2 Week-old Baby with Reflux

Also pay close attention to what you are ingesting. Make a list of the days and what you ate on those days, that the reflux is worse. This is because you are breast feeding. But please see a Peds GI. Good luck

My children also had this problem. My first had to be put on a slant board to stleep--nightmare. We found out when I had my daughter (who also had this problem) that as long as I didn't eat ANY dairy products, she was fine. We were able to take her off the medication. Hope this helps.

My son is two months old now. When we were still in the hospital they started putting 1tsp of rice cereal per two ounces of milk. He has reflux really bad but by doing this we have been able to avoid meds. Good luck!

Hi E.,
So sorry to hear about your baby. Some ideas you can try...you can get a special wedge with a velcro strap that will elevate your baby's head and shoulders so she won't be lying flat on her back. I don't know if you can buy these in stores, they may have to be ordered by a medical professional. They also make special sling beds that look something like a hammock on a stand which help babies with severe reflux sleep in a more upright and curled position. I know our local birth-age 3 program caries them and loans them out as needed. You can check with your local health department to find out about the birth-3 program. It also wouldn't hurt to be extra attentive to your baby's physical development. Sometimes babies with severe reflux will get really tight in their neck muscles and have trouble learning how to roll over, sit up, etc. Usually a pediatric physical therapist can really help if you can see one early enough. This is another area the birth-3 program can help you with. Good luck.

E.,
I am so sorry for you and your family's pain. I don't have any advice about the medication; however, when you lay your baby down to sleep (of course on the back) you can place 1-2 folded towels UNDER the MATTRESS at one end of the crib. This allows for elevation without worry the baby will get caught up in the loose towels and hopefully will help with the reflux. My son did not have reflux, but he used to have alot of croup/respiratory illnesses when he was under 2. This helped with his breathing and no spitting up at night. Best of luck,
B.

My first girl I couldnt allow to sleep on her back because everytime she got upset or stressed she would "throw up". I would look down on her and see a mouth full of milk and a look of sheer terror on her face. She was an arm-hugger, so I made a smaller-than-neckroll pillow for her to hug on to keep her off her face. My second was the "spitter" tho, I dont know how she grew when it seemed she was spittig up more than she took in. All I ever remember using was Simethicone when she got complainy. My concern would be with using Zantac or Prevacid on such a young one, as it halts acid production. I wonder if this could set them up for lifelong gastro problems. Your best preventative would be in trying to find out what you're eating that causing her so much distress. Restaurant and processed foods contain a lot of additives that can be the main culprit. Try going on a whole foods (no artificial adds or made from scratch only) diet with lots of fresh fruit and veggies for about a week or two. You should see a marked improvement by then. Your baby is what you eat, and giving her all the nutrition she needs now will set her up for a lifetime of good health. :}

Please take your daughter to a chiropractor who works with children and babies. The signs you described are those of a spinal misalignment. This can happen during the birth process. How could your baby have a misalignment? Think of it this way: Would you ever lift your newborn baby by the head? Of course not! But, that is not as much force as what is used to pull babies from the birth canal.
Often times, this can lead to minor misalignments in the spine, and can put pressure on nerves that help the body to function.

The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association has a list of chiropractors that care for children, and can help you find one in your area. I have been practicing chiropractic for 14 years, and have helped many babies with reflux and colic, and children with allergies and ear infections.

Chiropractic is gentle and safe, and you will be amazed at the relief it can provide your child, not to mention the fact that your child won't be taking drugs.

Dr. T. Theriot, D.C.
New Iberia, LA 70563
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____@____.com

Hello E., I use to be in the medical field & was very wery of giving my infant anything other than ocd. When my 9yr old was an infant she was diagnosed with GER. I tried a few ocd's, but nothing really worked well. After trial & error & trying every type of formula while breast feeding, I found a formula that she could keep down & I stopped breast feeding. It may just be your milk, have your pediatrician check it. Good Luck/God Bless, CarolC

My son also had reflux when he was little. He quickly outgrew it. He started spitting actually projectile vomitting when I had to swap him to formula from breast milk. After, the Zantac didn't help another peditrician in the office suggested mixing it with rice ceral he was only like 2 or 3 weeks old. I believe the mixture was 2 tsp per ounce milk. It helped alot. I didn't leave him on it long I kept monitoring his process until I was able to take him off of it. Good luck I know it's stressfull for us Mom's because we want to make sure our babies are okay. God Bless

My son also had serious reflux. One thing we did was to prop up one side of his bed. This helped him to sleep more upright. The other thing was we used a thinking agent for his formula. It was called Simply Thick. This seemed to do the most good. Ask is doctor about it. That's who put my son on the Simply Thick.

