Is this reflux–and if so, what to do?!

[Anonymous]

Hello all! We’redesperately seeking solutions to the very probable

issues of reflux in our daughter.

To make a long story short, Syd’s main issue is that

she often wakes multiple times during the

night–often, picking her up then elicits a burp, and this frequently

comes as long as an hour after a feeding. She also exhibits other

symptoms, especially “wet” sounding burps, some spitting up, excessive

drooling and painful burping/spit up as long as an

hour after feeding.

We’ve spoken to our doctor this week and are trying

some immediate recommendations, such as propping her

at a 30-degree angle when feeding, keeping her upright

10-15 minutes after feedings, putting her crib

mattress at a 30-degree angle, etc. Our doctor has

told us to try these things this week, then call on

Friday to check in, which we will do.

In the meantime, I’m reaching out to you all because

we’re desperately seeking solutions. The biggest

problem is the night wakings. It’s making everyone in

the house unhappy, for obvious reasons.

To give a small example, the first night we propped

her mattress on the doc’s recommendation, she slept 7

solid hours. That was Monday. We were overjoyed. Last

night, she was up again every 2 hours. I have no idea

why. Was it something that I ate that got into her

diet? (I’m almost exclusively breastfeeding–was supplementing a bit with

formula but dropped it as it seemed to make her spitting up worse.) Was

it the fact that we tried NOT swaddling her

since she’s breaking out of the swaddle? There are so

many variables, it’s hard to say. The only constant is

frequent nights of very bad sleep for everyone, which

is taking its toll.

Please let me know if you’re having or have had any

similar experiences, and any advice you’ve got. We’d

be eternally grateful for solutions.Kareng72007-6-27 15:30:29

[Anonymous]

Hi and welcome!

I’m glad you found us, and I hope you can get some good advice and support here. I think the best thing you can do for your little girl is to get her on a PPI medication (like Prevacid) right away. Once we started my son on Prevacid, it made a huge difference. Meanwhile, you might try giving her a little Mylanta. I would continue with the elevated mattress as well. Good luck with everything! I hope you can get things sorted out soon and little Syd can get some relief.

[Anonymous]

Hi and Welcome,

We have had a very similar experience with our son, Caden (now 8 months old).

When he was newborn he slept great at night (up to 9 hours at a time), but this slowly changed into waking every 30 minutes to an hour until he was about 4 months old. He has gradually improved from there.

Until you get your baby on a good medication (most people here recommend PPIs such as Prevacid or Zegerid) she will probably not improve with the sleep issues. For us, time improved his sleep the most, because we never got him on the right medication. He is now 8 months old and still wakes a couple of times per night (sometimes 4 or more), but he will go a good stretch now of 4-6 hours most nights. So, as they get older they sleep better. However, for many babies on this site the rigth medication helped their sleep issues at an early age, so that is something to think about.

Have you tried TED (the elimination diet)? Dr. Sears is a well known doctor on the internet, and you can go to his website to read about TED. This diet eliminates the most common foods that cause problems. It’s very strict, and be prepared to be hungry and get bored with the diet really quickly. Also, be prepared that it may not make any difference. If your daughter is intolerant to something your eating, it could make all the difference in the world. I know there are a couple of moms on this site who were able to discern which foods were bothering their breastfed babies by doing TED. It didn’t help us at all

I would think that not swaddling her would cause her to wake more, especially if she is used to that. I have heard of people unswaddling just one arm and then both arms, working their way to unswaddling completely. That may work for her too.

You have come to the right place here, because there are many moms (and dads) who have found solutions that really work with their reflux babies. I hope you will find some answers here soon!

Oh, and I SO understand the sleep deprivation issues and how it effects the whole family! It is so hard, isn’t it? Do you have any family who can help you take a nap once in awhile? That made all the difference for me in the beginning. My husband came home during his lunch hour on a couple of occasions and walked the baby around while I took a nap (with a box fan turned on so I couldn’t hear him crying). My mom also took off from work a couple of times to help me out. It just helped me get by during those difficult times.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Hello and welcome,

I’ve had two reflux babies so I sure know how hard it is. My first refluxer was never treated properly and she was up every 20 – 60 minutes all night long every night of her life until she outgrew her reflux at 9 months. It was a horrible 9 months.

