We're parents to a 4 month old baby with severe reflux, have been round the houses with the Healrh Visitor and GP and finally took our baby to A&E today after she'd pretty much stopped taking her milk altogether, was producing very concentrated dark yellow urine suggesting heading towards dehydration, screaming when attempting to feed etc.
Triage nurse and A&E Dr were understanding and sympathetic, witnessed her arching her back and screaming red faced when laid on her back, suggested to us it looked like severe reflux and passed us to children's assessment ward.
There a different nurse asked for background again, then became obsessed with the fact that, after 3 months of bad reflux and slow weight gain on one formula milk, on the advice of our HV, we changed her milk (made her projectile vomit) changed it again due to vomiting (worked for one week then back to normal), nurse abruptly stated, "Well of course you'll have problems if you're changing her milk all the time". She then fed her version of what we'd told her to the paediatrician.
Surprise surprise, she had no sympathy for us, didn't listen to anything we tried to say, and came out with the following gems:
- When our baby is screaming in distress when laid down (the screaming is instant), it is because she is bored.
- All babies cry, you know.
- Let your baby lead you, don't focus on the amounts she is drinking. After all, if you were breast feeding, you wouldn't know how much she was eating would you?
This admittedly really got to me, I was speechless, I think if I'd not been frazzled I would have said the following:
My baby is eating A FUCKING THIRD of what she should be eating, if I were breast feeding surely my breasts would feel full/achy because she would be latching on, taking a tiny mouthful and screaming and screaming. If this went on long term I would guess my supply would be dwindling. Potentially even dried up. Don't throw that emotive crap at me. It might be a valid point if we weren't dealing with a BIG FUCKING DEAL here.
Phew.
- All formula milks are the same, including Comfort and Stay down and anti reflux and organic and everything else, they are all the same.
- ... But changing the milk all the time, as you have been doing, is causing problems. You need to pick a milk and stick to it.
O rly? Insert all the sarcastic emoticons the Internet has right here.
- How much does she weigh? Well she's alright then.
?
- You can't tell if a person is dehydrated by looking at their urine.
Really? I mean really? So urine tells us nothing? I am finding this one hard to take on board.
- There is nothing wrong here. It might be 1pm and your baby may well have only had 3oz but that is fine, what is the problem? Here's some medicine that might make a difference within a month. Bye.
Can't complain massively because we got the right medication and hopefully we are on the road to having a baby that is not screaming in agony and unable to eat. She is asleep on my lap and I can feel her tummy rumbling and I know that when we try to feed her she will scream and struggle and it is heartbreaking. Here's hoping this fixes it.
Have you had an unexpected experience like this? Did you feel like a time waster but still wanted to battle for your baby?
Next thing you know you'll be calling us hun.......