Update on reglan and feeding questions-

[Anonymous]

I understand about being confused about whether your child is getting enough to eat. When my son was diagnosed with silent reflux the ped said we were to try to get 24oz of formula into him a day…yeah right. We were lucky to get 16oz a day…on a good day. Even now at 6 months old the most he’s doing is 24oz…and that’s FANTASTIC for him. He’s doing the best he ever has at eating and we’re taking what we can get. He’s happy and hydrated but his weight is not good. His weight is in the 3rd percentile…dropping from the 20% at 4 months. We tried reglan to help with DGE but he was so uncomfortable after the 1st dose that we decided not to use it.

I worry that he’s so tiny but since he’s happy, we’re going with it. If in the next month he doesn’t gain much we’re going to start adding extra formula powder to his bottles.

It seems we’re at the mercy of our kids and what they’ll eat. It’s all really self-preservation if you think about it. We can’t force them.

As far as amounts go with food intake, I think that children should be taking in 25-35oz per day after 3 months. But understand that these are averages…most refluxers are below average drinkers due to pain, therefore they drink less and gain slow. That’s the NEW normal that we have to deal with unfortunately.

I found that when I stopped counting the amount of ounces each day that he was eating and noticing that he was slobbering, crying real tears, and that his soft spot wasn’t sunk in…that I did a lot better. He’s just a little guy…happy and fine. Now if we can just keep him that way. 🙂

Don’t worry. Your child will even out and it will all come together. You’ll get through it with help of wonderful people on this website. I know it’s helped me tremendously. Take care.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! I think Sadie is the same way. She is just tiny, in the 10th percentile (or was) for weight, and the 25th for height at her 2 month appointment. I go back to the ped for her 4 month shots in a week, so I will be really interested to see how she is doing. You can tell she is really petite, and it doesn’t help that she was 4 weeks early either. She seems like she will be longer and leaner, so I am trying not to count the ounces a day. She sleeps 10-11 hours at night still, and we try to get in as much formula as we can during the day, but her little tummy only holds so much, and as you all know, the more you overfeed, the worse the reflux is. She also has DGE, so it is even worse to overfeed her, as she just keeps the formula in her tummy for so long!

So, I will try and sit back, relax, etc. She is reaching the rest of her milestones, for the most part, although I think her head is so heavy that her little neck can’t quite hold it up yet, and she hates tummy time! I figure that she will develop on her own timetable, and as long as she’s happy, then I need to stop worrying! not so easy to do!

Thanks for the advice!

[Anonymous]

Glad to hear that things are going well overall. Try not to worry about the numbers (ounces)… look at the whole picture.

[Author]

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