Reflux

Reflux is something that a lot of us have battled with our babies. For me, it was one of the most difficult things about those first few months. It's heartbreaking to see your baby(ies) in pain/refusing to eat and spitting up constantly. We would like to create this resource for moms that are currently battling the reflux monster. Please share your stories, what worked, and what did not work for your babies, and also when the reflux resolved. This thread will be linked to the FY Handbook sticky at the top of the forum! Thank you!

:love0028:

 

One of my twins has "silent" reflux - which is where she doesn't spit up or anything, but just refuses to eat. They were born at 38w4d, but my reflux baby was only 5lb2oz, and didn't have a suck reflex - so she had to learn how to suck - so we couldn't BF her, we ended up syringe feeding her for a while until she would at least drink from a bottle. At about 3 weeks old, I took her to the pedi because even though she could suck, she refused to eat and screamed through every feeding - she also smelled like sour milk. We propped her after feedings, they slept in the swings, all to help with the reflux. We put her on Zantac. It took 3 whole weeks (until she was 6-8 weeks old) for her not to scream through every feeding.

At 5 months, she is still on Zantac, because if she isn't, her milk intake goes way down, and she doesn't eat much to begin with (she's only 10.5 pounds).

It was a tough time, but it didn't last forever!

 

My ds has reflux. It started when he was only 2 weeks old and was bf, he began throwing up his entire feedings and losing weight. I was sad because he was my good nurser but had to be bottle fed Enfimil AR and then later EBM with rice added, that has been what works for us. We recently tried just bm to try to get him back to nursing and using Zantac but he screams at the top of his lungs after a feeding when no rice is added so that is what we have to do. He is a big chunky monkey now!
Reflux can be very frustrating but once you find something that helps it isnt so bad.
Good luck to all of you reflux moms! I know I had it when I was pregnant and I can relate to why he screams!

 

My boys started at about 6 weeks actual with lots of grunting at night and just not being able to settle down to sleep. Then the arching and screaming came while trying to eat. As we tried to push through it, Derek began spitting up alot but not Tyler. We had just started them on Zantac and adding 1 teaspoon of cereal per ounce of formula to each bottle. After about 3 days of no relief on Zantac the Ped started them on Prevacid and referred us to a Pediatric Gastroenterologist. The Prevacid gave them pain relief and we started to see improvement while eating and they were just happier. But Derek was continuing to spit up even with the cereal in his bottle. So we saw the GI and he recommended keeping them on the Prevacid, changing Derek to Alimentum for a possible milk allergy (blood on stool test was positive), keeping them still (no rocking chair) and upright for 30-45 minutes after each feed, and thickening the feeds with 2 teaspoons of cereal per ounce of formula. Going from 1 teaspoon of cereal to 2 teaspoons per ounce was the best suggestion I could have gotten. By that night he was no longer spitting up large amounts and he continued to thrive.

Fast forward to 6 months and they were in total maintenance mode. Still on the Prevacid, Tyler was on the Enfamil AR (special formula with rice already added in it and no extra added), and Derek was doing great on the thickened feeds and Alimentum. We weaned Tyler from the meds and special formula at 8 months with no issues and we weaned Derek from the meds and thickened feedings and continued to keep him on the Alimentum through the first year.

Reflux is difficult. Its so hard to see your little ones in pain but it does go away for most with age.

 

My boys both had reflux from about 2month actual age (so 40weeks) on. We had no clue what was wrong, I hadn't found this sight yet and my doctor never mentioned reflux. They were gaining weight well and not spiting up huge amounts but they were soooo unhappy to eat and would scream so much that I dreaded every feeding.

Finally a public health nurse at my library suggested reflux (she also had a preemie) she got me a referral to a dietition who came to the house the next day and confirmed it was reflux. We went to the Dr and got an Rx for Zantac, it didn't work right away and I freaked out and took them to the childrens hospital 2h away, where they basically told me to up the amount and go home. After about 5 days or so we started seeing a difference and then it just got better and better. It was so great for us, the stress level in this house over the reflux and not knowing what it was was killer but we got through it and both boys were off the meds at 7 months actual age.

