Riley's Timeline

I get a lot of emails from parents wanting to know at what point certain things happened in the course of treating Riley's reflux.  I decided to put together this timeline of what happened when to give an overall picture of what we went through. 

Birth

5/19/01 - Riley is born one month early weighing 5.6 oz. and measuring 18 inches long.  He was sent to the NICU for observation.

5/22/01 - Riley was supposed to come home but developed jaundice.  He always seemed quite comfortable in the NICU.  Slept well.

One Week Old

5/26/01 - Riley finally gets to come home!

5/28/01 - Riley shows the first signs of having trouble with bowel movements.

Two Weeks Old

6/1/01 - Riley's first checkup.  He weighs 5 lbs. 13 oz. and is 19.5 inches long.

6/5/01 - Riley is really struggling with his bowel movements - straining and grunting constantly.  Used a glycerin suppository and he immediately pooped it out!

6/6/01 - Still having trouble.   Used suppositories twice.  Started putting pear juice in formula.

6/7/01 - Another checkup.  Riley gained a 1/2 pound.  Riley had a terrible night.

Three Weeks Old

6/9/01 - Riley had a fussy evening but soon settled down.

6/10/01 - Riley had a really fussy/gassy day, but quiet otherwise.  Riley took a two hour nap while being held.

6/12/02 - Riley was pretty fussy all day.  We had a terrible night last night.  Riley screamed all night long.  As soon as we put him down he would scream.  He finally went to sleep at 4 AM.  My husband and I were exhausted...

6/13/01 - Appointment with lactation specialist at hospital.  She suspects Riley has reflux, so I made an appointment with a doctor in his pediatrician's office.

6/14/01 - Appointment with pediatrician.  She agrees he has reflux.  Prescribes Zantac.  Also suggests switching to lactose-free Similac to help with gas.  Riley begins spitting up at every feeding.  Riley had a good night except for spitting up.

6/15/01 - Switched Riley back to Similac with Iron.  He had projectile vomiting at his 8 AM feeding.  Called the doctor.  Said to try lactose-free powder instead of concentrate.

Four Weeks Old

6/19/02 - Dr. appt.  Reflux is not better so she ups Zantac dosage to .5 ml.  Wants me to put Riley in Isomil formula.  Next step would be rice cereal in formula followed by bariu x-ray and Reglan.  We have a plan in place.

Five Weeks Old

6/25/01 - The spit up continues to get worse as does the reflux, so I plan to call the dr. tomorrow about the rice cereal.

6/25/01 - The reflux and spitting up are getting worse so I called the doctor to get permission to go to the next step - adding rice cereal to his formula.  Said to add 1 TBS./2 oz.  Started the rice this afternoon.

6/26/01 - Riley had a fussy morning.  The rice doesn't seem to be helping Riley.

6/27/01 - Riley was up around 7:30 AM this morning.  By 9 AM I had him fed, gave him his Zantac, bathed him and and had him dressed and asleep!  I was pretty impressed!  Riley had a somewhat fussy night.  His reflux and spitting up are getting worse.

6/28/01 - Terrible vomiting this morning.  He spit up everything he ate and screamed the worst I've heard so far.  I did research on the Internet and thought he fit the symptoms of pyloric stenosis, which is when the muscle between the stomach and intestine closes shut.  I made an appt. with the doctor.  Riley weighs  8 lbs. 7 oz.  He should gain a 1/2 oz. to an ounce a day, so he should have gained no more than a 1/2 lb. since his last visit.  He's gained over a pound!  She said he didn't have pyloric stenosis but a barium x-ray was scheduled for Monday to check for the reflux.  If he has it, he will take a medicine called Reglan.

The doctor also upped his Zantac from .5 ml to .6 ml.  Also changed his formula to Nutramigen ( $8 for 8 bottles - yipes! ).  He started it in the evening.  I decided to discontinue the rice.  Riley slept very little and stayed fussy.  Levsin drops did not help.

6/29/01 - Riley was pretty fussy and slept only a few hours.  I gave him Levsin drops around noon and he slept for a couple of hours.  Was fussy late evening.  Screamed when given a cold bottle!  Ended up having a great night.  Slept well and wasn't fussy.

Six Weeks Old

6/30/01 - This morning Riley had some great awake time.  We read books and I put him on his activity gym in the floor.  He went to sleep in the floor!  He had a good quiet day and slept a lot.

7/2/01 - Riley's upper GI/barium swallow x-ray was today.  Everything looked fine - no plyoric stenosis, no blockages or abnormalities.  Great, but still no explanation for the reflux.

7/3/01 - Doctor's office says to continue with Nutramigen and Zantac.  Riley had a fussy and painful afternoon.  He is constipated from the x-ray yesterday.

7/6/01 - Riley was extremely fussy in the evening after his Zantac so I decided to stop it.  He screamed all night long...

Seven Weeks Old

7/9/01 - Riley had a terrible night again.

7/10/01 - Riley's checkup.  Doctor takes him off Zantac and prescribes Prilosec.  Changes formula to Alimentum.  Agrees to an apnea monitor so he can sleep on his stomach.  She refers Riley to a pediatric GI specialist.  By some stroke of luck, I got an appt. with the specialist that afternoon.

Appointment with specialist.  He says Riley has reflux and delayed emptying of the stomach.  Possibly due to a narrowing between the stomach and intestine.  Says to stay on Nutramigen and agrees with Prilosec.  Says to use Gaviscon instead of Mylicon drops for gas.  Wants to do an abdominal ultrasound.

The apnea monitor arrives, but isn't working and we can't use it...

7/11/01 - Someone comes out to fix the monitor.  I started Riley on Gaviscon - .6 ml before feedings up to 6 times a day.  I picked up Riley's Prilosec prescription - it was to be in a chocolate-based suspension, per the specialist, but two pharmacies later, I have the medicine in a plain suspension and have to add Hershey's syrup!  Not sure how to do that.  Try to use the monitor again - something is wrong with the cord and it is registering alarms.  Still can't use...

7/12/01 - Riley is screaming so bad today.  Talked to the specialist's nurse - she said to add syrup to Prilosec and mix and administer with a syringe.  Also said to give Riley Colace liquid for his constipation ( .6 ml as needed ).  I gave him his first Prilosec dose tonight which he spit up.

7/13/01 - Riley had a fussy morning.  But a bath actually calmed him down.  Riley had a fussy night.  Riley spit up his PM Prilosec.  Tried the apnea monitor again - it actually worked and Riley slept on his stomach all night and did really well.

** THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION - CHECK BACK OFTEN FOR THE REST OF THE STORY!! **

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