Kai's 1st Doctor Visit

Last night Kai was very irritable with gas and what appeared to be constipation. Today is Wednesday and he didn't have a bowel movement since Monday, now it isn't uncommon for a newborn to go a day without a bowel movement but we could hear and see that Kai was straining. He was up for most of the night crying, breastfeeding and drinking formula. This was the first time that it was so bad that we didn't sleep a wink all night, we pumped his legs, gave him an ounce of water that was boiled then cooled and rubbed his tummy.

It was pretty tough to see our little guy in pain, especially when we were battling sleep deprivation and couldn't calm him.

Once again our plans to register Kai was pushed back as we called the Doctor who was recommended by my cousin to set an appointment for the same day. We had heard a lot of great stuff about this Doctor and in stressful situations it's always nice to have friendly and understanding people to interact with. Our appointment was set with Dr. Ranita Jhagroo from the "Well Kids Clinic" in Wildey. We were even called when the appointment ahead of ours was expected to run longer than expected and asked to come 30 mins later. This is pretty good since it minimises the amount of wait time after you arrive to see the doctor. We were greeted by two very nice young ladies at the front desk and after taking some information for our first visit we were seated in the waiting area. The waiting area was nicely decorated and themed with Winnie the Pooh characters painted all over the walls with a play area, a separate breastfeeding room and a flat screen television showing cartoons of course.

As expected, we didn't wait very long before we saw Dr. Jhagroo and we were shown to her office. We spoke for a while about our challenges and what brought us to her office. I must say thought that it felt more like friends getting together for a chat than a doctors office and it was very calming. After we spoke and asked any and all questions, she began to assess Kai. The entire time he was sleeping and wrapped up in his blanket and on first glance she exclaimed how cute and adorable he was. Now the office is air conditioned and set to 22 degrees C and my child does not like cold. We stripped Kai down to his pamper and she somehow managed to keep him calm throughout the entire assessment. She checked him from head to toe and the entire time Kai was passing gas. I must say that this had to be super gas, because in my wildest dreams I would never expect newborn gas to smell that way. This kid would clear a room!!

In the end she recommended we change his formula from Similac Soy to Similac Sensitive and for his mother to also change her diet and avoid dairy products. Gripe water was also recommended should we get another repeat of the "night without sleep". This was the most thorough doctor visit I have ever been to and we also got a sample of he new formula to see if it helps alleviate the gas and constipation problem. We even shared a few laughs with the girls at the first desk on our way out and definitely left with a feeling of that we belonged. Needless to say, Dr Jhagroo is now Officially Kai's Paediatrician. He has already had a bowel movement for the day and almost back to his old self, so we feel a little better. We are also hoping for great results from the formula and diet change so our baby boy will have less gas and easier bowel movements.

Dr. Ranita Jhagroo has received the Official stamp of approval and excellence from The Book of Kai and I would recommend her to anyone.