Search Results for 'breast feeding'

[Anonymous]

Hi Wendy,

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I’ve had two refluxers also, with my second son being much worse than my first.

In response to your question, silent reflux or milk intolerance, I would just say to consider the possibility that it’s BOTH. Both of my sons have had protein intolerances plus reflux.

I’ll share what I’ve learned with my second son Nathan who’s now 5 months old, and hopefully it will help you. He had many of the same symptoms you mention — excess gas, grunting, straining, arching back while feeding, smelly gas — and all of these things went away when I started the total elimination diet (breastfeeding). So in our case, all of these symptoms were due to what I’ve come to realize is multiple food protein intolerance (MFPI). I would think Neocate should help with those symptoms since I think it’s the formula equivalent of TED breastmilk….somebody please correct me if I’m wrong.

However, even while I was still on the very strict basic TED, Nathan still had lots of trouble sleeping. He would basically only nap for one sleep cycle at a time (20-30 minutes in those early days), then wake up screaming in pain. He would be up til midnight or later crying and then finally crash. Other symptoms included sucking his pacy like his life depended on it and also extreme twisting/arching his back between feedings (Sandifer’s symptoms). These symptoms, in our case, are caused by plain old reflux (GERD), which I think is due to an immature valve in the esophagus that opens when it shouldn’t to let stomach contents flow back up and burn. I think that’s why some reflux babies suck their pacy’s so hard….trying to get something to soothe their burning throats 🙁

Anyway, these latter symptoms did not go away until we got Nathan on a HIGH dose of Prevacid (30 mg). We went through Zantac and Axid with little/no improvement. Then we started on Prevacid at 7.5 mg, then 15, then 22.5 — and we did not have a happy baby til 30 mg. Even now, he sometimes has bad days, but it’s much more manageable. We use Zantac in between Prevacid doses to help because Nathan’s reflux is so bad. By the way, have you checked out http://www.marci-kids.com yet? It has very good info about PPI drugs like Prevacid, which your little guy might need.

Don’t give up!!! You’re definitely on the right track, and you seem to know a LOT more than I did at that stage of the game. If I were you, I’d try Neocate for a couple of weeks, and if he’s still having trouble, go for a PPI like Prevacid, then get the dose as high as he needs it.

Hope this helps you. Good luck on Monday!! Please let us know how it goes.

[Anonymous]

Sorry if this is going to be long, but I want to make sure that I don’t leave anything out. I did post about the Neocate formula and gave a little history, but I really wanted to see what other mothers with experience think could be going on (just from your experience) and I want to make sure I am armed with all the info. I need when I go to the GI specl. on Monday. So any advice there will be nice.

I have read a lot of Info. on the message boards, but I really just wanted to hear from other Mothers and get your advice and option.

My son Tyler is now 6 weeks old. He was born at 36.5 weeks and weighed 5 lbs. 14 oz. He was perfect, no health problems.

I planned on breastfeeding, but he was having latching problems and they said to supplement with formula to get his weight up.

So in the hospital he was given Enfamil Gentlease formula (they did this because my 2 year old had MSPI).

We were told to transition him to Nestle Good Start when we got home though.

So day 3 at home, we did good start. When he was 5 days old we went to the Ped. for a weight check and he had lost a little more weight and he was SO CONSTIPATED, the doctor had to clean him out. At this time we had the hardest time keeping him awake to eat, so he was not eating alot. She said he had to drink more and that was the reason he was constipated. She actually said she has never seen an infant so constipated 🙁

That same day, my breastmilk finally came in, but we were still having latching problems, so I pumped and gave to him in a bottle. He has terrible gas and crying from pain.

9 days old took in for another weight check and his weight was back to birth weight.

The next 5 days was awful. He was very gassy, mucus in his poop and had diaherra. I stopped breastmilk to see if that was causing it and switched over to Lactose Free. That made him so constipated that at his 2 week check-up he had to be cleaned out again and there was blood in his poop (doctor says from a tear).

So next we went to Ready to Feed Alimentum. He was still very very gassy, grunting, straining, groaning, arching back, screaming, crying, cannot sleep longer than 1 1/2 hours at a time. He was on that for 3 days.

At 3 1/2 weeks old, the doctor said to try Enfamil Gentlease again. It is made for babies with gas. His bowel movements became normal looking, but smelled like rotten eggs and he still had such bad gas and very smelly. Still not sleeping, arching back, kicking legs straight out and wanted to eat NON STOP. Almost every hour. He was drinking about 40 oz. formula a day.

