Dealing with infant GERD?

I have been thinking about telling my story for some time now and decided that it was finally time. Hopefully this can be of help to someone.

My daughter was born in August of 2008, due to jaundice and very low milk production I ended up having to bottle feed her.

When she was 2 1/2 weeks old I noticed one day when I went to check on her that she was flailing her arms and was slightly red in the face but when I picked her up she was fine, so I didn't pay much attention to it, just kept a closer eye on her. A couple of days later I was in the kitchen making dinner and my husband was sitting with her when he yells at me that there was something wrong with the baby. Of course I asked what do you mean? He brings the baby over to me scared because there was something seriously wrong. She was wide eyed, looked scared and was bright red, she wasn't breathing. Her arms were flailing violently this time as if she was struggling for her life. Since she was conscious I figured she must be chocking on something so I tried swiping her throat but there was nothing there. I searched frantically for the little bubble thing they give you at the hospital to suction out their nose and throat but couldn't find it. At this time I told my husband to call 911 while he kept looking and I went into the bathroom with her praying for God to enlighten me.

I remembered a CPR class I took many moons ago and remembered the back blows for babies. So I began pounding on her back while I held her upside down. Those seconds seemed like hours, my husband finally found the bubble thingy and between the back blows and clearing out her throat and nose we finally got her to breathe again. Then the ambulance arrived. They took us to the hospital and they checked her for everything under the sun, EKG included. They treated her as a possible SIDS episode… all I know is that SIDS is permanent. When they released her I was terrified to go home. What if it happened again? What if this time she stopped breathing all together? I didn't leave her side for a second again.

At this point we began to notice that she was producing a lot of really thick phlegm. And then it happened again, she would spit up after, during feedings and would begin to choke on this thick phlegm, it was a nightmare. For months her doctor tried to switch her formula with no success. It became second nature to have to clear her throat and nose after every feeding, waiting for her to choke to help her through it. We had the crib at an incline, held her upright for 30 minutes after every feeding but nothing worked.

UNTIL month number 2. After discussing what was going on with her doctor and how the phlegm was getting worse, she decided to try something. It seemed like the baby was having a reaction to milk in addition to the reflux. So we switched her to (this is not an ad for this product but it's what saved us) Similac Sensitive RS, it's lactose free. It felt like a miracle, she literally stopped choking over night. The phlegm was gone and even though the reflux was still there, it wasn't as bad and NO MORE CHOKING!! We kept her on this formula until she made the switch over to regular milk when she turned 1. Her reflux began to die down and was completely gone by 10 months. And for some reason, even though the lactose milk was a big part of her choking when she was an infant, it has not been a problem any more. She's 2 now and drinks milk like nobody's business.

So if anyone out there is experience this nightmare, talk to your doctor about Similac Sensitive RS, it just may be the one thing you've been looking for.

Chile Telethon

I was born in Chile and lived there the first 10 years of my life. Last Saturday morning my beautiful country was rocked by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake at 3:30 AM, shortly after that many coastal towns were wiped out by numerous tsunamis that followed the tremors. People have lost everything. Since it doesn't seem like Hollywood cares much about the Chilean people, please help us raise awareness and money to help rebuild the lives of those who survived and have lost everything.

There will be a telethon to raise money in Chile today beginning at 5pm, PST. There will also be ways for people in the US to help so please take a look at the information below. Thank you for your support.

My Mother's Hands

When I look at my mother's hands I hope to one day be as proud of my hands as I am of hers. They've worked hard, they've loved, they've cared for and sacrificed from a very young age.

When my grandfather died after years of alcoholism, my grandmother was left with seven children to care for. Never having worked a day in her life and borderline illiterate, she had to figure out a way to survive. My mother and her two younger brothers were still minors so they couldn't look for conventional work. My mom was around 13 years old when my grandmother sent her away to a wealthy family to be their live-in maid in exchange for a roof over her head and food in her stomach.

My mother cried, all she wanted was to be home. She got to go home on the weekends but had to return to the hard labor of carrying a full household at the age of 13. Her hands haven't stopped working since.

She's worked hard, she is raising a family (yes, still... little bro is only 11). Those hands have wiped floors clean and wiped tears away, spanked bottoms and caressed faces, braided hair and held tiny hands. Those hands have had a full journey, they're my mother's hands.

Happy Anniversary

Married for 34 years, WOW is all I can say. You have been an inspiration.

I have seen your ups and your downs. I have seen you laugh together, cry together but always end your journey "together".

You have inspired me to not give up in my own marriage, regardless of how many obstacles we may encounter. You have taught me that "happily ever after" is a choice, not a warm fuzzy feeling that lingers forever.

I look at you, and although I know things haven't been the easiest or happiest of times, you have worked through it and showed me that it is possible to remain true to "'til death do us part". Thank you for giving us hope that it can be done.

I pray that God will continue to bless you individually and your marriage and that you will always be that rock that I can turn to when it comes to marriage. I love you endlessly and thank you for giving me hope.

HAPPY 34TH ANNIVERSARY..... TO MANY MORE......

Wonderful Update on Baby Nina.

Hello everyone, I just received this email from my friend John, Baby Nina's father. It's a wonderful update with great information. Thank you to all that are keeping up with her story:

"Hi guys it's been a while so we thought it would be good to let you know how Nina is doing. First and foremost we would like to thank all of you who have prayed and/or donated money towards the "Nina Fund". Your contributions and prayer have made a BIG impact for our family. Nina has had NO rejection, No infections, No return hospitalizations, No Blood problems of any kind, No brain or cognitive problems, No kidney issues whatsoever, No NOTHING!! Praise The LORD Jesus our Savior he has truly heard your prayers. Nina couldn't be doing any better!! Doctors say they love what they see.

Today, Sunday April 20, 2008 is Nina's 1st birthday. We have attached some pics of our little B-day family party for her today! For those of you who are wondering how much money has been raised for Nina here it is: Goal in mind $75,000-100,000. Raised so far close to $9,300.00. Yes it is an up hill battle but we continue to believe that God will provide a way. We just got our Medical bill from the hospital this week, and it was much more than the $500,000-700,000 est. It was for $926,000.00. Yeah close to 1 mil.....Crazy isn't it. Anyway for those of you who want to help raise awareness of COTA for Nina Raphael please spread the word to you friends and family.

Website: http://www.cotaforninar.com/ "

If you're not familiar with the story, you can go HERE to catch up.