Giving Infant a Solutab

T.,

I feel for you completely and understand your agony. My dd who is now 7 months old was first diagnosed with GERD and put on Prevacid at around the same time. Within a week we were still having major issues. It turns out she had a condition called pyloric stenosis. Does your daughter's stomach ever look like a ripple has gone over it and does she constantly want to eat but then spits up large amounts later on in the day or at night? Your pediatrician can do a simple non-invasive ultrasound to rule out pyloric stenosis. In the meantime, I would still continue with the Prevacid b/c it takes about 14 days to get in to your child's system properly. Also, I don't know if the pharmicist or Dr. told you but you have to wait 30 minutes after giving the Prevacid before you feed your daughter. I normally give my dd, her Prevacid first thing in the morning when she awakes and then feed her 30 minutes later.

For her, the pyloric surgery helped but she still had severe reflux so we still give her Prevacid. She also has a sever milk protein allergy. If you are not bf and giving your daughter formula you may want to talk to your pediatrician about it. If her bm's are showing mucous or blood than it may be her formula.

Finally, I highly recommend you check out the website Moms wearing Puke. It offers advice to mothers with children experiencing reflux.

Good luck and hang in there.

Finally,

I have a 4 month old on prevacid. It is a pain, buyt the zantac didn't work For us either. I put the tab in the syringe fIrst and then add the water to the syringe. Don't tilt the syringe upside down or it will get stuck in the bulb part. Tilt the baby slightly back when giving it, and administer slowly (not all in one big squirt). My 3 year old was the same way. It gets better.

my second baby and my third baby spit up more than normal and cried as if they were in pain. i had to cut out ALL dairy for a while. it definitely stopped the problem. not sure how bad your baby's problem is but if you haven't tried it it is worth a try. hope everything gets better!

I do not know about the meds but my youngest had gerd bad! I held her basically 24/7 until about 3 months. Heres what I ended up doing... I put her in a sling on me in the day so I could get some stuff done. At night I ended up putting a pillow UNDER her matress and put a thing to hold her on her side while she was sleeping. It helped some but I had to get her used to not feeling my heat and hearing me all the time. At one time I pulled her mattress on the floor and me a one right beside it and slept right beside her to get her used to the room/bed. I know it wont be easy and you are tired but this was the only thing I could think to do and I was at my wits end! Good luck.

I know some disagree with medicines, but what a difference it will make in your little girl (though it takes about 2 weeks to fully work). Mine was 6 months old when we finally got Prevacid, so it was easier to dose. We used the 1/2 tab dissolved in a 5ml dropper and swirled until it was dissolved. Then as I squirted in toward her cheek, I kept swirling. Usually I got more water to rinse and shoot in her mouth. You'll probably have to lean her head back to keep it from drooling out so much. Also, if you've got a full tablet for a tiny baby, then you have more than enough, even if most of it spills out.
If it's not getting much better after 2 weeks, talk to your ped again. You may have to go back to GI specialist to see if there are other problems.

I would encourage you to push a little harder with the doc on this issue. My sister as well as another friend had babies with similar problems and both were due to an anatomical problem that required surgery and would have been tragic if left untreated. Both moms felt instinctively that the spitting up was not normal and pushed with the docs. Both babies ended up having life-saving emergency surgery to repair the problem. I'm not saying this is necessarily the case with your baby but don't let the doc tell you it's normal if your instincts say differently. Both docs mentioned above assumed it was just an alarmist mother issue. Both children were the fourth child so these were not inexperienced mothers. Neither are you. Trust your instincts and see a different doctor if you need to.