My second reflux baby did much better because thankfully I found this site and http://www.marci-kids.com and I got him on a good dose of Prevacid. Once his dose was right he was a new baby. I’d reccommend asking for a PPI medication like Prevacid or Zegerid. Very few babies get any lasting relief from Zantac or the other H2 Blockers (Pepcid/Axid).

In the meantime you can try some Mylanta Cherry Supreme. Many of us use it for our babies. It can provide some temporary relief until you get her meds right. I’d start with 1 ml up to 4 times a day. (I was giving Myles 2 mls at 5 months of age and 16 lbs). Too much will cause loose stools, so then you’ll know to reduce the dose. If she sleeps better after a squirt of mylanta, that would be a good indication that reflux is what is keeping her up. (But if it doesn’t help that doesn’t rule out reflux becasue Mylanta doesn’t help all babies).

Also, many reflux babies are MSPI (milk/soy protein intolerant), so your diet may contribute to her problems. The only way to really know is to elmininate milk and soy (including hidden milk and soy) from your and see if she improves, but it can take 2 weeks or more for the proteins to be eliminated from her body and your’s, so the results will not be immediate. It’s usually best to try one thing at a time, so maybe work on getting her meds right first and then if she’s still uncomfortable work on the diet.

Be sure to look at Laura’s intro link (stickied in the Introduce Yourself forum). It has lots of valuable information which may help you.

Well, I’m glad you found us and I hope we can help.

[hellbennt]

Groupie Intro: my intro: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853&am p;PN=1&TPN=1

[Anonymous]

karen—how old is your little one?

[Anonymous]

kevieb wrote: karen—how old is your little one?

She’s four months tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

momof4 wrote:

Hi and Welcome,

P]Have you tried TED (the elimination diet)? 

Actually, I just started it today. Got a bowl of steamed green squash and

pear slices right here. MMMMmmmm….??? So we’ll see if that helps.

Yesterday, when we had the bad night, I did eat some pretty harsh stuff

so that could be a problem. I’m trying a dietary “reset” right now.

And I do have some help. My mom–who lives in another state–flies out

every other week and stays with us to help, God bless her. But it’s still

hard.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to all who’ve replied so far. I really appreciate your advice and

empathy. It’s hard to believe the year is 2007 and it seems we still know

very little about babies and “colic”/reflux. I had it bad as a baby and my

mother’s just dismayed at how hard it still is to get anywhere today. So

I’m glad I found y’all, too.

[Anonymous]

I am not sure if anyone picked up the small note of you saying that formula

made her spit up more.

This leads me to believe that she may have a milk allergy. Meaning that yor

diet could use the adjustment as well. That is given that your formula was

milk based.

Sound right ladies?

[Anonymous]

Hi and Welcome. I won’t reiterate the wise words of all the other ladies. Re the swaddling, you could try a cot sheet (most swaddle warps get a little to smalle at that age). Or just go to the store and buy a bigger piece of material and use that as a wrap. We used the Kiddapotomas Swaddle Me Wrap for awhile with some success.

http://www.kiddopotamus.com/index.html

I still swaddle Alana sometimes when she is a bit over tired and stimulated.

Goodluck.

[hellbennt]

good for you, your husband, your mom-

the BABY

Babywearing: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1044&a mp;PN=1

[Anonymous]

Hi-
Just wanted to put in my 2 cents. Our Ella has mild reflux, and has done well on Zantac for about a month, and we’re not up to the max dose for her weight yet. Our ped suggested using it until it doesn’t work because the PPI’s are the next step, and you can’t go back. Also, we are on a hypoallergenic formula- nutramagin, which may help if your baby’s reflux was worse on the regular formula. The zantac does taste horrible, but our baby got used to it. We just squirted it in in between sucks off the bottle and now she doesn’t even grimace anymore.

Good luck.

[Author]

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