Update to the update March 12, 2009

So Dr. Lopez just called. He’s not at work anymore (I heard him order the salad bar) but he talked to me for about 15 minutes about our plan of action. The GI specialist is going to work with me on breastfeeding, but I’m going to need to be on a dairy free AND soy free diet. I said that was pretty difficult–not that I’ll miss soy cheese at all–and he agreed. They’re going to have me meet with a dietician next week.

I’m staying off the diet, though, until after my birthday. I’m just going to donate what I pump between now and when we get it all worked out. Actually I’m probably going to have to donate everything I’ve pumped in his life but that’s ok. There are some NICU babies at Cooks who could really use it.

The saga continues

I don’t know how long I have before Stinks realizes he’s still in his car seat but not in the car. He’s always quite peeved to wake up under those circumstances.

We were at the pediatrician’s for over two hours today, including a trip to get an x-ray of his tummy. So far everything looks okay, we’re going to have to go with 100% fancypants formula for now and see what happens. Dr. Lopez is also going to talk to the GI specialist to see if they want to see him tomorrow or wait until next Friday to give the formula a chance before we go to an even more specialized (read: expensive) version.

Stinks did a fantastic job everywhere we went. He complained about the x-ray and the blood draw, but who can blame him? You’d be peeved too if some stranger stripped you down to your underpants and pressed you against a cold board without even asking. His mom was a wreck, though. Between the devastation of having to give up breastfeeding indefinitely and the total lack of sleep or food (it’s quite difficult to make a palatable dairy-free breakfast on the go) it’s a wonder they didn’t haul me off to to the nuthouse before all was said and done.

The good news is that I don’t have to do the diet anymore, which is nice because Saturday is my birthday and dairy free desserts leave something everything to be desired. I’m going to keep pumping because if I am able to return to  it, it will be because he doesn’t have a milk protein allergy and something else is to blame for the deviant poo.

Overall we’re very lucky; he’s happy, gaining weight like a champ (13 lbs now!), and otherwise healthy. There are lots of folks with kids who aren’t so fortunate.

Now if you’ll excuse me, my mom is here to take care of Andrew so I’m going to go make some lunch (I’m thinking of having mashed potatoes smothered in cheese and topped with ice cream, but that might be a little hasty) and then get some shut-eye.

A viable Alternative?

If the formula caused more blood in the poop, but putting him back on 100% boob led to two vomited feedings in a row, should I just put us both on a tequila diet and call it a night?

Mr. Aggie has been phenomenal tonight. He jumped right up when Stinks baptized me with the second feeding (the first he shared with the carpet and the bouncer [it's a chair, not a nightclub employee]) and he’s been on point ever since. The incident occurred at 11:30 tonight and Stinks passed out on my chest almost immediately afterwards. I took him in the living room and settled in the recliner for the next 2.5 hours while Mr. Aggie stripped the sheets off the bed, sterilized some bottles, folded some laundry…I’m not sure what else because I dozed off for awhile there.

Andrew woke up about 2.5 hours after the Exorcist re-enactment and we gave him a feeding’s worth of formula. I fell in love with his dad all over again as he waltzed him around the living room singing a song about the night’s adventures (oh, I forgot to mention that Stinks peed all over himself and Mr. Aggie right before the bottle was warm, necessitating a much-reviled wardrobe change) sung to the tune of “Oh Christmas Tree” while the bottle was prepared.

Now Andrew’s chilling in the swing, wide awake, and I’m counting down the hours until our appointment with the pediatrician at 8:20. Mr. Aggie has been sent to bed since he’ll have to go to work after the appointment. I’d already made the appointment after the poop issue this afternoon, and I’m so glad I did. T-minus 6 hours until I get some answers, or until I get arrested for assault.