Moms with Reflux Babies

I do not have any children with this problem. However I have been researching probiotics for myself and saw that a lot of children could benefit from them. Maybe look into them. It could help with his eczema

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Hello Cinderella - Both my boys had reflux and my oldest had the gag thing really bad, went through the swallow test at Christiana, followed by speach therapy, which was really food therapy to teach him how to chew. The therapy did wonders for him and though we have excellent insurance, the state of DE paid for it all through their early intervention program.

Both my boys were on medication, the oldest did not respoind well to Zantac and ended up on Prilosec or Prevacid. Our pediatrician also had a child with reflux and was a tremendous resource for information and I highly recommend her, Dr. Barbara Light, at Pediatric Associates in the medical pavillions at Christiana Hospital, Newark, DE.

A couple of things I remember from the food therapy appts. were giving him the larger sticks of graham crackers, toast, etc. letting him watch me demonstrate how to eat them in an exagerated way, especially, how to take a bite, then move the food to the molar area to chew before swallowing. As long as you are right there with your son, you can do this, and give him a soft plastic baby spoon to put in his mouth to bite down on as well... encourage him to put it in the back in the molar area of his mouth, even if he doesn't have teeth there yet.

Hang in there, because this will all pass. My guys are now 3 and almost 15 months and their reflux is well behind them now. Feel free to email me anytime if you have any other specific questions about reflux, gagging, medications, the swallow test, the food therapy, or Dr. Light. Good Luck Dear Lady!

My daughter was the same exact way. She took Zantac and was on Alimentum as well. She did not eat baby food either, I tried and tried. Finally I just gave up. Around 8 months I just started giving her table food. She did amazing with pasta and the Gerber Graduates fruit cubes. You can find them in the baby isle. I just gave her plain pasta in chicken broth and after she did well with that gave her tomato sauce. She is now 2 1/2 and is an excellent eater. It will get better!!

Hi D. F, My name is M. and I have a 10 year old son who suffered the same thing when he was a baby. He didn't eat or drink unless it all came out and sometimes it looked like he would spit up more than he took in. After years of taking him to doctors and many tests later he was diagnosed with "inmature stomach". Which basically means he did not digest foods. The only thing we could do is wait to see if he outgrew it. He did....5 years later. However in the mean time the only thing we could do to keep food in his stomach was to puree everything and only feed him two or three teaspoons every 45minutes to an hour. (Yes you read correctly, I or whomever watched him had to feed him every 45 min to 1 hour 1 to 2 teaspoons of puree.) This went on until about the age of 5 when he decided to start trying different foods. He would still spit it up but at least he was trying. He is a husky 10 year old today who on occassions has a stomach issue. The best thing of all this is that he is not a candy addict but rather loves his vegetables. Hope this helps. M. L

D,
i am a nurse in a large rural hospital and in no way want to undermine the advice of your dr! But... I've heard this many times and encourage you to keep dog-ing! I nknow you probably feel like "the problem mom" but dr's use tried and true methods for the general masses. Once in awhile a child comes along who isn't "general" and needs more intensive testing. Question testing for chron's,ulcerative colitis,ph probe(though i suspect this was done to diagnose the reflux),additional allergy panels for food additives and possibly a second opinion or referral to a specialist. As long as the little prince is growing and gaining weight , you could probably keep doing what you're doig unitl that appt in june. If you're frazzled, don't wait! Make a stink! Good luck!m;)

Hi D.,

My 1st also had GI problems and was on the Alimentum, though that helped her. I actually figured out she could not have bananas and when she had further problems with a few other foods, her GI doctor told me just to use the formula till age 1. The formula provides everything they need. I did this and it worked for us. I guess her system just took time to mature. I was afraid then, that she'd be a bad eater, but it didn't affect that at all. She is 2 1/2 and able to eat anything. FYI, she also has eczema. She uses elidel for that when problems become severe and we vasoline her entire body within the first 3 minutes after her bath EVERY night.

