Mr. Piggy

I took Aiden in for a check up yesterday because he has been having this problem choking frequently for the past week or so. It's really been scaring me, so I called the pediatrician this past Monday to see what they thought. The doctor on call seemed concerned that he is choking even when breastfeeding and when using the slow flow nipple on his bottle. He recommended making an appointment and trying to pace how fast he eats in the meantime. The pacing seemed to help a little, but come Wednesday night he started choking randomly throughout the night. I woke up at least six times to him choking. The coughing fits last under a minute, but it's enough to freak out Mommy.

So, doc appointment Friday... his pediatrician says it's reflux. I guess it's really common in infants. He arches his back all the time and that's a classic sign of reflux. =( Poor guy. We have been trying formula with added rice cereal in hopes that it will sit heavier in his stomach. If this doesn't work, then we might try Pepcid. I'd like to avoid that if at all possible. We'll see how it goes. Needless to say, I was relieved to find out it's not something more serious. If all else fails, doc says it should go away by two to four months of age. He will be learning to sit up soon and his esophagus will lengthen as he grows.

Funny thing, my little chubster topped out the scale at 11 lbs - 2 oz. LOL! I thought he would be closer to 10 pounds. Guess I was wrong. He may be choking, but he's obviously getting enough food down. I've been breastfeeding every three house and then offering him two ounces of formula. Sometimes he takes it, sometimes he doesn't. At night, I feed him every four to five hours. I've read that a newborn should not go longer than five hours without eating. I'm hoping at eight weeks, when we try it, he will sleep through the night. I know I have it really good, but man I could go for a full night's rest! This will be really rough when I have to go back to work. I just keep reminding myself that it will hopefully only be for two weeks.

Well, it's time to feed Little Man his dinner. Gotta run!