Family life is a bit like a runny peach pie - not perfect but who's complaining? ~Robert Brault

Friday, February 6, 2009

Refusing To Eat

I was very optimistic that a simple change in feeding position would get Will through his issues, but that optimism is now gone. I went back to the doctor this morning because all of Will's feedings since last night have been awful. He is basically refusing to eat with the exception of an ounce or two here and there. You can tell that he's hungry, but after a few minutes, he seems to be struggling to breathe. He starts to suck in deep breaths of air...the "squeaking" becomes very high pitched...and eventually gulping leads to choking, which leads to him spitting out the bottle. He is completely uncomfortable and if you want him to stop fussing and crying, all you have to do is take the bottle away. What baby does that? So...we have an upper GI scheduled for Monday morning and a follow up appointment scheduled with an ENT for Tuesday morning. I don't "think" this is anything "serious"...but there has to be something we can do to make feeding easier on the little guy. It's been over a month and he's getting to the point where his feedings have significantly decreased and I worry that they are going to continue to go in that direction. Since Monday, Will has not gained ANY weight. This is absolutely unheard of for him considering he's been gaining a pound per WEEK! If we go 3 or 4 days between appointments, he's always up at least 4 ounces since the last visit. Of course the doctor tried to say that he might be leveling off on the weight gain, but c'mon...with everything we've been talking about, it seems like too much of a coincidence. I'm fine if he doesn't want to necessarily gain any weight for a week or two, but I certainly don't want it going in the other direction! Argh...this whole process is so incredibly frustrating! I'm just hoping that between the upper GI and the ENT visit, that we can figure out SOMETHING.

1 comment:

ErinL said...

If it makes you feel any better... Henri eats 2.5 oz about every 2 hours of breastmilk, which is supposed to be less filling than formula.