Thursday, February 17, 2011

Our Lady of Perpetual Vomit

I have a wild fantasy that one day I will sit down to a family meal without fear that my child will start puking at any minute.  I won't cringe every time he jumps off the couch or rough houses with his sisters because there's a chance he'll get hurt, cry, and puke.  Maybe there will come a day when I'll prepare spaghetti sauce without the slightest apprehension that a tiny slip of onion might have migrated into the sauce only to end up in the final bite of Roo's plate thus obliterating what was just a moment ago, a nutrient-dense, high-calorie meal.  The baby scale will become a relic of the past.  As will the baby bottles, 1 AM feedings, 4 AM feedings, constant meal-time television, songs, and other distractions we employ to sneak in a few more bites before he can realize what's happening. 

Needles to say, it's a far off land I'm dreaming of.  We're almost 3 weeks into the Budesonide and there's no change, at least on the vomit front.  If anything, he's vomiting more that he was a month ago.  Gagging triggers it.  Unfamiliar textures and flavors trigger it.  Being full triggers it.  TMI, perhaps, but straining with bowel movements can trigger it.  Today a yogurt-induced stomachache triggered it.  Sometimes nothing at all triggers it and he goes on playing like it never even happened.  But most of all, crying triggers it - and when you have a 2-year-old (on steroids, I might add) that you're afraid to let cry, it leads to some interesting behavioral scenarios. 

We still don't know for sure if the Budesonide is having an effect but the signs are less than encouraging.  On one hand, he seems a tad happier especially upon waking from naps and first thing in the morning.  He used to be inconsolable at those times and now, he's generally chipper.  Beyond that, however, no increased appetite.  No improvement in the oral delay.  No decrease in vomiting.  No weight gain. 

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