4 week check-up and acid reflux 'plan'

Yesterday I took Sabrina for a combined 4-week check-up and to go over her Acid Reflux diagnosis. Sabrina is in the 90th percentile for height and weight and the doctor is pleased with her progress.

For the GERD/Acid Reflux, she suggested we add rice cereal to her feedings to weigh it down and improve the odds that it will stay in her stomach. She said we should try this for a week and see how it goes; if it doesn't help, Sabrina will be put on Zantac just like daddy. So we have a follow-up for next Wednesday.

I asked for a copy of the official report from the fluoroscopy (I want to keep my own set of medical records for her -- I'm just that kind of girl!) and in the impressions section, it said she has "moderate to severe acid reflux" :(

So I head to the store and bought some Gerber Rice Cereal. Last night we put in 1 tablespoon of it per 1 fluid ounce of formula. That made it almost so thick it wouldn't even come out of the nipple hole when I held the bottle upside down. So I took a knife to the nipple to expand the hole (a very scientific process, I might add). Then when I held the bottle upside down, a steady stream came out. Ooops - so much for THAT nipple! I tried again on another one, and got it to flow one drop per second, which is what the doctor said it should be. I fed it to Sabrina -- or should I say TRIED to feed it to her. As soon as I put the bottle in her mouth, she looked at me with this confused look as if to say "Are you sure this is mine, Mommy? First you fed me breastmilk, then 3 days later you feed me one type of formula, only to you replace it with another type 2 weeks after that, and NOW you give me a souped up version... what gives???" She promptly spit out whatever was in her mouth. OK, let's try that again, shall we? This time she sucked on it, tried to swallow it and choked/coughed it out. Discovery: formula + rice cereal = good projectile capabilities. It went all over! I kept trying for a good 10 minutes, until the bottle was 1/2 full. Then I realized that probably 90% of it was on my shirt/her onesie/her hair. And she wasn't happy because her tummy was still empty. So I made up a bottle of her regular formula.

I called the nurses line to explain what happened and they called back to suggest we use 1/4 of a tablespoon per ounce and work our way up gradually so she doesn't "refuse the bottle". Okkkkayyy then. So next feeding we try this new 'recipe'. Still no takers. Hmmm. I decided to try again this morning with the same results. Frustrated I called the nurses line again and ask if we can just go to the zantac. Still waiting for a response... we shall see!