Gas and Acid Reflux

I had that problem with my last son and I switched his formula from good start to enfamil lipil. He wasn't gassy anymore and was having regular bowl movements. I told his pediatrician and she said if it solved the problem then keep him on it. It is hard though because WIC doesn't cover it.

Have you tried soy formula instead? She could be allergic to the milk proteins in the formula. I would give that a try and see if you notice a difference.

A.

My daughter had the same problem. We ended up switching her formula to Nutramigen and using little tummy drops. Within two weeks She had done a complete 360 and was happy after her feedingds instead of fussing for an hour. Good luck

N....sorry to hear your little girl has reflux. My DD had it from birth until she was 3. I tried a million things before medicating, but ultimately had to medicate. It is quite possible the medication you are using isn't working for her. We had first tried Zantac and it did nothing, then we switched to prilosec and it helped tremendously.

Other things that helped...eating smaller amounts more frequently (our daughter probably ate 2 oz. every hour or two...I felt like all I did was feed her). We tried to hold her as upright as possible when eating too. We used Ventaire bottles...I have also heard the Doc Brown bottles are great...although they are very expensive. (I used the same formula as you and it seemed to be the least gassy and easiest on her tummy too) :)

Our daughters issues were mostly in sleeping...she had a lot of discomfort on her back, so she had to sleep upright in her car seat.

Anyway...GOOD LUCK...reflux and fussy babies can be exhausting...I feel your pain!!

Try Soy Formula. It might not help the reflux so much but will help with the gas and constipation so keep up with the Zantac. Worked wonders for my daughter who couldn't handle breastmilk!
Best Wishes,
J.

We too went through this with our son, and are currently going through it with our 7 week old! I don't have to much to say that has not already been said... except HANG IN THERE!! It took our son until he was 18 months to be off meds and able to eat and drink without pain. One suggestion I have, is talk to your doctor about the different kinds of meds out there for acid reflux. The first one our daughter was on caused her to be constipated and juice did not help. Really keep your doctor in the loop with this and remember acid reflux meds take about 3 weeks for their FULL affect.
HANG IN THERE!!!
From one sleepless mom to another- :)
If you need anything- ____@____.com

N., we had the same problem with our baby girl. We finally tried gripe water and it was a god send.. The only kind that worked was the kind at GNC. Just ask, they should be able to help you or order some if they don't have it. I put it in almost every bottle and it really seemed to help the gas. We also let her sleep in her car seat (put the carseat in the crib) until she was about three months...When we moved her to her crib, I put a pillow under the mattress to prop her head up a bit. I hope this helps, I know it is hard. Oh, also I used the Doc. Brown bottles and they are expensive, but they helped a ton too!

When my daughter was 6 weeks old she was diagnosed with reflux. She actually spent 4 days in Childrens becuase it was affecting her breathing. We spent two hours with a nurse who trained us in CPR and gave us lots of good advice for newborns with reflux. One thing was to keep her upright for a half an hour after feeding her. Make sure she burps. We could never lay her flat on the ground - ever (until she was 6 months old and over it), her swing scrunched her up too much, so we had to stop using that, but the bouncy seat was ok since it kept her upright more and not so squished. We propped her crib up alot and she actually slept in a sling they provided that kept her from rolling or falling down. Maybe some of those ideas will help you. I think the upright after eating and don't lay her flat for awhile might really help. It does get better!

I switched my daughter to the "gentle" parent's choice formula available at wal-mart. (although most stores have their own brand). It's still milk-based because my daughter did't have a problem with dairy, it was just she wanted things a little bit gentler. She has done really well on it, and I like it because it's a lot cheaper than the enfamil or Nestle brands.

Hi, my son had terrible acid reflux as an infant. He did the projectile vomitting at least 2 times after every feeding. The doctors put him on meds but it only help a little. What worked for me was taking him in to get adjusted with me at the chiropractor. He was only like 9 weeks old the first time he went. I would call around before you take her and make sure you find someone that works on infants often. You can go in and get adjusted at the same time!! :-)

N.~

My son had the same problem as a newborn. We ended up trying the lactose free formula and that worked really well. He slept in his car seat carrier for the first 3 months because of the reflux. We also did the gas drops throughout the day but switching the formula (we tried ALL of them) to lactose free was what did the trick.

I hope this helps!

E.

Hi N.,

When my daughter was tiny she had a few problems with constipation because of the meds I was on following my c-section and such, she was a breast fed baby (until age 2). But the pharmacist suggested glycerin suppositories, they have them for kids and you just cut them in half or in 1/4ths for a infant depending on size and such. You could try it once, they aren't too expensive, and if that doesn't help at least you tried. It will not hurt your daughter, just help her poop if that is what she needs to do!