Hi! I have a son with severe acid reflux who is 14 months now. We switched and tried every formula (including Alimentum and Nutramigen) and finally he was put on Neocate-once he saw the Gastroenterologist at Children's Hospital!--- and it was a life saver- something I will never regret spending money on because it changed his life. With the Neocate, we also had to add cereal to it because of how thin it was, but once we figured it out- he got remarkably better. His pediatrician also put him on Prevacid at about 6 months of age and that too made a really big difference. We had him on Zantac and it just really did not change much with him, but the Prevacid really showed large signs of improvement and he is currently still on it. He is also still on the Neocate and will be switching to a Soy formula at the end of this month. I am hoping for the best as when we went through all the formula changes, he did not react well to the soy. We have continued taking him to the Gastroenterologist and finally we have begun working with an allergist. The one interesting thing the allergist said was that at 18 months there is a remarkable change in a child's digestive system and many children who could not tolerate milk are miraculously able to. My son was allergy tested and the only thing that came back positive through blood and skin testing was peanuts. I wish you luck and give you much support as being a parent that went through this, it is not easy. You can email me if you have any questions about anything I have written!

My recommendation is to ask your ped about Zantac, Prevacid, Prilosec. It may help.
My reflux baby always vomits his food (he is 9 mos) if he has post nasal drip.
E.

Hi D.. My son did not have reflux but did the same thing, gagging and spitting it out. I just waited. Babies should be eager to eat. I tried baby food about once a week. He gagged until he was about 11 months, then ate like a champ. His weight was never an issue, eating at this point is really just to experience different flavors and textures. Gagging is a sign he is just not ready for it yet. Some people will tell you if you force it too early, then they will be picky eaters later. I don't know if it is true, but I decided it was not worth the fight and hassle. My doctor said some babies go straight to table food (which is what my son did at 11 months) and she said that is perfectly fine. She also said "have you ever seen a pre-schooler who didn't eat food?). They will eat when they are ready. Don't stress over it. One more thing. Babies with reflux typically grow out of it by 1 year so it should be easier to feed him at that point.

I would give trying foods a rest for awhile. If he's satisfied on the formula, let it go. After a couple of weeks try something a bit different, maybe a variation of what you're eating. Also, the cereal in the formula thing has been shown through NUMEROUS research articles to be completely ineffective for kiddos with reflux. Despite the evidence, doctors keep recommending it. It has been linked to overeating and obesity in kids though. Good luck. You're on a long and frustrating journey... I have found doctors to be over little real help unless all the tests point to what they think they should.

you probably already tried this, but have you ever put rice cereal in your baby's bottle? it'll make it heavier, and stay down better.....i use enfamil AR, and i love it. have you ever tried baby food first thing in the morning...before he has an liquid in his belly, so that there will be nothing that 'comes up'?

Hi D..
I agree about the other testing. As for getting in to see the doctor in June - have your pediatrician's office call for you to see if you can get in any sooner. I have had the wait reduced in half by doing this.

I have used the rice in the bottle trick myself. One thing to keep in mind is the hole in the nipple will need to be a bit bigger.

One other thing to consider is your son may have learned this behavior after having a problem with one food and is repeating this with other foods because he just doesn't like the taste or texture. I had one of my sons do this. He is currently 10, and if he does not like a new food, he will still choke and gag on it until it either comes out or he reluctantly swallows.

Good luck. If you like I am available to discuss this further.
E.

Our son had reflux as an infant and was put on Zantac by our ped. It worked great and now he has grown out of the reflux. Maybe that would help your little guy??? If it doesn't work, it doesn't hurt them in any way according to our ped.

My grandson who is now 14 months old also has acid reflux and is on alimentum but the trick to keep that down was to add cereal to his formula in his bottle. Actually making it quite thick. I do know that he was not able to stomach bananas because of the acid in them. Peaches were the same. After he turned 1 yr. he then had to go onto another formula because of the milk intolerance. The pediatrician put him on Go and Grow soy based formula. In time he will be switched to a soy based milk. Still to this day he still cannot tolerate things and throws them up. But it is just a guessing game to see what he can eat and what he can't. He is a very healthy eater and since the pediatrician put him on Prevacid he is now tolerating things better. He even used to wake up just screaming and crying in the night because his stomach hurt so bad. It is just a sad thing to watch these kids have to tolerate such a thing. My thoughts are with you.

I know this goes against a lot of the pre-12 month eating rules, but it worked for us... my son was quite the spitter-upper and also intolerant to milk fats - not like normal kids. He would be completely consitpated - seriously constipated (he turned his inny to an outy). One of the women at the daycare kindly suggested trying white-grape juice (watered down slightly). HOLY COW!! It was amazing! Perhaps, mixing his cereals with a little of that instead of the formula might help. There's something in it that calms the belly. It was amazing!! Good luck,

Oh yeah - I forgot to add that we also did a combination with his formula - we used 3 parts soy based with 1 part standard (Gentlese). And when we switched him to milk, the constipation came back so we went right to soy milk. He didn't know the difference, loved it and is not a happy healthy, milk (2% - still can't do whole) drinking 2 year old.

