Straight from the Storks Nest: One of the worst things a parent can hear

Something a parent never wants to hear? Go straight to the ER, he may need surgery tonight. Umm, can you repeat that? Those are just the words I heard last Wednesday afternoon. About 3 weeks ago Chase started throwing up after some bottles - we ended up dubbing him the vomit comet thinking it was pretty harmless. I wasn't too concerned until it started happening more frequently and with a pretty good velocity (a la Linda Blair in the Exorcist). I did some research and took him to the doctor thinking he had acid reflux or a possible milk allergy. He was prescribed Zantac and put on a formula with rice starch (the formula is thicker so it is less likely to come back up). That seemed to help for a day or two until the vomiting was back and worse than ever. While it didn't seem projectile to me, it was happening after most bottles and a large amount. I became worried Tuesday night when he had two huge vomit-fests in a row and continued to vomit small amounts in his sleep and throughout the next day. After yet another huge eruption in the afternoon, I became very worried because he seemed dehydrated and a little lethargic. So back to the doctor we went where I heard those dreaded words. The potential diagnosis: pyloric stenosis. It's where a muscle between the stomach and small intestine thickens and it basically squeezes food out of the stomach with force. Treatment? Immediate surgery. Unfortunately, it keeps getting worse and the baby gets dehydrated and is unable to get the nutrients they need.

In a panic but moving with a purpose, I called Brian and told him to meet me at the Children's Hospital about 25 miles away. I am so thankful I have a great mommy network, because with no notice I was able to drop off Caitlyn and Emerson at a friend's house with minimal supplies. We headed to the ER to get an ultrasound of Chase's tummy. The doctor confirmed what we had suspected, he did have pyloric stenosis and he would need to have surgery first thing in the morning. It was a rough night. Chase was hooked up to an IV and all sorts of monitors so it was really hard to hold him or move him around at all. He also couldn't eat anything, yet he continued to vomit throughout the night. Needless to say he was starving (and you know how cranky boys get when they're hungry) and all we could give him was his pacifier dipped in sweetened water. In the morning we met with the Chief of Surgery who would be doing the operation laparoscopically. He helped allay any fears and Chase was wheeled away for surgery. 45 minutes later we got the good news that all went well. We had to start off his feedings slowly, a half an ounce, but we built back up and were discharged from the hospital on Friday when he had kept down multiple two ounce feedings. We did have one small incident that night when we tried to rush his feeding a little too much, but other than that he has done a great job recovering. He is up to 3 ounce feedings now and has put on a pound in the last week! He's been on an every two hours feeding schedule, so we are gradually trying to increase the time between his bottles. He is still hungry all the time but is doing great and has kept all of his food down.

Brian and I are very thankful for so many things. For the health of our son and this relatively easy fix, to Megan and Jamie for taking care of the kids and Daisy on such short notice, to Patrice for being here to help, to my MOMs club group for their support and all the delicious meals they're making for our family, and to the staff and doctors at the Children's Hospital in Plano who did an awesome job and went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. We couldn't ask for anything more.