Fretful Friday

Thank you so much for all the prayers for Faith Clare. We are managing pretty well considering I got sick with strep throat on Sunday (my birthday!) and Dusty has been working like crazy!

So Faith Clare was scheduled on Friday at 1:30PM for her Upper GI at our local hospital. I was told that morning by our pediatrician's nurse that she couldn't eat for 4 (yes FOUR) hours before the test so 9:30 was the cut-off. Of course I fed her AT 9:30 but was already resigned to the fact that she was going to be very hungry by the exam.

We showed up to the hospital about 1:20 and waited in registration... we waited and waited and waited. I was finally signing the financial responsibility and HIPPA papers at 1:50 and then they walked us down to radiology... Yes, us. Did I mention that I brought Deacon along and during his naptime?? We arrived at the radiology waiting room and waited some more. At this point both of the kids were doing pretty well, but I knew how fast things could fall apart and just spiral out of control! I was mentally preparing.

At 2:35 we got called back and they began explaining what would happen. Deacon had to wait with several techs outside of the room because of the "xray in progress". He wasn't too sure about it in the beginning but with a swift offer of a lollipop from one of them, he happily went out the door and was more than satisfied. The child in my arms however, was a far-cry from happy. It had been 5 1/2 hours since she had eaten, was laying naked on a table with a huge, gloved hand moving her around, a big contraption over her entire body, and her mama pinning her arms to the table. To say she was beside herself is a MAJOR understatement. She was absolutely BONKERS!

After several minutes of "pictures" on the table, the radiologist handed me a bottle with thick, strawberry-flavored, chalky barium. Honestly, it took a good 60-90 seconds for Faith Clare to even realize something was in her mouth because she was crying so hard. When she tasted the wet stuff in her mouth, she attacked the bottle (which is normally a struggle) and wasn't about to let go... Oh wait, until the doctor said... "I'm sorry, you're going to have to take that back out of her mouth and give her the pacifier for a minute until we get her positioned right for the images while she drinks." SERIOUSLY???? I looked at the tall man like he was out of his flippin' mind and he just looked back, nicely but indicating that, indeed, he meant what he said. I pulled the bottle out and tried the switcheroo with the pacifier. I'm sure my tiny daughter thought I was insane and trying to starve her... Back to the hysterical screaming.

I waited for what seemed like an eternity until he said I could give her the bottle back. She chugged and chugged that thick stuff... I thought it was going to be gone in an instant. They finished the xrays they needed and then told me I could take her off the table and continue feeding her out in the waiting room. Apparently I didn't realize how thick it was because I did continue feeding her... until she started gagging and choking that is. When I turned the bottle up I realized that entire time she had only taken a measly 2 ounces.

It was at this point that I came to understand that we would be spending all afternoon at the hospital. They told us that we had to wait for the barium to go through her large and small bowels to ensure everything was working properly. The tech mentioned "sometimes it can take up to 8 hours." WHAT??? Needless to say it was an extremely long afternoon.

From that point on we were called back every 30 minutes or so to continue taking pictures. Faith Clare was very upset through the afternoon due to her lack of "nutritional intake" so I was extremely thankful when they told me about 4:30 that I could nurse her. After that, she settled down, was much more content and we took the last pictures just before 5.

Throughout the entire ordeal I felt pretty neglectful of Deacon. I was trying to maintain Faith Clare's and my sanity and quite frankly I didn't realize we would be there for 4 hours. Besides him eating a package of peanut butter crackers, 2 packs of fruit snacks, the lollipop and some gum, he was AWESOME... In large part due to one tech who took special notice. This sweet girl dug up some crayons and a coloring book, played with Deacon and his cars, and even put him on her lap at her desk and pulled up Nickelodeon so he could watch show clips. I am so thankful for her... I'm not sure how I would have emerged from that hospital without her~ definitely more frazzled than I already was! Undoubtedly Miss Asia will be getting a BIG THANK YOU from our family at the hospital!

All this to say that Monday morning we received a phone call from the doctor's office stating that aside from the reflux that appeared on the xrays, everything else looked perfect. I am thankful that nothing major is going on and while we will go ahead and schedule an appointment with the Pedi GI at TCH... I'm starting to feel like this might be something she will have to grow out of. I guess I feel a little naive in all of this because Deacon was such a good, easy baby. Definitely just a little adjusting is all!

