A bit down today

What meds and how much is she on?

Sorry, it’s hard to keep track of everyone. It would help if you would put her statistics (age, meds, dose, formula, etc) in your signature, so we don’t keep asking the same questions.

Just click on Settings, then Edit Profile, then scroll down to Signature and type the inforomation in the box.

I hope better days are ahead. Hang in there.

Anne said what I was thinking very well. We’ve always experienced ups and downs. Only now that I’ve stopped living every moment waiting for her reflux to go away have I been able to accept how things are for us. I used to hold my breath waiting for the other shoe to drop, and when it did, I’d be really disappointed, because deep down I was thinking that maybe she was finally outgrowing it. The ups and downs can be hard, but when I accepted that they were part of the whole package, it made it easier. That way I knew it was coming.

I know that sounds terrible, but we’re an exception, but not a rule, so hopefully that won’t scare you. If you need to feel better, you can read all the success stories in the hip, hip, hooray forum.

What I think happens for the most part is that there are a few good days followed by a series of bad days, and the cycle just repeats itself. BUT eventually you find that there are more good days then there are bad ones and the bad ones get fewer and farther between. This is especially true when you find the right cocktail of meds and foods for you little one. And then before you know it, the reflux is gone, for most. We’re still waiting, but like I said we’re the exception and not the rule. And we do have more good days then we used to. Hang in there.

I’ve also been thinking that my message might have sounded totally depressing– especially to someone who doesn’t know our story. Like Lori, my child has been the exception to many reflux “norms” and is very much UNLIKE many many scores of babies and children who outgrow reflux by age one. We both have very different perspectives because of this, and we might see this in a different light philosophically than other mothers. The point is that sometimes lowering your expectations or changing your definition of what’s normal for your family and child WILL help your situation, but probably doesn’t make you feel better right now.

However, even Lori and I are in a better position now than we were when our babies were younger. So, even some of us with the unusual situations can attest to things getting better than they started out. I have to say, sleeping and testing aside, Lucas never had hospital stays or other reflux nightmares that many children with truly severe reflux go through. He never had a G-tube or other feeding tube attachments. In many ways we were fortunate. So, hang in there. Things really will get better. It may take longer than you thought, but over time it WILL GET BETTER.