Is This a Growth Spurt?

Hi A.. I had two babies with the refulux thing...IT WAS HORRIBLE but right at a year it stopped (and just to mention they were breastfed so I was thrown for a loop). Something about paprt of the esophogus that wasn't fully developed when they were born so it took them some time for that to happen. The meds did not work in fact it made it worse for mine so I fed them small meals (formula or whatever) more frequently which helped but then they started foods wichc then it was just more of a mess but you learn to just be patient.
I would stop the juice IMMEDIATELY. The acid in the juices will make the reflux worse and more painful for your little one. As far as the cereal I would just use your best judgement and or course listen to your ped. But you are her mother and you know her better than anyone ya know. The immune thing I have to experience with so I'll leave that to the others that know what they are talking about. :) Good luck and remember that patience is the best as far as the reflux goes...IT WILL GO AWAY.

A., A growth spurt is what it sounds like to me. I've got two kids and they both handled spurts differently. My kids are still going through them, however.

Definitely take what your Dr. says to heart and keep him/her informed of any new activity.

I'm not experienced in auto-immune disorders, so I'll let those with experience help you with that one.

Good luck and God Bless. Hope things get better for you and your precious little girl. ls

My son had the same problem when he was about 3 or 4 months old. He would be fussy and no amount of juice or milk would help. I actually started him on cereal to curb his appetite. What I did was make the cereal fairly soupie and then fed him with a spoon. I will advise you that if you are using the rice cereal it may constipate your baby. If you are putting rice cereal in your milk I'd watch her bowel movements because that might be part of her fussiness. My son Ryder actually liked the oatmeal cereal best mixed with a small amount of baby food (the fruit kind) Talk to your doctor before starting your child on solids to get their advice on it but it worked for me.

I don't know about a growth spurt, but I think you ought to take her to a pediatric internist. If she has some sort of auto-immune problem, you might also want to take her to an allergy specialist. There is some sort of connection to certain auto-immune diseases and allergies. I have never known a child having a growth spurt that affects them like that. Good Luck.

Hi A. - you could be writing about me when my youngest was a baby. First of all have you tried any meds for the reflux? We used baby Zantac for both of our girls and it was a life saver! We also did the ceral thing, but gave it to her no more than 3 times a day (morning, afternoon and night)and I'm assuming that you are using rice cereal but if not, make sure you use rice cereal. There is also a formula now that is thicker than normal formula for babies with reflux you may check that out. It didn't work for us since our daughter needed soy formula and it didn't come in soy at the time, don't know about now. And with the juice, are you giving her juice to keep her regular and are you mixing it with the formula? When we gave our daughter juice we mixed it with the formula (replaced 1 oz of water with 1 oz of juice). And the juice could be adding to the reflux and you may try Caro Syrup (I know I just heard people gasp!). The Caro Syerup worked better for us than the juice (not in every bottle). This is what the did in the old days (like when we were babies). My doctor suggested it to me and it worked good.

And if she is eating like craze then she may get getting ready for a growth spurt and I don't know what to do to help them. Mine never had any trouble in that area. But you may talk to your doctor about the formual - could she need soy formula? Mine both needed it and that was the first sign, they would be fussy and nothing helped them. Their little tummies just hurt. Gave them soy formula and they were like new kids.

Good luck!!

