Tummy Troubles

We found out that Graham has a milk protein allergy and reflux last Friday. He had been pretty fussy for a few days and it was getting harder and harder to satisfy him. He was wanting to eat every 1-1.5 hours and then many times he still wasn’t happy and he always seemed to have a tummy ache. We tried gas drops but they just weren’t cutting it so I decided to take him to the doctor to make sure it wasn’t something else that was bothering him. I was sure they would tell me that it was gas pains and that he was going through a growth spurt but that was not the case. The doctor examined him and said he has reflux and gave him a prescription for Prevacid. He doesn’t spit up much but he does gag quite a bit. She said his esophagus is probably burning and it just feels better when he is drinking a bottle which might be the reason he wants to eat so often. This also explained why he has not liked laying on his back. She said he is going to be happier right now sitting up in swing or bouncer and he is. That is where he spends a lot of time and all night. She then diagnosed him with a milk protein allegy when she found blood in his stools. She put him on a new formula – Enfamil Nutramigen, a hypoallergenic formula and for me – no dairy if I choose to continue to nurse. We are hoping the Prevacid and new formula will make his tummy feel better. She said it could take 2-4 weeks before we notice a difference in his fussiness and discomfort. The plan for now is to keep him on this new formula for a year and hopefully he will outgrow this allergy like most babies do. We go back in a week for his 2 month well visit. He was a healthy 10 lbs. at 6 weeks but it will be fun to see where he falls out on the charts at 2 months. Below is a recent pic of our sweet baby boy hanging out in the swing.