Ava's One Month Doctors Appointment

Ava and I went to her doctors appointment this morning which I have been looking forward to as I was curious to know how much she has grown since her last appointment as well as to find out what the deal is with her not having regular bowel movements. She now weighs 8lbs 11oz and is 20 3/4inches long. I expressed my concerns *again* with Ava going a full week or so before being able to have a bowel movement. She is very squirmy and fussy and its quite obvious that she is uncomfortable and in pain. The doctor gave me some formula (I have been pumping once a day or so and supplementing formula the rest of the time because she is wanting to eat more than what I am able to get) that should help her go. It is Nutramigen with Lipil. Her doctor said that she thinks that will help but if not, we could then do a Barium Enema X Ray to see if she has Hirschsprung's Disease. She said that in her 15 years, she has had only 2 patients that had this disease as it is very uncommon. Hirschsprung's Disease is a disease of the large intestine (colon). People with HD do not have certain nerve cells that push the stool through which results in constipation or even the inability for them to have a bowel movement at all. HD is only treated with surgery.


If you are interested in reading more about Hirschsprung's Disease, here is the link that I referred to for my information.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hirschsprungs_ez/

I did give Ava the new formula for her last feeding and she did end up having a bowel movement though it was a very small amount. I'm really praying that she does not have HD. I cant imagine her going through a surgery, she's just my little baby girl. It breaks my heart to even think about it. Please keep her in your prayers and hopefully this new formula will help.