Search Results for 'breast feeding'

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all your kind words, guys. It’s great to feel hopeful again, and not so down-trodden about the whole having a baby experience. I was even letting go of the idea of having more children thinking if this one never sleeps….how will I do this again? So the getting better part is great for sleep, but even better for hope and for hte idea of having more than one child, which seemed like lunacy even a few months ago. No trying for #2 here, though. I need a year of eating what I want and sleep and then I can think about having #2.

Lori, just in case this is useful to you in any form, or to anyone trying to wean or back off gently from nursing their toddler, or interested in changing a bed-time ritual, I’m going to give you WAAY more detail than you need.

To answer your question… I employed dh– which I should have done long long ago, into our bed-time ritual. I asked him to help beginning to put Lucas down, which he had never done, (not that he was unwilling, I was unwilling and had horrible breast issues, so skipping feedings during the first year wasn’t a good idea). The kid had literally always nursed to sleep (or the car could put him to sleep, but we had never relied on driving him to get him to sleep). As you know, you are WAY too tired to do anything different once you are so bound up in the horrible no sleep cycle. So, the first night it took dh nearly two hours before Lucas dropped from sheer exhaustion– he read and told him stories until he dropped. There was also a lot of crying, which before now I was unwilling to get through. But I’m fortunate dh didn’t give up. But dh works an evening shift, so he isn’t around for 4-5 nights of the week. Then I began trying to put him to sleep without nursing– there was also a lot of crying with me. I had noticed that he had occasionally in the recent months fallen back asleep on a handful of occasions without nursing, so this gave me a glimmer of hope. He was also getting sick of sucking on anything, hating sippy cups, hating straws (unless in a favorite smoothie)….so it dawned on me that nursing is that same sucking motion.

I also coincidentally had a yeast infection on my nipples (which was like adding insult to injury after all this time nursing to have a problem like this at the end). In the end, it proved our saving grace!! I started explaining to him that “mommy has an owie on her susu” (our word for breast/nursing). I showed him how I put medicine and a bandaid on myself and would go through this explanation every time he asked to nurse. Then we started asking him why he couldn’t nurse nad he’d say “mommy has owie on susu, it hurts. mommy put medicine on susu, mommy put bandaid on susu.” He asked every day for “susu”, LOOOOOOONG after hte last day of nursing. Every time he asked we’d go into this “what did mommy tell you about her susu?” Just yesterday he started saying “mommy has owie on susu” and went into the whole thing and I laughed thinking, he still thinks I am wearing bandaids and everything…

So, after the yeast infection thing started, I would let 48 hrs go between sessions, to give my breasts some room to adjust. I was terrified of breast problems since I had weird problems for the first year. Anyway, then one day I just thought this is it, and we went cold turkey. Now he goes to sleep with us telling him stories in the dark, after the whole bath/reading books thing is over. It was definitely more than a month of transition time and getting him to sleep has taken a LOT LONGER, but things are starting to get better, and I’m getting enough sleep that it doesn’t matter as much if it takes extra energy to put him down.

Again, sorry if this is too much detail!!

I can’t remember if you are able to have dh put Hailey down? I can’t believe how wonderful it is and I think it was my sleep deprived foggy mind that really couldn’t let go of the idea that it would ruin entire nights of sleep if he put him down. That and I didn’t want the whole crying for two hours part to get Lucas all worked up and make the night or the reflux worse. I don’t know why I didn’t get more help earlier. But THAT’s a whole other posting topic!! haha.

[Anonymous]

I saw this and thought it was funny.

it should be interesting to see what everyone thinks. It’s from last year. You can form your own opinion…

http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_300112352.html

[Anonymous]

Hi and welcome!

It actually seems like your doctor knows what she is talking about – not many people are willing to let you continue with the zantac until the PPI kicks in, so you are off to a great start!

It sounds like something is working if your baby is sleeping better.

A lot of people have actually had babies that are comfort eaters – that means that they eat all of the time because it is soothing for them – ie the food passing through the esophagus calms down their irritated esophagus. Once they are properly medicated, they tend to eat less because they are more comfortable.