Hi T.,
When my son (now 18 months)was about 4 weeks old, he was diagnosed with GERD. Just like for your daughter, Zantac didn't work and we switched to prevacid. However, my son was given granules that came in a packet. We would give half the packet with about an ounce of breast milk in the morning and the same at night. It worked out great. He always finished it and we didn't have the GERD problems. Once he started solids at 4 weeks, we no longer had to use the prevacid. Maybe you can ask your pediatrician about the packet of granules. Good zluck

We had huge problems with the solutabs. Our baby was about 6weeks at the time, and I tried the syringe method...but it got caught in it. I then tried dissovling it on a small spoon and putting it in her mouth. She hated that. So, I researched on line, and a dad posted a way he did it. Put it on your finger and then hold it to the inside of her cheek and don't let her wiggle out of it. It will dissolve in her mouth. The problem is after the first couple of times, she caught on and didn't like it then. However, it was the best way to get her to take it.
Prevacid ended up not working for her anyway, so I ended up switching meds to the liquid Zantac. The doc said it was the next step up in strength. While I wasn't a big fan of giving her stronger meds, it really worked for her and giving her the doses was much easier.
Good luck! I'll tell you the doc made it seem like it would be pretty simple to give her the solutabs, and it wasn't at all.
On your question of it being just spit up or more of a problem: It sounds like your child had the same severity of GERD as mine. The Zantac helped a lot. I know meds don't work the same for all, but it did help. She still spit up, but not at the level she used to.
For the first year, almost, of her life, she slept in her car seat. We had the car seat in her co-sleeper and in her crib with her lightly strapped in. It helped her stomach and she was much more comfortable. They have inserts for the cribs that elevate them some, but it wasn't enough for our baby. They aren't too expensive if you want to check into them. I know Babies R Us have them.

You should try and find a pharmacy that can make it into a liquid suspension so you don't have to dissolve it yourself. I had the same problem when my daughter was an infant and the little "beads" of prevacid always ended up running down her chin. It will get better--unfortunately, you just have to wait it out. My daughter's went away at about 8 months. Best of luck!

I would get a second opinion from a CHIROPRACTOR! THis is such a common condition that can be so easily fixed without medication in most causes! Prevacid is not good in the long run and certainly not something to put on someone this young unless absolutly ness! When your child was born, it was very tramuatic to her spine, this causes it to get out of alignment. Then the bones that are out put pressure on her nerves causing problems, such as gerd, colic, spitting up, etc... Please give this a try. Your baby will thank you! This treatment is very gentle and effective. If you have any questions please let me know. Good luck!

My 5 month old was just put on the Prevacid solutabs and our pediatrician said we could put it right into his mouth because it dissolves so quickly. I don't know if this would be best for your daughter since she's so young, but I started mine on teething tablets quite young and they did fine with the dissolving tablets. Maybe call and ask the pediatrician if it's ok to just put under her tongue and dissolve in her mouth.

My friend had a son who started spitting up BAD when he was several weeks old. The doctor's kept telling her it was "acid reflux". It did not get better and she thought there was something more to it than that. She finally took him to the ER and they diagnosed him as having Pyloric Stenosis. He needed a simple surgery to correct it. He has done great since the surgery.

My son had the same issue but his doctors put him on Prilosec and it has really worked. It gave him great relief within a day or two. The pharmacy has to compound the Prilosec into a liquid but hey, it has to be easier than what you're doing now. I usually rock him 30-45 mins after eating before laying him down and he does just fine now. Hope this helps.

Good luck!

It's all part of GERD My Mya has it and takes prevacid.Find a pharmacy that will compound it for you.Then when you pick it up it's already in liquid form.It must be refrigerated though.Try your walgreen's that's where I geet Mya's done.

It's scary to watch but it does get better esp after you can start solids.Mya with the meds at 14 months can eat ziti,Lasgana.Just about anything.Her biggest trigger is chocolate which shes LOVES.Too much and her reflux kicks in.

We used Alimentum formula by similac.It's expensive but helped.

