It's no secret that vomit has been a part of everyday life since The Chubs was born. I mean, the title of my blog is "Spit Happens" which kind of explains things right out.
When the Chubs was an infant, she would spit up an average of 20 times with each feeding (and we wondered why she wasn't gaining much weight...). Then there were the occasional projectile pukes which were not only inconvenient but downright scary for a first time mom. Especially when the puke went through the nostrils.
Once the mouthfuls of spit up decreased and then stopped, the full fledged vomits began. Up until 10 months old when Lexi was still just drinking milk/formula, they weren't a huge deal. Trust me, I still was not thrilled to be cleaning up puddles of milk puke but at least the smell wasn't as potent and it certainly didn't stain too badly.
Although solid food intake was a huge milestone for us considering our battle with terrible reflux and oral aversion, it also introduced us to much more disgusting vomits. Many kids stop puking or spitting up once solids are introduced. Unfortunately, due to a history of reflux, terrible gag reflex and continued oral sensitivities, the puke did not stop. It is becoming increasingly less common, but it is still very much a part of our lives. I could never begin to count how many times I have cleaned up puke. It is definitely in the hundreds.
Before having Lexi I was a pukephobe. I hated anything having to due with anyone's puke. I couldn't even listen to a family member puke without freaking out. It was one of my major fears. After a pregnancy filled with morning sickness from start to finish (including an hour AFTER delivering The Chubs), I started to not fear it quite as much. Afterall, I had probably puked well over 500 times during pregnancy and it was no biggie. Now I think it was preparing me for having a reflux kiddo.
Today at lunch for no real rhyme or reason, Lexi gagged on something. It could've been something as minor as a tiny lump in her food, or that the spoon went back too far in her mouth. But as soon as this child gags, she starts puking and doesn't stop until her stomach is completely empty. Considering she had a sizeable lunch it was EVERYWHERE. Usually cleaning up after her for lunch is already a daunting task. She likes to play in her food as most toddlers do and fling bowls across the kitchen floor. It usually takes me about 20 minutes to fully clean up after her meal on a puke-free day. But when puke is added to the picture it adds a solid 15 minutes onto my clean up time because it gets in every crack and crevice of her highchair, all over her clothes and all over the floor. That means a new load of laundry, a mop job on the floor and a completely thorough cleaning of her high chair pad and chair.
Can I just say I feel like I deserve to be past this stage by now? Everyone expects an infant to spit up once in awhile. Occasionally the stomach flu hits and you have a day or two of puke that you have to deal with. But seriously, she is 1.5 years old now and I feel I should have a break from this weekly puke business. Many people say kids get over their reflux once they start walking. I have yet to see this change. Part of the problem is that most kids don't outgrow their reflux until they hit 9 to 10 kilos which for many kids is around 1 year of age. Since Lexi is a tiny one, she's not there yet. I'm hoping once she gets there we will be done with this. Although the puke doesn't disgust me nearly as much as it used to, it's still not pleasant to clean.
Puke, I'm so done with you.
Showing posts with label puking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label puking. Show all posts
Monday, May 16, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Going dental and mental
Today was Lexi's first dental check up. Yes, it is recommended that your child see the dentist by their first birthday, but honestly, I wouldn't have taken her in unless I actually had a concern.
One of The Chub's front teeth came in looking like it had a small chip in it on the surface of the tooth. I wasn't really that concerned since it came in like that but over the last few months it's gotten a little discolored within the chipped area and I really just wanted to make sure it wasn't turning into a cavity or some other sort of issue that required attention or was causing her discomfort since she already has some oral aversion issues.
I was extremely nervous for the appointment because she absolutely hates anything around or near her mouth, and has extreme stranger anxiety. She even sometimes cries when I hand her off to The Hubs at night when he gets home from work. She is truly a mama's girl.
I specifically chose Dr. B after thoroughly reading through a dozen pediatric dentist websites in the area and seeing that Dr. B encouraged families to be a part of the overall dental experience and that he had experience working with special needs kids. Not that the chubs would be categorized in the special needs area, but because of her SPD (Sensory Placement Disorder) she does require some extra consideration when it comes to handling her oral region. Dr. B lived up to all my expections. He was warm, friendly and compassionate. His staff was very courteous and left the decisions entirely up to us. They asked us up front if we wanted her teeth cleaned. There was no pressure in any way to clean them or not to clean them. I told them that we really just wanted them to take a look at her teeth, especially her front tooth and make sure everything looked ok. They were perfectly happy to accommodate us.
