stuck

We are stuck. The acid reflux on both babies is bad. Owen was on four bottles a day, but the reflux worsened, and they had to cut his bottle feedings to two. They switched his medicine, but we didn't see much change. They thickened his feedings with "Simply Thick" to help him keep the food in his stomach, but again, no change - except that he looked like he was drinking a Dairy Queen milkshake instead of breast milk. The reflux is traveling so far up his esophagus that it is getting stuck in his nose and making him have horrible congestion. Poor little guy snores like my dad after a few beers. They cut all of his bottles yesterday until he can breathe out of his nose better.

Last week for Elie was very good. She is holding steady at a setting of 1 on the regular nasal canula - a far cry from her days on the high-flow at 4.5. Unfortunately, her acid reflux has gotten so bad that she can hardly attempt her one bottle a day. Two sips, and she's coughing it up like a chicken bone. The reflux is definitely holding back her respiratory progress too, as she is requiring more oxygen to battle the burn of the acid. She is still on Zantac, but it's not managing her pain. We are hoping the doctors switch her to Prevacid, so that she can get the canula taken off and try room air for awhile.

I love moving forward. I love seeing progress, and knowing that we are on our way to better days. But, for now, we are just not moving. And I can't even put into words what it feels like - not good, not bad, just stuck.