Search Results for 'breast feeding'

[Anonymous]

Hi guys, you could have also been describing Alana around 10 weeks. I also didn’t produce milk despite meds and pumping, so Alana also went on formula- If I had of had a choice I would have stuck to the breastfeeding (sigh) even if it meant the TED (I could do with the majic weight loss benefts). Anyhow- it was the combination of the meds and the low allergenic formula that helped. So I would wait out to see if the higher dose of prevacid works and maybe try TED again (? I think you have done it, sooo confusing to keep track). Sorry, not realy great advice, but I swear that the meds and the low allergernic formula made Alana somuch happier

[Anonymous]

i agree with sticking with the breastmilk .. plus we all know its easier to digest and thats important for reflux babies too. i wish i could have stuck with the breastfeeding had i known that before i quit. but i would think that the only problem that he would have with your breastmilk would be the things you are eating. sooo if the elimination diet didnt help than i am not sure if a formula would help. possibly the neocate but .. i think that people say it is better than breastfeeding only in babies who have erosive esophogus? but i could be wrong ??otherwise i would personaly stick with the breastfeeding…

[Anonymous]

Natalia,

I have done TED and didn’t really notice much difference. I’m thinking about trying again to cut out dairy/soy only just to see if I notice improvement. I really want to continue breastfeeding.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, it is a tough one. We got lucky, and I didn’t really have a hard decision to make because I couldn’t produce enough milk anyway, so breastfeeding was out of the question. I think you are right, that if you start on a formula, and he can’t handle it, then you are in trouble, especially if you already know you can’t afford the expensive stuff. We wouldn’t have been able to afford it either, so we were just really lucky that SAdie likes GoodStart. And, I am sure if we didn’t switch, she would have outgrown all of this anyway, like you mentioned. It does sound like he is still in reflux pain, so maybe finding the right meds will help him, like has been suggested.

If breastfeeding was going okay for me, I would have stuck with it, as it is supposed to be the best thing- The only other thing I can think of is having him tested for allergies/intolerances? Then, you would KNOW if it’s something in your diet, or if it’s the reflux, or if it’s just something he’ll outgrow. I honestly have no experience with this, so I’m not sure if testing is even possible or worth it- maybe other moms can chime in too on this one..

And, the bottom line is that he sounds like he is thriving, and gaining weight, like Sadie was, and that is better than a lot of babies, so maybe just sit tight and try to get through it?

good luck!!!

[Anonymous]

Hi there! I don’t know how much I have to add, but my 10 week old, Sadie, has A LOT of the same behaviors as Caden, so I thought I might chime in too. Sadie switched to formula at 4 weeks because I could not produce enough milk for her for some reason, so my situation is slightly different- It was after this that the gas/crankiness/colic, whatever you call it started, so I thought it was just the formula- So, we kept trying different formulas- first, gentle-ease, then lactose free, then soy, etc. No change, still crying all the time- Then, it got so bad, and it seemed like she was in pain, so we went to the ped and turns out it was reflux- She got put on Zantac, and after almost a week that helped with the screaming episodes, but she still had horrible gas and still cried and was fussy most of the day- Well, she had EXACTLY what you describe too, about taking 2 days to have a BM, and even though it was “Soft” she just seemed to be straining and have really painful gas a lot (she would pull her knees up, strain, cry, and then you would hear gas, so I know it was gas, not reflux pain)- WEll, turns out that she had a scintiscan that showed she has DGE, which is causing the reflux- So, when I found that out, I took matters into my own hands, did some research, and found that Nestle GoodSTart is really great for DGE and babies who have painful gas- Well, after 4 -5 days of adjusting, she is a different baby! She now does not cry at all, unless she’s tired, etc., and now passes gas with no problem- plus, she has a BM every day-

I don’t know how much this will help you, as you are breastfeeding, and that is “supposed to be” good for DGE and gas too- But, maybe he’s allergic to something in your diet and can’t tolerate your breastmilk- I just find it striking how similar Caden is to Sadie, and in her case, the immature digestive system just could not handle anything but GoodStart- I am thinking Caden sounds like he still has reflux pain (you said he arches and pulls off when breastfeeding), but the gas and other symptoms sound like it’s a digestive problem that can either be hopefully solved with a different diet, or, maybe formula (even though I know it’s hard to wean).

OH, and Sadie used to wake up ALL THE TIME because the gas pain would wake her up- now that we figured it out, she sleeps great, and only wakes up to eat-

So, for what this is all worth, I hope it helps! After all, “colic” is usually an intolerance to food or reflux anyway, so maybe if you get on the right reflux meds and try a new diet/formula, then the “colic” will magically disappear?

Good luck!

