Team Garner: Our trip to Childrens Hospital

We had our appointment with the GI specialist at Children's Hospital yesterday and it went very well. We will know more after the blood work comes back Monday or Tuesday, but at this point the Doctor thinks that Carly developed a milk protein intolerance due to that nasty virus she got back in September. It hadn't gotten better because we continued to give her breast milk and normal formula. We never noticed any blood so we just assumed, based on what our pediatrician told us, that the loose stools were because her body was still healing from the virus. Luckily, about 3 weeks ago we saw visible blood and that was when I stopped breastfeeding and started giving her the Nutramigen. Looking back we should have done that when we first started supplementing with formula but we just didn't know. Now her little body has to heal and it will just take time for her intestines to get back to normal.

The good news is that she is gaining weight like crazy! She was 15lbs 2oz at the hospital yesterday which put her in the 75th percentile. That was the most reassuring part of the visit yesterday, because it means her body is absorbing nutrients. The doctor wasn't that concerned about her loose stools because he said that could take months to go away and as long as she is happy and gaining weight than we are on the right track. We will go back in three weeks for a follow up visit and we won't be starting solids until she is 6 months old. Luckily she should outgrow this milk protein allergy but he said it could take a year or maybe two. We will just have to wait and see.

So, overall it was good news and as long as the blood work doesn't show anything different we are on the road to recovery. As you can imagine we were both very relieved even though we just have to be patient and wait.

We finished off our trip to Seattle by stopping at Chipotle for lunch. I love that place and I really wish they would open up one here in Bellingham.

I also got around to finally taking Carly's 4 month old pictures today even though it is a week late. She is getting so chunky, smiles all of the time, and has discovered her hands which is fine except she ends up gagging herself and spitting up even more than normal. I will be so glad when she outgrows that!