Putting them in bouncy chairs, holding them slightly up right during feeding and raising the head of the mattress all worked for us.

Erica

 

Great Idea Becky! :give_rose:

My DS had reflux. He was diagnosed with it at 8 weeks and given zantac. That worked until he was about 3.5 months old. He was then put on prevacid and they told me that if this didn't work, we'd have to go see a specialist. Well, it worked for a bit. Then he started showing all the signs again. We made an appt. with the specialist but had to wait a month and a half for the appointment, eventhough I told them it was an infant and it was getting bad. I kept taking him to the ped. and since he was gaining, they weren't concerned. <_< It was the worst time for me, I was seeing my little man in pain and I couldn't do anything to help him. I did give him Maalox before each feeding, but that wasn't enough.
When we did get to the specialist, they didn't take me seriously. The doctor tried to pin the issue on a million other things, just not reflux. I didn't give up, had many "discussions" with them, and finally took my ds in with a bottle for them to witness it. At this point, he had also lost a pound in a few weeks. They finally took me seriously and gave me prilosec, which was my sons miracle drug. After that he started eating/drinking.
The reflux eased up for him when he was 9.5 to 10 months. That is when he started crawling/pulling up, so it strengthed his stomach valve muscle. It was like a whole new world for us. I didn't take him off the meds until 13 months because we had a trip out of the states and didn't want to be caught over seas with no meds and reflux. :nea:

Things that helped my son:
sitting up after eating
raising one side of his crib {done with books}
adding cereal to his bottle
sitting him in a bouncy seat for his bottles
medication
little "meals" { I did more bottles with him but less intake}

 

Our boys both have been diagnosed with GERD. One has the silent form, which makes him really gassy & gave him colic for about 3 very LONG weeks, the other little guy has the extreme spit up version. When we came home from the hospital, they both did pretty well for about 2 weeks, eating & sleeping as expected. Then it was like a light switch for both boys. The older boy began screaming nonstop (lasted at least 3 weeks), the other guy was spitting up across the room at each meal - huge amounts & for hours afterward. My DH & I were beside ourselves & feeling bad not knowing what was wrong or how to help out little guys.
After trying Enfimil AR, Lactose free, soy formulas, adding rice cereal to formulas & any other tid bits of advice we could get from our Pedi. or family & friends, our Dr. put the boys on Zantac. It does help some for both boys, but they still have the same problems - just in slightly more managable terms. We also finally found that Enfamil Nuetramigen formula was the ONLY thing they could both eat that would keep their GERD in check enough to keep gas out of one & formula in the other boy. But it was costing us $800/month for both babies to eat! (Not for nothing, my babies have got to eat & I'm glad something helped them! But what kind of company charges that much for a 1lb. can of food that my babies HAVE to have? I think I'm in the wrong line of work!) Sorry... had to vent - but can ya blame me? They were on the Nuetramigen for about a month & a half when my DH co-worker told him that we should request the boys be seen by a specialist because his sons both had GERD & were on the same formula & medicine & his insurance company picked up the cost of the formula because it was the only thing his boys could eat. We did that very thing & sure enough, our insurance covered both boys for the formula (Thank God!!) & we have only pay a resonable co-pay now.
The boys will be 5 months next week & still are having problems with GERD. Now that they've both been teething for 2 months (4 teeth coming in for each @ same time) & are sitting, rolling & trying to walk, I notice our younger guy spits up a lot more (plus the Dr. told us GERD tends to peek at 4 mo. & be worse around then). They're still on zantac but here are some things that help our boys:

With my silent GERD boy:
* Mylicon occasionally during the day to help with his gas
* Rememebering Pears cause gas in babies when you start fruits/solids!!
* burping often
* Slow flowing nipples!!!! Used with the Playtex "bent neck" (anti-colic bottles/air flow bottles?) - works wonders!!
* A Papasian Swing! OMG! what a life saver!
* Don't feed him when he's super upset or teeth are just killing him - he gulps & takes in air alot more then!