Dr. B worked quickly and efficiently and although within the 10 seconds he took to look her over and smear flouride on her teeth, she worked herself up and threw up all over the seat, we were expecting no less. Let's face it, we know our girl and we have designated puke towels we bring to appointments like this. And really it was only one heave - so not terrible. She even got to pick a little prize at the end which ended up being a pencil because it was the only thing that wasn't a choking hazard.
The verdict was that it is just a malformation of the tooth that could've even been formed in utero. It's a chipping of the enamel and is not a cavity although we are going to continue to watch it to make sure it does not turn into one because it is more susceptible since the enamel is chipped in that area. He said it's nothing to be concerned about at this point. We'll continue to brush her teeth like we have and keep an eye on it. It shouldn't be causing any discomfort, although she could be more sensitive to hot or cold on that tooth. It's hard to say for sure. The rest of her teeth look good. She has 8 teeth now with a few more bumps he noticed (oh joy!). So overall it was a positive appointment, and I can stop worrying about it for the time being. We'll be going back in in about 2 months just to monitor the tooth and make sure it's not getting worse. One more thing to check off my list of things to do!
One of The Chub's front teeth came in looking like it had a small chip in it on the surface of the tooth. I wasn't really that concerned since it came in like that but over the last few months it's gotten a little discolored within the chipped area and I really just wanted to make sure it wasn't turning into a cavity or some other sort of issue that required attention or was causing her discomfort since she already has some oral aversion issues.
I was extremely nervous for the appointment because she absolutely hates anything around or near her mouth, and has extreme stranger anxiety. She even sometimes cries when I hand her off to The Hubs at night when he gets home from work. She is truly a mama's girl.
I specifically chose Dr. B after thoroughly reading through a dozen pediatric dentist websites in the area and seeing that Dr. B encouraged families to be a part of the overall dental experience and that he had experience working with special needs kids. Not that the chubs would be categorized in the special needs area, but because of her SPD (Sensory Placement Disorder) she does require some extra consideration when it comes to handling her oral region. Dr. B lived up to all my expections. He was warm, friendly and compassionate. His staff was very courteous and left the decisions entirely up to us. They asked us up front if we wanted her teeth cleaned. There was no pressure in any way to clean them or not to clean them. I told them that we really just wanted them to take a look at her teeth, especially her front tooth and make sure everything looked ok. They were perfectly happy to accommodate us.
Dr. B worked quickly and efficiently and although within the 10 seconds he took to look her over and smear flouride on her teeth, she worked herself up and threw up all over the seat, we were expecting no less. Let's face it, we know our girl and we have designated puke towels we bring to appointments like this. And really it was only one heave - so not terrible. She even got to pick a little prize at the end which ended up being a pencil because it was the only thing that wasn't a choking hazard.
The verdict was that it is just a malformation of the tooth that could've even been formed in utero. It's a chipping of the enamel and is not a cavity although we are going to continue to watch it to make sure it does not turn into one because it is more susceptible since the enamel is chipped in that area. He said it's nothing to be concerned about at this point. We'll continue to brush her teeth like we have and keep an eye on it. It shouldn't be causing any discomfort, although she could be more sensitive to hot or cold on that tooth. It's hard to say for sure. The rest of her teeth look good. She has 8 teeth now with a few more bumps he noticed (oh joy!). So overall it was a positive appointment, and I can stop worrying about it for the time being. We'll be going back in in about 2 months just to monitor the tooth and make sure it's not getting worse. One more thing to check off my list of things to do!
Monday, July 19, 2010
She Qualified
Our morning started with a bang when I got The Chubs up at 8:00 to start our day. I figured I would give her a bath and wash her hair before the evaluation so she didn't look like a white trash, neglected baby (although, maybe that would win the sympathy vote). She doesn't mind baths themselves, but still hates getting out. Even if I immediately transfer her to the towel, she continues to cry for 5 minutes after the 2 second ordeal.
As usual, when I brought her out, she acted as though it was the end of the world. We're talking frantic, high pitched screaming. As she often does, she gagged while crying, and just as I was going to reach for the paci to calm her down, she threw up all over the place. And again, and then one more time. It was very mucousy and so she had a little trouble breathing for a minute. I'm convinced she puked up her entire 5am feeding.