I didn't read through all of the responses, but when my daughter had reflux, we treated her with prevacid solutabs. It is the best thing out there for infants with reflux. When my daughter was 7 weeks old, she was on 30mg. Sometimes, doctors are scard to prescribe the correct amount. Do research and push for it. The prevacid not only treats the damage that has been done but it prevents the acid from being produced. Zantac is weight sensitive and usually doesn't work for very long if any. Also, my ped sent us to have a swallow study done at our local childrens hospital and we found that she also had a swallow issue...she was aspirating her formula into her lungs!! Anyway, PLEASE do your research and talk to your doctor, because there is no reason for your sweet baby to be in pain. Also, you should give your baby the prevacid on an empty stomach and not give anything to eat for 30 minutes after...and don't give any other medications within 4 hours. I had to find this out through an infant reflux forum.
Wish you the best!

We found that liquid Reglan worked the best. J took 0.09 about 10 minutes before each feeding. He was formula fed so we also put Gas Drops in every bottle and that helped too. We did all the stuff you are doing too but the Reglan helps relax the tummy and esophagus so the food will pass on through quicker. As an adult I also take Reglan and can tell you that when I am having problems with my stomach I take a pill before every meal and at bedtime. It is like a miracle.

You have received some great words of encouragement and advice so far. As a mom of 2 refluxers, you might try letting her sleep in her infant seat. As long as she's strapped in and on the floor.....

Good luck!
Jenn

My son had the same problem when he was real little with the reflux, he was also on zantac and it didnt work for him.And after switching his formula a couple of times, we tried enfamil gentlease and it really helps him. I was also told by a friend who is a nurse that had a baby like that to put blanket's behind his right side, so he is laying kindof on his left side a little.I also had some nights where I would put two small pillows on each side of him to keep him in one spot.another idea was to put a small pillow or blanket under their legs so their feet are up( if they are laying on their back) that it helps with the stomach being uncomfortable. I did all of those things switching off on which ever helped out better on that night and it helped my son, he is still not sleeping all night but it did make him more comfortable. We also did the swing a lot of night, or me rocking him in the rocking chair holding him for hours and that would help him as well.

Most recently I had my great neice go into the hospital at childrens because she stopped breathing. They put her on the sleep disorder floor after doing test, she has bad reflux issue's. They gave them an incline bed seat that she sleeps on to keep her up right. It is really working for them as she is only 5 weeks. Maybe try getting one of those, i believe the nurse called it a wedge.They also told her to keep the baby up right for 30 minutes after eating. and not to let her eat laying down.

I hope that one of these idea's will work, I know that every child is different but sometime's the same things will work. Hope your baby gets better soon.

God Bless
K. R.

my son had reflux as an infant and he, too, took meds for it. He was on Zantac until around his first brithday, when he outgrew the GERD. He's now 3 and has no problems w/ his stomach or otherwise. At night we had him sleep in a "boppy" type pillow that was made w/ straps to go btwn his legs to stop him from rolling over or scooting down. We purchased it at wal-mart. I believe that is the only place you can get it. It's sold under the "George" brand name. Our daughter is due in 5 wks and we plan on having her sleep in one also. When my son was a newborn he couldn't sleep laying down, and one day I put him in that and it was wonderful.

That is what the doctor did for us... he kept switching medications until he found one that worked.... the 3rd one worked and it was Prevacid... hang in there... you're on the right path. Also, my son slept in his bouncy in his crib for several months...per doctor's orders. The doctor also told us we could give him 1 tsp (or 5mls) of Maalox at a time... this was a short term solution until the Prevacid started working (in other words, until the correct medication was identified).

(Oh... and I continued to breastfeed until 9 months. He is going to be a year old next week. He has been off Prevacid since his 9 month check up and is doing great.)

