In Celebration!

I've added a little ticker at the left. You see them on reflux support websites, celebrating the owner's children's success stories. Yesterday was Maddie's first day without reflux meds. Yes, we'd been on them that long. About a year ago was when she really started to get bad, peaking in June - when I pretty much lost it and demanded a second (third, really) opinion from a specialist and a friend helped us get Maddie into CHOP. Wow, those days were awful at times. I remember colleagues at school asking me why I looked so concerned. I remember lots of supportive friends, and few ignoramuses who claimed that reflux was an over-blown ailment thought up by parents who don't understand that 'babies just cry and spit up sometimes'. Ha ha. Worrying about whether my baby was eating while I was away. Worrying whether she was going to throw up whatever we could get into her while on her back and choke or get spit-up in her eyes and nose. Worrying if she was getting deaf from the white-noise blasting - hey she ate when we blasted it, it calmed her. Feeding her Pedialyte by syringe on Fathers' Day because that was the only food she'd take. She spent so much time being fed that I felt like that was all we did with her. Several nights I remember getting home, attempting to feed her till dinner, letting her play during dinner, attempting to feed her till bed, and putting her to bed with maybe 3 oz. in her stomach. What a great life for a baby. Not to mention her parents. But her doctors (grrrr...) said she absolutely must have 25 oz. a day. Again, ha ha.

Now, we've been blessed with a wonderfully healthy child. Besides being strong and developmentally healthy, she has had but one real cold her whole life, and she's 16 months old this week. (I give credit to the high level 'antibodies' my house must build up in her!) But those reflux days...wow. I've never worried, laid awake at night, or agonized over anything like that in my life. I had just gone back to work around this time last year - talk about guilt layered on top of guilt - and I honestly don't remember much of what I was teaching, because that's just not where my mind was all day. I do remember guiltily enjoying some days just before my spring concert, because I at least HAD to focus on something other than reflux worry for a few hours. My friends tell me I'm so much more laid back and content now - well after worrying like that, nothing else really seems like that big a deal. Moms, you know what I'm talking about. That combined with the whole unexpectedly-natural birth, and I'm pretty sure I could tackle anything. And, thank God, in the grand scheme of things, our issues were nothing compared to what some parents have to worry about. Still...*whew* I do NOT want to go back there.

I have to admit I was a little nervous yesterday morning, not giving her any acid medicine at all. Of course I know she's fine, and probably could have been weaned off these meds a few months ago, she's been so healthy. But still, those few months were bad enough that I just gave a little 'gulp' as I put the medicine droppers away.

But hey - now we're done. So here's to no more reflux meds for my girlie! I'm so proud of you, Maddie! Every now and then, when she shovels pieces of cheese, chicken nugget, and green beans into her mouth - all at once - and then chug-a-lugs from her sippy, I remember that it used to be an awful battle to convince her to drink an ounce of liquid. And I'm beyond grateful for how it is now.