Help!

So it's pretty official-I have a baby with acid reflux. And omigoodness-it is so not fun! I don't really have anything to compare it to. Ellie and Luke did not do this. Luke went through a brief spit-up problem after I switched to formula, but it didn't last too long. Andrew's is sometimes projectile, and sometimes it just flows like a river out of his mouth. And he loves to eat so he just wants to keep eating, but if his tummy is full, it will just come right back up. He constantly needs his clothes changed, which sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, because changing him and moving him around is a guaranteed spit-up. I will often put a bib on him, but again, the moving of his head and neck just sends it right up, soaking the bib, and we're back at square one. All of this is bad, but it's the worst at night. Last night I fed him at 12:30 and he was yawning and I knew he was ready to go back to sleep. I laid him down and he would be relaxed for a little while and then he starts squirming and I know what's coming. So I'm lying next to him ready to catch the spit-up with a burp cloth so that I don't have to change his pajamas. This went on for the next few hours-he didn't fully go back to sleep until almost 2:30. He didn't wake to feed again until almost 5. Which is great, but when he is up almost half of that time, that only leaves me 2 1/2 hrs. of sleep. Okay, so then I fed him at 5, and he is out! But again, moving him causes the milk to come up. So frustrating!!

I love our pediatrician. He is a family friend. (Went to college with my dad) He was actually mine and my sisters doctor when we were little. He is extremely smart and I really trust what he says. So I was quite disappointed when he explained that he doesn't like to give medicine for that unless absolutely necessary (like if the baby is losing weight) and Andrew certainly doesn't fall into that category. Maybe if things get worse we'll talk again. He also said babies usually outgrow it at around 8 months!!! Are you kidding me? 8 more months of this?

So, all you moms who might be reading this-I'd love any advice. Anything that I can do (like certain foods to avoid). I know there are a lot of babies who have this, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Despite all this reflux mess, things are getting a little easier-not much, but a little. I can actually prepare a meal (if you want to call it that-cereal for breakfast and mac'n'cheese for lunch). Luke watches a lot of movies, which I feel guilty about, but I remind myself that you do what you have to do. Ellie loves Andrew and wants to hold him/see him/talk to him often. We've had to make some rules about when he is asleep-do not touch him, get in his face, run around the house screaming at the top of your lungs. (Much harder to enforce when Ellie and Luke are together and in a silly mood-usually around the dinner hour) Also, Ellie has this "baby"voice that she like to talk to him in, and bless her heart, it so annoying. (It isn't even words, it's just this jibberish sound and she does it all the time) I have tried to encourage her to use actual words to talk to him, so he can hear real words and one day will talk back to her (hey, whatever works)-being really careful not to hurt her feelings, but she really seems to like this little language.

Because I know my family would like some pictures (and I apologize because they aren't the most recent) here are some that are about a week or so old. They are actually some we took to use for Andrew's birth announcement.