"Upper GI"

A while back my pediatrician said that I should go see a GI doctor about my vomiting. It doesn't happen all that often, but it's more often than it should be, so she wanted me to see someone who knew more about it. Mommy and I went to the doctor first and it wasn't all that bad. The worst part was when I had to lay down (I hate laying on my back at the doctor's office! I think my fear stems from being held down on my back to receive my monthly RSV shots last year!) and the doctor felt my tummy. Not so bad. He said to restart medicine for reflux, just a different kind, and have an "upper GI procedure." It was scheduled a week later at the hospital where I spent most of the first few months of my life. The parking garage had changed, so Mommy ended up driving on the wrong side of the road with a truck coming at us! I didn't really remember the hospital, but Mommy was not very excited about having to go back. They even made a mistake and sent us to the fourth floor where I stayed, just a different area. We spent most of our time waiting -in two different waiting rooms- but at least I had packed some good books! And I wasn't allowed to eat anything that morning, so eventually I started getting a little grumpy. When we finally got into the radiation room, I had to change into a tiny yellow robe. I was allowed to walk around the room to get used to all of the equipment. Mommy answered some more questions and was allowed to stay in the room with me. The procedure itself was not fun! I had to lay on a board and they strapped me to it. They tried to start and rotated me to my left, but I flopped forward and refused to drink. Turns out, I was strapped in all wrong and they had to re-strap me. Then they tried again and the barium mixture that I had to drink wasn't mixed all the way and was clumpy, so I had to wait for them to make it again....all while being strapped down. Mommy did her best to help me stay calm, but I was not! I was allowed to hold my stuffed monkey and she asked for a pacifier and I got a brand new one, which helped a little bit. And I didn't want to drink from their cup, so thank goodness Mommy had brought one of mine just in case! So I had to wait for them to switch the drink to my cup before they finally started the procedure! Once I was strapped in correctly and feeling a bit more secure, and I was allowed to drink from my own cup, I did great! I drank about four ounces of grape-flavored barium contrast material. It was chalky and gross, but I hadn't eaten in about 13 hours at that point, and Mommy kept saying, "Mmm, yogurt! Drink some more smoothie!" So they rotated me to the left...then facing up...then to the right...then back to left....then stop drinking...then drink some more...then back to the right...then something really fast because my stomach was about to empty...or something like that! When I was done, the doctor said we needed to wait in the room for the other doctor to look at the video. He gave Mommy a baby blanket to wear "in case he spews." I laid on Mommy's chest and didn't move until he came back. He said that all my anatomy and muscles and muscle function looked good. He didn't see any reflux during the procedure, but that doesn't mean that I don't have it, it just didn't happen on the video. They gave me a snack of juice and graham crackers and Mommy and I sat in another waiting room to eat. I'm glad it is over with and that everything checked out OK. I'll continue to take the reflux medicine to see if that helps, and then follow up with the GI doctor in March.