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My 4 week old son has been on Zegerid/Mylanta for 1 1/2 weeks now. It seems to have helped his reflux issues (feeding issues), but I also cut out dairy completely from my diet as well, so I’m not sure which helped him most.
We still have issues (generally after a meal, but not all meals, and kind of unclear since sometimes he eats so often) where he grunts, cries out, pushes with his legs, arches (if he is laying on his stomach). We think we have narrowed it down to when he is trying to poop. He seems to finally poop and is then a happy camper. But his stools seem to be completely normal – watery, yellow, seedy. Sometimes they come out with a forceful gassy explosion, other times we are unaware he went.
I find myself questioning everything – does he really have reflux? Is it just a dairy intollerance? Or is it reflux and not the dairy thing? Dare I try to remove the Zegerid and see what happens? Or drink a milkshake?
Are the bowel issues because of the Zegerid or would he have them anyway? Ugh, it’s so overwhelming!things that may be of interest…
* he is solely bf
* weighed 6lbs 15oz at birth – was 8lbs 14oz today! (will be 4 weeks tomorrow) so no weight issues
* never spit up until we started zegerid, now spits up with almost every meal
* generally sleeps 4-5 hours first night stretch, then 3 after that.
* used to have bad gas – cried out and then tooted. haven’t noticed that in a while, but can’t recall when it stopped!
* he has clear skin, no diaper rash (so could it be lactose intollerance rather than dairy allergy? i.e. would I need to be off ALL dairy ingredients, or just lactose?)
* early issues were crying with feedings – pulling back from breast, obvious pain.
* gets hiccups all the time – usually regurgitates a little milk with them.
* he does tend to smell like sour milk.
I can’t think of anything else right now – feel free to ask if I missed anything important. I really appreciate any insight you all have given all that I have noted.
ok a few things to say:
it’s rare for babies to be lactose intolerant- it does happen, but it’s rare-your breastmilk is mainly lactose so, personally, I don’t think it’s the case…next: there’s a difference b/t milk protein intolerance and milk protein allergy- a GREAT explanation is on page 2 of the top MSPI post MSPI what I have learned & Allergy Info), in the MSPI Forumif stools are not mucousy and green, then I wouldn’t think milk protein is an issue, but you might want to hold off on that milkshake for a bit
actually, have you cut out ALL dairy, including hidden dairy? if you’re eting things that have casein whey, etc, then perhaps it isn’t milk protein that’s bothering your baby- (because you’ve been eating it) so confusing, huh?!!
spitting up can mean he’s comfortable w/ the reflux now, as it doesn’t burn, so he’s not swallowing it back down- it’s common for silent refluxers to turn to spitters w/ the medication…from what you write it doesn’t sound like the bowel issue- straining to make a bowel movement- is all that painful? these babies have immature digestive systems it seems…so some straining here & there is ‘normal’you might want to keep a food jounral- it takes about 3-5hrs for what you eat to get to you brestmilk so for ex, if you eat tomato sauce at noon & then nurse him at 3pm and sometime soon after that feeding he reacts (irritable, shrieking, refluxing, etc), then you might want to check to see if it happens again next time you eat tomato products…HTH (hope this helps)Some moms have used Tums instead of Mylanta to avoid the cramps/diarrhea problem. I’m not sure which type of Tums but I think it’s the smooth dissolve. You might want to read the ingredients because some Tums have milk, and if you’re not sure if that’s an issue or not it would probably be better to get a flavor that does not contain milk. From what I’ve read here, yes you do need a buffer.
Re: the straining. Sometimes reflux pain can be mistaken for gas pain and/or bowel issues. My son used to grunt and strain and I always thought it was gas or constipation, but once his reflux pain was under control the grunting/straining stopped. I think it was his way of dealing with the pain.
What dose of Zegerid is your son on? If he’s not better soon maybe he needs a higher dose. Many doctors under dose.
That’s great that he’s on a good dose.
Hopefully the grunting and straining will get better soon. He’s still very young and even “normal” babies without reflux have very immature digestive symptoms and varying degrees of gi distress.If it doesn’t improve you may want to experiment with your diet to see if it’s something you are eating that bothers him.I just want to say that explosive poops are normal for bf babies
– I have read that time and again, so don’t worry about the explosiveness.As for the straining – many newborns do that. I agree with Laura that their little systems just seem immature at first and they struggle to have a bm. I read somewhere that they have to learn to coordinate relaxing their muscles with pushing, so it’s something that must be learned. That part will get better with time.I’ll also add that Caden was straining and turning red and fussing AGAIN once solids were started, but now that he is accustomed to them at 9 months (almost) he is not doing that anymore. So, with time and maturity it will get better.Good luck!
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