Gastro

Today Ben had a follow up with the gastro specialist. I went in with my list of questions and concerns. The top one being that Ben doesn't eat! Not far behind was that his reflux seems to have gotten worse and he doesn't sleep well at all. And, that he has pooped during the night three times in the last week. That wasn't really a concern but is out of the ordinary and may add another piece to the puzzle.
So, Ben doesn't eat. We will have a couple of days where he will eat better and we think that we are seeing some improvement. Don't get me wrong, he isn't eating much compared to another 13 month old, but for him it is better. Then he goes back to not eating. Or he does what we call "chipmunking". This is when he stuffs his mouth full of food, sucks on it for a while, and then spits it out. I would have to say that five out of seven days a week he is still exclusively breastfed and the other two days he gets about 75% of his nutrition from breastmilk and the other 25% from food.
This is very different for me. I am not a mom who is an "extended nurser". I personally only nurse until 12 months at the latest. Not that I am against extended nursing, it's just not for me. But, with Ben, I really can't stop nursing. I am his main source of nutrition. Still. This concerns me. He should be eating. He should be drinking cups of milk and some juice. But, he's not.
The last time we went to see Dr. R he wasn't worried at all about this or that Ben wasn't growing. This time was a different story. He is worried. Quite worried actually.
Ben also had blood in his poop today. Thankfully he pooped while we were waiting for the doctor and I thought to save it for the doctor. (Wasn't that so nice of me :o) So when the doctor asked me about how Ben's poop has been I was able to hand him a diaper full. He said, "Oh, you know I love poop!" I think he meant it too, lol. So he tested it and it had blood in it. I couldn't see it but it was there.
A couple of days ago I thought there was some blood in his poop because it looked like coffee grounds but I decided I was over reacting and my imagination was in overdrive. Guess not...
Because of Ben's lack of eating, the blood in his poop, and his very high iEg numbers the doctor thinks he is having some type of allergic reaction in his esophagus. I can't remember what it is called or much about it but Ben is going to have a scope put down his throat in the next couple of weeks so the doctor can really get a good look. Apparently babies and toddlers that have this problem have some major eating issues. It hurts and there isn't room to swallow food.
It is a minor test really but Ben will have to be put to sleep and will have to be intubated. I told Dr. R about when Ben was having the tubes put in his ears and that they couldn't get him safely intubated. I guess this time it will be a pediatric anaesthesiologist and that will make a big difference. Man, I wish they could take out his adenoids at the same time!
Anyway, I don't know what will happen after the test. I was a bit overwhelmed with information and didn't even ask. I do know they will do some food allergy testing.
For now though... Ben will continue to be breastfed whenever he wants. Which will surely be a couple of times during the night. We are upping his dose of reflux meds too.
Man my brain is tired. My body is too! And I have a sore throat, please don't let me get sick!
So, that was our visit to the gastro doctor today.