At least it does to Emma. Then again, she also thought the putrid smell of Alimentum formula was yummy, so take it for what it’s worth.

The good news is that we are officially off formula, and Emma is like every other 17 month year old out there… except she is drinking rice milk instead of whole milk. But actually, her pediatrician seems to think that’s perfectly fine. And so do I.

As long as I continue to add fat to Emma’s diet and buy the enriched rice milk (with Vitamin D), she really is getting all the nutrients she needs. And as any family member will tell you, I am still an anal retentive first-time mom that makes sure she gets a well-balanced meal 3 times a day. Go ahead and gag. And then tell me it will wear off. I know, I know. :o)

Anywho, the even better news is that Emma has been off her reflux medicine for about 2 months now. I am still not convinced she doesn’t have reflux, but I am waiting for more “evidence” before I put her through any tests. She is sleeping fine, but she still coughs up food and chokes more than I think is “normal.” Jeff isn’t convinced, but then again, he isn’t with her as much as I am. He realizes this and says he’ll support me if I want to get the scope done, but that’s a lot of pressure and honestly, I am not at that point yet. I’m waiting it out until I get that gut instinct to get it checked.

For now, I’m just staying away from very acidic foods (i.e., oranges, tomatoes) and spices, but that is slowly but surely getting annoying. I’d love to give her a meal with more taste, but I am nervous. I’m sure most of you think I’m nuts, and I know she won’t die, but I also don’t want cause her pain. I have seen what food does to Jeff, and I’d hate to make her go through that — or worse, have her think that sort of discomfort is normal.

I do realize that I have completely overanalyzed this, and I am now at the point where I can’t seem to move forward. We are stuck with the same old meals, but when you take out milk, acid and spices, there’s not much left. Our staples include ground turkey, chicken, whole wheat/organic pasta, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, pears, peaches, grapes, cantelope, eggs, wheat bread and oatmeal. And, of course, Cheerios!! Any new ideas out there? Emma has to be as bored as I am.

At what point do I take the plunge and try adventurous foods like peanut butter, fish and strawberries? Jeff and I had salmon and broccoli tonight, but I was afraid of the fish and I thought the broccoli would make her gassy. I’ve also read broccoli can aggrevate reflux.

But she might not have reflux, you say? Yes, I know. So what’s my problem?

This is the first time I’ve done this, but I’d like to hear your opinions. Do I go for the food and hope for the best, all the while getting sick to my stomach and stressing? Or do I get the test done, all the while feeling guilty for possibly putting Emma through this for no reason at all.

Or maybe I just need a glass of wine.

You tell me.

Sorry I haven’t really posted any long entries lately, but there has been a reason for that. Besides crazy work deadlines, a few things have been going on lately that have made it hard for me to write without sounding like a basket case. But enough time has passed now where I can coherently explain all that’s been going on.

First of all, everything is fine. Praise God that He has blessed our Emma with good health. Besides the usual colds kids seem to get every 3 seconds, she is a healthy, growing child with a curious mind and well, a strong personality! We wouldn’t change a thing!

But a few weeks ago I decided that I wanted real answers about her silent reflux. I was tired of relying on my own instincts to diagnose her, and I hated that she had been a medication for so long. I needed confirmation that she did indeed still have reflux — or better yet, that she had grown out of it. When she was an infant, it was easier to tell when it was bothering her, but as a developing toddler, there are way too many other factors and issues that have made it hard for me to tell what’s going on inside of her. (Hmmm, maybe that’s why we have X-ray technology…)

Anyway, we made an appt. with the GI, and I was all ready to demand a scope, an upper/lower GI, or whatever they needed to do to give us some answers. But instead we ended up talking about Emma’s enormous appetite. Now I know what you’re all thinking… just feed her if she’s hungry… it will all balance out eventually. But she is ALWAYS hungry… before AND after a meal. She practically jumps out of her high chair yelling, “Muh, muh” and will continue to do so until I pry her out of her chair. She eats EVERY morsel, and she eats A LOT. Case in point: Breakfast might include one scrambled egg, whole-wheat toast, fruit, and 6 oz of formula. And she is still hungry after that. The GI agreed — that was a lot of food for a baby only in the 25th percentile of her weight class. He was concerned she wasn’t absorbing her nutrients.

So before I knew it, words like Cystic Fibrosis, Celiac Disease, and Hyperthyroidism were being discussed. Tests were being ordered, and I was being assured that Emma probably didn’t have the terminal form of Cystic Fibrosis since she hadn’t had pneumonia or respiratory problems. Um, what?!!! It was all happening very fast, and I was trying to stay calm. I only wanted to check on her reflux.

So the following week we did all the tests. I apologize to those of you who feel upset that you are just finding this out now, but we really didn’t want to worry anyone until we had answers. It all seem a little far-fetched to us, but we wanted to follow the GI’s suggestions. We decided to only tell our parents so they could pray. And boy did we pray!

In the end, every test turned out to be NEGATIVE. Praise God! It took a few weeks to get all the answers, but slowly but surely, we were getting the confirmation of what we had known all along — Emma just has a sensitive stomach.

So where are we now? Well, Emma has officially been off her reflux medication for one week and all seems well. BUT she has had an ear infection, so who knows. We’ll see what the future holds.

We also started soy milk. At first, Emma didn’t seem to notice that I was mixing it in with her formula, but then suddenly she wouldn’t go near it. This was all around the time of her ear infection, so I don’t know if it was the soy or the sucking (she wasn’t drinking much of anything). Our pediatrician suggested we go back to the formula until her ear infection clears up. Then we’ll try soy again.

I do have a feeling soy may have caused the ear infection because she never had a fever with this one, and it’s strange that it took her 13 months to get the first ear infection and only 2 months to get the second. She also broke out in a horrible diaper rash while on the soy, and now it’s gone. We’re considering rice or goat milk, but our pediatrician isn’t convinced soy is the issue. We’re discussing it at our follow-up appt. next week.

Emma’s diet is still fairly large, but I have also been trying to incorporate more fat into her diet. Because I make all of her food fresh, I wasn’t always good about adding fat. I didn’t do it intentionally. I just never thought to add it. I even let her eat her first cookie! Since I’ve been doing this, she seems to be less intense/hungry. I’ve also been trying to give her more snacks in between meals. Our 15-mo well baby appt. also put her weight at almost the 50th percentile, so maybe it is all balancing out.

All that I can say is that Jeff and I feel more blessed than ever to have Emma. When I was sitting in the waiting room a few weeks ago during Emma’s tests, I saw a lot of sick children, and I realized food restrictions really weren’t that big of a deal. I would love Emma no matter what, but her sake, I am happy she is healthy.