I have a 6 week old daughter who I think may have reflux. I didn't experience this with our other daughter, so I'm a bit confused. Can someone tell me what is going on?
Our daughter started having "problems" at about 2-3 weeks. She suddenly would spit up large amounts after feeding. (There was often a puddle on her sheet) She also started grunting, coughing, squirming, etc. as soon as she was laid flat. She would also start spitting when laid flat. We took her to the doctor and he prescribed a reflux med. (We haven't used it yet).
I decided to try changing my diet to see if it would have any effect, before giving any meds. I'm on a vegan diet now, and her symptoms have gotten much better. She can sleep from about 10-6 at night without any problems. (wakes up once to feed) However, after her 6 am feeding she is again grunting, coughing, squirming, and will have a big puddle of milk on her sheet again. She also can't seem to sleep at all during the day in her crib. She will sleep is she is against my chest or in a Moby carrier attached to my chest. Within minutes of laying her down in a bouncy seat, swing or crib she is awake and crying. When I pick her up she starts spitting up.
Here are my thoughts about what is going on...possibly reflux, possibly she just wants to be held during the day and the crying/getting upset is causing her to spit up. The mystery is why the 6 am feeding is so different than the night feedings. I do think I also have too much milk, which could be causing some gastric symptoms from not getting enough hind milk, but why just at 6 am and during the day?! Ugh. I'm following a plan now to lessen my milk supply and try to get her more hind milk.
Thanks for any tips/advice/words of wisdom. Babies are such a mystery sometimes. I just want her to be comfortable, and I wouldn't mind getting to pee during the day without having to hold a baby while I do it. :)
Thank you all for the advice. Of course I took her to the pediatrician when I notice the reflux starting, but sometimes you need the wisdom of moms to get to the root of the problem. I appreciate all the help and will definitely give your suggestions a try.
My 2 year old son had reflux. He was on reflux meds and he slept in his cradle swing untill he was about 6 months old and outgrew it to keep him proped up. Proping him up at night was the main key. He had it so bad he would get a rattly cough if not proped up.
My youngest grandson was the same. He needed the comfort of being held while he slept. As you well know from having another child, all these phases pass quickly.
If she were my child I'd take her to a homeopath for treatment of the reflux. Also known as projectile vomiting it can be caused by many conditions. The homeopath will give her a remedy which will make her more comfortable. I'm not certain about your plan to give her hind milk. She is too young to drain you entirely. Sleep when you can at night and hold her so she will take long naps.
Check with your pediatrician. Reflux can damage the esophagus, so if the dr. has prescribed medication, I would give it and you don't want your baby to be in pain. We also put my daughter on a wedge when she slept. It helped a lot to keep her propped up. Other than that, good luck. She will grow out of it.
It's really kind of normal for babies to have some "reflux". Their little systems are immature if you think about it.
I wouldn't look to lessen your milk supply as she is working to regulate it right now. Your body work with her the way it's supposed to. I don't think this is because she is getting too much foremilk. If she were she wouldn't be sleeping as well as she is at night. Some babies are spitters, vomiters and others aren't. My first baby I knew to carry extra clothes and burp cloths. My second never spit up for a second.
My second was like yours. She'd grunt, etc but she outgrew it. I used a crib wedge that fits tightly under the sheet to help elevate her a bit. They can be found at babiesrus for about $10.
It is typical infant behavior to want to be held during the day. SHe is in the 4th trimester. My suggestion would be to get the wedge, keep her upright at least 30 mins after a feed, swaddle her before you get ready to put her down for a nap, warm the spot where she will be laying using a heating pad or warmed rice bag so the cold sheets don't startle her, use white noise, stay close to her when laying her down so she doesn't get that falling feeling on her way down to the bed.
My suggestion will most likely be met with alot of criticism, I'm sure, but you might want to look into Chiropratic. My girlfriends daughter was having reflux so badly that she was NOT growing and thriving. Her Ped gave her all kinds of prescription drugs (who wants to give an infant that stuff?), all to no avail. She went to a Chiro and within one adjustment her daughter improved dramatically, and after a few more, she stopped vomiting altogether, no more Rx drugs either. She's totaly fine now, growing and thriving and trying to walk already at 9 months! The birthing process is a violent thing for a little baby to go through, and if the nerves that "talk" to the stomach and intestines are pinched off by subluxated vertebrae, those organs are only getting part of the brains signals and commands, kind of like a spotty cell phone call, you are only get part of the message. She's young and still very flexible, she will benefit from Chiro SO quickly, which is probably why my friends daughter showed near instant improvement, Chiro is safe for babies, they use WAY less pressure then adults get during an adjustment. I hope you consider this, the Rx drugs are not going to be good for a little tiny liver and kidneys, and Chiro is effective, safe and natural. Good luck! ;-)
This sounds like my kids. My dd was a silent refluxer. Would arch and pop off mid suck- ouch. It took awhile to get her diagnosed and she was put on the prescription drugs. We tried a few different ones. Some worked better than others, but still not great. I had a fast letdown, which didn't help. I nursed on one side only per feeding. This helped some, but not entirely. She did learn to take in smaller amounts at a time to save her system, I guess. But what worked the best, taking her to a Naturopath. I know a great one for women and children in downtown Beaverton, if you are interested. She put my daughter on a probiotic (1/2 tsp of powdered Bifidous- but my dd was a bit older and glutemine -I think that was the other supplement). Within a week, huge difference, much better.
