Reflux Sux

Allison would be one of the first people to tell you that having acid reflux is really not a fun experience.  She dealt with it for quite a while when she was pregnant.  After the last two days, if he was able, Ayden would also tell you that acid reflux sucks.

One of the very reasons why Ayden's feeding tube was moved past his stomach and into his intestines was concern over him having reflux that he would then aspirate.  If his formula isn't going into his stomach, then he can't reflux it, and he can't breathe it back into his lungs.  Murphy's Law being what it is, however, it turns out he can still reflux the acid and gastric juices accumulating in his otherwise empty stomach.  Needless to say, this is not an experience Ayden enjoys.

Ayden has not previously had reflux issues, so this is a new development not only for him, but for Allison and I, as well.  This is but one of a handful of little things we had not previously encountered with him.  While their effect on Ayden is basically only fleeting (e.g., he's cranky while the reflux builds up, but once he pukes it up, he feels much better and is ready to move on with his life until it starts building again), these little things, when combined, have taken a toll on Allison and I.  We are slowly getting our baby boy back, but it's taking time.  He isn't able to bottle feed yet.  He is more stressful to hold because he still has extra lines going in and out of him.  Some of his voice has come back, but not all of it.  He is still (understandably) somewhat jumpy due to all the things he went through in the PCCU.  He still has a tendency to hold his breath and drop his heart rate when he gets really upset.

While we want to believe these issues will eventually rectify themselves, the fear that some of these "problems" will be more long lasting is all too real for us right now.  Of course, given where Ayden was not long ago, we are very blessed to be where we are.  It's just difficult to deal with.  Again, more so for us than it is for him.

Hopefully, Ayden will do better with his follow up swallow study this week and several of this issues will get fixed.  Baby steps.