My son had the same problem i ended up putting breast milk in a bottle with a small amount of baby cereal. I know a lot of doctors tell you not to but mine said it would be fine. My son was fine by the time he was 6 months old. Hope this helps

Good morning E. - so sorry to hear your little one is so uncomfortable. If she sleeps well during the day on her side, then let her do so at night. All my babies were put on their sides to sleep as (at the time) it was considered best (views on this change every few years) - theory at that time was if they regurgitated it would dribble out of their mouths instead of back into their throats, etc. Apparently when she lies on her back the acid settles in her tummy and creates pain. There are ways to put her on her side and secure her in between feedings. I am no doctor but it worked for us. Good luck with that.

E.,

I didn't breast feed with either of our sons. But, our oldest son had issues with keeping his food down as well. I never thought of it as being acid reflux. I rememeber being scared much the same as you are, feeling very helpless as I watched our baby boy get weaker and weaker losing weight week by week at every pediatric check-up. We tried storebought formulas one by one for weeks and weeks until we were exhausted. After the fourth month I used an old home remedy, in the meantime to help, which worked like a charm. My mom told me to try using PET milk (evaporated milk)deluted with water and add one small drop of liquid iron to every bottle. She told me it's what families did when she was young when breast feeding wasn't an option. I tried it out of desperation and our baby boy kept every drop of food down without any throwing up. I told our pediatrition what I had been doing and he agreed that it was a smart move. We still used the PET milk for about two months until we were finally able to find the right storebought formula for him. Now our 20 year old son is a strong young man and no one would ever know he had such complications as a baby. I'll keep you and your baby girl in my prayers.

My son has GER also. You should not have to wait 4 months to get a "right dose." The dose is based on the child's weight. if it doesn't work than they need to switch to another medicine. I also have GER as an adult and found Prevacid a world better than zantac.

You might also try to purchase a Tucker Sling. The sling is made of soft cloth and goes over the top of the mattress. You then put pillow(s) under that end of the mattress. It wraps around the baby to hold them up on the top part of the bed during sleep so they don't roll to the bottom. It was invented by a Mom in Metairie, LA bec. her child had bad reflux and was used by a lot of hospitals in LA and texas. She used to have a factory in Metairie that produced them but that was pre-Katrina. Just google Tucker Sling and see if it comes up.

We had the same problem with our daughter. Unfortunately we did not know so early on that reflux was the problem, so the little squirt had to suffer for a long time before we found something that provided relief.

We did use a wedge that had positioners on each side that had velcro, so you could move them wherever you wanted them for her to sleep on. That seemed to help, but we let her sleep on her side, for the most part, because she would gag and choke while on her back.

Your child may be too young yet to try it, but we found that giving her 1/2 teaspoon of Maalox 5-10 minutes before a feeding helped with the discomfort. I don't think it stopped the reflux, but I think the burning sensation was lessened. You might ask your pediatrician about when you might be able to try something like that.

I wish you the best and hope you find something that works soon! It's a bad situation for the parents and the child both.

Good Morning;

Have you considered taking her to a chiropractor? I work for a chiropractor here in Little Rock, AR and we had one child with reflux and with a couple of adjustments, it was pretty much gone. I know some don't believe in natural health care but I think it's worth a shot and if they don't have to be on medicine, so much the better. Good luck!!

