What made the difference?

Everyone has asked us this question about Whit, and honestly I'm not entirely sure that I know. It was a combination of things. We tried literally everything under the sun, so it's hard to pin-point it. But here's a few of the things that helped:

1. Probiotics! We saw a HUGE improvement when we started giving Whit probiotics. We had read that they helped reflux, and decided to give it a shot once our doctor told us that they couldn't hurt her. He wasn't real enthused about it, and didn't think it would help at all--and to be honest, I don't think he ever believed us when we told him the difference they made. We've been through a few different doctors now, and NONE of them have liked the idea of probiotics, but ALL of them have admitted that they can't hurt you. We noticed an immediate difference in Whitley, and even put it to the test by stopping the probiotics at times. Each time we stopped them, Whit would have terrible pain again. There isn't alot of research out there, but a lot of people agree that probiotics can help a number of things, from reflux, to acne, to allergies. We are definite believers! We now take them ourselves, and even give them to our other kids to help prevent sickness. Check out www.kidsessentials.com to see the immunity drinks we give our kids.

2. Sleep. For the first 4 months, Whit had never slept more than about 30 minutes at a time because of her pain. Even when she was completely exhausted, the pain would not allow her to sleep. And then once she finally did start sleeping, the doctors made us wake her up every 1-2 hours to feed her (they were convinced I was starving her since she wasn't gaining weight). It was a double-edged sword for both Whit and I. It made us both grumpy and caused us both to not eat well. Once I began to let her sleep longer, the other things started to fall into place. And to this day, Whit is SO much happier when she sleeps for a long time. She just needs her sleep!!

3. Going against the doctors. It sounds cliche, but doctors REALLY do not know everything! Boy, have I learned that!! I never felt good about what the doctors were asking of, and telling us. My motherly instincts kept telling me that they were wrong. When I decided that I had tried it THEIR way and it was time to do it MY way, things got better. For instance, they kept wanting me to feed Whit a lot at one time to get extra calories in her. This always backfired since she would just reflux it all and be in severe pain afterward. It also lead to her developing a feeding aversion because of the pain she felt every time she ate. It wasn't until I went against the doctors and gave her smaller amounts more often (as I had told them all along)
that she finally began to gain weight and not hurt. So trust your instincts, not the doctors!

4. Getting a new doctor. I felt trapped to stay with Whit's NICU doctors, since there aren't a lot of doctors who deal with preemies. Looking back, I really feel that her NICU docs were too close to the situation. They think one preemie is the same as all preemies. Yet, in the end they told us:"Whitley is not a normal preemie, and definitely not a normal preemie with reflux". She is the exception that they hadn't planned on, and didn't know how to deal with. They continually pressured me to put her back in the hospital, and threatened me repeatedly with sending child services in to monitor our home. It's was EXTREMELY stressful for both Whit and I. Once we found a new doctor, that stress was gone, and Whit started doing better and better.

5. Rice cereal/Solids. The first time we saw our new doc in March, he had us immediately start adding cereal to all of Whit's bottles. It instantly made a difference! And it gave her extra calories too. ..allowing her to gain weight w/o refluxing. A win-win! Why our old doctors hadn't ever thought of that (in over 4 months), I'm not quite sure.

6. Last, but definitely not least: Prayers! If I could just name one thing, this would be it! We could not have made without all of the prayers on our behalf! We felt every one of them! So thank you!!

The last 8-9 months have been extremely tough, but we wouldn't change it! We have learned SO much!! And as we look back, we can see how we were taught and prepared...line upon line and precept upon precept, to make it through this trial. We have been expanded and enlarged, and have gained SO much! How can we not be grateful?! {And hopefully I'll be able to let my anger at the doctors go soon!}