so we've had a rough time

and it's been hard to cope, let alone post. tess has good days and bad days, but after she screamed for about 48 hours, andrew and i were desperate. she has horrible acid reflux, and it seems we have not yet found the right medicine. i know people have been worried about me and wondering if i have post-partum depression, but that's not it. it's just intolerable to listen to your sweet innocent baby screaming in pain and literally inconsolable. it just breaks your heart (and your spirit, and your eardrums), and after calling the emergency line, and talking to the doctors, and getting very little help, we called jennifer, who's a children's er nurse and begged for some help. it was nice to talk to someone who knew we weren't just complaining about a "fussy" baby or idiots because we're first time parents. she knows us and has met tess and seen us with her, and she listened and heard us when we told her all that'd been going on.

last night around 1am, per jennifer's suggestion, we did go ahead and give tess some tylenol to see if it helped the pain, and the poor little baby slept for 6 hours straight. if you know anything about 5-week old breastfed babies, you can understand how exhausted the sweet girl must have been from hurting and crying. i was so incredibly thankful for her to get some relief, and that relief lasted well into the morning. we did still take tess into the doctor's office this morning, and saw dr. mann (one of the "founding fathers" of the practice we're going to), and he took my concerns seriously and listened attentively to all that we said along with looking thoroughly at tess and her history. he decided that he does think the issue still is the reflux, and that the prilosec just isn't really working, so he recommended prevacid. he also ok'd us using the tylenol once a day if necessary to control her pain. hallelujah! we went to pick up the prevacid on the way home, and our copay was $45!!! i questioned it, and the pharmacist reported that insurance already paid $125 for it - holy COW that's expensive stuff, so i sure hope it works! so far it seems hit or miss, but dr. mann said he thought we'd see results within 48 hrs, hopefully sooner.

some fun tess stats: she is still considered a little piggy and eating like a champ. she gained another 8 oz in 4 days and is now 8lbs 8.5oz - who ever thought she'd gain SO much in such little time! dr. mann looked over her history and said she has gained 27 oz in 20 days (apparently 0.05 oz per day is good, and tess is at more than double that)! also, we bought a baby bjorn last night because the moby takes me too long to put on when she's crying so desperately, and she refluxes most of the time if she's laid down for even a few minutes, so we needed a carrier that would go on super-fast for while i'm at home alone, and i LOVE it! i have a few pics to upload and show you all whenever tess isn't sleeping on my stomach and i can go get the camera.

and thank you SO much for those of you who keep lifting us up in prayer, i definitely feel wrapped in love whenever i look to you for support. i know i've been hard to be in touch with, but your words and prayers are invaluable to me, perhaps more than i can ever fully express to you.