Oh I know what you are going through! My now-6-month-old had horrible reflux and feedings were just horrible. Sounds like we were torturing our baby when we were trying to feed her! (I didn't breastfeed, I used formula). She was also on Prevacid, but personally, I don't think it helped with her case. She would be extra-screamy and fussy starting shortly after each dose in the evening. Then one night we were so tired we forgot to give her the Prevacid, and we noticed she was much calmer. The next night we also forgot to give it to her and the third night we purposely did not give it to her, and we realized how much happier she seemed, still had the symptoms, but didn't seem to scream as much. Our guess was that she was reacting to the medicine. We were bad though and didn't discuss taking her off the medicine with her ped. until after the fact when she was much better, but he said that was fine. He only was going to keep he on it for a short time to see if it worked. We kept her upright a lot, let her spend time in her bouncy seat (not for bouncing, for the incline), she lived in the baby bjorn front carrier, didn't even lay her down to change her diaper right after a feeding even when she needed it - we'd keep her upright and wait. We did not put her in her car seat/carrier right away after eating because it seemed to scrunch up her stomach and cause extra spit up. But the bouncy seat had a nice straight incline, it wasn't bucket-seaty like the carrier and some bouncy seats. We tried elevating her crib with towels underneath the head of the mattress, but that didn't work for us because she would slide down and somehow get sideways, and at that age she couldn't move her self around to get back to a comfortable position. The thing that worked best for us was TIME, as she seems to have outgrown it. By 3 months she was sooooooooo much better and at 6 months she spits up even less than a "Normal" baby, actually hardly at all, and of course if she does she doesn't scream in agony. Oh and one more thing, I was concerned at the time about her not getting enough to eat because she was spitting up so much, but her growth rates were consistently good (50th percentile and above) and now she is 75th percentile in weight and 100th percentile length! Oh and we gave her Mylicon gas drops, not sure if they made a difference, but we tried that gripe water stuff and that seemed to help her a LOT. But the bouncy seat was a lifesaver, because it kept her on an incline and she loved being in it because of the dangling toys and music.

At Babys R Us they make this cushion that the baby can sleep at a 45 degree angle that helps with reflux. It is doctor recommmended. One of my friends had to use this with her child because the reflux was so bad. I believe it costs between 100-150 dollars, but is well worth it. Once she started sleeping her baby on this, the baby slept so peacefully. You can safely put your baby on it, because it has these mega velcro pieces on the sides that fasten to keep your baby securely in place. It's about two 1/2 feet wide. So it's large enough that the baby can grow and still use it.

I recommend this highly.

Sincerely,
A.

Forgive me if i repeat anything you have already heard. My daughter had reflux really bad also(she just turned 10). We went thru every medicine on the market and then tried prevacid (at that time it wasnt something you could just get, you had to find a pharmacy that would make it for you on site or have it made at childrens hospital & mailed to you. It was so nasty(i tasted of it...it was extremely salty) she vomited before i could get a full dose in her. You may try a formula that is thick. I forgotten the name of it but i think it is made by similac, in a salmon colored can ( at that time it was new and stores would only order a case at a time for you). It has rice in it and is thick. I dont know if the dr told you about that sphinter muscle and it finishing developing (thats what causes infants to have reflux) over the first 6mths to a year. Hannahs never got better. She ended up with pneumonia 3 times before she was 1 due to her asperating into her lungs(which lead to asthma). By the time she was approx. 1 1/2 she was having upper g.i.'s, etc. to watch it come up. Alot of babies have trouble gaining weight, she didnt...lordy she was a butterball. When it was time for table food we thought that would help....nope. It helped very little. We had to keep a diary of everything and the amount of for the pediatric gastrologist(looking for a food allergy).( At age 2) After seeing the gastrologist for about 2 months, she ordered a endoscopy and found that she already had the pollops forming (that come from reflux and can cause cancer) and removed 4 for testing (all came back negative). At 2 1/2 she went in to Childrens Hospital in Bham and had a surgery called a fundoplication (take a small piece of stomach and wrap it around the esophogus to tighten things up). It grows as she does and but can come undone. She still has issues and flareups. Certain foods aggrivate it (chocolate, caffiene, fried and spicy foods, hot dogs, etc.) she is pretty much on prevacid all the time, but from time to time she comes off of it to see how she does or if she can take OTC Prilosec. Im not trying to scare you, I just want you to keep watch closely on it. Becasue ive definitely been there done that. If you need to cry on email me (____@____.com)(cuz I did..its aggrivating haveingto change 2 or 3 sets of sheets a night and sending 4 to 6 outfits to daycare because she covers them with every meal and every bottle. )Oh we even tried slowing down her feeding.giver her 2 oz, wait a few min then 2 more. That can be nerve racking when they are so hungry. As for the SIDS, if she vomits in her sleep as Hannah did @ night, you want her on her side. Its a catch 22. Because u either risk SIDS or her choking on vomit.

