More pieces in the reflux puzzle

We still are dealing with reflux and some feeds, some days, and some weeks are better and some are worse than others. Some days feel almost normal again, other days are spent monitoring her very closely. Last week was filled with some of both. I finally realized that there is no "magic bullet" with this reflux. It does not just have one cause which once I figure it out will take care of the entire problem. There are numerous important variables.

Now I am still confident that she has food allergies/intolerances and we have been combating that by changing my diet and adding an herb which helps reduce allergies. I am also fairly confident that at times my milk has been too acidic and we have been attacking that with apple cider vinegar. I know she ALWAYS has gas trapped in her stomach WHEN she refluxes, and I am working on making sure she burps well and also by watching that aspect of my diet also. But last week we did find another piece to the puzzle. Ali had her first chiropractor appointment with Dr. Garl. He found that her hips and spine were out of alignment. It is my understanding that being out of alignment drastically effects digestion, and we did see a drastic change in Alegria immediately following her appointment, so I am hoping and praying we will continue to see improvement as she sees Dr. Garl again next week! Since the first appointment she has only refluxed on average once a day where it was much more frequent the days before.

One area we are having more struggles with is nighttime feedings. While I am probably getting more sleep now than when she was first born, I am feeling very exhausted lately and having difficulty waking up in the middle of the night (except for when Ali pulls her leads off and sets off the very LOUD apnea monitor!) We are strongly considering purchasing a feeding pump to feed her very slowly, yet continuously through the night which would make night feeding much simpler for us both. This would also make it easy to feed more quantity through the night, and thus smaller quantity bolus feeds during the day which in theory should help with the reflux too. One concern though with feeding her continuously through the night is the small risk of her refluxing while I am asleep.

Also I am considering switching the type and size of g-tube we are using. Unfortunately the one she has (a Bard Button) leaks significantly, and it is also slightly too big. Both of these problems complicate caring for her stoma (skin around the g-tube) which often makes her uncomfortable. While I am not excited about switching this one so soon (we had hoped it would last much longer), I also do not want to try to just tough it out at her expense either. Also a different button would make burping her SOOOO much easier (another wonderful benefit!!!)

So prayer requests are:
Continued improvement in the reflux
Wisdom in decision making
Rest :)

Thanks,
Jill