Last Thursday I took him to see a different doctor. His weight was 9 lbs. 1 oz. He had gained 56 oz. in 3 weeks and should have only gained 21 oz. She said he is drinking WAY TO MUCH and this is causing his stomach issues.

So we started on Nutramigen and AXID for reflux. The gas did seem a little better and did not smell, but still the constant grunting, straining. He is just not comfortable at all. He gets really red in the face and crys out in pain. He never spits up though, very very rarely. You can here him spit up and swallow it back down though.

It is like he is constipated, but has soft bowel movements.

So Tuesday. we had an Upper GI done (Barium Swallow). It showed a perfect stomach ananomy and very mild reflux.

It is like clock work though, 1.5 hours after he eats he is is such pain. He wakes up gruting and straining and then passes gas and then crys 🙁

So the GI doctor told us that we had to really have him not eating so much. We were told to feed him 4 oz. every 4 hours. But he wants to eat every 1.5 to 2 hours. He will suck the heck out of a pacifier, like he is dieing.

So now, started today, we are trying Neocate. He has had 6 bottles and no improvement, but I know it want happen over night.

So we have a GI appt. on Monday. I want to make sure I have everything I need, so any advice at all..

We need HELP.. Her has not sleep longer than 1.5 hours day or night.

My first son was MSPI and had silent reflux (found out later), he was never this bad though. I thought he was bad.. He could handle Nutramigen. He also never had as much gas.

Has anyone experienced the same thing??????

Thank you so much, Wendy

[Anonymous]

Hello! My son is 6 weeks old and has been having so many stomach issues since about 5 days old. Here is a quick history of our feeding with him.

Enfamil Gentease in the hospital (did fine with it)

Day 3: Carnation Good Start and breastmilk – Had very very bad gas, crying and became very constipated.

Then tried Regular Enfamil and and breastmilk and got diaherra and extreme gas

Then went to Lactose Free and got so constipated he had to be cleaned out by our doctor and had blood in his poop (doctor says from a tear).

Then went to Alimentum formula and still was very very gassy and always crying in pain, grunting, straining.

Then tried Gentlease and his bowel movements were normal and soft, but smelled like rotten eggs and he still had tons and tons of gas and still constant crying, grunting, straining.

Finally went to Nutramigen and started Axid for silent reflux.

So that is where we are now. He is having normal bowel movements, but grunts and strains and his stomach gets hard as a rock. Does not sleep longer than 1 1/2 hours at a time to be wakened by gas or grunting and straining. It is like he is constipated or trying to have a bowel movement 24 hours a day, but his poops are normal.

So now we are going to try Neocate or Elecare. We have a GI appt. Monday morning, but I can’t keep him on the Nutramigen over the weekend. He is in to much pain. I got free samples of both from the Childrens Hospital, but now am confused on which one to start with.

Is there a difference? Did you have success on one v/s the other. Does anyone know what a GI specialist normally starts infants off on.

Thanks so much!!Wendy

[Anonymous]

We went to a second doctor after Jackson was prescribed zantac and it did not seem to be working. He was crying all day and feeding for hours on end. I had been told by the first doctor that he was comfort feeding and that he had a really sore throat. Well, we went to another doctor because the medicine was not working and the doctor wanted to wait 2 weeks before moving on to something else. The second doctor took one look at Jackson and said to try giving him a bottle. She thought that most of his fussiness was not due to pain, but hunger! She did not think that I was supplying enough breastmilk. She was right! He does still have reflux and needs the zantac, but he has seemed so happy since we were on formula. So, for those of you whose babies are “comfort feeding,” you may want to rule out breastfeeding issues first. My little one was not getting enough nutrition from me and the doctor did not even think about potential breastfeeding problems since he had GERD. Just wanted to tell my story so that noone else has this happen. Jackson was losing weight despite his marathon feedings until we started formula. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Still Breastfeeding and still not sleeping 🙁

[Anonymous]

When she was crying sooo bad/refluxey:

For some reason this worked 85% of the time:

We would put Audrey in her car seat and turn the dryer on and set the seat on top of it. I have NO idea why it worked but it soothed her. CRAZY, right? But you do what you got to do for them. She took all of her naps that way until she was 2 months old.

Swaddling worked maybe 25% of the time.

Comfort breast feeding worked some too.

Turning on the vacuum or hair dryer worked 25% of the time too.

Walking and talking to her at the same time. Worked 60% of the time. Often worked to get her to sleep at night.

Any one else?

[Anonymous]

Hi!