Hi T.,

I can totally sympathize. My daughter also has GERD and is on Prevacid. We tried Zantac which didn't do anything. She seems to be a lot better being on Prevacid. There are lots of kids on Prevacid that I know of, and I am surprised your pharmacist isn't familiar with the solutabs. My daughter would cry & arch her back during feeds, regurgitate during feeds, reguritate large amounts about 2 hours after feeds (looked like cottage cheese that came up), cough and choke while in the bassinet despite being held up after feeds for 25-30 minutes (which was really tiring). The medicine will not stop her from regurgitating but will prevent the acid from going up into her throat and mouth so she will not be in pain. Unfortunately the regurgitating won't stop until her lower esophageal sphincter tightens which can take up until one year in some cases. We used the medicine dropper and had to make a game of it placing very small amounts of medicine directly into the side of her mouth. I actually had to start on one side of her tongue with the dropper and quickly move it to the other side as she'd try to push it out. We would then make swallowing/gurgling sounds trying to get her to imitate us. (She was a little older than your little one when we finally started Prevacid.) After a little while she managed to get most (now all) of the medicine down and thinks we are playing a game when she gets the Prevacid. She is now 4 months old.
The hard part with this medicine dropper is that the end is so big so the particles of the medicine don't get stuck, but the medicine can leak out if you hold the dropper straight up. I used a large tablespoon with the dissolved tab in a little water, the dropper held sideways, a big burp cloth and had my husband help me at first to hold her head still to get it into her mouth without her trying to grab the spoon or move her head. Later I used the bouncy chair and have been able to give her the medicine myself. She seems to like it now (at least more than her vitamin D).

Re: choking and gagging - we used a positioner which has the head somewhat elevated. (You can also use wedge pillows that they sell specifically for babies with GERD.) I also placed a rolled towel below the head of the positioner to keep her a little more elevated and started placing her on her side in the positioner so if she regurgitated she didn't choke on it but everything just came out the side of her mouth. She seemed to like being on her left side more than her right. We kept her in a bassinet beside us as the choking would frighten me. At this point (4+months) she still spits up during & after feeds, occassionally chokes (but can now move) and coughs BUT is much better and a very happy baby!

Sorry this is so long. Good luck! GERD does get better, but it takes time.

Hi T..
My son had reflux when he was a newborn. Our pediatrician sent us to a pediatric-gastroenterologist, and he set us up for an upper-GI to ensure that we could rule out a hernia. We did have to medicate my son with Prevacid, and when we did it, we used packets, that we mixed with water. We but that into a squeeze dropper and gave it to my son. It had little white beads in it and some of them remained in the dropper, but my son took about 90% of the medicine, and our doctor said that as long as we paid attention to the time, and medicated him on reqular intervals, then 90% was just fine. It is nearly impossible to give him all 100% of the meds, but sometimes we added extra water at the end and squeezed the rest of the meds in his mouth. Also, you can hold your child, face out, in one hand (leaning against your arm) and it will keep the stomach upright, and the food won't come up the esophagus against gravity. I can't remember if the baby is supposed to be on your right arm or left arm - I am sorry for that... Anyway, also, there is such a thing as a reflux pillow, and we had to 'bolster' him up in bed in order for him to sleep without getting sick. He could get sick HOURS after eating... Last thing - if your baby is very upset that his/her throat is hurting from constant regurgitating, ask your pediatrician if you can give them Maalox. A little bit a night really made a difference in my son!!
Good luck! Also, a little after he was one, we were able to wean him off of the meds without a problem, and he has very little problems with digestion now. :)
I wish you the best,
S.

I am so sorry you and your daughter are going through all this!
Please know, I am all for emergency medical care. And, if I ever need it I will be first in line for the best!
I try alternative first and since this is where my head and heart go... Have you tried chiropractic? Alignment of the spine so that the nervous system can regulate the body itself is often a good place to start. Dr. Michael Scimeca in Roswell, and Lotus of Life in Decatur are two very good options.
Are you nursing her? Is there something you are eating that might bother her?
I hope you find great resources here!

