I need your advice

[Anonymous]

Okay, so far Alexandra has been so much easier than Kaelyn, so I’m definitely very thankful. However, I’ve found that I can’t judge “normal” with her because Kaelyn was never even close to normal. Alex is definitely not suffering from reflux in the same way that Kaelyn did, but she has had problems with gas and with gaining weight. She was born 4 weeks early, but she was a healthy 6 lbs 10 oz. However, within a week, she had dropped to 5 lbs 10 oz and it took her 4 weeks to get back to her birthweight. Despite her frequent nursing and my pumping 8 times a day (and bottle feeding that to her), I never produced enough milk. I worked with the ped and a lactation counselor, but we could never get my production above about 10 oz a day. So, in week 3, we started pumping exclusively and supplementing with Nutramigen. From the beginning, I had also been doing a fairly extensive elimination diet (all of the major allergens, tomato products, caffeine, chocolate and very limited amounts of citrus). Starting at around 4 weeks, Alex started having lots of gas issues. It seems to be getting progressively worse. After almost every feed, she is horribly uncomfortable until we can get her to burp or pass gas. Sometimes this happens very quickly and sometimes it takes a little while. This is the only time that she’s ever fussy, so it’s really not hard for us to handle (especially after the nightmare that we experienced with Kaelyn).

Sorry for the long background info. So, here’s my question. Is this normal? If lots of babies do this then I’m not worried about it, but after all of Kaelyn’s allergy issues I’m kind of panicky about catching them early this time around. About a week ago, we switched to just Nutramigen to rule out any foods that I hadn’t eliminated. I’m still pumping and freezing in case it doesn’t work. It doesn’t seem to have made a difference. But, Nutramigen does have milk proteins, so it could be the problem. I’m now only able to pump about 6 oz a day, so switching to breastfeeding alone is not an option. Thanks for your help!

pkkb2006-7-13 15:48:49

[Anonymous]

Kim,

We are experiencing the gas problems with Taylor too. I was having problems with my milk production as well so I just stopped trying since it just took so long to pump just to get 1oz it’s hard to do with Alexis around wanting to play. Anyways, Taylor does have MSPI and we also think she is allergic to corn starch which is in Nutramigen so we switched her to Alimentum she’s doing better but not 100%. She has such a hard time passing gas very painful and a hard time passing a bowel movement as well. Everytime she eats she tries to pass gas, so it just ends up with her crying so we have to feed her bouncing on a pilates ball to help bring down the gas. We are currently using Levsin drops and Coxynal drop so far it has definitely help with the gas. The GI feels that her reflux is caused by her IBS (colic) since she feels so bloated and has a hard time passing the gas it backs up her system and sometimes causes it to come up her throat. She’s on Prilosec as preventative but her main issue is the gas.

[hellbennt]

here’s this:

what’s the connection between gas and reflux?

Gas is created when something isn’t digested properly; for example,
beans are generally harder to digest than other foods, which is why
they are notorious for causing gas in most people (they are generally
not a common problem with breastfed babies through mom’s milk, though;
this is just a common example to help make sense.)

Also, gas puts pressure on the esophageal sphincter (the muscle at the
top of the stomach that helps move and keep things down), making it
easier for whatever is in the stomach to be refluxed.

also, did you guys see this post? it’s a little off [the]topic [you’re discussing], but also a little relevant, and, well, I found it interesting…

https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6013&a mp;PN=1

[Anonymous]

Sorry Kim, I can be of no help since Seth definitely was not “normal” and I did not breastfeed. Just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you guys.

One thought though- maybe you could try the gas drops or Mylanta before every feed to see if that helps with the gas? I remember before Seth was diagnosed with the reflux, that was one of the first “fixes” suggested to us.

[Anonymous]

Is she fine after she burps or passes gas? If so, it sounds like typical newborn digestive issues to me. I agree with Tiffany…giving gas drops or Mylanta before feeding may help. I did that with Myles and I’m convinced he burped better if I gave him the gas drops before feeding him.

Also, you mentioned in your other post that she gags and chokes while feeding. If it’s not reflux which I hope it’s not, it’s possible that she’s swallowing a lot of air while eating. Finding the right bottle/nipple may help a lot if that’s the problem. Burping after every ounce or two may also help.

The playtex ventaire nipples are extremely slow compared to other nipples I’ve used. Maybe they would work for her.

[Anonymous]

ditto what christine said. also, some babies are just more difficult to burp. when our twins were little, kevin could always burp them easier than i could. he had watched the nurses in the nursery and did it just like they did.

i also had a baby that didn’t need to be burped.

you can take reglan to increase your milk production. a friend of mine was able to nurse her last baby longer than her first 3 because she took reglan for a short period of time. her milk supply had dwindled with the first three.

[hellbennt]

there’s someone here, too, who recently posted about taking reglan to help get back to nursing…

[Anonymous]

If you’re open to homeopathic medicines, we found Hyland’s colic tablets to really help relieve Carter’s gas better than the Mylicon.

As for your question about ‘normal’ babies….unfortunately I have no experience in that department. Good luck & keep us posted!

[Anonymous]

Be careful with the Hyland’s colic tablets since they contain lactose if you think there is some MSPI issues use Cocytnal instead. I made the mistake of giving Taylor the Hyland’s and she was in horrible pain but when we recently gave her the Cocytnal she seems to do much better.

[Anonymous]

How about trying Neocate?

Or, for us, it made a huge difference to switch to the ready to feed liquid. Have you tried that?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all of the great input! I’m hoping that Christine and Christine are right and it’s just normal newborn behavior! I’ve thought about Neocate, but her ped doesn’t see the need yet (and I’m still not convinced that she needs it either). Trying the RTF is actually a really good idea, I hadn’t thought of that even though I’ve read several times on here about people having more success with the liquid.

The lactation consultant suggested reglan, but my doctor was really reluctant to do it because Kaelyn had a funky reaction to it. Plus, it tends to cause depression and I had a major case of ppd with Kaelyn. So far I’ve managed to avoid it with Alex and they didn’t want to trigger anything. I can’t do fenugreek (sp?) or mother’s milk tea because I’m allergic to peanuts and they are in the same family. My milk supply is dwindling quickly so I think that I’ll have to give it up soon. Plus, we kept Kaelyn in daycare for the first 4 weeks and I’ve had family visiting since then, but next week I’ll be on my own with both girls. As Sue mentioned, pumping is really hard when I have Kaelyn running around. I just don’t see myself being able to continue doing it when everyone leaves.

[Anonymous]

We tried Neocate on Taylor but it didn’t make a difference. She still had bad gas and she actually became very constipated with green poops on the Neocate. I guess we had her on it long enough for her stomach to be able to tolerate other formulas but not well enough to tolerate a milk or soy based formula. Kim if you want to try the Neocate, I still have a new container that expires 10/06 that I can send to you just e-mail me your address if you want to give it a shot jclevel1@sbcglobal.net

[Anonymous]

About the Neocate– This is something I wish I knew– it takes a good few weeks of trial on it to notice a difference. We only tried it for a week and it just wasn’t long enough to get good results.

Have you contacted the lalache league about your nursing issues? They are an amazing support. I wish I had stuck with it longer. I just didn’t have the support I needed.

[hellbennt]

Amy, I just posted about this: Misconceptions about how Neocate & Elecare work: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6013

[Anonymous]

domperidone will also help increase you milk supply. maybe this would be a better option? it increases the production of prolactin.

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