The Evils of Gastroesophageal Reflux and...A New Hope?

Last we heard from our intrepid new parents, they (we) had been battling what we thought was a particularly horrible case of colic in Liam.  While the colic was definitely in full force, it turns out that there was something worse lurking in the background, exacerbating the issue at hand.

A little over a month ago, I came down with a pretty mean 1-2 winter illness combo: a full on sinus infection and strep throat, all at the same time.  This pretty much knocked me out for the better part of four or five days.  Luckily I caught it pretty early, got a quick meet with the doctor, and got some pretty rad antibiotics that kicked all that to the curb.  Unfortunately, Liam got pretty sick a few days later.

We got in to the pediatrician pretty quickly, and determined that he had a run-of-the-mill cold virus, probably the same one that had been running rampant in our community.  Desperate for help with the non-stop fussiness that Liam had been exhibiting, Kristen and I had been reading up on all sorts of other things, including acid reflux.  When we told our pediatrician about the symptoms he had been showing, he agreed that reflux was definitely possible and prescribed a mild, baby form of Zantac to see how Liam responded.

After a week we were fairly certain that he was responding well and better - after a little more than a month, we can't believe the change in our baby boy.  I'm happy to say that while he still has his moments, and remains a particularly challenging little dude, the bouts of completely inconsolable crying have all but disappeared.

We first saw evidence of this when Kristen's parents and sister Amy came to visit back on January 22, probably no more than a week after being on his medicine.  Instead of the fussy little boy they had seen before, our visitors found a cute, happy, bubbly little man who was all too happy to smile and laugh!

(plenty more from this visit in this web album)

I think word must have gotten around quickly that Liam was feeling better, because we had a whole smattering of visits in February.  First, Liam's Aunt Amy came for another visit, and had a lovely time with him.

Next was another visit by Kristen's parents.  Liam was sporting his cool new Snoopy onesie and had a great time playing with his Poopaw and Memaw.

 

A few days later Liam's Aunt Hannah came to visit for the weekend.  Liam had a wonderful time with her, though when I was taking pictures he was just starting to edge into a fussy mood.

Then towards the end of the month Mama Kamp (Martha) and Aunt Sadie came over in the evening, giving Kristen and I a lovely night out to go have some dinner at a favorite local place.  Liam was in fine form, giving me some of the best pictures I've gotten yet of him in a great mood.

 

 

(Tons more of all these and more pics in another recent web album)

So life has definitely improved, and we're having a grand time with our lovely baby boy.  He's also been growing in leaps and bounds - at last measure, he weighed in right at 14 lb and measured 25 inches!  (he started at 6.6 lb and 19 inches - that's 32% gain in height and a whopping 112% gain in weight!)  We figure he's always had a big personality, it just took his body a little while to catch up.

And bonus points for anyone who smiled at the title of this post.