Thanks again for all the prayers and inquiries as to how she is doing. Each day and night is different, but regardless... to us, even with the crying, she is perfect! Just take a look at that sweet face... how can you be mad at that?


"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."- Philippians 4:13

Comments

mrsrubly said…
o i am so happy that apart from the reflux everything is great! as far as your advanture with a mad daughter, WHOA~~~girl you did better than i would have! that's very thoughtful that the nurses stepped up and help with lil deacon! your daughter is gorgeous my friend..hugs!! bonny
KAL071203 said…
Kenzie, My son just turned one, we had a long uphill battle as well with reflux, he is finally off meds but can only keep liquids/pureed foods down if they are thickened with rice cereal. The only formula the has worked for him is Enfamil AR LIPIL (it is thickend with rice startch) Something that worked for us as far as sleeping, he slept semi sitting up in his swing for the first 8mo of his life. The meds we found most helpful were Zantac for the pain, it has a minty flavor he liked, and prilosec for the throwing up, prilosec has a horrible taset so we have the pharmacy flavor it grape, he loves it so much he yells for more lol. You guys are in my prayers, I know how hard it is when your kid is in pain and you can't "fix" it.
Anxious AF said…
Ahh the wonderful world of upper GI. Sadly this is somehting comman for Alex, and the reflux, its like an old freind....
So glad she is healthy!
Laurie in Ca. said…
Oh what a long day you had on your hands Kenzie. I feel for you and for poor baby Faith. I am glad Deacon handled the day good too. A little outside "female" attention never hurts a little guy either. I am praying that Faiths problem clears up soon for you all. I just love the joy that is buzzing in your home these days and I love how much these two dolls look alike. I love you Kenzie and pray for you always.

Love and Hugs, Laurie
Angie said…
Kenzie,

What a nightmare! Poor Faith Claire!! I understand that the doctors need certain things, but really, is there no way to avoid that kind of situation? Oh my. I'm so glad Deacon did well despite everything going against the odds of that happening! And I loved your Christmas card story! I think maybe there is a future for M and D despite the distance =)
Michelle Jamie said…
I could totally go there in this post. My 1st son had pneumonia and i was pregnant so I couldn't be there for the x-rays and he screamed through that. When my second son was born he was born with hernias and had to have sonar’s, x-rays and bloods drawn and those were all taxing considering I had a 16 months old with me who didn't understand what was going on and the nurses were not helpful!!

Anyway...

Glad to hear it's nothing serious!!

Keep Well
Michelle
I am so relieved that everything looks normal.
LA said…
Glad to hear that things were looking normal despite having to go through all of that.

My godson is 10 mths old, and he's got reflux problems which meant for a while as a newborn he worried us a little by not putting on weight as he was very active, not great with naps during day and tended to throw up a lot of what he had just drank. He's still got some reflux issues but they are getting better and he's eating 'solids' (mushed up veggies or fruit or yoghurt...!) without too much issue. Giving him 'Gaviscon' (I don't know what it's called in US mind you) helped him loads - recommended by the doctor/health visitor
Jen in Al said…
What a cutie pie! continuing to pray...:)blessings, jen in al
Kathy said…
Great news, Kenzie!

Sorry you all had such a stessful day but the good thing is they won't remember it even if you never forget it!

I am sure that sweet gal who spent the afternoon with Deacon absolutely loved every minute.

Prayers continue for reflux to be quickly grown out of and that in the meantime the PedGI doc will find a medicine that makes it easier on sweet Faith (and Mom!).

Love,
Kathy
Anonymous said…
Hello Ms. Kenzie, I'm a dedicated reader of your blog. I know it can be really annoying when people just come out and offer unsolicited advice but I was wondering, with Faith Clare's reflux, does she also have colic? Both of my daughters (now 2 and 8 months) had reflux, which was accompanied by colic (or vice versa). With my second daughter my mom found an Infant Probiotic powder at Whole Foods. Probiotics contains a "good bacteria" that the digestive system needs. Although doctors say they don't know what causes colic, I've heard, and am a firm believer that, it's because of an immature digestive system.

The probiotics REALLY helped my second daughter. I would pump about 1-1.5oz of breastmilk to put the probiotics in (bottle fed the 1-1.5oz) and then nursed the rest of her feeding as normal. It wasn't a quick fix. It took over a week for me to notice a difference but when it kicked in I noticed a HUGE difference in my daughter. She cried a lot less and seemed much more comfortable.

