Cough

I took Thad to the doctor yesterday afternoon because he has had a cough the past few days and it kept waking him up at night. He hadn't been able to sleep during the day, either, and he was exhausted. I called the nurse and she said he should be seen to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection. So he was seen by the nurse practitioner, Sue, but it turns out he just has a cough. She said to have him sleep upright by putting his car seat or something in his bed and strapping him into that, and to run a cool mist humidifier in his room. So last night when I put him to bed I put his bouncy seat in the crib and layed him in that once he fell asleep on me in the rocking chair. He made a little happy sigh in his sleep as I layed him down in it and he snuggled in. It sure did the trick. I was sure he'd be awake in 30 minutes, but he didn't wake up until morning!

Doctor

Thaddeus had his follow-up appointment this morning with Dr. Aaronson for the reflux. He has been throwing up less but still cries like he is hurting, so Dr. Aaronson said he should stay on the Zantac and also take something to constrict his esophagus to help prevent the food from coming up. Doesn't sound too great to me, but I dunno. I asked if it would be OK if I wait a couple more days to make sure the Zantac isn't enough before filling the new prescription. He said that would be fine.

He didn't see any more thrush in the mouth so I'm glad I decided not to go with the (stronger) Diflucan for it and just stick with the (more natural) Nystatin. We were really consistent with giving it to him. I had meant to give him some acidophilus mixed with breast milk to help recolonize him, but hadn't gotten around to it yet, although I purchased some on Sunday, as well as a new breast pump, and I pumped some milk on Monday. I didn't actually get around to giving him any. It was a lot of effort to give two little 1ml syringes of Nystatin four times a day, and a .6ml syringe of the Zantac twice a day. Just one ml is a lot of sticky stuff to try to get down his throat, and takes like 6 or 8 swallows, slowly, so he doesn't just spit it out. I felt like I was filling him up with it and I've been really engorged-and even got a fever twice-ever since doing it, so I assume he actually is eating less. Dr. Aaronson said I don't have to give him the Nystatin anymore, and thank goodness. Thats 8ml less medication a day. I'm still going to do the acidophilus thing, though, to try to prevent the thrush from coming back.

Callia was a funny thing while we were there. She loves going to the doctor because she likes to talk to everyone there, and likes me to read her the books they keep under the exam table, and likes getting a lollipop.

Getting Bigger!

This morning Thaddeus saw Dr. Aaronson. I called yesterday and made the appointment because he has been crying a lot, sometimes screaming out of nowhere like he is in pain. Also, he has been throwing up which he didn't really do after the first week of his life, and a couple days ago he projectile vomited twice, once in the morning and once in the evening, losing his entire meal forcefully.

Dr. Aaronson said he thinks he might have reflux, so he prescribed medication to reduce stomach acid.

Also, he still has thrush. We didn't do a very good job giving him that Nioxin four times a day. I felt like I was poisoning him. But now Dr. Aaronson has prescribed something even more toxic to get rid of it. So I think I might give him the Nioxin again. :P I just can't stand to give him harsh medications. Who knows what they could do to him!? I might also get some acidophilus to mix with breast milk and give that to him as well. Maybe in a little dropper since he won't take a bottle. I've been taking acidophilus myself since he started vomiting. I also got something for myself called Plum Smart. Its juice. Hopefully it'll also help get Thaddeus' and my digestive tracts in better balance, which should do something for the thrush (yeast) as well.

They weighed him wearing an empty diaper and a long-sleeved onesie, and he came out to 14 lbs. 12 oz. What a big boy! I wish I knew what weight percentile that is.

He has a follow up appointment in five days, which is Wednesday.

One Month Check up

This morning I took Thaddeus in for his one month well-baby doctor visit. He weighed in at 11 pounds, 5 ounces. I'm not really sure what he would normally expect, but Dr. Aaronson seemed very impressed with his weight gain. He said "Thats like 2 ounces a day!"

He got his second Hepatitis B shot today, in his left thigh. Poor baby :( He cried like he was betrayed, but only for a half a minute. He's so sweet. :)

He has had an eye infection for a couple of weeks and Dr. Aaronson gave me a prescription to clear that up. I had done some research on the internet on infant eye infections and suspected he had a clogged tear duct, since even before the infection, his tears would run down his face. And yes, the doctor said I was right. He said if it doesn't right itself by six months of age we'll have to talk about doing something about it.

He also has thrush, which I also pointed out to the doctor. I noticed a while back that his tongue is white, and thought it was milk residue, but in my internet reading I came across something about thrush. Sure enough, thats what Thad has in his mouth, on his tongue, and inside his left cheek. I hadn't noticed it in the cheek. But then again I didn't have a tongue depressor and a flashlight like the doctor did! It turns out the thrush, which is an overgrowth of yeast, is an explanation for the extreme pain I was having breastfeeding a couple of weeks ago. So we got a prescription for that, too. Some sort of ointment or something to rub on it. Dr. Carisio (OB/GYN) said I can use it on myself, too, and if it doesn't work I can call her back and get a pill for it.