Acid Reflux - Satellite Beach, FL

Hi,
My niece was also born with acid reflux and my sister tried everything, then she spoke to a hispanic pharmacist, no longer practicing, whoso suggested boiling anis stars and then of course strain the water and give that to the baby before the bedtime bottle. It really worked for her, but all infants are unique. Hope this helps. The anis is found in the spice section of any supermarket, if you visit a spanish market it will me labled Anis Estrallado, Badia pakages it in little see-through packs. Just boil one star of the anis per a 2-4 ounce bottle of water. Give it to her an ounce at a time.

Hello H.!

I won't repeat everything that''s already been said...but I just wanted to tell you that your baby should outgrow the reflux by a 9 or 10 months, a year at the latest!!! That may sound like a long time, but it will go so super fast. Both of my daughters were born with GERD, diagnosed by 6 weeks. My oldest daugther was on Tagament, second daughter was on Zantac. Tagamet is no longer prescribed for infants, but it worked wonders!!! Zantac eventually worked, but had to keep being dosed up. Both of my girls were also given thickened forumla *with rice cereal*. Although they were 'silent' refluxers (didn't actually spit up), it helped to keep the formula in their tummies.

Best of luck to you & your little one.

A.

My daughter had a horrible case of acid reflux when she was first born. The doctor suggested putting cereal in the formula and switched to Similac Alimentum. That did wonders for me talk to your doctor.

My sister in law's youngest was born with a problem in the digestive system. It caused similar problems. The baby actually had to have surgery as the connection between the stomach and the intestine was blocked. Also, as several others have mentioned here, you might want to try a soy formula or another one made specifically for infants with allergies.

I would make sure that your child does not have a weak valve in the stomache that is causing regurgitation. There is a valve that is supposed to close after we swallow which prevents food and drink from coming back up. If there is a weakness, it will stay open thus causing vomiting.

H., it looks like you have most of the advice you can use, but I will give you a tad bit more. Both of my children had acid reflux. It is very uncomfortable for the babies and is very common. That's why I don't understand how any daycare would not help a child with acid reflux. I don't know your situation but I would be looking for a new provider. Also the truth (as horrible as it is) is that they just have to grow out of it. There is nothing that will make it just suddenly go away even though it would be great that way. So the best thing you can do is just focus on the comfortability factor: propping up (my children loved there vibrating seats)and all of the other tips everyone before me has given. I hope all goes well and just remember, it won't last forever.

My little girl had reflux when she was born and her doctor put her on Similac Lactose Free. Changing her milk did wonders! = )

H.,
Unfortunately, there is no cure. Acid reflux is something your son will grow out of....hopefully by the time he's six months old. It's a maturity issue. Our daughter had it, and the Zantac only prevents them from feeling the burn of the acid when it comes up. Some things you can try are adding a couple teaspoons of cereal to his bottle, keeping him still for at least 15 minutes after he's eaten, and placing him in your infant car seat after eating (the incline in the seat helps keep the food down).
I hope this helps you. Keep lots of bibs and burp cloths on hand, and know that at least with the Zantac, it's not really bothering him anymore.
Good luck!
A.

Unfortunately acid reflux is just something they'll have to grow out of. My daughter had HORRIBLE GERD. She would projectile vomit every meal. I'm surprised the daycare won't administer prescribed medication though. Zantax isn't a cure-all by any means and it may just be that the dose needs to be upped. Is he breast-fed or on formula. If he's on formula, try switching to Carnation Good Start. I would try that for the next 2-3 weeks and then if that still doesn't help - move him to alimentum - it's more expensive but it could be that he has some allergies and the alimentum usually helps with that.

what formula is he on? sam is on nutramgen. it seems to be working. he is eight months. he is on zantac too. he takes it twice a day, .8ml. once he started with solids the spit -up or projectile has stopped somewhat. he still spits up but not as bad. i think they out grow it. i never tried that water thing. i tried pedilite when he was sick and he hated it. and plain water too.
have you proped up his mattress? this way he is not flat but at an angle? i did with a small pillow. not that much of a difference because of the small pillow, but they say it might work so i tried.
what kind of bottles do you use? i switched to dr. brown's. he is much better on those. i was using avent. not bad but they are great at dr. browns. the website is handi-craft.com
they replaced bottles that were peeling and told me to keep all the parts just return the bottles. and when i couldn't find the level nipple i needed they sent me some for free.
hope that helps.
write if you need any help.
L.

My son was also diagnosed with silent acid reflux around 8 weeks. He was on zantac twice a day and when he had bad episodes I gave him mylanta in between those doses. He also used Enfamil AR which made a huge difference. I also started him on rice cereal at 2 months (not that I would ever tell my pediatric. that)But it made a big difference in helping him keep things down. I also never let him lay down after eating and for the first 6 months very rarely ever laid him flat. I always kept him on an incline and did a lot of upright play especially right after eating. I was sticking him in a walker and putting blankets around him to hold him up around 3 months. He out grew his reflux around 9 months. He is now 13 months and will still spit up on occasion, but does not have the pain. I tried taking my son off the zantac at 2 months. I had the worst three days of his life, until the doctor insisted I give it to him. In one day, he was so much better. From then on I swore I would not torchure him. By the way the zantac will not hep control the vomiting and spitting up, it helps neutralize the acid that is irritating their esophogus. I wish you luck, it will be over before you know it.
K.

