Alphabet Plans

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. I am often grateful that we have so many letters to fail with. It's encouraging that if Plan A doesn't work, you can move on to Plan B, C, etc. This seems to be all we have to go on with Joseph right now.

Joseph had his appointment with the GI specialist and unfortunately his intestines are getting worse. The upper GI and small bowel follow through study showed that they're still dilated. When he was trying to pass all the contrast he had to drink for this study, his intestines didn't function to move it all the way through, and it sat there inside of him long enough to cement and he really struggled with this. I had to lube up his bum so he could get the rocks out. His infection didn't respond to the first round of antibiotics and his breath is smelling more and more fermented. His gas is becoming so foul-smelling that I struggle not to gag! And, his reflux is getting worse, sometimes it's liquid, sometimes like cottage cheese, and sometimes a big blob of mucus. His stools are also very liquid and mucusy. To top it all off, he's lost about half a pound in the past month. So, Plan B involves stopping his reflux medication [which could be contributing to the SBBO (small bowel bacterial overgrowth)], getting a stool sample for cultures, switching him to a milti-strain probiotic, and trying a round of a different kind of antibiotic. If this doesn't work, the GI wants to consider a colonoscopy and endoscopy (a camera up his butt and down his throat) to see the extent of the irritation and inflamation.

Trying to get a stool sample from a 7 month old became one of those things you should only see in movies. Plan A was to take one of my plastic breast milk storage bags, cut off the top, and generously tape it to his bottom, then place the whole contraption in a diaper 1 size to big for him. Let me just say, the poop went everywhere BUT the bag. For Plan B, I wrapped his whole bottom in Saran wrap with an area open for his pee, and then put a diaper over the whole contraption. And he didn't poop. Plan C: q-tip with surgi lube - gentle rectal stimulation with a cup in the other hand to catch anything that came out. Believe it or not, it worked like a charm!

Joseph is on day 5 of the new antibiotic and I still haven't noticed improvement. One thing that the GI suggested was adding a scoup of formula to his bottle to increase the calories in it, that way he won't keep loosing weight. I tried this and he threw the whole thing up and got a bellyache. He seems to be the hungriest at night and has been waking up every couple hours wanting to nurse. It's really making for some long days (and nights).