After you have a new baby, one of the first questions people ask you is usually, "Is he/she a good baby?" I was always so thankful to reply with a "yes!" Savannah really never cried much and when she did, I knew what she needed (a feeding, nap or clean diaper) and I was able to calm her quickly. Hudson had been the same "easy" baby until he was about three weeks old. Then something in him changed and it wasn't fun.
Sometime around three weeks old, he became super fussy and would even start screaming really loud out of nowhere and for no apparent reason. He needed to be held, even to nap. He wouldn't sit in his bouncy seat for more than 2-3 minutes without crying. He wouldn't sit in his car seat unless we were driving. That made going anywhere really difficult (like eating out, shopping, church, etc.) because the moment his seat was still he would cry and "need" to be held. And even then, holding him wasn't always enough. A few days of this and I was going crazy! I felt chained to my house because I didn't want a crying baby in public or having to do things trying to hold him while also keeping an eye on my two-year-old.
About a week into this "changed Hudson", I started to realize that he wasn't having many bowel movements, but that he did have a lot of gas. I could often tell that when he was fussy, he was really squirmy and uncomfortable from all the gas. His dirty diapers had gone from 4-5 a day down to maybe just one a day or sometimes even go a whole day without a single bowel movement. I knew this couldn't be good for his little body.
I guess this is what is referred to as a colicky baby. And I guess they
are suppose to just grow out of it. But how long does that take? And how
does a mom survive it in the meantime? Especially while trying to also take care of a two-year-old. I know the typical solution is to load the baby up on all kinds of drugs, but that was not even an option in our opinion. Since my husband is a
chiropractor, Hudson was getting regular adjustments, and while it is
good for his overall health, unfortunately it wasn't the answer to this
problem. We were seeing no change in his temperament or bowel movements.
By the time the second week of dealing with this rolled around, I knew something was wrong and I needed it to be fixed. He was still extremely fussy and was lacking regular bowel movements. I know there are simply "fussy babies" out there, but why was he an "easy" baby two weeks ago and not now? Something had to have happened. The only thing I had changed was giving him one or two feedings per day via bottle (although it was still breast milk). Maybe the bottles were causing this? I decided to strictly breast feed for 3-4 days to see if we noticed a difference. There was no improvement.
Because Hudson is my second child, I compare most things to his big sister, Savannah. And like I said before, she was an "easy" baby. I kept telling my husband, "Something is wrong with him." To which he would reply, "Just because he is fussy doesn't mean something is "wrong"... we know people who simply have fussy babies and you just deal with it." Ohhhh no! I am NOT going to "just deal with it." I can't. I thought to myself "you try staying home all day long (because it's too stressful to go anywhere) with an inconsolable baby, a toddler who is cutting her two year molars and cries more than normal now and THEN see how well you just deal with it."
By the fourth of July weekend, I was getting desperate. I read on the internet solutions for colicky babies and one thing that I had not tried was Gripe Water. Again, we weren't too excited about using drugs (even over the counter medicine) so I looked a little more and found a homeopathic form of Gripe Water called Colic Calm. It is only sold via the internet and in a few stores. Luckily, there was a store near us that sold it, so we went as soon as possible on Saturday and bought a bottle.
We used the Colic Calm for two days and saw a slight improvement, but I still knew it wasn't the solution. While Hudson wasn't quite so fussy, he still wasn't having regular bowel movements. Yes, my pediatrician told me that this wasn't a big deal, that it's okay for babies to go a day without a bowel movement. But it's not okay to me if I know my baby is hurting because of it. So, I knew we needed to do more.
Monday was a holiday (the 4th of July), so first thing Tuesday morning, I asked Caleb to call the doctor who treated Savannah for her gluten allergy a few months ago. We had such great results (and quickly) when he did the laser therapy with her, so why not give it a try with Hudson. It most certainly couldn't hurt anything. Thankfully, the was able to see us that morning.
The four of us loaded up and headed to the doctor's office and explained the recent change in Hudson to the doctor. He tested Hudson with the laser by touching Hudson's stomach and chest area to see where/what the problem could be. A few short minutes later, he explained to us what the problem was.
Problem: Ileocecal Valve Syndrome
Hudson's ileocecal valve was contracted closed. This valve is located in the lower part of the abdomen and it connects the large and small intestine. It is what allows foods to digest properly.
What happens when it isn't working properly? When functioning properly, it is a very important regulatory muscle. However, sometimes the ileocecal valve can remain stuck either open or closed. This results in a condition known as ileocecal valve syndrome. If the valve is stuck open, this condition may result in frequent bowel movements. On the other hand, if the valve is stuck closed, constipation may occur.
Ah ha!! This was it!! Once the doctor had found the cause and explained it to us, he did a short (5 minutes & painless) laser treatment on Hudson's ileocecal valve area to open the valve and we were good to go. I was so excited to see if this would really correct the problems we were having, both the extreme fussiness and the irregular bowel movements.
It's been one week and I'm SO happy to report that I have my happy and "easy" baby boy back!! He no longer cries for long periods of time (really he only cries for the obvious things: in need of a diaper change, feeding or nap). He happily sits in his bouncy seat and car seat without having to be moving. He'll even fall asleep on his own! He doesn't "need" to be held to stay happy. He smiles and coos daily WAY more than he cries. And he has 3-4 bowel movements per day. I am no longer afraid to leave the house ,by myself, with both kids.
I am so, so thankful that we have the freedom and knowledge to seek care that is safe and natural. I am glad that we didn't give Hudson bottles of drugs that ultimately don't correct the cause of the problem. I am SUPER thankful to have my sweet, happy boy back!
Wow, that is amazing Amy. Good for you having a happy baby back and he sure is adorable! :-)I bet you were going nuts...Tirzah hasn't been herself this week...so I know what you mean!
ReplyDelete