Infant with Acid Reflux - Georgetown,TX

Hello,

I had a daughter that did the same thing. It was awful. She cried all the time because she was hungry and her tunny was upset. The only thing that worked was solid food. I started feeding her cereal at about 4 weeks. That seem to stay down and not upset her stomach. She just didn't drink a bottle as much as normal babies do. She found a pacifier and that would sooth her. She would still drink soy milk, but not that much. I tried anything to help her when I went through that. She is now 9 and is just fine. Still doesn't like milk much and if has too much gets a tummy ache.

Both my kids had AR, and my daughter (oldest) was a projectile vomiter. At least once a day, I'd be washing my pj's, clothes, and/or the couch cushion covers. Finally, at 2 months, she was diagnosed with acid reflux, and the pediatrician started her on Prevacid. That stuff rocks. She stopped vomiting, thank goodness. Best tip I got, other than starting her on medicine, was to keep her upright for 20 minutes after feeding, because that lets the acid & such go back down. Worked for us! Good luck.

Sounds like it could be a food allergy. Has their been any discussion of this? My daughter had a milk allergy and when we gave her milk formula she projectile vomited. She also had acid reflux (or that's what we thought she had) and we gave her zantac before her allergies were discovered.
There is a pre-digested formula which most allergic kids will tolerate. It's worth a try. I also breastfed her but didn't realize how severe her milk and egg allergy was at the time. She's five and is still anaphylactic.
Just a thought. Good luck.
If you have other questions I'd be happy to help.

Yes! Our specialist put my daugher on Mylanta and took her off of her prescriptions. She took Mylanta Supreme Cherry (about a 1/4 tsp at this age). She took it between meals and at bedtime. We put her in her infant car seat after each meal for 30 minutes before we would move her around or carry her (when we could). We also had her sleep on the wedge that the hospital gave us (she was in NICU). But, it elevated her up about 4-5 inches (the store bought ones are usually about 2 inches only). I also never allowed her to sleep on her back unless I was awake and attentive (so that she doesn't choke on her vomit in her sleep). During the day, I allowed her to sleep on her stomach or back. At night, we bundled her up and used a sleep positioner to put her on her side (rotating sides each night). Don't plan on being able to give her clothes away. Make sure you wear T-shirts that can be easily changed and washed together easily. Be sure - all this trouble will eventually pass for the most part. My daughter still has some trouble; she didn't outgrow it, but she knows how to handle it very well. She's now 7.

Hi C.. I had this same problem with my son. I had him in the emergency room twice before they accurately diagnosed the condition. First they told me that it was acid reflux and tried various medication and formula changes. Then when the problem didn't resolve he was diagnosed with pyloric stenosis. I would advise you to keep very close tabs on the amount of urine/stool that is present during diaper changes. Also, check for dehydration by feeling the soft spot on the top of her head. If it is sunken in she could be dehydrated. Overall, be very persistant with the doctors and get a second opinion if need be. I had to pester the doctors and get a sencond opinion which resulted in an abulance ride to the childrens hospital where they prepped him for surgery the very next morning. He was exactly 7 weeks old. I know how frustrating it can be to watch your baby get sick like that. I hope everything works out for her.

Hi C.,

My eldest daughter had this problem, though not to the extremes that you're experiencing. I breastfed and supplemented with mild formula as well. There are a couple of things that I've learned will quickly calm an upset stomach.

Dark Kayro syrup in the bottle with the milk. Usually one ounce to four ounces of milk. Your doctors may have told you of this one already.

I also learned (from an "old school" granny) that mixing a solution of flour (your basic white flour will do) and water and drinking it in small sips, will calm a stomach. I know that sounds really weird, but use this one for stomach viruses on a regular basis- for both adults and children and it's a keeper! Don't make a paste, just a murky water and give it to your baby in a small spoon or dropper. It's completely harmless and will settle a stomach.

Good luck to you and hang in there. Hopefully she'll be growing out of this soon!

Dear C., We had the same problem with our daughter she was tested for pyloric stenosis and was neg. So they said acid reflux. So they suggested having her sit up in a swing or piled up with pillows for at least 45 mins.to an hour after she ate. And believe it or not it worked. even for her 2 am feedings putting her in her swing in our bedroom for that length of time was well worth it. Hope this helps.
Cindy

I would consider taking her to a different pedi. Or even calling different pedi's and talking to the nurses about your situation and see if they agree. It seems like they could do something. So sorry your little one is having a hard time. God bless.

This sounds like what my daughter had. Turns out she was allergic to milk. Don't let your doctor tell you that babies can not be allergic to milk. (my first doctor told me that.) They can!

