Help 5 month old with acid reflux

[Anonymous]

Hi I’m new to this forum.I need help. I am so worried something else is wrong with my baby but doctors just tell me all babies spit up and to deal with it. I have a 5 month old girl who at 6 weeks I was told she hadn’t gained enough weight and to stop breastfeeding. She was always fussy and ate constantly. She went on Enfamil A.R. and Zantac twice a day, 1ml. She gained weight but still spits up constantly. We both change clothes several times a day. I usually leave the house late and in tears almost everyday. It’s just overwhelming! Since the A.R. formula I have tried everything, Isomil, Lacto-free, etc. nothing has worked. Since she is no longer fussy and gaining weight well (16lbs) doctors won’t do anything. Now she’s on Alimentum, todays day 2 and I’ve seen no change. She goes through at least 10 bibs a day, 5 outfits. I do laundry constantly. I need help! Anybody got any suggestions. Next week I have an appointment to see a new peds dr. so we’ll see. Thanks for any advice

[Anonymous]

Hi, there are lots of mums with more experience than me who will give you good advice but a couple of things

Is she in pain when she spits up? Most babies on this forum are on a PPI (including mine) and you will probably get a lot of advice re this. It has made a huge difference for Alana in terms of pain but not in terms of spit up. Most reflux meds will not change the amount of spit up, just whether they are in pain.

How much does she weigh- zantac is very weight sensitive- for example when my bub was about 5 kilos she was on 1ml 3 x a day. We now use a different form of zantac. But with the syrup the max dose is 10mg per kilo of body weight. So if she is 7 kilos that would be 70mg per day.

There is 150mg of Zantac in 10mls of the syrup (therefore 15mg in 1 mls).A baby who is 7 kilos could therefore have about 5 mls a day (divided into two or three times). Whilst Zantac might not be the answer, at least having the right dose whilst you are searching might give some relief from the pain (if she is in any). I know Zantac helped for Alana- just not 100%!

Good luck

[Anonymous]

medication will not stop the spitting up, it is mostly just to keep your baby from being in pain and to keep the reflux from causing esophageal damage.

[Anonymous]

Hello and welcome.

Yes, I agree with Christine. My son was intially in a lot of pain and wouldn’t eat so he went on a PPI for his reflux. The meds helped his pain, but did nothing for his spit up. He spit up or threw up constantly. He and I both changed our clothes four or five times per day and I was constantly washing puke off the walls and floors. It was very stressful to say the least, and I understand perfectly how you feel. I don’t work so most days I didn’t bother leaving the house because it was so stressful.

But like Christine said, PPI’s and H2 Blockers (like Zantac) do not help with spitting and from what I’ve read and learned here and from our doctor, if the baby is not in pain, is eating well and gaining, it’s best not to give them any motility meds for the spitting/vomitting. Myles’ doctor says these drugs (motility meds) have side effects and she doesn’t like to use them unless the baby is not gaining weight.

Hang in there. Myles finally stopped puking at around 9 months. It was a long 9 months, but it did finally stop and is now nothing but a bad memory.

[Anonymous]

I echo what everyone else has said. Also, if your baby was having some type of problem with the proteins in the formula it can take her a few weeks to get it all out of her system. Push for a PPI if you can. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for the advice. she didn’t seem to be in any pain till recently. but were not sure if its teething. She hasn’t been eating well. And has never slept well (10-20 minute naps). I will surely talk with dr about increasing zantac this week. she weighs 16lbs and gets 1ml twice a day.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes meds CAN help with the spit up, but not always, and usually only to a degree. My DD spits up alot, when she outgrows her Zantac dose, the spit up increases ALOT, is more mucousy and VERY VERY sour smelling. Last month she weighed 12.5 pounds, and was prescribed 1ml 3xday. This dosing was right smack in the middle of the dosing range for her weight. I can tell that she is just starting to outgrow her dose again, so I’ll be calling her pedi before her next appt. So there is DEFINITELY room for change with your LO’s dosing if she is 16 pounds and only on 1ml 2xday. With the proper dose, she is still a very spitty baby, but it’s just different. She is 5 1/2 months old and we are recently seeing an improvement with the introduction of baby food, but she still has some bad days. Most babies outgrow it completely by 9-12 months, Just remember, no matter how hard it is now, there WILL be a day when you long for that little baby back in your arms. Enjoy all the positives now, and please try not to stress too much. I remember at about 8 weeks old I got soooo stressed out about the spit up (it was at it’s peak then) and I really regret it now. I miss that time, I miss how small she was, and I regret that maybe I didn’t enjoy her as much as I could have if I wasn’t so consumed with the stress of her spitting problem. Now I joke that in the future the smell of spit up will bring me back to her infancy in a positive wayGood luck. This too shall pass.

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