As per the feedings – what does your pediatrician recommend? I know that ours said that we should feed Matthew every 4 hours during the day and on demand at night (but i was unable to breastfeed, so i have no idea if this would be good for someone who is maintaining a milk supply – laura is our resident expert on that!)

don’t worry about too many meds – your baby should do fine with her digestion.

Did you read Laura’s intro?? It is very helpful and has some tips abotu how to give a PPI together with an H2 blocker (ie give them at least 4 hours apart) and when to give a PPI (better on empty stomach adn about 30min before a feeding if possible).

hope this answers your questions

[Anonymous]

Hi there. Welcome to the site. My daughter had the same symptoms that you describe early on but I didn’t know what they were. She also pulled on and off the breast, and gagged, choked a lot. I didn’t know what it was so I didn’t give her anything for it, and the docs told us that she fine b/c she was eating and gaining well. Then all of a sudden she decided that it hurt too much to eat, and that was the start of her awful feeding aversion that’s still with us. Even once she was medicated, the memory of pain still stuck with her, and it’s been a challenge since then.

Anyhow, my point is that I agree with the others. PPIs are quite safe and so I’d say best to give the prevacid a try using a prevention approach. It’s always easier to wean them off meds, then to try and fix the problems that go along with esophageal damage.

If you’re leary about the prevacid (though our GI recently assured us that it’s very safe and doesn’t build up in the system over time), then you could always ask for an H2 blocker like pepcid, but it is very weight sensitive and not always effective.

Good luck in your decision.

[Anonymous]

Natalie,

From someone whose been in your exact shoes, let me start by saying BIG, BIG, BIG HUGS!!!!! This whole thing can be so exhausting and the sleep deprivation can truly make it unbearable- I know! I swear I think that I once wrote your post myself almost word for word.

I agree with others to try and take some time for yourself. People always told me that, and I never did. I always felt that no one else could get her to sleep, no one else could calm her, no one else could comfort her. Whether or not that was true in the long run, what I never realized was that she would be fine in the short run, and that I would be better for it too. I used to be so scared about the feeding tube, that I was afraid to leave her for fear that any little upset would push her over the edge. In the end, I think I smothered us both a bit. So my point is that if you have the chance to get out for a bit, then take it. Enjoy it, and use it to rejuvenate. She’ll be waiting for you when you get back. Don’t feel bad for getting your boyfriend to pitch in at night even though he works- taking care of a refluxer all day and night long is harder than any job outside of the home, in my opinion.

As for the elimination diet, I have no advice about that. I’m a big advocate of BF, but more importantly of the mother’s right to choose. I had to switch to formula b/c of hailey’s feeding strike, but I never knew about the elimination diet. She hated formula in general, and I couldn’t get her to even take a sip of the hypo stuff. In the end I kept up with breast milk as long as I could, and eventually got her to take goodstart- which has been her nemesis as she’s likely MSPI, but it was literally all she would take. I think that if your gut tells you it’s allergies or intolerances it’s certainly an avenue to explore. Many moms have seen dramatic improvements. I’ve always wished that Hailey didn’t have such a severe feeding aversion on top of the reflux so that I could have gone the hypo route, either by breast milk or formula. It’s worth a try.

Kaylee sounds a lot like Hailey (I know, not what you want to hear) in terms of the reflux and the severity. I’d suggest trying to go back to your GI and seeing what plan of action he has for the future. I was very scared about testing, but now am quite glad that we had the scope done so I know that there’ no damage or deformities.

As for the meds, if she’s on a high dose with the losec in CaraCream, then i would try a switch to the prevacid. Like Laura, we also had no success with losec, but Hailey did much better pain wise on the prevacid. It also tastes MUCH better than the losec, which makes the CaraCream taste very bitter. And prevacid is not your only other option. There are other PPIs as well. I can’t remember the name of the other one that some moms have used, but there are others out there.