E.,
My baby was 7 weeks early so I know about your battle. Isaiah was put on Zantac, which didn't work. His doctor now has him on Prevacid int he am (he cannot eat for 30 mins after he takes it in the morning) and Zantac in the evenings. It seems to make a difference, but there is still some spitting...though not as bad. However, mine would never sleep on his back or side. And because of his reflux, I gave in and put him on his tummy. He sleeps better and seems to have less tummy problems. Just check on your baby a lot..she'll be fine. As you know, they still don't know what exactly causes SIDS. Also, around that age, Isaiah had bad colic. We were given Levsin to help and also used gas drops. We were giving him gas drops after every bottle at that point and used Levsin as necessary. The way you describe it sounds like a tummy ache that this might fix..not so much just the reflux.

First of all, do not worry about giving your daughter "prescription drugs." These medications simply reduce a small amount of the acid production in the body and are really specific to the stomach. And the do not have long acting consequences to the digestive system since the lining of the digestive tract reproduces itself constantly. Breast feeding is ALWAYS the best answer. That is the milk God designed for you to give your baby. Yes, it's important to watch your diet. My little girl is 8 months now. She had reflux, too, and did much better after she was put on Zantac. We didn't figure it out until she was about 6 weeks, though. She weaned herself off it at about 5 months. We did everything you are doing. Sleeping on a wedge helped. Maybe you should try elevating her head a little more. We raised the head of her bassinet with T-shirts underneath the little mattress to try to make it slope gently but still be high enough. The other thing is smaller, more frequent feedings. As you know the milk soothes the esophagus, but an over-stuffed expanded stomach makes the reflux worse. We also gave our daughter Tylenol for about the first week to help calm down the irritation in her esophagus. Of course make sure your Pediatrician is ok with this.

We thought my nephew had GERD but it turned out to be lactose intolerance. If anyone in your family has this it would be worth a try to cut lactose from your diet for a week or two and see if this helps.

I would also recommend a thickener or adding a little cereal to her milk if you could pump and give her a bottle. Do you have a Papasan seat? These seats are WONDERFUL! They are by Fisher Price and Walmart has them for $44. They have a nice level of incline and conform around them to make them feel secure w/o squishing them up like a carseat would. My newphew slept in it through the night very early.

I hope your little angel gets some relief soon!

Have you considered co-sleeping? I'm very pro-attachment parenting and this works great with breastfeeding and if you allow you baby to lay on her left side facing you with her head on you arm.... this position allows for her to lie at a slight incline and not be on her rightside or backside. This is the position recommended to adults so it was natural to assume would also be best for baby. My 2month old son doesn't have GERD however has sensitivity to his milk so we sleep like this and there's hardly ever any spitups.

I work in the medical field, and I would not be giving zantac to a 2 week old.

The pharmacutical companies have some of these doctors beleiving a whole lot of nonsesnce. At 2 weeks it is normal for babies to spit (Aka reflux) their milk. The reason is the muscle that keeps food from moving back into the esphogus is still imature at this age, and so they tend to reflux their milk. Until, this muscle matures they will continue to do so.

Both of my children had some form of reflux, and I breastfed both of them. Be sure you are properly burping the baby, and sit the infant in a bouncy chair, or swing for about 30 min after nursing.

As long as your infant is not projectile vomiting there is no need for meds. If your infant is projectile vomiting then this is a sign in ealy infancy of something more serious.

Has your doctor, ordered an UGI on your baby to make sure it is just reflux not anything else.

HI, are you drinking cow milk? It sounds like your kids have a milk sensitivity and if you are drinking cow milk they are getting it through you.

Try going off of all dairy products for a couple of weeks and see what happen.

I have a girlfriend who had one child out of 6 with this condition. Took forever to figure it out.

Luck to you.
R.

E., My 5 wk old daughter has GER also and she is on Zantac, Reglan, and her pediatrician just started having me put rice cereal in her bottles it has helped but we are still adjusting dosages because my daughter still spits up about a quarter to half a bottle almost at every feeding. She holds down a few bottles a day. My advice is call your pediatrician and ask him about starting her on reglan and adding a little bit of rice cereal in her bottles. My daughter gets a tsp of rice cereal for every 2 ounces in a bottle and takes .8 ml of reglan 4 times a day and .5ml of zantac 2 times a day but as I said we are still adjsting dosages. This is how my ped has her set up and it has helped ALOT! Good Luck

It sounds like you are doing the best you can. Maybe try letting her sleep in an inclined seat. You may need someone to help you get extra rest.

