Tomorrow shall be our fourth hospital admission and he's only 14 weeks old

[DoubleCarrick]

I don't even know why I'm posting. He's not seriously sick and I count myself fortunate but I'm just so worn down by rebounding back to the hospital all the time.

We've had 7 days, 10 days, 2 days and they've told me that this one will initially be 48 hours.

[OuchBollocks]

:( how stressful. It's horrible taking babies to hospital. What have the admissions been for?

[Belle1409]

Thinking of you. Do you want to share the reason why, if it would help? Do you have a partner? Have you got a bag ready for yourself?

[DoubleCarrick]

The first admission was feeding issues and then a chest infection emerged. Second was feeding issues, lethargy, etc and it turned out that his oxygen levels were low - he required oxygen for ten days. Third he went all floppy and sleepy.

Currently we're having epic high pitched screaming fits. The doctor said they are too intense and prolonged so she wants him checked out.

Reflux is still a pretty major issue and he finds it very distressing despite being on Gaviscon and ranitidine.

It all just feels like a mess

[DoubleCarrick]

I packed yesterday and I'm going to do days and my husband will do the nights. It's a rubbish reason to be given two full nights sleep but it worked well when he was in hospital at ten days old

[JessKM]

Aw double its an awful situation, I was there with both of my youngest but it's good that the doctors feel the need to investigate further at this age - so many people wait so long to have their concerns listened to. My DD was 19 months and it was only after his diagnosis that my daughter got the same one, she was 4 by that point! as hard as it is try and see it as a positive that you're getting the action your beautiful baby needs. He'll be in the best place and they can see what you're seeing at home, which you don't always get the luxury of at a 15 mins GP appointment. Just remember to share the burden and talk about anything you need too with your partner or the nurses, they'll be more than happy to help

Xx

[FatLittleWombat]

That sounds so hard op. I hope you finally get the reflux sorted with this hospital admission! The other issues he's had do sound a bit like they're related to reflux. I hope your baby gets better soon

[ragged]

poor mite. Hang in there. x

[Occadodo]

My DS spent most of his first 18 months in hospital we were constantly in and out! He is 7 now and we've already had 5 admissions this year .... two via blue light.
He's got a rare gene mutation ... reflux was part of it very early on. He also has epilepsy and autism....
best of luck .... enjoy the quiet times together !

[duende]

sounds very stressful :(
My both had reflux and only settled once on omeprazole, but the change was almost overnight. Good luck!

[DoubleCarrick]

Thankyou all. Today is the day, 1pm.

We increased his ranitidine at the weekend to maximum dose and the last two days he's been much better.

DH is getting very het up and insisting that we make him dairy free (by coincidence both dh and I have diagnosed milk allergies). It's almost like I need to be even calmer due to dh stressing.

I hate that I'm beginning to get nervous every time he cries or fusses because that does help the situation. I was staying calm until I went to my parents over the weekend. Nan thinks he's sick because we refused to give him solids step dad says he's overtired , mum suggests we aren't winding him properly and it's made me go from a parent who was coping and feeling like I was doing a good job considering everything we've been through to a parent who is worried about naps, how to soothe and wind him, etc.

[DoubleCarrick]

I'm hoping that it won't require an admission at all. The doctor we're seeing is very good and had him the previous two times we were admitted.

The second was awful as they didn't know what was wrong. We had to go to get his heart checked which came back all clear luckily

[DoubleCarrick]

Wondering how to sort milk out while in. Think they'll judge if I take my perfect prep and some powder?

[biddybid73]

Can't imagine how hard that must be. We spent one night and day in hospital and it drove all 3 of us crazy.

[muminmanchester]

Offering a handhold. We spent 10 days in with DS at 5 weeks as well as a number of daytime admissions for monitoring and it was just the most stressful and upsetting time.

On feeding, I took pre-mixed formula and they had sterilisers. It's more expensive but it was much easier to manage.

Hope everything is ok

[ShovingLeopard]

How awful for you all.

I hope you get to the bottom of what is causing it soon. Have you tried going dairy-free before? Continued reflux can be a sign of food allergy and intolerance, even without other symptoms (though most HCP are not clued up about that). My DD has multiple intolerances, but has no symptoms other than reflux, and continued to gain weight even while reacting to the allergens in my milk and her old formula (she was mix fed).

If he is formula fed it would be easy to find out: you simply switch to a hypoallergenic formula such as Alfamino for a while, and see if symptoms abate.

[Iamastonished]

You have my sympathy. DD was admitted to hospital at 7 weeks, then at 8 weeks for breathing difficulties. Fortunately we live near an excellent children's hospital which also happened to be a centre of excellence for ENT problems. DD's issue was diagnosed promptly and dealt with extremely well.

I think they would also be able to provide the right feed for your son, especially if he is an inpatient.

I hope they manage to find the right treatment for him

[MrsMozart]

You are doing a good job. Ignore the naysayers.

I do tend to harp, but I was like this as a baby. Turned out I was born with too much calcium. Hopefully that check is part of what the docs are looking at.

Have a handhold and a hug.

[Anditstartsagain]

Poor little baby and poor you it must be hard. My ds2 was on gaviscon and ranitadine and both made him cry and scream I insisted on omeprazol instead and it worked like a dream.

[DoubleCarrick]

So we've been checked and turfed out which wasn't expected. She said the issues are reflux related. He's had a chest xray and will have an ultrasound on his kidneys but apparently we just have to wean him early.

Might go back to the gp to see what she says

[ShovingLeopard]

I'm not sure early weaning is still seen as best practice. I hate to sound like a stuck record, but I would be wanting to rule out (or in) allergies at this point. If his symptoms are so severe he has ended up in hospital, it has to be worth considering. If it is allergy related you will remove the symptoms by removing the allergen. We have had excellent care from the paediatric allergy team at St Mary's Paddington on how to care for allergies and intolerances, and how to introduce new foods. They are also very knowledgable about medications - far more so than GPs.

[DoubleCarrick]

Tbf she said it herself that she was an old fashioned doctor. My gp is pretty good so I'm going to go back to her to discuss

[Whatsername17]

I had to wean my eldest early due to milk refusal and weight issues. By 'early' they meant 17 weeks rather than waiting until 6 months.

[Babydreaming]

We had a similar situation...my babies 4 months and we've had an admission every month. 2 for feeding issues. We were finally recently diagnosed with cows milk protein allergy and severe reflux disease. Our baby now is settled. Whenever I complained that my baby cried all day and didn't sleep everyone just told me that's what babies do....well no!!! I would definitely consider cutting dairy. I have no history of food allergies so assumes it couldn't be that but could have saved my baby months of pain!!

[Anditstartsagain]

Both mine weaned at 4 months for many reasons both times it helped with their issues. With ds1 it helped a little until he came off fomula he still had problems with ds2 by 2 months of weaning we had no more problems.

I'm not saying it will help every baby but for mine the 2 things were linked. My babies were both showing all the signs of readiness.

[DoubleCarrick]

Thankyou all. I've managed to convince the doctor to give me a two week trial of hypoallergenic formula. He's been on it nearly 48 hours and there's a noticeable difference already!