The Arrival . . .

Derek and I made the trip to Colorado Springs the evening of September 5, 2012. Kearsta's birth mother was being admitted to the hospital for an induction. It was surreal making the drive. It was the last time Derek and I would be a family of two plus a dog. It was the last time there wouldn't be another person or remnants of another person in the back seat of the car. We were giddy with anticipation although we did acknowledge the change that was coming.
When K's birth mother, birth father and birth grandparents arrived at the hospital we were so excited to see each other. We know that it was a time of fear and unknown as well for her. The whole crowd (six of us) marched up to the Labor and Delivery floor in anticipation of the arrival. I don't know what the hospital staff thought of our entourage, but I thought it was pretty cool to have so many supportive people surrounding the birth of the baby! K's birth mother got all settled in and the wait began. Derek and I were unsure of how the night would go so we offered to retreat to my parents house for the night and return in the morning. The whole family quickly said that they wanted us there for the duration of the time so I went downstairs and brought up our necessities.
That night was quite entertaining. Again, I think the hospital is used to one, maybe two people staying in the delivery room overnight. There were five of us, one hospital bed and a couch. We weren't sure what we were going to do for sleep, but honestly I didn't care. I was feeling so blessed to be experiencing this time with them. Around 11 PM the nurse came in and realized that we were all planning to spend the night. She graciously brought us the "mattresses" from the delivery beds to put on the floor along with pillows and blankets. At this point we all attempted to sleep. Let me say that the birth father and Derek got plenty of sleep including some snoring and talking in their sleep. K's birth grandmother and I were jumping at every need that K's birth mother needed along with the nursing staff coming into the room every couple of hours to check on her sleep was not something we enjoyed that night!
By 8 AM everything was rolling to have the baby. K's birth mom was a champ with the contractions and the pain. She had said that she wanted to forgo the epidural as long as possible. Honestly, I know I will never know, but I am pretty sure I would have told the doctors to put that sucker in upon admission (not an option, I know)! We spent the morning chatting about life, laughing, smiling, texting our loved ones and playing Scattegories. I was so glad that I had grabbed the games on the way out of the house because they were a great distraction for our wait. I also had Derek pick up a couple of movies to pass the time. If there is one thing I know how to do it is how to pass the time in a hospital!
There were so many great memories packed on top of the thousands that we already had with this wonderful family. I probably should have been writing a play by play so I could remember it all, but I like being surprised when I am doing something and one of those memories comes to mind. Derek and I spent the day filled with love, elation, anticipation and unknown.
Once the evening hours arrived I think all of us were becoming antsy. The nurse came in around 6 PM and said that the hardest part was about to begin. At some point our conversation turned to peaches and Palisade, Colorado. The nurse, Brook, piped in and said that she was born in Glenwood Springs and adopted by a couple in Montrose. She said that her adoptive father was a pastor so they had lived a lot of places during her childhood with the final place being Cheyenne, WY. Of course I piped up! I told her that I was from Cheyenne and asked the name of her parents. Sure enough, I knew her parents. They are best friends with my Godmother who also happens to be the grandmother of my childhood best friend. It was an AMAZING connection. Brook was due to complete her shift at 7 PM, but chose to stay with us until Kearsta made her appearance. All of us were so grateful because all we wanted for K's birth mom was a smooth delivery without extra anxiety and tension due to the unknown.
During the hardest part there were four of us there to support her. At one point we all looked at each other and realized that K's birth mom was the only one on her coaching team (both birth grandmother's birth father and me) to experience birthing a child. That quickly changed our perspective and the words we said to her. It was a trying time, but K's birth mom was amazing. She did all of the hard work and experienced all of the pain to give her family and our family the best gift in the world, Kearsta Annaliese born September 6, 2012 at 10:34 PM. She was 8 pounds 13 ounces and 21 inches long.

Kearsta's first photo op!

 She was a BIG girl! I had a moment of "oh no" because I didn't think she would fit into the newborn clothes I had packed for the hospital time. Luckily it all worked out!

Seriously . . .