With my "extreme spit up Gerd boy:
* Elevating his head (about 1/2 sitting when he eats)
* keeping him elevated (on shoulders, etc) 20-30mins after meals
* Now that he's moving around more, after I feed him, I burp him & put him in his papasian swing on the side-to-side motion for 20-30 mins to let his belly settle before he tries his rolling, sitting & attempts to walk gigs. It helps lots!
* Slow flow nipples & the Playtex bent neck bottles (air flow bottles? - same as other guy)
* Keeping him calm! If he thinks his brother is crying a lot, he thinks the other guy is dying, then he gets crying, then the "puke-fest" begins until his belly is empty again. Oye!
* Starting solids! Rice cereal added to their bottles did NOTHING for them. But I started them both on semi-thick cereal & give them at least 4-6oz of formula before their cereal. Then burp & go right to cereal. It drastically cuts down on the spit up & how often you change shirt & other clothing items due to spit up!
* And again... that lovely Papasian swing!! The side to side calms the rotten belly like a charm & they sleep better after spending some time in it.

And of course, lots of love & patience with both! It can be very frustrating to try everything to help them & still end up with a colicy, screaming baby &/or one that you try to feed & he just can't keep anything down no matter what you do! But they can't help it & poor bubbies are frustrated too at times too.

~Mom of twins Zackary & Ethan born 12/6/07

Zack weighed 9lbs 11 1/2 oz @ birth -- now a happy, plump 19lb boy
Ethan weighed 8lbs @ birth -- trying to keep up & now a energetic 15lbs

 

My one girl had reflux and would arch her back and sleep that way. We started solids early and that helped. I had a bouncer which turns into a toddler rocking chair so it was large -- she is still sleeping in that at night. She would also enjoy the swing as well. I often would give her a bottle in the bouncer and often when she was asleep.
I put folded blankets on the change table to keep their head elevated, and would keep her upright after a feed. We put the bouncer downstairs during the day and keep the toys off at night.
When I would nurse her in bed I would put a flatter pillow under her head and me so that way she nursed more on an angle. I would nurse her on the couch on a pillow on an angle too.
Burp often even now at 5.5 months she needs it. She is on Zantac twice a day.

Hope that helps.

Heather

 

Our girls were diagnosed with reflux right after they came home from the hospital (so it was at 3 weeks I think). Ana was spitting up out her mouth and nose and screaming, Meara rarely spit but would arch and scream. Both had trouble eating in the beginning. They were started on Zantac and Maalox and while Ana's spitting didn't improve, they were both happier babies after we started treating the reflux. At their 4 month appointment we spoke to our pedi about trying to get them off the Zantac (we had already stopped the Maalox). She thought that we should wait awhile longer and upper our dose to adjust for their weight. From the beginning their were getting two doses a day (morning and night). At around 5 months we stopped the morning dose to see how they did and amazingly they did fine. Over the next couple of weeks we stopped the night dose too and were finally med-free. Ana continued to spit up, but gained weight and it never bothered her. The spitting up decreased dramatically when she started pulling up and cruising, but even now she usually spits up once a day (at almost 14 months old). Since it doesn't bother her and isn't affecting her weight its "just a laundry issue" as my pedi loves to say.

 

My girls were diagnosed with reflux in the NICU because of apnea spells that would cluster around their feedings. I wasn't sold on the diagnosis until several weeks later and now there is no question in my mind. One has silent reflux and the other has the extreme spit-up reflux. We tried Zantac which didn't work and were switched to Prevacid before we even left the NICU. The girls were on one dose of Prevacid a day for several weeks, but we later switched to twice a day which seems to work better. That is all the daughter with silent reflux needs. The other daughter needs to have her bottles of EBM thickened as well. We use Simply Thick (www.simplythick.com). It's expensive, but well worth it, we think. Even with thickened EBM and Prevacid, our little one still really struggles. Yesterday I started taking her to the chiropractor. It's too soon to know if that will have any effect.

