1st Feeding Therapist appt.

[Anonymous]

11/4/08

We had our first appt. with the feeding therapist and The appt. with the therapist was good. she basically said that she thinks every bit of Phia’s problem stems from her reflux. even though the pain is now controlled the reflux still interferes with her eating which is why she seems like she is choking on the formula, she really isn’t it is just the stuff coming back up while she is eating. The formula comes back up while she is eating and apparently goes up into her nasal cavity. The therapists explanation for why Phia just stops eating sometimes even if she has only drank and ounce or two is that she says that phia’s reflux at one point was so bad and sooo painful that it is permanently imprinted in Phia’s brain and during the coarse of a feed something triggers that bad memory and causes her to quit drinking all together. Basically there isn’t much we can do, she suggested thickening her feeds to try and prevent it from coming back up while eating and when she does suddenly stop taking her bottle possibly start putting her left over formula in a sippy. I guess if we could get her to drink out of a cup earlier it could retrain her brain or revert her way of thinking. Since she will no longer be taking a bottle.

For those of you who don’t remember my situation I have reposted below: Currently Phia is 5 months old and consuming 18 – 21 ounces a day without any cereal or baby food. The pediatrician has asked us to hold off since her intake is so low. We are still adding polycose to her formula. Please let me know if any of you have been sent in this same direction I am heading and if any of this worked for you, or if you have any general thoughts or feelings about my visit or situation, Thank you!

10/8/08

Please help, my daughter just turned 4 months old and is still only consuming between 12 & 18 ounces a day. This has been going on since she was 1 & 1/2 months. We have seen the pediatrician and the GI specialist. We have had several tests done on her and she is on Prevacid 2x’s a day. She is also on polycose because she isn’t gaining weight properly. We just had our follow up appointment with the GI Specialist and he said that since she gained 1lb in 1 month he is ok with that. THe only reason she is gaining weight at all is because of the polycose (calorie additive). I am so frustrated, Before she turned 1 1/2 months she would drink normally but would cough/choke frequently during feeds and I would take sometimes up to an hour to feed. But, she always finished her bottle. Then one day she flipped the switch and while eating just decides to stop. Her feeds will vary from 1 – 5 ounces ever 4 hours. Once she stops drinking and spits the bottle out she will scream and throw a fit it you try to give it back to her. I don’t know what to do, I am so close to having a nervous breakdown. It is not right that a 4 month old, after sleeping through the night and having her last feeding at 8:30pm should wake up and only want to drink 1 ounce. I am tired of the Dr. seeming unconcerned. The pediatrician said she went from the 45th to the 30th percentile this month. Please let me know if you have been through this or know someone who has and please share any advice with me. My DD is on Enfamil Lipil, we have tried several different formulas and none of them made a difference so we just went back to the original one. I have just recently learned about the delayed stomach emptying and am currently waiting for the Dr. to call me back so that I can mention it to him. My DD is so weird as well, at one point 2 weeks ago she actually drank 20 ounces a day for 2 weeks and then all the of the sudden she dropped back down for no apparent reason. I am not sure of the exact dose she is on of the prevacid. I am sure it is the lowest dose pill, I cut it in half and give her 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 at night. Whether or not she sleeps through the night doesn’t really have an affect on her morning appetite. Through out the day she will take between 1 & 4 ounces it isn’t consistent at all. My Dd is currently on the 15mg pill. The Dr. says that is plenty for her weght. I just asked him about the delayed gastric emptying, he said that that would have been seen when we did the Upper GI study. They have now decided to do some additional bloodwork & Urine tests and then send us to a Geneticist. I just want my poor baby girl to want to eat and to enjoy eating. I am so tired from the lack of sleep and my stress ulcer. Thank you for everyones care and information.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

i am sorry your precious baby is struggling with her feedings. I really wish i could you a hug in person. Your story sounds so much like what we went through (and still strugling, but is much better) with Kendra. She struggled with her feedings since birth due to her reflux and constant vomiting. i believed her reflux was caused by food allergies and her vaccinations.

It was too late when i finally figured out what was making her reflux and vomit so bad.

Some people would think i am obssed with enzymes, but after seeing how well my dd did after adding them for a while, i can’t recomend them enough.

I would suggest you try adding plant based digestive enzymes to her milk as well as a good probiotic. Also Enfamil lipil is cow’s mil based. Consider changing her formula to Neocate or Elacare. The formula has not protein and will help heal her gut faster.

I know Neocate and Elecare are expensive, but i have some i can send you for you to trial and you can get samples from your ped and from the GI dr. If you qulify for WIC, they will cover it.

Trust me, with gut issues is better to be safe than sorry and your dd still has a chance (since she is little).

Huge hugs as i can relate so much to your story.

[Anonymous]

I have read that thickening worked for some and then for some didn’t make a noticeable difference. I have heard some use rice or oatmeal cereal to thicken. Some though had using cereal to thicken cause other issues like constipation. But, there’s also Simply Thick and Thick It products you can get at a pharmach over the counter. I know some mommas prefer one of those over the other, but I can’t remember which or why.

Does she seem to be in pain now when she is spitting up now?

Also, I’m new to all this feeding stuff so I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think there would be any harm in trying a sippy-type cup at her age?!?! It’s worth a shot.

[hellbennt]

Probiotics, brands used (also has link to enzyme info): https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8970&PN=1

[Anonymous]

Have y9ou thought about leaving the bottles behind all together. That was the first thing we did at a young age. Esp when the imprint is that severe.

I have heard of LO as young as 5 months switchin gto straws or sippy cups training to avoid the association with pain from the bottle.

[Anonymous]

Ok, so we I have now tried putting the cereal in Phia’s bottle. That led to her throwing up, I really mean throwing up her whole bottle twice the following day. So, I figured maybe it was just some sort of fuke and there is some sort of stomach bug she has I will hold off a few more days……..yesterday I took the therapists advice and tried feeding her the cereal from a spoon (a few bits a day not to fill her up and take away from her formula) she did ok maybe swallowed 2 bites in total, 3 hours later her whole bottle came back up all over her and her carseat, and an hour later she threw up again what was left in her stomach. My husband said maybe she is allergic to the cereal, I said no, she had it once or twice when she turned 4 months…..then I began to think…On Oct. 2 I tried cereal for the first time, not sure if much went down, Oct 3 she had to have an outfit change because she threw up, Oct 3 I tried cereal again not much went down that night she had a fever and threw up again and the next day still running a fever she threw up again. I took her to the Dr. and they said she had a fever virus so, I never thought anything of it. Now thinking about it the throwing up wasn’t related to the fever it was because of the cereal….Is she allergic to the cereal? If so, what do I do?

[hellbennt]

how old is she? I’d say just to skip the cereal all together…

there is no nutritional need for it, as far as I know…

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