Newborn with reflux - UPDATE IN #19

[ashleybama24]

Can someone talk to me about reflux? I think my newborn son has it and I have no idea how to help him. DS1 never even burped or spit up so I am totally clueless when it comes to gas/acid issues. DS2 struggles to burp, rarely spits up but fusses every single time he eats. We are up sometimes 2 hours straight with a baby who has to be held upright, arches his back, acts like he wants to eat and then refuses, and is in general just miserable. He cries and just seems unhappy. Help!

[MamaInMarch]

See the pediatrician. They will prescribe an acid reducer and this will make a tremendous difference. In the meantime, our ped recommended elevating the head of his crib or cosleeper and keeping him upright for 30 mins after each feed. Also, don't overload the belly or it makes reflux worse. Are you breastfeeding? If you have a forceful let down, you may want to let down into a diaper or towel and then allow him to latch so it's not so hard on his tummy. Good luck - we had this for quite some time and it was so awful to see them in pain. The meds helped a lot!

[Indianamom2]

Talk to your pedi and mention all the symptoms that you did here. The back arching, general fussiness around eating and having to be upright are pretty good red flags.

Ds was like this except he also spit up a ton. We started with Zantac, but that made him projectile vomit (sometimes the mint flavor can cause this I guess) and he did a little better on Prevacid, but it took a long time for the pedi to prescribe it. We had some other feeding issues, but I think the Prevacid was a decent med.

Good luck. It's hard.

[ArizonaGirl]

We have and still do deal with this with DS (and he is 2.5 yrs old). Get into the ped ASAP because several of these meds take several days and even longer to take effect.

[tryin]

My DD used zantac and i also switched her to soy sensitive. Good Luck!

[ashleybama24]

Thankfully we have our first check up tomorrow. Hope we don't have to monitor this for a few days/weeks first.

If I'm bf-ing will anything I eat make it better or worse?

[euno]

i was convinced our first dd had reflux. now with our 2nd, i see that dd#1 probably just wasn't being burped often enough. and dd1 was just more prone to throwing up. even now, 3 years later, she still has a very sensitive gag reflex and throws up quite often.

sometimes it takes dd2 almost 5-6 minutes of holding upright and patting before she can let out a burp. now that she is 6 weeks old, she is able to do it much easier and faster. also, i nurse her in the baby bjorn - you just loosen the straps to lower baby and i hold her head to my chest/tighten the head straps. this seems to help with her being able to swallow.

i also had really forceful let down with both so i think that was a contributing factor to the spitting up and the backarching, which i had mistaken for reflux. do they seem to drink okay (no gulping/out of breath/choking, etc)? if so, it could just be hyperlactation rather than reflux.

[goldenpig]

Thankfully we have our first check up tomorrow. Hope we don't have to monitor this for a few days/weeks first.

If I'm bf-ing will anything I eat make it better or worse?

Hi ashleybama24, I hope your little one gets some relief soon! Infant reflux is awful! For my DS, dairy really aggravated his reflux and even though he was on medications, he didn't get better until I completely cut out all dairy. Apparently this is a really common cause of reflux in babies. So you might want to start with trying a dairy-free diet (no milk, butter, yogurt, cheese, etc and reading the labels to make sure it doesn't say "contains milk"). Some babies are sensitive to both milk and soy, thankfully mine was/is only sensitive to dairy so I didn't have to cut out soy. But I'm still dairy-free myself because of his allergy (he's still nursing). Hope you get some answers/help and your baby feels better soon!

[Beth24]

So sorry you are going through this. :hug: Sorry I don't have any advice for you, but wanted to let you know I was thinking about you.

[kbud]

Check out infantreflux.org. There is a ton of information and the message boards are great. Good luck.

[daisymommy]

Check out infantreflux.org. There is a ton of information and the message boards are great. Good luck.

:yeahthat:
Also, it is common for babies to want to nurse alot, because the milk is soothing to their raw sore throat (due to the acid reflux). That's okay, unless but sometimes too much nursing will cause them to spit up more (this is not always the case though).

Bouncy seats that are at a gradual slope--not a hard incline like their carseat--are better for them and can be a life saver, because they don't bend them right at their stomach.

Bibs are your friend! And thick prefold burp cloths.

Give the meds 10-14 days to work.

Good luck, and hang in there!

[AnnieW625]

If I'm bf-ing will anything I eat make it better or worse?

It can, but if you aren't seeing any runny green or yellow poop then there is probably nothing that you need to change in diet dairy wise. I did limit onions, beans, and all spicy foods when I was breast feeding.

DD2 had a lot of the same symptoms as your DS2 and they all started at less than a week old. She was a spitter though too. She started Zantac at a month old. The Zantac didn't help with the spitting but it did calm her down a lot after eating.

I am not suggesting this or trying to undermine your breast feeding, but when you do try to bottle feed I highly recommend Playtex Drop In bottles; those were magic for DD2 and I wish I would've found them way sooner than I did (she was 9 months old).

ETA: check out the Nap Nanny, that thing rocks! I didn't get mine for DD2 until she was almost 3 months old, but it was a life saver. Not cheap, but totally worth it. The Fisher Price Rock N Play Sleeper does the same thing, but has a 20lb. weight limit, but it is only $50.

[hellbennt]

Check out infantreflux.org. There is a ton of information and the message boards are great. Good luck.

see my sig:waving4:

[ashleybama24]

DS2 has been sleeping in a bouncy seat....the Boppy/Bright Starts one. A friend has a nap nanny she isn't using that I was going to borrow.