Hi A.,

Good morning! My little guy is 22 months now and whenever he has a growth spurt, he eats and sleeps alot more. He usualy isn't fussy though. He did have reflux for the first year of his life and I will be honest with you, it was hell for him. We had a pediatrition tell us to put the cereal in his formula as well, but his reflux episodes came more often and were worse! The reason is because the cereal would thicken up in his stomach and stay in his stomach longer thus causing the reflux to act up. When babies have reflux, the faster the food digests the better. Also, when reflux babies feel the discomfort associated with reflux, they want to eat like crazy and are fussy. This is because they think if they eat it will stop the burning in their stomach, but it makes it worse especially if the food sits there for a long period of time. I would stop the cereal in the formula. That's what helped our little guy. I am a Vet Nurse and I have experience when it comes to reflux due to learning about it in school, dogs can develop it beleive it or not, I had it for two misserable years as an adult and then my son had it. Now as far as the immune mediated disorder, I can't be sure. My niece had one where her monocyte white blood cells would attack her neutrophils, another type of white blood cell. It would cycle every 4 weeks and her immunity would drop to almost zero and she could become seriously ill that last week of the cycle. It was horrible for her. She would get sores in her mouth and on her rectum, vomit all the time, run high fevers and she couldn't eat because of the pain in her mouth and throat. It was an ilness that is supposed to work itself out by the time the child is 5. By the time she was 3, it was over. She is in perfect health. She will be 4 this year. I am not sure the type your daughter has, but I would imagine she could be feeling uncomfortable at times from that and add reflux to the mix makes a misserable combo. I still get the feeling it's the cereal in the formula. IF SHE ISN't on a reflux medication, I would look into that too to control the reflux. Depending on the severity of the reflux, it might benefit your little one to see a specialist. I AM Not sure why the doctors insist on telling moms to put cereal in the formula, when it's the worst thing to do. I hope this has helped you. You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. Best of luck to you and your family. I hope she feels better soon.

A. H.

I would stop the juice as well. I am a breastfeeding mom, so I can't comment too much on the formula issue; however, we tried cereal at 6 months and my son hated it (it upset his stomach). I know this is a controversial topic, but at 4 months their stomach is just not ready to tackle things like juice and cereal. I would suggest stopping the juice and cereal for a week to see if it helps.

In terms of helping you cope with fussiness, I suggest wearing her. Do you have a baby sling? Dr. Sears has some great info on the benefits of babywearing on his website www.askdrsears.com. Not only will several hours a day in the sling help you get stuff done, it will calm her down and she will cry less. This is also an activity your husband can participate in.

Good luck.

Well it could be a growth spurt. I know with both of mine they would eat me out of house and home when they would start growing. But my boy was the worst...he actually had growing pains. I myself never experienced them but a friend of mine says she remembers when she had them and they were AWEFUL...you might try some Motrin or Tylenol to see if that helps with the fussiness.

I did also put cereal in with the bottles b/c my kids just plain ate a lot...but one thing I also did was start putting prune juice (2oz) in for every 2 bottles of regular they got. This helped even out the constipation factor. We'd just tell the kids they had vanilla and chocolate bottles...they never doubted us...lol. I would also recommend Little Tummies Gas Drops. They are the cheaper version of the Mylicon (sp?) but work the same. If your kiddo has gas this will help relief it quite a bit.

With the reflux, I'm assuming you have her on meds...make sure to give them well in advance (like 30 min) before you eat...it really does make a difference. And make sure you don't lay her down afterwards...keep her in an upright position...high chair, activity center, holding her, etc. If you lay her down then it aggrevates the reflux and the meds don't stand a chance at working. Hope this helps...good luck

When my boys get on a growth spurt they are not cranky, just hungry & sometimes tired.
My youngest was always big for his age. He out grew his infat seat by the time he was 6 mo. old. He was wearing 9 mo. clothing by the time he was 6 mo. old also!
A baby of this age should not have juice unless your dr. has told you to. Also do not give apple juice as it will make reflux worse.

God Bless!

Hi A.! My baby is 4 months also, he weighs 16 lbs! But hes in the 75% for his weight. Anyways my ped told me to start giving him cereal. I did one night and he got REAL fussy, I dont know if it was a fluke but he is a very easy going, calm baby, he is on Similac Sensitive because I think he might have had a lactose problem, and now all is well. But Im going to try the cereal again and if he gets fussy again Im going to wait until he is 6 months before I give it to him again. I waited until 6 months with my daughter and she was just fine! Maybe skip the cereal for a day and see what happens? She could be teething, but I can tell when my baby is going through a growth spurt and he never acts fussy, just hungry!