First off, Congrats on the new baby.
My oldest and youngest sons were diagnosed with GERD, they are now 13 and 7. I know it can make feeding and sleeping hard on us Moms.
Here's what worked for us;
If you find that your baby is spitting up more than 1/2 of the bottle, thicken it with some rice cereal. We got to the point of having to cut the nipples in order to do the feedings due to the thickness. We were also giving my oldest a rx for Zantax.
Instead of having to hold your baby, you can prop her in a swing without motion. Keeping her upright allows the food to reach the digestive track and reduces the risk of aspiration. If you use a bouncer chair, do so without vibration.
My sons were born before the stores started carrying all the cool things. They now sell a wedge in most baby stores that when placed below the mattress in a crib it provides the proper angle for a GERD baby.
Some spit up is normal, the choking gagging sounds are symptomatic of a GERD infant. However, you should NEVER place your baby flat since she's been diagnosed. If the medication is working and she is kept upright the spit up should be minimal.
She should have a barrium swallow done to evaluate the extent of reflux. If your pediatrician hasn't recommended one, please find a new one.
I wish you luck and much happiness with your daughter.

Check back with baby doctor. It's unusual for a baby that young to have such a problem. I would suspect that it a problem with her throat or lower down. Still, I would make sure I had X-rays of the body to find out if there is a twist somewhere, so she can't keep anything down. 30 minutes is a long time - too long. Check with doctor, get X-rays if they haven't been taken then if not satisfied, get another doctor.

T.,
Congratulations on your baby, and it gets better :) My daughter was premature and had reflux. The nurses in the NICU showed me to put a little liquid (I used my milk to mix with the liquid med) in the tip of the nipple from a bottle. Put your finger under the whole in the nipple, pour your liquid with your medicine in it, then let her suck it out like she's taking a bottle. She will have taken the medicine before she knows it. You might have to widen the tip if the solutab doesn't completely dissolve (we never did those). It worked perfectly for my daughter! Good luck.

On the sleeping, I'm no help. I did the same thing as you :(

Personally I would skip the meds and hightail it to the chiropractor with that precious baby! I think GERD is much overdiagnosed and overmedicated in babies. My babys have all spit up to some degree some more than others but they were all helped with regular chiropractic care. Even my highly allergic baby was never put on gerd drugs (which wreak havoc on the immune system of developing babies and their digestion for their entire lives) and was helped with chiropractic care. I think its terrible that babys are on so many needless medications these days.

Hi T.,
One of my twins had the same thing, she was on Prevacet also, both my doctor and pharmacist told me to first disolve the tablet in a little water, I then got one of the pacifier medicine dispensers poured it into it and gave it to my daughter that way. Also, after feeding her I sat her either in the bouncer or carseat carrier for 30 minutes and when I put her down to sleep I put a pillow under the mattress in the crib, to create an incline position and that seemed to ease it a little, don't worry my daughters went away around 3 months and she has been fine every since. I hope this helps.

Hi Tereasa,
You did not mention whether you were nursing or formula. One is easier than the other to try. Many babies have casien (cow milk protein) intolerance. If you are nursing, cut out your milk, yogurt, etc. If you want/need the milk, try drinking rice or soy (better not to do soy if you like the rice). This could help her emensely. Just a thought, J.

I'd get a second opinion. Can you smash the granules with your finger or another spoon? I wonder if you can place it in a small hand blender to liquefy it.

I would want to see a pediatric GI. It's a little bit excessive -- what you're experiencing.

Do you have a wedge in her crib? It's a thing you put down in the crib that makes it so baby sleeps on a little bit of an incline. How is she growing? If it's bad enough, it may require surgery -- though surgery on a baby so young is something to be avoided, of course.

I found this -- I find very interesting considering the back sleeping being reinforced all the time: "(For infants with chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease [GERD] or certain upper airway malformations, sleeping on the stomach may be the better option. The AAP urges parents to consult with their child's doctor in these cases to determine the best sleeping position for the baby.)"

Without a doubt, before I did this, I would get the go-ahead from the doctor -- especially because SIDS happens more often in winter than summer!

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/digestive/pyloric_st...

http://gerd.cdhnf.org/

The spitting up could be a milk allergy. I was so harshly allergic to milk as a baby I had to be given goats milk. If she is a bf baby I would cut out dairy from your diet, if she's a bottle fed baby I'd switch to a soy formula.