Well, I had those same thoughts about “why can’t she just be happy”..especially when I have family members who had perfect happy babies and can’t relate to me at all! Well, I found this forum and saw that a lot of moms are on “GoodSTart”- So, we tried one last attempt at using this, and she is now fantastic!

[Anonymous]

I’m so sorry to hear that you’re going through this. It sounds like the nightmare we went through with Hailey in the beggining. The good news is that once her pain is relieved, you should have a whole new baby on your hands. We tried lots of different meds with Hailey, and the only thing that helped was getting her on a decent dose of PPI. Until then, things were horrific. If your doctor won’t consider giving her a PPI, or won’t prescribe a good dose (something near the marci-kids range) then tell us where you live, and maybe we can help you find a doc that will help you. Given your daughter’s symptoms- the arching, screaming etc, I’d say that zantac probably isn’t enough to see the pain. Our ped told us that if zantac is going to do the trick, then you should see an improvement in less than a week. If she’s still arching, then her pain isn’t being well controlled.

As for the bottle, I’m not sure why you need to have her bottle feeding if you’re breastfeeding. They can feed the barium from a syringe like others have said. This is what they did for my daughter b/c she had a feeding aversion and wouldn’t take the bottle.

Breastfeeding a refluxer can be very challenging, especially when they pull off and arch the way you describe. If you need help (and want to keep breastfeeding… I’m very pro-choice, so I hope this sounds okay) there are some great LC’s out there, but make sure to find one who understands reflux and the special challenges that come with breastfeeding a baby with reflux. In the end with Hailey, I couldn’t take it anymore- and I did go for pumping so that my husband could bottle feed her some EBM at night while I got a break.

Anyhow, good luck. I hope that you can get a PPI and that it turns things around for you.

[Anonymous]

Emily,

I found it to be extremely difficult too because my refluxers were my second and third children. And the were so close in age. It was hard to take care of the older ones because reflux babies are so difficult and it takes so much time and effort to take care of them.

I think we’ve all wished our reflux babies were the “normal” happy babies who only cry when they are hungry or tired. Don’t feel guilty about that. We all know (and God knows) that you love your baby more than anything in the world. You’re just tired.

One good thing that comes out of this reflux nightmare is that you really find out what you’re made of. If anyone would have told me that I’d have a baby who was up every 20 -60 minutes every night of her life, and that I’d have to pump breast milk for her 8-10 times a day because she’d quit nursing, while taking care of a toddler on my own with no help (I have no family around and dh was not helpful), I would have said that there was no way I could do that. But I did do it. It was a nightmare but both of my children got the best care any child could hope for and I’m proud of that.

And then two years later I had a worse situation. Another refluxer who refused to nurse so I was back to pumping 8-10 times a day for a baby who hated to eat. On top of that he puked up nearly everything he did eat. He was developing a feeding aversion and it would take an hour to feed him 3 ounces. Then he’d throw it all up. So I spent all day every day pumping, feeding, cleaning puke and trying desperately to take care of the other two. And again, I did it alone, and my children got excellent care (it nearly killed me, but they got what they needed). Now when I look back on it I am amazed at my own capability to cope and manage and I’m proud of how well I took care of my children despite the very diffiuclt challenges.

I’m sure you’re doing a great job and when this is all behind you, I know that you’ll be proud of your strength and the good mothering you provided your children under very difficult circumstances.

I’ll keep praying for Caden.

[Anonymous]

I was going to suggest a syringe. I don’t know anything about the aspirating though. I have read somewhere, I think on the breastfeeding reflux yahoo group. A mom would not do the bottle and requested they use a syringe. I would even call a day before and have them have a syringe ready for you. I would not suggest doing formula. From my experience with my first son, he stopped bf once formula was introduced. At first the formula will hold down better and they will start to think it is your bm that is hurting them. Also a bottle is much easier to drink from and that feels better to them. Breastmilk is absolutly the best for your reflux baby. It has enzymes in it that help. It is all your choice though. I am just throwing that out there. I am so pro breastfeeding. Also, all babies are different and you may find that your baby doesn’t do what mine did. I think though they should accomidate you if you don’t want to do the bottle. This being my second child, I don’t let anyone push me around about using a bottle. Of course, I don’t hide when I bf this time around either. I use a blanket, but I won’t go hide. I think it is wrong to feel you have to. Okay, off my soap box. No matter what you decide to do, please let us know what happens. Oh, after the swallow I think your supposed to do some water. My son got really constipated. It was worse than the reflux. Am I wrong about that ladies? I think I heard someone say that before.

