Spit Happens.

 I'd like to consider myself quite knowledgeable when it comes to taking care of a baby. Afterall, this is my third time and a lot happens after three babies. But, let's face the facts...Spit Happens. It does.

Like GERD. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Sounds intense. Well....it is! Spit happens, literally, and a lot of it. Projectile spit. It catches you, unaware, and you find yourself saying unpleasant words in your head...and sometimes outloud...like, "Dad-gum! Blast! and Flip!" Yeah, those kinds of unpleasant words.

Then the crying kicks in. And the kicking feet, the head shaking, clenching and unclenching of the fists...oh, the baby with GERD does this too...not just the parent...

It is not fun. There is little sleep. Nothing gets done that needs to be done. Believe me...this is my third child with GERD, each one having similar and different experiences with it, some not so bad, and others much worse. After a few weeks of holding babe #3 pretty much all the time, dealing with the constant aching of my arms, back, neck, feet....I could hold her while standing up, for hours. Easy. Have you tried that? Believe me, most people cave in after 10 or 15 minutes.

Yup. Spit Happens.

 But...there is light at the end of the tunnel. Modern medicine has provided us with many options which help immensely. Take that, combined with a really great pediatrician from the Pocatello Children's Clinic, who I won't name, but man....Dr. Murdoch is awesome...anyhoo, the two combined make for a much happier baby and much happier momma!

 So...all the spit....well, we treated that. We also realized that babe #3 had issues with nursing too. She had a terrible latch. First baby who left scabs. Her tongue would flick off my nipple, breaking her latch. I could not get her to suck any other way, it was just the way she did it. Problem was, she swallowed so much air. And I struggled, too, with foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. Google it. The babe also was fussy due to a lactose sensitivity. And explosive gas. You can google all of that too. After weeks of trying everything I could, we decided to try a bottle and formula specifically for gas and lactose sensitivity.

I nursed Anna until she was 15 almost 16 months old. Carter was 14 months old. I considered myself a nursing expert! I figured I would never use formula. Yeah....never say never! The formula has worked its magic! We saw improvement within a day! Kya went from not sleeping at night, to sleeping 3 hrs at a time, and then 4, and now 5. She doesn't have the painful gas and she doesn't have to deal with my breastmilk spraying down her throat full force! It has been a great change for us.

Spit happens. And that's okay. Cuz this sweet, adorable, dimple-cheeked, squealy, jabbering cutie makes it all worthwhile...and maybe Prevacid and Similac have helped a bit too.

I would do anything for my babies...so they can be happy...and so I can enjoy all of these smiles vs. a babe crying and in pain and discomfort.

Plus....now I can start training for my next 10K this September and not have to worry about any breastpads falling down my shirt. Score!