I feel for you so much. My son had the exact same condition and problems. We tried the exact same meds and nothing worked, he would only spit them and everything else right back at me. We kept towels not burp cloths handy. I can't offer you much, because we were not successful at finding the magic cure (sorry), but one thing that did help him at night was an inclined sleep positioner w/ adjustable sides so that he could lay on his side and not roll. Hope that helps...my son makes 1yr next week and I was never so happy as when he made 8 mo. and started holding down food and bottles. Sorry that's all I have. Best of luck to you!

My son also had GERD. He was on Reglan and Tagament. The Reglan relaxes the muscles in the intestines and stomach so they don't have the forceful vomit. Ask your doctor about it. Also,I noticed that thickening the formula with rice cereal helped make the milk thicker and absorb some of the stomach acid. When he started eating solid foods we didn't need the meds anymore. I would start the baby on rice cereal as soon as she's ready for it.

prevacid is good. better then the one she is on now. what we did for our grand daughter, when she was a baby is; got liquid mint drops. and although you are breast feeding her, it might be a good ideal to get one can of formula that is right for her and put one drop to a 4 ounce bottle. and shake it real good and then make sure there is no air bubbles. try to get the bottles that have alot of air reduced. but first talk to your husband and doctor about this advise. every baby is differant but it did work for our grand daughter. and after her tummy was settled she slept most of the night without problems. also try to sleep her like maybe in a bouncey chair. cause it is layed back just right where ya she is on her back and not straight upwards but at a elavated slant. hopefully this helps. C.

Oh, I hope the Prevacid helps!! I hate it when you know that they are miserable and you are doing everything you can for them! (And it sounds like you are doing any and everything to help her feel better)
In addition to being on Xantac, the pediatrician had my son on Reglan, Mylanta and Benedryl. My son never slept well on his back, but he seemed comfortable on his side with his back against the bumper in his cradle. Maybe you can get one of those wedges that one of the other mothers mentioned on here. Give the Prevacid a couple of days to see if it helps, if not, I would contact her doctor again. Best of luck and I sure hope that she feels better!

Hi,

I can feel your stress. When my son was born had to be fed through his nose. He was a healthy c-section. We changed his formula several times until we found Enfamil Gentlease A+ powder (not soy free) yellow can. Also, Dr. Brown bottles, start out with 2 ounces, make sure she burps, then two more and repeat. Never over 6 ounces, until she gets a little older. Our doctor would not provide any acid reflux medication. He said if we did so, the baby would learn to rely on it. Some good news to look forward too, is when he reached around six months his papa started him on baby foods as well as little doses of vitamin D milk. He never threw up any food or whole milk. We did keep him on his powered milk until he was 12 months, and then to the Next Step (24 months), same milk until he was 18 months. We were cautious about trying new foods, because of allergies he never had a reaction. He is 20 months, and is a great eater. He will eat fruits, vegetables, etc. I also suggest going on the Enfamil internet site. It is very helpful. I understand there is a new lipil (Gentlease), that is vitamin A+ thickened, for babies he throw up over 40%.

I have one other son, who is fourteen. He was 9lbs 12, never had a probelm with his milk, however, was always a very picky eater, and has only gotten worse. While I was pregnant with my 20 month old, I was extremely ill. I had uncontrollable acid reflux, which cause vomiting, unable to even keep water down. I was on the highest dosage of Zantac, Prilosec, I could safely take. I sometimes wonder if thats what caused his probelms. Good luck

hey E.,

it sounds like you really know your stuff. so i can only say tht prevacid did help us better than other meds but we still are not completely better. oh and we ended up on prevacid twice a day. don't forget that it only works on an empty stomache and then you have to wait to feed her for about thirty minutes.

