IUGR Babies

Hi –

I do have an IUGR baby and like you, my son also had a collection of problems. One of which was keeping his food down. My son was born emergency c-section at 35 weeks. He weighed 3 lbs., 5 oz. Of ten times with preemies their pyloric sphincter has not properly developed causing acid reflex. My doctor decided that my son was indeed suffering from acid reflex. He prescribed him liquid Zantac. It worked immediately. It did not cure his vomiting completely but it did ease up. As with most acid reflux problems, my son has grown out of it. I would guess that he was around 8 months when he finally grew out of it. He no longer needs Zantac. Coincidently, my son also had a drop in weight around 9 months. He is well below the 5th percentile but is growing parallel to standard growth curve. He has since correct for that drop in weight. My doctor has encouraged me to continue pushing formula and avoid liquids like Juice. I feed him Similac Neosure, which is a higher calorie formula then the norm, and will probably feed him that well past 15 months, if not longer. I hope this helps or at least lets you know you are not alone.

Have you thought about cranial sacral therapy for your little boy? It is subtle in practice and can have amazing results, for more info check out the Upledger Institute on line. This is just one school there are many others that have slightly different schools of thought but it is really about finding a practioner that you connect with. Good luck.
A.

I'm sorry to hear about your little guy. You must be so worried. Hang in there. One question...have they tested him for Cystic Fibrosis? I'm not sure about kids with poor weight gain in utero, but my niece didn't gain weight very well after she was born and then finally did start when she was on formula. They didn't diagnose the CF until she was over three. Your mentioning of GI isues makes me thing of CF because these kids have a hard time digesting food, often. Some more than others. It's a very easy skin test. I'm no doctor, but I thought I'd mention it just in case since it took my nieces doctors until she got pneumonia to figure it out. Hope it's not that, but I do hope you can figure it out ASAP. Best of luck.

Hi-

While I'm not familiar w/IURG, it does sound to me like that by 9 months, the docs should have diagnosed the problem. I assume you're already seeing a specialist in some pediatric field related to gastro problems? Maybe it's time to either get a second opinion or switch dr. What about milestones such as crawling, sitting etc? Have those been hit in the 3 month window period or there abouts? If not, has there been any suggestion of PT or OT for him? I don't want to scare you, but this could start to effect him cognitivley & the key is early intervention. Maybe you could google & find a support group. Hope this helps & good luck!

I have and am currently dealing with a IUGR baby. I have twins and had an emergency c-section at 35 weeks. One of my boys was growing normally and the other was severly small with a bunch of other problems. They are 3 now and we are still struggling with my little guys weight. he was born 2lbs 3oz and now he is only 20lbs.He has never been on the growth charts he is under the 5% and is making his own chart. He does have a g tube and i was feeding him at night with it but 2 hours after i turned off the pump when he woke up i would move him and he would vomit. The gi doc did a stomach emptying scan and found out he does not digest his food at a normal rate. He prescribed him reglan 4x's a day to help digest his food.
There was a food alergy that they tested him for to see if he was alergic to wheat products, they said that it happens when you give them wheat products to early.
I would ask your doc about having the emptying scan done, it was just out of the blue that my son started vomiting after his meals.
good luck

I have no information on IUGR but my daughter had issues with throwing up a lot during the first few months until her Dr. diagnosed that she had relux. Her Dr. explained that the stomach actually needs 12 months before its fully developed and since we obviously arent pregnant for that long some children have difficulty with digesting and holding things down. SInce your son was born earlier it may be that his stomach muscles have formed/strenghtened enough. It may have nothing to do with it but thought I would share the information. My daughter was put on Prevacid and it worked wonders for her. Best of luck to you and your family

I was induced at 38 weeks, due to me having low amniotic fluid (which can be a sign that the baby isn't getting enough nourishment)--- My daughter was also very small (grew steady at 5th % for weight) and she had the same problem when she was 9 mos. old. She couldn't tolerate any grains and would vomit if I gave them to her. I just skipped giving them to her and gave her fruits and veggies on the advice of my pediatrician. As soon as I quit giving her grains, she quit throwing up. She had acid reflux as a baby and was treated for that for about 8 months with infant heart burn meds. When she was 1 year old, we found out she was allergic to peanuts, but nothing else (not grains)... She is now a healthy 5 year old. Have you tried just skipping the grains for now? Maybe he just has a sensitive stomach right now (to those).

E

have they tested him for celiac disease - there is a blood test but sometimes gives wrong results - only way to truly test for it is to do a biopsy of the intestine - you may want to ask about this, but what you're describing sounds like it could be. Good luck - it sounds stressful and hard.