[Anonymous]

Oh, wow. It sounds like you have been through a lot too. I’m glad things are better for you now. Well, I’ll have to think about the Neocate. I just don’t know if I want to risk him weaning early or something when it may not even be the answer for us. Is there a chance it wouldn’t work? I know that sounds silly, but what I mean is do most people find that it helps in these situations (even when they’re breastfeeding)? I would hate to do this and then find out that he would have done just as well nursing if I had stuck it out…

[Anonymous]

I guess I missed the part about the $30 coupon. What is that about? I’m really frustrated right now, because so far nothing I’ve tried has really worked 100%, but I’m willing to try something new (Zegerid) to see if it will help Caden. Every time I think something is actually helping him, he goes back to colic again. I guess it’s just his ups and downs and nothing really making a huge difference yet. At this point, I’m not willing to wean him to Neocate – I’m really commited to breastfeeding. Plus, the elimination diet didn’t seem to make a difference in the long run. I thought he was improving on it, but I noticed in the last week of it that he still had fussy days, so I decided my diet wasn’t the problem.

[hellbennt]

welcome! please please read Groupie Intro https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853&am p;PN=1&TPN=1!

don’t give up breastfeeding if you don’t want to- it may or not be something in your diet- after you get your baby on a PROPER dose of PPi THEN you can address diet if you still even think that’s a factor

it’s all there, in Groupie Intro please go take a look & bookmark it…

The Upper GI, (also called a barium swallow?) is good to look for structural abnormalities,
it is *not* good to verify reflux: it is a snapshot in time if you were, so if baby doesn’t happen to reflux at that particular time of the test then a dr might be quick to dismiss you & tell you rflux isn’t there/isn’t bad- the way to show relfux is a ph probe, where the actual length (duration) & frequency (how often) of reflux episodes are recorded…

another ‘Barium Swallow’ is a Swallow Study, where they look at *how* your baby swallows and they look for aspiration of liquid into the lungs- they try various thickness of liquids to see how your baby swallows them

I’m not sure which of these (they are seperate things) your doctor was referring to? (or both or neither?)

if you do get the Upper GI done or the Swallow Study, find out how to contact the actual x-ray technician, bcse if you’re breastfeeding the amount of time that you need to have baby fasting before the procedure is actually less than what ‘they’ will tell you- tell the technician (somehow?) that baby is breastfed and ask how long before the test you can feed your baby (breastmilk is digested faster than formula)

[Anonymous]

Hi Tina, and welcome.

I’m sorry to hear that Marlena has reflux. My son was diagnosed with reflux at 6 weeks and we also started out with zantac & reglan (metoclopramide). They worked for awhile, but then stopped working. After that he was put on Prevacid, and that made a huge difference. So you might want to try getting your daughter on a PPI medicine like Prevacid. Most babies seem to do best on a PPI.

Good luck with the Upper GI. I hope you can get Marlena to drink from a bottle! My breast fed babies would never drink from a bottle either. Bryce has a feeding tube, so we didn’t have that problem when he had his upper GI.

Good luck with everything! I hope you can find something to help little Marlena feel better soon.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tips on food allergy. This is not the first time this comes up…. I am breastfeeding her exclusively… and just started to remove foods from my diet, to see if that may have an effect. If this is all related to allergy, what a strong reaction….Any other possibilities?

[Anonymous]

Ok, this is a totally pathetic cry for help:

How do those of you
on TED handle events you have to attend? I’m in a wedding
coming up, and tomorrow is one of many bridal showers. I’m a serious,
serious cake fiend….especially good cake. I’m committed to
breastfeeding, truly I am; I just know how hard it is going to be in a
social setting with my best friends and actually being solo and wearing
a skirt (maybe even jewelry, hah HAH!). Sounds like an after school
special about peer pressure….

Anyway, please feel free to slam
me in any way; share personal mantras if you have them. I would greatly
appreciate it, as my little one got 4 shots today, creating a weeping
on top of the already fussiness….poor little monkey!

[hellbennt]

The Upper GI, (also called a barium swallow?) is good to look for structural abnormalities,
it is *not* good to verify reflux: it is a snapshot in time if you were, so if baby doesn’t happen to reflux at that particular time of the test then a dr might be quick to dismiss you & tell you rflux isn’t there/isn’t bad- the way to show relfux is a ph probe, where the actual length (duration) & frequency (how often) of reflux episodes are recorded…

another ‘Barium Swallow’ is a Swallow Study, where they look at *how* your baby swallows and they look for aspiration of liquid into the lungs- they try various thickness of liquids to see how your baby swallows them

I’m not sure which of these (they are seperate things) your doctor was referring to? (or both or neither?)

if you do get the Upper GI done or the Swallow Study, find out how to contact the actual x-ray technician, bcse if you’re breastfeeding the amount of time that you need to have baby fasting before the procedure is actually less than what ‘they’ will tell you- tell the technician (somehow?) that baby is breastfed and ask how long before the test you can feed your baby (breastmilk is digested faster than formula)