Anyway, I don't know if this is even relevant to your situation with little Faith Clare but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway. Blessings to you and beautiful family!
~Brenda said…
I have had that test, and I just wanted to tell Faith Clare that I'm so sorry she had to go through that. Go on...tell her. ;-))

Cute (VERY cute) little ones. I enjoyed stopping by.

~Brenda
www.prairiebren.blogspot.com
Devin said…
Oh, Kenz. I am exhausted reading that! I am so glad that everything came out alright, but I am sorry that it was such a rough day. If you can believe this, I have been there--different circumstances, but the same baby-in-hospital-with-older-children-for-way-too-long situation!

I feel for you, I really, really do. I love the last picture, and I am relived to find out that nothing is majorly wrong. I will still keep you and Faith in my prayers, though.

Always!

Love ya girl.
Corie said…
What a day for you...so glad that everything looks good. Praying for her and that the reflux would soon be gone!
Unknown said…
Yes, we need prayer and grace to deal with health care providers and hospitals...coming from a healt care provider!
Autumn said…
I feel exhausted just reading that. Sounds like quite a time. I'm so glad to hear a good report on Faith Clare. I have been thinking about her and the rest of you quite often since I read the post about her not being herself. She is such a beautiful baby. She just looks so squeezable! And I can't get over how much she looks like her brother. You have darling little ones. All three of them.
Autumn said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Twinkletoes said…
I am so sorry it was so difficult! You are a strong mom! I love how similar Faith and Deacon look! It's adorable!
Kelli said…
Thank you to God that she is okay. She and Deacon are absoulutely beautiful!!
So glad to hear Faith Claire's system looked ok. I can really empathize with your crazy afternoon. It is very hard to take two children to doctor/hospital appointments. I have cried many a tear after such dealings!

Keep us posted about her upcoming appt with the GI specialist. Reflux is such a bear... little Faith, I hope you start feeling better soon.

-Patty
kari.jackson said…
Oh my gosh, Kenzie, I was laughing hysterically and sympathizing all at the same time! :o)
I remember when Derek was about 6 months old and he had to have an EEG done....well, they said he couldn't sleep for a good 6 hours or so before the test. Yes, similar to what you went through, it ended up being LOT longer than 6 hours of sleep deprivation. We were doing EVERYthing we could to keep a poor little 6 month old awake, it was awful! I felt like such a horrible mama that day, I just wished he could've understood that it was the doctor's "fault"!!! Ha ha! It's a great thing babes are so forgiving of their mommies :o)
So glad to hear all looks well, though, and hopefully you won't be going through that again any time soon!! Whew!
love,
kari
Jenn said…
I feel your pain. My now 19 month old daughter suffered from tummy issues including reflux and horrible gas especially at night and we went through all these tests and they never found anything. we were grateful and relieved but alos perplexed. My daughter Sofia pretty much screamed the entire night every nght and I was either up all night with her or 8-10 times with her. When she started whole cows milk at 14 months everything got worse so I tried soy and other things unsuccessfully. Then on a whim I tried Cultutelle Probiotics for babies and young children-I take probiotics and believe they help me but I never considered it for her mainly because she only nursed and never-refused- to take a bottle. Since the first day she took the probiotic she sleeps through the night and actually burps during the day and has no gas night.
I hope the journey you are on with this eases for you. Testing such young babies is so hard especially when they don't allow them to eat.
Good Luck and God Bless
Jenn said…
side note, Sofia's reflux was projectile for such a long time until they put her on Axid. Baby food was out of the question until 12 months of age. She still takes Axid and that's the only one that has helped her.
Again,
Good Luck
Kristen said…
first *hugs*
Second um sorry- lol about ur ordeal...been there and man anytime I go to hospital I plan an all day event cause it normally happens that way. just got a portable dvd player for those days...
3rd someone should had mention before hand how long it might take...thats a drop on the team not you...
glad nothing is terribly wrong with FC!
Unknown said…
Oh Kenzie what a nightmare experience! I'm sorry you had to go through all of that! Praising God she is OK! She really is PRECIOUS!!!!! Adorable too!

Hugs and blessings,
Jill

Popular Posts