Healing Hazel Part 1

I was looking back at my previous blogs and couldn't believe it had been since November that I wrote. Well, let me just say, Hazel is MUCH better. She's been through several medications for reflux and she's seen several specialists and still nothing major medically has been alarming. Turned out to not be FPIES and no MCAD. We still don't know why she's vomited so much through her early months of life.

Since the last post, she was hospitalized at the start of the New Year on January 2nd, 2022 and we were released on the 4th. This was, again, due to vomiting and some vertical nystagmus (eye twitching). I think this was the toughest hospitalization, for all involved. Hazel had to be put thru the EEG process...TWICE. If you don't know what all they have to do...let me just say it's a lot. I don't even know how many leads get GLUED onto her head, but she was screaming the whole time, I could barely be in the room. They had to take all the leads off for an MRI (which was normal), then replace the EEG by the horrible 45 minute long process all over again. All this to say the nystagmus wasn't due to anything neurologic, PTL!! And, after a few weeks, it did go away.

But I mean, who knew that being hooked up to an EEG would be so damn cute?

After this hospitalization, she started getting much better. Since the end of January, she's only gotten sick, I think, three times and they were very few and far between. Sometimes I believe it was due to over eating. She was almost hospitalized again about a month ago due to not gaining any weight, but suddenly she started putting on the pounds! She had been 12.4lbs since about November and she's now a little over 15lbs and in the 10 percentile. Her GI doctor had agreed for us to do weekly weight checks in his office instead of going to the hospital. This was a huge answered prayer!! She had her most recent appointment with him last Wednesday, when she was right at 15lbs, and he stated that we no longer need to do weekly weight checks. We are also going to stretch out her nighttime feedings because poor thing is always so freaking tired! We were waking her up every 4 hours at night to feed and we're going to try 5 hours for a week or so, then stretch it to 6 hours and so on. Little babe needs her sleep (and momma and dada!!!)

So, she's still on a higher concentration of formula for more calories, but she's doing so well with baby food and finger foods! We believe this is also contributing to her weight gain. I'll write a post about her food journey as well! Since she's started gaining weight, all these things started happening!! Hazel is now able to sit up completely on her own and she's crawling! We also started baby proofing the house this past weekend (more on this later). Hazel is also enjoying more time outside since she's been feeling so well. We took her around our City Center Spring fair and to our favorite breakfast restaurant on the pier at the beach.

I can't wait to see little bit continue to grow and I can't express enough how happy and thankful myself and my family is that she's getting better. We're slowly weaning her off of her reflux medicine since, I think, she's starting to grow out of that phase (which could also be why she's not vomiting so much too). Since Hazel is feeling so well, I'm turning her GERD story into "Healing Hazel". We will continue this Healing Hazel story as time goes on. I may throw in some fun blogs in between her story so stay tuned for more!

Love to all!

<3