I gave her a little time to recover before I tried feeding her again. We just recently bumped her feedings up to 26 cals/oz from 24 cals/oz and I'm wondering if she isn't tolerating the richer diet as well. I ended up giving her some breastmilk without the added formula for her next feeding to help settle her stomach. She seemed to do fine and actually at 4 1/2 oz (which is a miracle around here these days).
The evaluation went really well and she was in great spirits for it. Everyone was very supportive and encouraging and worked really well with The Chubs. She seemed to dig all the attention. The evaluation lasted about an hour and a half. They observed several areas while she played including fine motor, gross motor, and speech/communication skills. The speech therapist reiterated what we already knew... that she was doing great in the communication department. They said her sitting skills were very good and that overall she was doing fairly well in gross motor. Her fine motor skills are lagging, which is why we brought her in the first place, but they said she has a lot of skills that they can build on to help her improve in that area. In the end she qualified for therapy with feeding (which we desperately need due to her oral aversion), and fine motor skills.
I have to say, I was incredibly relieved. This means that someone will be working with her as long as needed to get her caught up and if something else comes up that she needs help with along the way, since we already qualified for the program, they will simply set us up with a different therapist that specializes in whatever she needs. I feel like I finally have the support I need to help The Chubs reach her fullest potential.
Some observations they had regarding her fine motor skills:
As usual, when I brought her out, she acted as though it was the end of the world. We're talking frantic, high pitched screaming. As she often does, she gagged while crying, and just as I was going to reach for the paci to calm her down, she threw up all over the place. And again, and then one more time. It was very mucousy and so she had a little trouble breathing for a minute. I'm convinced she puked up her entire 5am feeding.
I gave her a little time to recover before I tried feeding her again. We just recently bumped her feedings up to 26 cals/oz from 24 cals/oz and I'm wondering if she isn't tolerating the richer diet as well. I ended up giving her some breastmilk without the added formula for her next feeding to help settle her stomach. She seemed to do fine and actually at 4 1/2 oz (which is a miracle around here these days).
The evaluation went really well and she was in great spirits for it. Everyone was very supportive and encouraging and worked really well with The Chubs. She seemed to dig all the attention. The evaluation lasted about an hour and a half. They observed several areas while she played including fine motor, gross motor, and speech/communication skills. The speech therapist reiterated what we already knew... that she was doing great in the communication department. They said her sitting skills were very good and that overall she was doing fairly well in gross motor. Her fine motor skills are lagging, which is why we brought her in the first place, but they said she has a lot of skills that they can build on to help her improve in that area. In the end she qualified for therapy with feeding (which we desperately need due to her oral aversion), and fine motor skills.
I have to say, I was incredibly relieved. This means that someone will be working with her as long as needed to get her caught up and if something else comes up that she needs help with along the way, since we already qualified for the program, they will simply set us up with a different therapist that specializes in whatever she needs. I feel like I finally have the support I need to help The Chubs reach her fullest potential.
Some observations they had regarding her fine motor skills:
- She's a little apprehensive to grab and reach for new things. They'll be working on her comfort level with experimenting and touching objects that she is not familiar with
- The simpler the toy, the better (which kind of goes hand in hand with her apprehension to grab or touch items that are too loud, or feel very different). They had some great very simple items that she grabbed for and held onto for a long time. I think we need to go shopping for some new toys for her.
- She needs to be able to observe the toy from afar, and from about eye level before she feels comfortable grabbing it. Once she has it she needs time to adjust to it before she brings it to her mouth. A lot of this sensory stuff also sheds some light as to why she doesn't want to open her mouth for a spoon and solids. They will be working with her to get comfortable with the spoon itself and the food before trying to get her to eat from it.
- Overall she's much more interested in faces and people (which they could clearly gather from our play time), so putting toys up by our face to attract her attention definitely helped. They also recommended putting food on my face for her to grab and experiment with feeling the texture (it grosses me out thinking about it, but hey, whatever works!).
- She also loves to play with her feet, hands and clothes (all of which she has more control over) so putting toys on her wrists and ankles that make noise might be a good way to transition her into feeling more comfortable playing with objects outside of herself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