We’ve had a very similar experience…our primary care physician gave us the Zantac and it worked for a month or so and then stopped. That’s when we were referred to the GI specialist. She reluctantly gave us a prescription for Prevacid. My DD was taking 7.5mg of the Solutabs in the morning only. We went back to the doc after two weeks and I told her that it seemed like the medicine only worked for part of the day so she told me to change the time of day I gave it to her. So I did that for about two days and then just increased her dosage on my own. I now give her 7.5 in the morning and 7.5 in the evening. I figure I’ll fight with the doc at our next appointment about a new prescription since I will have exhausted our 2 month supply in one month!! But I have a happy baby now!! However, I have also noticed a BIG decrease in poop!! I’m also breastfeeding so I know that you’re used to getting poop everytime you feed her right?? Who would have ever thought less poop would be a bad thing?? Anyway, from what I understand, it’s ok for them to not poop everyday as long as they aren’t uncomfortable in the in-between times or as long as they aren’t struggling to poop. As far as the not sleeping…we went through a week or so of that at the beginning of this month but once I increased her dosage that stopped so I’m not sure why your LO is still having that problem.

[hellbennt]

Colette,

if you want to continue breastfeeding & have not done the elimination diet, you might want to try it to pinpoint what, if naything that you’re eating is affecting your baby…

[hellbennt]

by morning one if you mean the first one of the day, I would say that’s the hardest one to drop and I would save that one for last,

at least that’s MY experience. I actually found that it was easier, when I was down to 2x a day, to drop the before bed one rather than the 1rst one in the morning. again, I breastfeed, but I think it’s comparable…

what I would do/did is to offer a dairy snack (if baby isn’t mspi!) at the time of a ‘milk feeding’ (ie breastfeeding or bottle)- so if I breastfed him 1st thing in the morning, I then gave breakfast and then after breakfast at the time for another ‘milk feeding’ I’d sit baby down for a snack of yogurt or cheese and some fruit, etc, and I ALWAYS have a sippy of water out & about & available to baby/toddler at all times…

HTH

[hellbennt]

you might not like my opinion…

who cares about bottles? I mean the actual drinking from a bottle…

I think our society is way too hung up on the whole sucking thing! so what if a 12month old drinks from a bottle? what if you were breastfeeding? I am still breastfeeding my 15 month old. It’s just one time a day (5am; I am way too lazy to go give him a bottle/sippy and he’ll go back to sleep until 7am, but I’m on the verge/cusp of weaning him not that I need to explain, lol) , but that could be seen as a bottle a day at 15 months old…and I breastfed jonah until 15 months (same scenario).

My niece had a bottle a day until she was really ‘old’ (probably about 3yrs old ) so that’s ‘extreme.’ She’s almost 5yrs old now and FINE. No orthadontic issues, no other issues. I’m not sure I would tell anyone to let it go on as long as it did with her, but hey, to each their own!

anyway my point is to do what you feel is right and to really think about why you’re deciding to have your baby give up the bottle at 12 months old…is it because the dr told you? because ‘they say?’ is it because friends & family are pressuring you? OR, is it that your baby isn’t showing as much interest in the bottle anymore and it’s a ‘natural’ process he’s going through?

food for thought….

ps: edited to add that I’m SO not ranting at YOU!!!!

I just got on my soapbox, said my spiel, and hopped right off

hellbennt2007-10-20 21:21:36

[hellbennt]

Erica wrote: Butter, could be it…. Caffine never bothered my kids…… But I drank a pop a day during both pregnancies! Yes, I’m a caffine addict!

I avoided caffeine when pregnant with Jonah but with Ari I had one cup of coffee a day

caffeine didn’t seem to affect my babies either when breastfeeding…

but I have heard that it does affect some…

if it’s the butter, it might take a week to clear out of your system- that is if you’ve been milk protein free for 2 +plus weeks- if you’ve been eating dairy all along then I rather doubt butter would do it?

[Anonymous]

Julie, check out the thread stickied under the medications forum called “about pharmacy compounded PPIs”. That will tell you exactly how to get it compounded. I’m not sure where you read about compounding with chocolate, but a properly compounded PPI is made without ANY flavouring agents whatsoever- no flavour, no sweeteners, sugars or syrups. It’s pretty much the medication, sodium bicarbonate, and water. The thread I’m talking about describes how it needs to be made- 16.8 percent sodium bicarbonate, between 2-4mg/ml such that each dose given is at least 3.5ml.

