Kara was diagnosed with food protein induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) in August of 2010. She has had many FPIES reactions and complications that have lead to numerous hospitalizations and specialist appointments. It was a huge sigh of relief to finally have some answers and a diagnosis, however we have to remind ourselves daily that this is a very serious disease and this is only the beginning of the long road we have in front of us.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Bottle

Because we are extremely comfortable with where Kara is sitting at on the charts, the doctor brought up that dreaded bottle conversation again.

Brenna was done with the bottle at one year old with the exception of morning and night. We phased out the nighttime one soon after and did away with the morning one well before 18 months. 

Kara, on the other hand, is still on a bottle. Many bottles. We were told not to touch the bottle since it was her only nutrition for so long and she wouldn't take a sippy cup. Now we have a decent list of foods for her and she drinks water and diluted apple juice from a sippy. However, she will not drink her Neocate from a sippy. 

The bottle is as important to Kara as her blankie. It's her comfort. If she doesn't feel good, she wants a bottle. If she's hurt, she wants a bottle. If she's tired, she wants a bottle. We let it get to this point and now it's all become a behavior. It's going to be tough.

Kara gets up every morning between 4 and 5. We eat an early supper and most nights, she's asking for her ba-ba by 6:45 and in bed by 7. When I hear those cries at 5 a.m. I've come to realize that she's starved. We bring a bottle up to her and she goes back to sleep until I wake her up to get ready for daycare or until she wakes us up telling us we've slept in long enough!

We do a lot of travelling now for various doctor appointments for Kara and it's my fall-back when she's fussy in the car. Hand her a bottle, and she'll usually fall right to sleep. Why would anyone want to change that?!

If she has a reaction (which we pray she doesn't!), we all know how hard it is to get her to drink. If we still have that bottle on board, it will be that much easier than fighting her with a sippy cup! 

There are so many reasons for not being ready to eliminate this most prized possession in our house. I think I'll try and make it our New Year's Resolution - to wean Kara from the bottle. What's another 6 weeks, right? The holidays will be done, her specialist appointments will be done for a few months and life should hopefully be more normal than we've known in a while.
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