Spit up, spit up everywhere

Andy, Will and I are pretty much always sporting a coat of glistening spit up these days. Poor Will has a milk protein allergy and reflux. We realized something was not right at about 2 weeks when he would scream like a banshee all of the time and arch like he was in pain. We flailed around for a while, going to the pediatrician who told us he had reflux and recommended Enfamil Sensitive or something like that. He also had the hiccups all of the time and would spit up a lot, cough, choke, etc. I think we tried every 'normal' formula out there. Nothing really seemed to help. We were really scared about him choking during the night. I finally took him to a GI specialist who tested his poo and found blood and determined he has a milk protein allergy, which is why he was in pain, it was hurting his intestines. We started on Pregestimil formula, and are still on that today. It took about 4-6 weeks (which is about 6 years in infant screaming pain baby time) before it started to work. It is more expensive than 'regular' formula as it is much more broken down so their tummies have less work to do. It smells horrid, although I'm definitely used to it now and the smell reminds me of Will (in a good way!). So, we had the protein allergy part taken care of, the reflux not so much. These days the hiccups rarely happen but the spit up is out of control. That is why you will pretty much never see a pic of him out of a bib. We have a huge stack of bibs and burp cloths in the den (which we are using as the nursery as his room is upstairs and it was just way too much trouble at first to try to troupe up and down stairs all hours of the day and night). We burn through burp cloths and bibs like you wouldn't believe. The other day I did a load of laundry just from the evening before and there were 12 bibs. Andy and I usually have to change shirts and pants at least once a night as well as wiping spit up off the floor and couch. We used to be very careful and not let him do anything to 'shake him up' for a long while after he ate, but now he wants to move around and play more and I am not going to not let him do it just because of spit up. To make things more fun, Will also had/has colic so in the midst of all of the screaming from the reflux and allergy we realized he also seemed to be colicky so we never knew when he was crying if it was from the colic, reflux, or stomach pains. It made me crazy. It is so hard to have your baby screaming like he is in pain and not know what to do, not know how to make it better. We were doing everything we knew to do, and were constantly trying things we heard or saw on the internet (the internet will also make you crazy by the way, looking up symptoms and reading people's comments). I am not kidding when I say that Will spent the great majority of his first 3 months crying. If he was not eating or sleeping, he would be crying. It was HORRIBLE. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. I cried a lot too, as I felt helpless and always thought maybe I was doing something wrong. It was hard, exhausting, and very frustrating. We only saw small hints of smiles when he was sleeping sometimes and it would make me so happy just to see that he could be happy even if it was only in his dreams. I was so worried he was just going to be an unhappy baby/person, although the pediatrician reassured us that wasn't the case. She said colic usually eased up around 3 months, which again in baby years seemed like an eternity to me.  I really didn't think I could make it that long. It definitely got better at 3 months, and kept getting better after that. She said colic has no negative effects on babies at all, they just grow out of it. Now I would say he has his fussy moments but usually we know now when he is crying why he is crying - there is a reason that we can figure out and fix - amazing! It is so amazing and wonderful to see him now when he is happy, smiling, and laughing, I appreciate it so much. He is a special little guy and a real trooper. Today I took him to the GI specialist for a follow up, Will obliged by spitting up several times while we were there so the doctor could test it. It seems the Zantac is not blocking the stomach acid so we are switching to Prevacid, as we don't want his esophagus to be hurt. The doctor told me reflux usually gets worse up to 6 months but then starts getting better about a month after babies can sit up - that will be so great when it happens. Because of the allergy we will have to be really careful when we start introducing baby food to him to make sure everything is milk, nut, soy and egg free.
Will is probably still a little more 'challenging' than some other babies, he is not going to be one to sit still for long, he wants to be up and at 'em, exploring everything. From the start he wanted us up and walking around with him, the second we'd try to sit down he'd start crying again. He likes to be able to see what is going on when he is on the move. He can definitely be fussy. Sometimes I think the colic was just his frustration with not being able to do things and move around like he can now. He still gets mad that he can't crawl yet. : )
I have a hard time even imagining having a small baby who just sits calmly and looks around although I know they exist as I've seen them. I used to go to the store and see people pushing their calm little babies around and get upset that I could not do that with Will, as he would have just been screaming the whole time. He is much better now about going shopping with us and either sleeping or looking around, although we have yet to try taking him to a restaurant - I think I'm still too scared he'll cause a commotion!
To any other moms out there with babies with colic or reflux, I know how hard it can be but it does get better, just like everyone said! I hope the Prevacid helps my little bug and his reflux gets better soon.
I love you so much Will!