As for the cold making it that much worse, the answer is “OMG YES!!!”. I remember when Hailey had her first cold, I started a thread called “why so bad?” and it sounded a whole lot like yours today only a lot more delirious and insane b/c of the feeding aversion. Hailey’s reflux was maginified 100 fold whenever she had a cold and no dose of medication would solve that. You can always try giving breakthrough mylanta and seeing if that soothes her a bit. Hopefully she’ll come back down to a more normal level once the cold passes.

In the meantime, please try to hang in there. It’s so draining. You’re doing a great job. Hugs.

[Anonymous]

Amy,

I felt like I was nuts, too. Even with my second refluxer. I should have figured it out early on with him but I didn’t because I kept second guessing myself and the doc kept saying “he’s gaining, so he’s fine”. I’d say just go with your intuition. If you think she’s comfort feeding and in pain, try the meds. If she gets better, you were right and if not, you can stop the meds and no harm done.

I don’t agree that babies don’t eat to soothe pain. Some do. Some don’t. They’re all different and you are the best judge because you are her mommy and you are with her 24/7.

And, I like Laura’s routine. I always did that, too. In fact I always fed/nursed in the semi dark (just a night light) at night, kept the room quiet, and swaddled after changing. I think it helped them to settle more quikly after a feeding or “reflux episode.”

Good luck. Let us know what you decide and how she’s doing.

[hellbennt]

mylanta

perhaps gaviscon

after all that do you swaddle her?

what I do after a freak out is:

make it dark (I keep a small light on to see a bit)

change the diaper (I have my diaper song: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2196&a mp;PN=1&TPN=2)

change clothes into pajamas

swaddle tightly

[Anonymous]

Well, I put a call into the doc today. We took the perscription to the pharmacy to have it filled.

I don’t think I conveyed to the doc Lucy’s eating schedule well enough. I did tell her that Lucy feeds 14 times a day, but I failed to mention that it’s in cluster feeds. So she’ll eat 5 times in 5 hours. Sometimes she needs fed 1/2 hour after she just ate. It’s just too much eating for a 5 wk old. So, last night, she went into her feeding frenzy and ended up projectile vomiting.

One thing I can’t handle is projectile vomiting. Give me the nastiest dieaper in 10 states, but not the vomit. I don’t know why. So, there I was crying like Lucille Ball at 1am with a screaming infant. All I wanted to do is go to sleep. And poor Lucy. It took quite a while for her to calm down after that. What an ordeal for her.

So, I wonder if it’s just gas making her uncomfortable like the doc says or is this reflux? I know, I must be nuts… after this whole ordeal I’m still wondering. And yes, I think I am nuts!!!

You know, it’s the doc that makes me question it. Does she really need to be on the meds? I’ve had two docs tell me that babies don’t eat to soothe reflux. Instead they associate pain with eating and don’t eat as much therefore not gaining weight. So according to that, Lucy isn’t eating this much to soothe pain, but because she’s hungry? Her little stomach can’t be that big. When she screams, she does need to let out gas, either by mouth or the other way. but why would she eat that much if it’s just gas???

So, what remedies are great for gas?

[hellbennt]

sharron,

from here: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853&am p;am p;PN=1

there’s a section of breastfeeding your gerdling & in that section there’s a link to a yahoogroup

this might help you as well as this group

hey, the more information the better

~laura

[Anonymous]

Hello! We were trying to switch our daughter from Zantac to Zegerid to no avail! None of the docs here have heard of it before (in fact, the GI specialist my ped talked to said that it was just compounded Prilosec…wierd, since it is not compounded…I think she may be thinking of the Caracreme stuff). Anyway, the GI specialist recommended that we again try Prevacid, but really make sure to wait the half hour before feeding (none of this was indicated the last time we took the med, but I was suspicious due to reading this forum). We will also need to give her pear/apple juice pro-actively to minimize constipation as it really was an issue last time.

Anyway, my question is, has anyone had success giving the meds while your child is sleeping? We typically use a medicine dropper vs. a syringe so she can suck the meds out. She is fine with the taste of the meds when she is awake. Also, she is now on a sleeping wedge, so she is fairly upright while sleeping.

