It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! In the spirit of giving we wanted to give away a FREE RES-Q Wedge to one of our amazing Facebook fans. We are asking you to help us reach 400 fans by Christmas, and then we will choose one deserving fan to win a free RES-Q Wedge. Continue reading
Christmas Giveaway!
Posted by in Infant Reflux
Tagged baby wedge, Facebook, feeding therapy, GERD, infant reflux, infant wedge, NICU, preemies, reflux baby, reflux wedge, RES-Q wedge, Twitter, wedge
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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! In the spirit of giving we wanted to give away a FREE RES-Q Wedge to one of our amazing Facebook fans. We are asking you to help us reach 400 fans by Christmas, and then we will choose one deserving fan to win a free RES-Q Wedge. Continue reading 
With my final posting all I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! To ResQ Wedge and It’s a Preemie Thing, thank you so much for this opportunity. Three months ago I would have never guessed that Allison would be sleeping through the night in her own crib. It is so nice to get some rest knowing that Alli is sleeping safely elevated on her wedge. It is so nice not to have to clean up projectile vomit night after night. It is so nice to get to sleep for more than 2 or 3 hours at a time. Continue reading
Allison’s Adventure: Week 10
Posted by in Infant Reflux, Reflux, Therapy
Tagged baby wedge, feeding therapy, GERD, infant reflux, infant wedge, it's a preemie thing, NICU, preemies, reflux baby, reflux wedge, RES-Q wedge, wedge
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Allison is continuing to do very well in my eyes. She is sleeping comfortably, and eating more than she ever has. The doctors are still not content with her weight gain, but we will continue to work on it. Hopefully we can start some solids soon, because I am really hoping that will help. Continue reading
Allison has continued doing really well on the Res-Q Wedge. She actually slept a couple of 7 hour stretches this week, and started taking a whole 3oz at some of her feedings. The doctors suggested bumping her up to a faster flowing nipple and it has really helped us get more down her since she tends to wear out quickly. We also started thickening her bedtime feeding with a little rice cereal as suggested to us on the Res-Q Wedge Facebook page.
In combination with sleeping on the wedge it has really helped with all the night time coughing. Those extra calories have got to be good for my little skinny mini too. I am certain that she will have gained some good weight by her next appointment.
After the rough week we had last week, it was so great to have a good one! Allison gained great weight, and we got normal results back on all the testing they did. They will be running a few more tests in the upcoming weeks, but it’s looking like things are back on the upswing.
Allison did have a few scary choking spells this week, but hopefully her GI will get things figured out with the upcoming testing. Her sleep pattern has stayed the same and it is working well for us. Allison had a really fun photo session from Inspiration Through Art, thanks to the tag from It’s A Preemie Thing Facebook.
She has been happier during the day and I have been getting her to nap better, though we are still working on getting a good steady schedule like we have made for nights. Her OT saw her this week too and says she sees great improvements since her last visit.
Nothing has changed for us this week as far as sleeping on the Res-Q wedge. Alli has kept her 5-3-3 sleeping schedule, and we are doing well with that. She did spit up on her sling one of the nights so she slept with me while laundry was being done, but other than that she is keeping to her new wedge sleeping schedule.
She just wakes up for 10-15 min the two times to have a bottle and goes right back down. She has woken up coughing/choking a couple of nights but fell right back asleep, and of course it always scares me to wake up to that and I don’t sleep as well, but I am glad she is okay with it.
She is really having a hard time with feedings this past month and doctors are concerned about her weight. She has dropped below the 5th percentile for her adjusted age this month, with the normal gastric emptying results they decided to conduct a swallow study and we are waiting to hear back about the results. She also has an echo scheduled to check up on her heart, obviously we are hoping there is nothing serious going on, but we need to get her back on track.
We had our gastric emptying study and the results came back normal. This is great news, but unfortunately it means that we don’t have any additional answers about her tummy troubles. But, I am happy to report that Allison has been doing well with her wedge sleep this week! She seems to have developed a routine where she sleeps a 5 hour stretch then wakes for a bottle.
Being that she still needs those extra calories I expected this. She takes her bottle and goes right back to sleep for another 3 hours, one more bottle, and a final 3 hours. She is getting a total of about 11 hours rest and 2 nightly bottles. Perfect for a 6 month old preemie. It has been nice to have my own room too!
I have continued to use the pillow under her legs, and the roll for her head and those additions have made a world of difference. We are still having some nap time issues, but that is a lot easier for me to deal with since I am not trying to get some rest too. Allison only ever takes a couple of 20 minute naps through the day. I have been told that she should be getting at least 4 hours during the day in addition to her 11 at night, but we will continue to work on it. I am hoping that I will have a happier baby once she gets a good napping routine down too. 
So we have switched back to sleeping in the supine position on the Res-Q Wedge this week. I have been trying various things to make Allison more comfortable on the wedge hoping that she will sleep longer hours. One thing I notice that seems to make her uncomfortable is that there isn’t support for her neck. I rolled up a small receiving blanket and made a little donut pillow for her to help with that. She has mild torticollis so it is good for that too. Continue reading
Allison’s Adventure: Week 4
Posted by in Infant Reflux, Reflux, Therapy
Tagged baby wedge, GERD, infant reflux, infant wedge, it's a preemie thing, NICU, preemies, reflux baby, reflux wedge, RES-Q wedge, wedge
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Allison has not had anymore issues with breathing this week and is on the road to recovery. I have tried three times to put her to sleep on the wedge, but each time she threw up all over everything in her crib. For some reason she has become sensitive to being put to sleep on her tummy. She has done fine with our tummy time, and tummy time has been our favorite use for the wedge thus far. But, she suddenly is unable to be put down this way to sleep as the Res-Q adviser had suggested to help her sleep greater lengths. Continue reading
Allison’s Adventure: Week 3
Posted by in Home, Infant Reflux, Reflux, Therapy
Tagged baby wedge, GERD, infant reflux, infant wedge, reflux baby, reflux wedge, RES-Q wedge, wedge
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Week Three
Saturday night Allison had a dyspnea attack that put us in the ER. We assume that it was caused by reflux aspiration. They sent us home without answers after a chest x-ray that looked good to the ER doctor. With Allison’s special case, any sign of breathing issues puts us on edge. Monday morning we received a call from Allison’s pediatrician asking that we come in as soon as possible for a follow up to Allison’s ER visit. After reviewing the x-ray they decided that Allison has the early stages of pneumonia. Fortunately her case is nowhere near severe, so they sent us home with antibiotics and told us to keep a close eye on her.
She has not at all been ill or showed any signs besides this one episode of struggling to breathe, so this surprised me. The only explanation, since she has not been ill, is that the pneumonia developed due to aspiration. This also surprises me because Allison’s reflux has seemed so well under control the past few weeks. She has only thrown up a couple of times in the past month. She has had some small spit ups, but nothing that all babies don’t normally do.
Anyway, because of this scare and Allison’s diagnosis, we have unfortunately not gotten much use out of the wedge this week. I have kept her with me through the nights to help keep her comfortable, and to be sure that she does not have any more issues breathing. I hope to continue working her towards sleeping in her crib on the wedge again next week, but for now I just want to keep her close.