With my son, he was a spitter, same situation. The Naturopath put him on 1/4 powdered Bifidous at 2 weeks. Huge change within a week. I would start with 1/4 tsp of either a powdered Bifidous or powdered Primadophilous and finger feed it the dose, just let your baby suck it off of your finger or nipple until dose is gone. It is a probiotic and probably won't hurt your little one, but could help tremendously. When my ds was about 4-6 months the dose was upped to 1/2 tsp. and when he started solids, I could add it to that.
Also, prop up one end of the crib/bassinet so she isn't laying flat. My son also did 20 min. catnaps during the day and woke very easily - any change.
Let me know if you want more info, or the name/number of the Naturopath.
D.
Oh, my son had refliux - he was the king of projectile vomiting at that age. So gross. He was breast fed and formula fed - didn't seem to matter - he still looked like Linda Blair. It was so bad and at unexpected times, that I warned people before they held him and carried a literal trunk full of baby clothes, my clothes and blankets for the first year of his life. I did the meds, paragoric, variations of just about every treatment theme available.
What worked best was keeping him in an upright position immediately following feedings - harder for the contents to travel against gravity. Since he already took the occasional bottle he started cereal and baby bananas very early as the "weighted" food was harder to project.
What time is her last feeding before bed? That may explain the difference between night time and day time feedings - if she has more time upright after the last night feeding vs laying down sooner after day time feedings.
On the bright side, they outgrow this as their esophageal valves mature and stop popping open. And in spite of it looking like they are not keeping any food down - mine thrived and grew and met milestones.
Good Luck and God Bless
P.S.: Wait - you want to pee in private? - ROFLMAO - my reflux boy is now 14 and still knocks on the door when I am peeing. LOL Thanks for the chuckle.
Put a few books under the feet of one side of the crib, to elevate her head. The wedges can be a smothering hazard.
For reflux meds, go to a compounding pharmacy to get the kind with no alcohol and no dyes, etc. It wasn't too expensive for my son, just $25 a month. A few times I was tight on cash they gave it to me for free (in Corvallis).
And yes, she probably does just want to be held too. One of my boys had reflux, and the other did not--but he still wanted to touch me 24/7. It seems pretty clear that your daughter has it though. I wouldn't go to great lengths with your milk supply, though--just keep nursing like you have. She's also coming to the ages of colic, at 6 and 9 weeks peaking, if memory serves me right.
Good luck!
We can't diagnose over the Internet. I strongly urge you to talk with her pediatrician. Call and ask for the advice nurse.
Both my kids had some degree of reflux. For my first, the doc just started on meds and switched the formula around. For my second, I had a different doc, and she had me take my son in for an EGD to make sure. The test wasn't bad, he had to drink a bottle of sweet white stuff and then they laid him down under a machine and we watched the stuff go down and then back up again. We had him on meds temporarily too. I also noticed that if I watched my feeding position it helped a bit. I tended to hold him under his belly which helped the regurgitation process.
I can't speak to whether your baby has reflux or not, but it sounds very similar to what my 8 week old does and has done nearly all her life. We see a naturopath and determined that a lot of the problem for her is air/gas (not reflux so this may not work for you). We are trying a couple different things. Our ND told us to give 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fennel tea (can mix with breast milk) or traditional medicinals Tummy time tea when we feed her and/or when she starts fussing. Or we use the Highlands Colic pills, but not how the bottle says to. I giver her one or 2 before I feed her or between sides and/or when she starts fussing. (the fussing keeps us awake, her awake, and often ended in spit up or the projectile vomiting. The air in her tummy when feeding also often ends in projectile vomiting.) The idea is that these things will break up the air and make it easier for her to burp and/or pass gas. We also try to keep her on her side as much as we can (not easy) because flat on her back is the worst position for her. I try not to change her position from the nursing position for about 10 minutes after she eats too, that seems to help with the spit up.
Good luck. I feel like this is a battle without a real opponent. ;)
