For a while there, Liliana was doing well — perhaps even great — with her feeding. She had taken a complete bottle from Dad and most times would take upwards of half of her prescribed amount of milk from the bottle. Furthermore, there were a few days where she didn’t spit up because Sean and I were getting better at burping her. But all of that went down the drain.

This Wednesday she had spit up 5 or 6 times by 1 PM. Later that day she spit up again. Sometimes it was just a little bit, but there were a few times where it seemed like copious amounts were flowing out. I took her to the doctor, who increased the Zantac dose to 0.5ml and gave permission for refills. She also gave me some advice, saying that if Liliana’s not interested in the bottle then she just may not be hungry and to wait an hour.

When it came time to give Liliana her 6 o’clock feeding, she didn’t want any. Sean and I waited, and tried again around 7. Still nothing, so we had to put it in her feeding tube. The 9 o’clock feeding was better and she actually drank from the bottle. I think this was the feeding where she spit up because I was napping and Sean woke me up to witness the mess that was made.

I haven’t explained how we give her the tube feedings. We have the crib mattress elevated at an angle. We place Liliana on a Boppy pillow so that she is propped up — the way that we have the Boppy positioned against the angle of the mattress gives Liliana a better chance of not slipping down and cutting off her airway. So in the end it’s like the angling in a car seat but with better support for her head.

Anyway, we prop her with the Boppy to help with her reflux and digestion since laying her flat on her back would be a big no-no as far as feeding goes. We have her milk hanging on a crib rail and we connect it so that the milk goes from the syringe & tubing through her feeding tube and into her stomach. If Liliana spits up while she’s getting her feeding through the tube, it can go either two ways.

The first way is forward. When Liliana and I got home from the doctor’s, she had yet to finish her 3 o’clock feeding. Up into the crib she went. We usually don’t cover Liliana with a bib during her tube feedings but since she had been throwing up all day, I decided to play it safe and put one on her. I stepped away for a few minutes and when I returned, Liliana spit up on her bib and the left side of her clothes.

The second way is back. Liliana lays down with her head and neck on the Boppy. Usually when she spits up, it flows out of her mouth and dribbles down her cheek and into her neck folds. It doesn’t stop there, because it will soak the neck of her clothes and the Boppy. Sometimes it will go further, wetting the blanket or towel we have underneath.

I really hope that she will get better and not spit up as much. I know one thing for sure though — I have a lot of laundry to do!