My 7 week old also has bad acid reflux. He is also on Zantac and now is on Enfamil Lipil A.R. (added rice starch) formula. The formula is thicker so it coats his little tummy. Once he was switched to this formula he has been ten times better. You might want to talk to your son's doctor about formula options.

Good Luck!!

J.

Our baby also had acid reflux. We couldn't go anywhere without hand towels to prevent ruining our clothes in fear of him spitting up on us. He was diagnosed at 6 weeks old and did really great with the Zantac. He did still spit up some but it was a lot better. Don't worry though, by 6 or 7 months we had completely weaned him off the Zantac and he wasn't spitting up anymore. It's temporary so I think you'll be just fine. You may want to ask the doctor about maybe giving him the Zantac 3 times a day. We had to do that for about a month. Also we have him on the Nutramigen formula and that has really helped too. Good luck! It gets better!

My son had the silent acid reflux since he was about three weeks old, and the doctor gave us Zantac. My son went from refusing to eat because it hurt him, to eating the full amount like clockwork. He is five months now, and still taking it, but he still spit up from time to time. Babies spit up... that's normal. He always had the hiccups... we called him the hiccup prince! We never tried gripe water, but I have heard that it helps bunches. The Zantac helped my son, but he did spit up. I always made sure he was burped really well, at least two or three burps from his feeding. Then, I would make sure he was in his swing, bouncy chair, or laying in his boppy pillow on the couch so that he was sorta upright, so that the food would stay down. Even now, after he eats babyfood or formula, I always place him upright in his exersaucer so that he doesn't have any pressure on his stomach and spit it all up. I would sit him up in a chair, but he hunches over, and that always causes him to spit up.

As for your daycare situation, I am not understanding why they wont give it to your child. The daycare we looked at for my son when I go back to work, they have forms to fill out that gives them permission, as well as the correct directions and amounts to give the child. I'd talk to the director or the head person and explain to her your situation. They might be able to make an acception. I'd also let her know of the whole sitting up business after feedings.

my baby didn't have acid reflux per se, but when her belly hurts or anything like that i tried a few home remedies the older folks recommended... try switching the formula to soy based or lactose free. This was our answer to the colic, crying, etc. It turns out my baby is lactose intolerant. ever since we switched the formula, it has been such a different and happier environment. Things we did try before we figured out she was lactose intolerant:

1. the gripe water... if teh daycare won't give it to her, then put the amount recommended on the gripe water bottle, in her formula/bottle. Prepare it and take it to the daycare. My Dr had a problem with gripe water until the baby was about 6wks, then she said to give her some. I didn't put the recommended amount in it, just half and it helped some.

2. chamomile tea with anis, or just anis tea. i would give her 1/2 an oz of the tea diluted with a little bit of water, to maybe giver her an oz or oz and a half. i would give it to her at night as the chamomile relaxes her, as that is when she would get the fussiest.

3. try putting a tiny little bit of sugar in her regular water. this supposedly helps strengthen their digestive track and it soothes them. not sure the reason, but it worked on her.

we also switched bottles to Dr. Brown's. She has very little gas and no spit up. i think she's only thrown up twice since all of this and it's been months apart. mind you, all baby's are different and all dr's have different opinions, but only you can make the decision you feel is best for him. i hope it works out for you, good luck.

My 4 month old also has refux, We Tried ZAntac for 1 month with no success. Then we were prescribed Prevacid and he is a completly different baby! He has been on it since 8 weeks old with no reflux in sight

I cured my sons Acid Reflux with Calcium supplements, Lots of Calcium. :) Good Luck

What kind of formula do you use? Maybe you need to change his formula? I had to put my first on a soy formula and I have a 7 month old that was on nutramigen until he was 6 months old and is now on gentlease. He also has been on zantac since he was about 2 weeks old. Hope this helps!

H.

My son was also born with acid reflux - we too changed to soy formula but NOT the powder. We had to buy the premixed kind. His body wouldn't tolerate any powder/water combination. It helped alot because you didn't have to shake it so much to get the mixture to combine. Also....Dr Brown's bottles - made specifically for gas, colic, etc. They're AWESOME!!!

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

Ask the daycare if they would give him the water if you get a letter from the Peditrician. I know with my son, if there is any type of medication or anything out of the "normal" things, even over the counter products, it must be accompanied by a letter from the Ped. (Or I have to go there myself and give it to him)

I hope this helps
L.

