Baby with Reflux Learning to Sit Up

I would not try to encourage him to sit up, he will when he is truely ready on his own, his back and neck are obviously not strong enough yet and this is where the crying comes in, this is my opinion, I have 5 children and have witnessed just about every situation. If he likes being propped up on the couch then just do that until he is ready

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A.,
My son who is now 7 years old has reflux and has since he ws an infant. When he was about 5 months old I started propping him up in either the exersaucer or walker. I would just wrap a blanket around his chest (it kind of looked like he had a pool tube on). I would then put him in and make sure that he was nice and snug. In the beginning I would put another blanket behind him for a little extra head support, but it only took about a week for him to gain the head control. Just try it for a 15 minutes a couple times a day. (I have a picture of my nephew at 3 months old in the exersaucer as I described, I could email it to you if you would like a visual) This will also give him something different to do, now that hw is getting older and more aware of his surroundings. Another thing that you might benefit from is sitting him in a feeding chair. I have the Fisher-Price Space Saver chair and my youngest (now 9 months old) started using it at about 3 months old. I do daycare out of my house and the other infants are about 2 months older that my daughter. This seat worked great when the older kids were sitting and playing, but my daughter was not yet sitting. The high back of the seat gave her the head support and the tray gave her the support she needed in front of her. It lso allowed her to be with the other kids. Hope these ideas help!!!
C.

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My son is now 11 months but had reflux until about 8 months old. He had the same issue with sitting up - he'd be uncomfortable and throw himself back and usually spit up. We used the Bumbo seat and it helped to support him and strengthen his muscles. Sometimes he did still spit up while in it, but it helped a lot. My doctor recommened it. Just be sure to only use it on the floor - never on a table or counter. I've heard of people doing that and the baby tips over. Good luck!

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I would not be in such a hurry to encourage him to sit up on his own, especially if he is a bigger baby. My son needed back and neck support until he was over 6 months old - sitting on the couch was just fine. Some babies are just not ready to sit up quickly, since it involves back, tummy and neck strength as well as development of balance, which is a bit scary for them at first. I'd continue to let him lean into a pillow or the back of a couch, or on mommy and daddy. My son liked to hang out in his swing, without it going as a first step, until his neck and head was a bit less wobbly, becuase it was a nice snug fit, and we could put one of those head snugglies behind him. Then he acually moved to rolling before sitting up, and did not sit up on his own comfortably until 8 months, when he started crawling. He was walking just before his first birthday, so there was not development delays.

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I had twins with acid reflux since birth. They were on Zantac for the first 9 months and they also used Enfamil AR formula (with added rice starch). These thing s seamed to help alot but, they still had issues with laying flat for a long time. They actually slept in the bouncy seats until they were 7 months old because they needed the incline to be comfortable. When they started sleeping in their cribs I put a wedge on top of the mattress to give them that inclide they needed. They also hated being on their tummies and I'm sure it was because of their reflux also. They are now 3 yrs old and still seam to have some issues with their gag reflux. For instance if they have a runny nose they sometimes gag on the drip and throw up or if they run around too much and get out of breath they have thrown up from that also. If I hear them cough at all I usually tell them to look up (or hands up)
and that seams to help keep them from gagging and getting sick. I know it may seem silly to other people but if it works it's worth it. I would ask your Pediatrician what they think and just be aware of the gag problem that he might have in the future. Luckily if that's the only thing they have wrong with them I'll take it but, no one wants to see their baby uncomfortable :( Best of luck to you! Enjoy your lil angel.

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My 7yr old has reflux and has had it since birth. He was a power puker. He had to be put on Reglan(SP?) because some of the other meds didn't help much. He didn't enjoy tummy time cuz it bothered his stomach. I use to prop him with receiving blankets in his walker or exersaucer and he loved it. I also used Fennel water off and on during the day cuz it helped relieve his tummy problems. You can buy Fennel in the spice aisle. Boil about 1-2 tsp in a pan of water, let it cool, take the seeds out and let him drink it off and on.(can add a little sugar if needed)Keep in the fridge and dispose after 4-5 days. It works better than some of the gas drops they sell on the market. It will not interfere with any medications either. Hopefully this will help.

I'm 36 years old with two kids, boy 2 1/2 and girl 4 mo. Neither of them has the reflux issue, but Jorja showed signs of wanting to sit up to see what was going on and we finally bought the Bumbo seat. I got tired of propping. It's the single best baby item out. Get them at Wal-Mart or Target. It's basically a big supportive seat that is made of spongy plastic stuff, we also bought the tray so I put things in front of her and she reaches for them already. We take it everywhere. I wish they had this on the market when my son was an infant.

My baby had reflux (and still does to some extent), but actually sitting up makes the reflux feel better. He may just not like the strain for having to support himself when he is sitting forward. It shouldn't be related to the reflux.

It probably is, my son has had reflux since birth and was even unable to do tummy time. It put him a little behind with his motor skills, but he caught up quickly. Most MD's don't want to give reflux medication unless absolutely needed, since most kids will grow out of it. My son has asthma too, so his reflux medication is not a choice. It sure helped alot though, no more spitting up and he was able to sit and lay however he wanted. Talk with your pediatrician at his next appt, or if it's really bad call the nurse in the office.

A.,

I am no help on this, but am interested in the responses you get. I, too, had a son in October 2007 and he has severe reflux. He has yet to sit up without a ton of support and also hates tummy time - I think both are due to the reflux issue. He's been on prevacid for almost a month and it's had a great impact on the symptoms, but this stuff persists.

So, I'll be following this thread closely and wishing you and your son well...

Actually, I believe they say that being on their stomachs can relieve the AR symptoms. My guess is that your son (like so many babies now) is just so not used to being on his stomach because of the Back to Sleep initiative. My daughter is 5 months and she will start to cry after on a few minutes on her stomach. She has good head control and is strong, but is so unused to being in that position even though I started flipping her over for tummy time at 2 weeks (only for a minute at that time). I am still surprised that she is not really rolling over on her own. They say babies now are taking much longer to do those things.............