He hardly spits up and if he does it's usually hours after he has eaten. But I can tell he has reflux or heartburn in his throat because he chews, arches his back, gets red faced, and flails about. Even when he is eating. He is getting better about burping but even then that doesn't always solve the problem. He literally had 20 poopy diapers the first day and I can hear the gas in his tummy so I'm really hoping he doesn't have a digestive or intestinal issue like IBD.

[KpbS]

So sorry your your DC is having reflux :hug: Here are some past threads about reflux. A lot of peds don't "get it."

http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=400064&highlight=reflux
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=368960&highlight=reflux
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=366010&highlight=reflux

[daisymommy]

1. He may have "silent reflux"--the milk never makes it as far as his mouth, it only comes up the esophagus and then goes back down. But it causes just as much pain and damage. It's harder for docs to believe you and to diagnose though. Some people end up having to be seen by a GI doc if their own Ped. won't treat (based on there not being any actual spit-up).

2. If he is having stomach issues, there is a very good chance he has some kind of food intolerance which is making the reflux worse. Dairy and wheat are the two biggies, followed by caffeine & citrus, tomatoes.

3. I would start giving him a probiotic. You can dip your finger in the jar of powder and let him suck it off, or dab some on your nipple before nursing.
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20100816/probiotics-may-reduce-crying-from-colic

[ashleybama24]

So sorry your your DC is having reflux :hug: Here are some past threads about reflux. A lot of peds don't "get it."

http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=400064&highlight=reflux
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=368960&highlight=reflux
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=366010&highlight=reflux

Thank you so much! These and the website have been really helpful. I feel even more certain that DS2 has silent reflux after reading further and I hope my pediatrician can offer something to help today.

[Beth24]

Thank you so much! These and the website have been really helpful. I feel even more certain that DS2 has silent reflux after reading further and I hope my pediatrician can offer something to help today.

Let us know how the appointment goes.

[ashleybama24]

So my pediatrician agreed all DS2's symptoms sound like gas and reflux. He recommended having him sleep at an angle and/or on his left side, wearing him in a wrap or carrier throughout the day so he is upright, trying all the various gas drops (Mylicon, gripe water etc), and maybe even watching my diet. He said even summer fruits like watermelon can cause gas! If we didn't feel like it was working to call back and they would perscribe one of the acid medicines like Zantac. He said no sense in all of us being miserable with no sleep.

Pretty much everything you all recommended! A friend just dropped off a sleep wedge and our doctor said if DS2 slides in his sleep because he is elevated to pin a pair of feeted pants to the sheet and put him in them so he can't slide down. Thought that was rather funny. So hope a few things work....cutting caffeine will be hardest because I'm not getting any naps during the day!

[ashleybama24]

Oh and he put on 1lb 3oz since we brought him home so he is growing and getting some milk!

[daisymommy]

I'm kind of annoyed for you that they are going to wait until you cut out foods and try gas drops--when it sounds like he has reflux--before they will prescribe meds. I would have hoped they would prescribe PLUS cut out foods, prop baby up, etc. as a combined approach.

[ashleybama24]

I know if I called my pediatrician tomorrow and said I want DS2 on medicine he would say ok. Personally I would rather him not be on medicine if he isn't miserable. Especially if some of these other methods work and it is something he will probably outgrow by 6 mo. I don't plan on making him suffer but I can certainly sacrifice milk or caffeine if it helps.

[ashleybama24]

DS2 just spit up in my hair for the second time today so I decided to call and ask our doctor to call in a prescription for an acid blocker. We have implemented several of the recommendations but I can tell the reflux is getting worse the older he is.

I wear DS2 in the Ergo during the day, he sleeps in a nap nanny both which help. I have to stop bf-ing every few minutes to burp him or he won't keep eating and is miserable. I cut out dairy but that didn't seem to change things. Lastly, we have been giving him generic (cvs brand) aluminum free cherry supreme mylanta when he is really miserable and that is instant relief. I can tell it wears off after a few hours and it sucks having to wait to give him more.

[carolinamama]

Hope he feels better soon. I've had 2 babies with reflux and it is no fun.

[AnnieW625]

DS2 just spit up in my hair for the second time today so I decided to call and ask our doctor to call in a prescription for an acid blocker. We have implemented several of the recommendations but I can tell the reflux is getting worse the older he is.

I wear DS2 in the Ergo during the day, he sleeps in a nap nanny both which help. I have to stop bf-ing every few minutes to burp him or he won't keep eating and is miserable. I cut out dairy but that didn't seem to change things. Lastly, we have been giving him generic (cvs brand) aluminum free cherry supreme mylanta when he is really miserable and that is instant relief. I can tell it wears off after a few hours and it sucks having to wait to give him more.

He probably isn't allergic dairy if he is still spitting up, DD2 did the exact same thing. I never thought to get an acid blocker for DD2 so I don't know if that would've helped. The Nap Nanny was our savior. We used Mylecon which I believe you can give at every or every other feeding and that was great too, but there was no cure for the spit up at all until she was 9 mos. old. Good luck!

[ashleybama24]

I forgot we have tried Mylicon and Little Tummies and Gripe Water and they barely touch the problem.

Our pediatrician is going to start us on Zantac so we will see how that works. I just want my poor little peanut to feel better!

[hellbennt]

Posting from my phone, so I don't have the link handy, but, from my sig, look for zantac dosing. If it's not there, look for link called Prevacid 101 & it's there (there's info about other PPIs, too)