My daughter had terrible reflux. We really didn't figure out how to help her until we saw a specialist, not our peds dr. It was amazing how they knew how to deal with things. My daughter needed a combination of medication and special formula. Have you seen a specialist? You really should consider that. Take care.

I had a similar experience with my daughter who is now three. Both my children suffered from reflux but she was worse.
We had an upper and lower GI done because they worried that she might have problems in her esophagus and digestive system do to reflux. They had also wanted to check the flap that helps hold food down to see if it was working correctly or not.
It did not help that they had milk and soymilk allergies as well. I had also taken my daughter to an allergist only to hear she had none. (My mother in law told me that they could not get an accurate reading on this until their closer to two or 3). My Dr. thank god took my side with the dairy product idea and we put her on Nutramagine (cannot remember how to spell this, sorry.) which really helped. She is know on rice milk because she still gets red spot's around her bottom, ear's, and some time's her stomach when she drinks any type of dairy. Surprisingly she does well with a limited amount of cheese.
Once we had my daughter on this we then added rice cereal to her bottle of formula to help keep it down. We still had to keep her elevated at night and during the day to help as well.
We started with a very small amount and would slowly work or way up. She started doing much better. Remember the X nipple for this. If you cannot find them use a small pair of scissors and make you're own. Just make sure not to make it to big or to small. You do not want them choking or have difficulties sucking it out of the bottle.
I also had to mash food for her. She did not like baby food. I had to make things like stew and mash the carrots and potatoes and add salt and pepper for taste just to get her to eat some times.
Try mashing food from you're plate in front of him and see if he will eat it from you're fork. I think my daughter started that at around 5 or 6 month's. However, she had an older brother that she has been learning from as well. I was told that they would at least try some if they saw you eat it. I am not going to lie this does not always work.
For about a month, all she would eat is bananas, rice cereal, and diced seedless grapes.
Like you're Dr's are probably telling you, my Dr. said as long as they gain wait and don't suddenly loose any they should be fine.
My son eat's like a horse, were my daughter hardly eats one meal a day.

I could probably remember more but do not want to bog you down to much.

Good Luck, Tish

Here are some resources for you - the first one is great, and has chat with other moms who have become experts on reflux and MSPI.

http://infantreflux.org/
http://www.marci-kids.com/

hi!
my daughter is very similar but has been put on zantac and we have seen a great improvement. by this age they can associate the food with causing the reflux and refuse to eat. as for the allergy test, my 2 year old was tested at 10 monthes and the only allergy the test read was to peas (which he eats all the time with no problem!), but as a mom i have discovered he has an allery to oatmeal and very serious nut allergy. trust your gut with which foods irritate his system and try to cut them out of his diet and try new foods. the texture is something that many little ones take a long time to get used to. the swallow test is a good step in the right direction. good luck!

I am a certified pediatric nurse-over 20 years experience plus I had a son with horrendous reflux. He is now 36 years old. Back then they did nothing but put him on skim milk until he was a year old. However, why isn't your baby on some medication if he was diagnosed with reflux. Also, has he been checked for pyloric stenosis? If he is refluxing this badly it could damage his teeth and his esophogus. It isn't a good thing. PS- my son did grow out of it.

Hello- what a challenge - has the doctor tried any medications besides the change in formula? Also, Could you get in for the modified swallow study sooner? While I would agree with the doctor to keep trying, if you little one is in "pain" with reflux I would be concerned he'll push it away all together and you might have more difficulty down the line. good luck with this! I'm sorry I can't be more help.

Hi D., I have been babysitting for a friend of mine, and her daughter also had a hard time making the move from just formula to baby food. We actually didn't really get her to eat baby food until she was almost 10 months old. Part of the problem is that she had a really strong "thrust". Maybe your son just isn't ready for baby food yet. Watch when you try to give him some...does his tonge thurst it out or toward the front his mouth really quickly or strongly? If it does then he's just not ready yet. Give it a week rest, then try again. There's no rule that says that he has to eat baby food at a certian age...it's all about when his body is ready for it. As long as he is growing and thriving on his formula take your time and relax. The more relaxed you are, the more relaxed he will be. It will work out in the end. Best wishes.

