Acid Reflux in Infant

Updated on May 12, 2011
M.Q. asks from Roxbury, CT
13 answers

Hello everyone. I am writing to get as much feed back on acid reflux in infants as I can. My daughter started spitting up when she was 2 weeks old i was breastfeeding her and she was extremely uncomfortable. She would arch her back when feeding and then after words she would spit up and chock like 2 hrs after feeding her. The spit up would come out her nose, and she could never settle. After talking with her ped we first tried sleeping her up right, hold her on my shoulder for 30 min after feeding and burping often this did not work. Then we started Zantac this made her worse. I then switched her to formula Nutramigen which seemed to help which led me to believe there was a milk sensitivity when other ,milk based products did not work. Anyways she is now 9 weeks old and gained 3 pounds since birth. She is good for a few days then upset. we now have her on pepcid and when it is really bad maalox for a few days. She is not a projectile but she has trouble sleeping, she fights you to eat, stuffy nose, mucus sound in chest until burps, arches back, and spits up clearish fluid 2-3 hours after feeding. the Doctor suggested I try enfamil ar within 2 hours she was vomiting excessively curdled milk, and lethargic. She also had blood tined mucus in her diaper so now the Doctor has proof it is an allergy. So much for listening to them. I have started putting rice cereal in her bottle and it seems to help the acid stay down she is sleeping better at naps and night time. i am worried that i started this to soon but i am also worried about the acid in her throat. she is a happy baby but really uncomfortable when it is acting up. she is sensitive to the littlest weight gain and her medicine. i would like to know if anyone else has done the same by putting rice in bottle and are their kids okay now. also what brand of cereal is the most hypoallergenic and easy to digest. Thanks to all the reply. I wish i had the reflux and not her.

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So What Happened?

Thanks to all that have replied. It was so helpful to hear others experiences. After a challenging weekend and my little one not wanting to eat and spitting up her bottle 3 hours after feeding I started to explore what was bothering her. I stopped the Maalox and she was more uncomfortable but what was more troubling was a rash that was appearing on her cheeks,cheat and diaper area. as soon as she would go to the bathroom it would flare up read. I ruled the Maalox out because the Doctor actually told me to mix it with her diaper cream to take down the inflammation. The formula has been her constant which is Nutramigen and she is fine on it. So I started to lean towards the rice cereal Gerber brand. I called the doctor whom told me it was not that. I went to the store away and bought Earths Best rice cereal easy to digest and only 3 ingredients. When i got home i was shocked to read the 15 ingredients in Gerber and the 3 in Earths best.She loved the 1,2,RD bottle that I gave her. She actually could digest it the spitting up 3 hours after feeding stopped, the refusing to eat stopped and the rash has disappeared leading me to believe she is also sensitive to soy along with dairy. The reflux is still there but maybe we are on the right track now. Thanks to all that were supportive and not judge mental.

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A.F.

answers from New York on

try Enfamil Lactose Free formula. sometimes it is not the milk protein that the baby is allergic to, but the lactose. my son did amazing on this stuff.

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A.B.

answers from New York on

Hi, I know EXACTLY what you are going through. My daughter, now 2, had the same issues. Here is what worked for us. At nine weeks we went to a GI doctor and he put her on prevacid, which worked WONDERS and thickened her formula with oatmeal( not rice cereal, which can upset many babies), one tablespoon per 2 ounces, and make sure it is beechnut which does NOT have soy in it. Gerber oatmeal does and alot of babies are allergic to soy so stick to beechnut only. The oatmeal is gentlier on the stomach than the rice cereal. So, my daughter started both of those things at nine weeks and she is fine, no digestive problems and she was off of prevacid by 9 months and i also started reducing the amount of oatmeal than as well. I saw an great difference in her once i started both of those things. Zantac and maalox didn't work for her. You already seem to be doing a great job figuring out what is wrong and helping your daughter through this. I know it is tough, especially with an older sibling, but it will be over soon!!! good luck, i hope i helped and if you have anymore questions, I would love to help!!!