I ask as it is really difficult to get her to wait a half hour after waking, and this will become an issue if I am going to continue breastfeeding after I return to work (which I really want to do if possible). So, I was hoping to wake up around 5:30, give her the meds and then wake her up around 6-ish. I know waking a sleeping baby sounds crazy, but I have read in many sleep-oriented-books that it is okay to wake a baby at the beginning of the day to “set their clock”.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Anonymous]

thanks everyone!

yes she feeds twice in the night although she will wake more times but just has a few sucks to get back to sleep (i’m breastfeeding and co-sleeping)

I do have her cot propped up but she normally ends up in my bed as she wakes so many times and i get so tired!!

I split the losec dose into two so one in the morning and normally one at 5-6pm, although she doesn’t normally sleep until 8.00pm so i might try giving it later.

I tried to feed her 1 hour before bedtime but the only way i can get her to sleep is to feed her so i’m at a loss as to what to do to get her to sleep otherwise as it is a real struggle. I’m hoping when her cold goes things might be a bit easier? as at the moment she is not sleeping in the day today as its quite bad!

Reflux really is up and down! yesterday was a great day but last night and today not good!

[Anonymous]

We had David’s one month check back yesterday after being put on iron and formula (he’s about 1/2 on formula and 1/2 breastfeeding at this point). He did well. His blood work showed improvement and the doctor was pleased.

I am glad too but also confused. His diapers have been terrible since starting iron. They have a ton of mucus and are full of black specks that I can only think must be dried blood (they are also dark green but I know that is normal for being on iron). I told the doctor this but after he saw the improved numbers he said they wouldn’t look so good if it were blood. He also said that being on iron scewed the test numbers so it really didn’t do any good to retest.

I’m glad if it’s not blood, but then what in the world is it? I begin to doubt myself. It doesn’t seem that my observations mean anything. How can he be so anemic because of bleeding in his intestinal tract when his diapers look great with no sign of blood and then how can he be doing so much better with his diapers looking so terrible? I can’t make sence of anything anymore.

His celiac test came back negative but did show low for Immunoglobulin A. Serum. As far as I can tell, it is inconclusive what a low IgA number means. The studies I saw said that low numbers were more prevalent among those tested for CD and those with CD but really all that was conclusive was that kids with intestinal problems tend to have low IgA numbers.

We did skin prick testing at the allergist and all that came up as positive was peanuts. The rest of the major allergens did not show positive. He even tested for breast milk, allimentum and Neocate. We are waiting to hear back on the blood tests. They had to be sent to Primary Children’s.

We are still looking forward to an Apt. with Christine’s GI on the 11th.

Thanks for listening!

Kara

[hellbennt]

see if the med helps- if it does then use it…

[Anonymous]

Well, we took Lucy to the doc this morning. She kept saying, “Just because Henry did that doesn’t mean Lucy will” to everything I said.

After being adamant about it, we did leave with a script. She suggested waiting to give it and didn’t want to write it at all.

She had an explination for all my concerns and said Lucy is gaining weight well. And she is, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have reflux. ARG!

Of course, Lucy was all quiet and content in the docs office. Little faker! So, that made the doc even more aprihensive.

I understood everything she said. Don’t know if I agree with it all.

Should I wait to give the med? I’m leaning toward just sticking it out for a few weeks. I just hate to see her in pain when she is.

[Anonymous]

Gosh… a bit too late for me, but I wish that I’d known about that bra back when I had a sreaching baby and was trying to pump at the same time! That’s great- I always wondered why they never had it. And regarding the pump- I also rented a hospital one and then moved on to the medela pump in style (the older version of what you bought, I believe) and I LOVED it!!! I would never use any other kind it worked so well (but that’s just my opinion). My sister gave me an avent little portable one, but it wasn’t nearly as effective for me. I also liked the discreetness of the bag it comes in- great for taking with you. Of course nursing moms know what you’re toting around, but I never felt like anyone else was any the wiser. Hope it gets easier for you soon. I found that I knew that the herbs were working when the smell was coming out of my pores… and boy did they work!!