as for the sleep.. well keeping her inclined will help best. and i can only offer what i did.... which was to put her in the bed with us and i kept her propped up on my arm while we slept. (she was on her left side facing me as i slept facing right...not sure where i read much later that that the left side really was found helpful for acid reflux babies... just remeber reading that and thinking well i am ahead of the curve...mother's instict, lol) i know it was not the best thing to put her in my bed and well i still have my 1 1/2 year old in the bed... my fault because i have not tried transitioning her to her own crib. but worth it for my sanity and our sleep and the peace of mind that we would not have a sids problem. another way to reduce sids risk is to encourage pacifier use and of course you need to be okay with cosleeping as there are risks to that too. i did find the pacifiers helped some with the reflux as she was sucking back more than without and well i felt the reflux was still there but just not making it up as high. also speak with your pediatrician or a pediatric gastroenterologist for help. and good luck on round 2. i am still trying to get through round 1.
will be praying for you and the baby.
-MB

OH AND CHECK OUT THIS WEBSITE...LOOKS LIKE THE SLING MAY HELP

http://www.tuckersling.com/?gclid=CO70ye3itZQCFQMIswodi1rmSw

I had the same problem with my second child and a friend of mine gave me some good advice. Her chiropractor told her to use her thumb and press right in the middle of her tummy -right below the rib cage and make a downward C motion. He said that this will help stretch the esophagus which is the reason for the reflux problem. Just do this several times a day whenever you think about it. It helped my baby and we were able to take him off the Zantac (which I don't think helped anything anyways). He still spits up some but nothing like it was and he is much happier!

My 8 year old has severe reflux and has since birth. He is a vomiter so as an infant we had to put him on his side to sleep. Also, we had to keep him upright for 2 hours after feedings. Thickening with rice cereal helped and we also had to switch him to soy. He was also on zantac. He was on prevacid recently and it worked much better for him than the zantac. However, he started having some side effects so we have switched him to nexium and he takes zantac before bed. There is a great website www.parent-2-parent.com They have a forum with lots of topics and reflux in infants is one of the boards. Take a look at it, there are lots of parents there who have lots of experience in dealing with reflux.

Tell your pediatrician about the amount of pain the baby is in. He may prescrible Levison drops, they are a bladder and bowel muscle relaxer.

She might be in pain from gas as well. I would give her the over the counter gas drops mylicon. Little Tummies brand is about $8, Mylicon brand is about $12. Talk to your pediatrician, mine said you can give them plenty of drops.

So, there is probably more than just reflux going on. Her pain is probably from reflux, gas, and colic.

Remember it won't last forever. My baby stopped crying after 13 weeks. He still needs the reflux medicine though.

Since the baby is in such severe pain, maybe you could get the doctor to prescribe the monitors they use for Sleep Apnea so you could let the baby sleep on her stomach, and the monitors would beep if she stopped breathing.

It is so hard to see your little one suffer, hang in there.

E., i'd like to withdraw my last response to your questions about your infant with reflux. I re-read my response and realize it came across very harshly and not clearly stating my intentions. It seemed as if i was telling you to just drop the medications without consulting another physician for a second opinion on your child's circumstances. I know you're a nurse and are following the instructions and orders of pediatrician. That's why i worded my statements the way i did Knowing you'd never do anything without first discussing it with a physician! Apparently that was an assumption I should not have made as it does not apply to all who may read our responses to the requests for help on this site.

So once again I offer my apologies for my words and statements. I was wrong to word things the way that I did. I must have been having a blank moment while typing. I am very sorry. I hope you will accept my apologies. Normally, I do not respond in that way and never respond on topics i know nothing about. I do know about the reflux which is why i answered but I answered incorrectly. I'm sorry.

sincerely,
D.

E.,
I had the same problem with my son & GERD. The pediatrician had him on Prevacid until he was 10 - 12 months old. Since then I have learned (through my own research) that Prevacid is one of the worst Reflux meds to take. It doesn't offer any more comfort or relief to the patient, too bad babies can't tell us that!
If you are interested in natural remedies, I recommed you check out mothering magazine on line. There has been much discussion about this very topic! There are other resources that you may find helpful. At least the pediatrician didn't ask us to stop nursing... that was probably the best thing for my son, I only wish I would have realized there were other resources available at the time we were all going through it.