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C.S.

answers from New York on

My little boy had a couple of digestive problems and it took us a while to figure out the feeding situation. He has a milk PROTEIN allergy (not lactose) which meant that since I was nursing him I had to stop consuming all cow's milk dairy products (lactaid DOESN'T help with this) and I switched him to a soy formula on the occasions when we needed to supplement formula instead of the breast. Now, I drink soy, rice or goat's milk instead of cow's milk. And while I'm still nursing, I avoid all other cheeses, yogurt, icecream, etc. (except soy yogurt, goat cheese, feta and soy or vegan cheeses, not made from milk).

ALSO we eventually figured out he had GERD (same as your baby, arching the back, uncomfortable laying flat on his back, etc.) We tried Zantac, which had bad side effects -- bad gas pain, worse than the original problem. Now he's on Prevacid and doing GREAT.

Good luck! Also, you might look into getting a "nap nanny" for her to sleep in. It keeps the baby at a 45 degree angle while she sleeps. napnanny.com or you might be able to find one used on ebay.

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J.F.

answers from New York on

My 3 year old had bad acid refux as an infant. She could not tolerate any fomula but the Similac Lactose Free. She does not have a milk allergy but it was to heavy on her stomach and the Lactose Free seemed to be easier for her to digest. The other thing we noticed if we had the powdered formula that had to be made with water she was worse. We had to buy the ready to feed. Water is not good for people with bad acid refluc it irritates their stomaches. She was on pepcid 3 times a day. We also couldn't start to feed her solids until she was 7 months. We tried a few times a month after 4 months but they just irritated her stomach. As I said she is now 3 and very healthy and has only a few problems with reflux now. She still stays away from milk because that bothers her stomach but to this day she has no allergy she is just super sensitive to some foods. Also because of the Lactose Free formula and lack of food at a young age and low milk intake she is very petite and underweight but very healthy. I know it is hard I also have a 6 year old so I know having an infant that is sick and another one to take care of is hard. Good luck to you and if you have any other questions feel free to contact me through here.

Jenn

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C.M.

answers from New York on

I did use alimentum which is broken down milk protein in the formula as most formulas are not made of broken down milk protein which infants cannot process their digestive systems are not yet developed and cow's milk is not for babies (or people, really). I give my toddler rice milk now- or almond milk- organic only as they are genetically modified crops unless organic and GMO is not a good thing.
Too much acidic foods can contribute to the reflux as well but the best thing I found for my baby when he used formula was alimentum for the reason to do with broken down proteins but also many other formulas add minerals which are disturbing and beyond the amt that a baby can tolerate. Also you will see aluminum in many of them- as a preservative. All horrible & toxic to babies. Not in Alimentum though. More expensive yes but it is the difference in your child developing immune & digestive system without complications. It was worth it for us. I cut back on what we did not need for the trade off in what my baby did need.

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K.J.

answers from New York on

Hi M.,
We have been (and currently are) in your boat! It's hard when they're little and their digestive tracts are trying to work for the first time. My first son was allergic to milk and spit up blood on soy formula. So we went to Alimentum. That's similac's version of neutremagin. It is expensive but it helped tremendously. He also had blood in his stool which indicates an allergy (to both milk and soy). So he's almost 4 years old now and I have a 6 1/2 month old. The second one was worse than the first with digestion! He was just a few weeks old and we'd feed him, keep him upright for 30 to 45 mins. and lay him down, only to get up and feed him again (remember when they ate ever 2 hours!) We too had a bottle of Maalox next to the glider and he'd have it to stop the burning in his throat. Thankfully, we don't need the maalox anymore. Anyway, my second one is on Alimentum also and prevacid. The Dr. told me the only other thing I could do was to add rice cereal to the bottle and ride it out. I must say that the rice cereal helped as did the prevacid (boy do we know when we miss a dose!). It also helped when he was able to sit upright - like in an exersaucer/jumperoo or just on the floor, and when he started taking solids! A friend of mine tried prevacid for her son and it didn't work so her Dr. put him on zantac and it helped him a lot. I've heard Nestle Good start is good, but I've never used it. I'd talk to your pediatrician about options for an antacid and rice cereal. Good luck to you and your sweet little one's tummy!