I am so sick to my stomach right now I figured I should blog about it! Before Kearsta was born her birth grandmother told me that her birth mom was intolerant of milk and soy formulas as a baby. This is the type of stuff that I listen to and put in the forefront of my mind.
When Kearsta was born I asked the nursery nurse about the signs of a milk allergy and she said that we would more than likely not know until after we left the hospital. Once we arrived home we moved her to powder formula because the stuff they use in the hospital is $9 for 12 ounces. I notice a change immediately. She seemed to do much better on the ready-made formula. I had a conversation with the nurse that visited our house to monitor the jaundice about the difference between the ready-made and powdered formula. She said that there is no proof that it is difference between the two, but looking at them it is clear that there is some difference. I took off to Babies R Us that evening and bought ready-made formula. No, I didn't pay $9 for 12 ounces, I ended up buying Enfamil Infant ready-made to save some money. It was clear from the start that it was not a good fit for her.
When Kearsta was 12 days old I called her doctor looking for approval to change her formula. That was not the response that I received. Instead both the nurse and the doctor told me that it was "normal" baby stuff. Spitting up and over-exertion when pooping was "normal." I figured since she was the doctor it was so.
Soon after that we found some generous formula donors from our adoptive friends that have babies within weeks of Kearsta and Parker Adventist Hospital's Adoption Program. We were able to supply the ready-made Newborn formula to Kearsta for about two weeks. She seemed to do better on it although still excessive spitting up, vomiting and over-exertion with pooping when she did poop.
At the two week doctor's visit I brought up my concerns again. Again I was told that it was all normal. She was gaining weight and so everything else that was happening was okay. Why was I concerned?!
After we ran out of the our donation formula we moved back to the powder with the same results as before. I called the doctor again without an approval or assistance with changing the formula. At the one month doctor's appointment it escalated to an ultrasound on Kearsta's abdomen to check for blockages in her digestive tract. Everything was normal.
At five weeks old I finally got fed up. I knew something was not right. I marched off to Walmart and bought soy based formula. Kearsta was in heaven. No more spitting up and absolutely no vomiting, but it did make her extremely constipated. Out went that formula and the improvement that we had made :-(
The next step was the sensitive formula. Still milk-based, but the proteins are easier to digest. When she went on this the spitting up was less and she was able to poop, but we quickly went on a downhill slide on Monday.
Kearsta decided that she was sick of feeling crappy so she proceeded to scream for two and half hours. We did everything that we could until she finally wore herself out and went to sleep. She then awoke on our way home from her grandparent's house and was awake until 1:00 AM crying. THIS WAS NOT OUR BABY! For the first five weeks of her life she was laid back, slept a lot and deep, had nothing to complain about and other than three to four hour pooping sessions she was good.
When we woke up this morning she was refusing to eat. Between 5 AM and 3 PM she ate one ounce of formula. When she was awake she was crying, when she was sleeping she was wimpering and sometimes she would even break out into a hysterical cry while still fast asleep.
After talking to a bestie at coffee this morning I had the confidence to call and complain again, but this time it would be to a different doctor. We marched into his office at 4 PM and within three words he said that I was not going to be happy with him. I continued telling him the signs and symptoms and he kept nodding his head. When I told him the success we had on the soy aside from the constipation he was comfortable with a diagnosis. He asked me about the birth parents allergy history. He said that babies with one parent with allergies have a 50% chance of having a milk allergy. Babies that have two parents with allergies have a 75% chance of having a milk allergy. By 4:15 PM he told me that there was no question that she had a milk allergy. I almost threw up on the floor right there. What he was telling me was that for the past five weeks we had been poisoning our baby with something that she could not tolerate. I am so grateful for my mommy instinct of a continuous test of formulas because he was able to tell me what to go purchase (expensive formula) immediately.
I walked out of the office feeling like I wasn't insane. We went to Target immediately and purchased the liquid gold that will add up to about $6.00 per bottle. I tell ya, I would pay $100 per bottle just to have my sweet baby back!

Kearsta had her first bottle at 6 PM and now she is just as content as can be. I am so thankful for Dr. Thomas and the formula Gods for giving us our life back!
So, I now have a formula graveyard. I currently have seven different types of formula in all shapes and sizes . . . hopefully we (or someone) will get to use the liquid silver someday!
Okay, I feel better now!