Another Jake update

Well, this update will contain several updates throughout the past couple days..lots have happened.

3/16
Jake turned 2 months and we took him to his 2 month check up. He weighed in at 11 lbs, 10 oz and 22.5 inches long. He was right in the 50th percentile of "the chart". But, to be honest, I don't ever really look at those charts -- they don't tell if a baby is healthy or not, they just say what the trend is in babies across the board at different ages. I find it that if you pay attention to those percentile charts, you can worry when there's no reason to. I worried with Rylee since she was always SO low on the charts. So now, my mother-of-two brain just says "oh...ok" and I move right along. Anywho , movhe's very healthy besides all his tummy issues! He got all of his shots and did pretty well. Screamed for a second and then was fine. We talked to the doctor about a couple things -1) digestive issues --gas, not pooping everyday, waking up screaming -- to which I'm going to start him on probiotics. **FYI - Probiotics is the good bacteria in your intestinal tract. You have good bacteria and bad bacteria. When the bad ones start to take over, it can cause a lot of pain and digestive issues. Restoring the good bacteria will help even everything out. This is what those Activia yogurts and what not have in them. BUt you can just get the good bacteria strains through supplement form. ** At first, I'll take the probiotic supplement so that he'll get it through my breast milk. If that doesn't seem to help, then I'll give him drops directly. And 2) we talked about the horrid reflux. Although cutting back on his feedings worked a little, it didn't do the trick and we needed to look into other options. So Dr. Rueben explained that there's 2 kinds of meds we could put him on. Reglen allows the stomache to empty quicker, thus reducing the food that can come up as reflux. Zantac or Prilosec is an antacid --it helps to reduce the acid that the stomach actually produces. WE decided that we were going to first try Zantac and see how that worked and then move on from there if we felt like we needed to. Dr R prescribed 1ml, 3 times a day. We swung by Rite Aid to get it filled only to be told by the pharmacist that the prescription was double the amount normally given to babies his age and weight (which he said was 0.6ml, twice a day). He called the doctor to confirm it was the correct dosage (which it was). I was doing fine up at this point. We trust our doctor so I wasn't concerned about the pharmacist's concerns. However, when the pharmacist hung up he said, "I hate it when they do that. He wouldn't change the prescription. If the baby gets too much, it can have neurological side effects." Hold. On. WHAT???? This is when I started freaking out a little (ok....a lot) and REALLY questioning everything. I didn't feel comfortable about such a discrepancy and I do think that the pharmacist knows a lot -- I mean, this is what they do all day long -- deal with medications. They know dosage amounts, and what drugs interact with each other and everything like the back of their hand and it really made me nervous that he said there could be neurological side effects. I went home scared and not knowing what exactly to do. I decided I was going to research stuff for myself and until coming to a comfortable place - I'd just give him the lower dosage and then up it if I felt he needed more.

3/17
The meds seem to be working, even at the lower dose. He's more happy during the day and I actually was able to lay him down on his back without him screaming his lungs out. That, in and of itself, is a HUGE improvement. I talked to some parents who have their children on Zantac and everyone seems to have different dosages and some couldn't really remember. I also talked to my friend, Mackenzie, who is getting her Master's in Physician Assistance (so she knows a lot!). Right now, she's doing a pediatric rotation in San Diego so she said that she would look it up as well as talk to the pediatrician that she's working under. I then called up another pharmacist at a different pharmacy. I talked to a woman who seemed very confident in what she did and you could tell she knew what she was talking about. I explained the situation and my concerns. She told me that the dosage is a little above what they normally prescribe but it's not anything to be concerned about. She said that both as a pharmacist and as a mother, she wouldn't question the pediatrician or the dosage. She explained that if the prescribing doctor would have been a GP or an ER doctor, or 3 -4 times the normal amount - she might raise an eyebrow but since it was his pedi that prescribed it - she wouldn't have a problem. The pediatrician knows Jake, his situation and also deals with many other children with the same problems (since a lot of kids have reflux issues). He knows what dosages work and what doesn't. So, again, she didn't have any issues with it at all. She really helped calm my fears. I asked her about the whole "neurological side effects" thing and she said that although that *could* be a side effect if he gets too much, every drug has rarer, "fine print" side effects. And as with anything - you have to weigh the risks. But the whole neurological thing isn't a definite, it's just a possible side effect of an overdose. WHEW! THat's something that the other pharmacist didn't explain -- he made it seem like a very real possiblity, not a fine print side effect. Again....whew!!
Later that day, Mack got back to me and said that her pedi said the dose was perfectly fine and there's nothing to worry about. So that's 2 other sources that said it was okay-- I'm feeling MUCH better now! However, right now, the smaller dosage is seeming to work -- so I'm sticking with that(o.6ml) but giving it to him 3 times a day. Jake's been smiling a lot and sleeping better - so it looks like it's doing the trick! Darrin even watched him for a couple hours while I went to the grocery store and Darrin said he actually enjoyed him! YAY! Jake had really stressed Darrin out up until this point - so for him to actually enjoy hanging out with Jake and not being frazzled after I get back is a wonderful thing for everyone!

3/18
I woke up this morning thinking it was 3 or 4am, which is normally when Jake wakes up for his middle of the night feeding. He was kind of stirring, so I went out into the living room to get some water and check on the time. It was 7am!! 7 o'clock!! I couldn't believe it -- I actually did a little happy dance in the middle of the room! :) He went to bed at 10pm last night. That means he slept 9 hours! WOOOHOOOOO! I'm a very happy mama!! Looks like today is off to a GREAT start! :)