[sbaglio]

I just wanted to send a message to all those parents who are dealing with a baby who is suffering from colic, be it from MSPI, reflux, or from some undiagnosed cause. I, like many on adoption.com, have been through the fire. Those months were heartbreaking, emotionally draining, devastating to our self-esteem, traumatic, and left us feeling hopeless. It was not until we found a brilliant, empathetic and engaged pediatric gastroenterologist that our daughter (and we) began finally to heal. In a way, he saved our lives.

I was watching my 16 month old daughter play with her 3 year old cousin this weekend, grabbing her hand, hugging her and squealing, then watching them chase each other around the yard. My daughter is full of light, open and rambunctious; she grins from ear to ear, hums "This Old Man" all the time, does the hand motions for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" when she's eating, learned to say the words "agua", "uno", and "banamana [banana]" last week. She is such a joy to us, and it is only now that I can look back at that painful time in all our lives with any kind of clarity.

So hang in there. It DOES get better. I credit all my friends on adoption.com for helping me through it. You guys are the best

[Kat-L]

She sounds really sweet & very happy. She's a credit to her parents.

[sbaglio]

Thanks, Kat

[4everwaiting]

Fadzi,

Thank you so much for letting us see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak!

You don't know how bad I needed to hear that today. We have been up since 4:15 this morning with whiney wimpery baby, who thinks she always hungry. Of course she can't eat constantly, but having a stomach ache her instinct is to eat... And to add insult to injury she's teething in a big way, biting her fingers, drowling and just miserable in general, but still gives the most amazing smiles and giggles- even when she's feeling bad.


S

[loveajax]

Aw, what a wonderful post! I am sp prouf of miss P and of course her awesome parents! Don't get toooo cocky...the terrible 2s are right around the bend...hahaha! Actually, my mom said colicky babies were easy toddlers (another of her very "scientific" opinions!)

[Stormster]

I'll take the Two's over the colic ANY DAY.

[SuzBerg]

When I had a colicky baby it was years ago and I knew nothing about reflux, milk allergies etc. I just thought I was a mom who had NO idea what she was doing and could not help her baby be happy. Well my colicky baby turned into a pretty happy toddler, pre-schooler and NOW is 18 and just graduated from H.S. and is attending college in the fall. (just wanted to give y'all a light at the end of the tunnel)

Ajax - I like your mom's "scientific opinion". My colicky baby was a REALLY easy teenager. I know that might seem a long way off for you Fadzi but the time goes really fast. I'm glad your daughter is such a happy kiddo now and that you are enjoying her so much!

[mrskt]

Amen, Fadzi!!!

DD just about broke me... she turned a year old last week, and is STILL on Prevacid and we just added thickened juice and water to the routine now that she's on full-time sippies.

BUT She's an awesome kid and makes me smile every day just to be around her... I think there is something to that theory of happy toddlers!

[devildogwife]

Originally Posted by mrskt

Amen, Fadzi!!!

DD just about broke me... she turned a year old last week, and is STILL on Prevacid and we just added thickened juice and water to the routine now that she's on full-time sippies.

BUT She's an awesome kid and makes me smile every day just to be around her... I think there is something to that theory of happy toddlers!

Cameron is 20 months and still on Prevacid. I think he'll be on it a long, long time. We weaned off the Reglan though!

Colic/MSPI is one of the worst things I have ever dealt with. Fadzi, I know we've talked about this a lot and I'm so glad we're on THIS side of things! I'm very glad P is doing well. Probably because she has such awesome dads!

[WizardofOz]

At first, baby Nanda did not tolerate any formula. She has constant diarrhea and projectile vomiting. Now, I found the magical formula: Alimentum Advance. So I thought we're done. Not quite.

Now, baby Nanda has colics and it's not for the faint of heart She starts at 5 PM, until about 10 PM - a shrill continuous crying attack. At 10 PM she goes to sleep (from exhaustion? ) and next morning she gets up at 7 AM, fresh like a daisy.

