Doctored

Luna and I both went to the doctor on Tuesday.

My doctor says I am healing slowly but surely, but that it will still be another 2 weeks before the wound is finally closed up. She also did an ultrasound to make sure everything inside was looking normal, and it was, except I have developed my first fibroid tumor on my uterus. So far its small, golf ball sized, but I know how these things can grow. I'll have to keep an eye on that I guess. G and I were both pretty worried when we first got there, because she asked if the wound was closed yet, and when I said no, she said it was "probably time for an intervention." We were both terrified she would put me back in the hospital for another operation! But after she looked at it, she decided it was healing well, just slowly. So as long as it keeps healing, she will leave it alone.

We didn't have an appointment, so we were very lucky that the pediatrician squeezed Luna in while we were at the hospital. It was one of the two female pediatricians Luna had while she was in the hospital, and we liked her. She speaks excellent English. She looked at the rash and agreed that it is eczema. She said it was infected as well, so she prescribed a cortisone cream and an antibiotic cream. For the acid reflux, she doubled the dosage of Gaviscon to 2 mL, which is a heck of a lot to get down a baby's throat without choking her! She also prescribed Zantac twice a day. She said she suspects an allergy of some sort may be exacerbating both the eczema and the acid reflux, so we've begun the exciting process of determining what she may be allergic to. For the next two weeks I am dairy free, as dairy is the most common allergy in babies. After two weeks we will add dairy back into my diet and see if there are any changes in Luna. After that I will try eliminating peanuts. Rinse and repeat until we find something that she seems to react to.

I realize the easiest way to eliminate the possibility of an allergy is to stop breastfeeding, but I still feel very strongly about that and I do not want to give up on it unless there is no alternative. The pediatrician agreed that this is not reason enough to give up on it yet - the benefits outweigh possible downsides. Speaking of breastfeeding, I had intended to start pumping this week so that Geert could give her a bottle occasionally. However, we discovered that the breastpump we bought before Luna was born simply DOES NOT PUMP. It is completely useless. I tried all of the troubleshooting hints, and nada. What little milk it does pump simply leaks out all over the place. So until we can find time to go buy a better breast pump, I will not be able to pump.

My mother is coming to visit in 9 days, and I am so excited! I have been extremely homesick lately, so hopefully her visit will help. She'll be here for three weeks.