I have a different take. My daughter also projectile vomitted and I just did not "feel" it was acid reflux. Of course, I am not an MD and do not know all that is going on with your baby. It turned out for us, that I had overactive letdown and she was swallowing too much air and when the air moved out it was so forceful, I felt like there was spit up dripping off the ceiling! LOL I nursed laying down and she never spit up again. It might be something similiar. I did not feel in my breasts that I had too much milk, but it came out fast, I guess. Try talking with a lactation consultant, that is who helped me. Good luck!

have you thought of the fact that she could be allergic to the milk. My son did the same with a med. that he was given. Check again with the Dr. and see if this is possible. Good luck.

I feel your pain! My now 5 month old son was diagnosed with acid reflux at 4 weeks old after pyloric stenosis was ruled out via ultrasound. He could vomit across the room just as your baby can. I've never heard of prilosec for treatment of this as my doctor prescribed Zantac but then switched my son to Prevacid, which worked WONDERS for him. He hardly throws up or spits up at all anymore and is a happier baby. I never put him on an AR formula, just Similac Sensitive. Hope the AR provides your daughter with more relief. I can tell you that she will need to sit up almost completely when she drinks a bottle and burp frequently during each feeding (no matter how much it upsets her to stop drinking). All I can say is as the weeks pass and her digestive system matures it will get much easier on both of you. My girlfriend at work went through the same thing with her son at the same time as me so we would compare doctors' advice. We realized there is not much you can do, except give them Prevacid and hope they can hold as much formula down as possible. I'm sorry I don't have any miracle advice for you, but I can say that with just a few weeks time everything settles down and gets much easier. Good luck. :)

I have 3 yr old twin boys and we had this experience with them when they were infants! The Dr's immediately wanted to put them on medication. I am not one of those people who look lightly at putting an infant or child for that matter on something they potentially could be on for the rest of their life. I spoke with numerous Dr.s and a few other specialists and they told us to burp them after every .5 to 1 oz of drinking. It is time consuming but some babies are not born with the same amount of elasticity in their tummies as others and when the burp builds up after a normal feeding with ours it was enough to project the entire amount given quite a distance!! They were breast fed but we also used the Enfamil AR when needed,i.e road trips as ours got carsick, it has a rice cereal right in the formula it is thicker and stays in better. This advice helped immediately for us and within about two months they could handle a full feeding and one burp without anything but normal infant spit up. Hope this helps!!

Hi C..

I hate that for you and especially for your d.d. My d.d. had that too and I found that breast milk was not something she could keep on her tummy. We stuck with it tho b/c of the benefits of it, still, she lost more than what she kept. Thankfully, she outgrew it.

We split up her feedings and that helped a great deal. Our experience was that the meds didn't help but each person is diff. We used the Enfamil AR as well.

Try splitting up her bottles, smaller servings and more frequent. Also, be sure to rub/pat that sweet little back of hers. ALOT. Sorry, I don't have much else to offer you in ways of advice. I'll pray for you guys! Good luck.

I am a Mom of 4 kids. My second child had the same problem. He would scream after he would vomit because he was so uncomfortable from the acid, even with prilosec. I talked to everyone I could about it and by about 4 months we finally had it all figured out, for him. Here are a few ideas.... Have her sleep in her car seat. (some of the best advise I was given and have given since) Sitting up helps the acid stay down. I would strap him in so i felt more comfortable, using the head support for babies, put it in the crib and put a pillow under the back part of the car seat so it would not rock. Also, try Nutramagin (not sure how to spell correctly). It is the only formula that worked, and I have heard that many times from other moms since. I will tell you I had to stop nursing at about 3 months. Once I saw the difference in him from the nutramagin vs. breast milk, I realized that my milk was making things worse. So I had to let go of the guilt with that, and WOW what a difference. Keep talking to people, you would be amazed how common it is!
Best Wishes!

oh yes! It is so freaky how much vomit can come out of someone so tiny!! My son had acid reflux and the dr. gave him prevacid and he did so great with that. He still threw up sometimes, but he didn't cry and get fussy in the evenings. After a while the puking slowed and at around five months or so we were able to take him off prevacid and he has done great since. Hang in there and pack lots of blankets, burp cloths and extra clothes!!! :)

Hang in there mom!!!

My son would spit up a few times after each feeding. The first 3 months were the worst for us! We finally found that the formula... Enfamil Nutramagin (it's so so so expensive... you can buy it at Target or HEB) watered down a little bit was easiest on his tummy. To this day (he is almost 3) I still hesitate to give him real milk but he is able to eat dairy products (cheese, yogurt...). Unfortunately this is a time of trial and error. PLEASE cover your couch in a heavy blanket and wear a towel when you are feeding. This may save you a lot of frustration! Also I remember that Gripe Water helped him a little bit... as did durping him a few times during feedings.

