Yesterday was bad.
Madison drank only 3 oz all day. Kari was going into a bit of a worry frenzy and wanted to take her to the emergency room and I was starting to think maybe she was right. I just didn't want to sit there for five hours and have them tell us nothing. Around 10p.m. Madison finally ate about seven onces, witch made us feel a little better. Jordan has been eating a little better, but still not as much as we would like.
They wake up, we change them, play with them until they seem like they want to eat. As soon as we get the bottle in their mouths the scream and scream....and scream. Sometimes you can get them to eat an one or two onces before they really get going. We have been to the doctor twice in the last three weeks and they have been of no help. They say that it might be a virus, because their white blood cell count is high and that could last for 7 to 14 days. Well... it has been 14 days since they have started this behavior and it is getting worse not better. They said it could be the formula. We have tried three different kinds of formula, four different bottles, about eight different kinds of nipples, we have tried rice cereal, none of it seems to make a difference.
If they were not eating and content, that would be one thing. I would think that they are just not hungry. However, they are almost inconsolable for hours at a time. Add the two toddlers to the mix and it is overwhelming. Reagan, especially, is having a difficult time with all of this. At 19 months old patience is not a virtue that she has acquired. I think she maybe adding to the twins stress during feeding time.
At any rate we are about at our wits end. We decided to look for a new doctor. One who will help us explore some other options. I think a test to determine how much the reflux is effecting them would be productive, for starters. The last doctor basically told us to wait till they were eating less than six onces before we called them back. It seems like waiting for failure to thrive or dehydration before doing something is just plain stupid. We don't want to see them going into the hospital again and that seems more likely.
The other problem is this is very taxing on us parents. For hours and hours we pace the house with and infant bouncing on our hip and toddlers following close behind demanding attention of their own. We walk and bounce hoping that if they are not going to eat, they will at least go to sleep. I don't know how Kari is doing it when I am gone (I don't think that she knows either). It tough enough when there are three adults.
One a positive note: Kari was getting a little desperate and tried some aroma therapy on the twins and that worked very well. She and Kandy gave them aroma therapy foot massages. They had the twins stretched out on a play mat in front of the TV, onesies unbuttoned and bunched up around their midsections, rubbing their little feet with scented oil. Kari called me over with a "you have got to see this." Madison, with her legs stuck straight out and her toes splayed, was staring at Kandy with her index finger in the corner of her mouth. Other than that there was no movement, just complete relaxation. Jordan's eyes were rolling back in her head with ecstasy.
Once they were nice and calm we tried to feed them again, you can guess how that went, can't you?
So we are hoping that the twins eat better today. If not they are going to see some doctor tomorrow.