Hi H.,

Congrats on you new baby, you have received great advise so far I just want to reinforce that all the info is good especially the first responce and to also add a small suggestion..My baby didn't have reflux but this might help with the another issue that could be related.I breastfed my daughter and used a sling when I would take her out or sometimes at home (the kind that goes across your shoulder)cuz she loved being close to me and she would fall asleep in there. Her head would be elevated and I would have two free hands to do what ever...this helped me a bunch especially when I'd go to the grocery store because no one would bother my sleeping baby in the sling like they would in a carseat...YES, people would actually open the little cover on the carseat and talk all loud just to tell me how cute she was and wake her up - not what I needed of course..so that's my input - hope it helps. I can help get one made for you if you'd like for under $10., it depends on the material you pick.

Wow I could have written this. We are on Zantac every 8 hours and I do gripe water. I think it help the hiccups but it takes a while to help the griping =)
I don't know anything about daycare. I am a SAHM but your child is #1 you need to find somewhere that can fully take care of your child and meet his needs.!!

This refulx stuff sucks. It brings me to tears.

In my child care we are told to buy the wedge for the crib to elevate them you can get them at onestepahead.com I think - we are also allowed only in that situation to use a swing because it helps. Just something they go thru. :)

Hope that helps
Patty
www.members.cox.net/myhomedaycare

My first advice is to find another daycare that will give him what he needs!! I am a mom to a child who has really bad reflux, and sadly, there is no real cure..just time. I would suggest trying to switch his Formula (if hes on it) that may help some. Give him shorter and more frequent feedings...meaning, give him less in his tummy at one feeding, but then feed him again sooner than you normally would...a little less in the tummy can help this out. I know its so hard, but it will improve with time! And watch his weight...You can go in anytime to your ped and weigh him..i have yet to see a dr who will say no...I was there every month with mine, just to be sure...(he lost a lot of weight in the beginning)

Also, keep his head elevated at all times...put blankets or pillows under his mattress so he sleeps upright... and have him in his bouncer/swing when you need a free hand and have to put him down. Just be sure that he is upright in most situations...This helps with the reflux due to gravity...:) *hugz* hang in there....

I don't know if your son is too young to take it but papaya extract helps really well with acid reflux. I used it while pregnant and it worked great.

I'm so sorry to hear about your little guy! Mine little one was born premature and had GERD so badly he was hospitalized twice. The things that worked for him were; propping up the head-side of his crib, sometimes having him sleep in his swing/carseat, changing his formula to soy, feeding smaller amounts more often... and Zantac didn't work for us. We had to use another prescription that was a compound medication as well as Reglan (helps them to digest the food quicker but I didn't like giving it to him due to the risks)... any way, nothing really cured it; he just had to outgrow it.

My son also had reflux, but you might like to know that around 6 months it goes away, he's now 2 and has been reflux free for well over a year. The only thing to help a little now, is to make sure to burp him after the feeding and to elevate the side of the crib where he puts his head.

Also, make sure he doesn't eat while lying down, he must be seating in about a 45º angle. Playtex Vent Air bottles also help.

In regards to the Gripe Water, I don't remember the reasons, but my pediatritian back then told me it was not good to give to my baby.

Good luck,

Dione

My son was diagnosed with acid reflux when he was just one week old. It was awful, he had projectile vomiting and we had to take him to the ER because we didn't know what it was, PLUS it was a Saturday. They put him through sooo many [heartbreaking] tests and after a being admitted in the Children's Hospital for a week, they said it was a milk allergy and he had GERD. So they put him on Zantac and switched his formula to SOY. We also had to thicken his formula with cereal, although I can't remember the measurement ratio. Also, something you probably know to do, is never lay the baby down on his back, esp. right after he eats. we bought the Inclined to Sleep mat for him to lay on. He was like this for about 2 months, and then got better so we took him off the Zantac and I stopped mixing his formula with cereal. He is 6 1/2 months old now and is still drinking soy formula and was a late bloomer as far as eating solids. He is very picky about what I give him. Anyway, I hope some of these tips help. Good luck. Hopefully, his tummy will settle with time :)

I am responding without reading everyone's response just using my experience as a mom and as a nurse practitioner. The Zantac will only decrease the acidity of the spit up by decreasing the acid production in your son's stomach. So in essence, the spit up will not decrease, but he will not be as fussy. Tell the daycare to keep your son upright for at least 30 minutes after feeding, to elevate the head of his crib by placing a blanket under the mattress, and to burp him well. I never used gripe water with my daughter, but I have had parents swear by it. If you could get your pediatrician to write a note to the daycare telling them when to administer, it may help.
I also read somewhere that kids with reflux get hiccups more often. My daughter got them a lot too.
The good news is that as your son grows, he will outgrow the reflux and the fussiness the goes with it. When he is 4 mo old, you can start rice cereal which will help. At your son's age, some MDs allow rice cereal in the bottles to make the formula thicker so it stays down. I believe Enfamil makes "AR" which is "Added Rice" for spitting up.
Good luck, I have been there and know it is hard. At 9 mo old, my daughter is much better!
M.

Hi Harmnony,

I do have something that your baby could try. It's an aloe juice that helps sooth the inside of your body which includes heart burn and stomach problem. It is safe for babies and pregnant women as I have checked! It's not a drug!
Email me or call me if you have more questions ____@____.com and my phone is ###-###-####. V.