Trying something else.

Allison has been congested since birth. I'm not exaggerating there. Since birth. She has had a permanent stuffed up nose. For the most part it doesn't seem to bother her. But when it begins to interfere with her ability to eat (especially when she was able to nurse) or sleep she turns into one pissy little baby. I would too if I were her.

I first noticed it in the hospital before we even brought her home for the first time. I asked the nurse and the doctor why her breathing seemed so obstructed. I was told that because she was born so quickly (that is a story for another day) that she hadn't had time in the birth canal to clear things out like babies normally do. Ok, good enough for me. But a week later when we went in for a weight check I commented that she was still stuffed up. He checked her and decided that it wasn't in her lungs and other than sounding snorty she was fine. Ok, good enough for me again. Then a couple weeks later we went back for another check up. She still had a deep, phlegm filled rasp to her breathing. It was again determined that it was not in her lungs at all. It was staying up in her head. The doctor thought maybe it was a sinus infection that wouldn't go away so she was put on her first prescription of antibiotics. She was on them for a while when my older girls brought home a nasty cold from school that we all got. I took the baby back to the doctor and told him that I really couldn't be sure if the medicine had worked at all because we all got sick again so quickly after she completed it. And she was still very congested. We went to another more all-encompassing antibiotic. She hated this one with the fire of a thousand hells. I would squeeze it in and it would ooze back out. She made the cutest little scrunched up face that told me her thoughts without a word. I gave it to her as well as I could. Still no change.

Then the doctor thought it might be a case of reflux. I told him she wasn't really big on the whole spitting up thing and she didn't cry a lot like she was in pain. He said it might be manifesting itself in other ways, like stuffing up her baby nose. So after another check to see if anything sounded anything less than perfect in her lungs (negative) we were told to go the soy formula and see if that worked. First, let me say that formula smells gross. Soy formula, however, smells gross on a completely higher level. This stuff made me almost puke going in my baby or coming out. REVOLTING!!!! And she started spitting up more than ever. And her congestion didn't change. So it was time for another call to the doctor.

In just a minute I am heading out to pick up a different formula to try. This one is hypoallergenic. It is for babies who are allergic to the proteins in milk or soy based formulas. I guess it is not all that common to have that allergy. Many babies with colic are given this particular formula. My baby cries sometimes but not on any level close to colic. So we will try this because I will try anything at this point. I just want Allie to be happy and able to eat and sleep and breathe without any trouble. In a way I hope this fixes it and it and in a way I don't want her to have any food allergies that she has to deal with the rest of her life. Wish us luck.