Good Luck!
A.

A Little About Me: married 6 years, and Mom to Montanna Elizabeth 4 on July 14th

We had the same problem with our first child except that he was strictly breastfed. My best advice would be to make sure you're burping her DURING the feeding and not just after it...and have you tried "bicycling" her legs? Just move them in a bicycle motion...that used to help us, alot. If you push her knees toward her chest, that might help, too. It gets better :) Good luck!

I have 3 little ones. My two boys both had/have sensitive digestive systems. It really bothered my oldest. I breast fed in the beginning with him and after my milk dried up I tried several formulas. He responded best to a lactose free Enfamil. It helped tremendously. It also was less expensive and tasted much better than some others.
I never had much luck with gas drops. I think the sweetness soothes them for a moment, but it really doesn't help anything. I found with my 3rd child something called Gripe Water. You can get it at the healthfood store. It worked wonders for my youngest. It was a little challenging to get in, but it was worth it. I found that I had to give it to him consistantly for it to really work.
Lastly, about the reflux. I am an adult that has suffered with it off and on for years. I have done a little research over the past year and I have a problem with medications. I noticed that with the prescription and OTC drugs, my stomach actually hurt worse. You need acid in your stomach to properly digest food. Medications that control the acid can affect digestion. I have been taking digestive enzymes instead and had more relief. They help keep everything moving smoothly in the right direction. I don't know that your little one could take them yet, but I would worry about pres. meds. Simple fixes like small frequent feedings and keeping her upright as much as you can should help. My youngest actually slept in his carseat for most of his first 5 months.
I'm sorry for rambling on for so long. I guess what I am saying is that simple fixes can often work better than doctor prescribed ones and won't have long-term side-effects. Good luck!!!

Have you tried Dr. Brown's bottles??

My little girl had the same problems and not only did she have acid reflux but an intolerance to her formula. I switched her to Similac Isomil Advance which is a soy formula. After that I never had a problem, and now she is 15 months and drinking regular milk, off her reflux meds, no problems. I hope this helps and good luck!!

I am not a doc who could say for SURE, but it sounds like maybe she is a little lactose intolerant? My little one, who is 10 weeks old now acted the same way. I switched her to Good Start Soy and she is like a different baby. (Still a little consitpated, but prune juice helps) Maybe you could talk to your doc about switching to soy formula?

Three out of my four children had the same thing. I ended up using nutramigen formula with all of them. We went through many formulas and many days of my poor baby screaming and crying. This may be something you might want to try and avoid all the others. It is expensive, but it was so worth it. With a doctors note WIC might help out. (If you qualify)Remember to give it atleast a week before giving up. Good luck! I know how hard it is!

Consider switching her formula to the soy version and see if that helps. It can take up to two weeks before you'll see improvement but I had great results with the Soy Good Start and it helped my baby a lot.

Our son is now 2 years old, he had reflux also. Seemed like he hardly slept at all. But we finally went to Dr. Judd a peds gastro doctor he was awesome. It took quite awhile to find the right meds which we had to give at least a month to work. But in the mean time we used a infant carrier alot. Like a Bjorn...he liked to be upright, less gas and he could still see what was going on around him. It was a life saver!

Trying a different type of formula or even a different style bottle could help. My 2nd boy was the same way. We had these bottles that were supposed to help keep extra air out of his stomach but they didn't. We finally settled on the bottle liner style. Other people I know swear by the Dr. Brown bottles. Just pick up different styles and try them out (do a few feedings with one style before you try another to give her time to settle into it).

Another thing to consider is that she isn't getting a good seal on the nipple of the bottle so she is getting extra air while she is drinking. My son did this too. Then he would cry and get even more. His gas pains were almost unbearable for all of us involved.

Also, try burping her more often than you are now and maybe try smaller bottles or even bigger bottles. It is all about trying to figure out what works for them.

If you think she is constipated then do give her juice. Pear juice seemed to help my guy out more than anything else. I would dilute it with water in varying amounts until we figured out what worked best for him. We gave him those bottles twice a day. Less if he was having messy diapers that weren't just pebbles.

Good Luck! (P.S. My son had gas problems even after we got him past his worst phase, he got a lot better around 12 weeks but it took him about 9 months to become a happy baby, hang in there. It will pass)

It could be that you need to change formula? My son had issues with this when we started him on formula, he was always so gasy as well and i tryed the enfimil formula that has gas relief and that worked wonderful and I never had any problems with him being fussy or constipated. But if nothing else is working I would try switching formula. Hope that works out. Good Luck :)