I try to just post the happy times.  Because of that, it looks like we only have happy times.  Quite the contrary is true.  I actually grab the camera and snap pictures during any good times I can.

Little Daniel has a hard time.  Life is not easy for him at all.  Here are the issues:

• Reflux – we treat the reflux with Zantac.  Zantac has quite a few drawbacks, but other treatments have even worse side effects.  Daniel can’t handle a lot of additives that are in medications. The Zantac doesn’t get rid of the reflux, that just makes what comes up not burn and hurt.  He still gets choked.  He could still get fluid in his lungs if we don’t take care with how we feed and handle him.  To try to minimize these symptoms as much as possible we do the following:
  • Change his diaper before feeding.  That way he is only on his back with an empty stomach.  If he has a leak or blowout at other times, we have to carefully change him keeping him from laying flat on his back.  That can be quite the workout.
  • Feed him in a slightly elevated position and keep him from eating too fast.  He can still sometimes choke and we sit him up to help him recover.
  • Keep him upright for 20 to 30 minutes after he eats.  This gives the milk time to move on from the stomach.
  • Tummy sleeping – this is a big faux pas today with the whole Back to Sleep campaign.  Tummy sleeping helps keep his milk down and also keeps him from getting choked on spit up.
  • Feeding less, and more often.  Most babies his age have started sleeping a stretch at night or have extended times between feedings.  Bigger feedings increase reflux, so he does better eating less but more times a day.  He eats every three hours.
• Colic – the great infant mystery.  There are lots of theories as to what causes colic, and I suppose it could be diffent causes in different babies.  Daniel begins to get fussy in the afternoon, but it increases to absolute misery between midnight and 3:30 a.m.  Even if he can remain somewhat calm at night, he can’t sleep, and is therefore very sleep deprived.  Zantac can cause anxiety and headaches, so we don’t know if that is making colic even worse.
• Gas – Daniel has suffered with gas from the beginning.  Zantac slows down his digestive system, so it makes the gas worse and makes it hard for Daniel to pass the gas.  Sometimes Daniel screams with pain.
• Sleep – because of colic and Zantac side effects, Daniel has a hard time sleeping.  He sleeps the best in the morning with it becoming more and more difficult the further he gets into his colic hours.  He looks tired almost all of the time.  There are so many pitures I haven’t posted because he looks so tired.

All this takes it’s toll on Mama.  Daniel has so much pain and discomfort it breaks my heart and is very hard to bear.  In addition to his already rigorous schedule, since he can’t nurse, I have to pump in between his feedings.  I spend nearly all my time dealing with things regarding his feeding.  I’m either pumping, feeding him, keeping him elevated after feeding, or cleaning his bottles.  During a majority of the day, I’m trying to do all these things while holding him because he’s either fussing, screaming or tired and can’t sleep.

One of the few things keeping me alive is that my mom comes over on the week days and takes care of Daniel from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. so that I can get a little sleep and get a couple of things done.  Papa gives me this nap on the weekends.  This is the only sleep I get.  The rest of the time is pretty intense with a sad/pained infant and the stress of keeping up with pumping and feeding.

Sorry to be a downer, but I thought you needed the rest of the story.