I know that it's frustrating... but it will get better and my son stopped it when he was a year old!

Hi! I feel your pain! My son, now 2, had this and he lost so much weight that the dr. had to do something. He said it was reflux and put him on Zantac twice a day. He quit spitting up the very next day. When he could crawl, it just suddenly stopped and he didn't need it anymore. Hopefully, your baby won't need it very long either. Just hope he's not losing weight like mine did. good luck!

Hey C.,
My son to has acid reflux and takes prilosec but I put him on prosobe.The prosobe was a persoanl choice because 3 of my other children had tummy problems as well and it seemed to help.the throwing up can be extemely frustrating and the laundry never keeps up.But it does get better.Just try to keep her upright as much as possiable and be sure she burps and try small feedings. My son could only handle abt 4oz at a time every 3- 4 hrs This helped some what he is now 10 months and still throws up some but not as bad.Be sure to keep under her neck and arms as dry as possiable.My son developed a serious yeast infection under his neck and arms and my dr told me this was from him throwing up while sleeping and it not getting dry enough.Not to scare you but it was horrible!any way hang in there !!!!!
J.

My daughter had the same problem and it was also a milk allergy. Hers was so bad that we also had to take her off of breast milk. We tried a ton of formulas and even goats milk before we figured out that it was a milk allergy and put her on Soy formula. She is two now and still has a milk allergy. If she eats ranch dressing, her face swells and she gets hives. Any other dairy product just makes her stomach hurt and gives us horrible diapers. So we just keep her on all things soy and she does ok.

Hi C.,

At 11 weeks old my son had the stenosis test also and was diagnosed with acid reflux. He too was on Enfamil AR and Zantac. He slept in his swing in our room and I don't know if it was a good idea or not because he ended up with a helmet for 5 months for "flat head" or plagiocephaly but he also had torticollis which was a whole other story. He is now 4 and if I remember correctly it adventually went away with solids. At first Aiden couldn't hold it down so we thinkened his applesauce with rice cereal. We also were feeding him stage 2 earlier because they were thicker as well. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at ____@____.com

You're baby is so young, I don't understand acid reflux in infants! It's not like they're eating spicy foods. Maybe that is what infants really had when they diagnosed collic years ago? My son had projectile vomiting starting at about 14 months, and at 19 months they finally did every test possible, including barium swallow and could find nothing other than tracheomalacia - which means his esophagus was misshaped - it was described as "D" rather than "O" shaped but even that didn't explain the vomiting. We ended up putting him on a very bland diet and re-adding food groups. He was allergic to red dye - which was in the mediations he was given for asthma, and corn - and corn products are in everything. He was one skinny boy for a while, and we had to watch that people didn't feed him anything when we weren't looking. One would think a breast fed baby wouldn't have acid reflux. Poor baby, I hope she gets better, and you sure have your hands full, you'll be in my prayers. Sorry I'm not more help.

My 10 month old has had reflux problems since 2 weeks old. We've done many things, including:
- holding partially upright during feedings
- sleeping on an incline, both in our bed and in her crib
- special amby bed
- frequent burpings
- 2 different types of gripe water
- homeopathic remedies
- probiotics
- Prevacid for several months, now Zegerid
- 3 different pediatricians
- pediatric GI specialist

Reflux is so frustrating to deal with, it really makes the already-difficult baby stuff even harder. I would suggest taking her to a specialist straightaway (maybe you have already?). Then just go down the list (there are many many helpful websites out there if you Google infant GERD) of things and see what works by trial and error.

My son had acid reflux...it is miserable. But, for us prevacid worked well. I also changed my diet - since I was breastfeeding. I took out dairy, wheat, and tomatoes...which helped also. Good luck - hopefully she will grow out of it. My son has a flare up every once in a while and he is 14 months old now. Prayers to you and your family.

I had 2 babies with acid reflux and I have it. It lands me in the hospital regularly. Very painful and inconvenient. My babies did best on breast milk or canned goats milk watered down 1/2 with water. The meds did not do much good for my babies. It is very painful and they get very fussy. Mine did not outgrow it until I put them on goatss milk and took them off of formula completely. I shampooed my carpet every day because of this. Good luck. It is hard to get thru those first months when you know they hurt so much. If nothing else works, take her to a gastro-enterologist (SP?) and they may be able to help. that is who I see as did my last baby.