Good to know they get out of it! There is light at the end of the tunnel. I just wonder how long the tunnel is, LOL ...

[mrskt]

DDW - Reglan made Anya a screaming psychotic maniacally crazy baby... *shudder* 2 doses when she was 9 weeks old STILL give me flashbacks!!!

Wizard - try .2mm to .5mm of Mylanta Cherry Supreme (the one that has calcium instead of aluminum) We went through the same thing with DD, thinking she had colic, and come to find out, it was actually reflux that flaired more in the evening. It won't hurt her (our rec came from the ped originally and was then confirmed by several others on my reflux forum), and might help... The fact that she has MSPI (the diarrhea and vomitting means she's allergic to something in the regular formula - possibly the dairy or corn? I think Alimentum ready to feed is the only one without corn in it) can go hand-in-hand with GERD as well...

[WizardofOz]

mrskt, you're right on target with GERD. My ped told me yesterday that my daughter's real problem is GERD so I am giving her SimplyThick (rice based formula thickener). I'll ask her about Mylanta Cherry Supreme.

Since Nanda is half African American, it means that she is lactose intolerant, so I was told. She also did not tolerate soy. I did not know that they can be allergic to corn as well. Both of her birthparents have asthma in their immediate family which I presume predispones her to allergies.

So the powder version of Alimentum has corn?
I initially started off with Alimentum ready to feed and then switched to powder because it is cheaper. So now I really wonder whether I should just continue to stick to the ready to feed ...

[mrskt]

We do simply thick here too (the packets of xantham gel stuff, not the rice-based powder)... but honestly, that didn't relieve the burning, just kept her from actually spitting it out. So it would burn coming up, then burn again when she swallowed it back down... twice the damage, exponentially more frustrating since you don't really notice it as much as a clearcut symptom! Prevacid has been our miracle... we did Zantac, Axid, Reglan, and the Mylanta Cherry Supreme first, in varying combinations, and NOTHING worked as well as the Prevacid. Word to the wise if you end up going that route at some point. Empty stomach (at least 3-4 hours since last meal) at least 30 minutes before next meal... and it takes 10-14 days to kick in. So we went 10 days with it doing absolutely nothing, and trying to triage with the Zantac and the Mylanta, and day 11 - POOF, we woke up with a new kid!

Anya is also CC/AA... I really don't think that has much to do with being lactose intolerant - many people are, regardless of race/nationality. Besides the fact that it's actually the milk protein that causes the allergy, not the lactose. Most who have a true milk protein allergy are also allergic to soy as well. Many are also allergic to Corn, and the ready to feed alimentum is the only one I'm aware of that doesn't have corn in it.

Also keep in mind that when making switches in formulas because of allergies, it can take several weeks for it to clear their system and for the damage in their digestive system to start healing itself. And many kiddos with food allergies also have dry, rashy skin as well, and sometimes dark circles under eyes... though I think that's hard to see on my fairly dark biracial DD, so not sure how helpful that info would be for you either...

Babycenter has some great forums with reflux mommas that are great for BTDT info - let me know if I can point you that direction

[mrskt]

Oh, and you're correct - asthma is a heavy indicator for allergies, and the likelihood goes up drastically if both parents and other immediate family members have it.

[devildogwife]

Originally Posted by WizardofOz

So the powder version of Alimentum has corn?
I initially started off with Alimentum ready to feed and then switched to powder because it is cheaper. So now I really wonder whether I should just continue to stick to the ready to feed ...

Yes, powdered alimentum has corn. Cameron absolutely could NOT tolerate powdered but had done wonderfully on RTF. It is a world of difference. I would recommend just sticking with RTF. It is worth the money to have a baby that is not in pain.

Mrskt-that sounds horrible! Thankfully we didn't have that. Cam started reglan a year ago when he aspirated in PICU. He got it 4 times a day but didn't have the same reaction that you saw. He started to show side effects from it a few months ago so I weaned him off quickly. And we're with you on the prevacid, it is the only thing that helped Cameron. Prilosec did nothing.