Eric is still having problems eating and it is getting worse. Eric went down from 20 oz of breast milk a day to 15 oz. This situation is considered critical. Eric should be eating at least 30 oz a day. When he was weighed, he had only gained 1.5 oz in 25 days. Cris and I have tried everything possible, but Eric refuses to eat and will throw up if we try to force him.

We took him to see another pediatrician (Dr. D) today that has a great deal of experience with preemies and was recommended by our developmental nurse. We will still need to stay with our old pediatrician (Dr. M) because the RSV shots are really hard to set up. So we will wait until after the shots are done with to say goodbye to the Dr. M. Dr. M is a good doctor, but he is just not experienced enough with preemies and Eric needs to see someone who is more specialized.

Dr. D believes Eric may not be digesting his food quickly enough. This is why we never know if Eric is hungry and partly why Eric has reflux. The food is staying in his stomach too long and not being digested. Therefore, Eric still thinks he is full. Dr. D has started Eric on 2 new medicationsThe first medication will help Eric digest faster. It will take about 2 days before we see results. The second will help with the reflux and results will take about 2 weeks.

If this does not work, Dr. D will send us to a Gastro-Intestinal specialist. Worst case scenario, Eric will get a G-tube that connects directly to his stomach. It is an invasive procedure and we would like to avoid it as much as possible.