Many of you have heard about Ivory's doctor's visit last Friday - I had found blood in her diaper that morning and was concerned, so I took her in and the pediatrician ran some tests. His diagnosis was lactose intolerance, and he had us switch to soy formula instead of breastmilk. Overall, Ivory adjusted really well to the transition and after several days of constipation, she finally filled her diaper on Tuesday and is feeling much better. I think the soy formula has definitely been doing its job.
However, while doing some research of my own to better understand her condition, I became more and more convinced that she has more of a milk protein intolerance or a milk allergy - not a true lactose intolerance (which is extremely rare), and not something that she necessarily needs to be on a soy formula for. A milk allergy is fairly common anyway, and with her being a preemie and having a few little digestive issues here and there, it really isn't at all surprising that she would have a little bit of an intolerance. Doubting my pediatrician's diagnosis, I did go to see our regular doctor with her test results, and he, also, was encouraging that it is likely a temporary condition, rather than a lifelong thing like my pediatrician had suggested. I really trust and respect the pediatrician, as he was present at Ivory's birth and worked with her all the while she was in the hospital. He has been very patient with our limited language skills and works hard to help us understand what's going on! So it was very difficult to go to see my other doctor, for a variety of reasons - culturally, people just don't question doctors, it seems, and of course, I'm don't have enough language skills to politely state my doubts (you know how there's ways to soften the blow, so to speak, when you're bringing up a sensitive issue) - it comes out pretty blunt. :( It was definitely easier to bring up my doubts to the other doctor rather than the pediatrician himself, so I was thankful that was an option, but still... just culturally and emotionally, it's been a little bit of a rough week.
Anyway, my doctor encouraged me to keep her on the soy formula for a week. She has been taking it well and gaining much better than she was before, so that is very encouraging. In the meantime, however, I have been cutting dairy out of my diet in order to make my milk something that Ivory can tolerate better and we are hoping to try out breastmilk again at the end of the week.
The week has been so exhausting, just trying to figure her out, help her to be comfortable, understand what's going on, and deciding how to express my doubts and move forward with the best plan of action for her. It has been a tremendous blessing to have my parents and Addie here this week - their emotional support and physical help with Ivory have been so valuable. They have been so patient as we work through all that soy formula and a no-dairy diet entail (lots of washing out and sterilizing bottles, reading through ingredient labels and cooking accordingly, and just being here to help us de-stress and play Settlers and stuff like that :)
On Friday when I was at the doctor with Ivory, Grant read about the woman with the issue of blood - and how she was healed simply by touching the hem of Jesus' garment. Among all this - doctors, diagnoses, and dairy-free diets - there is Jesus - and all we have to do is touch the hem of His garment - to rest in Him and to know that our Father is caring for us.
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