My 8 week old DD has reflux. She does not spit up/throw up too much but she screams and writhes and arches her back while eating. If it is a particularly bad feeding she will scream for hours afterwards as well. We had her on Nutramagen and also tried Zantac but have only had success with switching her to Enfamil A.R. (added rice). We switched to this two weeks ago and the pain and screaming disappeared. I have been posting lately about how she falls asleep while eating all the time. She is obviously exhausted/frustrated with the slow flow on the nipple due to the thickness of the formula. I tried switching to the fast nipples but that really caused the reflux to act up immediatly. I tried, against my better judgement, widening the nipple just a bit with a pin but that also caused the reflux to act up terribly. I even tried the pre-mixed Enfamil A.R. as it seems a bit smoother than mixing the powder but that ALSO caused the reflux to act up. She struggles so to get the formula through the nipple but she is not in pain and she will finish the bottle (4oz) if you really work hard to keep her going (not so easy to do while feeding her fussy brother as well). Am I doing the right thing by having her struggle so much to get the bottle down even though she gets so sleepy and tires out? With the amount of energy it takes her to complete a four ounce bottle I cannot imagine moving her up to 6oz. Her brother is at 6oz. and it even takes him a while to finish. We haven't had a growth check in two weeks but she was growing just fine at the last one. She averages around 24-28 ounces a day in about 7 feedings. I feel like I am damned if I do, damned if I don't. It is like anything that makes the formula flow just a touch faster makes her miserable but she also miserable trying to pull the thick formula through the slow nipple. Thanks, AMy
Katie has reflux. She's on Neosure and we add rice to it. We use the Avent bottles with variable flow nipples. Sometimes we have to put it on a one and sometimes on a 3 depending on how she does with the reflux that day. Maybe you could try that?
Argh, reflux!! I have never used the AR, I have always added rice to the formula because my babies were all on soy. I used Dr.B's bottles with a size 2 or 3 nipple, and it worked for us. It takes awhile to figure out the right combonation. I swore they were going to grow out of the reflux before we got the meds, bottles, and formula figured out!
I would add the cereal and open a stage one nipple just slightly so it is in between the sizes of the two stages.
Is it possible that some of her screaming is not just from the reflux but from the fact that she is very hungry and can't get her formula fast enough through the slower nipple? I would be concerned on whether or not she is getting enough formula. If the meds are working, she shouldn't be screaming in discomfort from the reflux. Perhaps you could talk to your ped about trying a different med. or making sure she is getting the proper dosage (which goes up as their weight does). I think the other one that a lot of moms say worked better for their baby's reflux was Prevacid (I think that was what it was called). Zantac does not work for every baby. We also used the AR with one of my dds when she had her reflux but it still wasn't enough to stop the spit up (which is the point of the AR). My other dd was on Soy. We had to add cereal to both of their bottles. Please understand that AR is not meant to help with the PAIN associated with reflux but to help with spit up. It is suppose to weigh down the formula so it doesn't come back up. If your baby is screaming during feedings my guess would be that the meds are not doing their job for your little sweety. Hope she feels better soon!
we used DR bowns bottles, with stage 3 nipple and 1 tablespoon of cereal per ounce of formula..we also had our guys on prilosec and zantac.
she is not currently on any meds as everything seemed to improve with the Enfamil a.r. two weeks ago -pain included. Now, suddenly, the pain is back. I am frustrated because I can not figure out why it is back. For the past day and a half she has been drinking quickly, irregardless of the efort it takes and now she is hurting again - falling asleep right after bottle but writhing and grunting in her sleep and taking "screaming" breaks during. The other reason for my frustration is that THE ONLY time she is not in pain while eating is when the flow is SUPER SUPER slow - and then she nods off during. I can't add rice ceareal because it is already in the formula and she really isn't spitting up at all. She also seems to be gaining adequate weight. I am sorry I am so consumed by this I just hate to see her discomfort. She is also IMPOSSIBLE to burp. amy
Amy, I would suggest that you take her back in and get on some kind of reflux meds. If she is refluxing at all, it is going to do damage to her esophagus, and she might eventually associate the bottle with pain, and stop eating, like my babies! It was not fun. Have you tried giving the gas drops? Sometimes that would help get a burp out of my hard-to-burp babies. As far as the nipples go, it sounds like she needs one in between the two that you have. I know it's frustrating. :hug99:
My James experienced the same trouble with feedings. Sometimes I would start a feeding with one nipple and then switch 1/2 way. It's a pain but it seemed to be the right way to make sure he got enough but not too frustrated. My guys are 5 months and neither can handle a #3. I think we'll be on #2 forever.