We were on compounded prilosec for a long time b/c it was the only PPI available in Canada at the time. This is just our experience, but even when the dose was fine, it never worked b/c it wasn’t being made correctly. My daughter developed a serious feeding aversion and bottle/breast aversion which was very difficult to resolve.

I’m not trying to scare you, I just noticed that the behaviours you’re describing with your son- pulling off when feeding- is a sign of reflux pain, and I’d hate for you to have to go through what we did.

As for the PPI, you have a few options: First try to get the doc to up your dose if he will. Then you can try to get your pharmacy to prepare the compound correctly, but if you do, ask for a printout of all the ingredients so you know what’s in there. Also, beware that prilosec compounded without flavouring tastes terrible… very bitter. Also, with the compound you need to keep it in the fridge and only get it in two week doses. Alternately, you can try zegerid which is a stable prilosec suspension, that hopefully someone else can comment on as we don’t get it in Canada. Another option is to switch to the prevacid solutabs, which are easy to give, only thing is that you need to time them- 30 minutes before a meal on an empty stomach, which can be hard to do with a baby.

Good luck.

[hellbennt]

yay! for some sleep!

there’s a ‘breastfeeding’ section here, if you read through/scroll down:

https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853&PN=1&TPN=1

& babywearing SAVED us https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1044&PN=1

keep us posted!

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I just want to give you some support regarding breastfeeding and meeting resistance from family or friends…

I have bf all 3 of our refluxers, and every time I have had comments from my MIL like, “Have you tried switching his diet?” “Well, you’re certainly braver than I am!” or “Are you sure the breastfeeding isn’t causing more problems?”

I did TED too, and it didn’t help a thing! To me, if TED doesn’t help anything, it’s probably just reflux and not a food allergy or intolerance. I don’t think it would make sense to switch to a hypoallergenic formula if TED didn’t solve the problem.

Hang in there with the breastfeeding if that is what you wish to do. Don’t let others discourage you (easier said than done). Before you know it, your baby will be doing much better especially if you can get the medication dosage right.

I will tell you that we have kind of a weird case in that the Prevacid didn’t help our son (even on the maximum dose), and TED didn’t help. Nothing really helped except time. It was almost like he just had an immature digestive system, because once he reached 6 months old he was a new baby.

I know how hard this is for you, because I’ve been through it 3 times. It WILL get better I promise. I know that doesn’t help you now, but maybe it will give you hope. There were times when I was counting the days (literally) until Caden would outgrow this. He has had the worst colic of all our kids, so it has been really tough. Now that he is almost a year old, things are so much better. He still isn’t a great sleeper, but that may just be him…I don’t know if reflux is the problem anymore, because he is so happy during the day and takes decent naps (2 hour).

If anyone gives you a hassle about breastfeeding, you can share with them that it doesn’t really make sense to switch to formula when removing all potential allergens from your diet didn’t help the baby. It is most likely just reflux and will be outgrown in time.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Hi there. Sorry that things are so rough. I agree with the others. I’d stick it out with the PPI, and if that doesn’t work, then I’d ask for a higher dose. Also, I don’t know much about the elimination diet, but maybe others who do can chime in on that one. About switching to formula, you have to do what’s right for you. But I did want to say that we eventually stwitched from BF to soy thinking that it would be our answer, and it wasn’t. In fact, it was worse b/c breast milk is supposed to be easier to diegest. In the end, you do what’s right for you, but I just wanted to let you know that formula wasn’t our saviour. There are special formulas out there if you do decide to go that route in the end, but as I said, I know that there are some moms on this site who have done the elimination diet and figured things out that way. In the meantime, can you try some mylanta supreme before feedings and see if that helps. About getting a GI, I’ve really learned through this whole experience with Hailey, that you need to fight for what you believe in. Reflux might be “common”, as in GER is common, but GERD is not, and it’s not normal for babies to suffer like that despite what any doctor says. I hated when doctors used to tell me that, and if they said any such thing, or told us that we just had to wait for her to outgrow it then I never went back. I know this sounds harsh, but I figured that if this was a problem that Hailey was dealing with then we needed a doc who was going to be on our side, and who didn’t belittle the situation, and who would try to help us. We went through tons of different doctors until we got Hailey on the right dose of meds and got the testing done that we needed. I’m writing this late at night, so I don’t know what the tone sounds like. If it sounds anything other than supportive, I apologize. I know how hard it can be. I just think that it’s important to do what you think it right. So even if your doc doesn’t think that you need to see a ped GI, if your doc isn’t taking you seriously, then push for whatever help you want. If you let us know where you’re located, then maybe someone here can recommend someone for you. Good luck.