Niko is happy again

Over the last month, Niko's tummy was getting so extremely lumpy and hard that it felt as if she were growing a new bone in there.  Or at the very least, I thought that her organs were enlarging and pushing everything out of place (an inevitable progression of the disease).  Coincidentally she also had about a month of crankiness, interrupted sleep (about every hour), and was just not acting like her usual self.

I arrived at this product of deduction - shit.  A giant lump that was a month's worth of impacted fecal matter, to be precise.  We took X-rays of her abdomen to prove this theory.  They did indeed find a whole lot of shit.  (We will follow up with an ultrasound next month just to be sure.)  Well that was a relief.  Any other finding would have been so much worse.  But I was also flushed with guilt because I did this to her.

Niko's nutritionist and doctor recommended that I switch her to Toddler's formula.  I looked at the nutritional content of both formulas.  The calories, fat, and nearly everything looked the same.  The toddler formula had more calcium, phosphorus, and a couple other rather little details.  I thought that by sticking to the same brand, this wouldn't be too tough.  Not to mention, the toddler formula costs about $10 less per can.  To ease the transition, I made a concoction of 50% infant formula and 50% toddler.  I started this about a month ago.  And the constipation started.

I'll skip over the details but now we have found the culprit.  This is all so discouraging.  I didn't try to switch the formula just to save a few bucks (though an extra $10 a can, it adds up).  I really wanted Niko to develop more maturity in her digestion and eating habits.  We've been working with a feeding therapist twice a month for almost 10 months and we've made no progress.  Not only can Niko not swallow any pureed foods, she can't handle any formula except one brand of infant formula.  Her digestion is so weak that even if she learned to swallow solid foods, I doubt she would be able to digest them.  So maybe I should just leave her at the level she is comfortable.  I just vomit a little in my mouth at the thought of Niko eating baby formula for the rest of her life.  Learning the delightful flavours of food is so very high on my list of joys for Niko to experience.  But I'll give her a break for now.

So on a bright note, after nearly two weeks of being back on infant formula and a few doses of Miralax, Niko has cleared that giant hard lump.  She is back to the usual cheerful baby.  She's smiling, cooing, playing, sleeping.  Simply carrying her and walking down the stairs result in big belly laughs from her.  So nice to have her back.  

Despite getting her RSV shot today and being extra congested, Niko has been in such a sweet and cheerful mood.

And bath time is her favourite time of the day.