 

Jillian was diagnosed with Reflux in the NICU at about 3 days. She was arching and crying at every feeding. She was started on zantac immediately which did help. When we got home, I could actually feel the milk gurgling up by putting my hand on her back. Both girls would occasionally have massive spit ups but I don't think that's unusual for preemies. Both girls were more comfortable sleeping upright during the first 3 months, usually in the car seat or swing. I did have their crib matress on an angle as well.

We slowly stopped the Zantac after 9 months and she hasn't had a problem since. We did need to remember to up the dose as she got bigger - we could always tell when it was time because she went back to the arching and crying.

Big hugs to reflux moms - it's hard to watch sometimes.

 

This is an update to my earlier post (#10). The chiropractor did not work for us. We had three visits and didn't notice any change. The chiro said he didn't want us to keep coming and doing the same things over and over if it wasn't doing any good. He did recommend we try probiotics to see if that would help. I checked with the Pedi and he was fine with it, so we are giving it a shot. I'm not really noticing a change with the probiotics though either.

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that we have the girls sleeping at a 30 degree incline. We stacked two wedge pillows we bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond since we couldn't figure out a good way to get the crib mattresses to the correct angle. We use a Danny Sling to keep the girls from sliding down. There is a similar product called a Tucker Sling that some people use as well.

 

Reflux was really bad. The boys started at 2 or 3 weeks. They started grunting all the time, especially at night. They did not spit up but looked unhappy, and one was arching his back and stretching his leg during feedings. We told the pediatrician, who at first did not want to do anything but we really want to have them treated because they looked in pain, it was breaking my heart. When we told her about the arching, she prescribed Zantac, which worked right away. I had read about some side effects of antacids, so I didn't want to treat them all the time. I was giving it only from time to time, and it worked for us. I stopped when they were about 3 months, and they are fine.

What we did:
- for me, watch my diet: avoid coffee, and especially decaf (which is even more acidic), dairy products (I know, sounds crazy!), and chocolate. It was so frustrating!
- for them, avoid laying them flat: keep them up after feedings, have them sleep in their bouncy seat, or on a reclined bed and on their left side, avoid lots of movement after feeding, place towels under the mattress of their changing table and change their diapers before feedings.
- and burp them a LOT!

I hope this will help!

 

DS and DD both had reflux and started shortly after they left the NICU so probably right around their due date. It was horrible and I feel so bad for any mother having to deal with it. Both seemed to have different symptoms. DD would be laying on her back sleeping and reflux up acid. Usually it was clear but sometimes it was spit up/ It would bubble out of her mouth. I guess it was so painful that she would arch her back and hold her breath. She would not make a sound to let me know that she was suffering. That was terrifying and I was so worried that she was going to stop breathing during one of these "attacks". DS would do this also but not nearly as often. He was more of a "wet burpper" It was like you could see his body convulse as it was coming up. He would spit up a lot after feeding. The Ped started us with a small does of Zantac that did not help. He then upped the does and told us to put a small amount of rice cereal in their bottles. Still no relive. Then DD started projectile vomiting at least once a day. Boy that was horrible. we then went to a Ped GI. He put them on Prevacid. What a life changer. My children were so much better. It did take about two weeks to kick in but it was incredible to see the difference. They both still take it. I had to up DS's dosage once because he started spitting up a lot a gain. DD is still on the same dosage that she began with. I keep thinking it is time to ween her off but then she has a little episode so hopefully soon.

Other things that helped..which we do not have to do anymore :banana:
We stuck blankets under the top of their mattress so that they could sleep elevated.
Fed them in their bouncies to keep them elevated and left them in there or their swings at least a half hour after feeding
Gave them tummy time after the woke before their bottles
Lots of cereal in their bottles.. I think a tablespoon of cereal to 2 ounces of formula.

Hope some of this helps. I know how hard it is but it does get better.

 

Get lots of bibs!

Thankfully only one of ours had GERD.