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A.W.

answers from New York on

M.,

My son was diagnosed with Acid reflux at 3 weeks. He had been eating 6-8oz in one feeding (which is a lot for a 3 week old)....little did we know he was doing this because while eating the acid reflux is soothed. Well, one night 3 hours after he had a bottle I went to change him and as soon as I lifted his legs...all the acid and bottle came up and he started choking. We rushed him to the ER and they confirmed he had reflux. Luckily, it wasn't bad enough to medicate but we had to be preventative. Eating, sleeping, changing and holding all had to be on an incline (this helped tremendously). We also started putting rice cereal in his bottle...this I think was key. My peds told me he would grow out of it 8 months - 1 year. We have not had one issue since then and my son is now 13 months. Also, he is a big baby..he is now 32 inches long and 33lbs....good luck!!

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R.E.

answers from New York on

she should be fine about 2 weeks after she starts to walk.
however, just got to a pediatric gastroenterologist who may take a test to make sure that it is not pyloric stenosis. get it checked out first. if all is ok, then my first sentence should be right.

N.T.

answers from New York on

Hi M.:

Your daughter was mostly born with digestive problems and when you breastfeed it would probably worsen because of your diet. Whatever you consume, so does baby when breastfed. All of the "medicine" you are giving her is making the issue worse because they are artificially processed and hard to digest, especially for a baby's new stomach and digestive process.

You have an opportunity to reverse this now, before she grows into an adult with a completely dysfunctional digestive system. In the world of health, stomach rules!!! If it is ailing, the entire body ails also.

My office can assist you, via consultations, to repair and address the issue. Visit the webpage at www.wholecreations.com/wombfull.html and call ###-###-#### to schedule an appointment.

Best,
N.
Holistic Healthcare Provider
____@____.com

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T.H.

answers from Johnson City on

I have spent numerous hours searching for some sort of explination for my 11 week olds behavior, I was so relieved when I can across this post! My daughter has all of the symptoms of Acid Reflux, only my pediatrician is convinced that it is just Collic. So I just want to say thank you to everyone who has posted some insight on the subject!

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P.M.

answers from New York on

You should see a pediatric GI. There are many good ones, ask your pediatrician who they would refer to. He will put your child on a hypoallergenic formula, probably alimentum, because it works better than nutramigen, and it also smells better! It is a bit pricier, but as someone said below, you can give up some things, to help your baby. I do believe that many insurance companies cover alimentum if the doctor has documented a history of allergies and issues. It sounds as if that is the case. Good luck!

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K.E.

answers from New York on

M.,

I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. My daughter also had reflux and she was in pain all the time (cried all the time). She never slept, but luckily did keep food down. My first thought is that xantac did not work for my daughter. I ended up requesting a referral to a gastroenterologist, who put her on prilosec. It took a couple of weeks for it to get into her system, but after that she was like a different child. I would definitely recommend talking to the doctor about switching her prescription.

we also used nutramagin, but did not do the cereal. The pediatrician told me to do it, but the gastroenterologist did not. I opted with the gastroenterologist.

P.S. My daughter did also end up being allergic to milk, but I think it was a separate issue as she had been on nutramagin since 2 weeks of age.

P.S.S. Your daughter will most likely outgrow this!!!! We managed to wean my daughter off the prilosec at 10 months and she has not had any symptoms of it since.

I wish you all the luck. Reflux can be very trying...hang in there.

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A.D.

answers from New York on

Hi again M., Sorry you are having so much trouble. I come from the last generation where our babies did not have acid reflux, they had gas. We treated them with things like fennel tea. She may be reacting to the upset you are feeling about your older daughter. Remember, breastfed babies are directly connected to us. When I lost my cousin in VietNam I had to stop breastfeeding because my baby was feeling my grief. You could try fnding out how early you can give baby a probiotic. This works wonders on any digestive issue. Love your family and be well, Grandma Mary

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