The doctor isn't concerned enough to test anything. He basically said - "well, sometimes the spit up of a reflux kid doesn't smell because they're on acid suppression medication." Hm. I honestly don't know what to think. I guess without having little receptors in your body, most of what doctors do in these situations is guess (educated, but guess) based on symptoms. And, when the patient can't talk - well, it's even harder.
So, our mode of operation now is to make sure that Nathan moves around in the morning before he eats (to get his body going); let him wait a few minutes (10, maybe?) before he runs around after eating; and make sure he moves around after eating before we sit him in the car. Got that? Sheesh! :-)
The brushing (more properly called Deep Pressure and Joint Compression) program is going well. Nathan was less tactile defensive at his OT therapy appointment today. I think he's becoming more interactive - but, that is a difficult call. More in a week on that.
So, here's a frustration for you - if you have trouble with your child gaining weight and also trouble keeping food down and also trouble knowing if they've had enough or not, you're with me. Tonight, Nathan seemed really hungry. But, when we'd gotten to about 4 oz (200ish calories - yes, I pack it dense with calories), he seemed like he was starting to have a teensy bit of trouble. He wasn't saying 'all done' with his characteristic horizontal right-to-left emphatic 'slash' with his left hand. But, he seemed to be slowing down... sort of. So, I stopped. Nathan isn't a complainer - so, don't go thinking that my child was asking for more at this point. He wasn't. I stopped thinking - better to keep those 200 cals in than clean up a spit up and worry about him being hungry because he wouldn't eat after spitting up.
Add to that - he had trouble (quite a bit) going to sleep tonight. Now, this is nothing new. Nathan rolls around in the bed for an hour pretty much every night. Before you think I'm complaining, let me also explain that the little angel just rolls around, sometimes laughing and sometimes playing, until he falls asleep. I know - wild. So, I'm not complaining - I'm worried that he's too stimulated (or something, I don't know - I've thought about this almost too much to be coherent at this point) so he can't relax.
So, crazy, worried mommy sits downstairs staring at the video monitor (are these things actually good for you in this type of situation?) wondering - 'should I go up and rock him more? will he just wait for me to come back up tomorrow night if I do it tonight? is he actually hungry? did I feed him enough?' And on and on and on...
So - I stopped feeding him tonight not because he said 'all done' but because it seemed like he should done based on his body language (a VERY sensitive reading of it, mind you). Did I stop too soon? How can I know? So many times, I've kept feeding him and he's spit up losing most of his dinner. But, how do you balance that? Am I too cautious? Will his stomach not expand? .....
Okay - re-reading that. I'm getting neurotic over it. What person hasn't (as an adult or almost-adult) eaten too much and then been hungrier the next day for it? I'm pretty sure that stomachs have the capacity to expand and contract as our behavior requires it. Nathan isn't going to permanently under-eat because I fed him just a little-bit less food than he could've eaten... Ugh - I still worry!
Tell me if you think I'm crazy... :-)
Okay - after sharing that! Still! Happy playing! Our kids need to have fun with us. :-)
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