom. I knew it was there if I needed it. It was really hard to get rid of it; it had definitely become a crutch. So, needless to say, I didn't sleep so hot on Friday night. We took him into sick time on Saturday morning. The on-call doctor was the doctor who had originally seen and diagnosed Cooper with reflux in the hospital at 5 days old. We loved him, and he would have been Cooper's pedi if he had been taking new patients. The funny thing was, is he started asking us if we had considered the fundo and gave us a surgeon's name at Cook's who is very well trained in the laproscopic version of the surgery. He said he would of sent Cooper to her long ago. I told him Cooper was doing really well now, compared to before, and that the Elimination diet has seemed to really help. Also Cooper's weight was really great. He was weighed on a different scale and fully clothed, but he weighed 14lbs 5oz! I figure he's probably in the mid to high 13s. All of this made me wonder, if he would have been Cooper's pedi, would he have had the fundo at 2 months like the pulmonologist suggested? What would that mean for Cooper today? It is amazing how God works. As much as I love this particular pedi, I'm glad we haven't done the surgery. I know it is still possible that he may need it at some point, but I feel that things are pretty under control for now. I think that Cooper was protected from the surgery. God worked through our pedi in convincing us to hold off and give Cooper some time. Wow, how thankful I am for that. Anyway, turns out Cooper has a little cold, and his throat was really red. This exacerbates his laryngomalacia and his reflux and that is what is causing the wheezing. Luckily, his lungs sounded clear when the pedi listened to his chest. He is on an antihistamine and we have added back another reflux med just for a few days until he seems to be doing better. I am so glad it was nothing more serious. Now we just have to deal with the rough nights having a sickie in the house!

A little update...

Cooper is finally starting to feel better I think. He still has a yucky nose, but it is not so green anymore, thank goodness! We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and he weighed 9lbs5oz. We are so happy about that. It doesn't put him back on the charts yet, but it is an improvement and we will take all we can get. The pediatrician does not agree with the pulmonologist about surgery. He feels we need to give it another month and try a few more things before doing a fundo. I completely agree at this point. After the research I have done, a fundo is a last resort. He said the next thing he would want to try would be a milk free, soy free formula such as Nutramigen. He thinks it is possible he may have a milk soy protein intolerance aka MSPI. He said we could do it for a few days and see how he does and if there is no change, then return to breastfeeding, but if he does better, he would remain on it until he's off formula at around a year. He said we didn't have to try it unless I wanted to, or before moving to surgery. It is such a difficult thing. Part of me thinks, maybe we should try it, but then the other part of me thinks, then I would be done breast feeding, and I am not ready for that. If I new it was the cure, I'd do it. I just wish I had the answers. Don't we all?! On a happier note, Cooper rolled over Tuesday night! He was very frustrated with Curtis for changing his clothes and he got mad enough to flip himself over. And the he did it again. It is so great to know even though his weight is low, he is still thriving.

Cooks appointment

Cooper had his appointment with the pulmonologist at Cooks yesterday. It went alright I suppose. He is gaining weight steadily now, but he still has quite a bit of catching up to do. The doctor is still concerned about the reflux and feels it is quite severe and we need to get it under control. He was also concerned about the high dose of Prevacid Cooper has been taking. He said that it is the same dose he, a grown man, takes for his own reflux! So, we have decided to cut it in half. We have tried pretty much every reflux drug on the market and have seen little if any improvement. We also had the swallow function study done. Cooper was not aspirating the barium when he took from a slow flow nipple, but when he takes from the breast, the speech pathologist could here him aspirating. She felt that he should probably take from the bottle all the time. I was, of course, upset to here this. When we went back to Dr. Hadeed's office, he agreed with her. I asked if we could put Cooper on monitors while he nursed and see if his O2 sats dropped. He had an excellent feeding and they remained in 97-100% which is perfectly normal. He said I can continue to nurse for now. While this is a great relief, I am also concerned because I know he aspirates when he is having a difficult feeding. Also, the doctor feels he aspirates on the way up, when he is refluxing. Dr. Hadeed thinks that it is time we start really considering fundoplication, the surgery to reduce the reflux. I'm starting to agree. We will go back on April 4 and meet with the pediatric surgeon to discuss the operation in detain before making the decision. At the time of surgery, they will also place a "button" or feeding tube in his stomach. This way we can run a formula drip all night long so he can catch up, but continue to breast feed throughout the day. It seems like this is really becoming our best option. I feel that over all our visit was successful and productive. We just have to hang in there over the next month.