Four Months!!

Four Months! My baby is already 4 months old- I can’t believe how fast time goes. It has been a very hard yet wonderful 4 months. I think back to the day he was born and I had no idea what was in store for us! Ashton came into this world wide eyed and ready to see everything and he has never changed! He has been so fun and the perfect addition to our family. 

I knew that having a baby would be hard. I knew that babies cry. I knew that I would be sleep deprived. But I had no idea how hard it would get. When Ashton was about 3 weeks old he began to cry A LOT. It wasn’t really normal crying because he was cry every time he ate and then he would cry after every feeding. He would arch his back, get really stiff and just scream. I knew something was wrong and started to do some research. Everything pointed to reflux. We took him to see the pediatrician and she diagnosed him with reflux. We began medication- Zantac- and did everything you should do with a baby with reflux. We held him up 20 minutes after he ate, he slept elevated, etc. He seemed to get worse so we tried Prevacid instead. We saw very little change but continued to treat him and just hope that he would outgrow this problem. He cried and cried every day and nothing we did worked. He absolutely hated to eat. He never nursed well- he would start to eat and after a few swallows he would pull off screaming. I knew he was hungry so we continued to try and he just fought it more and more. He struggled for months and months. I took him to the pediatrician several times telling them that something was very wrong. Many times I got the response- it’s colic and he will outgrow it. Something inside of me knew that it wasn’t just “colic.” Because he pulled on and off when he nursed I became very sore and had to pump and put him on a bottle until I could heal. My supply went way down and I began to supplement with formula. As soon as I put him on formula he broke out in eczema all over his body. We tried to give him hyper allergenic formula but it tasted so bad he wouldn’t have anything to do with it. We tried soy and he broke out in little red dots all over. After 3 ½ months I had had it and took him in demanding some help. The pediatrician had no idea what to do but agreed to refer him to an allergist and GI doctor. I had been taking him to physical therapy for his torticollis and the therapist saw me try to feed him and she immediately knew something was not right. She got me in to see an occupational therapist who also knew there was a big problem. She was amazing and got us in to see a doctor a Primary Children’s Hospital to do a swallow study. We were able to watch him eat and soon saw the problem. Ashton would swallow him milk but couldn’t get it down safely to his stomach. He would drink and it would pool up by his vocal cords, choking and drowning him. No wonder he hated to eat!! He was choking every time I tried to feed him and became distressed. This caused a lot of stomach problems. We were told to thicken his milk and it has made all the difference!  I have a happy baby now who eats with little problems!! We also got into the allergist and found out that Ashton is allergic to eggs and peanuts. Taking those out of my diet will hopefully help his poor eczema. After seeing the GI doctor we will be doing more tests to make sure that the food allergies haven’t caused more problems inside his body. We will take him in and they will put him under to take biopsies of his neck, stomach, and colon. Then they will put a probe in him and we will stay there over night and watch him eat to make sure he isn’t refluxing on top of his swallowing problems. It will be hard but good to know if there is anything else going on. I am just so grateful that we finally got some answers! I knew there was something wrong and finally after 4 months I have my happy baby back! He still has stomach issues but he eats like a champ now! The past four months have been the most challenging of my life. Watching your child suffer in pain is by far the hardest thing I have experienced. But I have learned that a mother’s love is so strong. I would do anything for this little man! I can’t nurse him anymore because I have to thicken his milk but I can’t put him on formula, because he is allergic to what is in formula so I have to pump and bottle feed it. But I can’t eat anything- no dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, peanuts, and now maybe corn. I only eat meat, vegetables, and fruit. But I would eat that the rest of my life for him if I had to!! I love him so much and am eternally grateful for him and the things I have learned the last few months! Despite the problems he has had, he smiled and giggled for us and tried to be a happy baby! He is a strong little spirit and he is definitely special!

At four months Ashton:

-        -  Is finally content and happy most of the time. He wants and likes to eat!

-          -loves to lay on his back and grab his feet- even sucks on his long toes!

-          -pulls his pacifier out and gets really mad- but now he is getting really good at putting it back in his mouth! It’s pretty impressive actually!

-         - Makes lots of noises and loves to talk to us

-          -Smiles and giggles lots! He has the cutest giggle ever!

-          -Loves the bath and kicks and plays every time he gets a bath

-          -Tries to imitate me when I make faces at him or stick out my tongue

-          -Loves to ride in the stroller and swing

-          -HATES the car seat with all his heart! We keep him entertained with the ipad

-          -Is starting to enjoy tummy time and rocks it- his neck is getting so strong- he even moves his legs like he is trying to crawl

-          -Rolls over from tummy to back. He went from his back to tummy once but it scared him and has never done it again!

-          -Tries to sit up out of his car seat or bouncy chair. He wants to sit up and see everything! 

-          -Has very ticklish feet- Derek tickles him and he giggles and giggles!

-         - Weighs 14 pounds 4 ounces and is 26 inches long! 90th percentile in length!!

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The past 4 months have been the most challenging 4 months of my life but by far the happiest and most precious. Because of a hard recovery I got to lay and cuddle my new baby. Because of his struggles I have held him and bounced him and bonded with him more than I would have if he was content to be put down. Because we struggled so much I learned that God does hear and answer our prayers but it is on his timetable. Luckily he has given us the Priesthood power to bless and comfort us. I knew that Ashton would eventually be healthy and happy because of a blessing he was given. But I had to trust God and have faith in his timing. There were many days where I felt mad that Heavenly Father would not help my baby feel better but I had to remember that the things we go through are for our good. I have learned so much through our trials and I have just come to love my sweet angel baby more and more every single day! Ashton is my joy!