Tummy issues...

Thank you everyone for praying for Avery and her little tummy.

A little background on the issue can be found here.

The story of Avery's first enema procedure is here and pics are here.

That was in July. It's been six months... and Avery has been pooping (painfully) about once a week this whole time (about half the time on her own, the other half with suppositories). The doc thought maybe starting solids would help, but it didn't. Yesterday we had an appointment with a Pediatric Gastroenterologist.

Here's our sweet girl waiting to see the doc:

The appointment went well. I have to throw out a little disclaimer of sorts... I was a little disappointed. The doc is great, don't get me wrong. She was great with Avery and sympathetic to the pain Avery has been in. Since this was our first time meeting with her, it made sense that she'd start at square one... she gave us certain "fixes" for constipation that she wants us to try. I understand that it will help rule things out... it's just hard when Avery's been in pain for so long. I was hoping to try something new. Anywho...

We are changing Avery's diet to very specific things that "move things along". Per doctor's orders, Avery's diet will consist of pears, prunes, peaches, green beans, and peas. We hadn't tried green beans yet, and come to find out - Avery HATES them! :) Ha ha. We'll try again sometime...

The doc also gave us a prescription laxative to try, but we're trying the diet first. I'd rather not have Avery dependent on medicine to poop. I'll try everything else first!

The doc also recommended that I remove all dairy from my diet. For those of you that know me, that's a tall order. Now, I would do ANYTHING for my daughter and if I need to change my diet, I'll do that. In a heartbeat! I have talked to other doctors and done my own research and they don't think my diet is affecting Avery. If there were any allergy issues, we would see other symptoms. Yet once again, we're going to try one thing at a time. We go back to the Pediatric Gastroenterologist in a month. A month... seems so far away when Avery's been in pain for over 6 months. Sigh.

She did schedule another enema at the hospital so they can check on the kink in Avery's colon. Monday. I'm not looking forward to it, but I know it has to be done. I'm praying that the enema shows us something - anything.

God is so good - for the most part, I have a healthy & happy little girl. It is hard to see her in pain and it's hard to take her to appointments that cause her temporary pain. At the same time, I must put things in perspective. What we're going through is so minor compared to what Jess and Julie are going through. I may cry when Avery goes through her enema on Monday, but I get to take her home with me afterwards. So I am beyond blessed.

Please know that as I share these concerns for Avery and ask for prayer through all of this, that I know our situation pales in comparison to some. Please pray for them as well. I know God cares about even the smallest of things pertaining to my little girl, and I'm so thankful for that. I am thankful for the perspective it gives me as well.

Another prayer request as a sidenote... A friend of mine just miscarried (for the 3rd time) and is dealing with all that entails. Please pray for her and her family. Thanks.