With Alice
-we thickened her formula
-she slept in her bouncer
-sleep wedges if she slept in her crib
-held her upright for 20 minutes after feeding
-burp after every couple of oz

She started out on Zantac, but that didn't really work too well, so she went to Prevacid. A god-send. She actually turned into a happy baby after being on the Prevacid.

She still spits up regularly and she's almost 9 months. But at least it doesn't burn anymore, or stink like stomach acid.

And honestly she rarely got tummy time because she would vomit and scream, but she's no further behind developmentally than her brother.

 

All 3 of my children were diagnosed with reflux and colic.
We had more difficulty having my daughter diagnosed, as she was our first child...and most Dr.s just think you are an over-reactive first-time parent. You would think that since my husband is a family physician that it would have been a little easier...but not so! Finally after about a month of calls, visits, and overall pestering of the pediatrician, we were finally able to start her on some medication. Within about 8 hrs, she was a different child!!! We still fought with colic, but at least the reflux was controlled!

Our daughter was 20mos. old when our twin boys were born (at 39wks) & we were able to get them diagnosed with reflux very quickly! Within a week of birth, they were having the exact same problems that our daughter had. Once they were on meds, they were better, but just like our 1st, the colic didn't go.

I don't remember many details of the first 3 mos they were here....we survived on about 8-10hrs of sleep a week. I also had a myriad of health problems from the dual pregnancy, and our church family and friends were the greatest!
You do survive......I know you wonder if you will at times, but it will pass.

The best advice I ever got was.....Don't give in! You as a mom know your children better than anyone else...including the doctors!!! They are not with your child all day every day, and all night each night! Keep at them until they acknowledge the problem and help you find a viable solution!!!
YOU are your childrens voice...Don't be afraid to use it!

 

Both of mine were diagnosed with reflux at about 4 weeks old. Jenna would projectile vomit and scream after every feeding. Ryan would spit up, and the vomit would go into his nasal passages so he couldn't breath. We had to literally watch him every second and always have an aspirator right with him so that he wouldn't choke to death. We actually had to call 911 once for each of them because we couldn't get their airways cleared. They were first put on Zantac, but after 2 weeks it was apparent that it wasn't helping at all. They were then put on Prevacid, and things started getting better. They still spit up a ton, but they weren't in pain. Ryan was still choking, but it wasn't as severe.

Now at 9 months old, Jenna is off of the Prevacid and is doing great. She very rarely spits up, which is amazing because she was spitting up 20+ times a day when she was tiny. Ryan is still on the Prevacid, and if he doesn't get his dose for the day, he still cries and arches his back. I am hoping that he will start to outgrow the reflux soon.

Reflux was definitely the hardest part of having newborn twins for me. We tried rice cereal in the bottle, keeping them elevated for 30-45 minutes after meals, and then eventually we went to NEVER laying them falt on their backs, and nothing seemed to help much. But it does get better! It may seem like you are doomed to a life of spitting up and laundry, but it will get better.

 

My DD was diagnosed with silent reflux a couple weeks ago. We were given Axid, but I was uncomfortable
giving her medication. I had done some reading on the benefits of chiropractic and with the
go ahead from my pediatrician we went to see one who has lots of experience with babies.

The chiropractor spent about half an hour talking to us about DD's symptoms, how chiropratic could help
and explained exactly what he would do. It mainly consisted of gentle massage and he did NOT touch her
neck and did no cracking or anything like that.

After three visits, we have our sweet baby back. She went from crying inconsolably for hours on end (the only
thing that pacified her was nursing through the night) to sleeping 10 hours at night. I couldn't get her down
for naps without a fight and now she doesn't need me or the swing to help her.

We have to see him three more times and I have been in communication with the pediatrician about DD's progress.

Someone on the breastfeeding board suggested it to me and I am so happy I looked in to it.
Taking a baby to a chiropractor may not be for everybody, but it worked for us and I didn't have to
put DD on medication. I don't know if I would have done it, however, if my pediatrician had been against it.


Beth