Laney's trip to PCH ER

I don't have any pictures of our oh-so-fun adventure. Boo.

Basically Laney started spitting up blood Monday afternoon. At first I didn't know what it was. It looked like dark coffee grounds. But the trusty internet filled me in. Then there was more and more of it and she was screaming bloody murder until it would come out and then she'd be back to her sweet and happy self. :(

So I called the doc and they didn't seem to concerned but told me to bring her in for peace of mind. Good idea, I thought. When we got in a room Matt asked me "do you ever feel dumb sometimes for the things we come here for?". Haha. Yes! I do feel dumb sometimes. But I'm just a mom and not a doctor and I don't know what's a big deal and what isn't!

The nurse practitioner came in and looked Delaney over and told us numerous times how healthy and happy she looks. Then she listened to her belly and looked at the dirty diaper we brought and decided otherwise. She took the diaper and quickly came back to tell us that it had blood it in for sure. Greaaat. She was grave and asked us if we had any dinner plans. Um noo. I was just going to watch the Bachelor and fold some laundry. She gave us some papers and told us to go see the GI at Phx Children's. Um...what? I thought she was fine. You were supposed to put my mind at ease and send us home?!

Grammy and Grandpa were awesome and came to get Landon right away. We packed everyone up and headed to Phx. Matt and I hardly talked the entire trip down. We were worried sick. What did she see that so quickly changed her mind? And what would a trip to PCH look like for Laney? How long would we be there and would the procedures hurt? So many questions!

We got there and it was PACKED. It was like the movies. I've never seen such a thing. Babies crying everywhere. Kids throwing up. No where to sit. I panicked about all the germs (yes, I'm a bit of a germaphobe). We found a quieter waiting room off to the side and took up camp there for FOUR hours. Nana and Papa came to visit and sit with us and that was a great distraction. Laney nursed and slept on and off and smiled at everyone all the rest of the time.

We finally got to a room and just waited more. Waited to see an NP, a DR, for an X-ray, for the X-ray results. I knew she didn't have Pyloric Stenosis so I was ready to move on from the dumb X-ray. Then they came back in and basically told us there was nothing to do. They would not admit us because she needed to be "spitting up an impressive amount of bright red blood" for that to happen. What!? She's 3 months old. We don't want that. These people are nuts! We told the Dr we lived far away and that our GI appointment wasn't for another month and that our Ped sent us down here to see the GI on call. But none of it mattered. He told us to call the GI the next day and tell them we had been in the ER and see if they could get us in any earlier (of course they couldn't). I just felt like crying.

We got home at 5 am. We were absolutely exhausted and incredibly frustrated. The ER Dr recommended switching to formula, but acknowledged that he really has no idea if that would help or not. It just could be a starting point. Everything we've looked at says that many babies with these issues cannot tolerate formula at all. So we aren't switching unless someone can tell me what is wrong with her and somehow prove it (like with a test!) and explain to me why formula would be better for her than breastmilk. I'm more than willing to cut anything out of my diet to help her and continue breastfeeding, I just need someone to help us know what those things are! So needless to say, this has been incredibly frustrating. I hate not knowing what to do for my sweet baby or how to help her. I hate that sometimes she's in pain and we don't even know it. :( So for a week now I've been dairy, soy, and gluten free. I'm not sure if it's helping or not because we couldn't see the blood before and we don't see it now. We need to get her diapers re-tested but are once again waiting on Drs to call us back.

If you get a moment please just pray that we can see a GI soon. And that the tests they need to do will not be too scary or invasive. I don't feel like this is an illness that is going to wreck her life or anything. But I would like to figure it out and move on with life. Also, if you know anyone in Med school here in AZ you should highly recommend that they become a Pediatric GI. There's a huge need for them here in this state!