A Chloe Story

*Warning to my friends with fertility issues, I will be putting a picture or two at the bottom of the post*

As last noted, Chloë had once again gone into the breech position so my doctor had again scheduled the version procedure (where they attempt to turn the baby manually) and a possible c-section. The

doctor was successful at turning her after a failed attempt (he was determined he wasn't going to do another c-section). Chloë was born October 1st at 10:30pm weighing an astonishing 6lbs, 10 ozs. The doctor was very shocked that she was this big since they had thought she would be about half of that. Chloë refused the lactose-free formula that we had bought, and started out on just regular formula.

Fast forward to two weeks later - Chloë started having diarrhea and blood in her stools. We made our first ER trip. We were referred to

a consultant pediatrician who diagnosed a milk allergy and based on our family history along with her symptoms, likely either Crohn's disease or IBS. At this point we switched her to Alimentum formula which is already broken down making it easier for her to digest. At our follow-up appointment, the pediatrician essentially dismissed our concerns saying that she was always going to have pain and bloody stools. I was so not impressed. At this point Chloë was having 20-30 bowel movements a day. You could literally feel the formula hit her stomach and come out the other end. The diagnosis of Crohn's was quite hard on me, I went through several periods of feeling guilty since I also have this invisible illness.

Chloë is now 6 weeks old, over the past week she has had more pain. About 4 days ago, she started having problems with passing bowel movements. She would strain until her eyes bulged and turned purple. She would scream out while passing any gas and her bowel movements decreased to 2-3 times a day. Yesterday she started to poop green and developed a rash. I made the 4hr round-trip to Sick Kids Hospital where we were seen right away. They gave her an ultrasound, and said that there were no blockages. Her bloodwork came out fine. The on-call gastro-enterologist determined that she has a reflux problem, explaining why she often chokes during and after feedings. The acid from this could be causing her pain. They thought that the rash could be a potential protein allergy, and if it doesn't clear up, to ask the family doc about it.

It's heartbreaking to see your child in pain and not be able to do anything about it. Luckily she has a mommy who understands.

Now meet Chloë Rae Kristin: