Infant Acid Reflux Advice

This website is the leading website for GERD (Gastro esophageal reflux disease.) It is really informative but the best part about it is the forums. There are lots of moms and dads on here who share information and who talk about what they are doing that helps them and medicine things, etc.

It is invaluable for someone who has a baby with really severe reflux, because it wreaks havoc on the home if it is really bad. Reflux babies do not normally sleep well and neither do the parents. They are often in and out of doctor offices and are constantly trying new medication. We were in the doctor office more than 100 times in Genevieve's first year of life and in the hospital about 5 times doing various procedures before she was 8 months old.

It will also help people who are just new to the world of reflux. I am not sure how bad their baby's reflux is but sadly, it tends to get worse before it gets better. In some babies whose reflux is not severe, they can outgrow it in 3 months. For others, they can be treated with medication.

The site is a little hard to navigate at first- and u will have to set up an ID to get on there and participate in the forums. But those forums are invaluable.
Here is how u can get to where she needs to go (although I suggest u read through the site because it is really invaluable information!!!)

http://www.reflux.org/

1- i suggest u read the ABOUT PAGER stuff first.
2. then go to the Consult Other Parents and then to FORUMS
(then read the guidelines before she goes onto the forums.)
3. General, Beginner, and Infants is the section u will want.

They will see lots of threads on there u can read through... and u can post questions on there and they will get answers from really knowledgeable people right away. It is such a nice way to get info and also to get support.

u can also email me with questions and things too.)

http://www.reflux.org/

Dear E.,
Are you nursing? If so, I may have a solution for you. Call me at ###-###-####.
If you are not nursing, my solution may help your son once he turns six months of age.
Blessings!
J. F.

As a birth doula, I hear this from many moms when I do post- partum visits. Many times there is an issue with the food that you are eating if you are breastfeeding(your child has sensitivity to that food), or to formula. I've found that homeopaths, naturpaths and acupuncturists help with this issue.
Feel free to email me if you want a reference in your area.
L.

I was told my daughter had Acid Reflux when she was around 1 or 2 months old. She would always throw-up and not just spit up right after eating. Even with breast milk it would come right back up. I tried Soy formula and that did not work. She was never on medication though. The doctor switched her formula to Enfamil A.R. which is an anti-reflux formula. That worked for her and she would just do little spit ups like most babies do. Anyhow, you could check with your doctor about the formula and see if it works instead of medication.

My son was prescribed medication for reflux too, but it turns out that many babies have reflux and most don't need medication for it, they just grow out of it. Besides the usual advice (propping up, etc.), the best advice I got was to burp the baby after just a few minutes of feeding. If you are breastfeeding, you might have a strong let down at first and if you're bottle feeding, sometimes hungry babies gulp down the first ounce of so, getting a lot of air. If you stop after 3-4 minutes and get a burp, the rest of the milk might not go on top of an air bubble. It might sound simple, but it worked for us and I was getting desperate! Since then, I've read that babies with acid reflux are often difficult to burp and that continually patting their backs may actually aggravate the condition, so experiment to see what works for your baby.

good luck. I know it makes for a lot of long nights while you keep your baby upright for 1/2 hour (at least) after he eats. He's sleeping, but you're not! Hang in there!

We were also blessed with an acid reflux baby - undiagnosed for a while. The doctor prescribed Carafate Suspension to be given about 20 minutes before a feeding and she was like a new child. I see people have recommended prevacid (back then I don't think that was available for infants!) - our daughter is now on that and it works wonders!

Both my babies had reflux, but my daughter was much worse. She had to be upright most of the day (draped over our shoulders), slept in a swing for the first 4 months (to avoid tummy sleeping SIDS risk too early), then became a tummy sleeper because the milk would flow up her esophagus if she laid on her back for even a second. We tried to avoid medications but had to start liquid Zantac at 6 weeks. I understand Zantac has been around the longest and is the only medication approved for use in infants (everything else is off-label use and should be used with caution). I breastfed and attemped dietary changes for myself (no dairy, etc), but it made no difference. Miraculously, when she learned to sit up on her own, the reflux improved dramatically. By 6 months, we let her outgrow her dose of Zantac and she was off it completely by 7 months. She never spit up since. To me this was a clear case of loose muscles/ligaments around the base of the esophagues, and it seems tightening up her abdominal muscles by sitting, sleeping on her belly and crawling cured her 100%. Good luck to you. Reflux makes the first few months incredibly difficult.

prevacid has worked wonders for our now 2 1/2 month old baby girl. she was diagnosed at 4 weeks and prior to prevacid would scream in pain. it was heartwrenching, but now she is happy and pain free.
we used the gripe water some but i think that is more for colic symptoms.

Hi E. -

My son had acid reflux from birth until 18 months. he was on axid as well and while it did work for him we went through several medications before we found it. maybe they can switch your little guy to zantac or previcid? we also switched our son to organic formula which helped immensley. it is expesive but worked for us. i would not switch to soy until you speak to your pediatrician. you can also make your own formula using goats milk it sounds crazy but goats milk is smuch gentler on the system than cows milk or soy is. i would also speak to your doctor about that before you try it. something to know about the reflux drugs and infants they have never done any kind of studies to show what the effects of these drugs are on infants. they have done studies with adults and children but not babies. we ended up taking our son off of the drugs at 6 months for this reason and lived with the reflux afterwards. the organic formula and solids helped a lot. as you can tell i am crunchy tree hugging mommy so my way is not for everyone but i hope that i helped you a little.

good luck.

cheers,
M.

In our office, we recommend probiotics, even for infants, to help establish the flora/bacteria in the digestive tract. Also, if you are breast feeding, he may have allergies/sensitivies to foods that you are eating, such as pasteurized dairy products, etc. He also may have some misalignments in his neck and mid-back area which can affect how his G.I. tract is functioning. Look for a good chiropractor in your area. If you need a referral, let me know. Dr. S. Chaney
www.mylivinghealth.com

Keep an eye out - my son was diagnosed with acid reflux and was on Zantac. It didn't work as he still spit up regularly. After a few weeks everything starting coming up. The day we noticed bloodish/brown in it we rushed him to the ER where we found out he had pyloric stenosis (stomache closes over) and he had surgery to correct it.

Since then he has been 100% healthy and eats like a champ.

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/digestive/pylori...

My now 10 year old son had acid reflux from 3 weeks old till now. He was on Cisapride which is no longer on the market, I would suggest asking your doctor for Zantac which is the sister of Cisapride. Best of luck

J. Z.
Be an Ecomommy
www.shaklee.net/Z.

I feel that by not lying flat on his back when he sleeps will help aleviate the acid reflux. Is he breast fed? Could it be something you're eating or drinking that is not sitting well with him? Good Luck

Annie R

E.,
My son was put on acid reflux medicine the day he was born. He was miserable. And nothing seemed to work. He was up every two hours at night. I breast fed and thought I was doing everything right. Finally at 18 months old, I put him on soy milk and he began to do better. He began at that point to sleep through the night. So you may need to see if he is allergic to milk. Second, my son was diagnosed at the age of five with Celiac disease. He began having diahhrea every day and his growth is still stunted. Boys tend to be thin and small while girls tend to be overweight. Something to watch for. I am not trying to scare you but this has been my experience.
At this point I would check for any allergies. It is worth a try for a very unhappy baby. Oh, and my pediatrician kept telling me it was acid reflux. I had to try several before they would test him. Be persistent. You are your baby's best doctor! Today I have a very healthy unmedicated 6 year old boy!
A.

E.,

I feel your pain. My first sone had acid reflux and had troubles spitting up until he was 2 years old. (know that this is uncommon, but I tell you because the Dr. will tell you it will clear up by 1 and that may not be true.)

My second too has reflux and spits up, though it is finally starting to clear up at 9 months. We have him on Zantac for the acid which is supposed to reduce the reflux only because the medicine actually reduces the acide, not directly the spitting up. It does take awhile to notice a difference.

Also, dr. don't usually expect to see a large change until 6 months with the introduction of solids. You may want to talk to your doctor about starting solids at 4 months as it might help. The solids can make a difference.

Unfortunately much of this is just an age thing and babies have to grow out of that - example for us was truly my first son since it continued until 2.

Good luck and hang in there.

I am not familiar with that particular medication, my son was on zantac for his first year and had very bad reflux. The zantac worked for him but I know other babies that it did not work for. I know it takes about 7-10 days to really start working so that may be a factor. If it has been longer than that go back to your pediatrician and tell them you need to try something new or a bigger dosage. My son's dosage fluctuated with his weight and did take a while in the beginning to find the dose that worked for him. If you do put him on zantac call around to get a pharmacy that will do a "compound" and ask your pediatrician to write a Rx for it. The compound is a mixture of zantac and a generic form of zantac which produces a MUCH better tasting form and you can flavor it. Otherwise it will be minty and taste like alcohol which a baby will not go for.

A few other things that will help a reflux baby... keep the baby elevated for 20 minutes after each meal so the food doesn't come back up, have him sleep in a swing or car seat or elevate the end of his bassinet/crib to keep his head up and his food down, also get a miracle swaddle blanket at www.miracleblanket.com they work wonders.

Good luck and I hope your little one feels better soon:)

Hi E.,

Here are some web sites:

www.pollywogbaby.com/refluxandcolic/alternativetreatments...

http://www.ambybaby.com/infant-acid-reflux.php

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/u19595/baby_acid...

Hope this helps. Good Luck. D.

Both of my sons (3 yr old and 5 months) had minor reflux as newborns. We used a product called grippe water. They used to only sell it at natural markets because it's just ginger and fennel extracts. With our younger child I found that they now sell it at Walgreens. If your son has a more serious case of reflux it may not work as well as a prescription, but it's worth a try. It's only $12 and it's all natural so it can't hurt. It's great for hiccups too.