I know what you're gong through b/c my son suffers withthe same thing, he will be 4 months old on the 12th, he was spitting up every bottle, sometimes with every burp. He is on prevacid and zantac and he also gets a teaspoon of rice cereal per ounce of formula. We went through alot of formula changes ang finally found one that seems to be working which is similac isomil advanced, it's in a red can and says on the can that it's fot gas, fussiness and spit-ups. I am on WIC which only covers Enfamil brand formulas so my son is now on Enfamil AR wgich is also in a red can and has rice cereal added in the formula. He gets this formula and still gets a teaspoon of the rice cereal per ounce of formula along with the medicine. He seems to be doing much better, not as much spitting up as before. Also the only way he will sleep is on his tummy which is the only way by daughter slept also and she is now 3 yrs old. When she was a baby the pediatricians wanted babys on the bellys to sleep so that if they did spit up in their sleep they would not choke on it. Also just a note, the prevacid is very much a pain to give, it only comes in tablet form and has to be disolved in water to be given, I put it in a syringe but still never seem to get the medicine to completely disolve. Hope this helps! N. A.

Our parents used something called Paragoric-I'm only spelling it the way it sounds 'cause I have no clue how to actually spell it-lol.Drs. stopped using it 'cause it's an opiate....but, now, my dr. suggested this w/ ours-Dewee's Carminative..u have to buy it directly from the pharmacist,but, u don't need a Rx. Works like a CHARM! Ask urs about it-I see you're from Lousiana;we're from Mobile.We have a pharmacy practically on every corner and when I need a bottle of it, I always have to call around first 'cause they have a hard time keeping it stocked! If u can't find it, go to Humco.com and u can order it-they're the manufacturers. Give her a dropper of it like u'd give her tylenol- w/ her bottles;it'll work!!

Oh my! How horrible for your child....

Ask your peditrician if you can elevate the head of her crib a bit to help gravity keep stuff down in her stomach.

My son did not have reflux but he had to make sure his premature lungs wouldn't get gloppy with mucuous so I elevated the foot of his bed. It helped him.

Maybe this well help.

Good luck,
M.

Im sure you've had tons of advice for this but I just saw your request....my baby had the same thing. Since she was so small I let her sleep in the bassinet propped (right spelling?) in the middle of the boppy pillow. It was a huge difference from her being so miserable. I would swaddle her tight in her blanket and set her in that and she'd sleep all night (well...for the most part!!)Then as she got older we rooled some towels under her mattress so she was propped up. She never did take Zantac. I was told she could have maalox. I think we gave her like 1/4 tsp. Good Luck--BYTW my daughter would never sleep on her back only on her side. I bought one of those triangle things that keep the baby in the same position. Those things are awesome.

My now 12 month old daughter also has this and was officially diagnosed at 4 months old. She is being treated by a Pediatric Pulmonoligist as well as a gastroenterologist at LeBonheur in Memphis. We also started on Zantac which did not work. She was switched to Prevacid by the pulmonologist and put on Reglan by the gastroenterologist. Thickener is also put in her milk which helps her milk to stay down. She still has a cough and wheezing from time to time but for the most part is doing well. She takes pulmicort twice a day for the wheezing. You might talk to your pediatrician about the thickener (Simply Thick or Thick it) - we use the honey consistency. It works!

First I want to say I feel your pain as I am going through the same thing with my 6 week old son. He is extremely gassy and fussy after feeding. I agree with Anna B, definitely read the article link she provided on forceful letdown. It is a great article and I learned alot too. Best wishes with your little one.

Congratulations on your newborn!

I have a three-week old and we thought she had reflux, too. Now, I don't know about your daughter, but we figured out that it was a case of milk overproduction. It ends up leading to other things, too. Does your daughter produce loose, green stools? Does she have a love-hate relationship with your breasts - getting frantic and seeming to desperately want to feed but also desperately not wanting to at the same time, a few minutes into feeding? Does she feed only a few minutes at a time and want to eat frequently? Is she restless, especially at night?

Reflux could also be a food allergy in disguise. Does she have a red ring around her anus? Fussiness and the other symptoms above, minus the love-hate thing?

Just checking. I discovered that these things are so much like one another. If it is reflux, I did read that swaying, not jiggling, is very helpful, and very gentle handling after feeding. But you probably already knew that. Also, feeding "twice as often, half as much."

Good luck with your little one!
L.