Refluxed Up

Erin's been having a rough time lately. (This is a big part of why I haven't updated the blog recently.) She's not in any danger, just discomfort.

More and more over the past week or so, Erin has spit up a few times, more than just a bit, and she arches her back and cries out a lot. Her sleep schedule has been mixed. Some days she sleeps eight hours at night, and another six or so during the day; at other times she sleeps 3 hours or so at night, and steals a bunch of 20-30 minute catnaps during the day, interrupted by cries of anguish at whatever is hurting her.

On Monday, we saw her doctor and described her symptoms: crying for no apparent reason (but usually briefly), arching her back, hiccups, spitting up, protesting at being laid on her back, and eating slowly. He said they pretty much describe reflux, and prescribed Prevacid for her. We started her on Prevacid on Monday evening, and had a rough night. Last night (Tuesday) was worse; she didn't lie down until 5:00 AM. Tonight, we hope she'll sleep better, because today she didn't sleep much at all.

It's arguable if the medication is causing her sleeplessness. This weekend was pretty bad itself, and the last two nights could just be an extension of that trend. Or the medication could be upsetting her (we were told it wouldn't taste very good). Prevacid takes at least a week to start working, so we may have a rough time in the immediate future.

We have kept some of y'all updated on these things, and we appreciate the support and advice we've received. I'm sorry if I haven't kept everyone up to speed; we're both have quite a sleep deficit, and are running at a pretty high stress level. I'll keep the blog updated with her progress.

Apparently reflux isn't uncommon; most babies will resolve it on their own by four months or so, but some have it up to a year. Since Erin isn't spitting up regularly (a symptom of bad reflux), we're hoping on the former.