My son has reflux very bad too. He is on Previcid. he has been on this for now for 4 months and he will be six months this week. My son always did this gulping thing when he ate, spit up everything, and also would do this gaging thing when he ate from his bottles. he went for a cookie swallow test and an upper gi. during the upper gi he ended up aspirating during the test so the gastro specialist sent us to an ear nose and throat doctor. On feb 8th my son went to childrens hospital and got scoped to see if everything was ok with his throat. they ended up finding a laryngeal cleft in his larynex. we are trying to wait it out for another 2-3 months to see if it may get better over time. i'm not trying to say your son may have that but i would go to a ears nose and throat specialist. we saw Dr chi at childrens north right in wexford he is wonderful. also when it comes to feeding your son did you try thick it? it thinkend food. we use it to help him keep everything down. also with his bottels we add oatmeal 1 tbsp pure once. it is very thick but he keeps everthing down. the gastro specialist told us to do that because he wasn't gaining much weight. i hope this can help you. if you have any questions please just email me. hope he is going to be ok!
C.

D.,
I am not sure what area you live in,but i would diffently ask for a cookie swallow done asap. childrens hospital gastro department should be able to get you in sooner than june. my daughter took cereal in every bottle {pudding thick} untill 1 yr old. i didn't have to have that test done as she took well to foods. my problem was with drinks so i had to thicken everything up.know on the other hand my cousins lil girl is doing the same thing and she just found out she is asperating into her lungs when she gags on everything.I honestly can't understand if he has a problem with all that why your peds would be okay with such a long wait. I would try finding another place to make an appointment at.please keep us posted i would love to know how he is doing.

My grandkids had this same problem. Their pediatrician recommended using OTC Mylicon drops for them. This worked very well. Just discuss with pediatrician before using.
http://www.mylicon.com
N.

hello my son had severe reflux, they put him on medicine. i switched to advent bottles, the closest to the matraul thing, i had to feed him the bottle with his back against my stomach sitting up, and when he eat his food i had to sit him in the car seat straight up, he slept some nights like that also, until i was told to put phone books at the end of the crib to tilt it a bit, then i purchsased a wedge, it went under the matress. i do not remember the formula he was on, but is was very very expensive. he wore bibs for along time, also i always carried the burp clothes the old diaper clothes with me. dont lay him doen rt after eating or drinking walk with him, sit him in the car seat or swing. this helps so it doesnt come back up. my son now is 11 and still has it, it has got much better but now he is old enough to say it comes up , or it hurts. i give him tums, and he is ok. as far as getting him to drink the formula i am not sure about that, i mixed half of the old formula with the new until i weaned my son off, it was not the dr orders but i did it anyway, so maybe asking the dr a better way. the barrium swallow is a great way to chk him, u will have more answers after that. take care and good luck

D., have you had him checked out for celiac disease or gluten intolerance? I know it sounds odd, but wheat binders are used in many products and also in "natural flavorings" that are added to foods.

It is an auto-immune disorder where the body is unable to process the protein gluten, which is found in wheat, rye & barley. You have to see a Gastro specialist, not an allergist. There are 5 antibodies they should test for and they may have to do a biopsy or colonoscopy to make it definite. If you can, get the book "The Gluten Free Bible" or even "Living Gluten Free for Dummies".

I also have a friend who went through something similar with her daughter, but she does not have celiac's. I am sending this to her in hopes that she can respond to you.

Hello.
My son is going to be one in April. He has had acid reflux and could not break down milk proteins ever since he was born. Are you giving any medication? He is one zantac 3 times a day but have been able to decrease that amount over the last few months. Have you tried adding the cereal to the bottles? I have always done that due to the reflux. If you buy a container of cereal with dha it comes with a scoop otherwise use one from the formula and add one scoop for every two ounces of milk. You will have to make nipple hole in bottle bigger but it is a small price to pay. Will be somewhat thick but not too bad. If too thick just decrease the amount of cereal you add. I also put my son on goat's milk as that is the only thing that he can tolerate. Will have a hard time getting doctors to agree but we tried all formulas and have had luck in past with the goat's milk. I think it is a true blessing. I do not have any troubles with feeding food or gagging but do have a cousin whose son is turning two in July and still feeding baby food as can't get him to eat without making himself gag either. Hope this helps some.